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Posts Tagged ‘San Francisco’

I finally got all the photos from VMWorld 2010 off of my camera and phone and uploaded to Google Picasa. Enjoy some pics from the various parties, the Keynotes, a Giant’s game, and a trolley ride to Pier 39! Follow the link to the Picasa web album if you want a larger image or want to leave a comment on a photo.

I’m late posting about this so I’ll be short. Tuesday 08/10/2010 is the deadline to enter and win a free conference pass, airfare, and hotel accommodations for VMWorld 2010 in San Francisco, CA. Go to GestaltIT.com and register NOW!

Here’s some various contest info as pasted directly from the post Announcing the Gestalt IT “Get Away to VMworld” Contest!:

“Here’s the deal: Thanks to our generous sponsors (Xsigo and Symantec), we’ll pay airfare, hotel, and registration for one lucky and deserving person out there to attend VMworld San Francisco 2010! That’s right – you get to go to VMworld for free!”

“Entrants must explain how they plan to “pay it forward” if they get to go to VMworld. Will you start a blog? Write some tutorials? Contribute to a forum or online community? Present to your local VMUG? Get creative and spread the wealth of knowledge you get from the event!”

“HOW TO ENTER

Ok, so how can you enter this contest? Here are the simple steps:

1. Consider how attending VMworld would help you and the broader community
2. Fill out the contest entry form
3. Plan on stopping by the Symantec and Xsigo booths at the show and thanking them for their support
4. Consider publicizing the contest by sharing this article with friends and associates
5. Consider subscribing to Gestalt IT with RSS, by email, on Twitter, or in iTunes
6. Consider supporting DonorsChoose.org and donating your swag to school kids in need”

“You have through Tuesday, August 10 to enter. The winner will be announced on the VMware Community Roundtable Podcast, Wednesday August 11 at noon Pacific time!”

Check out the whole GestaltIT post for more details and some fine print. Good Luck and I hope to see you there!

I rented a Chevrolet HHR for week at VMWorld. I wasn’t expecting to rent a car at all so thank goodness National had cars available Sunday when I arrived at SFO.

The car was fun to drive and it had a lot of pep for a 4 cylinder engine. Although I never had more than three adults in the car, the HR had plenty of room for passengers.

It’s compact design was both a positive and a negative. I was thankful for the ability to maneuver easily in downtown traffic and park in tight spaces, but the cockpit area was cramped. I kept rubbing my leg on the center console just using the accelerator. The windshield was small and very close, and my field of view was at roof level inside the car. I felt like I had to bend down to see.

If Alcatraz is called “The Rock” then Treasure Island was “The Roll” for Wednesday’s VMWorld 2007 party.

First on stage was the Wonderbread 5. I believe this band was once a Jackson 5 tribute band that has now evolved into 5 white guys wearing afros that definitely know how to start the party!

Associatedentertainment.com describes this local San Francisco band best:

“With their tongue planted firmly in cheek, the Wonder Bread 5 posse fuses hip-hop, country-fied white-trash anthems, disco and hair metal, resulting in a high energy spectacle of fun, grooves and all the songs you love to sing…and sing loudly.”

Smash Mouth topped the evening off with all of their hits as well as some amazing Van Halen covers! The band started a multi song encore with a version of “Running with the Devil” that would have made even David Lee Roth jealous!

According to their web site Smash Mouth has a new album in stores and is also currently working on songs for an upcoming movie soundtrack. I will definitely be adding their newest CD to my collection.

Notes from the General Session:

John Chambers – CEO – Cisco

John talked about his vision of networking / Internet / business strategy changes for IT infrastructure and business unit decision making.

How do we enable employee productivity and customer satisfaction using virtualization / collaboration?

Internet Phase 1 – unprecedented productivity in 1990s

• orders over internet
• customer self service

Internet Phase 2 – Web 2.0 – we are here now

• New services /support
• new sales model
• internal wikis / i-zone
• aquisition model = 8 days vs 45 days
• command / control / collaboration / teamwork enabled by virtualization

Collaboration will be driver for Web 2.0 and second wave of productivity and Innovation
web services will provide replay of technology growth of the ’90s – using technology like

• wikis
• forums
• facebooks
• u tube

Read the rest of this entry »

VMWorld 2007 Party tonight! The following is from the “What’s Happening at VMWorld” email I recieved this morning:

VMworld 2007 Party

We have a great party planned for Wednesday night that you don’t
want to miss. Indulge in all that San Francisco has to offer as
you experience the Streets of San Francisco Party on Treasure
Island. We’ve recreated San Francisco neighborhoods for you to
enjoy. Whether you are in the mood for comedy, karaoke,
sports, gaming, jazz and blues or want to hear headliner
“Smash Mouth”, we have something for everyone to do.

I rode the world famous San Francisco cable cars to Pier 39 tonight. I walked around with a friend from work and took several pics that are now posted on the Photo page. Alcatraz, The Golden Gate Bridge and the sea lions are all viewable at Pier 39. The cable car ride takes you through China Town.

For dinner I had a great New York Strip at the Fog Harbor Fish House. Yeah, I had steak at a seafood restaurant on the Bay. I don’t like seafood too much. We got a great table with a window view of the Bay.

It was amazing how fast the fog rolled in from Read the rest of this entry »