Life on the Blue Carpet

Coach to India - The only way to go

2009-12-09T08:24:00.001-05:00

The first thing that always comes to my mind when discussing the chance of traveling to India is Seinfeld’s episode titled “The Betrayal” in which they travel for a wedding in India and Jerry replies to George on his experience so far of the flight with the title that I used for this post. I had different opportunities to travel to India on business but I was always able to avoid it and have someone else go or meetings just got cancelled, but this time I had no choice and had to get on a plane to Bangalore.

The first thing I had to figure out was the best (shortest and quickest) way to get to Bangalore. The first choice was obviously Continental or one of its Star Alliance partners, but all the options there included 3-4 legs from RDU and different stops either in USA (to connect to a US hub), Europe and even Delhi or Mumbai since almost no one flies directly to Bangalore. Then I came across a direct British Airways flight from London to Bangalore and since I have a direct flight from Raleigh to London with American, it made this the best option. Raleigh – London = 7:30 hours + London – Bangalore = 9:30 hours. A long trip but shorter in flight time and plane changes than any other combination. The only caveat is that on the return flight I can’t make the connection to Raleigh so I’ll stay a night in London to catch the direct flight the next day – Still a better option than running in 3-4 different airports or spending an extra night in India like other options offered.

The flight to India was surprisingly good. From Raleigh to London it is the best flight you can get. The plane is never full and this time I had a whole row for myself which makes it a great chance to make a flat-bed in coach. From London to Bangalore the flight was completely full but I have to say it wasn’t a mess like I was afraid. Flight was quiet and after sleeping the complete first flight I spent this one watching 3 movies on British’s 747 entertainment system. I can’t remember the last time I flew on a 747. I hate the 3-4-3 configuration, so what I did is actually seat in the end of the plane where the last 3 rows are 2-4-2. This way I’m seating in a window and there’s only 1 person next to me.

I didn’t have a chance to see much of Bangalore yet since I got early in the morning and it was still dark outside, but during my trip from the airport to the hotel I did see one cow crossing the street in the middle of the city . It happened so fast (or was it the cab driver going so fast) that I didn’t have a chance to take a picture, but I’m sure I’ll see more.

They say that the first thing that you notice when landing in India is the smell. I didn’t experience any strong smells yet but it does feel difficult to breathe here (pollution?). The one thing that I noticed from the moment I got out of the airport and still didn’t stop even when I’m sitting inside the hotel, is the constant sound of hundreds of cars honking their horn. This thing doesn’t stop and I already have a headache…

Continental Finally Installs First 777 With Flat-Bed BusinessFirst

2009-11-13T08:51:00.001-05:00

The first flight operated from Hong Kong to Newark and marks the first upgraded plane of the Continental fleet that will install the new flat bed seats on all 777, 757-200, 767-400ER/200ER and 787 when Boeing finally delivers them.

You can track the upgrade progress in Continental’s web site which currently shows the 5% complete of 777 fleet (1 out of 20…). It looks like ship #13 got the seats, so you can always check the flight status page and see if it’s your next flight. Can’t wait to see if my flight to TLV next week is on that plane and I get upgraded

Still Looking for an HTPC

2009-11-12T16:16:00.001-05:00

I’ve been looking for a while for a good HTPC (Home Theatre PC) solution. I still didn’t buy anything because I couldn’t find something that will give easy access to the available online content and replace the cable box that is connected to my HDTV (and for cable bill as well…). Two interesting announcements this week show that more vendors are trying to provide a solution for this and take the lead over Apple that still doesn’t deliver with Apple TV.

The first announcement came from Boxee. They finally confirmed the rumors that a “Boxee Box” is coming soon. They plan to reveal more information on December 7th during their Boxee Beta unveiling in Brooklyn. This looks very promising and since it’s an open source project it could lead to a good solution if the hardware will support everything that is needed (HDMI, easy remote control etc).

