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Grabbing Free Stuff At The AMD Microsoft Tech Tour

written by John Chow on May 17th, 2007

Yesterday was the Vancouver leg of the AMD Microsoft Tech Tour. I missed the tour last year because I was in Taipei during the time they swung through Vancouver.

For whatever reason, the tour was smaller than two years ago - the event no longer takes up the entire ballroom. The presentation format has changed as well. Instead of the interview/talk show style, the tour now features more boring one-sided presentations. There was a break during the “Are you smarter than a fifth grader” session but overall, the event was damn boring and lasted way too long.

Joining Sarah and I at the tour was Stephen Fung, Paul Mudhar and Michael Kwan. We try to make the best of a boring situation but pulling some stunts. We ate dinner on the stage because there was a table there. We had almost finished when an AMD guy took us to get off. I also took over the Visiontek booth because no one was there. I opened up their box and gave away all their T-shirts. Here are some photos.

The Show Floor

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The show floor had about dozen companies showing off their stuff. Every vendor had people manning their booth except for VisionTek. I guess they missed their flight.

Taking Over The VisionTek Booth

amd1.jpg

Since VisionTek was a no-show, I decided to take over their booth. See that box behind me? It contained 100 T-shirts and a bunch of VisionTek LED lights. I guess I could have taken the entire box for myself but I ended up giving most of the T-shirts away.

Andy The Host

amd4.jpg

The host of the AMD Tech Tour is Andy. He has hosted this event for as long as I can remember. However, this is the first time I’ve seen him use a T-shirt gun.

Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?

amd2.jpg

This was the only entertaining part of the tour. I can understand why attendance has gone down in recent years. They need to bring back the old interview format.

The Free Stuff

amd5.jpg

It wouldn’t be an AMD event if they didn’t give away any free stuff. There was a bunch of stuff given away in a lucky draw. Stephen won a MSI motherboard. I didn’t win anything but I made off with my share of free stuff, including thirteen T-shirts. I guess if I kept the VisionTek shirts, I would have over 100.

Of course, I’m going to give away most of this stuff because I don’t really have any use for it. I think I’ll start by giving away a couple of VisionTek T-shirts. Just reply to this post and you’re entered. I’ll draw two names on Friday and those two will have a nice T to wear this summer.

Good luck.

Manthem said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:12 pm

I wouldn’t mind a free t-shirt.

Reply to this comment
WesleyTech.com said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:22 pm

That’s hilarious. I wonder if anyone at VisionTek is going to notice this article and contact you.

Kudos on the show shenanigans. ;)

Thanks,
http://WesleyTech.com

Reply to this comment
Mubin said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:19 pm

What would be more interesting to note is whether they thank him or are pissed at him

Reply to this comment
Deaf Musician said on May 17th, 2007 at 2:55 pm

Ok, genius… we can see your name in “Comment By” no need to add a link signature. :roll:

Reply to this comment
Matt Huggins said on May 17th, 2007 at 5:10 pm

Hey WesleyTech.com, I just wanted to write to let you know that if you want people to visit WesleyTech.com, you should probably provide a link to WesleyTech.com. Just thought you’d like to know. ;)

Reply to this comment
Law of Attraction said on May 17th, 2007 at 10:10 pm

haha you stole their T-Shirts and took over their booth..tats a lesson for visionTek

Reply to this comment
Deaf Musician said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:58 pm

:shock: HEY JOHN… are YOU smarter than the 5th grader?!?!??!?!? :razz:

Reply to this comment
Learn to Blog said on May 17th, 2007 at 2:13 pm

He’s smart enough to make a killing off this blog each month :cool:

Reply to this comment
Deaf Musician said on May 17th, 2007 at 2:53 pm

It’s funny, how Chow goes to conferences just to get a free tshirts. Dude, you make 12,000 / month… buy your own t-shirt! :lol:

Reply to this comment
Marc said on May 17th, 2007 at 3:37 pm

They’re not as much fun as the free ones. Any sucker can go out an buy the things they need. Having stuff given to you takes whole other level of awesomeness.

Reply to this comment
Mubin said on May 17th, 2007 at 3:38 pm

Did you know if you sent shoemoney a free t-shirt he would probably take a picture and link to you.

I dont know why we are so cheap.

