TechEd 2007: The Story So Far
- How scalable will the .NET Framework actually be? We learned the answer to this on Tuesday with a hands-on demonstration from hardware engineer EmbeddedFusion. Indeed, .NET is going where...well, where Java has gone before, but the momentum behind the .NET Micro Framework is the need to make embedded devices radically easier to program. The fact that I was able to make things happen on the EmbeddedFusion prototype card in a snap (granted, with quite a bit of guidance) is a sign that embedded system developers may now be able to borrow from the wealth of talent already amassed among PC applications developers, to finally revolutionize the capabilities of handheld devices...and to help us rapidly overcome the wrath of Zune.
- Will Silverlight have the same spark as Flash? Silverlight, we learned, is huge. Microsoft's Web tools general manager Scott Guthrie on Monday afternoon gave one of the most well-attended and well-received sessions we've seen here this week, explaining Silverlight in reasonable detail without plunging too deeply into the specifics of WPF/E development. The Q&A session alone generated a crowd of questioners who were in no rush to leave even after the event staff warned everybody it was time to unplug the presentation equipment and get ready for the cleaning crew.
Guthrie had an absolute blast up there on stage, obviously excited that a project of his was being so well-received. In fact, it actually astonished us a little bit that among the Web developers in the crowd, those who used Flash and were vocal about it didn't seem to be beholden to it to any significant degree.
They were especially impressed by the fact that Silverlight could show 720-line video within a Web browser, and by Guthrie's demonstration of how a server streaming video for a Silverlight player blasts only the first few seconds of the video over the broadband stream, then doles out little bits afterwards...reducing traffic tie-ups, and enabling astonishing demos such as the simultaneous 12-track video "wall," which displayed all 12 streams just as sharp and clear as just one by itself.
Microsoft Web tools general manager Scott Guthrie used his hands, and on occasion his legs, to characterize the agility of moving WPF controls around in Silverlight. Yes, that's a MacBook Pro on his desk. (Anyone noticing a trend?) - Where will "dynamic languages" fit into the .NET scheme? This was not the front burner item this week, although we learned there appears to be a significant uptick in ASP.NET's popularity now that AJAX plays a role. With AJAX bringing Web applications into the .NET mix, there's more excitement about the inclusion of IronPython, a possible Web-oriented version of Visual Basic, and something we're just now hearing about called "IronRuby."
The reason why has to do with the need for Web applications not only to be developed in stages, but to be implemented in stages as well, melding into one another as their users discover new features and functionality. We'll learn more as the week goes on.
Over the next few days, we're planning to learn more about dynamic languages in .NET, Server Core, and the next version of Visual Studio, which folks here were already calling "Visual Studio 2008" long before reporters were treated to the "post-announcement announcement" of that fact on Tuesday. As you've been doing quite well so far (and we thank you), stay in touch with BetaNews.