We're Back...

[Jason Dunn]

Does it ever feel good to be home! I feel like I've been gone for a month - it's amazing how the email and postal mail piles up in only six days. 8O I slept for 12 hours last night, which probably only made things worse, but I had to start somewhere. :wink: The MVP Summit was amazing, I learned so much, and my "enthusiasm batteries" are now super-charged. :D It's easy to get frustrated with Microsoft - they're so big, it often feels like our feedback goes into a big black hole and never reaches anyone. This week proved to me that it's not true - they really do listen.<br /><br />There are some really exciting things coming for the Pocket PC, but it's a long-term process. One of the things I learned during the summit was that Microsoft has finally locked into a long-term plan for the Pocket PC. The past few years they've been more reactionary than anything else, and the things we were told solidified my confidence in their efforts.<br /><br />I wish I could tell you more, but Microsoft trusted us with a lot of deep insider information, so our lips are sealed (and keyboards as it were). The future, however, is looking very bright! 8)

[Reinaldo]

"Deep insider information". Mmm. Interesting. Welcome back, Jason.

[Sheynk]

just a little info leak..........please


shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh we wont tell anyone else :wink:

[jet8810]

welcome back Jason! We missed you... :? OK...so maybe we didn't... :wink:

I am just messing with you, Join me for a drink! :beer:

:P

(yes, I know I am a wacko)

[Rirath]

Jason left? 8O :wink:

Sounds like it was all good news then. I don't think you'd be sleeping 12 hours if there was any impending danger to our beloved PPCs.

[Reinaldo]

Wow! I would have thought this topic would be full of people by now. What is going on? Is there something on the news? Did something happen to TVs? Is there a virus rumaging through computers again?

I am not complaining, but its just that I'll never become used to a topic with less than 10 people in it, even for a minute. 8O :lol:

[toshtoshtosh]

ed over on brighthand mentionned new PPC OS coming soon. Can you confirm?

[Janak Parekh]

just a little info leak..........please
Heh. Even I don't know anything. ;) Jason could get in big trouble if he broke his NDA...

I'll take Jason's word, though, that MS has a game plan. I can only assume that a game plan does NOT translate to "PPC2002 forever!"... :lol:

Wow! I would have thought this topic would be full of people by now. What is going on? Is there something on the news? Did something happen to TVs? Is there a virus rumaging through computers again?
It's called "Saturday night". :lol:

--janak

[Reinaldo]

I can only assume that a game plan does NOT translate to "PPC2002 forever!"...

Darn! That means I'll have to get a new device this year, won't it? :lol:

[Jason Dunn]

ed over on brighthand mentionned new PPC OS coming soon. Can you confirm?

I can confirm that I can't confirm. :lol:

But you can answer the question yourself by looking at the dates for the original April 2000 release, then the October 2001 release...

[toshtoshtosh]

May, June, July, August, September, October...

18 month cycle?

October 2001 + 18months = April 2003.

Sweet!

[WillyG]

you can answer the question yourself by looking at the dates for the original April 2000 release, then the October 2001 release...

00|01|02|03
----------------
01|01|01|01
02|02|02|02
03|03|03|03
04|04|04|04
05|05|05|05
06|06|06|05
07|07|07|07
08|08|08|08
09|09|09|09
10|10|10|10
11|11|11|11
12|12|12|12

[WillyG]

It's easy to get frustrated with Microsoft - they're so big, it often feels like our feedback goes into a big black hole and never reaches anyone. This week proved to me that it's not true - they really do listen.

Jason,
Im not going to ask you about the next version (I understand you cant talk about that). Im curious, how do Microsoft pick up the feedback? From entousiast sites like this? Newsgroups? only from MVP's?
Im sure they get more than enough "feedback" from pretty much all over (they have to filter (or?))
Where/How does the information flow? In other words "where do i want to go today"? :wink:

[IronGeek]

So, when is your NDA up Jason? It almos feels like when a woman give me the "Friends" speech. :drinking: I assume my Axim will be upgradable?

[Reinaldo]

What about my 3970? Will that one be upgradable?

