by Larry Richman
January 7, 2007 11:06 AM

Windows Vista RTM Lab -- Day 2 --

Today is Day 2 of our Windows Vista RTM Lab here at CES 2007, and we had a special treat to kick things off. Microsoft has built a Windows Vista Partner Pavilion across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center. This is where third party hardware and software vendors and other partners will get a look at how products integrate with Vista. Many devices set up there are not out yet, and most are being announced here over the next few days.

The pavilion doesn't open until tomorrow, when the press and partners take their tours. But the attendees of this Windows Vista RTM Lab, Featured Communities and others, were invited to spend a couple of hours walking through the pavilion today. It was quite an honor to be the first to see the exhibits. For now it's all top secret but you'll see some cool gadgets coming out and amazing features of Windows Vista being integrated with other devices.

Following our tour, Bill Gates arrived for a walk-through. We had expected to be asked to leave or, at the very least, stay out of his way. And we certainly would have if he'd wanted that. But he didn't. He decided that it would be a good idea to spend some time with us, so we gathered around him, shook hands and introduced ourselves, and proceeded to spend a good deal of time in a freewheeling question and answer session. Nothing was off-limits. No matter who you are or how you feel about Microsoft, it's still a pretty cool experience to be able to "hang with Bill," as it were.

That was our morning, and then we headed back to the hotel for our second day of sessions.