I just got in the initial feedback on our Tech Community Launch on Dec 5th for Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange 2007 and it looks really good so far. Thanks so much for taking the time to give us the feedback.

It was fantastic to see that the vast majority of you really enjoyed the event, particularly the keynotes (Rob and Rafal - you're definitely going to have to come back for some repeat performances)! I am still going through the specific comments and recommendations - but apart from the weather, the traffic and generally wanting more of the same, it seems that we made a good start! :)

This was (by far) the largest tech event we have ever held in Ireland with over 2000 people registering for the evening launch. We had an unprecedented response to the event and the 1500 spaces filled up in less than 24 hours. We worked hard to make sure we could fit in as many people as possible so no-one would be disappointed.

So, I wanted to send a big thank you to all of you who turned up on such a wet, wintry evening to help us celebrate the launch of the new products - and thanks for helping everything run so smoothly. As I'm sure you can guess, it's no mean feat putting on a show for 750 people not once, but twice in one evening - and we couldn't have done it without your co-operation and patience!

I know some of you missed the notice in the event reminder email about the fact that we wouldn't have the physical copies of Vista on the night and were disappointed not to receive the actual software there and then - we were disappointed we weren't able to hand them out as well. However, the Home Editions are not available until January 30th. But, rest assured, we'll be working hard to make sure we get your free copies in your hands as quickly as possible!

Also - as mentioned - the launch event was only the first of many we intend to put on over the next couple of months to dive deeper into the numerous topics we only had time to touch on at the event itself. So - if you haven't already, make sure you have signed up to the newsletters most relevant to you on at www.microsoft.ie/techconnection. More news on the new events will be coming shortly!

In the meantime - I do hope you all have a very happy Christmas indeed!