[Rob Borek]

So, when is your NDA up Jason? It almos feels like when a woman give me the "Friends" speech. :drinking: I assume my Axim will be upgradable?

The restriction on the disclosure of confidential information can occur when the information is released (duh!) or 5 years from when the info is disclosed to us. So, you'll either hear about it when the product is released, or 5 years from now :wink:

[Foo Fighter]

Guys, don't bother asking whether your PPC is upgradeable to the next OS release. That is squarely up to the vendors....not Microsoft.

[Sheynk]

Guys, don't bother asking whether your PPC is upgradeable to the next OS release. That is squarely up to the vendors....not Microsoft.

yeah...but microsoft can tell us if the hardware will be compatible since it sets the standards

[TawnerX]

list of can't confirm or deny things:

-.net release in April
-E750, E350, X3, X7, h1915, h2200. Cebit announcement?
-bunch of PPC with built in folding keyboard.
-PXA255 aka C1

what's included in the next OS
-New universal office doc reader ala clearvue
-built in landscape switcher
-much faster they say. (don't we always hear this one)
-moves the "start button" somewhere else yet again.
-no news about the sad state of pWord and pExcel.

[Sven Johannsen]

Guys, don't bother asking whether your PPC is upgradeable to the next OS release. That is squarely up to the vendors....not Microsoft.

yeah...but microsoft can tell us if the hardware will be compatible since it sets the standards

Think about it. Would it be in Microsoft's interest to release information that would cause any of the vendors problems? It is a very symbiotic relationship. (no not symbian, symbiotic) That is where each is very dependent on the other for success.

[isrjt]

It always humors me when we are overly concerned with upgrades. I could not imagine still using my jornada 548 today with all the cool toys the new ones have. I have come to terms with my need to buy the newest and latest pocket pc. It's just part of life, my wife even excepts it. That's why I hang out here. Upgrades they are for others, not me. Give me the latest and greatest and I'll throw the old ones in the desk drawer.

We all have our list of wishes, not a one of them will be realized to perfection, so sit back and wait till the good stuff arrives...

[Sheynk]

It always humors me when we are overly concerned with upgrades. I could not imagine still using my jornada 548 today with all the cool toys the new ones have. I have come to terms with my need to buy the newest and latest pocket pc. It's just part of life, my wife even excepts it. That's why I hang out here. Upgrades they are for others, not me. Give me the latest and greatest and I'll throw the old ones in the desk drawer.

We all have our list of wishes, not a one of them will be realized to perfection, so sit back and wait till the good stuff arrives...


good point....thats what extended warranty at Circuit City is for :twisted:

[ombu]

Welcome back, Jason!!! :D

Just a little leak I need very badly, whatever the date is, will everybody be able to update ROM?

Cheers.

[jeff]

I have one question for anyone who went to this MVP meeting thing. Does Microsoft understand that many Pocket PCs are owned by people who aren't a part of large corporations using Mobile Information Server? Because every action on the platform up until this point has said, "No."

[Paragon]

The restriction on the disclosure of confidential information can occur when the information is released (duh!) or 5 years from when the info is disclosed to us. So, you'll either hear about it when the product is released, or 5 years from now :wink:

Hey Rob

I'm expecting you to give me a full report on Wednesday night. Onwhat you can anyway. :)

Dave

[Rob Borek]

The restriction on the disclosure of confidential information can occur when the information is released (duh!) or 5 years from when the info is disclosed to us. So, you'll either hear about it when the product is released, or 5 years from now :wink:

Hey Rob

I'm expecting you to give me a full report on Wednesday night. Onwhat you can anyway. :)

Dave

Here's the update: I came, I left. Virtually everything else in between was under NDA :wink:

[jimski]

OK Jason, with divulging any confidential information, IYO will things get "better" 8) or just different :cry: (same old c***, just a different twist)?

