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Showing posts from May, 2016

GPUG Amplify Anaheim 2016 - Pre-conference Day 3: Partner Day

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It was a new day, Sunday, May 22 and it was time to register for Amplify. After meeting up with Pam for some brunch, I made my way to the registration area, with signs of the event placed throughout the corridors leading to the registration area. Welcome and Registration banner As it turned out, the Mekorma Hub was also in the process of being setup by the hotel staff. I came across a few of my colleagues at Mekorma, who were in the process of supervising The Hub setup. Mekorma team - Left to right: Ora Goldman, Angel Blum, Eric Karie, Craig Clapman Mekorma Hub being powered up The registration area was just getting warmed up. Earlier, partners had signed up for a number of free training classes and were probably getting ready to swarm the registration desk. I went ahead and claimed my badge and went on tour throughout the different rooms checking to see what was going on. Amplify Registration Desk The first area I visited was the Expo booths, this time, a fa

GPUG Amplify Anaheim 2016 - Pre-conference Day 2

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On this Saturday morning, I got up and went downstairs around 10 AM. Of course, the days started out with a Tall Flat White, by far my favorite Starbucks cup of coffee. After ordering my coffee, I sat in the hotel lobby for an hour or so, trying to catch up on emails and some work. I then went around touring the place and making sure I would find the room where I would be presenting on Monday. Interestingly enough, the ballrooms were reserved for the California - Hawaii Elks Association who were hosting their 98th convention at the hotel from May 15 - May 18 with what I can only assume were "left overs" from that event. This great Association helps children with disabilities since 1950. Most of the members were checking out and the hotel staff was dismantling the ballrooms to quickly turn around and host a wedding. I went back to my room and spent quite the rest of the afternoon sleeping and resting. Around 6 PM, I went down to the nFuse bar and met up with Craig and Pa

GPUG Amplify Anaheim 2016 - Pre-conference Day 1

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I did not want to let the opportunity pass without really transmitting my experiences at GPUG and Microsoft's first major venture after the now defunct Microsoft Convergence, which I attended for several, several years as a presenter. So here is what Amplify 2016 Anaheim  was like for me. I decided to arrive into Anaheim on Friday, May 20 to basically get some rest and stave off jet lag. Although, Atlanta is on the East Coast of the United States and its only 3 hours ahead of the Pacific timezone, you would be surprised at how those 3 hours can throw your system completely off. Upon arriving at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)  from yet another uneventful trip on Delta Airlines , I proceeded to baggage claim to get my luggage. Exiting the airport, I was trying to figure out how I would get to Anaheim. As it turned out, there are a couple of ways: a) your traditional taxi cab, which would cost on or around $120 - $130, b) a shared van service, which can be hired either for

5 Reasons to attend #GPUGAmplify 2016 in Anaheim, California

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If you are not excited about the upcoming #GPUGAmplify conference, here are 5 reasons to attend: 1. It's in Anaheim, California. Yes, the home of Disneyland! Not only is Anaheim a great fun and entertaining place, but they also have an enviable weather, 5-star restaurants and food, and plenty to see. Anaheim's at the outskirts of Los Angeles, for those of us with big city mentality, so if you feel claustrophobic, a quick ride to LA and you will be in a totally different atmosphere. 2. Microsoft Support will be there! Have a chance to inquiry about upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016, or the new HTML5 web client, or even that nagging issue in your environment that you've been dealing with for a while. In addition, those Fargo guys always seem to know where the cool bars are... don't ask! 3. Bob McAdam is busted his butt putting this thing together! We no longer have mama Kim, but we have one dedicated Bob McAdam who is been rallying up all the troops, from p