Evening keynote presentations at the TechEd (http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/06/12/79170_HNmsforefront_1.html) 2006 conference featured product discussions and demos centered on these promises, which include managing complexity and achieving agility, amplifying the impact of people, advancing the business with IT solutions and protecting information and controlling access.

Appearing onstage in character as 24's technology wizard Chloe O'Brian, actress Mary Lynn Rajskub said the fictional character she plays has presented unrealistic expectations of IT, such as the notion that software is available to find people based on personal characteristics. But her character faces life and death, she joked.

"You have killer deadlines and killer demands, but at least you don't have to worry about actually getting killed, like I do," Rajskub said. She appeared at various times between the technical presentations.

Product discussions, meanwhile, covered a gamut of offerings ranging from Windows operating systems to the Exchange message system, Office Live (http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/02/20/75444_08NNofficelive_1.html) Web-based services applications, and the Visual Studio developer platform.

"We see enormous opportunities for software to change the way that business runs," said Bob Muglia senior vice president of Microsoft's server and tools business.