Over 3,000 software developers, hardware manufacturers and Microsoft employees have converged on Seattle for the 2005 Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), which kicks off today.

Unlike the conference's geekier brother DevCon, WinHEC is focused on hardware. Servers will be a hot topic as the industry awaits news of Microsoft's much-delayed Longhorn operating system.

Bill Gates will be opening the three-day event, which covers the future of Windows and how it will affect the computer systems we'll be using in the coming years.

64-bit computing is expected to dominate the proceedings as the industry gears up to shift hardware and software platforms away from 32-bit.

Tablet PCs will also come under the spotlight, with new form factors expected to be unveiled. Manufacturers will also get advice on building such devices with new software and chipset designs.

The vnunet.com team will be on site, bringing you the news as it happens. We'll also be blogging regularly on the latest from the conference floor as tomorrow's computing is decided today.