Reply to this comment
Matt Huggins said on May 17th, 2007 at 5:12 pm

We’re not cheap, we’re savvy. :twisted:

Reply to this comment
Cheap Custom Content said on May 18th, 2007 at 1:18 am

Cheap is the new cool LOL gotta love the freebies, man… :cool:

Reply to this comment
Marc said on May 17th, 2007 at 3:38 pm

Very true and so long as you’ve got the dollars rolling in, who cares if a fifth grader can beat you at trivia ;)

Reply to this comment
Law of Attraction said on May 18th, 2007 at 1:28 am

haha straight up………smart does not mean rich haha

Reply to this comment
Law of Attraction said on May 18th, 2007 at 1:29 am

yup i thin it is his carefree attitude…that makes him money

Reply to this comment
Monetize Your Blog said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:11 pm

i’d like one too

Reply to this comment
Alex said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:21 pm

Hello again :p I hope win xD

Reply to this comment
Monetize Your Blog said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:13 pm

i hope to win everything

Reply to this comment
Deaf Musician said on May 17th, 2007 at 4:42 pm

John, give me all the stuff or else… or else I’ll :cry:

Reply to this comment
Nathan Briggs said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:28 pm

Looks like a decent enough time, LOL @ taking over the booth. Gotta admire your balls, John :D

Reply to this comment
Law of Attraction said on May 18th, 2007 at 1:31 am

ya and then steal their content and then write about it…hahah!! john john… :lol:

Reply to this comment
Jason said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:31 pm

Nice job with the booth ;)

Jason

Reply to this comment
Hopeless Romantic said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:33 pm

John Chow always getting into trouble. You really are evil. :evil: Count me in!

Reply to this comment
Tyler said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:39 pm

That was pretty evil John! :twisted: I like it!

I’ll throw you a few make money online keywords to help your internet business if you send me a T-shirt so I don’t have to get a payday loan to buy new clothes from an online store.

What do you say…

Later,
Tyler

Reply to this comment
Mubin said on May 17th, 2007 at 3:42 pm

heh, keyword stuffin anyone?

Reply to this comment
Law of Attraction said on May 18th, 2007 at 1:34 am

i want a T-Shiet because it will get me a free link mention from your website :evil: atleast i am honest

Reply to this comment
Shawn Knight said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:40 pm

Can’t beat free, count me in!

Reply to this comment
Scott said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:43 pm

Woo hoo! Free merchandise! Count me in!

Reply to this comment
Deaf Musician said on May 17th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Johnny said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:44 pm

should’ve turned it into a johnchow.com booth. :) count me in also!

Reply to this comment
Michael Kwan said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:50 pm

How about giving me a little credit for the photo of you at the VisionTek booth? :p

Reply to this comment
Monetize Your Blog said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:14 pm

credit to kwan for the photo of JC at the VisionTek booth….
hahaha….

it seems you’re close friends

Reply to this comment
Michael Kwan said on May 17th, 2007 at 8:56 pm

Nah, we’re not close friends. Just acquaintances who happen to live in the same area.

Reply to this comment
High Return Investing with Dax said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:50 pm

I wonder what the most expensive item you’ve won is? I’ll take a t. Its summer time.

Reply to this comment
green said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:52 pm

Here is my entry, Thanks.

Reply to this comment
Deaf Musician said on May 17th, 2007 at 4:55 pm

That’s awesome entry. You WIN! Post your address and phone number and John will make sure he gets you the stuff. :grin:

Reply to this comment
Edgar said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:55 pm

I will take free T-shirt

Reply to this comment
Deaf Musician said on May 17th, 2007 at 4:59 pm

Yea, mee too!

Reply to this comment
Matt Stidham said on May 17th, 2007 at 12:57 pm

Count me in! I hope you have some XL in there

Reply to this comment
Cheap Custom Content said on May 18th, 2007 at 1:16 am

For T-shirt give-aways, they’re usually in free sizes. Free shirts, free size…makes sense LOL. WHEN I win, I hope it fits me alright hahaha.

Reply to this comment
dot info domain said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:01 pm

wow, that’s some long post!

Reply to this comment
Deaf Musician said on May 17th, 2007 at 4:56 pm

John just made 100 bux write a post about his picture in a booth, what have you done with your life?

Reply to this comment
Romantic Ideas said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:03 pm

Sign me up for the free tee John!

Reply to this comment
dot info domain said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:04 pm

free t-shirt would be nice

actually, would take anything free

Reply to this comment
Rhys said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:07 pm

What the hell is Andy holding in his hand? It look like something that i saw once during my tour of Amsterdam.

Hell, I won’t say no to a free t-shirt :)

Reply to this comment
Cheap Custom Content said on May 18th, 2007 at 1:22 am

It’s a Tshirt gun — you stuff a shirt in there, pull the trigger, and away it goes, out into one lucky audience member’s arms. It does look like a weird contraption though (probably Dutch-made, too), I agree LOL.

