The Microsoft application platform consists of a multi-tiered, distributed application model called Windows DNA and a comprehensive set of infrastructure and application services. Windows DNA unifies the best of the services available on PCs, application servers, and mainframes today: the benefits inherent in client-server computing and the best of Internet technologies around a common, component-based application architecture.

    Wow, you must be thinking. You guys are pretty smart to know all that. Yes. Yes we are. And good-looking, too! But to be honest, we grabbed that right from an article on MSDN Online. Microsoft Internet Developer has had a long-standing relationship with MSDN and the Microsoft Site Builder Network. After months of heroic effort, SBN has recently been integrated with a revamped MSDN Online. The benefits of this arrangement are immediately obvious—you get one entry point for all Microsoft development information, a single password to remember, and an easier-to-use interface. The new site really is spiffy. (For one, you don't have to search around for the search function anymore.) And it's startlingly easy to get to! Just surf to http://msdn.microsoft.com/default.asp and you're in business. (Click the Resources link on the left and MIND will show up. Hi!)

    Speaking of lousy segues, back to the developer events! If you're looking at this magazine for the first time at either one of the two conferences mentioned above, we strongly urge you to subscribe today. As you can see, we combine the finest coverage of Windows DNA with…well, that's a trick statement because Windows DNA is already just about everything. From ASP to Visual Basic, from scripting to Visual Studio, we've got it covered. (And if we don't, let us know.)

    We also like to give you information you can't find elsewhere. You're probably sitting there trying to decide how to maximize your conference-going experience. Never fear! The Microsoft Internet Developer Conference Guide is here!

Conference Travel Tips!

1. Always arrive early at the keynotes to get front-row seating. It's safe (Microsoft hasn't hired Gallagher to do any of the technology demos), and it really leaves a good impression on people.
2. Always straggle into the keynotes at least twenty minutes late, then sit on the end chair of the last row. Now we know what you're saying—this contradicts our previous advice. Well, what do you want? They're not paying us extra to write this. You want fact-checking too?
3. Need to go to a breakout session that's important for your work, but sounds boring? Go with crutches. As the presenter lists the benefits of a key API, throw your crutches away, shout, "It's a miracle!" and skip out.
4. Arrange to have someone call your cell phone during a breakout session. Answer it, then loudly announce, "Gotta go—been waiting for this booty call all day!"
5. Don't wear your badge outside the conference center. If you must wear something, the conference registration desk will issue you a special tag that says "Hi! I'm from out of town. Please mug me and leave me unconscious in a dumpster!"
6. Why not splurge while attending an event and rent a car for the week? Here's a handy-dandy conversion chart that all airport rental counters currently offer. Use it to determine exactly what type of car you'll be getting.

   Economy 2Door	Ford Contour	Midsize 4Door	Ford Contour
   Economy 4Door	Ford Contour	Luxury 4Door	Ford Contour
   Standard 2Door	Ford Contour	Minivan	Ford Contour
   Standard 4Door	Ford Contour	SUV	Ford Contour

7. How can you tell whether you're staying at a good or a bad hotel? The classy hotels have toiletries with the words "of London" somewhere in their brand names. The budget joints have a two-gallon bag of Prell shoved in a plastic dispenser with a single-serving lever and bolted onto the shower wall.
8. Burdened by troublesome expense reports? Remember that the IRS has relaxed its regulations, so your three best friends are now the $74.99 breakfast, the $74.99 lunch, and the $74.99 dinner.
9. It's easier than you think to fast-mouth your way into the first class lounge at most airports. All you need is luggage that actually closes when you latch it, and a noticeable odor of alcohol. Try it. It really works!
10. This isn't a tip. It's a question. Why do hotels always think you need one tube of shampoo, one tube of conditioner, and one tube of body lotion? People forget their toothpaste, not their lotion. Have you ever gone on a trip, only to have it hit you on the plane, "Oh my goodness! I've forgotten my hotel-scented body lotion!"