MIX06 – Las Vegas
I just got back from Microsoft’s newest conference called MIX. It was all about Vista, Media Center, IE7 and yes, Sparkle which is now known as Expression. I had a great time and got the chance to hang out and chat with some fellow Flash Developers, but most of all, Vegas DID NOT BEAT ME! 
Here are some quick thoughts on the topics:
Expression and WPF:
WPF has some very cool capabilities, but I was not impressed with Expression. In my opinion, Microsoft has always struggled with UI and this time is no different. The UI appeared very cumbersome. The increase in performance and 3D in WPF are not strong enough for me to abandon the Flash Player.
Vista:
There’s not much to say about Vista? It’s been delayed for three months and will miss the holiday season.
Media Center:
Microsoft teamed up with Schematic to give a good overview of Media Center’s new markup language MCML. It looks very cool and seems to be the best way to develop Media Center applications for optimal performance and Media Center extenders like XBox 360. However MCML is only available for the Vista version of Media Center. You’ll have to wait a few months.
Internet Explorer 7:
Next to the Media Center demos, IE7 made a great impression on me. IE seems to be moving in a great direction. I really enjoyed the search destinations, RSS and tab features which are currently in Firefox.
Let me know your thoughts, especially if you were at the conference.