Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corporation today announced the Ready 2 Rock Road Show, a series of day-long, hands-on events designed to prepare the system builder channel to make the most of the myriad business opportunities offered by new and innovative products and technologies from Microsoft and Intel. The road show, to be held in 23 cities across the U.S. and Canada, is designed to help system builders be more competitive in the marketplace by providing the training and technical content they need to build and sell customized solutions based on the most powerful Intel� Core� 2 Duo processors, the Microsoft� Windows Vista� operating system, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, and Intel and Microsoft server products. (Office server products are included in the 2007 Microsoft Office system.)

In a single day, attendees will receive technical readiness training on new Intel and Microsoft products, including Windows Vista, Intel Core 2 Duo processors, Intel vPro� technology, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, and Intel and Microsoft server products. They will also receive instruction on the unique features and benefits of each edition of Windows Vista, learn how to advise business and consumer customers on which edition of Windows Vista will best meet their needs, and have the opportunity to build a Windows Vista system on a Verified by Intel mobile platform. Attendees will also be taught how to use Intel vPro technology to deliver service value to their business clients and how Intel Core 2 Duo processor-based PCs deliver rich, new computing experiences. In addition, they will be given information about Intel and Microsoft system builder channel programs, marketing and sales tools; and a variety of alliance vendors offering complementary products will be available in the Showcase portion of the event.