What does MVP mean to you?I am honored to be recognized as a Microsoft MVP. There are both social and technological advantages to it that are really important to me. I am happy to be a part of this community and grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts and questions with other MVPs. Through the MVP program I am able to stay up to date on new technologies and products as well as extend my knowledge. I have access to important Microsoft news, software pre-releases, and the technical Knowledge Base. These things help me a lot in my daily work and community activities at INETA (International .NET Association).If you could ask Steve Ballmer one question about Microsoft, what would it be?Microsoft has changed dramatically over the past five years, becoming more open and visible and it keeps changing especially as it applies to the developer communities. My engagement as an INETA leader for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland gives me the inside view of the German-speaking communities. Right now, we are making tremendous efforts to win developer hearts in Germany. I am really interested to hear about his vision for the Microsoft developer communities in five to ten years and what he thinks we should do.What do you think the best software everwritten was?My favorite Microsoft product is Visual Studio.NET. It has an amazingly solid and powerful interface and incredible ease of use. I’ve been using Visual Studio for several years now, and every day I get more excited about its capabilities. Visual Studio 2005 takes thata step further and offers many new enhancements. It is the result of a lot of consultation with real-life developers and I am really excited about it. I am also very proud of my company and products we have developed. We spent more than three years of hardcore development to create a platform called Axinom Enterprise Web Suite. The core product, Axinom Enterprise Content Management System, is free of license costs. This software is the best I have seen on the market to date.If you were the manager of Visual Developer ASP.NET, what would you change?Tough question. The ASP.NET team, lead by Scott Guthrie, is one of the greatest teams at Microsoft. There are not many things that I could do better. They speak often with us and a lot of product development is based on our feedback. One thing I would do is to try and leverage best practices and work between community and Microsoft in other departments. | If you were given unlimited data bandwidth, what would you do with it?My dream is Evernet—unlimited access to the Net anywhere, anytime on every device. Just think about a kind of Alexandrian electronic library with movies and sounds from almost every part of our society, science, and art. Information could be easily streamed to the devices on demand. The ability to watch movies and documentaries, to hear music, and to learn new things at a time that is convenient would have huge impact and change the way we think and function as a society.What was the last book you read?The last non-technical book I read was Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency written by Douglas Adams in his very remarkable comedic style. This book is truly unforgettable. The last technical book I read was .NET Compact Framework Programming With C#. This book is indeed a great resource for everything you really need to know about mobile development. If you’re a newbie, there are good introductions to the technologies. If you’re experienced you’ll go straight into programmingfor the compact framework.What music CD do you recommend?As a big fan of Algeria’s rai music, I’d recommend the subtle jazzy sound of "King of Rai" by the artist Khaled. The album "Sahra" is the "chef d’ouevre" of Khaled’s work where he demonstrates the symbiosis between rai and Jamaica’s reggae. "Aisha" is the signature song for Khaled, and always great to hear. I sing his songs very often in an effort to improve my French accent.What makes you a great MVP?I’d describe myself as a community guy. I spenda lot of my spare time speaking about technology, discussing and explaining things, and connecting interested people. I am reading a lot and keep improving my technology knowledge with both theoretical and practical experience. I also founded the first .NET User Group in Bavaria few years ago, and I am still in charge for this community in German-speaking countries. I am highly motivated to help people and to touch them through all those efforts — and people like that. | What is in your computer bag?Let’s talk about what I would like to see in my computer bag. No keyboard, no mouse, but aTablet PC. For the past few weeks, I’ve been testing Microsoft’s new Tablet PC technology using it to create and share notes in meetings or to write my memos. One of the two devices I tested, the Toshiba Protégé, was really astonishing. I immediately saw the potential that the Tablet PC offered. I was amazed with the handwriting recognition tools. I am pretty sure that I need one as soon as possible. It makes my life so much easier.What is the best thing that has happened since you’ve become an MVP?I have met so many great people since I became an MVP. I think that MVPs are generally very pleasant to be around, they are polite, and they treat other people well. If they didn’t they wouldn’t be MVPs.What is your motto?Few years ago I read a story, I cannot remember the name of it but I remember this quote: "What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. Never give up and follow your dreams. Life is too short to be wasted."Who is your hero?No single person so far fits the bill. I prefer to learn from many different people.What does success mean to you?I consider myself successful if I have helped othersto achieve important things. |
