Last weekend I had the opportunity to be part of a small group of tech bloggers invited to attend several Windows 7 launch events in New York and Washington DC. I wasn’t totally clear on exactly what we would be doing on this trip before going, but I figured no matter what, it would be fun and the food would be good. I was right…

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A little bit later this morning I’ll be on a plane, headed north for a whirlwind round of Windows 7 launch activities in NYC and Washington DC as Microsoft’s and HP’s guest.

Wayne and Dan will be on their way into NYC as well, to attend Engadget Live, as the show engages in a “frank and unscripted one-on-one conversation” with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

We’ll meet up later in the evening for dinner, and I’m sure that we’ll have plenty to share. Be sure to check Wayne and Dan’s twitter streams for updates throughout the day, as well as mine tonight and over the weekend; it should be fun!

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In August 1969, Ken Thompson wrote the first version of an Operating System that would be called UNIX; it’s hard to believe it’s been that long.  Since UNIX is the inspiration for  Linux and the GNU utilities, Ohio LinuxFest chose to celebrate 40 years of UNIX.  What a long way we have come.

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With the arrival of Autumn it is once again time for the great State Fair of Texas and one of the world’s largest auto shows. Gate attendance each year at the fair reaches more than three million over its three-week run, with estimates that at least 75 percent of attendees visit some portion of the auto show.

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I’m at the annual Blogger’s Day at gaming publisher Electronic Arts (MySims, Madden NFL 10, Need for Speed, The Beatles RockBand) in Redwoood City California where I’ll join another dozen writers in touring the EA campus, playing games, sitting on our asses, playing games and finally buying a bunch of games at the EA store. When we get tired we’ll sit down to eat pizza and play some more games. In between all that strenous activity EA gives an update and demo on what games are in their pipeline and we also tour the campus and get to look at all sorts of really cool old gaming machines and reminisce about how great the game pong seemed when it first came out.

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At this point it is a familiar dance.

The first rumors come out some months prior to the event.
My rumors come forth in the name of some nameless “high-level” informant.
Initial rumors are squashed and replaced by new ones.
Fuzzy images are released and their authenticity debated.
Rumor rumblings get louder and louder.
Odds are placed on what we will and won’t see.
Certain “journalists” call one thing or another a “lock”.
The event happens. The truth is known.

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That Toyota is at it again.

The Japanese automaker has once again chosen the State Fair of Texas auto venue for a world debut.

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The first rumor was that Apple had previously  said it planned to attend and be displaying at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show.

Then they’d changed their tune and are only saying they “may” be there.

Several publications, including the Wall Street Journal, have hinted that Steve Jobs may give the keynote address at CES in 2010 if they do.

This would be one heck of a story but is it true? Continue Reading

Approximately 3000 people, including the author, attended an open casting call in East Hanover, NJ for the daytime edition of “Deal or No Deal”

Given the state of the world these days, sometimes one just has to venture outside their own comfort zone to try to get ahead.  Case in point: I started writing this piece while waiting on line at an open casting call for the morning edition of “Deal or No Deal” (because, to borrow from the New York State Lottery commercials – “Hey, you never know”).

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This morning at CTIA, HTC announced the all new Windows Standard Phone, the HTC Snap (US version is the S522). This is the true successor to the very popular HTC Dash and sports some impressive specifications, a sleek new look and a pretty darn cool story behind it.

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On February 18th and 19th, I was part of a group of mostly female bloggers who were brought to New York to meet Vivienne Tam and learn more about the HP / Vivienne Tam Mini Note collaboration.

Our first day consisted of a whirlwind New York City tour…

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Today has been a long day starting with the early morning wakeup, drive to San Angelo, and then flights to Dallas and then to New York. The reason for all the fuss is that I am one of approximately twenty bloggers who have been invited to attend several Vivienne Tam events happening during New York’s Fashion Week. Obviously this is all tied in with the HP Vivienne Tam Mini Note that I have been sporting lately.

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One of the best parts about attending trade shows and conventions as press, is the personal access we are given to products and their manufacturers. Being able to spend a bit of one-on-one time with the people behind the scenes allows us to better understand the products, as well as the vision of the companies behind them.

Unfortunately, one-on-one time comes at a huge premium – not only to the companies trying to schedule the meetings, but also to the writers who are rushing from meeting to meeting, trying to cram as much face time into their schedules as is humanly possible.

One of the more popular formats for maximizing exposure between press and presenters are “showcase events” such as Digital Experience and Showstoppers, events where a group of companies are organized by a promoter or PR company, so that the press can see the products and hopefully get a moment or two to speak to the company representatives present.

I have attended a fair share of these events over the years, and one thing that they all have in common is that they are always packed; even though the people attending are a mere fraction of those on the floor at the LVCC or Sands, it is still completely crowded and hectic. Trying to get any quality time with a company rep that you’ve established a past relationship with, much less meeting one that you are trying to establish a new relationship with, is at best – hit or miss.

The alternative and something most of us do, is schedule multiple days of one-on-one meetings. These are usually held in hotel suites, on the convention center floor, or in other leased locales. Relying on CES bus transportation, cabs, and the monorail to get to these meetings on time can be tricky and expensive, especially since we are competing with hundreds of others also trying to get to their own destinations. On the flip side, these meetings are held by company representatives who are repeating the same spiel multiple times a day to single attendees at a time, and as a result, they are most likely repeatedly answering the same questions. In other words, for every benefit associated with meeting one-on-one, there are just as many negatives for both sides.

This year I attended CNTRSTG, an event that was founded by Mike Temporale, Steven Hughes, Erik Hicks, and Johan van Mierlo. The guys running the show all have blogging backgrounds, and they understand very well the downsides to such a huge event as CES…

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One of the odder – and yet possibly more useful – things that I saw at Digital Experience was a product which might just enable my plants to tell me exactly what’s wrong when they aren’t thriving. Unfortunately, this can be a common occurrence.

Called the EasyBloom, it might be easy to mistake this cartoonish plastic flower as an oversize hors d’œuvre pick, but what it is instead is a sophisticated tool that will allow plants to communicate their needs.

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One of the CES events that I always try to attend is Pepcom’s Digital Experience, a showcase where manufacturers set up tables and small booths so that invitees -  editorial press and analysts only – can attend for a slightly less hectic experience than that on the CES convention floor. It’s a great way to see neat new products without having to battle the exhaustive floor plan of the LVCC North Hall, Center Hall, South Hall, Hilton, Venetian, and Sands Expo. Hmmm…I might have even left out some of the places that CES events occur. Anyway! It would be impossible for anyone to try to see everything at CES, mainly because it is so spread out; in that regard, these smaller shows are helpful.

This year’s Digital Experience had an interesting line-up of products, some from familiar companies as well as a few newcomers. One of the more interesting items being shown was the LG Watch Phone. This watch appears to be the love-child of the Dick Tracy watch and something from Q’s lab.

all photos by Kevin

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