An eagle-eyed reader pointed me to a cryptic line around the just-launched Microsoft Blend '07 Web site. Just below the "If you are a Web developer," there are some bullets suggesting reasons to attend the late-April developer conference, including one that promises attendees the ability to create "exciting new Web experiences with the still-secret 'Technology X'" No VanishingPoint trail. No Origami videos. Just the letter X. And no other clues. Given that Blend is all about rich-client apps, is it possible to hazard a guess as to what "X" might be? Like my ZDNet blogging colleague Ryan Stewart, I first turned to the Mix '07 session list to seek out additional hints. Microsoft is promising a "first look" at the future of Internet Explorer at the confab. But it was the "Gazing into the Future of Web Development" session write up that caught my eye as the best possible candidate for something to do with X. "Be one of the first to see the big advances planned for the next version of ASP.NET for building rich Web applications. Get a sneak peek at technology to help simplify rich content, data, services and more. Learn how to efficiently and effectively create data-driven applications that fully leverage the power of 'WPF/E' (Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere) and AJAX around the client coupled with powerful server-side features provided by ASP.NET." Hmmm. Could X be some kind of new tool for ASP.Net developers? Some Visual Studio "Orcas"-related spinoff? Maybe something to do with JSON,
Microsoft Office 2010 Key, the new "rival" to XML that seemingly is becoming all the rage? Another member of the Acrylic/Sparke/Quartz family? Anyone else have a guess (educated or not) about what Microsoft's "Technology X" might be?