[Rob Alexander]

Get a grip guys; it's not becoming to grovel for scraps of information from people who have agreed to keep quiet. :P (Even if they do ask for it by saying 'I've got a secret but I won't tell you what it is.') MS has big plans? Well, let's just wait and see what they actually come up with before we get too excited. Remember, these are the people who brought us great features like non-closing close buttons, non-repeating alarms, Pocket Apps that destroy your desktop files, and synchronization software that brings tears to the eyes of even the most ardent PPC supporters. I would love to find out that MS is really listening to us, and that the next version of PPC will be everything we've ever dreamed of, but up to this point they've followed their own vision, not ours. I'll hope for the best, but have been through this enough times not to get too excited until the goods are on the table. :wink:

[FredMurphy]

It always humors me when we are overly concerned with upgrades. I could not imagine still using my jornada 548 today with all the cool toys the new ones have. I have come to terms with my need to buy the newest and latest pocket pc.
Couldn't agree more. :) People say they want to upgrade but when you see the new hardware (faster processor, more memory, built-in this or that) just bumping up the software seems a poor second place.

On the NDA issue, April 2003 is not that far off and we've already been given more info than we shoud expect - we'll just have to wait. :?

[Len Egan]

Uh,...let's see...April 2000...October 2001...that's 18 months apart. That would mean April 2003!

[Skoobouy]

...great features like non-closing close buttons, non-repeating alarms, Pocket Apps that destroy your desktop files, and synchronization software that brings tears to the eyes of even the most ardent PPC supporters.

I don't know that I've ever heard it told so well.

[NunoUFO]

It's easy to get frustrated with Microsoft - they're so big, it often feels like our feedback goes into a big black hole and never reaches anyone. This week proved to me that it's not true - they really do listen.


Your telling me, try having the only Pocket PC site in Portugal and then call on Microsoft Portugal's attention. The howle deal: mails, snail mail, phone calls. Answers= zero
Now thats frustrating :(

The future, however, is looking very bright!
I sure hope so, I am dedicating all my efforts and commiting hard on this platform, because I truly beleive in it.

Nuno Luz

[awierenga]

Jason Dunn wrote: "...That leaves the new guy, Janak.
... You may see a decrease in the amount of news, or you may not - we'll see how well these guys do on their own. "

We have seen they performed an excellent job, that just had to be said.

[WillyG]

Jason Dunn wrote: "...That leaves the new guy, Janak.
... You may see a decrease in the amount of news, or you may not - we'll see how well these guys do on their own. "

We have seen they performed an excellent job, that just had to be said.

Agreed! I was afraid it would be a silent place. I was wrong. Those who held the fort did an excelent job!

[claytonl]

I was browsing Mastersoft's (PoQuick) website, and was reading their FAQ when I came across these interesting paragraphs:

1. "Mobile PoQuick was designed using the latest .NET technology from Microsoft(TM). Sadly the current XScale processors are not optimized for .NET which causes it to actually run more slowly on XScale 400 Mhz machines than older Pocket PCs. Additionally the Pocket PC operating system is not (as of March 2003) optimized for XScale processors. Massive increases in performance are expected when these issues are resolved later in 2003. They will also increase yet further when Microsoft(TM) fully implement JIT in the mobile version of .NET."

2. "Why do I have to install .NET on my Pocket PC to use PoQuick V3? - All future Pocket PCs from about mid 2003 will come with .NET preinstalled by the manufacturer. However for current and older Pocket PCs these files must be installed."

This FAQ can be found here: http://www.mastersoftmobilesolutions.com/FAQ_PoQuickMoneyEnterprise.htm

Seems like there are major developments brewing... :D

[Peter Foot]

Sadly the current XScale processors are not optimized for .NET which causes it to actually run more slowly on XScale 400 Mhz machines than older Pocket PCs.

This is not strictly 100% true. The fact is that the .NET Runtime and indeed the Pocket PC OS are not optimised for the Xscale processor. The Xscale is slower at executing some code compiled for ARM which does not utilise it's optimisations. although having said that there are some inherent limitations in the first generation xscale architecture (to do with the memory bus etc) which will be improved on in future variants.