The second announcement came from Dell, when they revealed the Inspiron Zino HD which basically looks like a black Mac Mini but unlike the Mac, it comes with HDMI port, and can be upgraded to Blu-Ray, 1TB HDD, 8GB RAM and more. Price starts at $229 and this could be a great customized HTPC that will provide good functionality by simply using Windows Media Center along the Hulu plug-in, XBMC or the Hulu Desktop.

Sleep Box by Arch Group

2009-11-11T10:22:00.001-05:00

Imagine a situation where you get stuck in the airport or have a long layover and are desperate for some rest and personal space. Most airports have nearby hotels and some offer full service hotels right inside the terminal. The Japanese even have the crazy '”capsule hotels” that remind me of something worse. The Russian company, Arch Group has a better solution and they call it the Sleep Box. It is your personal space that could be in an airport, train station etc. and is a small mobile space of 2 meters by 1.4 meter and 2.3 meter high.

Here are some pictures:

The Sleep Box would be equipped with automatic system of change of bed linen, ventilation system, sound alerts, LCD TV, WiFi, sockets for laptops, charging phones and space for luggage. Pretty cool! Check their web site for more info and pictures.

Good bye SkyTeam, Hello Star Alliance

2009-11-11T10:10:00.001-05:00

Continental officially left SkyTeam on October 24th and a couple of days before that I received my official Platinum Elite OnePass card with the Star Alliance logo and a new Presidents Club card with the Star Alliance logo as well. Both valid until February 2010.

Since the end of the year is approaching the question that comes to mind is of course if I should stick with Continental and its new partners or try to get a status match on Delta and stick with SkyTeam. Here’s a short comparison of both:


US Partners	Delta / Northwest	Continental, United, US Airways
Total Airlines	13	25
Number of Lounges	415	954

It is pretty clear that these numbers and all the additional ones you can get from both web sites point to the fact that Star Alliance is a stronger airline alliance. The other thing that I like about it is that now I have access to reward booking on Singapore Airlines for that “All Business Class” flight from New York or Los Angeles on their A345. So I guess I’ll stick with Continental at least for this year, especially since I’ll make Platinum again against all odds after all…

Air New Zealand Has Nothing To Hide

2009-06-27T07:39:00.001-04:00

Last month Air New Zealand released a TV ad with a catchy tune where you can see different employees from flight attendants to cargo crew all stripped down and body painted to let you know that their fares have nothing to hide (no unexpected surprises or additional fees). This month they also decide to redo their safety video with crew (and some actors) all body painted. Maybe this will make passengers listen to the video ? You can watch both clips at the bottom of this post:

Safety Video:

TV Ad:

How to Reach Gold Status After Two Flights!

2009-06-24T08:25:00.001-04:00

I reached Platinum status with Continental in the last 6 years easily with the amount of flights that I used to do. Some years I even reached Platinum before June, however this year with the economical situation and the fact that business is simply down I figured this is the year that I won’t make it to Platinum. Earlier this year Continental announced a “Double EQM” promotions which simply said that you will earn double EQM on any CO flight that is flown before June 15th. I wasn’t sure if it will make much difference but decided to register anyway (it’s free so why not?).

So like I originally thought I didn’t have a chance to fly too much this year (yet) for business. I had a couple of flights to NY and two flights to Israel. To my surprise this was enough to make it to Gold already which means I still have a great chance to complete 25,000 EQM more before the end of the year

So how did I cross the magical number of 50,000 EQM using this promotion?

Flight	EQM
RDU-LGA (Delta)	250 (50% with partners)
JFK-RDU (Delta)	250 (50% with partners)
RDU-TLV	12,384 (double EQM)
TLV-RDU	12,384 (double EQM)
RDU-EWR	1,000 (double EQM)
EWR-RDU	1,000 (double EQM)
RDU-TLV	18,576 (150% EQM * 2)
TLV-RDU	6,192 “only” since I returned after 6/15
Total	52,036

Who Needs a Bluetooth Headset Anyway?

