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If you’re going to attend a professional conference, you’ll want to get the most out of your experience. Conferences can be daunting events, and it can hard to navigate them most efficiently. You’ll put a lot into planning for and traveling to the conference. And once you’re there, you’ll be engrossed in a world of presentations, free merchandise, and other people in suits handing you business cards. There will be seemingly endless speakers and slideshows to consider, as well as the all-important question, what are you going to do at night? If you’re attending a professional conference, here are some suggestions that will help you get the most out of your time.

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Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference used to be a series of conferences held in various places around the world that showcased the work its global divisions did on behalf of the US-based tech giant. It has since unified its conference into just one large event, held in one area Microsoft serves and operates in, on a yearly basis in the middle of the summer. It was held in Toronto in 2004, and will be again next year. And perhaps that's Microsoft's way of apologizing to the city for fleeing its early-decade SARS outbreak -- or thanking it for uniting many conferences into just one event.

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So lets face it, you're a nerd and you're going to die just like the rest of us. Perhaps you wanna have a little bit of fun before you pass? You sure better live these six ideas before you croak.

6: Play real life Dungeons and Dragons

You heard it right, nerds all over the world and dressing up and meeting in the parks to play. They are bringing their fantasy characters to life. They're casting magic on others and battling just as they do in the fantasy dice game. They create their own swords and armor and even fall to the ground when hit! Could you really ask yourself if you're ready to die if you haven't ventured out and brought your fantasy character to real-life? I didn't think so....

The annual Consumer Electronics Shows gets all the attention but if you really want to put your finger on the pulse of the media world you need to head to South by Southwest.

For the past two dozen years some of the world’s most tech savvy people in music, film and development--idea people, every one- have gathered in Austin, Texas to talk shop. They have brought their notebooks, shared ideas, envisioned new devices and new ways to make and store and create the things we love today.