Microsoft opened up registration for its Expert Developers Conference (PDC) 2009 on August four. This 12 months;s developer-fest is in Los Angeles again, because it was last yr, and can run from November sixteen to 19.As it will be as well early for Microsoft to start detailing publicly what;s coming in Windows eight, what's going to the Softies be highlighting at this year;s conference?Keynotes are on tap in the elusive Chief Software program Architect Ray Ozzie and Server and Resources President Bob Muglia. (Other keynotes will be additional to the agenda later this yr, business officials stated.) Azure, Microsoft;s cloud platform, is slated to go from beta to final around the time of the PDC. And Microsoft also plans to give various sessions on its hosted-development strategy at the exhibit, also. (Believe xRM, SharePoint Providers, and other “utility computing” building blocks.) Sessions dedicated to SQL Azure, Microsoft;s hosted SQL Server service, also are on the agenda.Even though Microsoft will have launched
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 less than a month before the PDC, on October 22, there will still be lots of periods about developing for those platforms. Windows professional and Technical Fellow Marc Russinovich is on tap to talk about the kernel changes Microsoft made in
Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 R2.Russinovich isn;t the only “Big Brain” slated to speak in the confab. Other Microsoft Technical Fellows, including parallel-computing professional Burton Smith and database guru Dave Campbell are on the line-up, as well.There will probably be a lot of content on .Net Framework 4 and Visual Studio 2010 (both of which are expected to launch about spring 2010, last I heard). Microsoft also is promising a “sneak peek” at some of the so-far unspecified new features within the next version of Silverlight (which I;d expect to be called Silverlight four) during the PDC.There are a handful of sessions dedicated to developing for SharePoint 2010 on the docket. There;s a session on “
Office 2010 as a RAD (Rapid Application Improvement) platform.” I;m assuming this is Microsoft;s updated Office Company Applications (OBA) platform/strategy.I asked Tim O;Brien,
Microsoft Office 2007 Key, Director of Microsoft;s Platform Technique Group, whether there would be much, if any, PDC content dedicated to developing for Windows Mobile. The first Windows Mobile 6.5 phones are set to launch in October and developers are champing at the bit for information on Windows Mobile 7.“We are marching toward getting 6.5 out. That;s our focus right now,” is all O;Brien would say. In other words, guess we;ll have to wait and see if WinMo makes it onto the PDC agenda in any meaningful way.I also asked O;Brien whether Microsoft was still planning to hold a Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) this year. Last year, Microsoft cancelled WinHEC.“There;s no reason to say we won;t,” said O;Brien. But he also acknowledged he didn;t know for sure whether or when Microsoft would hold a WinHEC in 2009. Guess that;s another wait-and-see, as well.Microsoft is planning to Webcast the keynotes and a lot of with the PDC periods for those who can;t make the present in person. Me? I;m planning on making the cross-country trek myself to my favorite Microsoft exhibit with the year.