2009-06-13T05:35:00.001-04:00

I had my share of Bluetooth headsets. I think my first one was a Sony Ericsson that I got to pair with my Sony Ericsson t68i 8-9 years ago (the first cell phone with a color display ). The last one I bought was the Jawbone II which is nice but they all suffer from the same problems:

You need to take them with you in addition to the phone.
You need to charge them as well (at least ones a day).
Voice quality is never good (no matter how much it improved over the years).

I ended up going back to the regular headphone that comes to the BlackBerry when I’m on a conference call (instead of holding the BlackBerry for an hour…) and pretty much gave up on using a headset while driving (it’s still legal in NC).

I know that cars came with Bluetooth connection for a few years now, but I never thought it’s worth investing in it. The Acura TSX I got comes (by default) with the Bluetooth HandsFreeLink which allows you to make and receive calls keeping your hands on the wheel (or even using voice commands).

Before I left the dealer’s lot, the sales manager paired my BlackBerry as part of the “training session” he gave me and I never really thought about it again. The nice thing about this is that as soon as I get into the car, the BlackBerry connects with the system automatically – You don’t need to take a headset out of your pocket, turn it on, wear it etc. The first time I received a call was a little strange. All of a sudden, the XM radio (comes free for first 90 days) muted and for a second I didn’t understand what’s wrong – and then I heard the ring . You can see right in the display of the car who’s calling you and then either accept or ignore the call without taking the BlackBerry out of the holster. I must say that the voice quality is great. Both sides hear perfectly and it doesn’t sound like you are on a Bluetooth headset at all. Now all that is left for Acura to do is embed the email functionality in the messages system they have. Just like the car reads to me the messages received from the Acura satellite with tips and service reminders it would be great if it would read to me the incoming emails .

Jimmy Fallon Tests Project Natal

2009-06-11T09:25:00.001-04:00

Last week I blogged about the amazing Project Natal from Microsoft. Jimmy Fallon had a chance to test this great interface last night on his Late Night show. If you haven’t seen this, you can check the clip. Pretty cool stuff

Goodbye Z, Hello TSX-Tech

2009-06-07T08:46:00.001-04:00

After almost 6 years of driving and enjoying my Nissan 350Z, I decided that it’s time to replace it and move on to a more “adult” car. I’ve been doing some research and tested different cars. I even considered getting a small SUV, but then decided that you live only once and you might as well enjoy it while you can.

I liked the Acura cars from the beginning. What I like about Japanese luxury cars is that their “standard” trim comes loaded with more toys than any other car including their European competitors (a.ka. “Ze Germans”). Unlike other car companies that have more options than cars on the lot, the only “option” you have here is the “Technology Package”. Simple, clear – You get what you want for the price you see instead of starting with one price and ending with $10,000 more out the door by time you get everything a luxury car should have.

I tested both the TSX and the TL. The technology in both is pretty similar (the TL has a few little things to its advantage). The TL has 2 inches more of leg space in the backseats and a little bigger trunk – the driver space is exactly the same. The TL has also a bigger engine (3.5L V6 vs. 2.4 4 Cyl) which means more fuel consumption and it drives more like a sedan while the TSX reminded me more of the 350Z. After some thinking and consideration I decided to go with the 2009 Acura TSX and also add the technology package (with the current economical situation you can get a great deal).

The Acura is a technology heaven for gadget freaks. The “standard” model comes with more technology than even the Lexus. When you add the Technology package, you make sure you’ll enjoy the ride even more and have enough toys to play with .

These are the main things you get with the Tech package:

Acura Navigation System with voice recognition and Zagat Survey ratings and reviews.
Rearview camera
Acura/ELS Surround 415-watt 10 speaker audio (instead of 6 in the standard) system with 6-disc in-dash CD, DVD-Audio, MP3, WMA and DTS changer, Dolby Prologic II.
AcuraLink satellite communication system with real-time traffic and weather.
GPS linked, solar sensing, dual zone automatic climate control system.

