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Wednesday, March 5, 2008

MIX08 First Impressions

Silverlight, Silverlight and more Silverlight. We've only been to the keynote so far (which had lots of good stuff from Scott Guthrie as well as some good demos and an introduction by Microsoft Chief Architect, Ray Ozzie) but it's already very clear that Microsoft really wants to emphasize Silverlight. It'll be interesting to see if they can get any kind of market penetration to reasonably compete with Flash. But if the large corporate partners demo'd during the keynote are any indication, it could maybe get interesting.

And it's not just Flash. Microsoft seems to have Adobe squarely in their sights. Their new Expression Studio tools are tailored for designers and even look like comparable Adobe tools.

One fairly significant annoyance: no wireless internet in my room?! Shame on you, Venetian! I'm paying (ok, Dow Jones is paying) $300/night for a room and you can't even provide a basic service that I would expect from a Motel 6?!?!

One other thing conspicuously missing: caffeine. I haven't seen a drop of soda yet! I can't recall ever going to a Microsoft event and not seeing tables full of complimentary cans of soda. And Lou has been complaining bitterly about how difficult it is to flag someone down to get a simple cup of coffee during the meals they provide.

Caffeine Update: Ahh, I knew Microsoft wouldn't let us down. We hadn't made our way down to the 4th floor yet, where all the breakout sessions are being held. Once there, we were pleasantly greeted by numerous tables of soda, coffee, snacks, cookies, candy bars, etc. Huzzah!