Wow, first post in a long time, and the first in 2006! Since switching teams back in November, I have been settling down into my new team and was then on vacation for a while, so didn't get a chance to post. Well, we have a bunch of cool stuff coming up this year in MSN Search, so I hope to blog about it as and when we launch something exciting! There should be some fun stuff as early as in the next couple of months, as folks who were at Search Champs may already know.

Anyway, I have been really enjoying watching some great videos on Channel 9. Inspite of being on the 'inside' in Microsoft, the company being so large, one rarely knows much about what's going on elsewhere in the division, let alone in other divisions. It is great to get an insight into what's happening around the company, and more importantly, the people behind it all.

Here are some of my favorite picks, the ones I enjoyed the most (and there are so many that I haven't viewed, so maybe there are some I will like even more!):

• Any Anders Hejlsberg interview - and there are quite a few of them. It is amazing to follow the thought process of one of Microsoft's most brilliant architects. I really love C# as a programming language for 3 reasons: it is simple, logical and elegant. Anders is the reason for that.
• Here is a two part series with Jim Gray, another Microsoft superstar. If you ever wondered what it would be like to engage a Turing award winner in a conversation about his work, this is your chance.
• The Going Deep series is fascinating - there is so much to learn and grasp from nearly every video here. Personally, the one I enjoyed the most was this two part series on the Windows driver model. No book explains these concepts and principles (both the WHAT and the WHY) as lucidly as done here.
• And its not just technology - for example, this Don Box video is about how to give a great presentation - tips from the master himself.
• Missed the PDC? Sure, you can see the official videos, but if you really want to get a feel for what PDC '05 was like, you should check channel 9's coverage. There are also some great 'tour' videos, like this one of the Cambridge research lab.
• Finally, when you read blogs and emails regularly from people you have never actually met, have you ever wondered what they look like? Well, Channel 9 lets you find out what Raymond Chen, Larry Osterman, Chris Brumme or Dare Obasanjo look like. Funny how people often turn out quite different from how you mentally pictured them!

Which reminds me, I happened to run into Robert Scoble briefly at Search Champs the other day. For a moment, it felt like running into a colleague or close acquaintance. Then it struck me that I had never actually met him before, nor even exchanged emails for that matter! It is interesting how the blogosphere can bring out a sense of familiarity.

Anyway, thanks Robert, Charles Torre and other folks on Channel 9 for bringing us these awesome videos!

P.S.> By the way, I have made a brief appearance on Channel 9 too :-) And here is a video about MSN Search, my current team.