Looking forward to MIXing in Las Vegas

This Saturday I'm flying to Las Vegas to attend Mix conference. Microsoft Austria invited me (all these years of iResistance are finally paying off!) to visit the world's capital of gambling – of course I'll report my trip on this very blog and via Twitter. After my return from the US you and me hopefully know anything there is to know about one-armed bandits, striptease clubs with high moral standards, new Microsoft web publishing techniques and the status quo of the cloud.

Plus I expect to do a couple of video interviews – I'm not sure why Microsoft called this place “The Commons”, but there is definitely a hang-out and socializing place, which I will take full advantage of since some sessions are quite code-related.

Looking forward to the keynotes though – plus the various presentations of Windows 7 Mobile, HTML 5, Silverlight 4 and many more. I'm curious how Redmond images the future of the web. Kudos to the guys who built the session planner – very handy and necessary tool as there are over 100 sessions. So far these are on my personal list:

• 10 Ways to attack a Design Problem and come out winning by Robby Ingebretsen
• Opening Up Opportunity with Twitter by Ryan Sarver
• Microsoft Surface goes Social: Research Project at the University of Linz
• The laws of user experience by Anthony Franco
• Copyright: a cloudy subject by Jonathan Zuck

And I don't want to miss the Hour with Bill Buxton, Microsoft's head of research.

I am going to stay at Mandalay Bay Ressort. The event also takes place there. Of course the hotel – it's more like a small hotel-world, actually – features its own casino:

Las Vegas is full of casinos, but none quite like the one at Mandalay Bay. Our 135,000 square-foot gaming environment was designed to make waves along the Strip. You'll play in a tropical setting of flowing water, lush foliage, and exotic architecture. And whether you prefer slots or tables, blackjack or poker, you'll find a full selection of your favorite games.

Gotta see this – even though I assure you that I don't play my personal “favorite games” at a casino :frog: Next week I'll keep you updated about Mix conference, so stay tuned!