Simon Crosby, the Chief Technology Officer of the Virtualization and Management Division of Citrix, participates in a recurring podcast with Virtual Strategy Magazine called "10 Minutes to Xen".

Here is a list of the topics discussed in the most recent edition -

You can listen the full podcast here.

I just received a phone report from one of our guys (Robin Brandl) at the Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas.

Any time you shout a bold claim out in the market, you run the risk of getting it thrown back at you. It could happen to any technology company. This time, the bold claim happens to come from Provision Networks. I am not disputing that Provision Networks has a capable VDI solution to offer that works with Microsoft's Hyper-V. But this is a case where being bold some times backfires.

David Kim on our Citrix-Microsoft Relationship team worked closely with Microsoft to get a demo of Citrix XenDesktop built inside the Microsoft booth on the exhibit floor at MMS. This demo shows Citrix XenDesktop working with Hyper-V and the beta of System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SC VMM).

While putting the finishing touches on the demo, the team noticed Provision Networks setting up their own booth and demo nearby. There were signs displayed in the Provision Networks booth that said "VDI for Hyper-V: Only from Quest". Not only that, but Provision Networks was giving away dozens of green t-shirts and buttons that said the same thing.

The Citrix team at the conference got a big laugh the next day while attending the Day 2 Keynote by Brad Anderson, General Manager of the Management and Services Division at Microsoft. (You can watch the keynotes from the Microsoft Management Summit here).

Brad Anderson's keynote included a discussion about virtual desktops. The only VDI solution highlighted in the live virtual desktop demo was Citrix XenDesktop, including the integration the Hyper V and SC VMM. No mention at all of Provision Networks.

(You can read Tim Mangan's great post on BrianMadden.com about each day's keynote at MMS.)

You do not just have to take my obviously biased word for it (Citrix does pay me to work here, believe it or not). There is video proof of this. If you go the to the Day 2 Keynote video, you can watch the live demo that Brad Anderson and Edwin Yuen (Sr. Product Manager for System Center) did at about the 17 minute mark. If you watch the entire 1 hour and ten minute keynote, you will hear Brad Anderson mention Citrix and the "strong partnership" with Microsoft multiple times. Somehow the only "VDI solution that works with Hyper V" was left out.

After the keynote, a Citrix customer came up to Robin and asked if Citrix had t-shirts that said "The Only VDI Solution That Works at a Microsoft Keynote..."

Some may not find this as funny as I did. I don't expect any of our friends at Provision Networks are laughing about it. I am sure they will recover and continue to go after the VDI market aggressively, as will Citrix.

Brian Ehlerthas put together a XenDesktop video that shows XenDesktop with SC VMM and Hyper-V.

Brian wrote a brief blog entry regarding this desktop virtualization video, and has quite a few more covering Hyper-V server virtualization.

See this live and in person in the XenDesktop technical sessions and live demos at Citrix Synergy. You can click here to register for Citrix Synergy.

We now have twelve of the twenty sessions at the Geek Speak BarCamp filled (read background on Geek Speak BarCamp here, here and here).

1. Virtualization Defined - Joe Shonk

2. The Stress of IT - Jim Kenzig

3. Virtualization Oriented Architecture over VDI - Jaymes Davis

4. What is High Availability - Michael Bilancieri

5. Ultra Mobile Gadget Tech - Adam Marano

6. HP Print Drivers in a Citrix Environment - Robert Tuft

7. Citrix WorkFlow Studio Examples - Vishal Ganeriwala

8. Fifteen Years with Citrix - Steve Greenberg

9. Web Interface Internals - Jason Conger

10. Provisioning Best Practices - Pete Downing

11. Performance Matters on the Edge - Tim Mackey

12. Server Virtualization Best Practices - Peter Blum

Geek Speak BarCamp has twelve tech sessions so far to go along with the nine industry experts speaking at GeekSpeak Live. There is also the long list of technical sessions in the iForum and Application Delivery tracks.

We are still working to fill the final eight slots. Please submit your session topic now. You can use the comments in this thread, or you can email me at citrixblogger @citrix.com . You can also IM questions to citrixblogger on MSN, Yahoo and Google Talk.

If you have not yet registered for Synergy, you can click here to to complete your registration. I look forward to seeing you at Synergy and the Geek Speak BarCamp.

Klaus Oestermann,VP of the Application Networking Group at Citrix, did an short interview with Aving.net at INTEROP Las Vegas about the new Citrix NetScaler MPX.
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Check out the NetScaler MPX live demos at Citrix Synergy.

I was just sent this XenDesktop video posted on YouTube from Germany. Much of the text on the video in in German (though Mark Templeton's comments are in English).

See this live and in person in the XenDesktop technical sessions and live demos at Citrix Synergy. You can click here to register for Citrix Synergy.

I have not checked UTipU.com in a while for XenDesktop Tips. A couple of the recent tips from YouTube have been cross posted to UTipU.com in higher resolution versions.

XenDesktop with SC VMM and Hyper V 

 XenDesktop personalization with AppSense

See this live and in person in the XenDesktop technical sessions and live demos at Citrix Synergy. You can click here to register for Citrix Synergy.

We now have fourteen of the twenty sessions at the Geek Speak BarCamp filled (read background on Geek Speak BarCamp here, here and here).

I have put together a tentative schedule of the sessions we have to date. The sessions, title, and schedule could still change, but the overall schedule is coming together.

