Friday, October 31, 2003
Windows Mobile Tour: NYC
Posted by Janak Parekh in "EVENT" @ 02:00 PM
One of our own Community Moderators, Steven Cedrone, had the opportunity to go visit the Windows Mobile Tour in midtown New York. Read on for his experiences getting there and what he saw once he arrived.
Getting there is half the fun
Well, my trip started off pleasant enough. I drove for about 2 hours from where I work in PA to New Brunswick, NJ. Once there, I parked the car and jumped on a NJ transit train and headed for the Big Apple. Since I had an hour ride I decided to start watching a movie I had brought along with me: Forbidden Planet. I made it about half way through the movie when I arrived in NYC. I realised that I had not yet eaten lunch (and it was now around four o'clock), so I decided to grab a light, nutritious, snack. I found a local entrepreneur, and negotiated the purchase of a "horse meat" ka-bob and a Yoo-Hoo. With food and drink in hand, I started to make my way to Microsoft's offices on 51st Street. About half way there I made my first planned stop: Bryant Park. As some of you may know (and judging from your responses, not too many of you did), I was able to connect to the site while in the park. What I didn't tell you is what happened while in the park. I had just sat down and was inserting my WIFI card into my 2215. A very distinguished looking man came over and struck up a conversation. He was in the park and was going to try the same thing I was doing. Sure enough, he pulled out a 2215 and started to attempt to read his mail. I couldn't seem to connect to the web and when he tried, he couldn't either. After checking our settings we noticed that although the WIFI hot spots had been found, we still had our static IP addresses from our homes listed as the current IP address. Weird: I guess it should be called "almost zero config". Anyway, a quick change to DHCP got us both working in a flash. But then, I ran upon yet another stumbling block: I was redirected to the park web page (where you have to accept a license agreement), but on his screen, he had an "accept" button, on mine, I did not? Well, it turned out that all I needed to do was to change my font size in IE to "smallest". What happened next was classic: I thanked the man for his help and he replied "We Pocket PC Users have to stick together" and then he wished me a good day and walked away. That was it. Never even got his name. Well, by that time it was getting cold, so I decided to grab a hot chocolate and finish walking to Microsoft...
I walked into 1290 Avenue of the Americas, and after dealing with a rather rude security guard, procured my visitors badge and headed up to the Microsoft offices. When I walked in, I was told where to go for the meeting. I walked into the meeting room, and who do you think was working on getting everything set up? You guessed it, it was Dale Coffing!
After saying a quick "hello", I decided not to hassle Dale and let him finish his work. I started talking with yet another Pocket PC enthusiast, Paul Biba. Paul and I talked about all things Pocket PC and GPS related, when Dale suddenly came over. He needed me to "man" the hands-on and raffle tables (to make sure no one decided to make off with anything).
I was only too happy to help out! So, there I was standing guard over all of the goodies, when who should appear? It was none other than my friend from the park! I finally had a name to go with the face, the mysterious stranger was Dr. Richard Bell. He laughed when I told him I couldn't believe he was there. I have to tell you, he has a very impressive assortment of toys (I wish I would have taken a picture of his bag). He ranks right up there with Dale and Jason for sheer number of toys carried while traveling!
The room filled with enthusiasts and the food was served. Soon enough, it was time for "the main event"...
The Event
The presenters were: Erikka Ahn Arone, Vishal Radhakrishnan, and Dale Coffing.
First up: Erikka. Erikka did an overview of the Smartphone. It was great to see the phone in action and to see the apps that were available for it. She had a great "Finding Nemo" theme, what was really funny about it was when you missed a call the picture changed to a pair of fish with their eyes bulging and a bubble announcing the missed call.
Next came Vishal. Vishal talked about the changes in the 2003 version of the OS, he went over the fixes that, although not apparent on the surface, really made the OS the best released to date. The 2002 and 2003 versions of Pocket PC were compared by showing the famous "Mac Parody" and the difference in how the same video looked and played on the two devices.
At this point, we came to the first raffle. Up for grabs: 2 copies of XP professional, and three copies of Streets and trips 2004 (each also came with a student productivity pack). No, I didn't win...
On to the next presentation: Dale. Dale did his great Palm vs. Pocket PC presentation. He found a willing victim, uh, participant, and started to talk about handwriting, input, zooming and by the time he made his fifth point, the Palm user went up to the podium and demanded the return of her device. Dale is a great speaker, and this presentation was very entertaining!!!
Once again, it was time for raffles: this time it was GPS software and Socket WIFI cards! No, I didn't win...
Erikka took the podium again to talk about the Microsoft and AT&T. They partnered to set up a web site that would allow a new Smartphone user to input their telephone number/Password combo and then be able to configure the phone: Themes, content, etc, would all be sent to the phone. It looked like a great idea! After that, Erikka talked about the re-launching of www.windowsmobile.com She seems to be very enthusiastic about it, and her enthusiasm is contagious!
Then we got to see Erikka, Dale and Vishal show off the 2003 version of the Smartphone (very nice looking device), and the XDA II.
Dale also put together a Digital album of the event, which he then showed on a Pocket PC (he was running around the room snapping pictures of people). At this point, it was Q and A time. The Mobile Tour team answered the battery of questions thrown at them (whenever possible).
Finally, the raffle everyone was waiting for: 3 more WIFI cards, a 2215, a 5550, and a Motorola Smartphone! No, I didn't win... But in true ironic fashion, the winner of the Smartphone was a member of the Palm user group that the earlier "willing participant" was a member of...
All in all, a great job by all involved! I had a great time, I recommend to you all, that if you can make it to this event, do it! Even though most people didn't win anything at the event, they didn't walk away empty handed: here are the goodies you get when you walk in to the event...