I must say that the buying experience in Acura is great. The sales consultant spent probably an hour with us in the car going over all the features and how to use them. This included pairing my BlackBerry with the Bluetooth hands free system. It was a “quick” training to get me started. I’ll keep on posting on my experience with the TSX and its different toys.

Milo: a Project Natal Game

2009-06-03T13:31:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I posted about Microsoft’s Project Natal and it included a demo showing its different capabilities. Now you can also check Milo which is an amazing game being developed by Peter Molyneaux and show other great capabilities of the upcoming Project Natal. I’m not sure if this is cool or creepy you can check for yourself:

The Perfect Cappuccino

2009-06-02T16:19:00.001-04:00

I love coffee I own a Nespresso for more than 5 years now. Very simple machine but you can make great espresso using their capsules. This machine, just like most of the espresso machines, allows you to froth milk to make cappuccinos, lattes etc. The problems is that it’s a pain to do so. If you have to hold the milk container, check temperature and make sure you get good results.

Last month I got the Nespresso Aeroccino. This little device froths milk perfectly every time in 50 seconds and all you need to do is just press the button!

This is not a cheap gadget (retails for $99), but if you like your coffee and have one (at least) every day – it is well worth it! You can get this online or at any Williams-Sonoma. Check their web site to see a flash video of how this works and how you can make different types of coffee.

Microsoft Unveils Project “Natal”

2009-06-02T14:13:00.001-04:00

Microsoft unveiled yesterday at E3 its upcoming motion sensing system codenamed project “Natal”. This amazing system takes the innovation introduced by the Nintendo Wii to a whole new level. The system will work with every Xbox 360 and will be available on all new systems. It has a full body motion control by tracking 3D movements and it also recognizes voices. Maybe it’s time to finally upgrade my old Xbox that I didn’t use for the last 3 years…

Check out the official video showing the different capabilities:

World Beer Festival 2009

2009-05-04T09:05:00.001-04:00

I love beer. The only thing better than having a cold beer in a summer day is maybe having many cold beers in a summer day. I’ve been trying to go to the World Beer Festival in Raleigh for a while now, but every year it conflicted with some business trip I had to take. With the economic slowdown and the fact I’m traveling less this year, I knew this would be the year I’ll have a chance to go the festival and experience all the beers offered there (you have to look at the half glass full…).

The Beer Fest offers hundreds of beers from over 120 national and international breweries. Tickets for the event were sold for $44 (they sold out 3 weeks before the event…). There are two “sessions”: 12pm-4pm and 6pm-10pm. Basically when you get in, they give you a map with all the different breweries available and a souvenir cup that you use for unlimited tastings of all beers, meaning everything you can drink before the 4 hour session ends or before you pass out . The cup you get is a little pint that the breweries fill with 2oz of their beer so you can try as many as you can and not just get drunk on one kind. You can of course get as much as you want from the same beer if you liked it.

I tried a lot of good beers that I never had before. At some point it was a little difficult to differentiate between them or remember which one I liked best . The one that did catch my eyes was a little brewery from San Francisco, CA called Shmaltz Brewing Co. I tried their Coney Island Lager and they have many other great beers that you can read about on their web site and check where you can get them. Check also their funny video clips.

RIM Launches Official BlackBerry Blog

2009-04-30T18:08:00.001-04:00

Research in Motion decided to team up together their product management team and finally have a public voice. The launched the official BlackBerry blog (blogs.blackberry.com) where they will post tips on applications, email, desktop software and more.

Best Price for iPod Touch

2009-04-29T12:21:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I decided to buy myself an iPod Touch 32GB. The retail price for the 32GB version is $399. It doesn’t matter where you try and buy it (Apple Store, Best Buy, etc) since the price is pretty much controlled by Apple. You can take a chance and buy it through eBay save a few bucks and hope you are getting a new device and not being ripped or buy it for a few bucks less at Walmart. Bottom line is that along with tax you’ll drop about $425 for this gadget.

