Day 4: PDC 2005 Winds Down
September 16, 2005, 2:30 PM
Sitting in a mostly dark and empty pressroom, it's clear that PDC 2005 is finally coming to an end. After a long week of keynotes, sessions, meetings and parties, Friday's relaxing atmosphere is a welcome change for weary attendees. Lack of sleep didn't stop early morning sessions, however, and Robert Scoble's panel on the future of RSS overflowed into a second room.
Although Microsoft made no blockbuster announcement at PDC 2005, the conference was filled with new information on upcoming products and developers we talked to felt that much was accomplished during the week. A reoccurring theme coming from attendees was a new approach to development, with Microsoft opening its doors to customer feedback - good or bad. Microsoft wants developers to play a direct role in helping to shape its products.
The overall response at PDC 2005 was that Microsoft is moving in the right direction - from Office 12, Expression, Windows Vista and Longhorn Server. But now, it's up to the Redmond company to execute on its plans and put the necessary tools in the hands of those who truly make Windows a worthwhile platform.
Bill Gates and Napoleon Dynamite
September 16, 2005, 2:05 PM
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has long used spoof videos to break the ice before his keynotes, and PDC 2005 was no exception. In 'Bill Gates Goes to College' the richest man in the world joins Napoleon Dynamite to fix computers at his uncle's business. "Dang. This thing has all kinds of neat stuff," Dynamite says about Office 2003.
Watch the video, courtesy of LonghornBlogs.com.
Ballmer to Speak at Visual Studio 2005 Launch
September 16, 2005, 1:47 PM
Microsoft has opened attendee registration for the November 7 launch of SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005 and BizTalk Server 2006. The event will take place at Moscone Center West in San Franciso, and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will give the opening keynote. Ballmer will highlight how businesses can take advantage of the enhancements in the long-awaited products.
At PDC 2005, Microsoft officials told BetaNews that BizTalk Server 2006 will not be the final release, which is actually due in the first half of next year.
Full CSS Support Planned for ASP.NET
September 15, 2005, 6:47 PM
At the tail end of a session detailing the future directions of Microsoft's ASP.NET development and Web designer tools, speakers Rob Maucer and Sam Spencer conceded that the company is not happy with its support for CSS standards, at least in ASP.NET 2.0. "It's just not where we wanted it to be," said Spencer. The two said that Microsoft is aiming for full CSS support around the time of Orcas -- the next version of Visual Studio after 2005 -- but decined to give any specifics as to when.
Also shown briefly was a very early build of Visual Studio "Orcas." Maucer said that this new version of Microsoft's flagship development tool would "integrate the design surface and tools from Expression Web Designer," otherwise known as Quartz.
Building the New Windows Experience
September 15, 2005, 5:09 PM
For years, Windows has been lambasted for what many see as an inferior user experience when compared to operating systems such as Apple's Mac OS X. But at this year's PDC, Microsoft hopes that its efforts to emphasize the user experience in Windows Vista will begin to allay those criticisms. To help developers create better user experiences in Windows, Microsoft on Wednesday introduced the Expression family of products.
Quartz and Frontpage: What's Different?
September 15, 2005, 3:49 PM
BetaNews was able to obtain some clarification as to the differences between FrontPage and "Quartz," Microsoft's new Web design tool. FrontPage, now referred to as the SharePoint Designer, has moved away from its role as a mainstream HTML program and is more closely tied with Microsoft Office.
Instead, "Quartz" will be emphasized as Microsoft's high-end Web design tool for professionals. The application does utilize some core technologies from FrontPage, but Microsoft assures BetaNews that it is a completely new program written from the ground up.
Muglia: 'The Future is 64-bit'
September 15, 2005, 3:02 PM
In his Thursday morning keynote, Microsoft's Bob Muglia admitted that Microsoft has not said much about 64-bit computing during the PDC 2005 conference. The reason, he explained, is because everything Microsoft is doing is actually destined for 64-bit systems.
All Windows Vista and Longhorn Server builds come in x64 varieties and Microsoft's next generation development tools all provide native 64-bit support. "Everything we're building as we're moving forward we're building in a 64-bit world," Muglia said. "I really think of 32-bit as legacy. The future is 64-bit."
'Eiger' Gets Name, Vista Goes Enterprise
September 15, 2005, 2:53 PM
As part of an announcement regarding Software Assurance, Microsoft finally gave a name to the slimmed-down Windows release designated for legacy PCs, formerly known by the code-name "Eiger." Windows Fundamentals is a new release that provides the same security as Windows XP SP2 and provides a migration path to the full version of Windows Vista.
Windows Vista Enterprise, meanwhile, is a new edition designed solely for Microsoft Software Assurance customers. It includes built-in rights management technology to help protect intellectual property in the event a PC is stolen, sold or simple recycled, Microsoft says. Virtual PC Express will also be exclusively available on the Enterprise release to run legacy applications within a virtual machine running an older OS.
IIS 7.0 Learns a Few Tricks from Apache
September 15, 2005, 2:27 PM
Microsoft senior vice president Bob Muglia took the PDC 2005 stage Thursday morning to discuss the future of Windows Server. In addition to announcing Compute Cluster Edition Beta 1 and the first Longhorn Server CTP, Muglia introduced IIS 7.0 - complete with a modular architecture. "We've learned from Apache," acknowledged Bill Staples, product unit manager for IIS.
Windows Vista Homepage Revamped
September 15, 2005, 1:34 PM
Microsoft on Thursday unveiled a revamped Windows Vista homepage that centers around the three key selling points of the operating system: confident, clear and connected. Microsoft has also posted lengthy explanations of Vista's new feature set, from experience to reliability to security. There is also a section for developers to learn more about Vista's foundations and an IT professionals area covering deployment and migration plans.
Longhorn Server Set for 2007 Release
September 15, 2005, 12:31 PM
Windows Vista will ship in 2006, but "Longhorn Server will take a little longer to bake," Bob Muglia confirmed in his Thursday keynote. "We're planning on shipping this in the 2007 timeframe." In the meantime, an interim CTP build of Longhorn Server, which has not been given an official name, is available for PDC attendees and beta testers.
