iPad, TEGA Tablet, Surface and Hunter Valley

iPad (pre-launch 2010 Australia) - about to begin second session

On Thursday afternoon I packed up my bags, my iPad, my TEGA Tablet and a Surface Table….yes, a Surface Table! My direction was north, and my goal was to speak at the AIS conference 2010. This is the third occasion I have been invited to present and on this occasion I had to give two sessions, for the first time, so I had twice the opportunity to make blunders, or on a positive note, had twice the opportunity to impress.

"during" my talk I let all the attendees come up

 and play with Surface

Ultimately the audience is a bunch of well-schooled, well intended, IT managers and professionals. Billed as “The primary event for ICT professionals in independent schools” the event is held in the Hunter Valley, i.e. some of Australia’s most heavenly win country. My talks were scheduled for Friday and without delay I packed, prepared and practiced all my lines. With PowerPoint on my new T900 (with multi-touch) and a plethora of cutting edge devices (totalling a street value of almost $30,000 AUD) it was always going to be entertaining at worst! LOL!

"Inspect A Gadet" LOL!!!

My talks came and went, I had countless questions about the TEGA Tablet, the iPad strengths and weaknesses and even had Microsft staff stay through my first talk and come up after and say they thoroughly enjoyed it (especially the Surface bits). Too cool. I just thought I’d share some images as it was fun to be part of. If I get invited back next year (my fourth year) I better start planning ways to beat this year’s presentations….maybe $100K worth of gadgets!

Next week I'm speaking at the Webciety Conference, CeBIT Australia 2010. Can't wait!!! Tegatech will have a stand their too.

Surface at AIS NSW IT MANAGERS’ CONFERENCE 2010

Update from my Visit to Microsoft in Redmond

Walking back into the Redmond Campus is always an experience worth waiting for. It had been a year since my last visit and while there weren’t many physical differences in the campus (apart from a new building I saw going up) there were a lot of virtual enhancements, including the launch of Windows 7 and now Windows Phone 7 Series. There was definitely a sense of happiness, passion and confidence in the air. People are bright-eyed and looking forward to a great 2010…although in reality it wouldn’t be hard to beat 2009!

Lunch with some Windows Mobile MVPs - excited about Windows Phone 7

I’ve met with several groups of friends and geeks that mean the world to me. It’s funny as I found out I was geek in the 90’s (“came out”) and since then my life has never been the same. The conversations, the jokes and the buzz we get from IT is something unique and being part of that experience on the Microsoft Campus makes it even more special.

Building 85 - where I spent most my Redmond life the last few years

Photo by Stéphane Torres

The last few days has been consumed with meetings relating to my core-competencies, i.e. Tablet PC & Touch. The highlight however for me so far has been my time with the Surface Team. While I can’t share with you "what" we have spoke about (due to all the NDAs I signed to sit in the campus) I can share a photo and link you to Xavier’s video he posted of our time there.If you read French then also visit Stéphane's blog for details on Surface.

Playing in the Surface Building - on a Surface Table

Xavier, Me and Stéphane  (Tablet & Touch MVPs)

 
As you can see from the photo the key feature of Surface is its Multi-User support, a key distinction between Multi-Touch which can be accomplished at a fraction of the cost. When you keep in mind it is multi-User (in fact we got past 60 input points received on the Table that day) then you can  imagine the benefits of this over a traditional Mutli-Touch device. If you want to know more about Surface let me know as I can get you as much information as you like. Here is the video we shot on the day showcasing some of the "cool" bits and highlighting just some of what can be achieved with Surface. Given it's been launched in Australia you are going to be hearing a lot more from me about this!