*Sigh* Visual Studio 2012 Launch will be 'Virtual'

http://www.visualstudiolaunch.com/vs2012vle/splash

Again, no day out in Birmingham, no comfy seat in a dimly lit auditorium listening to interesting speakers, and no freebies.

Herbie

EDIT : Don't want to sound too mercenary about the freebies, but it really added to the excitement of the launch.

At least everyone can attend though. It will still be exciting!

Cardi

@Dr Herbie: What sort of swag did they hand out in the past?

@rhm: For VS2005 and VS2008 I got free copies of VS Pro and SQLServer Developer, so basically everything you needed to go home that evening and start doing the things that they were talking about at the launch.

And a free lunch!

Herbie

@Dr Herbie: crisis going on you know, no freebies for you

@Maddus Mattus: Yes, I understand the decision, but understanding the financial problems doesn't help build the excitement at a product launch (especially for those of us who still have to work in older versions and so won't get to play with the new tech at work).

Herbie

@Dr Herbie: Yeah, I'm a bit disappointed too. VS2008 Launch was fun and work paid for me to go to it. I got a free VS2008 Pro, free Vista Ultimate, free SQL Server developer, and a 90-day eval of Windows Server 2008. Free lunch, and unlimited free drinks throughout the day. Some nice talks on .NET stuff too.

Ditto, enjoyed both 2005 and 2008 launches and the software giveaways were great too (I seem to recall getting a full copy Windows 7 as well).

Ho Hum.

BTW did everyone take advantage of the free MS help for Windows 8 apps?

http://websurfaces.co.uk/2012/08/22/free-help-with-your-first-windows-8-app/

Good idea. If you don't like some aspect of the launch, you can just override it in your own subclassed version.