Windows Vista Team Blog : Windows Vista, Coach Tour

Windows Vista Coach Tour: On to Atlanta

Nick White — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 14:44:00 GMT

We're on our way right now to Atlanta and expect to be there w/in ~2hrs. The plan is to meet customers at the MicroCenter in Marietta around noon or shortly before:

MicroCenter (Marietta)
Powers Ferry Plaza
1275 Powers Ferry Rd. SE, Suite 50
Marietta, GA 30067
(770) 859-1540

Our second stop in the early PM will be the Fry’s in Alpharetta:

3065 Webb Road
Alpharetta, GA
678.280.0500

We then set off for Nashville and the conculsion of the Tour this evening.

Windows Vista Coach Tour: Tracking the coverage

Nick White — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 16:33:00 GMT

The excitement for Windows Vista's upcoming launch (in 8 days!) is infectious, and we're certainly seeing that in the flesh out here on the road. Where we're also seeing the excitement is online, of course -- for instance, 1500 people have downloaded the Windows Vista Coach Tour gadget for Sidebar, Windows Live and Windows Spaces. And people are talking, not just about Windows Vista, but about our travels as well. Here's a small sampling of what they have to say:

Windows Vista Bus Gadget

After a chat last week with Nick White that it would be cool if there was a way to track the progress of the bus as they were taking it across the eastern part of the US it looks like they quickly whipped together a gadget to do just that. You too can...

The Windows Vista Bus Tour Started!

The Windows Vista Tour bus started with Bink.nu's Ryan Hoffman on it and of course Microsoft own Nick White! Read full story...

ActiveWin.com: Microsoft Windows Vista Bus Tour Pictures

Here are a few pictures I snapped yesterday when I stopped to visit the Windows Vista Bus Tour. I saw Nick White from the official Windows Vista Blog as well as other community members riding along with the tour. Check out the hive.net to see where the bus is today! They will give you the full Vista experience plus you can get a free mouse pad!

Windows Vista Coach Tour Wrap Up & Photos from Ryan

This week, I’ve had an opportunity of a lifetime – I got to spend five days on the Windows Vista Coach. In those five days, I’ve ridden the bus up and down the east coast, stopping in many cities at malls, computer stores, and as many other places that we could (while maintaining somewhat of a schedule). I’ve learned a great deal speaking to the many people who have hopped on board the bus, especially the many ways people use PC’s running Windows.

Windows Vista gets on the Bus: Feast your eyes on the pictures of the Vista coach

Windows Vista gets on the bus is a literal expression. It is actually on a coach that Microsoft is using to promote the operating system across select locations in the United States. The Windows Vista Coach tour was announced by Nick White, Microsoft Product Manager, four days ago. ... [read more >>]

Here Comes The Windows Vista Bus

Starting early next week Microsoft will be taking a Windows Vista bus across the eastern part of the United States. If you are located in or close to one of the following cities plan on catching the bus when it comes to a town sometime between January 16 through the 24th.

Windows Vista Coach Tour

Nick White, a Windows Vista project manager, announced on the Windows Vista Team Blog that he and some others will soon be leaving on a tour of East coast U.S. cities. The group will travel in a bus with a custom Windows Vista wrap. On board the bus is a lounge where you can check your email via free WiFi, test drive Vista on different systems, and see the way Windows Media Center works with the Xbox 360 as an extender. To see the cities included in the tour, visit the team's blog.

Windows Vista Touring the States

Windows Vista is on tour via a big Vista theme coach. With just 12 days before its launch, the coach will be heading around the East coast of the U.S. to give demos. They've created a Tour Bus Gadget that you can use to track the journey. It uses ... for the Vista Sidebar (if you're using it), Google, Live.com, or Windows Live Spaces. The ...

Track The Vista Bus Across America

Take a look on the right: That’s a Microsoft Gadget that shows you where the Windows Vista bus is right now, thanks to a GPS unit on the bus. The bus shoved off yesterday, and will be going for another week, heading to all sorts of interesting locations. The Gadget is by Donavon West, and here’s the code you can use to put it on your blog ...

Announcing the Windows Vista Coach Tour, A great experience for east cost US residents

Road trip! By now I'm sure you've heard that the "Wow" starts now. Well, now we're bringing the "Wow" to you! From 16-24 January, I and a few Windows community influencers will hop on a custom-wrapped Windows Vista bus and visit major cities on the East coast...

And lastly, we made a short film clip covering our trip through the nation's capitol and posted it on Soapbox -- check out our video of the Windows Vista Bus Tour: Washington DC.

Video: Windows Vista Bus Tour: Washington DC

We're camping out in Orlando tonight and plan to hit the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville. (Mercifully, it's nice and warm here.) Expect more photos and video to come ...

