Also things like free food, better internet, lab space are all great motivators. The message there is I can't afford to pay you what you're worth but I'll do what I can.
WinPhone7 has a great community in London and I know a lot of people who are starting to express interest because MS is giving out xboxes and free phones and buying beer.
Not sure this is relevant progress but 18 march bing for "HG download" gave no mercurial results (hg was assumed to be a mistyping of HD), by 24 march it was giving all mercurial results. I twittered about both.
That is at least anecdotal evidence that things are progressing in some way or another.
Or that's what I read.