Cloud Connect was so, so.

I spent half the day at Cloud Connect in Silicon Valley.  The Keynote speakers were good, and on-time.  They had some enlightening points like: Conflicker is the biggest Cloud operation that spans 230 countries. Hmm?  The Expo was mostly IT (not Developer) stuff.  And, it was very small.  This was, however, the first Cloud Connect so I expect next year will be much better. Overall, for the first time, it wasn't bad.

Some things just aren't right!

I broke my USB printer cable.  No big deal. Right?  I went to Walmart ($15.99), then Best Buy ($29.99) and OMG,  I didn't want to make a down payment on the store.  I finally found one for $1.99.  The amazing thing is they were all made in China. So much for my rant!

Try Windows Azure Platform for a chance to win stuff.

Check out Code Project for the details about trying out Windows Azure Platform and see first hand what Cloud Computing is all about.  You could win one of three Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbooks in the process. For complete details: http://www.codeproject.com/Competitions/396/Try-Windows-Azure-in-March-and-Win-a-Netbook.aspx. Good luck!

New Cloud Computing Developers Group in San Francisco, CA

Recently started by Bruno Terkaly of Microsoft, the Cloud Computing Developers Group focuses on hands-on coding for Cloud platforms. The goal is ultimately for members to share best practices and innovation.  It's also about sharing code and building applications that run in the cloud. The first meeting is March 22, 2010 at Microsoft in S.F. Check it out.

Microsoft's location at 835 Market Street is easy to get to by BART. Just get off at the Powell St. Station and go upstairs.  The entrance is right there at street level.  Look for the U.C. San Fancisco sign.  It's the same door.  Microsoft is on the 7th floor.