Additionally the Pocket PC operating system is not (as of March 2003) optimized for XScale processors. Massive increases in performance are expected when these issues are resolved later in 2003. They will also increase yet further when Microsoft(TM) fully implement JIT in the mobile version of .NET."
Whether he intended to or not, one of the MS guys on the newsgroups let slip that there would be XScale optimisations in the forthcoming Pocket PC OS. Don't expect any updates to Pocket PC 2002 to add these - the next version is being built on Windows CE 4.2. There may or may not be an upgrade path to PPC 2003 from PPC 2002 but that depends on the OEMs and its too early to tell at this stage.

All future Pocket PCs from about mid 2003 will come with .NET preinstalled by the manufacturer. However for current and older Pocket PCs these files must be installed."
The .NET CF runtime has reached RTM. That means that device manufacturers can begin to include it with their ROM images, and maybe within ROM updates. I would expect all PPC 2003 devices to have the .NET Runtime from the outset.

2003 could be a very exciting year for the Pocket PC... :)

[claytonl]

Ever since I learned about CE.Net 4.0, I've been pretty confused as to relationship between Pocket PC 2002 and CE.Net. They seem to have a different GUI as well. Is CE.Net the next version of PPC?

Not very clear about this. Perhaps someone can educate me?

[Peter Foot]

Ever since I learned about CE.Net 4.0, I've been pretty confused as to relationship between Pocket PC 2002 and CE.Net. They seem to have a different GUI as well. Is CE.Net the next version of PPC?

Not very clear about this. Perhaps someone can educate me?

Believe me you are not the only one. Windows CE .NET is a very confusingly named OS. It was released at a time when Microsoft were keen to add the .NET name to any and all products (currently the reverse trend is true, Windows .NET Server 2003 is being released as Windows Server 2003)

Pocket PC and Pocket PC 2002 are platforms which are built ontop of the Windows CE 3.0 operating system. They use the standard Windows CE API's and add a custom shell and other unique APIs.

Windows CE .NET is simply Windows CE 4 (and 4.1 was released not long ago). This is an update to the underlying OS, the shell included with this OS is the generic Windows CE shell - rather like that used on H/PC devices (which used CE 3.0).

Windows CE / Pocket PC development timeline
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" class="postbody"><tr><td width="33%">Windows CE</td><td width="33%">Pocket PC</td><td width="33%">Other Platforms</td></tr><tr><td>Windows CE 3.0 (Cedar)</td><td>Pocket PC (Rapier)</td><td>Handheld PC 2000 (Galileo)</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Pocket PC 2002 (Merlin)</td><td>Smartphone (Stinger)</td></tr><tr><td>Windows CE .NET 4.0 (Talisker)</td><td></td><td>Smart Displays (Mira)</td></tr><tr><td>Windows CE .NET 4.1 (Jameson)</td><td></td><td>Media2Go (McKendric)</td></tr><tr><td>Windows CE 4.2</td><td>Pocket PC 2003</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Windows CE 5 (Macallan)</td><td></td><td></td></tr></table>


Windows CE 4.2 will be the next release of the core OS. It is promised that it will bring together the CE and Pocket PC development onto a single track again - Pocket PC 2002 has a lot of custom code and is built on an aging version of CE. So Pocket PC 2003 will have the very latest underlying OS but retain a suitable shell which will be derived from the current Pocket PC UI.

[jet8810]

so will the GUI change, remain the same, or be like the BE-300 where without much effort, you can change it?

[ledowning]

Welcome back Jason, et al. Just to let you know, Janak and the others did a great job posting news, etc. while you were gone.

Did you buy out the Microsoft store?

[bdegroodt]

Welcome back Jason, et al. Just to let you know, Janak and the others did a great job posting news, etc. while you were gone.


Ditto!

[Iznot Gold]

Hi Jason,
Thought I'd add to the chorus of ...'welcome back'. It must be nice to know that you will be able, in the future, to leave the site in capable hands if you need to take a breeak and get away for a while.
Regards
David :way to go:

[GO-TRIBE]

It always humors me when we are overly concerned with upgrades. I could not imagine still using my jornada 548 today with all the cool toys the new ones have. I have come to terms with my need to buy the newest and latest pocket pc.
Couldn't agree more. :) People say they want to upgrade but when you see the new hardware (faster processor, more memory, built-in this or that) just bumping up the software seems a poor second place.
I would agree for the most part, except that the iPaq 36xx PPCs were a whole generation ahead of their time. ;-)

[Ed Hansberry]

Welcome back Jason, et al. Just to let you know, Janak and the others did a great job posting news, etc. while you were gone.

