PDC05

Things I've Learned So Far at PDC05

Josh Evitt — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 20:27:00 GMT

This is a list of a few things I've learned so far at PDC05:

Don't be late to lunch. (Unless you're really into salads.)
People lose all common sense when they see a bin of free t-shirts. Yesterday, one person dropped his dinner plate while reaching for a shirt, but that didn't stop anybody! He knew better than to try and reach down to pick it up.
If the economy can be measured in free t-shirts, then the economy is doing better this year than last year at Tech*Ed.
"The compiler is an unforgiving mistress." (quoted from Don Box's talk about Indigo)
Windows Vista is much better than I thought. While some of the features in Vista are already available to Mac users, Microsoft has really made some great strides in the user experience. And, RSS really is built in everywhere.
Microsoft *is* listening. This is perhaps the most important thing I've learned at the conference. Microsoft is really trying to incorporate the things customers want in the next version of their applications, and they are trying to be much more transparent.

Arrived in LA for PDC05

Josh Evitt — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 22:27:00 GMT

I finally made it into LA this afternoon. Luckily, it looks like I just missed a massive power outage to half of the city. After arriving, I drove down to the convention center to register and look around. It looks like I'll get plenty of exercise over the next few days.

On the ride to the rental car location, a Microsoft employee from China indicated that this will be a big year for the PDC, so it'll be interesting to see what gets announced during the keynotes.

PDC05

Josh Evitt — Sat, 10 Sep 2005 14:29:00 GMT

Thanks to a cancellation, it looks like I'm going to be going to the PDC this year in Los Angeles. This will be my first PDC, and I'm looking forward to it.

While preparing for the PDC, I found that Bill Evjen has updated his "What you need to pack" post from TechED 2004 for the PDC. Bill has also listed the sessions he's most excited about, and I have to agree that those are the ones I'm most interested in as well.

If you happen to read my blog and will be at the PDC, then I'd enjoy hearing from you. Leave a comment on this post, or send me an e-mail using the contact form.