I am Costco member and buy there most of our groceries. On my visit there a couple of weeks ago I decided to check the price that they have for the iPods and was amazed to see that they had a special promotion for the iPod Touch 32GB for only $362 . This is of course for a new iPod and not refurbished. I decided to buy it right there even if it’s not as cool as buying it in the Apple store . So all together with NC sales tax I spent $386 which is about 10% discount from retail – Not bad for this bad economy. If you are looking for an iPod, take your Costco card (or find a friend that has one) and go to your local Costco store!

P.S.: Don’t bother trying to buy it online with Costco. You can only get this in their store…

Back Online!

2009-04-29T12:01:00.001-04:00

The last post I had was almost 6 months ago! Since late last year that I went on my honeymoon I didn’t have a chance (or wasn’t really in the mood) to blog. I was a little busy with my personal and professional life and didn’t have time to dedicate for my blog, but now I decided to start writing again!

The first post I wanted to share is about the great cruise we had for our honeymoon . Although I got married back in May 2008, we didn’t have a chance to go on a honeymoon and we decided to have it by the end of the year. The honeymoon planning wasn’t easy. Since I travel so much, the last thing that I wanted to do on my vacation is to be on another plane and hotel, so after some thinking we decided to go on a cruise!

We booked the 14 Day Southern Caribbean Holiday Cruise with Holland America on board of the Maasdam. So what is so great about a cruise if you are are a tired road warrior and still wants to take a vacation?

No need to fly – We drove to Fort Lauderdale to get on the cruise and didn’t take the chance of getting delayed at the airport, having the airline loose our luggage etc.
No need to think about what and how to pack – Going for 14 days requires quite a bit of packing (especially when going with your wife) and most airlines today limit the amount of luggage you can take. Since we drove, we didn’t have to think about any of this. Just throw everything in the car and when boarding the ship the crew will take care of it all.
Wake up in a different place every day without packing/unpacking – I think this was one of the best things of this kind of trip. On our 14 days cruise we had 11 stops in 10 different islands. The best thing about the cruise is that you unpack everything in your room when you arrive and you move with the “hotel” to a new place every day. Every morning you wake up in a new island without the need to pack, travel and unpack again.
You can buy as much alcohol as you want (if you buy in the U.S.V.I you can get up to 6 bottles per person) without worrying about the flight back home (no liquids on carry-on…)

The ship was great and the service provided by Holland America is very good. The company caters to older crowd (meaning it’s more expensive) and there will be less families on these cruises (unlike Carnival and Royal Caribbean where there’s more kids than adults). Having a Holiday cruise was even better since we spent both Christmas and New Years eve on board for the special celebrations. These are the stops we had:

Fort Lauderdale, FL
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Charlotte Amelie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Basseterre, St. Kitts
Roseau, Dominica
Bridgetown, Barbados
Castries, St. Lucia
Saint John’s, Antigua
Philipsburg, St. Maarten
Roadtown, Tortola
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

View 14 Day Southern Caribbean Holiday Cruise in a larger map

The highlights / best places to mention:

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas – This was by far the best island we had on our cruise! This is a private island that belongs to Holland America. A 9 miles stretch of white sand beach along with perfect blue water. Everything on the island is operated by the cruise line and they bring all the food to have a great BBQ on the beach.
Charlotte Amelie, St. Thomas U.S.V.I – This is a great island to stop. It belongs to the USA and you will find here the best prices for alcohol! The highlight of this island was a visit to St. Thomas Synagogue. It was founded in 1796 and is the oldest synagogue in continuous use under the American flag. The marble floor of this beautiful synagogue is all covered in white sand. Legend tells us that it is symbolic of the desert through which the people of Israel wandered for 40 years. The more likely explanation has to do with the fact that this was originally a Sephardic Orthodox community. During the Spanish Inquisition, when Catholic Spain persecuted all other religions and forcibly converted the Jews to Catholicism, Jews who opted to practice Judaism - an offense punishable by death - had to do so in secrecy. They met in cellars of their homes and used sand to muffle the sounds of their prayer.