Reply to this comment
Storm Chaser Videographer said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:12 pm

Free T’s rock! Love how you took over the booth. I wonder if they read Johnchow Dot Com. :lol:

Reply to this comment
Deaf Musician said on May 17th, 2007 at 4:58 pm

Everyone on earth reads Chow. :razz:

Reply to this comment
ricdes said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:12 pm

Hey hey I’m surprised you didnt take this as a reason to make another link-bait campaign :mrgreen:

I’m im for the competition aswell, John!

Thx :).

Reply to this comment
Mystic said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:13 pm

Free shirt? Why not :cool:

Reply to this comment
James said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:13 pm

VisionTek should be paying you. How long did you occupy the booth? That’s hilarious.

Reply to this comment
Marc said on May 17th, 2007 at 4:28 pm

Yeah, to have a superstar like John manning the booth. That’s gotta be expensive.

Reply to this comment
Make Money Online At Earning Blog said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:15 pm

SEND SOME T SHIRTS TO ME :mrgreen:

Reply to this comment
Cifra said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:22 pm

Haha, love the VisionTek stunt. Was the MSI Mitherboard any good? :)

Reply to this comment
Trevor said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:23 pm

I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen a t-shirt gun. That thing seems pretty cool. :smile:

Reply to this comment
Monetize Your Blog said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:23 pm

free exposure, nice

Reply to this comment
Z-LiM said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:38 pm

Man,why are there no shos like these here where I live… :smile:

P.S.
I wouldn`t mind the T-Shirt too :mrgreen:

Reply to this comment
Zlatan R. said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Deaf Musician said on May 17th, 2007 at 5:00 pm

He used to be on TechTV, they got bought by G4 and ever since then the TV sucks.

Reply to this comment
Stephen Welton said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:39 pm

Have yet to finish up all the laundry and winning free stuff from John Chow is always worth going for.

:razz:

Reply to this comment
Roberta said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:44 pm

Sounds fun, I’m in :)

Good luck to everyone!

Reply to this comment
Kyle said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:46 pm

Nice of you to pass on the free stuff.

Reply to this comment
JBagley said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:46 pm

Aah, what the hell, I want a t-shirt. :razz:

Reply to this comment
Chicago Web Design said on May 17th, 2007 at 1:56 pm

It’s great how you just give away stuff :smile:. Thanks.

Reply to this comment
G Smith said on May 17th, 2007 at 2:03 pm

What size are those T-shirts by the way?

Reply to this comment
Deaf Musician said on May 17th, 2007 at 5:01 pm

If it’s free, just take it, don’t ask questions.

Reply to this comment
Moulinneuf said on May 17th, 2007 at 2:04 pm

John you did not like there exclusive bundle for 249 US?

- Energy efficient AMD Athlon 64 dual-core processor 4400+, Rev G, 65nm
- Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate OS - NFR (32 bit DVD)
- ASUS M2A-VM with AMD 690G Chipset
- McaFee VirusScan Plus - (year service) - NFR
AMD LIVE CD

:mrgreen:

Reply to this comment
Gustav Mörtberg said on May 17th, 2007 at 2:07 pm

I love techy t-shirts!

Reply to this comment
Learn to Blog said on May 17th, 2007 at 2:07 pm

I need to start going to some of these conventions.

Reply to this comment
Marc said on May 17th, 2007 at 4:32 pm

I just went to one this week but it didn’t have anywhere near as swanky swag. One company did have tons of candy as swag and that was a very smart idea :)

Reply to this comment
Punny Money said on May 17th, 2007 at 2:12 pm

Please give me a t-shirt. I’m naked. :(

Reply to this comment
Joseph.C said on May 17th, 2007 at 2:25 pm

We can always count on you John :grin: for coming big everytime :smile: I guess you’re not that evil after all…. count me in

Reply to this comment
julie adams said on May 17th, 2007 at 2:26 pm

free is my price- send me one in florida!!!

your chutzpah in taking over that booth is a hoot!!! :twisted:

Reply to this comment
John Pratt said on May 17th, 2007 at 2:27 pm

John hello from Ontario, Canada

Great post, how can I get a JohnChow.com T shirt…

Reply to this comment
mao said on May 17th, 2007 at 2:42 pm

It will cost you a lot to send it to me….do you have some fine print with “US resident only?”

Reply to this comment
Marc said on May 17th, 2007 at 4:34 pm

You mean “Canadian residents only” :) John usually is pretty generous and willing to ship anywhere. At least he did with his pens.

Reply to this comment
Best Airmiles Deals said on May 17th, 2007 at 2:44 pm

What if I don’t want the shirt but just want to reply?

Reply to this comment
Cheap Custom Content said on May 18th, 2007 at 1:26 am

I’d take a hand-me-down (LOL talk about “Cheap” eh). :lol:

Reply to this comment
chris.pund said on May 17th, 2007 at 2:57 pm

Count me in for the T!

