Hello, Jim!

>>The whole MVP program is based on giving selected individual access to certain resources to help them support the developer community. I think than in this case, they wouldn't share the source code, but they can indeed confirm is some kind of problems actually comes from the OS.
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>I think this would come as a surprise to many people.
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>I think this might tend to confirm the concern that some people have (yes, I'm one) that a MVP might not really feel 'free' to talk openly about certain issues.
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>I think this might tend to confirm the concern that some people have (yes, I am one) that a MVP might feel that it is in his/her best interest, and possibly even an obligation, to defend Microsoft when criticism is spoken regarding Microsoft. And for some to answer (MS) policy related criticism on behalf of MS (robbing MS of the opportunity to do so and robbing us of any chance to hear about MS' actual stand).

It is ok for you to think so. I just wanted to point that I haven't seen much evidence of this being a rule. The most important counterexample can the VB.NOT campaign that was started and heavily promoted by a VB MVP when the first betas of VB.NET were presented. The tone was very harsh and critic, and they indeed forced MS to delay their schedule and introduce lots of changes to the final version.

Others I have in my mind is Whil Hentzen, who is still an MVP even after the great EULA debate; and my friend Angel "Java" López. You can guess by his surname (he even sign like this when doing presentations in MS events). He is a great guru in the Java and .NET communities, and he's very critic with MS when he sees something he don't like.


>As regards the opening up of access to source...
>1. MS has been doing it with government agencies, true, but more because of pressure than desire;

Granted. This is different, indeed.

>2. We are often told of the millions and millions of lines of code that comprise the Microsoft products. Does anyone really think that opening the source up to a handful of government employees and MVPs (with NDAs up to their wazoos and who knows what else) is really going to have an impact on things overall? There might be the odd lucky strike, but then it will be interesting to see how suggestions of problem/change are handled in MS.

Well, those millions lines of code comprise lots of smaller components that specialized people can look at. Of course this wouldn't necesarilly make a BIG change, but it can help solve certain issues.

>I spent my first 25 years in IBM mainframes and while the source was proprietary it was published by IBM and open to all USERS (who obviously were paying handsomly for use of their hardware/software).

I think this is a good policy. Results may vary, of course, but it is a start.

Maybe this is a start, too. I see it as an interesting move. Microsoft is having increased pressure to open up more parts of their whole intellectual properties, and I think that this is a good thing for them to do. They are doing it in their own terms, bit by bit, but it's happening.

Overall, empowering MVPs seems to me like something that is always good for the community at large, judging by the results we witness everyday here, for example.

Best regards,