A nice little USB hub, a stylus/pen combo, a really nice tour T-shirt, some software, and some coupons for your shopping pleasure...
P.S. Yes, I finished watching my movie on the train ride home!
Getting there is half the fun
Well, my trip started off pleasant enough. I drove for about 2 hours from where I work in PA to New Brunswick, NJ. Once there, I parked the car and jumped on a NJ transit train and headed for the Big Apple. Since I had an hour ride I decided to start watching a movie I had brought along with me: Forbidden Planet. I made it about half way through the movie when I arrived in NYC. I realised that I had not yet eaten lunch (and it was now around four o'clock), so I decided to grab a light, nutritious, snack. I found a local entrepreneur, and negotiated the purchase of a "horse meat" ka-bob and a Yoo-Hoo. With food and drink in hand, I started to make my way to Microsoft's offices on 51st Street. About half way there I made my first planned stop: Bryant Park. As some of you may know (and judging from your responses, not too many of you did), I was able to connect to the site while in the park. What I didn't tell you is what happened while in the park. I had just sat down and was inserting my WIFI card into my 2215. A very distinguished looking man came over and struck up a conversation. He was in the park and was going to try the same thing I was doing. Sure enough, he pulled out a 2215 and started to attempt to read his mail. I couldn't seem to connect to the web and when he tried, he couldn't either. After checking our settings we noticed that although the WIFI hot spots had been found, we still had our static IP addresses from our homes listed as the current IP address. Weird: I guess it should be called "almost zero config". Anyway, a quick change to DHCP got us both working in a flash. But then, I ran upon yet another stumbling block: I was redirected to the park web page (where you have to accept a license agreement), but on his screen, he had an "accept" button, on mine, I did not? Well, it turned out that all I needed to do was to change my font size in IE to "smallest". What happened next was classic: I thanked the man for his help and he replied "We Pocket PC Users have to stick together" and then he wished me a good day and walked away. That was it. Never even got his name. Well, by that time it was getting cold, so I decided to grab a hot chocolate and finish walking to Microsoft...
I walked into 1290 Avenue of the Americas, and after dealing with a rather rude security guard, procured my visitors badge and headed up to the Microsoft offices. When I walked in, I was told where to go for the meeting. I walked into the meeting room, and who do you think was working on getting everything set up? You guessed it, it was Dale Coffing!
After saying a quick "hello", I decided not to hassle Dale and let him finish his work. I started talking with yet another Pocket PC enthusiast, Paul Biba. Paul and I talked about all things Pocket PC and GPS related, when Dale suddenly came over. He needed me to "man" the hands-on and raffle tables (to make sure no one decided to make off with anything).
I was only too happy to help out! So, there I was standing guard over all of the goodies, when who should appear? It was none other than my friend from the park! I finally had a name to go with the face, the mysterious stranger was Dr. Richard Bell. He laughed when I told him I couldn't believe he was there. I have to tell you, he has a very impressive assortment of toys (I wish I would have taken a picture of his bag). He ranks right up there with Dale and Jason for sheer number of toys carried while traveling!
The room filled with enthusiasts and the food was served. Soon enough, it was time for "the main event"...
The Event
The presenters were: Erikka Ahn Arone, Vishal Radhakrishnan, and Dale Coffing.
First up: Erikka. Erikka did an overview of the Smartphone. It was great to see the phone in action and to see the apps that were available for it. She had a great "Finding Nemo" theme, what was really funny about it was when you missed a call the picture changed to a pair of fish with their eyes bulging and a bubble announcing the missed call.
Next came Vishal. Vishal talked about the changes in the 2003 version of the OS, he went over the fixes that, although not apparent on the surface, really made the OS the best released to date. The 2002 and 2003 versions of Pocket PC were compared by showing the famous "Mac Parody" and the difference in how the same video looked and played on the two devices.
At this point, we came to the first raffle. Up for grabs: 2 copies of XP professional, and three copies of Streets and trips 2004 (each also came with a student productivity pack). No, I didn't win...
On to the next presentation: Dale. Dale did his great Palm vs. Pocket PC presentation. He found a willing victim, uh, participant, and started to talk about handwriting, input, zooming and by the time he made his fifth point, the Palm user went up to the podium and demanded the return of her device. Dale is a great speaker, and this presentation was very entertaining!!!
Once again, it was time for raffles: this time it was GPS software and Socket WIFI cards! No, I didn't win...
Erikka took the podium again to talk about the Microsoft and AT&T. They partnered to set up a web site that would allow a new Smartphone user to input their telephone number/Password combo and then be able to configure the phone: Themes, content, etc, would all be sent to the phone. It looked like a great idea! After that, Erikka talked about the re-launching of www.windowsmobile.com She seems to be very enthusiastic about it, and her enthusiasm is contagious!
Then we got to see Erikka, Dale and Vishal show off the 2003 version of the Smartphone (very nice looking device), and the XDA II.
Dale also put together a Digital album of the event, which he then showed on a Pocket PC (he was running around the room snapping pictures of people). At this point, it was Q and A time. The Mobile Tour team answered the battery of questions thrown at them (whenever possible).
Finally, the raffle everyone was waiting for: 3 more WIFI cards, a 2215, a 5550, and a Motorola Smartphone! No, I didn't win... But in true ironic fashion, the winner of the Smartphone was a member of the Palm user group that the earlier "willing participant" was a member of...
All in all, a great job by all involved! I had a great time, I recommend to you all, that if you can make it to this event, do it! Even though most people didn't win anything at the event, they didn't walk away empty handed: here are the goodies you get when you walk in to the event...
A nice little USB hub, a stylus/pen combo, a really nice tour T-shirt, some software, and some coupons for your shopping pleasure...
P.S. Yes, I finished watching my movie on the train ride home!
