Microsoft's Mix 07 registration opens

I saw over on Cnet that Microsoft has opened registration for Mix 07. I think Mix is going to be a very, very solid conference. As the CNet article notes, this is Microsoft branching out and having a conversation with developers about their web technologies. The fact that Ray Ozzie and Scott Guthrie are both giving keynotes shows that Microsoft means business and wants to bring designers and developers to the table.

The list of sessions is a pretty good indication that this is going to be a conference anyone following Rich Internet Applications should attend. "WPF/E" is going to play a big part as well as streamlining the "devigner" role with Expression Studio. They've even divided up the sessions into Designer and/or Developer audiences. There is also a TON of Ajax here, which should bring a very interesting crowd and make for engaging hallway conversations.

Some of my favorite sessions are:

• Designing Rich Web Experiences (Audience(s): Designer) - Walk through creating and enriching a customer facing Web experience for Burton Snowboards. Delve deeply into the design with Expression Web and see how to integrate that design into Visual Studio and ASP.NET 2.0. See how to leverage ASP.NET AJAX and push rich media and interactivity farther than ever before with “WPF/E”.
• Driving Your Business through User Experience (Audience(s): Business Decision Maker ) - Hear how tools, technologies and cutting edge design combine to create the user experiences that drive your business. See how a continuum of user experiences can be a powerful lever to differentiate the products and services you offer via the Web.
• Introduction to "WPF/E" (Audience(s): Business Decision Maker, Designer, Developer ) - "Windows Presentation Foundation ‘Everywhere’” (codename) is Microsoft’s solution for delivering rich, cross-platform interactive experiences for the Web and beyond. "WPF/E" will enable the creation of rich, visually stunning and interactive content/applications that run within multiple browsers, and operating systems. In this session, learn more about "WPF/E" and the business value it offers.
• Search Engine Optimization with Rich Media (Audience(s): Business Decision Maker, Designer, Developer) - Increasing search engine discoverability is a key business driver for many Web sites. Explore industry proven techniques for implementing search engine friendly Web applications using both a generic approach, and also Microsoft technologies like ASP.NET and "WPF/E". Learn to improve content indexability and create new ways for exposing data about rich media to indexing engines.

Microsoft is hitting all the right points here. They're focusing on the user experience, on building richer applications and integrating rich media. I can't wait to see this thing go.