Redmond, WA

I spent the week in Redmond, Washington.  This is a city just outside of Seattle.  The ONLY reason that you come to Redmond, is to meet with Microsoft ; )  The reason that I'm here, is to learn a great deal about some future Microsoft products.

I can't talk about the details, as I'm under a non-disclosure agreement.  The meetings have been really interesting - far more interesting than had planned on.  The products we're talking about will impact a huge number of people around the world, in about a year's time.

The Executive Briefing Center, where we met

I can't show pictures of the meetings, or talk about the content.  However, I still have things to share.  I remember visiting Microsoft almost 20 years ago.  As a young engineer, I remember one of the things that startled me - Microsoft has these large refrigerators in EVERY building, that hold nothing but drinks.

They are FREE.  It may not seem like much, but it was a big deal to me...being a Diet Coke and Fresca addict.  I still love this feature, even years later, when I can afford all the soda I want ; )

In the afternoon, I met with another team at Microsoft - this one I can talk about.  The project is called Microsoft Surface.  The best way I can describe it, is a giant iPad on a table.  It's a massive touch-screen that allows people to interact with objects and information.  The screen is capable of identifying objects placed on its surface. Here are some pictures of what we saw:

The graphics and CPU technology for this device is provided by my company.  You'll find these devices showing up at malls, hotel lobbies, museums and some night clubs.  If you're interested in what this system looks like in motion, check out this YouTube clip:

There was a large group of folks from my company.  For dinner, I suggested that we go to one of my favorite restaurants in this region.  It's called Wild Ginger, in Bellevue, WA.

Wild Ginger is an "Asian-fusion" restaurant.  They merge flavors and spices from all over Asia (Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, etc).  It's fantastic.  Since there was such a large group, the waiter just brought a variety of dishes to enjoy.  They had traditional duck, but it was flavored with cinnamon and star anise, cooked in a plum sauce (pictured here with steamed buns):

One of my favorite dishes, is potstickers.  These aren't your ordinary potstickers - they're GIGANTIC.  They are filled with chicken, and come with a soy and black vinegar dipping sauce.  After a couple of these, you don't want anything else on the menu:

Luckily, I overcame that.  Another of my favorite dishes is the Seven Flavor Beef.  It's flank steak with seven flavors of lemongrass, peanuts, basical, ginger, garlic and chilis.  Delicious!!

Everyone seemed to enjoy the food, and I was congratulated on my restaurant suggestion.  This place just never disappoints!

That's it for now.  Another long day of meetings, and then I'm home on Friday.  I can't wait to get back to sweltering Austin, TX ; )