Microsoft Hosts an Open House Holiday Showcase

On Monday, November 7^th, Microsoft held an Open House Holiday Showcase at NYC’s Hammerstein Ballroom. Along with the traditional press, several bloggers were invited to attend, where the discussion revolved around how technology makes it easier to remain connected with family during the holidays. In addition, the bloggers had the opportunity to meet with representatives from Windows, Bing, Xbox, Windows Phone and Office.

Alex Guarnaschelli, executive chef at Butter restaurant and a television food personality, was a celebrity spokesperson at the event.  A self-described unlikely candidate to represent technology, Chef Alex shared how it simply makes her full life easier to manage. With two NYC restaurants, her Food Network television work, writing a book and a young daughter, she credits Windows Phone for helping her keep track of her notes in addition to using the phone to set alarms and reminders. Following her short talk, delicious bites from Chef Alex’s restaurant Butter were served.

After the morning session of the Open House, a small group of bloggers were invited to lunch at a nearby restaurant. While there, Techlicious’ Suzanne Kantra and Heidi Leder (who were hired by Microsoft to pull the blogger group together) continued the technology conversation by sharing more holiday entertainment, shopping and travel tips while attendees had a chance to get some time with the Window Phones in order to learn about its new features. While the technical specs and features could be found at the Open House, the lunch provided a chance to chat about the ways people would practically use the phones in everyday life.  Amy Oztan of Selfish Mom felt like the event was informative.  “Most of the Bing stuff (shopping, travel, hotels, etc.) was new to me, and very cool. So was the Facebook integration,” she says.  Christen Rochon of Divas and Dorks was also in attendance.  “As a Windows phone newbie, I learned a lot about the user interface of the new Windows phones as well as how easy it is to connect with family using the ‘Live’ tiles on the home screen,” she says.

{Post images courtesy of Heidi Leder/Coast 2 Coast Mom}