S. "Soma" Somasegar, the senior vice president of Microsoft's Developer Division, blogged about the new initiative, which focuses on innovation in the developer ranks.

"Some innovations take a very long time to get just right before we know that they will truly cause a shift in software development," Somasegar said. He added that the DevLabs site is "a portal where we can share not just some early thinking, but early bits, and let you play with them and help us determine the direction that these projects should eventually head. While many of these projects will come from teams within Developer Division, this is an outlet for all innovations coming from Microsoft focused on you, the developer."

Somasegar said the DevLabs site is not intended to glean input from developers on projects Microsoft already is working on, but to look at "projects that aren't as solid in exact deliverables yet. Some of these projects will turn into features in our existing shipping products, some we will open-source for the community, others we will decide to not pursue. You are the ones that can help us determine what best suits your needs."

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