[pcore]

After working in a Linux/Open-source environment for several years and then switching to Microsoft a few years ago, I noticed that things seemed to be getting progressively more open and developer-friendly. I've wondered if it was just me being biased toward my current environment, but there has definitely been progress.

I think that Microsoft has finally realized that the best way to build and maintain a community of software professionals is to treat them like esteemed associates. It's too bad Haack left, but with Scott Hanselman evangelizing (he even came to my mid-sized midwest city a few weeks ago) and ScottGu running the show, things are looking bright for MS devs.

[johnkchow]

I started my career in MS ASP.NET WebForms/MVC, and then recently switched to RoR, and it's obvious that they're mimicking the success of RoR development environment and, more importantly, the culture. Their Nuget packaging system is pretty much RubyGems + Bundler. Last year was the last time I touched MS stuff, and it was pretty raw and not ready for the masses yet. With people like Hanselman and ScottGu pushing the MS culture towards more open, I'm hopeful for the direction of MS's Web stack.