The Rise of the Phoenix
Microsoft Research have been working on the next generation of compiler optimisation and analysis tools for sometime, if this is your area I recommend looking at the Phoenix Connect Web Site. I saw Jim Hogg ( with a surname like that , how great must this guy be :) ) , present on Phoenix a few years ago and it promises to be a great step in the fundamentals of development. This version of Phoenix supports visual studio 2008 and as a sample has a lisp compiler!
Channel9 has a video on Phoenix from 2006 .
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