After working in a Linux/Open-source environment for several years and then switching to Microsoft a few years ago, I noticed that things seemed to be getting progressively more open and developer-friendly. I've wondered if it was just me being biased toward my current environment, but there has definitely been progress.

I think that Microsoft has finally realized that the best way to build and maintain a community of software professionals is to treat them like esteemed associates. It's too bad Haack left, but with Scott Hanselman evangelizing (he even came to my mid-sized midwest city a few weeks ago) and ScottGu running the show, things are looking bright for MS devs.