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by Sam Gentile.
Original Post: Microsoft Knows How to Take Care of Developers (aka Merry Xmas from Microsoft)
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So some people are always bemoaning why no one pays attention to their technologies. Why is it that Microsoft can command such loyalty that when a new CTP of Whidbey comes out they'll drop everything and install it even on Xmas Eve (besides being a hapless geek)? Why do I Blog and do community service unpaid so much? Here's one good reason. When I got home yesterday from work, there was not one but two Christmas presents from Microsoft. One was a hand-written card from my MVP Lead personally thanking me for my community contributions all year along with a DVD of goodies. The other was a big box from the PAG group GPM Sandy Khaund containing new books, Improving .NET Application Performance and Scalability (yes now in book form!), and Integration Patterns. Also including were PAG Live: On Demand Webcasts Dec 2004 DVD, PAG DVD, and a PAG tiny wireless mouse along with a note thanking me for a year of being a PAG partner. Now that's respect. I'll tell you another thing. Some people wonder why I do all the things I do. My answer is that Microsoft gives me everything I need to be successful. I have been doing this for almost 22 years and most of it except for some stints in DEC/VMS, Unix, and Java have been on Microsoft technologies. I have always been able to use their RAD tools and technologies to help my business customers and deliver business value rapidly. This goes all the way back to VC++ 1.0/VB 1.0 and my use of VB 3.0 to build a real-time financial trader system still used on Wall Street. I have built and successfully deployed dozens of systems and products into production including delivering real-time systems to people like Merrill Lynch that move billions of dollars around in the 90's. The bottom line is that I have been en-powered. What does that mean? The technologies enable me to go fast, make my customers delighted and make money for them and me. That's success to me. Going back to this year, everyone in Microsoft that I have been associated with this year has bent over back-wards to make me successful. In my weekly Whidbey TAP phone conference for instance, my contact arranges someone from any team in the company I need to answer my questions and remove roadblocks. Groups like Indigo and C# ask my input in design reviews. My MVP lead will do anything to make me successful. If I need something he makes it happen. Another great example is Rob Caron who on multiple occassions personally gave of his time to make sure I could gte VSTS installed. Then there is my local Evangelist Thom Robbins that busts his butt to make me successful in my company and the NE Area community. See what I am getting at? That's why I am going to install the Whidbey Dec CTP today on Xmas eve. Because I am excited and know the road-map to success.
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