Did you buy out the Microsoft store?
Train Simulator baby! :D All the other MVPs were making fun of me playing it, but they will be singing a different tune if we are all on a train and the engineer keels over. Then we'll see who has the last laugh!

[Rob Borek]

Train Simulator baby! :D All the other MVPs were making fun of me playing it, but they will be singing a different tune if we are all on a train and the engineer keels over. Then we'll see who has the last laugh!

CHOO CHOO! There's nothing funnier than hearing about Ed playing Train Simulator in bed ;)

[Paragon]

Train Simulator baby! :D All the other MVPs were making fun of me playing it, but they will be singing a different tune if we are all on a train and the engineer keels over. Then we'll see who has the last laugh!

CHOO CHOO! There's nothing funnier than hearing about Ed playing Train Simulator in bed ;)

Too much information Rob. I don't think I need to know what Ed does in bed........or how you know what he does. :)

Dave

[Rob Borek]

Too much information Rob. I don't think I need to know what Ed does in bed........or how you know what he does.

:lol:

By the end of the week, we were all a little loonier than usual :silly: We were all laughing at Ed and his train simulator exploits :wink:

[Fzara]

Welcome back Jason, et al. Just to let you know, Janak and the others did a great job posting news, etc. while you were gone.

Did you buy out the Microsoft store?
Train Simulator baby! :D All the other MVPs were making fun of me playing it, but they will be singing a different tune if we are all on a train and the engineer keels over. Then we'll see who has the last laugh!

BAHAHAHA...that just made my day ;) .... Ed, what else did you buy from the store? Jason? Rob? The rest of you guys?

Welcome back guys. Its good you guys had an awesome trip and I look forward to...errr...umm...hearing about the stuff you bought from the store!

btw: Janak and Steven did one awesome job while you guys were away. Of course they could never replace the witty comments Ed and Jason make in the forums.

Good luck catching up to the news!

[Ed Hansberry]

Welcome back Jason, et al. Just to let you know, Janak and the others did a great job posting news, etc. while you were gone.

Did you buy out the Microsoft store?
Train Simulator baby! :D All the other MVPs were making fun of me playing it, but they will be singing a different tune if we are all on a train and the engineer keels over. Then we'll see who has the last laugh!

BAHAHAHA...that just made my day ;) .... Ed, what else did you buy from the store? Jason? Rob? The rest of you guys?
Zoo Tycoon and the Dinosaur/Marine addin pack for it. Lots of the other guys were buying a new optical mouse or the multimedia keyboards.

[Rob Borek]

Welcome back Jason, et al. Just to let you know, Janak and the others did a great job posting news, etc. while you were gone.

Did you buy out the Microsoft store?
Train Simulator baby! :D All the other MVPs were making fun of me playing it, but they will be singing a different tune if we are all on a train and the engineer keels over. Then we'll see who has the last laugh!

BAHAHAHA...that just made my day ;) .... Ed, what else did you buy from the store? Jason? Rob? The rest of you guys?

I bought a copy of Office XP Pro for a friend - I didn't need anything myself (I've got a ton of optical mice, my keyboard was just fine, and I'm still working on getting through Halo and MechAssault on my Xbox ;))

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Welcome back Jason, et al. Just to let you know, Janak and the others did a great job posting news, etc. while you were gone.

Ditto!
Yup, Janak was a posting machine... kept things running well...

[Brad Adrian]

Did you buy out the Microsoft store?
Just a couple of games for the kids, some Seattle Chocolate for my wife, and a "bucket hat" so I can look just like Ed...

[Jonathon Watkins]

Did you buy out the Microsoft store?
Just a couple of games for the kids, some Seattle Chocolate for my wife, and a "bucket hat" so I can look just like Ed...

