News
TechEd Keynote Switched from Windows .NET Server to .NET
- By Scott Bekker
- March 19, 2002
Microsoft changed the keynote topic for its 10th annual TechEd show in New Orleans in April from Windows .NET Server to just .NET.
Originally senior vice president for Windows Brian Valentine was scheduled to give the April 10 opening keynote at TechEd and show off the forthcoming operating system. Instead, senior vice president of developer and platform evangelism Eric Rudder will discuss .NET, the core components of which are currently available.
The keynote topic changed after Microsoft formally announced that it would push back the launch of the Windows .NET Server family until late in the second half of 2002.
A Microsoft spokesman says the keynote change does not stem from any strategic plan.
Turns out Valentine, the goalie for Microsoft's hockey team, had to cancel because of a conflict with a charity hockey event he does every year.
Valentine, who received credit for getting the Windows 2000 project back on a schedule when he took it over, delivered the TechEd keynote in Spring 1999 that served as a pre-launch for that operating system prior to its actual launch in February 2000.
About the Author
Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.