PDC 2008 is going to be awesome. The latest example of why comes courtesy of Microsoft’s Channel 9, which notes that PDC attendees are getting a 160 GB hard drive full of software:
Okay, okay, maybe we’ve been a little too tight lipped about what we’re going to announce at the PDC this year. We’ve dropped a few hints with some of our recent guests on the show, but folks want to hear more. What news will we have around the Live Mesh application platform and associated services? What about the future of the client platform, including .NET and Silverlight? And how is our services platform relevant to enterprises and ISVs who cater to enterprises? And what about Windows 7?!? Watch this video and get some really big clues.
Plus……we’re announcing the very special gift that all PDC attendees will receive: a 160GB external USB2 hard drive with all of the bits! Could “The Goods” get any cooler? They just did!
His comments in the video echo comments I made recently in Windows Weekly, that this PDC is really about Live Mesh (i.e. “Software + Services”) and not about Windows 7, though of course whatever Windows 7 announcements they make at the show will be the big news. Here’s some other info from the video:
- Ray Ozzie “and crew” are going to surprise people (“including bloggers and tech reporters”) with some announcements
- Microsoft will announce a comprehensive services platform, “big, paradigm-shifting news”
- Windows 7 will be well-represented with over 20 “deep technical, architectural, and strategic sessions”
- Tools (presumably Visual Studio v. Next) for developing software but also solutions based on this new services platform
The size of that hard drive suggests that Microsoft will be providing virtual machines of the Windows 7 build, but the host of the video does say, “you can install it on your laptop, or install it in a virtual pc,” suggesting that normal installs will be possible as well.
Looking good. I can’t wait.