We want PICTURES! :D We want Evidence! We want Laughs :rofl:

Go on - you must have taken pictures......(Please :wink:)

[Rob Borek]

Did you buy out the Microsoft store?
Just a couple of games for the kids, some Seattle Chocolate for my wife, and a "bucket hat" so I can look just like Ed...

You ended up buying that bucket hat? We should have gotten a picture of you and Ed in front of the giant Axim wearing those hats :lol:

[Brad Adrian]

Our week was completely jam-packed, like you wouldn't BELIEVE. The shuttle buses usually picked us up at the hotel at 6:30am and we seldom made it back before 10:00pm. So trust us, with that much information sharing, it's just as difficult for us to keep quiet about what we learned as it is for you to remain patient about hearing it. ;)

Besides, the Pocket PC stuff, though, there were a couple of particular high spots during the week. One was hearing Bill Gates talk about his view of the future of computing. The second was a similar presentation and Q&A with Steve Ballmer. We've been able to hear from Bill before, but listening to Steve was a first. He is absolutely every bit as excitable, enthusiastic, articulate, down-to-earth, friendly and brilliant as his reputation suggests.

[Janak Parekh]

a "bucket hat" so I can look just like Ed...
Hey Ed - have you got pictures of him with his bucket hat and his favorite eVest? :D

--janak

[Brad Adrian]

Hey Ed - have you got pictures of him with his bucket hat and his favorite eVest?
Hey, that eVest was TERRIFIC to have throughout the week. We usually had to carry everything with us we'd need for the entire 16-hour day, so I was glad to have all those pockets.

Plus, I simply looked incredibly cool! No, really. I mean it. Ask anybody...

[Brad Adrian]

Another favorite part of the trip came during my flight to Seattle. About half-way through, the guy sitting next to me pulled out a brand new iPAQ and said, "I just got this thing and I really don't know how to use it. I wonder if there are any good Web sites that I can go to for help...?"

The next three hours just SPED by!!

[Janak Parekh]

About half-way through, the guy sitting next to me pulled out a brand new iPAQ and said, "I just got this thing and I really don't know how to use it. I wonder if there are any good Web sites that I can go to for help...?"
Was the poor guy enthralled or utterly scared of you by the end of the trip? :D

--janak

[Brad Adrian]

Was the poor guy enthralled or utterly scared of you by the end of the trip?
I've always felt that there's a very fine line between enthrallment and complete, abject horror, don't you?

[Rob Borek]

Plus, I simply looked incredibly cool! No, really. I mean it. Ask anybody...

"Incredibly cool" during a geek-fest? :lol:

[Master O'Mayhem]

Was the poor guy enthralled or utterly scared of you by the end of the trip?
I've always felt that there's a very fine line between enthrallment and complete, abject horror, don't you? And with Most MVP's its utter Horror!!!! :D

[Fzara]

Zoo Tycoon and the Dinosaur/Marine addin pack for it. Lots of the other guys were buying a new optical mouse or the multimedia keyboards.

Ed, if I saw you buying all that software, I would think you're one of those old fassion, classic guys who likes everything oldies. Bah, you didnt get anything PRODUCTIVE?



I bought a copy of Office XP Pro for a friend - I didn't need anything myself (I've got a ton of optical mice, my keyboard was just fine, and I'm still working on getting through Halo and MechAssault on my Xbox ;))

You should have gotten the new integrated BT keyboard and mouse. It just adds to the geekiness factor. 8)

I thought you guys had a limit of $60 free software! You bought a friend a $350 program!? Wouldn't it have been easier to simply buy from Compusa or something? Gee, I need to start hanging around people like you more often. :wink:


Another favorite part of the trip came during my flight to Seattle. About half-way through, the guy sitting next to me pulled out a brand new iPAQ and said, "I just got this thing and I really don't know how to use it. I wonder if there are any good Web sites that I can go to for help...?"

The next three hours just SPED by!!

