It has been frequently said that the only thing certain in life is death and taxes. In the land of Microsoft, taxation is now referred to as Software Assurance, in which you pay an annual fee up front in expectation of services regardless of their quality or whether you want them.
Dear Mr Chief Software Architect of Microsoft:
Not since the days when Microsoft started converting developers from OS/2 to Windows have developers been so heavily courted by the major vendors.
With the current US economic climate and the collective stress that it brings, volunteering for charity may be the furthest thing from our minds given the number of hours we already work.
When it comes to power politics, Machiavelli was an amateur compared to IBM.