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Why Silicon Valley is different
A step across the pond to sunny California and its tech hub Silicon Valley gave me a good indication of what it might be like reporting on technology in the UK in a couple of years time.
I attended the launch of the Intel i7 Nehalem chip - the first of the company's new range of processors that are more powerful than any of the company's current desktop products.
It was at this launch that I gained first hand understanding of why Silicon Valley has got the reputation it does and why it is the home to the majority of the industry's buzz and gossip.
Aside from the power handshakes that took place whenever a new speaker arrived on the event's stage (a pretty loud smack occurred whenever Intel vice president Pat Gelsinger welcomed someone new), and Gelsinger's loud "I love you" directed at the pathologist who was explaining how he had benefited from the new chip, and (of course) the wide mix of casual attires attendees were wearing to the event; there was something else that made me realise how different the valley experience is to the rest of the world.
What shocked me was the amount of videos that were being filmed as the launch took place. Nearly all the journos had cameras with them and were darting around the room to get their take of the event.
Those that remained seated were typing away on computers, the majority of these being Macs.
My mind started to wander back to another recent technology event I had attended -this time in Eastern Europe.
There it was me, and only me, who had been typing away on my laptop while all the other reporters jotted down the conference details in their shorthand notebooks.
"Shhh you disturb me with your typing," came a hiss from a Russian reporter next to me.
"Move!" he then said a bit louder.
Shocked, I quickly switched seats with the American press representative next to me.
The experience was worlds apart from the Intel experience I had a few weeks later where reporters were not shy in how much disturbance they made. In fact nothing seemed to be able to distract their focus because it was the norm, and they had to get the best take and be the first to get the story out.
When I recall company events in the UK, the country seems to be somewhere in the middle in terms of how adapted the industry itself is to new technologies.
It certainly has a way to go before it catches up with the valley in its use of Macs and video cameras but it would be quite unusual for someone to be told off for typing on a laptop at a tech event.
I attended the launch of the Intel i7 Nehalem chip - the first of the company's new range of processors that are more powerful than any of the company's current desktop products.
It was at this launch that I gained first hand understanding of why Silicon Valley has got the reputation it does and why it is the home to the majority of the industry's buzz and gossip.
Aside from the power handshakes that took place whenever a new speaker arrived on the event's stage (a pretty loud smack occurred whenever Intel vice president Pat Gelsinger welcomed someone new), and Gelsinger's loud "I love you" directed at the pathologist who was explaining how he had benefited from the new chip, and (of course) the wide mix of casual attires attendees were wearing to the event; there was something else that made me realise how different the valley experience is to the rest of the world.
What shocked me was the amount of videos that were being filmed as the launch took place. Nearly all the journos had cameras with them and were darting around the room to get their take of the event.
Those that remained seated were typing away on computers, the majority of these being Macs.
My mind started to wander back to another recent technology event I had attended -this time in Eastern Europe.
There it was me, and only me, who had been typing away on my laptop while all the other reporters jotted down the conference details in their shorthand notebooks.
"Shhh you disturb me with your typing," came a hiss from a Russian reporter next to me.
"Move!" he then said a bit louder.
Shocked, I quickly switched seats with the American press representative next to me.
The experience was worlds apart from the Intel experience I had a few weeks later where reporters were not shy in how much disturbance they made. In fact nothing seemed to be able to distract their focus because it was the norm, and they had to get the best take and be the first to get the story out.
When I recall company events in the UK, the country seems to be somewhere in the middle in terms of how adapted the industry itself is to new technologies.
It certainly has a way to go before it catches up with the valley in its use of Macs and video cameras but it would be quite unusual for someone to be told off for typing on a laptop at a tech event.
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