Its too bad they dont have ejectable seats on the plane. Perhaps the Ipaq guy would eject after 15 minutes of Brad's PPC talk. :lol:

It might be kind of scary if I told you this, but i'll tell you anyway. I've actually had desires to meet Jason somewhere, if and when he visits the NY area. Probably because he could help and tell me so much about my Pocket PC. Ehh, I digress. :lol:

I've never met anyone important or famous before, so I thought that would be just SO cool. Sorry Jason. :oops:

Hey Ed, nice hat ;)

[Rob Borek]

I bought a copy of Office XP Pro for a friend - I didn't need anything myself (I've got a ton of optical mice, my keyboard was just fine, and I'm still working on getting through Halo and MechAssault on my Xbox ;))

You should have gotten the new integrated BT keyboard and mouse. It just adds to the geekiness factor. 8)

I thought you guys had a limit of $60 free software! You bought a friend a $350 program!? Wouldn't it have been easier to simply buy from Compusa or something? Gee, I need to start hanging around people like you more often. :wink:

It wasn't $60 of free software... it was a voucher to purchase $60 worth of software and hardware at MS employee prices :wink:

[Rob Borek]

I've never met anyone important or famous before, so I thought that would be just SO cool. Sorry Jason. :oops:

I didn't know any of us MVPs were famous... we're just ordinary folks with a geeky hobby :wink:

[Fzara]

-What is the discounted percentage of Employee priced software and hardware?

I think the name says it all: MVP. Of course you guys are famous!

[Rob Borek]

-What is the discounted percentage of Employee priced software and hardware?

Let's just say it's rather significant on the software, a little less so on the hardware...

[yodacai]

Yeah, I had a buddy who was some sort of manager at MS and he gave me a copy of Office 2000 Premium (this was about 2 years ago) which apparently retailed for about $600. I couldn't believe that he was giving me this. He said it was no big deal because he could pickup another copy at the company store for about $20 or $30 at the time. Now, if that is still the case at the store, that is a significant savings. 8O I am soooo jealous! Its great that you had a good time! Welcome back guys.

:D

[Ed Hansberry]

Zoo Tycoon and the Dinosaur/Marine addin pack for it. Lots of the other guys were buying a new optical mouse or the multimedia keyboards.

Ed, if I saw you buying all that software, I would think you're one of those old fassion, classic guys who likes everything oldies. Bah, you didnt get anything PRODUCTIVE?

Nah. I already have Office Developer XP, Project 2002, Visio 2002, XP Pro, and of course a Pocket PC 2002! How could I possibly get more productive? :wink: :lol:

Oh man... I just cranked up the res on Train Sim. 1024X768 and highest details. My 1.2GHz laptop can take it with no sweat! Choooo choooooo!!!!!!!!!

[Janak Parekh]

Oh man... I just cranked up the res on Train Sim. 1024X768 and highest details. My 1.2GHz laptop can take it with no sweat! Choooo choooooo!!!!!!!!!
Time to change your avatar, Ed. ;) Or maybe we should change it for you. :lol:

--janak

[Ed Hansberry]

Oh man... I just cranked up the res on Train Sim. 1024X768 and highest details. My 1.2GHz laptop can take it with no sweat! Choooo choooooo!!!!!!!!!
Time to change your avatar, Ed. ;) Or maybe we should change it for you. :lol:

--janak
You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to stop a train in a snow storm. If you see a derailment on CNN tomorrow north of Philly, it wasn't me. Really.

[Janak Parekh]

You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to stop a train in a snow storm. If you see a derailment on CNN tomorrow north of Philly, it wasn't me. Really.
Believe me, I know all about trains in the snow ;) Thank goodness tomorrow's a holiday. I don't think many people here will be risking above-ground mass transit tomorrow. Now, if there was this much snow where you live, Ed...

(Steve, sorry for veering this subject off-topic... not that we can really discuss the on-topic stuff as these guys' lips are sealed 8))

--janak

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Oh man... I just cranked up the res on Train Sim. 1024X768 and highest details. My 1.2GHz laptop can take it with no sweat! Choooo choooooo!!!!!!!!!
You know, Ed's almost starting to get me curious about this Train Sim... and Brad's got me curious about this bucket hat...

