Summary: Microsoft scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks about the morning and afternoon of the second day at TechEd 2014 in Houston, Texas.

Today was an awesome time at the Scripting Guys booth at TechEd 2014. As it turns out, on Monday we talked to over 1,500 people. Today, we talked to another 1,500 people. In fact, all copies of the Desired State Configuration booklet the PowerShell.org people printed up are now gone. That was 3,000 copies. If you missed out, you can download a copy from the PowerShell.org web site. Here are the two who received the last two copies of the DSC book.

We had a lot of questions about DSC, and luckily we had Steven Murawski, Windows PowerShell MVP, on hand this afternoon answering questions. In this picture, Windows PowerShell dev lead,  Nana Lakshmanan is on hand to answer questions. In the background, Steven Murawski is also busy answering questions. As you can, see the crowds were loving our special guests.

As you can see in the next photo, at times the crowds became really busy. People are definitely in love with Windows PowerShell.

One of the fun things to do was to stand around and listen to the Windows PowerShell experts talk amongst themselves. Quite often someone would just stand and listen, soaking up the knowledge like a sponge. Here, Steven, Jason, and Don are talking. Out of camera shot are the people who are listening to this impromptu discussion about DSC.

Our afternoon Expo Hall ended today at 4:00, but there were still people hanging around until nearly 5:00. Our last guest of the day was Hemant Mahawar, a PM on the Windows PowerShell team. He is a really great person—fun to talk to—and he was an immediate hit with our guests.

Sometime during the day, a group from the Krewe came by seeking the Scripting Wife. They had special invitations for a secret party tonight after "Ask the Experts" at a location that has not been revealed to me. Because I am married to the Scripting Wife, I got a free pass, along with the rest of our booth crew.

One guy I talked to today said he is using Windows PowerShell “for everything” because "PowerShell can do anything.”

"Cool," I said.

Others said they have been using it but are wanting to get more experience with Windows PowerShell so it can become a larger part of their strategy. Many said they are looking to implement DSC, and a few are ready to move DSC from test into production. One person I talked to said, “PowerShell is no longer a nice to know skill, but a mission critical and vital skill. Every new hire we make must know Windows PowerShell to even get an interview.”

And, with that, I have to go get ready for Ask the Experts. The doors open at 6:30 tonight, but you will want to get there early because people will begin lining up early, and you want to make sure you get a good seat. The Scripting Guys are partnering with the Windows PowerShell team and with PowerShell.org tonight. I have four tables in the blue zone. Hope to see you there.

Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy