Being at TechEd without thousands of things to worry about is somewhat strange. But I could get used to coming and going as I please, not tracking down speakers, ordering whiteboards and the rest of the responsibility that comes with track ownership.
My first session is right after lunch - 1:15 @ Green TLC Theater 4 if you're on site. Our Technical Learning Center (aka "the cabana") is fairly sparsely attended, at least for the moment. MSIT has never had this significant a presence at TechEd before, so I wouldn't be surprised if the attendees aren't quite sure what to make of it. I went over to the Architecture and SOA & Web Services area and ran into quite a few people I knew. I expect I'll spend more time down there than in my cabana.
I skipped the keynote this morning, apparently they did a Back to the Future parody. Had I known, I might have gotten up. But my flight got in at midnight last night, I didn't get to the hotel until 1am and an 8:30 keynote on the east coast feels like a 5:30 keynote to my still jet-lagged system. Since I skipped it, I'm not sure what was announced, but the opening press release salvo mentions the first CTP of SQL Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 (aka the Visual Studio version formally known as "Orcas") and the Open XML SDK among other things. I've been hacking some Open XML lately, so I'll have to check that last thing out. Apparently, there was some also discussion of the Dynamic Systems Initiative, but in the press release it came across as Infrastructure Optimization. Not sure if those are one in the same or not.
BTW, for those not attending TechEd, you can check out Virtual TechEd and the TechEd Virtual Pressroom. Not the same as being here - no conversations, no swag and no roller coasters. But at least you can keep up on what's being announced, presented and spoken about.
I'm off to lunch. Missing the keynotes == missing breakfast. My session is in about an hour, so I'll probably post again afterwards. I'm hoping for more conversation and less presentation, so the only prep I've done is to iron my speaker shirt.