LOS ANGELES -- The redesigned Windows 7 taskbar is getting lots of attention here at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference, but the enduring image of the event may be those eye-catching red shoes that Microsoft executive Amitabh Srivastava wore during the Monday morning keynote address. The shoes were a symbol of project "Red Dog," the code name for the Windows Azure cloud computing initiative led by Srivastava and Microsoft's Dave Cutler.

I got a close-up look at Srivastava's custom Nikes at a reception later that day. He explained that the team decided to go with footwear instead of the traditional T-shirts, and this particular style was chosen by vote within the group. Maybe this will start a trend inside the company. What types of shoes would best represent the Windows 7 project?

SURFACE AS A PLATFORM: Microsoft's Surface team is here in full force, trying  to get attendees interested in developing applications for the tabletop computer. The company used the event to release the Surface software development kit, or SDK, to a broader audience.

There are 16 Surface units scattered throughout the convention center, and the company is also offering Surface units for sale at the event for $13,500, a 10 percent discount from the normal price. The company is hoping to start building an ecosystem of third-party programs for the Surface machines, which are currently in place in commercial locations such as AT&T stores and hotels. Ultimately, Microsoft plans to release a consumer version of Surface.

"To us this is a huge inflection point," said Brad Carpenter, a Surface general manager. "Our goal is to really tap into the creativity and innovation that exists in the development community and to get them thinking about designing applications now as momentum builds around this category."

MONO IN THE HOUSE: At the PDC here a few years ago, I chronicled the unsuccessful efforts of Miguel de Icaza to hold a session at the conference for the open-source Mono project. Microsoft has, in the past, viewed the Novell-sponsored project as a threat because it lets developers use their Microsoft .NET skills to make programs for Linux and other competing operating systems. Back then, de Icaza ended up being relegated to holding his session in a nearby hotel conference room.

What a difference a few years -- and a Novell-Microsoft alliance -- can make. The partnership struck between Microsoft and Novell has resulted in much friendlier relations and regular communications between the two companies. Mono also has come out with an open-source implementation of Microsoft's Silverlight technology, dubbed Moonlight. And de Icaza will finally get to lead a PDC session about Mono at 4:45 p.m. later this afternoon here at the conference.

RECOMMENDED READING: What Microsoft has in common with Detroit. Reporting on the PDC, Richard Waters of the Financial Times likens different Microsoft products to different Ford models. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, a Detroit native, might actually like the comparisons.