Copper River salmon aren"t the only carefully handled, rich creatures flown to Seattle in early May.
It"s also time for Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates" CEO Summit, an annual event that brings more than 100 corporate leaders to Redmond to discuss technology trends with Gates and each other.
Those attending spend most of their time at Microsoft"s on-campus conference center, but they also dine at the Gates mansion in Medina, where Copper River salmon have been on the menu in years past.
But the focus of the event, which takes place Wednesday and Thursday, is the way businesses use computers and software today and will use them in the future.
In a speech Wednesday, Gates is expected to address skepticism about the value of information-technology investments among some economists and pundits. He"s planning to describe how skeptics emerge in every era of innovation but to argue investing in technology is more important today than ever.