#MIN51

A River Runs Through It

Mass Innovation Night on a Monday! How cool is that? There was a sizable crowd at Microsoft NERD. Lots of cool products, lots of cool people, everything is cool at #MIN51. Oh, there was pizza too!

Crowd Around Agency Spotter

The space between the conference room and the windows was just jam-packed with innovators and networkers checking out all the new products. Lots of folks were checking out what new flavors of  Izze juice were available for tasting -- sort of a Mass Innovation Nights tradition by now.

Sookbox -- Best Costume

There seemed to be a bit of a media in the cloud theme going on with a few of the products, but as always the collection of products was eclectic. That's a major part of the fun.

I think my favorite product was Sookbox, a media server that let's you create a single collection of media from everywhere, store it locally, access it globally, and connect multiple entertainment devices. Your media follows you everywhere. The Sookbox team was fun to talk with and they were wearing matching T-shirts (though they claim that was by coincidence) so I hereby award them Best Costume of #MIN51.

Backbone Radio

Continuing with the media theme, Backbone Radio  makes Internet broadcasting simple and mobile. Got a Mac? Got a mic? You've got a broadcast studio.

Crowd Waiting for Presentations to Start -- Lots of Folks Still in the Hallway Checking Out Products

Equiso Streaming Smart Stick makes your TV into a Smart TV without any of the hassles of the allegedly smart apps that let you browse the web or play games on your TV.  Stream, play, browse.

TBI Strategies -- Best Prop

The Caregivers Essentials Workshop from TBI Strategies clearly explains most aspects of a brain injury and recovery, and teaches strategies for managing day to day interactions with people who have a Traumatic Brain Injury. They had little cups of Jello -- the consistency of brains. Gotta give 'em Best Prop of #MIN51.

FuzzyCover

FuzzyCover was showing off  their "original ultimate" accessories and selling them at a special MIN discount. He even gave away a few during his presentation.

Mister Smarty Plants

I had a great conversation with the folks from Mister Smarty Plants about how computers just can't identify plants as well as humans can. We're a long way from being able to point an iPhone at the weird weed in your yard and id it using artificial intelligence. Mister Smarty Plants solves that with crowd sourcing. The wisdom of crowds can do things AI can't.

A Real Photographer

There was a photographer covering the event who had a better camera, a better mustache, and a better tie than I do.  I couldn't resist a photo of a photographer photographing even though you can't see the mustache and the bow tie.

Is That One of the New Tech Dinghies?

Back at the banks of the Charles on Monday after having been there on Friday for the dedication of the 6th Fleet of Tech Dinghies at MIT was sort of a weird feeling. One of the new boats was donated by the DKE alums and dedicated to memory of my late brother, Thomas (from whom I inherited Blue the cat), and two other cooks who worked for DKE. Normally I'm not that tuned in to recognizing different types of boats, but when I glanced out the window and spotted a sailboat on the river I immediately recognized it as one of the new Tech Dinghies. I don't think it was the Lew, Jack, and Tom, but it could have been. You never know what you're going to experience at MIN.

As is traditional for this blog, I'll close with an "Expert Looking Expert" shot.

ADP Expert Looking Expert