You can look at mobile technology from lots of different angles.

You can start with the brand, the kit or the lifestyle. But this week’s Blog Star comes at it from another perspective, starting with the operating software that brings it all together. Please shout a prolific welcome in the direction of Las Vegas (you’ll see why in a sec) for Paul Thurrott’s Supersite for Windows.

What is it?

Windows Supersite is a news and blog site about all things Windows – from consumer technology to business applications, from the hardware that runs it to the latest news on gaming. It’s prolific, detailed and immensely knowledgeable, and includes some great perspectives on what Windows means for Nokia and vice versa.

Who runs it?

As its name suggests, there’s a guy called Paul Thurrott behind the website. In fact everything is designed, written and maintained by him. He’s certainly no newcomer and has been publishing technology books for users and developers since the 1990s (his Wikipedia page lists 16). He also speaks regularly on technology issues. In fact he’s in Las Vegas right now, sharing his knowledge with technology professionals at IT / Dev Connections.

What we love about it

Windows Supersite is so massive (both in volume and in the range of Windows stuff covered) that it’s a challenge to pick what to highlight here – especially given that it’s all the work of one man. But here goes.

We’ve featured blogs that talk about mobile products in general, not just Nokia. Supersite looks at Windows Mobile as part of the wider Windows world. You can browse the mobile articles alone, but they’re just one part of Windows Supersite. When I wrote about Nokia News last week I quoted Cristian talking about the technology that makes Windows Phone 8 work at such a deep level with Windows desktop. A tour of the other sections on Windows Supersite – Windows, Cloud and others – guided by Paul’s experience, offers a great perspective on how that comes together in practice.

With several in depth articles published every day, there can be a lot of content to digest on Windows Supersite – but Paul’s weekly Short Takes column and two podcasts (one on Windows, the other on technology in general) are a great way to get to grips with the latest developments. Short Takes (which he describes as his “often irreverent look at this week’s other news”) takes you on a whirlwind tour, through Paul’s eyes, of some of the week’s happenings.

Paul occasionally posts What I Use articles in which he talks about which technology products that are fitting into his life at any given time. Given that gadgets are his professional life, you’d be right to think he might carry a few more than most of us – but it’s interesting to see how his needs and expectations change over time, particularly in this special What I Use: On the Road published in April.

What’s its stand out feature?

I don’t generally send you off blog to see a website’s coolest thing – but that’s exactly what I’m doing this week. I mentioned the 16 books on Paul’s Wikipedia page – well now there’s another. It’s called Paul Thurrott’s Windows Phone 8, it’s a massive 665 pages long – and it’s free to download in PDF format from here.

Paul describes it as his “gift to the Windows Phone community” and it’s quite some gift. In short, it contains pretty much everything you need to know as a user about Windows Phone. It’s full of overviews, explanations, tutorials and quick fixes – and plenty of information on Nokia specific use.

While the book is about Windows Phone 8 in general, this line on page 36 wasn’t lost on us: “it’s important for any potential (or existing) Windows Phone user to understand that when it comes to this market, there is Nokia and then there is everything else.”

Now who am I to argue with that?

Hooking up beyond the blog

You can get comfy with Paul on all the usual social media channels – Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Google+ – and seriously, don’t forget to download the book.

Paul is a Windows expert who is doing a lot to highlight the opportunities that the Windows with Nokia mix offers. How do you think they work best together? And what would you like to see them doing together that they don’t already?