WTF is wrong with Microsoft?
MSDN Events and Webcasts: Source Fource
So, like, we put out free developer content, but nobody watches it, so um, to incent[1] them to watch it, we’ll give them a Windows Vista Sensei and Office Master superhero action figure. Cause, uh, programmers like action figures.
No.
Dear Microsoft developer relations people: just because you’d sit through a BASIC/Cobol/VBA triple-header to get your hands on a Boba Fett action figure circa 1979 (who wouldn’t?) doesn’t mean any sane person would sit through a *porn version of The Third Man starring Keira Knightley and Natalie Portman* to get a Microsoft action figure. Are you crazy?
Hint: to attract developers, build a platform and tools people want to develop for/with in their spare time, when they’re not stuck developing for your platform. Successful implementations of this strategy might look suspiciously like–I know you’re sick of hearing this–Apple.
[1] You *know* they’d use that word.