Windows Vista Coach Tour: Coverage at The Hive

Nick White — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 00:14:00 GMT

Brandon LeBlanc has started a thread over at The Hive discussing our travels on the Windows Vista Coach. He continues to update it at each of our stops (and then some). Also check out the new Windows Vista Coach Tour Photo Gallery that he's put together as well. Photos are separated by each city we visit ... maybe yours?

Windows Vista Coach Tour: Catching our breath

Nick White — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 05:36:00 GMT

Whew, we've put a lot of miles behind us in the last 2 days and it's starting to show just a wee bit -- everyone is needing a bit more rest as we head into the weekend. Yet that hasn't dulled our zeal for demonstrating the cool-factor of Windows Vista to anyone and everyone who'll listen. In fact, as we met with our first round of customers this morning, it was obvious that each of us got on a roll while giving our first series of demonstrations and before we knew it, we'd missed the lunch hour (some customers were skipping their lunches, too, to drop by their local computer store to hear us, so we may as well return the favor!). It was then time to hit the road to the next destination, with a quick stop by Subway for a relatively healthy alternative to fast-food.

We're at the end of day 4 at this point and we've met with literally dozens of customers, each of whom has a specific interest in Windows Vista. It's truly invigorating to be out on the open road, showing off a product that we love and relaying our excitement for it to the rest of the world. Let it be known that mine is the best job at Microsoft.

Our routing today took us from Tyson's Corner through Washington, DC and Richmond, VA into the Research Triangle area of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC. While in DC we met Donavon West, a great guy and the dev who built both our Windows Vista Bus Tour gadget and the Windows Vista Countdown gadget. He and his girlfriend brought their dog along and helped us as we helped Windows customers understand the power of the new OS. Donavon had a few words to say about their morning with us.

Today was a perfect day to visit our nation's capitol and revel in the vistas it offers.

Let me say that I'm sorry to those of you in Philadelphia and Baltimore whom we were unable to meet this week. Our trip started off a little rocky due to airline delays and we lost some ground straightaway, which had to be made up in order to be able to return to Nashville on Wednesday 24th. Because weather was uncooperative at the time in the Pennsylvania / Maryland area, we made the tough decision to pare down our list of cities slated for visit so as to put us back on track. That's a shame, as Philadelphia has recently become one of my favorite US cities. I hope our customers out there are still excited about our product launch coming on the 30th and can live (at least a little) vicariously via these updates.

Having said all that, our schedule for the weekend and following is shaping up to be:

Sat 20th: Charlotte around noon, Savannah in the evening
Sun 21st: Orlando all afternoon
Mon 22nd: Jacksonville, FL in AM; Gainesville, FL in PM
Tues 23rd: Atlanta in afternoon
Wed 24th: return to Nashville mid-afternoon

Be aware that we may have to switch days and destinations depending on traffic, weather (let's hope not) or other factors, but we'll let you know as soon as we do so you can prepare.

Back at it tomorrow! See you out there :)

Windows Vista Coach Tour: Always on the run

Nick White — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 05:04:00 GMT

Hi everyone! We've had a busy, busy couple of days -- we've put a lot of miles behind us, eaten in countless restaurants (while trying to avoid fast food), slept in different beds each night, and most importantly, met a ton of customers. We're answering questions ranging from "what's Windows Vista?" to "what's your favorite feature?" to "what are the advances in networking that will ensure my home network is secure?" In fact, one of our guys has created a list of recurring topics that customers continue to hit upon.

Our routing has taken us from Lexington, KY on Wednesday morning through parts of Ohio and into Pittsburgh, PA last evening. We've since made it to the outskirts of Washington, DC tonight and are preparing for another very active day tomorrow. Our routing should take us toward Richmond, VA tomorrow evening and Charlotte, NC the following day.

I didn't have the opportunity to post an update last night, so I'll provide you a short recap of our trip this far, with a few captions so you can identify whether we've already swung through your neck of the woods. (It gets hard to remember where we are, where we've just been and we're headed. Luckily, we have a professional driver to take care of those "little details" for us ;).

Here we are in Nashville getting ready to board the coach for our great adventure (L-R are Brandon LeBlanc, Ryan Hoffman and me).

Another shot of our rig in Nashville, right before we set off:

After that photo session we climbed aboard to inspect our new surroundings, plug in the Xbox 360, settle into one of those comfy leather recliners and dig into the wireless internet. This is going to be home during our waking hours for the next week+.

Wednesday afternoon we made our way to Ohio State University but ran into a few roadblocks (literally) and had to beat it off campus -- there simply was nowhere for us to park, even for a moment.

