Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference (or PDC) is a conference for software developers, normally Windows developers. It covers new and upcoming technology from Microsoft, and so only occurs in the years when there is something new to talk about.

The wait is over! The public PDC2008 site just went live, and you can now register for the conference (and save $200 if you register early). We've published a preliminary set of topics that represents only a fraction of the over 160 sessions you'll see at the event. Topics include software + services, Windows 7, a deep dive on Silverlight and its graphics pipelines, SQL Server Data Services Architecture for scale, Windows Mobile, extensible BitmapEffects and Pixel Shaders in WPF, how we use Team Foundation Server for our huge Microsoft projects, a new technology that makes it easy to build business applications in Silverlight, how to develop for Live Mesh, and more. It's brain busting content at its best. And, we’ll do it all PDC-style: so deeply technical that your brain will hurt. Based on your feedback, we’re including more 400-level, deep technical content this year. We’ll also have hands-on labs where you can work directly with our latest bits.

And, for just $400 more, show up a day early and attend our pre-conference sessions. These are all-day-long, deep-dives on today's technology delivered by both Microsoft and recognized third-party experts. For example, Advanced Windows Debugging will be presented by Mario Hewardt and Daniel Pravat, the guys who wrote the excellent book by the same name. Some of my other favorites are Concurrent, Multi-core Programming on Windows and .NET, Performance by design using the .NET Framework, and who could resist the urge to go under the covers with Charles Petzold for WPF Code and Concepts.

We're doing social at the PDC this year, so be sure to join our Microsoft PDC Facebook group, our PDC2008 Twitter feed, and the Microsoft PDC2008 group on Flickr. You might also want to subscribe to the PDC blog for key information and updates about the event. Note that the PDC blog feeds the public web site, so no need to subscribe in both places.

Last, show your PDC2008 spirit! Grab some of the blog bling and wallpaper.

This is going to be an amazing event!