Steve Ballmer

Thursday is shaping up as a major day for technology at the University of Washington, and across the rest of the city, for that matter.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will be speaking on the subject of cloud computing at 10 a.m. Thursday at the UW's computer science department -- in the Microsoft Atrium of the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering, to be precise. The event was announced this morning.

Later in the day, at 12:30 p.m., the U.S. chief information officer, Vivek Kundra, will also be at the UW, speaking at Student Union Building/HUB Room 108.

Microsoft says the Ballmer speech is unrelated to Kundra's appearance, but in any event, it's turning out to be quite the double-header. Microsoft will also be bringing along one of its portable data centers in a cargo container for people to check out.

Both events are free and open to the public, but you'll need to register for the Kundra speech, and there's currently a waiting list. TechFlash will be attending and reporting on both, so check back for coverage.

Kundra is also expected to attend the WTIA Industry Achievement Awards, scheduled for Thursday evening. We'll be there, as well.

The other big event for geeks on Thursday evening is Ignite Seattle 9, at the King Cat Theatre. Doors open at 7:00 p.m., talks start at 8:30 p.m., and there's an entry fee of $5 this time. See the lineup of speakers, and also see our recent Q&A with Ignite's Brady Forrest.