So PDC is over. It has been a great week with a lot of new useful information. When I talk to other attendees it seems that almost everyone has the same favorites: Linq and Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF). Linq is easy to understand, and the workflow part I guess is so popular because they finally have done an easy to understand and use workflow engine.

Still Microsoft has showed a lot of great new software. Office 12 new look without menus and a bunch of other new useful functions (and also made the existing features easier to find). The programmability in Office 12 will also be so much greater. In discussions with my colleagues this week we already have a lot of great examples where we would have benefited of using Office as UI. I think that the use of Office in our solution will start to take off with VS.NET 2005, but it is when Office 12 arrives that we will do it more regularly.

Windows Vista with the new Windows Presentation Foundation (former "Avalon") which will enable very good looking new software (MS analog is with black/white television compared with color). If we should be able to create software that look like this , it must be designed by specialist in the same way as we see specialized designers create the web UI's today. This will cost more, but hopefully also result in happier and more productive users. In the beginning we will definitely see some of the phenomens that were there when the web came around (black background, with green blinking text).

Of course I can't summaries without mentioning Windows Communication Foundation (WCF, former "Indigo"), but for me WCF is plumping that I have to write myself today. Sure I over-simplify this and there are a lot of advanced features, but still what it does is enabling me to work as I want to work already today. Linq and the WWF on the other side is new and will change how I do my day to day work.

Now the batteries is running out so I will unplug myself and enjoy a couple of free days in LA before going back home again.