26 reasons to go to TechEd North America

Here are some reasons why you should not miss TechEd North America:

1- New Orleans is a great place to go to!

2- TechEd provides a huge amount of technical sessions, Hands on Labs, and other activities that makes a great week of intensive training on Microsoft technologies

3- The Windows Embedded booth will show some really interesting demos you should not miss such as the latest Ford Sync system, a giant Digital Signage proof of concept, robots driven by a wearable device, …

4- You can get a chance to network with our Embedded MVPs

5- on the booth, we will have mini-labs giving you a chance to play with the tools to build your first Embedded image or your first Silverlight for Windows Embedded application: come and get your hands on!

6 to 14- The Windows Embedded track will propose bunch of 9 Breakout Sessions:

WEM201 | Discover Windows Embedded Standard 7 as Your Next Application Platform
Speaker(s): Alexander Wechsler (MVP)
Level: 200 – Intermediate
"Did you ever dream of building highly interactive and robust next generation applications on a platform that can be tailored exactly to your needs? If so, this session is just for you! Discover how Windows Embedded Standard 7 combines the power of Windows 7 with the ease, flexibility and dedicated functionality of the Embedded branch of the Windows family (predecessors: NT 4.0 embedded, XP embedded, WES 2009). Join us for a wild ride across a lot of technologies such as Silverlight 4.0, Sensor & Location PLatform, Enhanced / File Based Write Filter, Windows Azure, Gadgets, Powershell, Dialog Filter, the new managed DPWS stack, to name just a few. The time to design the next wave of smart connect devices is now!"

WEM301 | Deploying Windows Embedded Standard 7 with Style
Speaker(s): Johan Arwidmark (MVP)
Level: 300 – Advanced
Join one of the world’s foremost deployment experts in a dazzling session on how to deploy Windows Embedded Standard and Windows Embedded POSReady with style... all using state-of-the-art management and deployment platforms like Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) 2007, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK), including Windows PE. Learn the inner works of Sysprep in the Embedded world, how to handle drivers, updates, and how to create the perfect embedded image using the Windows Embedded Studio tools. If you need to deploy Windows Embedded, or are thinking about deploying it, this is the one session you cannot afford to miss.

WEM302 | Explore the Multimedia Potential of Windows Embedded Standard 7
Speaker(s): Preston VanderWeyst (MSFT)
Level: 300 – Advanced
Discover next-generation technologies available in Windows Embedded Standard 7 for specialized entertainment devices, set top boxes and beyond. The exploration discusses existing technologies like multimedia capabilities, XNA, etc. and new Windows 7 technologies like Windows Touch, DirectX 11, and more.

WEM303 | Gamechanger: Using Microsoft Silverlight for Windows Embedded to Create an Amazing Embedded UI
Speaker(s): Douglas Boling (MVP)
Level: 300 – Advanced 
XAML-based User Interface development is a game changer in the embedded space. Windows Embedded Compact brings its own embedded-centric implementation of Silverlight development called Silverlight for Embedded. Learn how Silverlight for embedded can take Expression Blend XAML, combine it with a thin and quick backend, and create an eye popping embedded experience. This talk will use Expression Blend to create an amazing UI and hook it into native C++ code to create to create a stunning embedded application in this example filled talk.

WEM305 | How to Choose a Windows Embedded Operating System
Speaker(s): Jason Tolley (MVP)
Level: 300 – Advanced
This session discusses each of the Windows Embedded operating systems, providing an assessment and criteria for selection, based on many factors including hardware, form factor, and time to market. If you are considering using Windows Embedded for a new project or product then this session will assist you in selecting the right operating system for your project.

WEM306 | Using the Sensor & Location API on Windows Embedded Standard 7 to Create Exciting Connected Applications
Speaker(s): Alexander Wechsler (MVP)
Level: 300 – Advanced
Integrating non standard IO (aka sensors) into a Windows operating system has been not so easy in the past. Experience the landslide change available with the new Sensor & Location platform in Windows Embedded Standard 7. Discover how simple it is now to access sensor and location data out different programming environments and under different requirement scenarios. An entertaining mix of live demos and code will leave you prepared to start your own adventures in this brave new world. Your next application will be aware of its surroundings.

WEM307 | Windows Embedded Compact: New Tools and Developer Story
Speaker(s): Olivier Bloch (MSFT)
Level: 300 – Advanced
The consumer market is driving devices applications development models, tools, market places to a new direction, and things are evolving really fast. Windows Embedded Compact being a small footprint componentized OS provides manufacturers the right tools and technologies to build next generation devices. Arriving soon, a new major release of Windows Embedded Compact will come along with new tools. In this session, learn about the new tools, the integration into Microsoft Visual Studio, the Microsoft Silverlight for Windows Embedded development tools, gaining a good understanding of the new possibilities to develop next generation devices and how designers and developers can now work together to provide the best user experience on devices.

WEM308 | Windows Embedded Overview: Demos of the Latest and Upcoming Releases
Speaker(s): Olivier Bloch (MSFT)
Level: 300 – Advanced
As the title states, this session is about demos only, no slides. If you want to learn about the latest technologies for Embedded such as Microsoft Silverlight for Windows Embedded, Windows Embedded Standard 7 (componentized version of Windows 7), the latest Microsoft Auto, and see all of these running on actual hardware, if you want to learn how to build your own media center or any kind of embedded device, this session is for you! Not only will you get demonstrations of the latest releases, but you will also get to see the future products such as the next release of Windows Embedded in real demos. Why would you miss this?

