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MSeng
Premium,Ex-Mod 2001-08
join:2000-07-13
Ork
clubs:
 ·AT&T U-Verse
 ·AT&T Midwest
| reply to Steve
Re: [Info] MVP Summit 2005 News
Sorry for my absence yesterday...a night cap in the hotel bar last night kept me out a little longer than expected and I was wiped out after returning to my room.
Friday and Saturday were spent on topics more specific to Windows. As you can imagine, the Microsoft Windows Product Group is running at full tilt on Vista, so that was the key subject for me.
Friday morning sessions included an in-depth discussion on Aero, which is the design specification for the new User Experience. Contrary to popular belief, Aero does not perpetuate the "Eye Candy" that exists in XP, but lays out an entirely different guideline for a more pleasant, yet professional look to the OS. Things like navigation buttons consistent across all windows, more efficient use of space and more context relevancy when performing tasks. Icon sets are much more presentable, wizards will definitely be more relevant and the use of thumbnails for easy identification of files are just some of the new things coming with Vista.
Explorer is going to become much more useful, the system relies heavily on meta data when doing searches. All sorts of capabilities are being written that will allow people to create Virtual Folders to tie documents, images, music, etc., together in a manner which is more meaningful to the end user. The Address Bar becomes infinitely more powerful for movement around the system and the Navigation Pane takes on a new life with a mixture of Folder and Group (Task) views that change based on what you're doing and where you are. I left the morning session feeling very good about how Microsoft has listened to what the users want and are taking the time to really do it right on the next system.
The afternoon sessions only strengthened that belief...I was able to spend some time with a member of the Product Group responsible for the Image Acquisition portion of Vista. We were given a preview of the new set, which will include features that previously were only found in stand-alone digital image suites. Afterwards, I spent time with Microsoft employees discussing how we view the Windows Community and what they could do better to leverage the expertise that exists across the web, on forums such as BBR, blogs, wikis, user groups, etc., to provide Help and Assistance when the Support Resources from Microsoft are unable to resolve a problem.
As I mentioned earlier, Microsoft works us hard during the day but puts on a great party afterwards. Our MVP Party was held at EMP / Science Fiction Hall of Fame, located in Seattle. We had the run of the place for the entire evening and took advantage of the cool exhibits, great food and plenty of beverages to go around.
Finally, my Saturday morning sessions were spent with members of the Product Support Group (PSS), where we were given a very detailed description on how Technical Support works, how bugs found based on Tech Support are handled and what can be expected with Vista. Two interesting items I did want to make mention of --
As we all know, Technical Support will (after a certain period) cost you some money....but if the problem is anything Security related, then that support cost is ZERO.
Secondly, the question of why Microsoft wants to control releases of QFE's (or hotfixes) came up. The reason being -- these are generally not tested as thoroughly as others updates\fixes that you get from the Windows Update site, but are VERY specific to a given problem. In the event of a bug in that hotfix, Microsoft will actually contact EVERYONE who has received that patch and will persist until each and every person on that particular update has been resolved.
The trip was definitely worth it...I was able to meet many people that I've admired for some time, meet more online acquaintances from this site and others around the web which I've talked to for years and also make some new friends in many areas of the computing community.
I hope you've enjoyed my ramblings this week as much as I've enjoyed sharing with you.
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M
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A)bort, R)etry, I)nfluence with large hammer. | |
Steve
I'm a PC, so shut up
Consultant
join:2001-03-10
Yorba Linda, CA
| reply to MSeng
said by MSeng  :The gentleman pictured with me above is Mr. Brian Boston, who is my lead in the Windows Shell/User group. Brian is a Windows Shell/User lead? He's also the lead for Printing/Imaging, which is my MVP "minor" (I'm officially a Security MVP) - I've never heard that he ran another program. What a nice guy.
Matt was still at the party when I left a while ago, and he's the snappiest dresser there  But he doesn't have wireless internet during the day like I do, so he's playing catchup about posting the day's sessions. I posted all the Security track notes in more or less real time. I love a laptop with a big battery 
MVPs rule!
Steve
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Stephen J. Friedl • Unix Wizard • Microsoft Security MVP • Tustin, California USA • my web site | |
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