You can find the entire list here.

Some notable parts to highlight:

• Beta of VS2010 available soon.
• Office 2010 technical preview begins in July 2009, you can nominate yourself for the preview at Office 2010 the Movie.
• SQL Server R2 will get a preview before the end of 2009.

Most of them you either already have or probably won’t worry about, but check through that list to see if there is anything else that interests you. There are plenty of betas and previews coming up to get your hands on and try out for free.

Here’s a quick run down of my experiences during the week (some photos below, more on Facebook):

Student Day

Tech.Ed Student Day was split into two halves: in the morning, over 1000 high school kids packed into the auditorium to hear from a range of people, one of those being Microsoft’s Senior Director of Academic Initiatives, Joe Wilson. Joe pointed out that innovation in the IT industry always seems to be pioneered by people under the age of 25 – we’ve got big shoes to fill!

What do companies like Dell, Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, AOL, Facebook all have in common? They were all started by people under the age of 25.

In the afternoon session, Joe launched a number of fantastic Microsoft initiatives: DreamSpark, Students2Business and Imagine Cup.

DreamSpark – www.dreamspark.com

Microsoft DreamSpark is a program that provides no-cost access to Microsoft designer and development tools for verified students around the world to support and advance their learning and skills through technical design, technology, maths, science and engineering activities. This program is intended to equip tomorrow’s developers and designers (you guys!) with the professional tools to inspire and create today.

At www.dreamspark.com, Australian students can now download all of the following software, for free:

• Microsoft developer tools:
  • Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition
  • Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition
  • XNA Game Studio 2.0
  • 12-month free membership in the XNA Creators Club
• Microsoft designer tools:
  • Expression Web
  • Expression Blend
  • Expression Design
  • Expression Media
• Microsoft platform resources:
  • SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition
  • Windows Server, Standard Edition

Anything you make with this software can be distributed with a non-commercial license, so head over to Microsoft’s Channel 8, download the software, get your serials, and start innovating!

Students2Business – http://www.s2bprogram.com/Australia/

Basically what happens is this: universities and training centres work hand in hand with Aussie companies to provide students with internship opportunities. The S2B portal allows the various parties involved in the process to register in a common location and be easily linked up, matching qualified job candidates with open positions that may be suitable.

- from Andrew Parsons’ blog

The program has only just been launched, and already it’s making headlines!

Mobility *Smackdown*

Voted the most popular session at Tech.Ed last year, this year the Mobility Smackdown was sure to be a winner. This session was “A Team”-themed – all the presenters and “helpers” (us) were dressed up in army/camo gear – with a whole bunch of demos on and relating to Windows Mobile devices.

To Roger Lawrence’s delight, some of the participants ended up eating Apple and BlackBerry!! (strudel)

What do you want to carry around fruit in your pocket for? It’ll just go rotten!
– One of the many jokes about the Apple iPhone

Microsoft Surface – “the coffee table that will change the world”

Without a doubt, playing with one of Australia’s first two Microsoft Surface tables was excellent.

Microsoft Surface had barely landed in Australia, yet Tatham Oddie was able to pull together a pretty cool little application that allows you to place his Tech.Ed 2008 pass on the Microsoft Surface, and customise your Tech.Ed session timetable for the week! Pretty cool – imagine what the Amnesia guys are going to get up to with this.

Tech.Ed 2008 Student Day registrations are filling up fast! With the high school sessions already full in the morning, if you haven’t yet registered for the uni session in the afternoon, you should do so now!

Plus, every uni student who attends will walk away with over $1400 worth of software on disc! Read below for more info.

What am I talking about?

If you haven’t heard already, Microsoft’s offering students a chance to be part of Australia’s premier IT event, Tech.Ed, by designing a complimentary half-day session for uni students and lecturers.

So, What is Tech.Ed?

With over 200 sessions, 12 pre-conference workshops and 5 Pre-Day events, Tech.Ed 2008 is this year’s biggest opportunity for IT professionals to learn from the experts, explore the latest solutions and connect with colleagues and peers.

Why attend?

Get on top of the latest development trends and gain hands-on experience with the newest tools and platforms. Connect with new people, get new ideas, be a part of the experience. Tech.Ed 2008 features multiple hands-on learning and social opportunities to help you advance your career and expand your horizons.

What is Student Day?

Tech.Ed Student Day will offer the next generation of technologists a unique opportunity to be a part of Australia’s premier IT Education event. Two half-day sessions have been designed to showcase the exciting opportunities offered by a career in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry.

An action packed afternoon will highlight the new DreamSpark offer to University Students and the latest news from Microsoft Robotics, Expression and Live services.

With a whole lot more to offer on the day, this is an industry event that no student should miss.

Well, all is not lost. If you still want to catch some of the great sessions from TechEd2008 NA, you can do so Here.

See the announce of Silverlight 2 beta 2, or the release of the CTP for the ADO.Net Distributed In-Memory Cache technology, and this is all just part of the Keynote!

All of it is at TechEd Online, and all of it is free to download. (Specially sized for your Zune or any other portable player that can do 320×240)

Plenty of discussions and content for you to browse as TechEd 2008 continues, enjoy!

- Michael