REVIEW: Shure I2C-MP Stereo Earphones

2008-11-25T09:08:00.001-05:00

After my Bose QuietComfort 2 died I've been using The Bose In-Ear Headphones that I got with American Express points a while back. Those little headphones are small and have good sound quality, but they do nothing to isolate the noise on an airplane. I was reluctant to drop $300 again on Bose and I didn't want to get big headphones again, so I started looking for some alternatives.

Earlier this month I saw that Amazon had a great deal on the Shure I2C-MP Stereo Earphones. These earphones retail for $119 but are still available on Amazon for $39.58 .

The earphones are very small and come with a nice pouch. These earphones use noise isolation and not noise cancellation (like the big ones), which means you can get some of the quiet without the size or power source that is required for the noise cancellation.

The I2C include an inline microphone that filters background noise so you can use them both to ear music and make phone calls. They are compatible with the iPhone (3G as well) and the Curve using 3.5mm plug but not with the 88xx (unless you have an adapter). I've been using these earphones on flights for the last couple of weeks and I have to say that I like them. I can listen to music and video podcasts without the plane background noise and without the need to carry an additional big case in my backpack.

If you are looking for good small earphones that can be also used with your cellphone go to Amazon and grab a pair before their gone or the price goes back up!

I’m a PC Inside a Mac

2008-10-31T19:44:00.001-04:00

I have been a PC user for more than 20 years now. My first PC was an IBM Compatible XT and had an 8 MHZ CPU. I remember it had a “Turbo” button that would spike the CPU to a whooping 16 MHZ. This is what kids call today “overclocking”. I went pretty much through every model possible and used the PC for games, development and work. A couple of weeks ago when the new MacBooks were released I decided to go and buy myself one. I did not get a MacBook because of Apple’s TV ads and not even because of all the negative reviews about Windows Vista. Actually the first thing that I did when I got the laptop was to use BootCamp and install Windows Vista 64bit and use it as my main OS. I’ve been using Vista 64 bit on my home desktop since the day it was released and had no problems at all with it. I found all the drivers I needed and it is a great powerful desktop that I keep on 24x7 without any glitches.

I was never a fan of MacBook and OS X. I tried using it in the past but had some basic problems which are mostly due to the fact that I’ve been using Windows for so long. The first thing that drove me crazy when I first touched a Mac was the lack of a right-click menu. I think right-click menu is the best invention in user interaction and if you think “object oriented” it makes a lot of sense. In the new MacBook, Apple went even further and killed the left-click button as well. Now to click on something you click on the whole trackpad (or you can configure to tap also). This is pretty cool and you can also enable a right-click button these days. The other thing that always seemed weird to me, is the application menu. When you open an application, the menus are not part of the application window. They are docked across the screen detached from the application itself. The menus in the dock change according to the application that is in focus which can be a little confusing to someone that is used to see menus inside the window of the application. So why did I decide to join the MacCult?

Apple (or Steve Jobs) made two smart decisions that helped them boost the number of laptops sold in the last few years and reach outside their main user base, which was graphic designers and students:

Switch to Intel CPUs – This was the smartest thing that Apple did since they “invented” the iPod. By using the Intel platform they transformed their cool laptops and desktops to usable hardware that more people can use by simply installing Windows instead or in addition to Apple’s OS and enjoy the best of both worlds on one computer.
Limit Xcode to Apple OS only – I don’t know if this was done on purpose or simply because they don’t see the need to do this on Windows, but the fact that you can develop iPhone and iPod Touch applications on Apple’s OS only means that you must buy a Mac, or try installing Leopard on a PC or VM image and violate their license agreement, if you wish to develop applications for this platform.

I decided to play with the iPhone platform because I think it is a great mobile device to develop applications for, so since I can do it only on a Mac I decided to get one and enjoy running Vista on it also for the rest of the things I need to do. I must say that so far I’m happy with the laptop. The setup of Vista was easy with all the drivers that Apple provided and it’s really nice to carry this laptop on flights. It’s much lighter than my Latitude D620 and the AC adapter that comes with the MacBook is also much smaller and lighter. The 13” screen is beautiful and its a great size to work on the airplane (even in coach when I don’t get upgraded).

