I expect to see a lot of developers use the MSDE for development purposes, scaling their deployment to the real SQL Server. A small correction - we could have cut it to 21 hours because chapter 24 also uses XML for the shopping bag implementation. It was my decision to put these technologies in the advanced part of the book because I wanted to give beginners an introduction to some really important technologies. For example, many people don't even know about script components and how easy they can be used in their Web applications. An area we could have expanded vastly on was ASP and ADO - we could have filled an entire book on this topic only.
Questions never cease on the newsgroups.
The book contains a brief bio about yourself. As I have put only professional background information in that bio, let's stick with personal matters here. I'm Austrian, born in Bad Ischl, which is at the heart of the Salzkammergut. Once upon a time I was developing a simple database app for a friend of mine who runs a bar. At that time, he had a waiter from England, Steve, who shared the house with him.