WEM309 | Programming Microsoft Silverlight for Windows Embedded Using Microsoft .NET
Speaker(s): Andy Wigley (MVP)
Level: 300 – Advanced
Silverlight for Windows Embedded comes with support only for a native API, and at first glance it would appear that it is not possible to build a Silverlight UI and use it from a .NET Compact Framework application. However, managed developers can also build applications that use Silverlight, as long as they adopt a careful architecture and use appropriate interop programming techniques. In this session, learn some techniques that have been proven during the development of a commercial embedded product that allow you to develop the bulk of your application using managed code, and by using P/Invoke or COM interop, to implement the UI using Silverlight for Windows Embedded.

15 to 21 - The Windows Embedded track will propose bunch of Interactive sessions on hot topics:

WEM01-INT | Build a Secure Device with Windows Embedded Standard 7
Speaker(s): Nick Jayawardana, Robert Smith (MSFT)
Level: 300 – Advanced
Windows Embedded Standard 7 is the latest addition to the family of Microsoft Windows Embedded products. This product brings the power of latest Windows 7 experiences to the world of embedded devices. In this demo-loaded talk discover how Windows Embedded Standard 7 satisfies embedded requirements, based on real-life examples from smart connected digital signage which is one of today’s hottest embedded computing applications. To eliminate disk drive failures, devices need to boot from solid state media. Unattended devices also require a secure, locked-down operating system to prevent tempering. Smooth and quick system recovery from power outage is another concern for many embedded devices and to block OS popup messages from being displayed at inappropriate times.

WEM02-INT | Delivering Flexible Peripheral Support for Point of Sale
Speaker(s): Jason Tolley (MVP)
Level: 300 – Advanced
This session provides solutions to the challenges in providing “vendor neutral” Point of Sale solutions by developing applications with Microsoft POS for .NET and POSReady 2009.

WEM03-INT | How Windows Embedded Solutions Help to Protect the Environment
Speaker(s): Stefan Hoppe (MVP)
Level: 300 – Advanced
Controlling and optimizing the energy consumption of industry processes, buildings and machines are some of the biggest challenges today. The potential for the environment on the other hand is huge. Referring to the Smart 2020 report, several giga tons of CO2 could be saved by smart motor systems, buildings or grids. Learn in this session, how three of the biggest market players in the embedded world - Microsoft, Intel and Beckhoff Automation - have combined developed solutions to optimize existing facilities with minimal efforts. We show and discuss real-world examples from datacenter sensors to industry machine control units.

WEM05-INT | What a Desktop Developer Needs to Know to Develop for Windows Embedded
Speaker(s): Douglas Boling (MVP)
Level: 300 – Advanced
One of the best features of Windows Embedded operating systems is that they use the same API (.NET/Win32/MFC), the same languages (C#, C++. Visual Basic ,NET) and even the same tools, (Visual Studio) as the desktop. These similarities make it simple for desktop Windows developers to move to Windows Embedded. But if you try coding an embedded system the way you code on the desktop, you’ll end up producing a brick! This session teaches you the strategies and techniques needed to leverage your desktop skills to develop great applications for Windows Embedded operating systems. Come learn how to “cross over to embedded” in this informative talk.

WEM06-INT | Windows Embedded Compact Compete
Speaker(s): Jason Tolley (MVP)
Level: 300 – Advanced
Windows Embedded Compact is a small footprint, real-time, componentized OS. It addresses solutions such as real-time industrial controllers, thin clients, consumer devices… providing hard real-time capabilities along with great connectivity and user interface technologies. This session explains how Windows Embedded Compact compares to alternative products in these markets and how Microsoft is investing to provides OEMs with the right tools they need to build these solutions.

WEM07-INT | Server Appliances with Windows Embedded Servers
Speaker(s): Venu Subramanyam (MSFT)
Level: 200 – Intermediate
During this interactive session, we define the Server Appliance, highlight the benefits of hardware server appliances, detail success stories in scenarios where Windows Embedded Servers are used, highlight the benefits of the eco system, and talk about tools and technical content that have been developed for this channel.

22 to 25 - The Windows Embedded track will propose interesting Hands on labs:

WEM01-HOL | Build Your Own Embedded System
Level: 300 – Advanced
This lab walks you through creating a custom Windows Embedded Standard 7 image that is tailor-made for a specialized device. Learn how to use the Windows Embedded Standard 7 Toolkit to develop, configure, and build a customized operating system image that will allow you to support all of your most important applications while keeping your footprint to a minimum. Also learn how to boot your image into a custom shell and how to lock down your image using some of the new features found in Windows Embedded Standard 7.

WEM04-HOL | Porting Third-Party Drivers into Image Configuration Editor
Level: 300 – Advanced
Similar to Windows 7, Windows Embedded Standard 7 provides a list of in-box drivers to be utilized for many applications. However, for building your own embedded devices, you may need to use other drivers that are not available from the in-box driver list. These can be drivers you develop yourself or obtain from third-party vendors. You may run into issues such as not being able to include or install the third-party drivers on the embedded images. In this lab, we intend to show some of the techniques to discover dependencies for the third-party drivers, to integrate them into Image Configuration Editor (ICE) and to install them on Windows Embedded Standard 7 images.

WEM05-HOL | Windows Embedded Standard 7 Deployment and Servicing
Track: Windows Embedded
Level: 300 – Advanced
Windows Embedded Standard 7 is built with the enterprise in mind. During this demo-packed session, learn how to use standard Microsoft technology to deploy, service, and manage your embedded operating system. We show you how to use Windows Deployment Service to deploy an embedded operating system and service the OS whether it is online or offline with tools such as ImageX and DISM.

26- last reason but not least…I will be there ;-)