More than 150 Thomas Duryea customers on Friday flocked to the Overseas Passenger Terminal on Sydney harbour to check out what all the Windows 10 fuss was about.
General manager Michael Chanter hosted the proceedings that featured an array of vendor and TD speakers.
Dell Australia executive director Bernard Kelly and Microsoft partner business director Phil Goldie spoke about what the new operating system meant to the channel and business customers.
Thomas Duryea staffers Jarrod Vassallo and Sam Lewis then ran a Windows 10 demo for the audience, which comprised of both technical customers and CIOs.
Kelly told the function that the formerly direct sales vendor had was now "very proud to grow the channel to critical mass" and paid tribute to the partnership with TD.
"Thomas Duryea has reached our highest global partner tier and we're proud to have that extra reach into markets that we never had before," said Kelly.
Kelly assured that Dell's Windows 10 support capabilities were "absolutely ready to go", while pointing out the vendor's sales team that had been let loose on the crowd.
Microsoft's Goldie thanked the "five million people who helped build Windows 10", referring to the Insiders program which has tested the operating system before last week's public release.
The event also featured former navy clearance diver Paul de Gelder as motivational guest speaker. In an absorbing talk, he described the shark attack that led him to lose his right hand and right leg. Then came a warning.
"I am about to show you some pretty graphic pictures, and if you're squeamish then please look away," said de Gelder. "These are photos of my injuries immediately after the incident. So far I have had 23 people faint."
CRN understands six people fainted from seeing the confronting photographs, with medical treatment called in for two of the distressed attendees. No one was adversely affected from de Gelder's presentation at the Melbourne event the previous day.
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