UPDATE: Build Conference Sold Out
It appears that Microsoft's upcoming Build conference in San Francisco is sold out -- again. But this time for real. This follows on the heels of a "technical error" on the Build Web site yesterday that mistakenly told developers that registration had filled up in about three hours.
Last year, Build sold out in about an hour. Many developers were stunned, and there was more than a little unhappiness that every slot was taken before some folks got back from lunch. Part of the reason is that the 2012 event was held at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash. This year, the event's being held at San Francisco's Moscone Center, a much, much larger venue.
Build will take place June 26 - June 28. Microsoft, as is typical for this event, has released very few details. However, I was fortunate enough to land an exclusive interview at our Visual Studio Live! conference last week with Steven Guggenheimer, who made the announcement on a blog. He was giving a keynote the same day, and agreed to speak with me on-camera.
Guggenheimer said Microsoft was "excited to have a space where more people could join us." He didn't go into details at that time, but did add that there might be "updates across a range of our platforms," and it could involve Windows products and Visual Studio. (Guggenheimer didn't say there would be definite announcements around those products, only that there could be.)
Certainly, speculation will revolve around what Microsoft will announce about "Windows Blue", the codename for the next version of Windows 8. Earlier today, Mary Jo Foley, who covers Microsoft and is a columnist for Redmond magazine, quoted a source as saying that Windows Blue will be officially named Windows 8.1 when released later this summer.
Given how quickly previous Build shows have sold out, it would be wise for developers to sign up as soon as possible. As Guggenheimer told me last week, "Even with Moscone, I'm pretty sure we'll sell out pretty quick."
The Build Web site is here.
Posted by Keith Ward on 04/04/2013