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We are still working to fill the final six slots. Please submit your session topic now. You can use the comments in this thread, or you can email me at citrixblogger @citrix.com . You can also IM questions to citrixblogger on MSN, Yahoo and Google Talk.

If you have not yet registered for Synergy, you can click here to to complete your registration. I look forward to seeing you at Synergy and the Geek Speak BarCamp.

The March of Dimes Walk for Babies is in full swing. The Citrix office in Silicon Valley and the Citrix Online team have both recently created teams to help the March of Dimes Walk for Babies.

Wes Wasson, our SVP of Marketing, recently spoke at the March of Dimes March for Babies in the Bay Area in Northern California.

I know from personal experience the importance of research into birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. My daughter was born 7 weeks premature after many complications, and weighed about four pounds at birth. She was just about the size of my hand.

Find a March for Babies in your area.

It is time to start taking votes for the best XenDesktop Video Tip. The creators of the top three video tips will receive prizes including an Apple iPod Touch 16 G, an Apple iPod Touch 8 GB, and a Apple iPod Nano.

Here are the XenDesktop Video Tips -

XenDesktop User Experience Comparison

VDI Made as Easy as Pie

XenDesktop User Personalization with AppSense

20 Desktops Delivered in 2 Minutes

XenDesktop with SC VMM and Hyper V

XenDesktop from Germany

Vote below for the best XenDesktop Video TIp -

Which Video Tip is the best?	Choose
XenDesktop User Experience
VDI Made as Easy as Pie
XenDesktop User Personalization with AppSense
20 Desktops Delivered in 2 Minutes
XenDesktop with SC VMM and Hyper V
XenDesktop from Germany

Voting will remain open until next Friday, May 16th.

In my previous post on Geek Speak Bar Camp (May 21st at Citrix Synergy), we had foruteen of the twenty speaking slots filled. As of now, all twenty speaking slots for the first ever Geek Speak BarCamp are filled. (Read background on Geek Speak BarCamp here, here and here).

 
The line up now includes three Citrix Technology Specialists, four consultants, two Escalation Tech Support Engineers, a VDI Specialist from VMWare, four Product Managers, an HP Print Driver Developer and a Senior Architect from a large healthcare company.

I am looking forward to flying to Houston and getting this event started. I think that after seeing this line up and the list of technical sessions in the other tracks, I think you will agree with Shawn Bass when he wrote -

I am still working on juggling the time schedule to meet everyones equipment requirements and time constraints. I expect to finalize by Monday or Tuesday.

If you have not yet registered for Citrix Synergy, you can click here to to complete your registration. I look forward to seeing you at Synergy and the Geek Speak BarCamp.

You still have time to get your vote in for the XenDesktop Video Tips Contest here. As of this posting, there have been almost 200 votes. Currently "VDI Made as EASY as Pie" by Gareth James maintains a slight lead.

The creators of the top three video tips as voted by you will receive prizes including an Apple iPod Touch 16 G, an Apple iPod Touch 8 GB, and a Apple iPod Nano.

The voting is now open for this years Citrix Innovation Award -

The Citrix Innovation Award is for Citrix customers who innovate in utilizing technology to make a significant impact on their business. Ultimately, information technology is about delivering applications to end users so they can perform business transactions. These three nominees have innovated in their use of Citrix technology to cut costs, reduce time to revenue for projects, and to mitigate risk.

Here is the video from Betchel Corporation -

Next up is Cocamar Cooperativa Agroindustrial-

And finally the video for Mutual of Omaha (yes, the Wild Kingdom guys for those who remember that show) -

The judges for this years Citrix Innovation Award are listed below -

How to Vote
You can vote now for the Citrix Innovation award online at http://www.citrix.com/innovationaward. The winner will be named during the keynote session at Citrix Synergy 2008 on Wednesday, May 21st. Citrix Synergy will be held on May 20th to May 23rd at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.

If you have not yet registered for Citrix Synergy, you can click here to to complete your registration. I look forward to seeing you at Synergy..

There is one day left to get your vote in for the XenDesktop Video Tips Contest here. As of this posting, there have been almost 300 votes. The video tip "VDI Made as EASY as Pie" by Gareth Jameshas expanded its lead a bit over the "XenDesktop User Experience" video.

VDI Made as Easy as Pie

XenDesktop User Experience Comparison

The "XenDesktop with SC VMM and Hyper V" video is in third place.

XenDesktop with SC VMM and Hyper V

Check out these great desktop virtualization videos and cast your vote now.

The creators of the top three video tips as voted by you will receive prizes including an Apple iPod Touch 16 G, an Apple iPod Touch 8 GB, and a Apple iPod Nano.

All twenty speaking slots for the first ever Geek Speak BarCamp are filled and the scheduled is locked in tight. (Read background on Geek Speak BarCamp here, here and here). This event happens on the evening of May 21st at Synergy in Houston (in room 360 right after Geek Speak Live).

I have communicated to all the speakers the schedule, and this is now the final one I will post before Citrix Synergy. We have had a few changes (including one speaker dropping due to another commitment) but we have twenty full sessions.

The line up now includes FOUR Citrix Technology Specialists, four consultants, two Escalation Tech Support Engineers, four Product Managers, a HP Print Driver Developer and a Senior Architect from a large healthcare company.

If you have not yet registered for Citrix Synergy, you can click here to to complete your registration. I look forward to seeing you at Synergy and the Geek Speak BarCamp.