If you are registered for Microsoft Tech Ed Australia this year, come along you are automatically invited to come along to the MVP Theatre to watch Microsoft MVPs delivering sessions ranging from 20 minutes to the full 75 minutes on a variety of topics.

There are only 20 seats in the MVP Theatre, so you need to be quick getting to the Expo Hall if you’re serious about catching an MVP Session.

The Agenda for MVP Theatre is below, but please keep an eye in the agenda for last minute updates. To attend, you must be a registered delegate. 

Seated attendees to MVP Theatre each receive an MVP logo wind-up torch keyring, so you need to be quick: you can’t pre-register for MVP Theatre sessions; it’s first in first seated. 

Schedule is shown in order by Day & Time
Tuesday 2 September
Time	Session ID	Session Description	Duration	MVP
19:15-20:00	MVP102	An Intro to XNA - a brief overview of what others have done with XNA and how easy it is for you to get started creating your own games.	45	Luke Drumm
Wednesday 3 September
12:00-12:20	MVP201	Microsoft Dynamics CRM as an Application Platform. Using Microsoft Dynamics CRM to build applications that manage and track information and processes that are not necessarily limited to customers.	20	George Doubinski
12:25-12:45	MVP202	Introduction to Microsoft CRM	20	George Doubinski
12:50-13:10	MVP203	Microsoft Dynamics CRM and SaaS. Economies  (and challenges) of deploying Microsoft CRM using Software as a Service model.	20	George Doubinski
13:20-13:50	MVP103	Building Silverlight Modules for DotNetNuke Philip Beadle a Foundation member of the DotNetNuke project will show you how to enhance existing DNN modules with Silverlight 2 beta 2.  Build in auto draft saving, multi file uploading and call webservices from existing modules.	30	Philip Beadle
13:55-14:15	MVP208	The Mighty Web Page Report The Web Page report type generally goes unnoticed by many PerformancePoint Monitoring and Analyzing implementations. Most take a look at this seemingly static and boring item and wonder why it was even included in the product in the first place. In truth the Web Page should probably be considered the most powerful and flexible of all report types. Come and see the power that lies within the humble Web Page report.	20	Nick Barclay
14:20-14:50	MVP205	Transparent Data Encryption Microsoft SQL Server 2005 introduced many security enhancements, from data encryption to advanced context impersonation. Microsoft SQL Server 2008 further helps administrators protect their database with the introduction of new features such as Transparent Database Encryption, Extensible Key Management, and Auditing. This session provides an overview of one of the new security enhancements in SQL Server 2008, Transparent Data Encryption, and discusses how to best take advantage of it.	30	Jeff Wharton
14:55-15:25	MVP206	Resource Governor is a new technology in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 that enables DBA’s to manage SQL Server workload and resources by specifying limits on resource consumption. During this session Jeff will provide an overview of SQL Server 2008 Resource Governor and cover typical user scenarios, explain the model, and describe ways to control resources.	30	Jeff Wharton
15:35-15:55	MVP313	Visual Studio Team System Tips, Tricks  Best Practices from VSTS MVPs	20	Anthony Borton
16:00-16:30	MVP204	Generating Word documents from LOB system using the OpenXML SDK.	30	Ed Richard
16:30-17:15	MVP303	Scrum-tastic Development with Visual Studio Team System and Light Weight Scrum. This session covers Scrum development with Visual Studio Team System and the community-based Light Weight Scrum Process template. It is targeted at existing members of software development teams but assumes no prior experience with Scrum.	45	Anthony Borton
17:30-18:45	MVP209	Visual C++ 2008 – Still The Language with No Limits”  It would be a comprehensive look at whats new in Visual C++ 2008.	75	Nick Wienholt
19:15-20:00	MVP102	An Intro to XNA - a brief overview of what others have done with XNA and how easy it is for you to get started creating your own games.	45	Luke Drumm
Thursday 4 September
10:15-11:00	MVP405	OneNote – an introduction to an amazing tool (or whatever you want to call it)	45	Judy Gleeson
11:45-12:15	MVP210	Test Driven Development for DotNetNuke Modules Philip Beadle a Foundation member of the DotNetNuke project will show you how to use TDD to build high quality DNN modules.  You’ll also see how to write automation tests using Watin to prove that your modules are consistently reaching their requirements.	30	Philip Beadle
12:15-13:00	MVP211	OneNote and Tablet PC – the senior manager’s productivity toolkit.	45	Judy Gleeson
13:10-13:55	MVP207	Using Outlook’s hidden power functions	45	Judy Gleeson
14:00-15:15	MVP302	ADO.NET Data Services (a.k.a. Astoria)	75	Angel Hernandez
15:20-15:40	MVP305	Advanced Charting Techniques in Excel – a quick run through of various non-standard Excel charts, with real-life examples. More suited to a business audience. Things you did not think could be done in a chart. Mostly examples from here http://www.edferrero.com/ExcelCharts/tabid/102/Default.aspx	20	Ed Ferrero
15:50-16:10	MVP306	Building and using Cubes in Office – how to build a data cube using Excel and Microsoft Query, using pivot tables to view Cube data. I am interested in empowering business people to build and use their own Cubes from enterprise data.  The typical business analyst does not have access to SQL Analysis Services, but does have Microsoft Office and a text dump of business data – now that is all that is required to build powerful Cubes. Come the revolution, baby!	20	Ed Ferrero
16:20-16:50	MVP307	SharePoint Monitoring. Covering best practices on how to measure the success of your SharePoint implementation, including Performance Counters, Web Statistics, User Feedback. This session will run for 30 minutes and be primarily of interest to SharePoint Administrators, Architects and Business Consultants.	30	Ivan Wilson
17:15-18:00	MVP310	OneNote as a Training Tool	45	Judy Gleeson
