PDC05: A Post-Conference FAQ

  • Article

This is my attempt to wrap up some of the most commonly-asked questions about the conference - hope this is helpful to you!

Q. Where can I find the conference presentations?
A. On the CommNet attendee website, which is open to both attendees and the developer community at large.

Q. Where can I watch the keynote presentations?
A. Both Bill Gates' and Jim Allchin's keynotes can be found online here. You can also find transcripts of the keynote presentations in the following locations: Bill Gates, Jim Allchin, Eric Rudder, Steven Sinofsky, Bob Muglia.

Q: I heard that attendees took lots of cool pictures while at the PDC?
A: Yes, they did... over 670 at last count. See the gallery of photos here.

Q. I didn't attend the PDC, but I want to install the latest software releases on my machine. Are any of them available?
A. Check out the following locations:

  • The WinFX Runtime Components are available on MSDN (including Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Communications Foundation and Windows Workflow Foundation).
  • The ASP.NET "Atlas" CTP site (including hands-on labs) is here.
  • Windows Max can be found here.
  • Microsoft Expression "Acrylic" can be downloaded in its August CTP form here.
  • You can request access to the Virtual Server 2005 R2 bits here.

Q. Can I get hold of "The Goods" (the DVD set handed out at the conference)?
A. Unfortunately, due to the conference being a sell-out, we no longer have any disc sets available.

Q. Can I get hold of the post-conference DVD set that contains recordings of the breakout sessions?
A. Sure - attendees will automatically receive this. Other interested developers can purchase it by visiting the Microsoft Event DVD Store, which you can find here. This content will also be made available for streaming via MSDN. Note that you are also allowed to host this material locally for internal use.

Q. Can I download the hands-on labs to explore on my own machine?
A. Good question, and I don't have an answer right now. Stay tuned and I'll update this page with more information when it becomes available.

Q. I heard something about a competition with Amazon. Where can I go for more information?
A. You heard right - Amazon and the Microsoft Visual Studio team are sponsoring a contest to build an innovative application that makes use of the Amazon Web Services from Visual Studio 2005. Prizes include Amazon gift certificates, Xbox 360 consoles and a copy of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. Further details and contest rules can be found here.

Q. Where can I find transcripts, decks, or videos of the pre-conference sessions?
A. We don't have redistribution rights for most of the pre-con sessions, since so much of their content is developed by 3rd parties.