I've landed back in ol' Sydney town after 7 days away which included meetings in Los Angeles, Seattle and Vancouver (couldn't say no to the Olympics!) It was an awesome trip and the highlight obviously being in Redmond with the folks from Microsoft. There were lots of beers, lots of banter and plenty of passionate opinion flying around about iPad, Windows Phone 7 Series and other bits. Last night I took time out to have dinner with Martin Smekal, President of TabletKiosk and good friend. We talked a lot of things over and I past on all the feedback you all left me regarding TK. He is in high spirits and takes all your thoughts into consideration constantly.

One surprising email I received was from a friend named Ray Roche. As I sit in my taxi, headed home, passing the Neutral Bay shops and down past Mosman, I was reading my emails and internet bits only to find out that I was awarded as part of the World's "20 most revered commentators on smart mobile devices"! This was cool considering the company I am in (and the fact that I am nowhere near their levcel!).

Here are a few I can recommend you spend time with:

• Steve "Chippy" Paine
• Warner Crocker, GottaBeMobile
• Frank Garcia, Ultra Mobile PC Tips
• JKKMobile
• James Kendrick
• Kevin Tofel
• Matt Miller
• TnkGrl, TnkGrl Mobile

Like I say, I am in great company! For full list of Award Winners go here!

Thanks again for your readership...it means a lot to me. Stay tuned for more and bye for now from the back of my Taxi. I'm almost home and it's 30 degrees (celsius) outside and I can't wait to see my wife and kids!

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!

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.


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.

 
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!
 

What better way to begin this journey than throw up a new post from the back of the taxi headed to the airport. That about sums up my life, my destination and the mobile ecosystem I have created. I am in the back of a Sydney cab (man they drive badly) while headed to the the International Airport. First stop is Los Angeles, where I have meetings with several folks including the President of TabletKiosk, and then onto Seattle to sit in the Redmond Campus (Microsoft HQ) and hopefully do some soul searching - for some Tablet action!

I have been blessed with being awarded the Microsoft MVP award for four years in a row now and this is my third time on the Microsoft Campus for the MVP Summit held annually. The first time I visited Microsoft was awesome and for anyone that has devoted as much energy as I have to Microsoft related technologies these visits almost like a home-coming. It is fun being in the little city that is Microsoft, having acess to the hundreds of buildings, the company store and more. What is most exciting however is rubbing shoulders with the people that write the programs we use daily. I sit mostly with the Tablet PC Team and that is fun. This year I look forward to sitting with the Surface Team too.

Regarding my travel gear it's not very different to what I wrote about last week (or so) ago but ultimately there is one item I wanted to share with you as my best travel weapon...a power-board! HAHAHA! Apart from my Fujitsu T5010, a Viliv X70, 2x iPhones (one for AU SIM and one unlocked for USA SIM) and other bits, it's this item which means the most. Why anyone would look for enough converters, and enough sockets in a hotel room to charge everything geeks take overseas is beyond me. Just take a power-board along! LOL



I will be flying on the Qantas A380 (Business Class thanks to a crap-load of dusty points I just used up) so hopefully next time I speak to you all I will be well fed, well rested and caught up on all my favourite episodes of Grand Designs!!!

The Mobile PC Team in Redmond have sure picked up the pace. While the Tablet MVPs sat there in their office one thing we focused on was opening the doors to the general public. It's no good developing a platform for users if you don't know who your users are. So I guess we can take full credit blame for getting some of these Calendar events placed in your itinerary:

• WEBCAST: Learn to Use SmartDraw, a Business Graphics Application, Monday, April 2, 10:00 A.M. PTWith SmartDraw you can create professional-quality graphics with a Tablet PC running Windows Vista Premium Edition. Get an in-depth look at how SmartDraw incorporates Tablet technology and mobile PC features into its application.
• WEBCAST: Learn to Use Phatware's PenCommander, Monday, April 9, 10:00 A.M. PTPenCommander allows you to use a pen to call up commands that can control your computer, such as editing documents, inserting often repeated text into documents, launching applications, and much more. PenCommander supports Windows Vista Tablet technology.
• WEBCAST: Learn to Use Laplink's PCsynch, Monday, April 16, 10:00 A.M. PTLooking for a way to keep files synchronized between your Ultra-Mobile PC and another PC? Laplink PCsync enables fast, easy, automated file transfer and synchronization between PCs. It was designed to give users of multiple computers—including Windows Vista, XP, and 2000—a secure way to access files and synchronize folders instantly and effortlessly.
• WEBCAST: Learn to Use ArtRage 2 UMPC, a Natural Painting Application, Monday, April 23, 10:00 A.M. PTAmbient Design's ArtRage 2 UMPC has been specifically designed for Ultra-Mobile PCs. It has a redesigned interface and workflow for small form-factor, portable PCs. You can paint and sketch using your whole screen as a canvas, and take your art with you wherever you go.
• WEBCAST: Learn to Use iGuidance, a Navigation Application, Monday, April 30, 10:00 A.M. PTiNav's iGuidance navigation software helps you turn your existing Tablet PC or UMPC into a navigation system. The touch-screen operation and map displays are enhanced for use with Ultra-Mobile PCs.

The problem for me is that I am sitting at the bottom of the planet while mostof you are on top. I know most of you are actually somewhere in the Northern Hemisphere so these events will probably fall nicely in between your work day. I for one will get up for early for SmartDraw, PhatWare and iGuidance.

In other news from Redmond Ultra-Mobile PC Team member Vikram Mada has started blogging about the platform he loves so much. Even more excitingly Vikram used to be an editorial cartoonist and will be illustrating his blog with his artwork.