Mission control we have a problem

Sitting here at the back of the Kodiak room at the Microsoft Conference Center in Redmond is somewhat similar to the control room at JPL which I went to on my last trip to the USA.

soa1

All is can see is a sea of laptops and heads just visible over the rows of desks.

It is nice to have a desk and easy access to power and Internet - all conferences should be this way.