Leaving Empty-Handed, Again
I've just returned from the AMD/Microsoft Tech Tour 2007, an annual PR event intended for system builders that showcases the latest from AMD and Microsoft. For the past three years, I've attended the tour's stop at AMD headquarters in Sunnyvale, since I work just a few minutes away. This tour got really popular when hardware geeks discovered that they were giving away prizes - processors, motherboards, video cards, software, etc. - at the end of each event by drawing attendees' names out of a hat. It is still laughably easy to sign up; you just fill out a form online, claim you're a system builder, and you're in.
Before the Tech Tour existed, AMD put on another event called the XP Performance tour. I attended two of these while still living in Maryland. At the first, Ladan came along and she was the first person to win a processor. Later that evening, I won a second processor. They were Athlon XP 2200s, clocked at 1.8GHz, and I built a new overclocked system around one of them and gave the other to a friend.
Since then, however, I've left each Tech Tour empty-handed aside from the free hot dog or hamburger dinner, and T-shirt and flash drive (512MB this time, not too shabby) they give to everyone at the end in exchange for handing in an event survey. Since just a few months ago I built an entirely new Intel system around the Core2Duo E6700 (the stock 2.6GHz chip is currently happily running at 3.6GHz) that Ladan acquired as a free "evaluation chip" through working for Intel, I wouldn't have had any use for much hardware. A few copies of Windows Vista Ultimate were given out though, and those I definitely could have used, if for nothing else than to continue my run of not having paid for a Microsoft operating system since getting Windows 98 on a Compaq pre-built I bought in 1999.
The first Tech Tour I attended was in 2005, again at AMD HQ. They set up a big tent on a grassy area next to a parking lot, and the first thing I noticed this year, as before, was the pleasant smell of freshly-cut grass. Also as usual, I first walked around and checked out the vendor booths before settling into a chair and watching the mostly canned presentations. In past years, the talks about current and upcoming processor designs fascinated me. This year that topic was reserved for the last presentation, and was a bit low-key compared to previous years, partly, I think, because of the near-universal critical acclaim for Intel's impressive Core2Duo. But the somewhat muted enthusiasm on their part for the processor lineup actually meshed well with my own. What a difference a year makes: last year at this time, Ladan had already accepted her position at Intel in Arizona, and the plan was that I would soon get a job there too. I was putting a lot of time into learning about processor architectures and design, and so I found the Tech Tour both directly relevant and excitingly motivating.
As it turned out, as the Intel hiring freeze dragged on, we abandoned our plans to move permanently to Arizona. I stopped looking for jobs out there and we set our sights on DC. And that's where we are now. For me, the world of processors is now firmly relegated to a personal interest, rather than a potential career-change path. Additionally, it feels weird knowing that this will be my last Tech Tour in Sunnyvale. Sure, I'll attend the DC event next year, but it just won't be the same. I'm going to miss that tent with its freshly-cut grass.
Before the Tech Tour existed, AMD put on another event called the XP Performance tour. I attended two of these while still living in Maryland. At the first, Ladan came along and she was the first person to win a processor. Later that evening, I won a second processor. They were Athlon XP 2200s, clocked at 1.8GHz, and I built a new overclocked system around one of them and gave the other to a friend.
Since then, however, I've left each Tech Tour empty-handed aside from the free hot dog or hamburger dinner, and T-shirt and flash drive (512MB this time, not too shabby) they give to everyone at the end in exchange for handing in an event survey. Since just a few months ago I built an entirely new Intel system around the Core2Duo E6700 (the stock 2.6GHz chip is currently happily running at 3.6GHz) that Ladan acquired as a free "evaluation chip" through working for Intel, I wouldn't have had any use for much hardware. A few copies of Windows Vista Ultimate were given out though, and those I definitely could have used, if for nothing else than to continue my run of not having paid for a Microsoft operating system since getting Windows 98 on a Compaq pre-built I bought in 1999.
The first Tech Tour I attended was in 2005, again at AMD HQ. They set up a big tent on a grassy area next to a parking lot, and the first thing I noticed this year, as before, was the pleasant smell of freshly-cut grass. Also as usual, I first walked around and checked out the vendor booths before settling into a chair and watching the mostly canned presentations. In past years, the talks about current and upcoming processor designs fascinated me. This year that topic was reserved for the last presentation, and was a bit low-key compared to previous years, partly, I think, because of the near-universal critical acclaim for Intel's impressive Core2Duo. But the somewhat muted enthusiasm on their part for the processor lineup actually meshed well with my own. What a difference a year makes: last year at this time, Ladan had already accepted her position at Intel in Arizona, and the plan was that I would soon get a job there too. I was putting a lot of time into learning about processor architectures and design, and so I found the Tech Tour both directly relevant and excitingly motivating.
As it turned out, as the Intel hiring freeze dragged on, we abandoned our plans to move permanently to Arizona. I stopped looking for jobs out there and we set our sights on DC. And that's where we are now. For me, the world of processors is now firmly relegated to a personal interest, rather than a potential career-change path. Additionally, it feels weird knowing that this will be my last Tech Tour in Sunnyvale. Sure, I'll attend the DC event next year, but it just won't be the same. I'm going to miss that tent with its freshly-cut grass.
posted by GregP at 10:42 PM
3 Comments:
I've been to a dozen or so events with door prizes, mostly music festivals, and have never won anything.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Right, me either, aside from that processor years ago. Over the years I've filled out all kinds of forms in malls for BMWs, Jaguars, etc. and still, none of 'em have appeared in my driveway. I'm convinced the whole thing's a sham.
But at the Tech Tour, all these dudes around me were winning copies of Vista, motherboards, videocards, etc. It's right in your face, and painful to sit through.
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