MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft

The convention is over for the day, and I think I'm suffering a bit of culture shock. I may also have been brainwashed. You can't put subliminal messages in power point presentations, can you? It stuns me how much money these vendors were willing to spend to try to impress me and make me want to buy their stuff. Firstly, they rented an entire conference floor of the single most expensive hotel in the city of Lansing. Secondly, it was fully catered by a very expensive local restaurant, and the food was free. There was no admission charge. Then I discovered that everyone was giving away free stuff.

Right when I walked into the door I was registered in a drawing to win things such as a car, a boat, a vacation, and a $12,000 computer system.

But the really scary part wasn't the price sticker of the things that were given away, but the sources. For instance... Hewlett Packard gave out these really cool stress-balls, where you can squish the world in your hand. (A dollar or two.) Another company had Yoyos with their logo in it. (Maybe 5 dollars, they were nice yoyos.) Others gave away pens, pads of paper, and cheap sunglasses. Cisco gave out nice little key chains.

Microsoft, however, gave everyone a $30-$40 shirt with their logo stitched on the front. And they handed out the pads of paper and pens that everyone else did. AND they were giving away copies of Windows, Flight Simulator, NT, and Office.

Bill Gates and Co. have way way way way way WAY too much money. I live in fear, and I now wear their logo.

I think it's time for me to go home and embrace my PowerBook.

Speaking of home, I have been having a very difficult time finding a place in Eaton Rapids. Things are posted in the paper on Sunday, and by the time I call them on Sunday night they are rented out. I am pretty bummed about the last couple of houses, because they sounded like just what I wanted.