Well, day one has come to a close — at least as far as technical sessions.  We started out the day with Steve Ballmer’s keynote.  I guess it was interesting enough, but it wasn’t really what I was expecting.  Maybe it’s because I’ve heard a lot of these ideas before (integration, ease of use, mobility, etc.).  I was just expecting to hear something new and exciting.  I did get a pic of Steve Ballmer from about 2 miles 1000 feet away, though  There were also lots of vendor booths to browse.  I got a bag full of crap schwag that I will need to filter through.  There’s no sense taking most of it home, but some of it could be interesting.

I pretty much skipped lunch in favor of the snacks that Microsoft has provided all day.  There were Krispy Kremes and fruit in the morning, and various kinds of sugary goodness throughout the day.  I still have an unopened bag of Cracker Jacks in my bag.

My first afternoon session was pretty interesting.  I went to a T-SQL Tips & Tricks session.  I learned a couple things, although I am sure I will forget them.  Fortunately, I should be receiving a DVD with all of the sessions slides and audio in a few weeks.  I also went to a session on the new VS Team System.  It would ahve been a good session except the presenters weren’t all so great.  It was obviously very scripted — even the “surprise” that one of them had when another showed them a feature.  Of course, we all know that they already know all this stuff, but trying to be actors and play surprised is unnecessary.  🙂 

I ended up leaving that one about 15 minutes early.  Then I headed down to the first floor where all the vendors are setup.  They had food everywhere, and it was actually pretty good, so no need to grab any dinner.

I’m not yet sure what’s happening tonight, but a couple things have been mentioned.  Last night Gerry and I ended up having dinner with Andrew Flick from Infragistics (and INETA).  That was good, and pretty low key.

Anyway, I guess that’s about it for now.  I’m just going to hang out for a while and see what’s happening.