18:00-18:30	MVP308	Policy Based Management SQL Server 2008 will bring a new feature that is Policy Based Management (PBM). This is a system to manage SQL Server instances by allowing administrators to define policies (naming conventions, security settings, force index creation, avoid fragmented data, etc.) and then map these policies onto servers or databases. In this session Jeff will provide an overview of PBM and demonstrate how much easier it has become for your organisation to administer its SQL Server environment.	30	Jeff Wharton
8:35-8:55	MVP311	Demo: How to setup peer to peer replication in SQL Server 2008.	20	Kasim Wirama
9:00-9:45	MVP312	Enable Project Managers to create their own custom reports in Project Server 2007 using SQL Server 2005 Report Builder within a SharePoint environment Technologies: -- MS Project Server 2007 / SQL 2005  Report Builder / Visual Studio to create Models / Windows SharePoint Services to create a Reporting Service Web Part ---) Detail: Many organisations have the requirement to give business users (e.g. Project Managers) the ability to create custom reports. The session allows organisations to discover the reporting capability of Project Server 2007 using the SQL Server 2005 Report Builder within a SharePoint Environment. The session gives an inside on how easy it is to create report builder Models from the Project Server 2007 Reporting Database which can be used by business users to create their own custom reports.	45	Marc Soester
9:50-10:10	MVP304	Balanced Scorecards in Excel – a run through of a professionally designed Balanced Scorecard system built in Excel. An eye-opener for those who have not seen Excel used as a development system. There is a quick preview here http://www.edferrero.com/Products/Scorecard/tabid/80/Default.aspx	20	Ed Ferrero
Friday 5 September
10:15-11:00	MVP402	BI Power Tools This session is aimed at giving a quick overview of some of the free tools that are available to help people in their work with the Microsoft BI stack. Among other things, we will be looking at some projects from codeplex like BIDSHelper and the Analysis Services Stored Procedure Project as well as having a look at using PowerShell with the BI technologies. We will primarily be looking at working with Analysis Services, Integration Services and if we have time we will look at a little bit of PerformancePoint Server 2007.	45	Darren Gosbell
11:00-11:30	MVP309	Data Compression Is your database big? Are you interested in reducing its size to 1/2 or even to 1/3? SQL Server 2008 will provide you native data compression for your tables, indexes, and partitions that can significantly reduce the size of your database. A smaller database can lead to better performance for IO bound loads, reduce memory requirements and the manageability cost (e.g. backup/recovery) of your database.  Join Jeff as he describes how Data Compression works and when it should be used	30	Jeff Wharton
11:50-12:50	MVP406	Enriching the Design of a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services UDM In the most basic way, the Unified Dimensional Model (UDM) combines the best aspects of traditional OLAP analysis and relational reporting. In doing so it presents a "single version of the truth" that can satisfy multidimensional analysis and relationship reporting. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The UDM can also define server-side calculations, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), actions, perspectives, and translations to provide a richer experience than just querying for results from a database. So beyond storing your data, the UDM can store information about how our data is represented and how it should be delivered and presented to the business user. In this session, discover through theory, demonstration, and best practices discussion, how to enrich the design of the UDM beyond the data itself.	60	Peter Myers
13:00-13:45	MVP407	A demo-based session on the topic of Administrator Role Separation in Windows Server 2008.  One of the key Active Directory-related improvements in Windows Server 2008 is the introduction of the Read-Only Domain Controller (RODC).  With the RODC comes the ability to separate administrative roles.  This removes the restriction of having to use a Domain Admins account when carrying out administrative tasks on a Domain Controller.   The session will provide some technical background on Administrator Role Separation and will then launch into a lab-based demo of the feature.  The demo will cover: RODC pre-staging and completion of DCPROMO using a delegated account Authentication mechanism for local administrator rights on the RODC Definition of additional local roles using NTDSUTIL.EXE Password caching for domain accounts defined for local roles on the RODC.	45	Tony Murray (NZ)
14:00-15:15	MVP301	C++ for creating webparts	75	Angel Hernandez
8:30-9:15	MVP401	Group Policy Preferences – a whole new world. A brief introduction on the history of Group Policies and what the new Preference settings mean. It will cover not only the features that it brings to Group Policies, but also some of the issues that are raised when implementing their use. This session will be useful to people new to Group Preferences, whether they are experienced Group Policy Users or not.	45	Alan Cuthbertson
9:15-9:45	MVP403	Advanced Exchange Management Shell Scripting Demo and Master class The basic aim of this session is to demonstrate what can be done at the upper end of the scripting scale to show System Administrators (and developers) what they can achieve with EMS cmdlets when they are blended and enhanced with .NET and also leveraging Exchange Web Service and the changes made in SP1.  To also demonstrate the ability to build custom administration tools using EMS scripts that can automate many tasks that can save time and increase visibility of the Administration of Exchange 2007. The talk will consist mainly of a demo of the scripts in action with a talk around how they were built and general tips to assist people to build their own. Topics covered include mailbox size, logon reporting and auditing, Message Tracking and Mail permission management and possibly OWA customization (time permitting).	30	Glen Scales

