"Team 99"

Robert Scoble is taking nominations for a small group of people to give focused feedback on Longhorn called "Team 99."

Personally, I think this is a good idea. Microsoft has a long history of doing private beta tests. Assuming that the NDA's on beta features are lifted once those features are discussed in public or a public build with those features is released, I think this would be a wonderful enhancement to that testing process.

While I'd love to participate, I don't think I'm as widely read as they'd like. Right now, I'm averaging about 150 readers a day according to my web stats, which seems fairly dinky compared to others who are being nominated.

So, I'm not going to nominate myself. If you are a reader of mine and you think that I'd give valid feedback on Longhorn and would properly defend your interests, go ahead and nominate me. If you don't, then don't.

Now for complete disclosure. First, I work for a video game developer that usually stays on the cutting edge, and while it is very possible that I may be seeing Longhorn through work, I doubt I'll be able to spend the time on it that I'd like. Second, I used to work for Microsoft. I've filed bugs against Windows, Office, Visual Studio, the .NET Framework, etc. Usually, those bugs have been ignored. Finally, I've been a fairly unpopular thorn in Microsoft's side lately, with my unpopular stances on Visual Studio 2005's pricing model.

So even if you nominate me, the likelihood of me being chosen is not as high as if you picked someone who would be a shill. So make your decision, but make sure it's a decision you feel comfortable with.