MEC update #2

For a conference focused on connectivity, it’s been hard to come by. Last night and this morning, the in-room Internet at the hotel has been down, and my desktop phone was broken to boot.
Yesterday afternoon, John and I went over to the convention center so I could register and pick up my AT&T phone. The phone had sporadic trouble connecting to AT&T’s GPRS service, but we got that fixed. My initial experience with it has been good, although I’m a little disappointed at how few web sites have layouts that are usable on PocketPCs– I thought given MS’ mad market share push that more sites would be trying. I’m now equipped with two phones, two MEC speaker shirts, and a variety of tchotkes from the product hall. More to follow!
There are some interesting products on display on the show floor. All of the security products are conveniently grouped into a security ghetto, which makes finding them easy. Authenex has an cool USB token that allows two-factor authentication with ISA Server. CipherTrust is here with their IronMail device, and FaceTime has their IM security products out too.
As a bonus, I had a good talk with one of the reps from Groove. He explained away some of the gripes I’ve been having and demonstrated a few features that I didn’t know Groove had.
After my two session rehearsals, I went to the reception sponsored by the fine folks at Simpler-Webb. I saw lots of people I know, and met some I didn’t– a very congenial group! Today’s agenda involves breakfast (eventually, when the restaurant opens); the first session (for me, anyway; I never bother with the keynotes) is at 1300 PDT. Y’all are all welcome to call my AT&T phone at 714-306 7913.