Vista in the Dragon's Den!

When we originally found out that Bill Gates was going to be in town ZDNet UK was obviously keen to be there but for some reason the Microsoft PR people were keen that we weren't. It’s a consumer launch we were told so a business focused publication such as ZDNet doesn't need to be there.

After some cajoling however we eventually found out that there was a small business section to today's event…which was kind of confusing – is it business or is it consumer?

Anyway, seems that Microsoft is keen to build some bridges with the SME community and has hired ex-Dragons Den, the BBC TV series, panellist Doug Richard, also a VC of some repute, to host a small business session before lunch.

We will keep you posted on what happens but its very interesting in the light of a story yesterday that Microsoft is really cracking down on Windows licensing amongst smaller companies – forcing them to fill out a survey on their usage on pain of a visit from the BSA…and you know what that means. We will keep you posted on what happens.