It;s that time: Time to begin plotting the journey routine and penciling inside the Microsoft activities (that we learn about to date) for the new year.CES 2011: CEO Steve Ballmer will be the kick-off CES keynoter on January 5 at six:thirty p.m. PT. Microsoft execs are remaining tight-lipped about what;s about the agenda, but early leaks have indicated that Ballmer will speak about Microsoft;s and its partners; options in the slate/tablet area (again, like he did last 12 months). While some are expecting Microsoft to share particulars about strategies to port Windows to ARM and/or about Windows 8, I;m pondering Windows Embedded is often a additional probably subject — and possibly the operating system that will be behind whatever kind of new slates/tablets the Softies unveil at the show this year. The Windows Embedded team has posted a CES press preview article,
Office Ultimate 2007, making it seem as though Windows Embedded Standard devices could be one of the big pushes for your company at CES.
Dynamics CRM 2011 launch: The virtual (Webcasted) launch event is January 20, 2011, for Microsoft;s “CRM 5″ release. The Online version of the product are going to be available in January; the on-premises version within the first quarter of 2011.
Mobile World Congress 2011: In February (14-17 in Barcelona), Microsoft is expected to speak up some of its future update programs for Windows Phones at the show. Maybe we;ll hear a bit about “Mango,” the next release of the Windows Phone OS (possibly 7.five) that some of my tipsters have said will deliver in-browser support for HTML5 and Silverlight.Microsoft MVP Summit: This 12 months, the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) invite-only summit is slated for February 28 to March 2 in Bellevue,
Office 2010 Serial, Wash.Game Developers Conference 2011: Could Microsoft be ready to share extra about its future options for Kinect by February 28? (GDC runs from February 28 to March 4 in San Francisco in 2011.)Microsoft Management Summit 2011: In Las Vegas from March 21 to 25, MMS will probably be dedicated to the latest on all products and services management-related. Expect possible updates on Windows Intune,
Office Standard, the various System Center products, virtualization and more.Convergence 2011: The annual confab for Microsoft Dynamics ERP/CRM customers and partners is April 10 to 13 in Atlanta. There will be news about the upcoming versions of Microsoft;s four ERP suites, no doubt — and maybe even some very early CRM six talk (?).Mix ‘11: A beta of Silverlight five is one of the expectations for this 12 months;s Mix, which is happening (sadly again) in Las Vegas from April twelve to 14. Maybe we;ll see the final Internet Explorer 9 release at Mix, as well.TechEd 2011: Microsoft;s annual educational conference, where the talks (typically) focus on already-announced products, is happening from May possibly 16 to 19 in Atlanta this yr. Who knows: Maybe we;ll hear extra regarding the Office 365 rollout (which my sources are hearing will happen around the first week of June).E3 2011: This year;s game extravaganza is June 7 to 9 in Los Angeles. As usual, lots of Xbox,
Windows 7 Enterprise, Xbox Live, games and game peripherals should be on the agenda.Worldwide Partner Conference 2011: It;s off to Los Angeles once more this yr for Microsoft;s annual partner confab,
Office 2010 Activation Key, taking place from July 11 to 14.Professional Developers Conference 2011: No dates or location on this one (yet), but many Microsoft watchers are expecting this 12 months;s PDC to be where Microsoft rolls out a public beta (or at least a Community Technology Preview) of Windows eight.Any other Microsoft-specific activities already in your calendar?