I wish more journos would cover press conferences like this

[IainC]

The Register goes to a Dell presentation.
And came out seething.

Edit: because I fail at pasting

[Yegolev]

Now, when you finally snap at that one last Powerpoint presentation, you can easily hurl the projector at the presenter without tearing any of the ligaments in your arm.

I'm sold.

[HaemishM]

Awesome hate.

[schild]

I don't know that many press conferences that are worth covering like that.

[Tale]

I think I might have sounded like that in 1999 when Microsoft bought Citrix's IP and Citrix held their first annual convention by hiring Disneyworld's Swan and Dolphin Hotels, and flying me out from Australia to cover it. IBM piggybacked on the event by hiring the Epcot Centre to launch their new voice recognition software (Viavoice? can't remember).

At the IBM press conference, the only thing to drink was spirits. Every kind of alcoholic spirit imaginable, available from miniature bars around the room. The only thing to eat was chocolate. Chocolate cake, chocolate slabs, chocolate sauce, chocolate mousse, etc. And the other thing they were serving was cigars - fat cigars, skinny cigars, American cigars, Cuban seed cigars, wrapped ones, tube sealed ones - all served from trays around the waiters' necks like ice creams at a movie theatre.

As we got smashed and fat and filled our pockets with upmarket tobacco, the IBM demonstrator tried to show us the voice recognition software. "It understands perfectly everything I am saying," he said. "Cat handstands prefecture every pig I am spraying," said the software output on the giant screen.

[Draegan]

So there was free booze?  Nice.

[Tale]

That is the job of an IT journalist: go to a press conference, drink free booze (normally beer/wine) with industry people while milking them for info, then get sober enough to write the story before your deadline. Repeat next day/several times a day, often overseas.