Well today was the first day of PDC, and it is off to a great start. I have to say my favorite part is meeting the broad spectrum of customers, partners and even other Microsoft employees that I don't normally interact with. This year my primary job at the PDC is helping customers and Microsoft folks connect in the lounge dedicated to the Tools and Languages Sessions Track. This track primarily features the Visual Studio teams in all of the various forms. We have a 30' by 40' space with tables, chairs, couches and several white boards, along with a podium that we use as a sort of concierge location, and we help get customers in touch with the experts they are looking for. I missed the keynotes because I was finishing some last setup work in the lounge, and so I got there around 9:00a.m. and left our last customers of the day at 9:20p.m. Since most of us didn't take time to eat all day, some of us from the Visual C++ team got together for dinner at the revolving cocktail lounge at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel. We talked about the customer issues we had heard during the day, about running as normal users on our home computers, then moved on to politics, the safety of hotel rooms, about our dev manager's experience many years ago when Bill Gates acknowledged him by name at a party, and then we were back on to work topics (loader lock issues). Then my thoughtful teammates walked me back to my hotel for my safety and, after relaxing a bit, here I am.
The most common general questions I answered today were:
"Where is the LINQ Whitepaper?"
A: We have lots of handouts, and I'm sure there are plenty of links online by now. People are stoked about what Don and Anders presented this morning.
"What do I have to do to get a hat?"A: Take one out of the bin :)
"Where can I get a copy of the .NET Framework 2.0 poster?" A: Turns out this will be in the Visual Studio box; for MSDN subscribers I'm finding out the plan here and will post back.
"Where is the ILL01 session?"A: This is an Instructor Lead Lab and can be found on the big screens in the Hands on Labs area in the Big Room
"Which bits are in the pack we got and where is the RC?"A: Jason Sutherland was a great resource for everyone who had questions about magic bits, and which went with which, and when others of this and that would be available. The media attendees got today has a variety of things that are currently building on the Beta 2 of Visual Studio, so Beta 2 of Visual Studio is what was included. Now, all this is great, but folks have had Beta 2 for awhile and are interested in seeing the near-final bits/RC of Visual Studio. These are already available on MSDN subscriptions downloads and attendees will get this media this week as well.
"So what's new in Whidbey/2005 for C++ developers? Which sessions should I attend?"A: Blog readers know that my earlier posts talk about the first question, even if only generally right now. For sessions, check out our recommendations for the days that are all still to come (today's lunch sessions are being rescheduled):
TLN309 C++: Future Directions in Language Innovation with Herb Sutter TLNL02 Tips & Tricks: Productivity Tips for the Visual C++ 2005 IDE TLNL04 Tips & Tricks: C++ Optimization Best Practices FUN318 Windows Vista: Using Win32/WinFX Integration to Light-Up on Windows Vista: A Case Study PRS313 Windows Presentation Foundation ("Avalon"): Integrating with Your Win32/MFC Application Hands on Lab: Integrating MFC and Windows Forms
So what else has been going on? I only stopped by the pre-conference sessions yesterday, as I was setting up. Before that it has proven to be an interesting trip for me! I have gotten lost on every single trip on L.A. freeways, but I've seen a lot of the area. I paid extra to upgrade my rental car to a convertable and it only took one day to get a sunburn :) I played golf for the first time in over three years (how is a 56 on a 9 hole par 3? not great! but I had a blast). I rented a bicycle and rode around the ever entertaining Venice Beach, drove through Beverly Hills and on the Sunset Strip and even saw the real Hollywood sign, which was fun. I absolutely adore my hotel - the Millenium Biltmore. It is a gorgeous art deco hotel with rich, albeit relatively recent compared to other parts of the country and planet, Hollywood and political history dating from the early 1900s. My room is classic and quaint, and I'll be back here again if I get a chance. Monday, as you may have heard, we had the fun of a short power outage in all of L.A., and I was very happy that I missed getting onto an elevator by only a moment. I took the stairs down from my 9th floor room, but did have an adventure actually finding my way out to the lobby and street, as many doors were locked and I had to play guess and check with routes and doors. Thank heavens it wasn't a fire situation (knocking on wood now!).
That's it. That's my PDC update for day 1. See you tomorrow!