PC Forum 2000 Album | home
Tuesday
Same thing again: Pictures without too much explanation about what was really said at the conference. There was enough great material, based on what was said, for pages and pages. I know from previous albums, though, that a lot of readers are happy just to see the pictures, so here they are. (This is done on the plane.)
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft:
His slides. (It's been pointed out that "Complete customer control" could mean something other than the PC user being able to do exactly what he/she wants if you read this as Microsoft's dreams.)
He did a Q&A with Esther after his speech:
As usual, after a speech people crowd around the speaker, giving them their business cards:
Rob Glaser of RealNetworks talked to Steve for a while. He kept moving over to whisper in Steve's ear while others tried to listen, and photographers took pictures. Later in the day I read in the news that RealNetworks had licensed some Microsoft technology.
One of the next speakers was Ted Waitt of Gateway:
My old partner from Slate Corporation, Vern Raburn, told us about his new venture, Eclipse, that was just announced to build a new type of airplane. He showed how he was using techniques of the PC industry to shake up the aviation industry. Just as the microprocessor made PCs possible, his new plane uses a new, extremely efficient and powerful jet engine. It's only 85 pounds, so the can do maintenance by Fedex, he claims.
The Eclipse 500 is supposed to be inexpensive enough to operate that air limos, running out of smaller, less crowded airports, will become extremely viable. As an old friend, it was great hearing Vern's impassioned speech and seeing the breadth of his vision. It really looks like he's going to make another mark on the world. (He started Microsoft into the applications business -- and got them to do Flight Simulator -- as well as help launch Lotus 1-2-3, among his other accomplishments.)
In the middle of one of the talks, I felt something drop down my face. My glasses broke. One of the tiny screws sheared leaving a piece stuck inside, so you can't just replace it. An hour or so until I was on a panel, and I couldn't see anything distant. Using it with one lens gave me a headache (just what I needed). Worse yet, when I finally fixed it later in the afternoon, it was held together with a black wiretwist and tape. Geek time. (This was my fault. I was long overdue for an eye doctor appointment. I finally went in a week or so ago. Unfortunately, the new prescription stayed in my pocket since I didn't find the time to go in and get new glasses. I was dreading the need to decide if I wanted new frames or not. I guess I do.)

Dave Winer ran an afternoon session about Web Applications. I was one of the panelists. It was a small room, but we filled it well. Here's Dave at the front and a view of the crowd. I created and posted the "Whoopi desert" at the bottom of the Monday page as part of my presentation to show how easy Trellix Web is to use.
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