Get Your PDC 2008 Content!

2008-10-30T12:21:00.001-04:00

PDC 2008 covered a lot of exciting new platforms and innovations from Microsoft. If you didn’t have a chance to get to Los Angeles and attend the conference you can still download the content from here. Microsoft keeps on updating the content on the site so not everything is available yet. You can get both the PowerPoint presentations (under Abstract) and the recording of the session (under Video). If you are just interested in the videos you can also register to this RSS feed and download the WMV files attached to each post.

PDC 2008: Day 3

2008-10-29T23:43:00.000-04:00

Today’s keynote focused entirely on Microsoft Research. The keynote was led by Rick Rashid who led this group for the last 17 years since it was created. There were very interesting demos of different projects they work on and prototypes that are currently in development. For example: The World Wide Telescope new version, the work they are doing to help researchers fight the HIV virus and detect virus mutations, an intuitive application, called Boku, that allows kids develop games without knowing anything about code writing. The best part was SecondLight. This is the next generation of the Surface. It uses an incredible technique to project through the surface onto other surfaces above.

PDC 2008: Day 2

2008-10-28T23:17:00.000-04:00

The second day keynote switched focus from Windows Azure and the cloud to the desktop releases. There were two separate keynotes:

Keynote 1: Ray Ozzie, Steve Sinofsky, Scott Guthrie, David Treadwell – on Windows 7, WPF, .NET 4.0, VS2010, Live Framework, Mesh, Office 14
Keynote 2: Chris Anderson and Don Box – A lap around Azure Services platform

Windows 7

Both Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 will have the ability to boot from a VHD and also mount a VHD like a normal hard drive. All this will be available from the disk manager.
Multi touch support in Windows 7 changes everything in the user experience. The new capabilities and APIs shown will change the way developers design their application interface.
Multi monitor support was enhanced and special support to toggle between displays and projectors was added.
Remote Desktop allows you now to remote to a machine that has multiple monitors and see all monitors on your multi monitors.
Windows 7 provides many new APIs but one that caught my eyes was the sensors API. This is a sensor and location platform that provides similar capabilities to what you got on iPhones now on your PC. We even got the SDK along with a cool accelerometer that looks like a board and plugs through USB to start developing and playing with this technology.
Combined start bar, taskbar and quick launch.
Live thumbnails on the taskbar.
“Jump lists” which provide great functionality to launch your application in a specific mode or with a specific file you worked on.

.NET 4 and Visual Studio 2010

The IDE was rewritten in WPF. This allows very nice UI capabilities and also provides out of the box support for multi monitor.
Integrated support for jQuery which can also be added today for VS 2008
VS 2010 and .NET 4 CTP is available for download today.

Office

Office added light-weight versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote that are accessible through the Web. They provide less functionality but the same UI as the thick client applications so you get the same user experience across platforms.

After lunch we received “The Goods”. This is the 160 GB USB drive that has all the new bits that developers can play with. It has Windows 7, Windows 2008 R2, VS2010 and more. A lot of installs and VPC images to play with for the next month

Last night we also had the attendee party in Universal Studios. As usual, Microsoft closed the park exclusively for the conference attendees and across the park you could get free food and drinks. The special thing this time was that Universal transformed the park to a huge Halloween party. Universal’s “Scream Team” designed haunted houses, scare zones and across the park there were hundreds of street performers disguised as monsters, zombies etc to scare everyone . It was a lot of fun!

Delta Sucks!

2008-10-28T10:08:00.001-04:00

It seems like in the last year the airline executives have been competing who can invent the most creative fees to try and reduce the extra cost of fuel:

U.S. Airways started charging for non-alcoholic drinks. $2 for sodas and water, $1 for coffee and tea.
2nd checked bag fee followed by 1st checked bag fee followed by increasing the fee on 2nd bag…
JetBlue started charging $7 for pillows and blankets while others, such as American Airlines completely removed them form the planes.

