Today I saw some really cool stuff at WinHEC 2007. WinHEC truly “advances the platform” this year with the platform being Windows Vista and Windows Server. A lot of the announcements that have been made today are about hardware pushing the experience in Windows Vista and Windows Server to the next level. And that is why this year’s WinHEC is really exciting.
During this morning’s keynote – there are a few key announcements worth highlighting. Software and Hardware Partners have been announced for Windows Home Server. Outside the HP MediaSmart Server coming out later this year, companies like Gateway and LaCie have announced plans for Windows Home Server powered devices. This is really cool as these devices will give you the best Windows Home Server experiences. The final name for Windows Server “Longhorn” has been announced today as Windows Server 2008 which Nick has covered here. And Windows home computing gets even better with Windows Rally. I am talking about this one in a later post as this announcement really excites me and deserves a separate post 😉
It is always great to see Bill Gates speak. I was particularly fond of his overview of mobile devices that are coming down the pipe-line. I have found the UMPC to be really interesting especially with the Origami Experience running with Windows Vista. I’m trying to get my hands on one of the new Samsung Q1 Ultra to play with.
Coming to WinHEC isn’t just about watching keynotes or attending sessions. It is also about interacting with your peers in the community. You get to discuss with them the announcements from the keynote as well as the hardware innovation coming out of the show. It provides a huge amount of value, in my opinion, to attending shows like this. I was fortunate enough to have some really interesting discussions with several of Microsoft’s Featured Community members:
- Steve Sinchak – TweakVista.com
- Larry Richman – PROnetworks
- John Obeto – SmallBizVista.com
- Steven Bink – Bink.nu
I also had a chance to meet Rafael Rivera who you might know from Extended64.com.
Later in the evening, the Windows Server Division invited community influencers (such as the Featured Communities) and Press for a Baseball game at Dodger Stadium. It was a fantastic way to finish off the day and discuss today’s announcements and sessions. Special thanks to the Windows Server folks for putting the event on for us.
Overall, it is really exciting to see all this new hardware innovation coming in to take advantage technologies in Windows Vista and Windows Server.
Tomorrow I plan to hit the Expo Hall and a few sessions during the afternoon.