SQLBits II - The SQL

We have ben informed of some building work around the conference centre which will affect the parking available.

For details of parking please go to the Travel Pages on the site.

The conference is on the weekend so you are allowed to park on the campus.

We have already had 230 people register for SQLBits, whilst we have more room than last time we are still limited.

To avoid disappointment make sure that you register soon.

If you have registered make sure you have confirmed your registration by clicking on the link in the email you were sent.

If you are planning on coming along to SQLBits on 1st March in Birmingham then why not have your say into what sessions we have.

The sessions that have been submitted are now on the web site http://www.sqlbits.com/information/PublicSessions.aspx.

 In order to vote you need to register on the site

We really want more speakers from the community for SQLBits 2008 (www.sqlbits.com).

If you want to present a session in March then let us know, you have until the end of this week. We will be opening the voting in the New Year. 

To submit a session send an email to sessions@sqlbits.com with the following details,

• Name
• Company Name
• Bio ~ 200 words
• Contact Email
• Contact Mobile
• Where you live if not in the UK
• Track for your session (BI, Dev, DBA)
• Session Title
• Session Abstract
• Level of session (100 introduction - 400 in depth)

If you want to see examples of what was submitted last time have a look at http://www.sqlbits.com/Events/SQLBits_October_2007/PublicSessions.aspx

Yes we're doing it again. SQLBits (www.sqlbits.com) will be back on the 1st March at The Lakeside Conference Centre in Birmingham.

Its a bigger venue than TVP so we shouldbe able to let more people attend.

Registrations aren't open yet but if you register on the site we will let you now when it does open.

In the meantime if you want to submit a session then please do so following the instructions here.

http://www.sqlbits.com/information/SessionSubmission.aspx

You may have noticed a guy chatting with people in quiet corners at SQLBits. The guy was craig murphy and he was doing interviews throught out the day. The podcasts of the interviews are now available on Craigs blog.

http://www.craigmurphy.com/blog/?p=750

If you went to SQLBits and saw Dave's session you will undoubtedly be smiling at this point.

Daves session was by far the most popular but if you didn't get to go to SQLBits or didn't get to Dave's session then all is not lost. Craig Murphy managed to video the session and has put it online.

So enjoy the wonder fo Daves Top 10 SQL Keywords.

The sessions from the SQLBits conference on the 6th are now on the site. See the home page for details. www.sqlbits.com

Thank you for all the feedback you have given it is really good and constructive, I hope we can address some of those points that you raised and make the next one even better.

We sent out the book vouchers on Sunday night from contactus@sqlbits.com We have managed to be able to extend the offer to include postage and packaging so you won't have to pay a penny.

Some people with quicktime installed had some problems, which should have been resolved. If you have any further problems or don't get an voucher when you expected one then let us know using the email above.

Its now sunday evening and SQLBits finished just over 24hrs ago. We had 321 delegates turn up and have some fantastic feedback. Not everything went perfectly but the feedback we have had has been great and so the next on should be even better.

Yes the next one, we will be having more of these so keep posted for news later on in the year.

If you are wondering about the session slides and demos they will be on the site next week. The book vouchers should be sent out this week.

Not long to go until the first SQLBits. We've spent some time sorting out the giveaways and there is a lot. In addition the sponsors have some great stuff to give away from Ipods to XBoxs.

The SQLBits Final Agenda is now live on the SQLBits site. www.sqlbits.com/information/agenda.aspx and can be downloaded here www.sqlbits.com/information/agenda.pdf

Why you would want to un register is beyond me but some people have asked.

As the main registration is being handled by Microsoft Events you need to contact them to unregister.

You can email microsoft2@delegate.com or phone 0870 166 6680 referencing the event id 1032349295

If you can't come then please unregister so those waiting can come.

The agenda for SQLBits is now live at http://www.sqlbits.com/information/Agenda.aspx.

There is also more information on the Group By http://www.sqlbits.com/information/GroupBy.aspx. This is being sponsored by Solid Quality Mentors. We have hired a bowling alley in Reading so it should be a good laugh, we'll have some prizes for best score, worst score etc. If you have registered for SQLBits can you please update whether you are coming to the Group By as we need to know numbers ASAP.

There is also a travel section http://www.sqlbits.com/information/Travel.aspx which provides details of addresses and also coaches from and to the train station. Redgate are kindly sponsoring these coaches which will also be available in the evening to go to the Group By. The times for the coaches are on the travel page, spaces are limited to the numbers that said they were coming by train.

The travel page also include details of hotels as I am sure some of you want to stay over in Reading on the Saturday night.

Idera have also agreed to become platinum sponsors. They will be providing each attendee with something special. We'll tell you more on the day.

Can I please remind you that if you cannot come please unregister with Microsoft events. We have a wait list of people that want to come along and can only do so f those that are not going to come unregister.

SQLBits is now full, Yippee.

If you want to register then you will be put on a waitlist as people unregister you will be notified if you come off the wait list.

If you have registered and cannot come, please please, unregister. We have a fixed number we can allow in on the day and if you registered and don't turn up it means someone else will have missed out. So make sure you un-register if you are not able to come.

We will be running more of these next year, there are 10s of thousands of database professionals in the UK and we only have limited space at these events, so not everyone can attend.

In order to get the best attendance in the future we will be reviewing the attendee and registration list after this event, anyone registered that does not attend may find it impacts their future attendance at these events.