The biggest and most-awaited annual IT Pro event in the Philippines is happening soon!

TechFest 2006 is devoted to the features of the upcoming Windows Vista and the 2007 Office System and have a glimpse of the new Exchange Server 2007, Office Sharepoint Portal Server 2007, Office Groove 2007, and a sneak peek at the upcoming Windows Server codename "Longhorn". We'll also tackle infrastructure security and explore the world of Windows Mobile and how it efficiently collaborates with Exchange Server, 2007 Office, and Windows Vista.

Date: 12/5/2006

Time: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Venue: Rizal Ballroom, The Makati Shangri-La

TRACK 1 (RIZAL BALLROOM A)


Business Desktop Deployment
Norman Jose (Technology Specialist) and Chistopher Cansana (Principal Consultant)

Business Desktop Deployment, or BDD, has changed the face of scaled desktop deployments, providing true end-to-end guidance and automation for all required desktop deployment processes. In this session we will look at how he deployment toolset has changed for operating systems and for Office. We will look specifically at how a Windows Vista deployment will be accomplished. We will see how the new WIM image format works and how to design a light touch or zero touch deployment of the new operating system. Then we will focus on 2007 Microsoft Office and how Office deployment will change with this new version. Finally, we will discuss the new Business Desktop Deployment 2007 Solution Accelerator.

Windows Vista under the hood
Jasper Jugan (Technology Evangelist) and RD Cimafranca (Technology Evangelist)

In this session, we will look at some of the new technologies that contribute to the performance of Windows Vista. Faster system startup means that with Windows Vista, you will spend more time working productively and less time waiting for background tasks to be completed. Enhancements like a new standby mode, improve performance during system hibernate and resume functions make this possible. We will cover how these features work and how they can contribute to an improved user experience. During this session, we will cover some of the most important new performance-related tools in Windows Vista, including the powerful new Performance Diagnostic Console.

Unified Communications and Microsoft Office Groove 2007
Jomar Geronimo (Technology Specialist) and Kent Macatangay (Technology Evangelist)

Imagine the complexities of modern communications condensed into a seamless experience with one address book, one voice mail, and one login across every mode of communication. In this session, we take a look at Unified Communications and how this could be used to in today’s internet-prevalent environment.

Groove products complement and extend Microsoft's collaboration capabilities by allowing teams of information workers to securely create and share files, manage projects and meetings, and track data and processes in a highly decentralized manner unconstrained by time, location, or organizational affiliation.



TRACK 2 (RIZAL BALLROOM B)

SharePoint Portal Server 2007
Maria Johansson (IT Pro Evangelist, Microsoft Asia Pacific)
In this session we will cover a technical overview of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Office SharePoint Server 2007. We are going to start out this session by outlining SharePoint 2007 goals. We will introduce SharePoint 2007 and examine the SharePoint feature wheel and look at the functional architecture of SharePoint 2007. We will go into more detail of each feature area in the SharePoint wheel. We will look at the new portal design and features, collaboration and communication, as well as, Business Intelligence.

Exchange Server 2007
Raj Nataraja (Enterprise Technology Strategist, Microsoft Asia Pacific)

In this session we will discuss how Exchange gives you administrators more control, provides Anywhere Access to your inbox, and the in-built security and protection mechanisms that Exchange provides. We will also cover the new Exchange Management Console, how the improved GUI management tool is simpler for you to use, and quicker to navigate. We will also cover PowerShell, the new administrative interface provides a rich command-line experience. We will round off with a look at the significant client side improvements and transport rules.

Infrastructure Protection
Maria Johansson (IT Pro Evangelist, Microsoft Asia Pacific)

In this session we will discuss about Microsoft Forefront, a comprehensive line of business security products providing greater protection and control through integration with your existing IT infrastructure and through simplified deployment, management, and analysis. How you can find quick start guides using Microsoft Antigen and more detailed user guides to help you implement and use Microsoft Antigen for Exchange, Microsoft Antigen for SMTP, Microsoft Antigen Spam Manager, and Microsoft Antigen Enterprise Manager. Find out how Microsoft Forefront Client Security provides unified malware protection for business desktops, laptops, and server operating systems that is easier to manage and control and know more about the latest version of the firewall, VPN, and Web cache solution that can help you protect your IT environment from Internet-based threats.


TRACK 3 (RIZAL BALLROOM C)

Developing Windows Vista Gadgets
Warren Yu (Consultant)

As you use your computer to access more information, perform more tasks, and interact with more software applications, you increasingly face information overload. You open a web browser just to check the weather, open an application to view your calendar, and open a calculator program to simply add numbers. You need simple, specialized, and lightweight mini-applications that put information and tasks at your fingertips—no matter what you're doing. Windows Sidebar boosts your personal productivity by providing instant access to gadgets—a wide variety of engaging, easy-to-use, and customizable mini-applications that offer information at a glance and provide easy access to frequently used tools.

Sneak Peak at Windows Longhorn Server
Deo Co (Senior Technology Specialist)

In this session we’ll take a peek at Windows Server "Longhorn", having a number of important enhancements to platform security fundamentals, and many of these features are shared with Windows Vista and both Windows Vista and Windows Server "Longhorn" are the first Windows operating systems to have been built from start-to-finish using the Security Development Lifecycle. Take a look at platform itself that have a new limited service model which segments existing services and introduces new service accounts with restricted privileges and also check the new authentication model that replaces the old GINA model and supports new authentication methods such as biometrics and tokens. How it support BitLocker drive encryption, which can help protect servers in the branch office where physical security might not be assured.

Developing with WPF
Ed Quek (Developer Evangelist, Microsoft Asia Pacific)

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is the next-generation presentation sub-system for Windows. It provides developers and designers with a unified programming model for building rich Windows smart client user experiences that incorporate UI, media, and documents. By definition, technical people care most about technology. Many software professionals are far more interested in how an application works than in how it interacts with its users. Yet those users—who are, after all, the ones paying for all of this—care deeply about user interfaces. An application’s interface is a major part of the complete user experience with that software, and to its users, the experience is the application. Providing a better user experience through a better interface can improve productivity, help create loyal customers, increase sales on a web site, and more.