Tag: seattle

Happy Birthday Microsoft

Post ImageToday Microsoft rented out Safeco Field in Seattle to hold a company meeting with over 16,000 employees attending. In addition to talking about the incredible list of upcoming products, the company celebrated it’s 30th anniversary:

“As I think about the last 30 years,” said Gates, commenting on the anniversary, “I’m most proud of our making ‘big bets’ on technologies like the graphical user interface or Web services and watching them grow into something people rely on every day. And the long-term research we’re doing today on some of computer science’s toughest challenges – such as helping computers listen, speak, learn and understand – will lead to what I think will be the next wave of growth and innovation for our industry.”

Said Ballmer, “We’re more excited than ever about the opportunities ahead. We have an amazing pipeline of new products we’ll be releasing over the next 18 months. With our 30-year heritage of delivering low-cost, high-volume innovations, we’re in a great position to provide people and organizations with the software and services they need to achieve their potential.”

All of this just days after Microsoft announced a major reorganization. Here’s to another 30 years!

Read: Microsoft PressPass

Seattle Trip Day 5

Post ImageToday was just one of those days. We slept in a little. We didn’t do a whole heck of a lot. And we got some much needed rest and relaxation time. After we did finally get up and check messages, we went to the Pike Place Bagels shop for lunch. Next we decided to just wander around downtown. We went all through the famer’s market, to the original Starbucks, and to a few different local stores.

We ended up walking for quite a while, which killed a good part of the afternoon. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Barnes and Noble to pick up a coule magazines. Once back at the hotel, we did a little reading, and eventually watched Secret Window on HBO. You can totally tell that the movie was written by Stephen King – it was pretty intense! Probably would have been a good one to see on the big screen now that I think of it.

We stopped at Subway for dinner tonight because it was close, and it had gotten quite cold and actually rained a little. Since coming back to the hotel, I’ve just been sitting here reading and listening to music, basically. I don’t remember the last time I sat and watched TV or the last time I just sat and read stuff for a few hours, so it has been nice and comfortable.

Tomorrow we’re heading on a three-hour city tour, so that should be fun. Then in the evening, it’s off to the airport to head home. Check out some photos I took of our Seattle adventures, and from Gnomedex.

Read: My Photos

Seattle Trip Day 3

Post ImageDoesn’t seem like the third day already, but I guess it was, and it went quite well! The conference started today, bright and early at 8:30 AM. We got there a little early (which is abnormal for Dickson and I at conferences) so we were able to get the Podbot up and running. It is definitely the kind of thing where people can’t help but look.

We spent most of our day in the main auditorium, as that’s where all of the sessions were being held. I have never seen so many laptops in a single room before. As a result, the Internet access was virtually non-existent, having been easily overloaded with people uploading and downloading. We drove the Podbot around a little, but couldn’t do too much as the wireless kept cutting out. We only managed to get one thing uploaded at lunch.

In the afternoon I ran into David Geller showing off his Segway, and being the nice guy that he is, letting people give it a try. So, Dickson and I got to try the Segway, and I must say, it was really very cool! It took a few seconds to get used to it, because it seems awkward when you first get on, but once that was overcome, it actually felt quite natural. I was really impressed!

After a quick trip back to the hotel and a bite to eat at McDonalds, it was off to the networking event being held at the Seattle Public Library. The building itself is really beautiful, it was definitely an excellent choice of venue. Tonight was where the Podbot really got to shine! The wireless worked good, and we we ended up recording quite a few episodes. It was neat because we’d record with someone, then we could immediately show them that it was up on the website, and tagged at Podcast Tags. Everything worked smoothly, and it was really quite cool.

In case you’re wondering, the picture for this post is of the Podbot sitting on Robert Scoble‘s red couch. You can see some new Podbot pictures from today here, and you can check out some general pictures Dickson and I took at Gnomedex, including some of us riding the Segway, here.

Read: Pictures