Tech.Ed Fun Factory 2011: photos

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    In one corner of the conference centre's underground parking lot, Microsoft has brought in a Porsche for attendees to have their picture taken next to.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    If Porsches aren't quite the look attendees were looking for, there's also a Ford in the other corner.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    Attendees squeeze into the go karts after being breathalysed and sitting through a safety talk.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    Some attendees are able to pull out ahead of the pack early.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    After several turns, it's not long before several people are vying for the same position.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    Automotive-related models decorate the cafe-seating area next to the track, although it's not quite clear who the "hg" sponsor is for the blue F1 car.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    The labs, which had their closing time extended to 9pm for those who were disadvantaged by Monday's storage disruptions, were mostly empty during this time.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    Elsewhere in the conference centre, attendees were gathering to test their motor skills.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    Attendees could test their skill on scoring soccer goals in front of a crowd of on-lookers.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    Nearby, basketball skills were challenged with attendees seeing how far they could shoot before missing.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    Attendees also had a chance to let out their frustrations on each other in a Gladiator-style challenge.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    In some cases, attendees may have done well to let their boss win.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    For those wanting to see if they could outpace the competition, attendees were strapped to a bungee cord and challenged to run as far as they could.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    Attendees that wanted a more relaxed evening visited the conference centre's main auditorium, which was converted to suit a night of trivia, comedy and live music performances.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    For the gamers in the community, Microsoft rolled out Star Wars Kinect, which sees attendees use the Force to control elements of the game.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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    (Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

    Keeping general order in the crowd and fitting into the Star Wars theme were several Storm Troopers, although attendees kept telling them they weren't the geeks they were looking for.

    Michael Lee travelled to Tech.Ed 2011 as a guest of Microsoft.

    Caption by: Michael Lee

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Attendees of this year's Microsoft's Tech.Ed conference got together last night to let their hair down at the "Fun Factory" networking evening, which came complete with a private go-karting track, ball sports, gladiator battles and Kinect Star Wars.

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(Credit: Michael Lee/ZDNet Australia)

In one corner of the conference centre's underground parking lot, Microsoft has brought in a Porsche for attendees to have their picture taken next to.

Caption by: Michael Lee

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