By Andre Da Costa

I arrived in New York City January 28^th, as part of the ActiveWin.com Team for two days of activities concerning the launch of Microsoft’s latest desktop operating system, Windows Vista which has been in testing and development for the past couple of years. The first day’s activity was the launch event which took place at the KODAK Theatre. I along with a few other attendee’s such as Terri Stratton, Michael Reyes, Ryan Hoffman and Brandon Leblanc had to wait outside for a while before receiving badges to enter the conference. My home island of Jamaica has received a renewed level of respect for its tropical climate, the cold was brutal at times, but I managed to muster the strength and fight through it. Eventually, I got into the event with people from other press houses and around the world buzzing with excitement to see Microsoft finally launch the anticipated new generation of software.

Microsoft employee’s were on hand to provide demos of Windows Vista including hardware designed to work with the new OS from both Microsoft and third-party vendors. It was really cool to interact with some of the new devices and software up close. I saw a huge wide screen plasma display showcasing some of Media Center and Vista’s rich visuals. Also displayed were various Windows Media based MP3 players including the recently released Zune which features an awesome interface for playing videos and viewing photos. The navigation controls are very straightforward and works well with Windows Vista and XP. Other noticeable hardware on display include Microsoft’s Wireless Desktop 8000 which cost $250 and includes a cool media center based keyboard with built in navigation controls including quick access buttons. The wireless mouse is also rechargeable, since the keyboard includes a docking station just for it.

After browsing around, I was escorted into the theatre by a Microsoft employee (who bought us some hot chocolate earlier when we were freezing in the cold, thank you). There we watched an innovative live band use laundry basins and buckets to create music along with the assistance of a DJ. The band also invited the crowd to participate throughout their performance. The next band sang the opening song “What A Wonder World” originally done by Louis Armstrong before outgoing Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect (Bill Gates) came on stage. The band was a bit too loud for my ears, but were really on cue with the background opening graphics, which showed various features of Vista. After that, technicians immediately removed the bands instruments and Bill Gates was welcomed and introduced on stage.

Bill, started by talking about the company’s commitment 24 years ago to graphical interfaces in New York, then went into the new capabilities of Windows Vista which focus on Ease of Use, Security, Productivity, Communication and Entertainment. The Microsoft Chairman also spoke about the Company’s latest version of the Office productivity suite, which features a radical departure from prior versions with its “Office Fluent” UI, which includes a combination of Tabs and galleries that make up the interface. After the introduction, Bill introduced a Microsoft employee to demo some of the new features of Windows Vista and Office 2007. Demoed were some of the consumer focused features of Vista such as editing photos with light hearted tools for fixing, contrast, red eye and colour adjustment. Mentioned were Photo Gallery’s integrated DVD burning capability with support for DVD themes and chapters along with a Home Movie created with the new software just to show how easy it was with the new OS.

He then went on to show more of the workflow capabilities by opening up Word 2007 to create a family News Letter and organize images and text to create a professional look that you expect would only be possible with high-end applications such as Quark Xpress or Adobe’s Indesign. Next he went onto show some of Office’s powerful features such as contextual menus that only appear and display relevant features when an item is selected within the document. After all of that, a demo of “he” and his son playing a game in different time zones between an XBOX 360 and Windows Vista PC was shown, I thought that was very cool and showed the power between Microsoft’s integration strategy when it comes to software and hardware. He concluded by showing one of Vista’s new user experience capabilities that are only exclusive to Windows Vista Ultimate customers. Called Windows DreamScene, the idea is to make static wallpaper into a looped video based background for the Windows desktop. I was a bit reluctant about this new feature, which I thought would be a memory hog, but after seeing it hands on, it’s a really cool and performs very well without hogging resources. The grass swaying in the sunset DreamScene is just beautiful, included are a number of nature based and techy looking DreamScene’s, you can even pause the animation and turn it into a static background if you like. It’s very innovative and makes it hard to tell that it’s a loop.  A very rich and dynamic experience, this will definitely entice a lot of folks to choose this edition with their next PC purchase.

Steve Ballmer was next on stage; he talked about the broad availability of the software which began that day. He also talked about the OEM partners who are also pivotal to the success of the software and how the Company is working closely to see Vista reach a wide audience. The Company also plans to have the OS available in 99 languages by the end of year which is just mind boggling. Steve then welcomed on stage a group of OEM’s and hardware partners to receive the first original copies of Windows Vista and Office 2007. Some of the Companies included Dell, Intel, AMD and Toshiba. A segment was then played showing testimonials from families who participated in the Windows Vista Technical Beta and gave feedback that made it into the product. One lucky family was invited to the event to help launch the product worldwide after which, a video showed people from around the world in different countries celebrating and embracing the launch of Windows Vista.

Bill Gates ended by thanking the many Microsoft employees, beta testers and partners who helped to make these releases possible. The show ended with “Loud Band”, after which I walked out to see what else was going on and mingle with people who came. Of course, the food was flowing tremendously; at every corner there was either food, or somebody wanting to serve you food. I got to meet a few popular technology columnist and Windows Enthusiast whose blogs and websites I have been reading for years. These included Paul Thurrott, Mary Jo Foley and Jim Lauderback. After the chit-chat I saw a long line, Microsoft was handing out SWAG duffel bags with goodies inside, which included a Windows Vista Launch Kit, complimentary copies of Windows Vista Ultimate, Office 2007, XBOX 360/PC game controller and a couple Games for Windows titles which included Star Wars II Lego and Flight Simulator X (10) Deluxe edition. Thanks!

Day 2 events took place at Best Buy in Manhattan, Steve Ballmer came along with Cassidy Mason and family from Arizona, to give the press a personal demo of the software and how it helps in her daily life, such as recording TV shows with Media Center and viewing them at a later time. The two talked a while at times Ballmer asked her about her favourite features. Ballmer then thanked Cassidy and family for coming to New York and asked if they went sightseeing. Steve then went on to talk about the release of Vista and spoke to the Best Buy Employee’s and rallied them behind 60,000 strong force that have been trained to help customers with the new OS. Best Buy’s CEO Brad Anderson was there to help celebrate and launch the release. New machines were on sale throughout the Computer section of the store with only a couple running XP, and two iMac Core 2 Duo’s. Shelves were packed with the latest versions of Windows and Office, ready to be bought by customers. The sweet spot for many buyers seems to be Home Premium, which includes Media Center, Windows AERO and Tablet PC support.

This was a great experience for me, getting the chance to be at the launch event and seeing both Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer in action. New York is an exciting place and I can understand why Microsoft decided to launch Vista here. Coming to my first launch event will leave a lasting impression on me, and I just would like to thank all the people who help to make it possible. Terri Stratton (tabletpc.net), Nick White (Windows Vista Team Blog) and Robert Stein (ActiveWin) for making this trip a reality and a smooth one. I appreciate all your hardwork and time to get me to witness a product I have been testing since July 29th 2005 go out to the masses. The social experience has been amazing, like I said earlier, getting to meet the people behind the blogs and websites I read every day was very surreal and humbling. It was really nice to finally meet Stephen Bink and fiance, Sandro, Michael, Brandon, Ryan and Mary Jo, thank you for your great friendships and warm hospitality, all of you ROCK.

Best Buy Launch, 44th at 5th Av, New York, January 30th

      

 

Windows Vista Launch, Nokia Theater, New York, January 29th

Press/VIP Luncheon, Cipriani's, New York, January 29th (Ballmer, AMD, Intel, Dell, HP, Toshiba CEOs)