Steve Ballmer, Tom Brokaw Launch Windows Server 2008

February 29, 2008; 05:49 AM

Los Angeles, CA - In a spectacular production that felt right at home in the land of motion pictures, Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, Mr. Steve Ballmer, on Wednesday addressed a capacity crowd at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles to usher in the era of Windows Server 2008. Using 3 dimensional powerpoint slides, no less than 6 video cameras, huge wall projections, and a visually stunning steady cam shot throughout, Mr. Ballmer stepped through the entire Microsoft Strategy of Dynamic IT and the implications for developers embracing the new paradigm.

The preliminaries were conducted by another familiar face - the longtime anchor and managing editor of the NBC Nightly News, Mr. Tom Brokaw. In his eloquent introductory remarks Mr. Brokaw examined the rapid changes in technology over the past few years, and told personal anecdotes that illuminated the human side of technology. His defining statement offered was, ''The test of our place in this world is not yet complete, after all we don't want to become Easter Island. What I believe in my heart and in my mind is that it will do us little good to wire the world if we short circuit our consciousness, and our souls - if we shortchange our potential to use this technology to advance mankind.''

In a bluster of confidence born of running one of the world's most successful businesses ever, Mr. Ballmer then strode to the stage and seamlessly brought together the impressive array of technology that wrapped around his cogent remarks. Teleprompter, video projection, 3-D floating graphics, wireless microphone, steady cam, video clips of a ficticious retail coffee corporation and live person, on-stage demonstrations unveiled themselves one after the other in a supremely choreographed ensemble that belonged within a stone's throw of Hollywood. The theatrics, however, were never overbearing nor did they ever distract from an important message delivered by Mr. Ballmer: "For me the heart of our industry is the software developers, and the I.T. professionals who go out every day and make great things happen.''

The Los Angeles event was the kickoff of over 200 worldwide events celebrating the launch of Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008. In addition to the keynote address, the launch event featured Breakout Sessions, Hands On Labs, Microsoft and Partner Pavilions, Chalk Talks, and Ask the Experts.

A capacity crowd estimated at nearly 7,000 attendees flooded the Partner Pavilion at the first possible moment that the doors opened - leading sponsors to deal with an unusual problem: how to manage the overflow of interested potential customers. One such sponsor, Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Bronze Sponsor of the Launch event, and Windows Server 2008 hosting experts, HostMySite.com, experienced the Partner Pavilion rush firsthand. According to HostMySite.com Vice President of Marketing, Mr. Derek Vaughan, ''The response from the developer community for these new Microsoft products is absolutely overwhelming. The company has obviously hit a huge homerun with the new features and virtualization components of Windows Server 2008. We are honored to be a sponsor of this launch event, and will participate fully in future events as they are announced.''

Microsoft maintains a website devoted to the Windows Server 2008 launch events unfolding throughout the year. To learn more or to attend an event in your local area, please visit: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/default.aspx.

To take advantage of a special trial offer on a Windows 2008 server from Microsoft Gold Certified web hosting company, HostMySite.com, please visit: http://www.hostmysite.com/ws08offers or go to: http://www.HostMySite.com.

HostMySite.com was founded by partners Lou Honick and Neil Heuer in 1997. The foundation of the culture at HostMySite.com is a top-down commitment to complete customer satisfaction. HostMySite.com provides individuals, small businesses, and large corporations with affordable dedicated servers, VPS hosting, and ColdFusion hosting, supported by 24x7x365 live support through toll-free telephone, email, and live online chat.