Microsoft To Tackle Web 2.0 At Mix06

Internet Explorer 7, Atlas and Microsoft's fledgling Expression line of Web application development tools will be among the technologies spotlighted at the Las Vegas show, which runs March 20 to 22.

Microsoft hasn't had a conference specifically for Web developers since the late 1990s, according to Tim O'Brien, manager of Microsoft's platform strategy group. With so many new products and developer tools in the works--many of which are tied to Windows Vista--the timing seemed right to reach out beyond Microsoft's traditional developer community, he said.

"This has become the perfect time to bring all this together and say to the Web developer and design community, 'Not only are we committed to you from a product standpoint, but we also want to tell you about some of the things you can do on our platform,' " O'Brien said.

O'Brien expects many Mix06 attendees to be new to working with Microsoft developer tools. The show will have an introductory air, with heavy customer and ISV partner participation.

Microsoft won't discuss its attendance expectations, but it has closed registration and declared the show sold out. Mix06's target audience is developers working on major commercial Web sites, such as eBay, Amazon.com and Yahoo--all of which are represented on the show's speaker list. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is scheduled to open the show with a keynote address that will include a discussion with tech guru Tim O'Reilly, the founder of publishing company O'Reilly Media.

O'Reilly is one of the biggest proponents of Web 2.0, the theory that a new wave of applications is emerging that takes advantage of Web-enabled flexibility to offer users innovative functionality unmatched by old-fashioned desktop applications. For Mix06, Microsoft has drawn on Web 2.0 tropes, such as collaboration. It's positioning the conference as "a 72-hour conversation" and has equipped the show Web site with a blog and a contest inviting developers to "remix" the site with a new design. An on-site "sandbox" with dozens of PCs will give attendees a chance to sit down and play with code, using Microsoft technologies like Windows Presentation Foundation and Atlas, Microsoft's under-development tool kit for AJAX-like functionality using its technology stack.

"There's a lot of hype right now about Web 2.0. This is a way for Microsoft to take control of the noise," said Jupiter Research analyst Joe Wilcox.

After winning the browser wars, Microsoft abandoned its conquered territory and neglected the Web development market, Wilcox said. Now the Redmond, Wash., software giant has reinvigorated its efforts, but its vision of Web development will always include hooks to its own technologies, he noted, citing MicrosoftMax, a developing photo-sharing program that uses WinFX technology from Vista.

"It's a classic example of what Microsoft will be doing as it looks at the Web 2.0 problem," Wilcox said. "Microsoft will offer some interesting and potentially cool services, but they will be tied back to the desktop."