I had an email from one of my readers about the 2010 Technical Readiness Series. Please read below:

Hi Michael,

I noticed you blogged a while back that you were going to attend MS 2010 Launch event. I’m going to the session in Seattle on May 27, is it worth it to attend? Also, I’m wondering if they give any free software away like VS2010 Pro? Any decent vendors? Looking forward to hearing back from you.

I decided this information would probably benefit several instead of just responding back to the reader. In case you are not aware, MS has a 2010 launch event showing VS2010, Office 2010, SharePoint 2010 and SQL Server 2008R2. 

You can sign up for an event here: https://microsoft.crgevents.com/Register2010/Content/Event_Selection.aspx

I’ve answered the questions asked below.

Q: Is it worth going?
A: It is if you have had little or no exposure to the latest 2010 products. Most people are familiar with VS2010, but have not seen SharePoint 2010 Office 2010 or Windows Phone 7. It is designed to get you up to speed very quickly. If you have watched most of the MIX videos and keep up with .NET in general, you will benefit more by having the ability to ask questions.   

Q: Did you get any free software?
A: No, only demos including:

VS2010/Office 2010 – They give you a link to the url where you can download the trial version.
Windows 7 Enterprise – You get a DVD with the trial version loaded.

Q: Do they give away any cool swag?
A: Just a Microsoft T-Shirt (XL).

Q: What about the vendor selection?
A: At the event that I went to, most vendors were pushing SharePoint products. There wasn’t a lot of variety in the selection. Most vendors were giving away the typical pens, buttons and stickers and trial software.

If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me. I will answer and add to this un-official FAQ.