I just came from the “Windows 7 conference” in West Chicago and it was a big disappointment. The atmosphere was apathetic, the attendees lacked the enthusiasm and the drive that you see normally at open source conferences.

My experience at Flourish, Barcamp and WindycityRails was miles away it terms of experience: sessions that were really interesting and not just vendor sales pitches and an audience actually interested, proven by the engaging Q&A sessions at the end. I regret not having the time to attend RubyConf this year.

At the Microsoft presentations, by contrast, the Q&A were anemic at best, non-existent mostly: the presenter would ask: “Questions?”, and then an awkward silence and the end… crickets.

I guess most people at the Microsoft event were there to get the Windows 7 for free or because the company sent them. The people at open source conferences and meetings are there because they share a common passion of tinkering with technology.

I am so glad that I work in a domain that makes me passionate about my work. That’s it. I am thankful, really thankful.