I just got my hotel booking and air tickets confirmation today, so I will be coming to the Microsoft Tech Ed New Zealand 2008 for sure.

I will be landing in Auckland on Sunday 31st August, and attending the speakers' dinner on that evening.

On Monday 1st September I wlll be attending the Bloggers' Dinner - I have no idea who else Microsoft has invited to attend this dinner, except that Scott Hanselman is speaking there, so I am really looking forward to attending this event.

I have just received the confirmation I will be running the Windows Mobile Roadmap session (UNC117) at Tech Ed New Zealand 2008.

At this stage I don't know the exact date/time but it's all go. I will be speaking Monday 10:40am.

See you there!

At least six New Zealand MVPs and five Australian MVPs are lined up to present at Tech Ed New Zealand 2007.

Sessions currently scheduled including MVP presenters are:

OFC304 - Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services and Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Upgrade and Migration
OFC316 - Branding and Customizing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Sites
OFC418 - Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies 2007: Deployment and Advanced Administration Topics
OFC338 - Anatomy of an Office Business Application
OFC313 - Document and Records Management Using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Clients

VOC302 - Software Plus Services on the Microsoft Platform: How We Built ActionThis
VOC305 - Fronde Debate – Architecture? Don’t Waste your Time!

DAT314 - SQL Server 2008 for Developers
DAT305 - Analysis Services Best Practices: Design, Storage, Multidimentional Expressions (MDX) and Calculations
DAT302 - Database Schema Versioning: How to Use Microsoft Visual Studio Team System for Database Professionals and Team Foundation Server to Version and Deploy Your Databases

WEB309 - Building BackgroundMotion – Scalable Web Fast by using the Composite Web Block

SVR308 - Windows PowerShell: The Future of Server Administration
SVR310 - Up-close and personal with Virtual Machines and SCVMM

DEV309 - Best Practices for Team-Based Software Development
DEV346 - Next Generation Team Foundation Server

CLI317 - Windows Vista: The Top 10 Reasons to deploy now (or why change what works for me now?)

Note that schedules may change. Delegates should login to Comnet for latest scheduling in all cases.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) are technical community leaders from around the world who are awarded for voluntarily sharing their high quality, real world expertise in offline and online technical communities. Microsoft MVPs are a highly select group of experts that represents the technical community's best and brightest, and they share a deep commitment to community and a willingness to help others.

MVPs represent a broad spectrum of Microsoft product users. They occupy many different professions including accountants, teachers, artists, engineers and technologists. MVPs reside in over 90 countries, represent 30 different languages, and cover more than 90 Microsoft technologies.

Roseanne Stamell (pictured), MVP Lead for Australia & New Zealand, will also be at Tech Ed New Zealand 2007 throughout the day Monday and some of Tuesday, so feel free to talk to Rose (or her Manager Karen Young, who will also be attending) about the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Award. You might find them at the stand, or watching MVPs present any of these listed sessions.