[Sven Johannsen]

My favorite purchase at the company store was two little stuffed animals wearing Microsoft T shirts for my granddaughter (yes granddaughter). Her dad is a Linux/Unix freak so he hated them and she loved them. Perfect :lol:

My favorite part of the experience was meeting all the other MVPs. I'm the new guy and didn't quite know what to expect but it was a fantastic week. Certainly worth the vacation time.

One thing that impressed me was the apparent enthusiasm and sincerity of all the Microsoft folks, from Bill G & Steve B to the coders and program managers and testers and marketeers that talked to us. It was clear they cared, about their products, and about the people who buy them and use them. It was also clear that Microsoft is a big place and they couldn't always do what they, or we, wanted. Many things factor into decisions and directions. I can tell you that your voices are heard and seriously considered, but it is not always possible to do everything that is wanted. Believe it or not, there are budget and personnel and time and other constraints. I like to keep the success of Microsoft in mind when I think they have done something phenomenally stupid. Could be their crystal ball has less fog in it than mine.

[stevehiner]

There is circumstantial corroborating evidence for an April release of the new PocketPC OS.

I recently read that Visual Studio.NET 2003 will be releasing on April 24th. Wanna guess what one of the big new features is? Integrated support for the .NET Compact Framework.

It makes sense that MS will want to release a new version of PocketPC that includes the framework at the same time they release the development tools for it.

[Jason Dunn]

May, June, July, August, September, October...

18 month cycle?

October 2001 + 18months = April 2003.

Sweet!

Uh....not exactly. :? I shouldn't have said anything... :wink: I don't want you guys to think that you'll have a new OS in the next 30 days!

[Jason Dunn]

Im not going to ask you about the next version (I understand you cant talk about that). Im curious, how do Microsoft pick up the feedback? From entousiast sites like this? Newsgroups? only from MVP's? Im sure they get more than enough "feedback" from pretty much all over (they have to filter (or?)) Where/How does the information flow? In other words "where do i want to go today"? :wink:

Microsoft gets feedback from their customers in a huge number of ways: directly (email), trade shows, Web sites, news groups, enterprise clients, focus groups, MVPs, news groups, etc.

Part of our role as MVPs is to focus and clarify the feedback that we get from our various communities.

[Jason Dunn]

What about my 3970? Will that one be upgradable?

Any Pocket PC with Flash ROM is *technically* upgradable, but the real question is whether or not the OEMs will decide to offer it to you...some of them are great (like Compaq) others are not.

[Jason Dunn]

what's included in the next OS
-New universal office doc reader ala clearvue
-built in landscape switcher
-much faster they say. (don't we always hear this one)
-moves the "start button" somewhere else yet again.
-no news about the sad state of pWord and pExcel.

Don't confuse Windows CE .Net and the next Pocket PC OS - just because something is available in Windows CE .Net doesn't mean it's going to be in the Pocket PC OS. Windows CE .Net is very modular, so the Pocket PC team takes the components they want.

[Ed Hansberry]

what's included in the next OS
-moves the "start button" somewhere else yet again.
-no news about the sad state of pWord and pExcel.

Don't confuse Windows CE .Net and the next Pocket PC OS - just because something is available in Windows CE .Net doesn't mean it's going to be in the Pocket PC OS. Windows CE .Net is very modular, so the Pocket PC team takes the components they want.
Especially the UI. The start button in CE doesn't have much to do with where it is on the Pocket PC. The PPC takes CE and grafts its own UI over it.

And features? CE 4.1 is much larger for every module than would ever fit on any existing Pocket PC device. I don't think CE was ever intended to be installed completely on any one embedded device.

[PocketExpert]

Train Simulator baby! :D All the other MVPs were making fun of me playing it,

Nope, not all, just ordered a copy :-)

[Ed Hansberry]

Train Simulator baby! :D All the other MVPs were making fun of me playing it,

Nope, not all, just ordered a copy :-)
Cool! Be sure to check out www.mapleleaftracks.com after a few months. They have additional trains and systems you can load.
http://www.mapleleaftracks.com/images/prod_SND.jpg (http://target?)