"Say Thanks to Mom" Event at the Microsoft Store (With a Reader Giveaway)

Earlier this week I attended a FUN "Say Thanks to Mom" event at the Microsoft Store at Mall of America in Bloomington, MN.  Not only did I enjoy meeting up with other great Minnesota bloggers, I learned a lot about Microsoft products that I feel like I SHOULD have known, but I didn't.

If you have a Microsoft Store in your area and you haven't taken a visit, check it out.  The stores have all the latest Microsoft products on display and you can actually use them to see what they have to offer.  Plus, the staff is super friendly and knowledgeable (at least at OUR Microsoft Store, but I would hope it's the case at all locations).

We started our day by checking out some of the latest and greatest new products.  I though the ASUS ZENBOOK was pretty awesome.  It's small and light enough to fit in a large purse but still really powerful (definitely on my wish-list).  Also very cool are the All-In-One computers like the HP TouchSmart - no big tower to clutter up your home office and you can maneuver just by touching the screen, although you're free to switch over to the mouse at any time.

We then moved on to software features.  I use Windows 7, as I'm sure many of you do, and there are so many cool things that are built in and FREE that I am kind of mad at myself for not using yet.  Kristina from Microsoft showed us amazing things to do with Windows Live MovieMaker, Windows Live Photo Gallery and Microsoft Paint.  They each can be used to make personalized movies, cards or other keepsakes perfect for Mom for Mother's Day or at any time. (Take a 10-second break from reading this and hit the Windows Start Icon at the bottom of your screen and click "All Programs" to see that you already have these features!)

Two other things that were brand new to me and I'm really excited about are Windows SkyDrive and Windows LiveWriter. With SkyDrive you can store, access, and share files, photos, and Microsoft Office docs for FREE online. Just a week or so ago I was complaining that I really needed to find another place to store photos. I have them backed up on shared storage at home, as well as a copy on my laptop, but I wanted another place OUTSIDE of our house...just in case. Now I can keep photos there and have easy access to sharing them. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm excited to start using Windows LiveWriter for my blog posts. Several other bloggers at the event use it and they raved about it.

All-in-all it was a great event.  I learned a bunch and had fun.  We ended the day by getting some super goodies.  I'm going to share one of them with a lucky Thrifty Jinxy reader. There is a new Studio Series Limited Edition collection of the Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500. It features lots of different exclusive colors and/or pattern choices.



Reader Giveaway:  One lucky Thrifty Jinxy reader will win the Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 Limited Edition in White Gloss. To enter, just complete the entry form below by 11:59pm ET on 6/4/12.

a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclosure: I was a guest of Microsoft at this event and received product to review. Any opinions expressed are my own.