Hugo Ortega is off to Redmond

Tonight I can hardly sleep – although my body is screaming for me to hit the sack! Tomorrow I am heading to the International Terminal and borading a United Airlines plane bound for the mothership…Redmond. I’m sure most of you are aware that Redmond, Seattle, USA, is the homeland of Microsoft Corporation. I am extremley excited as I will have back-to-back meetings and conferences with the Tablet PC Team and many more.

The reason for my visit is to attend the Microsoft MVP Summit. This event is designed to bring together the dudes making the cogs turn, globally, on a non-renumerated basis. Well, they might be paid by there own means but these are the guys that are not employed in any way, shape or form by Microsoft Proper. As you know I became an MVP late last year so it is truly exciting to be getting on that plane, especially when you consider that the event is held every 18-months, and Bill Gates wont be around for the next one.

Have I ever been to Seattle? Yes. I was there in 1993 representing Australia in Basketball. We played 20 games over 22 days, and got our butts very kicked a long the way. :-) Have I ever been to the Microsoft Campus? No. I have never been and to be honest up until 2005 I didn’t even know it existed. What I liken the feeling to is that level of anticipation and aspiration that I felt the first time I went to Disney Land - as a 9 year old. The reason it feels similar is that the shear thought of visiting the heart of the mity empire named Microsoft also congers feelings of bliss, happiness, joy, excitement and definitley awakens the inner-geek in me.

So from me to you I wish you the best this year and hope that the journeys I go on somehow also empower you. I know that I am a little behind on Vlogs but it is just an inevitable result of the amount of growth I am going through right now. Ideally I will be sitting with several key players in the Tablet space and beyond. If I get the chance I will Vlog in some shape or form. If I don’t I will surely post photos and thoughts.

Till then…take care! BTW, Tuesday morning I have a 2hr sessions with Bill Gates, including audience Question and Answer. OMG! What should I ask him?

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Im off to China Beijing

I’m off to CHINA on Wednesday! Now I have known about this for over a week and due to my many NDAs was not able to tell you guys! I have been invited as a special guest to attend some Windows Vista Labs in Beijing China. OH MY GOD! Not only have I never been to China, The Great Wall, or eaten Real Peking Duck, but this will also be my first “real” Microsoft Event, i.e. anything other than one TechEd I went to, once (you get my point).

As one of only 25 MVPs & community leaders selected globally for this event I am honored and will do my best to represent you guys there, i.e. beat them to a pulp regarding Tablet PC and Ultra-Mobile PC related questions. The hosts, Microsoft Beijing, have invited members of the Official Vista Team from Redmond for us to rub shoulders with and for this I am very excited. PLEASE submit any burning questions you might have as this is not about me but about you. I can only imagine that I was selected because undoubteably I’ll VLOG about the event, and, I’ll actually get your questions answered; so do not hestitate.

Regrettably not all my 5 day stay is about Microsoft Windows Vista. I have decided to take my Samsung Q1B and take him to the Great Wall of China! I promise lots of photos and even a video of me and whatever Tablet I have with me at the time, at the top of the Great Wall. Thanks for all your support guys, you Rock!

If you’re feeling a little green do not read further. If however you know I’m in it for you, and not me, then read on…my intinerery for my 1.5 days off is as follows:

Tour ItineraryDay 1 Sat 10-Feb-07 Destination: BeijingService Provided: our guide will contact you the time of departure the night before. The Great Wall -Badaling Section, Ming Tombs, The Sacred Road, Roasted Duck at Qianmen Quanjude. Chinese Lunch, Chinese Dinner--The Great Wall -Badaling Section: The Badaling Great Wall was built in the County of Yanqing, Beijing. This section of Great Wall is the best preserved and earliest to be open for sightseeing. The Great Wall is undoubtedly among the most imposing and amazing architectures in this planet. --Ming Tombs: The Underground Palace of Dingling was unearthed during the period 1956 to 1958. The whole palace was made of stone. It consists of five high palaces - the front, the middle, the back, the left and the right palaces. It is the tomb for the mausoleum of Emperor Zhu Yijun, the thirteenth emperor, and his two empresses.there are about 100 steps you need to go downstairs .--The Sacred Road: The road is guarded on both sides with stone statues by which the ancient emperors went to hold a memorial ceremony for the ancestors.--Roasted Duck at Qianmen Quanjude : In the evening, enjoy the Peking Roasted Duck which is renowned as the most delicious food of Beijing. Qianmen Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant(Old Duck) As the nickname implies, this is one of the oldest restaurants in the capital, dating back to 1864, and they serve great Peking duck.

Day 2 Sun 11-Feb-07 Destination: BeijingService Provided: half day tour to visit The Tiananmen Square, The Temple of Heaven, The Forbidden City. Chinese Lunch--The Tiananmen Square: The center of Beijing.It is the largest square that lies in the center of a city in the world, the symbol of Beijing and China, ranked No. 1 in the 16 new scenic highlights of Beijing. --The Temple of Heaven: It is a few kilometers south of the Forbidden City The Temple of Heaven is the most imposing and biggest ancient architecture where sacrifices were devoted to the Heaven in the world. Its typical Chinese architecture style is of significant value and far reaching influence upon the architecture style in eastern and southeastern Asian country. Note: The renovation project of the Temple of Heaven started May 21, 2005 has already been finished but some follow-up work is still underway, which may cause inconvenience for visitors.--The Forbidden City: The center of Beijing, to the north of the Tiananmen Square.It is the largest and best preserved royal palace in the world and home to a huge number of valuable antiques. The Forbidden City is the essence and a must for sightseeing in Beijing. Note: The Fobidden City is now undergoing large-scale renovations which are expected to be completed till 2020. The Forbidden City will remain open to visitors during the renovations, but there may be some temporary inconvenience, for which we apologize. The Forbidden City will adopt an electronic ticket-checking system from May onwards to control its crowd flow. The new system will keep a real-time record of visitors inside the museum, and automatically inform the ticket office to halt ticket sales once the number exceeds the museums maximum reception capacity.

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