The list of all fees is too long for me to write them all here, but there’s a great post here that shows you the different airline fees side by side. Since these fees were invented, the fuel went back to his normal rates but the airlines don’t seem to care .

Although all of these fees are annoying, the one that drives me crazy the most is the “Confirmed Standby Seat Fee”. Last week I had to go to Boston and New York. The best deal I got was with Delta: RDU-BOS-LGA-RDU.

When I finished my meetings in Boston I headed to Logan airport. Although I was about 4 hours before my flight, I decided to go since I had a ticket for the BOS-LGA shuttle which leaves pretty much every hour. If you never took this flight, it’s pretty much like a bus service. You have a separate security line, no seats assigned and the idea is that you come to the airport and get on the first one available. When I checked in the kiosk outside and tried to change to the earlier flight I was surprised that they were trying to charge me $150 for that. I took my original boarding pass and went inside to try my luck with the gate agent. After a few minutes of clicking on the keyboard the agent informed me that I will need to pay (only) $75 for a confirmed seat. I tried arguing with her and asked since when those fees applied to the shuttle and she said something about having a low fare ticket. I decided that the 4 hours I had more valuable then the $75 and decided to change my ticket and head to New York.

A couple of days later, when I finished my meetings in New York I headed to LGA to catch my flight back to RDU. I saw I was in time for the earlier flight (got to the gate 20-30 minutes before departure) and I tried my luck with standby. The nice gate agent told me there is no standby and I can only get the confirmed standby for $50. I tried my luck and asked “what if I’m platinum?”. She said that they don’ t care if you are platinum on a SkyTeam partner (I’m platinum with Continental), they’ll waive the fee only if you are platinum with Delta. After looking at my BlackBerry for the time, I decided the hell with it! I had many emails to answer since I was on meetings all day and less than a couple of hours before my original flight. So I decided that instead of paying them $50 I will take $50 from them and use my time effectively. I used my Continental President Club to get into the Delta lounge to work on my emails. I had a couple of drinks (or maybe more ) and food. At the end I used my time effectively and instead of paying them more money I cost them more money…

So what is the moral of the story? I don’t know much about managing an airline but I know a little about managing a restaurant. I think both are similar in some ways. In a restaurant a couple of ways to maximize your revenue is to make sure that you seat people efficiently (not leave empty seats) and the other one is to try and have the quickest turn around possible. The longer people eat, the longer they take a table that you can use to seat new customers. Airlines are the same – Why would you fly a plane with empty seats when there are ticketed passengers in the gate that can fill those spots and free other seats on the next flight that you can sell? Especially when the later flights are overbooked and the airline ends up paying for passengers to take a flight the next day .

PDC 2008: Day 1

2008-10-27T23:58:00.001-04:00

The first day of PDC 2008 focused on Microsoft’s next big thing. It was not Windows 7 or even VSTS 2010. The most important thing that was described during the first keynote (there will be another one tomorrow) is Microsoft’s cloud initiative called Windows Azure.

I attended some VSTS 2010 and .NET 4.0 sessions today and I guess that this will be the focus of the keynote tomorrow along with Windows 7. Microsoft .NET has a new logo and the CTP of VSTS 2010 and .NET 4.0 is already available for download and play with. I’ll wait until tomorrow when we are supposed to receive the USB HDD with all the VPCs

PDC Here I Come!

2008-10-26T08:58:00.001-04:00

I am on my way to Microsoft’s Professional Developers Conference 2008. Besides the fact that my flight out of RDU is delayed two hours (late arriving crew ) I am very excited about this week! Microsoft uses PDC as the main stage to show developers that upcoming platforms and operating systems that will be release in the future. This PDC will have a lot of content but the two main things that will be shown there (or that interest me the most) are Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4.

I’ll be blogging from PDC throughout the week and posting my first impressions of the new versions that will be released and other surprises throughout the event.