PDC 2005 - Day 1 - BillG Keynote

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[edited for missed formatting errors and adding PDC2005 category - oops!]

 

NOTE: You can watch the BillG PDC 2005 keynote online . [Sept 14 6:19pm PDT - Original Post Sept 13]

 

Bill Gates launched the keynote for PDC 2005.

 

Highlights include:

  • Joked about Monday's black-out in Los Angeles and his past comments on software becoming as reliable as the electrical grid.
  • PDC statistics: Sold-out faster than any previous PDC. Longer waitlist than any other PDC. Outstanding considering the popularity of most conferences has dwindled (no Comdex, etc.)
  • Overview of the history of software development from 1975, 1985 (DOS), 1995 (Windows/GUI), and 2005 (Internet, .NET, XML, and Web Services).
  • Iterated the difficulty companies have recruiting talented developers. Lead-in to a very humorous video starring BillG and Napoleon Dynamite. The pretense of a college recruiting tour made for some hilarious scenes between Bill and
    • BillG: “Where do you want to go today?”
    • Napoleon: “Wherever I want to! Gosh!”
    • Good dig at tchotchki’s. BillG is managing the MSFT “booth” when Napoleon asks “Are those pens free?” When Bill responds “Yes”, Napoleon grabs a bunch and runs for his life.
  • Emphasizes that migration to 64-bit should be painless. The only potential hurdle is the availability and reliability of hardware drivers for 64-bit.
  • Emphasis on the importance of XML and how it’s an essential part of Microsoft products and technologies: SQL Server 2005, Web Services, Visual Studio, and the standard file format for Office 12.
  • Windows Vista and Office 12 will ship together
  • Availability of Windows Presentation Foundation and Windows Communication Foundation on Windows XP
  • Windows Vista has been developed based on three pillars:
    • Confident: Safer and more secure desktops
    • Clear: More intuitive application design (Office/Vista)
    • Connected: Broadband users outnumbered dial-up for the first time in 2005

 

Introduced Chris Caposelli, Vice President Information Worker

 

  • Covered Windows Vista features that Office 12 builds upon
    • Alt-Tab improvements. Particularly the “flip feature”
    • Search is available everywhere (Start, Sidebar, Explorer). A single indexer in Vista for all applications (Outlook, MSN Search, etc.)
    • XML driven OS. Document properties are metadata.
    • Stacks of documents with common properties in metadata
    • Drag and dropping of documents onto stacks to paint the metadata with the property of that stack
    • Sidebar, Gadgets, and the Gadget Library. Library includes RSS Reader, Windows Media Player, Clock, and Search
    • Sideshow: Imagine a notebook with a small display on the top and a small thumb controller for navigation. The Sideshow display enables you to view the status of applets related to your Calendar and Contacts. Custom applets for Expedia are in development already. See www.microsoftgadgets.com for more information
    • Parental Controls – Microsoft has worked with the ESRB to build rating policies for users. Do not want junior playing Grand Theft Auto? Configure his user account to the Teen ESRB rating
    • IE7 has built in heuristics to detect malicious sites. Quick-Tabs, Alt-Tab functionality to its tabbed browsing.
    • Microsoft is establishing a Phishing Service listing known Phishing URLs. If you subscribe to the service, IE7 will notify you that a site is suspected of phishing.
    • Huge RSS improvements in IE7 and Vista. Auto-discover RSS feeds for a site. RSS store built into Vista. One store for all readers to leverage.
  • Publicly introduced Office 12 for the first time
    • Word 1.0 had 150 commands. Word 2003 has over 1500 commands.
    • Usability study participants asked for features that already existed in Word. The indication was that they could not find the features.
    • Focus on results oriented Office System. Revamped toolbars and menus. Features are readily available. Allows all users to become power users.
    • RSS Support is built into Outlook. You can cache the feeds and read them offline.
    • Tighter SharePoint integration with products like Outlook and Powerpoint demonstrated.

 

BillG went on to provide the next steps going forward before thanking the attendees and introducing Jim Allchin:

  • Build on the technological foundation provided
  • Focus on the user experience
  • Build connected systems
  • Ride the 2006 PC wave
  • Software is the key