This is us in action in the heartland (Ohio), wrapping up a multi-system demo while trying to stay out of the cold :)

This morning in Pittsburgh we dropped by a local Best Buy for a gadget-fix and chatted with all sorts of customers, including employees wanting to ask us in-depth questions about the upgrading process. We even gave away a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate to a father and son duo who'd just bought a new computer! The father said that we'd "just made his week." It was our pleasure :)

Here's a shot of our bus as we arrived in tech Mecca:

And while in Pittsburgh, Bob Stein of ActiveWin dropped by to keep us company and help answer customers' questions -- which is a lucky thing, because we were inundated with people curious about MS' new operating system.

Thanks for the help, Bob!

As I said, tonight we're right outside the nation's capital and will make our foray into the city in the morning to meet more customers and perhaps even capture a few shots of our coach in front of the more recognizable monuments -- if we can stop traffic for long enough, that is (just kidding!).

More news tomorrow from DC and points beyond ... be sure to keep track of our position via the gadget!

Windows Vista Coach Tour: In the fast lane

Nick White — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 15:57:00 GMT

We're making good time this morning, leaving Lexington around 8AM after a quick breakfast and fuel stop. Very cold conditions but a beautiful day as we pass through horse country and on into more of the US heartland.

Presently we're passing through Florence, KY on the way to Cincinnati and then Jeffersonville. Look for us there!

More news as we arrive.

Windows Vista Coach Tour: Schedule for Wednesday 17th

Nick White — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 05:35:00 GMT

Hi all -- just a short note to let you know where we're planning to be tomorrow. Our route takes us through Cincinnati, Columbus and onward to Pittsburgh.

Noon: stop for lunch at the Prime outlets outside Jeffersonville

mid-afternoon: Ohio State University campus

Evening and/or Thursday AM: Pittsburgh

A big thank-you to everyone who came out to meet us today, including minimage -- we had a great time with you all!

Remember that you can always find us via the Windows Vista Bus Tour Gadget.

Windows Vista Coach Tour: We're underway

Nick White — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 22:01:00 GMT

Some of you have noticed that we're now moving, per the Bus Tour Gadget. Indeed we are. After recovering from yesterday's typical airline snafus of inordinate flight delays (all of us were affected) and lost luggage (2 of us were affected), and battling some extremely cold weather, the coach showed up at our hotel late in the morning and we got our first glimpse of what will be our home during the waking hours for the next 8 days. Take a look at the exterior:

The Windows UX Design Team helped us put together the exterior wrap -- kudos to them for doing such fine work. It really brightens up an otherwise grey day!

A view from the inside:

This beast is S - W - E - E - T: four flat-panel TVs with satellite reception, wireless Internet throughout, a full kitchen, and leather seating for 18!

On our way out of Nashville headed toward Lexington, we didn't even make it out of the parking lot. While stopping at Costco for provisions, a couple came over and asked if we were giving demos of Windows Vista. Why, of course we are! So we sat with them for about 20 minutes discussing Photo Gallery, Media Center and Parental Controls, among other aspects of the new OS.

These folks were amazed by the look of the Windows Vista UI and asked a lot of questions about hardware compatibility and the upgrade vs. full-install process. Among other things, we pointed them to the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor at windowsvista.com.

If you're located in or around Lexington, come see us at the Fayetteville Mall this evening. More news as we near our destination ...

Announcing the Windows Vista Coach Tour

Nick White — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 21:52:00 GMT

Road trip! By now I'm sure you've heard that the "Wow" starts now. Well, now we're bringing the "Wow" to you! From 16-24 January, I and a few Windows community influencers will hop on a custom-wrapped Windows Vista bus and visit major cities on the East coast of the United States:

Nashville
Lexington
Cincinnati
Columbus
Pittsburgh
Philadelphia
Baltimore
Washington, DC
Charlotte
Savannah
Jacksonville
Orlando
Gainesville
Atlanta
... and points in between

We'll then return to Nashville to wrap up the tour on the 24th.

There'll be tons of chances for you to spot us at places in and around these cities and also on the highways in-between. The coach itself is pretty sharp -- it's wrapped with a custom design based on the Windows Vista "energy" theme that is the default wallpaper. Our friends at AMD will be part of the branding as well. On board there'll be free Wi-Fi if you need to check your mail and a very comfortable lounge area where you can test-drive numerous systems running Windows Vista and an Xbox 360, or enjoy a refreshment while chatting with us about Windows Vista.

This will be a really exciting tour. I've never been a part of such an extensive road trip like this before and look forward to meeting regular folks interested in seeing demos of Windows Vista in person. We'll show off several PCs running Windows Vista while demo'ing things like Ultimate Extras, speech recognition, Tablet functionality, and the way Media Center works with the Xbox 360 as an extender. We've got some cool stuff to give away, and we'll capture video and still photos of our interactions so that you all on this blog can be a part of the action. We'll also be prepared to answer the many questions we anticipate that the folks will have.

I'll post day-by-day video and text updates during the week while we're on the road. Oh, and we're also working on a way for you to track our travels with a Sidebar gadget -- more on that later.