I hate to say it, but I can't say anything. At least not yet until I confirm some things are not under NDA.
However it was a great week, I met some very smart people, and had a good time. Lots of things in the works for both SQL Server 10 (2008) and 11, and it was a week to get excited and energized about the product. I'll write more as I can.
Yesterday was an interesting day up at Microsoft. The SQL Server track is split into two sessions, with 2 assigned rooms, and luckily for me, all of the sessions I wanted to attend were in one room, so I never had to move. I liked that, though I was regretting not having the laptop. The give and take is good, with about 40-50 people in each room that ask questions throughout the session, which slows things down, but it does help us as MVPS, direct how the talks go.
I can't talk a lot about what's going on, especially as I need to get some permission about what is NDA and what is releasable. There is a lot of work going on up here and while I don't always agree with the direction, I do see something I like.
Passion and effort.
It's what I like to see from my sports teams, win or lose, and there's a lot of both up here. Even though things are muted in the offices, it does seem like people are interested in building great things up here.
Facilities
The facilities are pretty nice. We're in the Microsoft conference center on campus and the main room I've been in is a tiered audience area with rows that have mini-desktops, plugs for laptops, and great wireless. The chairs are comfortable, and it's easy to see and hear, something that doesn't happen in most conference rooms I've been in.
I finally got set up to access the MVP newsgroup server today while I was working on some other projects. There are tons of projects in a newsgroup/Usenet type format, mostly for every technology for which there is an MVP. I subscribed to the SQL Server one as well as a few of the general non-product specific ones.
A few people had recommended I get set up and told me not to be intimidated. After all, these are some of the smartest people working with SQL Server. Itzak Ben-Gan, Kalen, and more all post in there. I noticed a few of the other new MVPs introducing themselves and getting lots of congratulations, so I did the same. MVP #4 for me, the fourth person to do so this year. I checked again tonight and got a bunch from MVPs around the world, kind of neat for a Sunday. I also posted a question and got a couple answers, related to SQL Server.
As I flipped through the messages that were out there, I noticed a few things. First the messages are fairly complex, with no easy questions or simple fixes given. Mostly these are hard, complex issues, often bugs, that the people that are really good at working with SQL Server can't figure out. The other thing is that there's a low noise level. People are friendly, polite, even joking with each other, but they're really looking to help others. I was especially interested in the MVP author group. Some interesting questions in there.
I'm not sure how much I'll contribute back to the groups, but I do look forward to a few debates and meeting fellow MVPs in April.
