Of course it's a secret but I can say it has nothing to do with FS (of any variety).

Mike, I've got to say that I've thoroughly enjoyed your "Alan Greenspan" type comments on this forum and really appreciate what appears to be an MS Flightsim manager with a passion for aviation and a dedication on your part to really make MSFS as good as it can be. For my own selfish benefit and that of others on this forum, I hope you don't find a replacement until after the "holiday of 2006" ( with no salary impact, of course :)). Speaking of which, I'd like to mention that wasn't FS9 released shortly after the Oshkosh air venture show, one of the greatest aviation holidays of the year?I know these forums can be demanding at times, but we do appreciate the efforts on FSX and the dialogue provided by you and your whole team. Really looking forward to FSX.Ted

Mike definitely has a passion for aviation, but now he's training for a new job. At least he'll still be in the ACES Studio and the FS team members will still make tracks to his office for his aviation expertise. Even though he's a program manager, he still makes a pretty good engineer who gets his hands in the code from time to time.-Adam

>Thanks. As time allows I'll poke my nose in but as soon as we>can hire a replacement you'll probably see less of me.I'm disappointed to hear you are leaving Microsoft. I've enjoyed all your posts and certainly appreciate the tremendous contributions that you have made with FSX and the MS Flight Simulator products that I enjoy. I wish you well in your new endevours! Don't forget us. ;) Regards,Mark.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd ever be compared to Alan Greenspan. Thanks, I think...

Ted Striker is right in his post above. Surely the forum interaction will increase sales of FSX. The forums may be a small % of FS users, but I know a few people who don't participate in the online community all that much, but they will buy FSX if I tell them about it...Rhett