I didn't see any discussion here about the job decriptions posted on the new MS FS site (http://www.fsinsider.com/). Just wanted to make sure y'all knew about them.

Oh my, why are you messing with my mind? The last job really sounds very tempting + I've written a fully automatic GIS tool for FS2004, so got reasonable experience also. But relocating to the US isn't really an option at this stage. The temptation, oh, the temptation...Cheers,Christian

Is this actually a Microsoft site?If I click Insider on the FS home page http://www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimulator/ I'm taken to http://www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimulator/insider.asp not http://www.fsinsider.com/I'd have expected fsinsider to have been accessible from the FS home page.Also, the Terms of Use and Privacy Statements are different between http://www.fsinsider.com/ and http://www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimulator/insider.asp

>Is this actually a Microsoft site?Yes, it is:Registrant: Microsoft Corporation Domain Administrator One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 US Email: [email protected] Registrar Name....: REGISTER.COM, INC. Registrar Whois...: whois.register.com Registrar Homepage: www.register.com Domain Name: fsinsider.com Created on..............: Tue, Jan 18, 2005 Expires on..............: Thu, Jan 18, 2007 Record last updated on..: Tue, Jan 18, 2005 Administrative Contact: Microsoft Corporation Domain Administrator One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 US Phone: 1--4258828080 Email: [email protected] Technical Contact: Microsoft Corporation MSN Hostmaster One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 US Phone: 1--4258828080 Email: [email protected] DNS Servers: ns3.msft.net ns4.msft.net ns1.msft.net ns5.msft.net ns2.msft.net

I agree with Christian. While Seattle is undoubtedly a very nice place overall, I could not really envision leaving this behind:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/126989.jpgBut, thanks anyway.Hey, here's an idea! Why don't you guys move down here? We have excellent flying weather year-round, the beer is cold, and nights are balmy, perfect for those late nights at the office.Seriously, though, those are pretty heavy-duty job positions. Just out of curiosity, who left the team?Best regards.Luis

>Hey, here's an idea! Why don't you guys move down here? We>have excellent flying weather year-round, the beer is cold,>and nights are balmy, perfect for those late nights at the>office.:-beerchug :-jumpy Mark "Dark Moment" BeaumontVP Fleet, DC-3 AirwaysTeam Member, MAAM-SIM[a href=http://www.swiremariners.com/cathayhk.html" target="_blank]http://www.paxship.com/maamlogo2.jpg[/a]

>Seriously, though, those are pretty heavy-duty job positions.>Just out of curiosity, who left the team?>>Best regards.>>Luis>I am wondering too as I thought that Mike (tdragger) was a Program Manager. Not really understand what such a person has to do exactly.

>Not really understand what such a person has to do exactly. He's probably in charge of locking all the programmers in the office, when the release date is closing, and the latest build doesn't want to run...Anyone read the famous "disgruntled spouse" article about the life of a programmer's wife ?http://www.livejournal.com/users/ea_spouse/274.html

>Is this actually a Microsoft site?Mmmph... Just casually reading the second "news article" answers the question. Note particularly the last sentence:"We're excited to rollout the latest redesign of our Microsoft Flight Simulator web site containing a variety and wealth of information to support your Flight Simulation experience.In this first phase, we've placed the content from the previous site into a new design. This creates a more appealing look, and also makes information easier to find. In the future, we'll add more content that will focus on new ways you can share your passion for Flight Simulation with others around the world.The old URL brings you to this new site. To simplify your access, we have also created a new, shorter URL www.fsinsider.com. Bookmark it now!":-wave

By the sound of those job titles, FS10 is far from complete at this point.RH

FS11 ?At least I hope they are still looking to the future beyond the next version.

>The old URL brings you to this new site. To simplify your>access, we have also created a new, shorter URL>www.fsinsider.com. Bookmark it now!"The old URL doesn't take me to the this new site. It still takes me to http://www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimulator/insider.asp.If MS had developed a new Insider site then why hasn't it linked to it?Also I understood that the word "microsoft" is always used in Microsoft's URLs or am I wrong?

I tried https//www.fsinsider.com to check the certificate. I get a warning that "the name on the security certificate is invalid or does not match the name of the site". The certificate is issued to forums.catonline.comI'm still suspicious!

Those jobs are most certainly FS11 orientated. The job descriptions are quite exciting actually, in my opinion. The 3rd one looks like MS is aiming at having a central spatial database, that maybe even is open to users, who knows. And it looks like some more game like elements will make it into future versions also, which will be very interesting to see what the team can come up with. In regards to FS10, I strongly suspect that the main efforts will be on porting the software to recent hardware - ie make it GPU stronger. There's a lot of work involved in that alone.Cheers,Christian

Program Managers can in some ways be compared to movie producers. They work more on the business side of things, they are responsible a title is successful, meets all 'outside' requirements, like legal stuff, overlook marketing, make up deadlines and make sure they are met, and so on, and also are the ones with the "big visions".Christian