Spent a bit of my time today over in Microsoft Studios contributing to a bit of work that should hit the web middle of next month (I'll post a link once it's up). Different experience being on the other side of the camera. Having make-up put on me was not one of my all time favorite experiences, but as none of my friends or co-workers were there to razz me, it wasn't that bad. The photo portion went quick and the photographer was using a Canon (a much nicer one than my aging D-60). I felt a bit awkward during the video bit, but overall I think it went okay.

One of the "prompting" questions asked during the videa was something along the lines of "so what makes Longhorn special?" This one was easy for me to answer. This is the best Beta release I've ever been a part of (and I started with MS back in '95 and have worked on Windows the whole time). This release is rock-solid. I'm not just happy that we hit a milestone, I'm proud of the level of quality across the board for Server. As Iain McDonald said in his Channel 9 interview, this Beta is production quality.

There are a few things we need to fix. There is some fit and finish work that needs to be done. But, this is release is something I'm proud of.