I did a blog post highlighting about three weeks ago highlighting what the bloggers had written (or videos they had done) but there were a few more since so I wanted to round out what I've seen and close the book on HP Discover Frankfurt.   Here's what I've found since that last post:

One of my HP Discover traditions is to feature the blog posts by our guest bloggers.  Given the late nights we had in Frankfurt, I'm kind of shocked that any one had blogs during the event (note to self - don't take the bloggers out for German beer and stay until the place closes if you want them fresh the next morning). 

Bloggers' blog posts

I hope I don't leave any out but here are links to the blog posts I've seen so far: (see the full post for the links to the blog posts)

I like to do a blog post calling out the independent bloggers we bring to an event, whether is a smaller event like an HP Tech Day or a big event like HP Discover.  With HP Discover starting next week, I want to do that again and encourage you to:

1. Follow them on Twitter (and if you're not on Twitter, what are you waiting for)?
2. Read their blogs to get their take on what they see and hear at HP Discover.

To see the list of the bloggers coming, read the blog post.

Keeping up with storage!

As we continue to get ready for HP Discover (yes, I'm just a little excited about it!), you can stay in touch with what is happening at our special hp.com storage announcement page.  You can also register for our announcement webcast by clicking on the "Mark your calendar" graphic.

One of the things I like to do when we've hosted bloggers at an HP event is to do a blog post pointing to the blogs and videos they've done.  While many of our bloggers are out enjoying the closing party at HP Discover, I thought I'd better get that blog post written.  So here's what I've seen so far:

Recently my colleague - and VMware PEX unofficial official Tweetup co-host - Eric Siebert hosted a vote on his website vSphere-land.com looking for the top VMware-focused blogs.  He's held the public vote for 3 years on his site.  If you're a VMware administrator or enthusiast, you'll find a treasure trove of VMware tips, tricks, detailed discussions, best practices and a lot more from the best VMware bloggers out there.  Here's a link to his VMware top blog 2012 results post.  

Yes, I made the list! 

ATSB landed at number 33. It's my first time being voted a top VMware blog and along with being named a VMware vExpert last year, they're both honors I'm humble and proud of - can I be humbled and proud at the same time?  I just submitted my application for the 2012 vExpert program and am hoping I'm selected again.

HP started in data protection 30 years ago, first customer was IBM! We started later than competitors, which can be good because you get a better perspective. HP focused on three attributes:

• Data deduplication
• Sparse Index; ie, the ability to store a small portion of cache in memory. Gave the capability to scale the product
• A common deduplication engine across virtual machines, hardware, and software

We just started our HP Tech Day and thanks to Jeffery Powers (@geekazine, www.geekazine.com) we are streaming live.  Here's a rough schedule of what we'll be doing but I'd suggest watching Twitter and our event hashtag #HPTechDay to know when we're streaming.

• Now! Converged Storage introduction - Craig Nunes
• Directly following Craig's session we'll talk about the HP LeftHand portfolio with product manager Brad Katz.  We'll be off the air after Brad's session.
• ~ 10:45 AM MST HP StoreOnce Backup System with Matt Jacoby and Steve Johnson
• ~ 12:00 PM HP 3PAR overview with Jim (JR) Richardson.  The bloggers will be doing a hands on lab and taking a tour of our lab in Ft. Collins so we'll be off the air after JR's session.
• ~ 4:00 PM MST HP's file based portfolio (including HP IBRIX and the newly announced X5000)

So with that - there's the URL to Jeffery's live stream: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/geekazine

Next week in Ft. Collins, Colorado, we'll gather with around 11 independent bloggers to do another HP Storage Tech Day.  It's been a while since I've done a storage focused Tech Day and I'm looking forward to it.  Over the two days, the bloggers coming will hear about Converged Storage and other related storage topics.  I'm working with our technical marketing team to have a couple of "hands-on-labs" so the bloggers can see HP LeftHand and HP 3PAR in action. 

I noticed a tweet or two this morning that mentioned my name in the same breath as "the top 50 IT blogs" and suddenly I was flooded with congratulations from a number of my followers on Twitter.  What started all this talk was an article by Biztechmagazine.com where they listed their "50 must-read IT Blogs from BizTech".