Yes Ladies and Gentlemen, the "WOW" truly is Now. Today marks the launch of Windows Vista and Office 2007. Today is the day we make history. Every launch event is important to us at Microsoft. It marks something significant. This is no easy task to release a product like Vista and Office on the same day and around the world at the same time.

Watch Bill Gates talk about Vista and Office with Steve Ballmer at the launch event that took place in New York. They talk about this being a Milestone for the company and it is. Millions of people have helped with this release from actually designing the code to beta testing it and then lets not forget all the marketing folks needed to pull of these launch events. It is a big day for us because no launch in history has been as important as today. This is the first time we have launched both products at the same time, and that is a big deal.

I have included some pictures from the launch event that took place at Best Buy. Also check out the video from Comedy Central where Bill Gates appeared on The Daily Show with John Stewart.

All I can say is check it out. Give Vista a chance. It will WOW you. And don't forget Office. The new features of Office are amazing and by far breathtaking. It makes it so much easier to edit and all those hidden options in all previous versions are not hidden anymore. Vista and Office are groundbreaking because we listened to the users. Check the videos out and especially the launch video as it talks about families that used Vista and gave their opinion and they made Vista better.

Lastly check out Ted's Blog for more updates related to the WOW. If you are interested to see why everyone is so speechless too here you go. Is your computer Vista ready, find out.

This is a great day. This is an awesome day. Launch events have occured around the world, and feedback so far has been good. If you haven't seen Vista in action walk into Best Buy and check it out. You don't have to buy it but just ask for a demo and see what it can do.

This picture says it all. The "WOW" has started. The "WOW" truly is NOW!

As reported here Dell has begun to take orders and already "tens of thousands of copies" of Vista have been sold. Hell Yeah. Let's see what the "Wow" factor does over the next few weeks and months.

In 1 day we launch Windows Vista and Office 2007 to all our customers. It will be awesome and we call it the Wow. There are launch parties aroudn the world and we are ready to rock the world, and bring the Wow to you (okay sounds geeky and such) but it will be awesome. Be prepared as I will update this blog with pictures and such.

Also you might want to Show Microsoft your "Wow"

Hope everyone has fun and I am excited about this because it is the first launch of Windows here working for the company and here is hoping it won't be my last :)

I remember 10 years ago, one of my favorite shows used to be called Beyond 2000. It was one of the best shows ever because in the 90's it was always about what was coming up in the next few years past the year 2000. I used to love thinking about what was going to happen in the coming years ahead, and how our world was going to change.

Fast forward to now, and well now its all about what is coming out this year and maybe the next, or the future in general. But then of course sometimes you see clues and you tell yourself, something big is going to happen.

I love to see technology evolve and see what new things are coming about. Even though I don't work for Apple I am excited to see what they unveil because I know it will be an awesome product (don't worry we'll figure out something better) but its just nice to know that a company is always set on trying to improve something that is already a big hit.

I am interested to see why exactly apple believes this will be the year, but also excited. There are talks that they are unveiling the new iPhone, the iTV product, a new iPod which has a beatles theme around it, as well as a number of other things that are so hush hush at the moment that all that is out there is talk at the moment.

All I know is that I am ready for 2007 to be the year. They may be the competition but they put out great products, so it is a chance to see what they have for this coming year and the years beyond.

Another year, and another lousy start. Okay well maybe its jsut me, but at least there is some cool technology to look forward too. CES (Consumer Electronic Show) is an event that happens every year during January where companies unveil all the future technologies and what to expect from the year to come. This years Microsoft Keynote speech blew me away. It was simply amazing to see what one can look forward too, but for people who want to view the entire video, please click the picture.

Firstly lets start with Microsoft has a lot they want to accomplish within the coming year. Already Microsoft has a place within many homes, whether it be a Desktop PC with Windows, the XBox 360 from which one plays games, or the newly released Zune MP3 Player. Although Microsoft has a large base of products out there, the idea is to begin tying in all those products to work with each other better than ever and to increase the usability of each product.

Vista, Vista, Vista. Windows XP was an awesome product, but of course their always needs to be an heir to the throne and Vista is it. There are some cool things about vista, such as Full Motion Desktop (you can have a video for your desktop background), and then Group Shot Research Site (video from the CES). The CES Video in the beginning does go into detail about Office and such but if you are interested I suggest you watch it.

There were a lot of other interesting technologies demoed by Microsoft. Firstly introducing changes to Media Center and introduction of the new Fox Sports integration with Media Center and how when you watch Sports through Media Center it will show you scores from all the games that are going on at the moment. It also has alerts so that if you have a favorite player and want to change from the football channel to the baseball channel when he gets up to bat, then you can now, by setting an alert for your favorite player and when its his time to bat, you'll see it on your screen. Awesome stuff, even though I am not a sports guy. You can also view and manage your fantasy teams through media center.

One of the biggest pieces of news was the introduction of Microsofts Interactive TV. TV is coming to the XBox 360. Why is that interesting. Well I can now use my XBox 360 for everything. I can play games with it, download movies and tv shows and watch them, stream music and movies over from my PC, and now watch Cable on my 360. Why is this awesome and amazing. It is because I can now use my 360 for everything. I will be able to switch it on and watch a movie and the news and then see when my friends are online and then switch over and play games with them. Amazing.

Another interesting piece was the unveiling of Live Anywhere. XBox Live is the largest social network on the TV with currently 5 Million users. Live Anywhere is the integration of the XBox Live network onto the PC and basically allowing users who on the PC and XBox to play against each other. This allows gamers (Currently 200+ Million games are played on PC's each month) to connect to an event larger multiplayer market and connect with others around the world in a variety of games.

The end of the CES 2007 unveils what the next 5 years could unveil. It talks about futuristic bus stops where when you walk up to it, it will give you personalized information about the bus you are looking for. It will give you coupons and information that is targeted for you and you only. It also talks about how things might be different in the home, including the kitchen that will suggest recipes dependent on what ingredients you have in the kitchen and especially those on the preparation table.

Another piece unveiled was a partnership between Ford and Microsoft. The idea was to sync Microsoft technology into Ford vehicles to make for a better user experience. Check this video out to get an idea of what to expect.

There are a lot of other things that were unveiled and talked about but these were the key points that I found interesting. What an awesome key note. What a way to start of 2007. Looking at products that may not be all out yet, but what we can look forward in the near future. Microsoft, and other companies may bring you the technology, but you control the information age. Welcome to your world, and welcome to the future of entertainment.