I'm just back from the MIX 08 conference. This was the first conference I've attended in many years (around 10 I think) where I wasn't speaking or somehow working. I'd forgotten just how fun and inspiring it can be to simply attend sessions and network with people in the open areas. No wonder people come to conference!! :) Not that it was all fun and games. I did have meetings with some key Microsoft people and Scott Hanselman interviewed me for an upcoming episode of Hanselminutes (discussing the various data access and ORM technologies and how they relate to CSLA .NET 3.5). The Day 1 keynote was everything I'd hoped for. Well, nearly. The first part of the keynote was Ray Ozzie trying to convey how Microsoft and the web got to where it is now. The goal was to show the vision they are pursuing now and into the future, but I thought the whole segment was rather flat. But then Scott Guthrie came on stage and that was everything you could hope for. Scott is a great guy, and his dedication and openness seem unparalleled within Microsoft. I remember first meeting him when ASP.NET was being unveiled. At that time he seemed so young and enthusiastic, and he was basically just this kick-ass dev who'd created the core of something that ultimately changed the Microsoft world. Today he seems nearly as young and easily as enthusiastic, and he's overseeing most of the cool technologies that continue to change the Microsoft world. Awesome! So ScottGu gets on stage and orchestrates a keynote
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