Reply to this comment
TopHosting.us said on May 17th, 2007 at 3:06 pm

I’m in for a shirt, John. Thanks!

Reply to this comment
Nocturnal said on May 17th, 2007 at 3:21 pm

So no one asked you what you were doing at the Vision Tek booth? That is hilarious that you were able to just go over there and start giving out their stuff.

Reply to this comment
Cheap Custom Content said on May 18th, 2007 at 1:29 am

Didn’t you know? That WAS the plan of VisionTek…they spot John Chow in the crowd, lure him to the empty booth, and let him give the company swag away — BRILLIANT advertising. And they didn’t even have to pay John for his talent fee! :twisted:

Reply to this comment
Chris Mendes said on May 17th, 2007 at 3:21 pm

I have been reading stuff on this site for two weeks now, but it took your ‘evil’ contest for me to post. :wink:
-Chris

Reply to this comment
Fabiana said on May 17th, 2007 at 3:24 pm

I want one of them. Here in Brazil is a little bit difficult to get one of these :razz:

Reply to this comment
Matt Huggins said on May 17th, 2007 at 3:34 pm

I could use a new gym shirt. :grin:

Reply to this comment
Deaf Musician said on May 17th, 2007 at 5:03 pm

You want John to give you his hard earned t-shirt and you’re gonna use it to collect your sweat? How dare you?! :evil:

Reply to this comment
Make Money Online At Earning Blog said on May 17th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Michael Yurechko said on May 17th, 2007 at 3:44 pm

I was there. I was the guy in the Digg hoodie, I saw you, 2nd row I think? Anyways, I tried to “accidently” run into you and introduce myself, but you’re just way too fast.

Reply to this comment
Michael Kwan said on May 17th, 2007 at 9:02 pm

Yup, we were in the second row.

Reply to this comment
Cheap Custom Content said on May 18th, 2007 at 1:32 am

A close encounter with the Chow posse…I so envy you (I’ll settle for a shirt though LOL). :mrgreen:

Reply to this comment
James Pegram said on May 17th, 2007 at 3:46 pm

I never win nuttin!!!! :sad:

Reply to this comment
Jamie said on May 17th, 2007 at 5:18 pm

I might as well enter! Beginners luck hopefully :razz:

Reply to this comment
Johnny said on May 17th, 2007 at 5:30 pm

Wooo… I need those lovely T-shirts. :lol:

Reply to this comment
Derrich said on May 17th, 2007 at 6:52 pm

Enter me. Me want T-shirt!

Reply to this comment
Gdog said on May 17th, 2007 at 6:55 pm

Count me in for a free tshirt. Way to take over the booth John, lol!

Reply to this comment
Pallab said on May 17th, 2007 at 7:53 pm

Well, I have an AMD Athlon 64 processor, so its apt if I wear an AMD shirt.

Reply to this comment
Tyler Ingram said on May 17th, 2007 at 8:09 pm

I’m game for AMD t-shirts ;)

Oh John I forgot about that flip-it t-shirt that I was drawn for earlier.. you can re-contest that if you want unless you still want to mail it to me ;)

Reply to this comment
Kiltak said on May 17th, 2007 at 8:15 pm

Count me in :)

Reply to this comment
gaman said on May 17th, 2007 at 8:26 pm

Count me in :smile:

Reply to this comment
simon said on May 17th, 2007 at 8:26 pm

Cool~ I’m in too. Hopefully I will get one and I don’t need to buy any T-shirt this summer:)

Reply to this comment
Hari said on May 17th, 2007 at 9:09 pm

I would like to have a Free T-Shirt too.

Reply to this comment
Matt said on May 17th, 2007 at 9:37 pm

Count me in for the contest, John! Thanks!

I wonder if VisionTek actually intended to give away the whole box? :P

Reply to this comment
J said on May 17th, 2007 at 9:57 pm

I’ll win a free t-shirt, and meet John Chow one day!!!

Reply to this comment
Anglia said on May 18th, 2007 at 12:58 am

Count me in if You can send it to Poland.

Reply to this comment
Cheap Custom Content said on May 18th, 2007 at 1:12 am

I’d like a Tshirt…and a video card…and a car. Fine, a shirt would do for now LOL.

Reply to this comment
John Hood said on May 18th, 2007 at 4:07 am

I love free swag, and your “stage” shenanigans sounded hilarious! Reminded me of the times I’ve walked into catered events, at previous employers, and started chatting to guests whilst savouring the catering delights!

Reply to this comment
Jason said on May 18th, 2007 at 5:05 am

Hey, throw one over here!!

Reply to this comment
Dy (www.dyphan.com) said on May 18th, 2007 at 5:29 am

VisionTek needs to pay you a booth babe fee.

Reply to this comment