#VMworld 2016: Las Vegas in 251 Seconds (video) and some personal insights

I started in 2015 to create a short video summary of the Barcelona conference. Since more than 300 people watched the video, I thought: Let’s do it again.

Some personal experiences during the conference (not really technically related – you find the technical related articles here (product updates) and here (IMO on VMware’s strategy):

Once again VMworld was a great event and experience. Las Vegas is a extra-ordinary city. Even though not everyone favours Sin City for this tech event, it is very overwhelming (and to be honest… the lights, the buildings, the crazy people, the shows, the gambling…

I don’t like it…………………I LOVE IT!!!!

David Copperfield still does unbelievable stuff on and out-of his stage. His disappearance-tricks even worked 3 days later when I gave my shirts to the laundry at the Mandalay Bay: They went for good and never came back (That’s what I call a magician).

Have you ever heard about that Murphy guy? He just hit me in best possible moment. I attended VMworld as a blogger and guess what happened: During the General Session, sitting in the blogger-area:

—> Zonk: My Macbook Pro crashed and never went back to normal. It went off every time I unplugged the power-cable and needed 10 minutes to come back to live afterwards (who ever has seen the MacSafe cable knows how easily it happens that you get unplugged). That really decreased my productivity to write the blogs I intended to write during the conference.

Now you think: Hey, how hard can it be to replace the battery of a Macbook pro retina 2013 in a city like Las Vegas?!

I tell you: Very hard… After 30 minutes in the Apple hotline they told me they don’t have a free slot until Saturday…. the local small computer-expert shop was willing to fix/replace the battery within one day…. for ‘four-fifty+tax’….

Four-Fifty = 54, 45, XX ?! -> 450$ + Tax …. yeah …. no thanks …. I better do it on my own:

–> Result: Didn’t work

To summarize all the things up:

• I met so many great people and had fantastic chats & discussions (If you want to meet Powershell/CLI guru LucD in person regularly, watch for the closest smoking area :).
• I had great times, free drinks (while gambling) and been to fantastic clubs (Thanks comdivision for this great 20th anniversary party).
• You can win in Black-Jack and Roulette with the right system (replace system with amount of luck).
• I suck at Dodgeball :-(.
• The best way to fight a jet-lag is to party and gamble through the night until your plane leaves.
• Fallout Boy still rocks !!!! I need to get the new songs of them.
• Driving with 120KM/H (SI-UNIT!) on a circle race-track is NOT RACING.
• Bus driving can be a lot of fun (especially when ‘the front row sucks’ and a song you started ends up in an argue/a fight about the SI vs imperial units).
• The Mandalay Bay elevator song was so annoying (and is still in my head). !!1DEDEDEEDEDEEEDEEEDEDEE!!11!
• Rawlinson aka PunchingClouds is even crazier than his reputation :D.
• It was a great experience listening to Pat Gelsinger in a smaller round at the vExpert reception.
• I met so many great people and had fantastic chats & discussions (I need to repeat that multiple times). IMO those are the things that really makes you smarter (technological & cultural).

Once again VMworld was a fantastic event (even though it was brutally stressful) that really extended my horizon in multiple ways (personal and professional). I am really looking forward to the Barcelona event. If anyone has a ticket over or want to sponsor me. Feel free to contact ;-)