Microsoft’s 2010 June 18, 2010
Posted by Emir in Information Technology, Science and Technology.Tags: 2010, exchange, microsoft, office, sharepoint, silverlight
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Today I attended a small Microsoft Tech Briefing. There, I got a look at SharePoint 2010, Office 2010, Exchange 2010 and Silverlight 4. Very interesting stuff.
This is a short blog entry because frankly I’m pretty tired. It’s been one of those long, long, LONG days.
SharePoint 2010
- Great use of the now-standard Ribbon interface
- Web apps to edit documents online – great touch for quick edits. I also see this as a great tool for letting users work from home without having to go the VPN route.
- Integrated organization chart complete with reporting hierarchy, blogs and smart display of positions. Scenario: I want information on a topic. I search it, find a blog entry. I want help so I contact the person’s supervisor. Person is not available, but I am already presented with others at a similar level to my original person who may have similar knowledge. I’ll talk to one of them instead.
- Murphy’s Law witnessed in action: Presenter changed the SharePoint theme. The server promptly restarted itself. Whoopsie.
Exchange 2010 and Office 2010
- I feel like the Office 2007 interface looked sleeker somehow, but that is not to say the revised look is at all shabby. I like how easy it is to print documents etc. Farewell, print dialog.
- Integrated voice messages is nice but you know what I really, really liked? The fact that when typing up a message, Outlook will check and let the sender know if the recipient is out of office before the mail is ever even sent. Say goodbye to those “Out of Office” messages – now you will know before you hit the send button.
- Saving documents directly to a SharePoint site or to a SkyDrive account.
- Maybe it’s time I dug out my Office 2010 beta and meddled around again. I don’t think the trial period is over yet…
- Exchange on the Cloud. Nothing more to say there. It seems to be a great idea and should save a lot of companies the stress of an internal mail server.
Silverlight 4
- Very powerful. I honestly have not given it enough credit. I really don’t know what else to say here but it plays its part in the whole SharePoint scheme of things and allows for creation of some pretty slick Web Apps.
I really should have typed this up when I have more energy but say what…if I wait it will probably never get posted, so however it is there you have it. I have been liking Microsoft’s new direction in recent times and what I saw today cements that. I like open source as much as the next geek but hey, credit is due where credit is due.
Sue the T-Rex and NAPA June 12, 2010
Posted by Emir in Politics, Science and Technology, Trinidad and Tobago.Tags: dinosaur, fossil, napa, sue, t-rex
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So I finally got my tail down to the National Academy for the Performing Arts (aka NAPA) today to visit Sue the T-Rex. Dear old Sue – and I do mean old – is, I have to say, quite impressive. Now I have seen other dinosaur fossils before on vacation. There has been some speculation that the Sue on display at NAPA is not the original Sue but one of the copies but regardless, it is impressive to look at. If I recall the stats correctly, Sue stands 13 feet high at the hips and is 42 feet in length. This makes Sue not just an old lady but a big one too – notwithstanding the idea that given one of the bones they found, Sue may not even be a lady.
Sue the T-Rex at NAPA
Well, what of the exhibit? There’s Sue herself, and there’s a big rotating cast of the skull on display that you can touch, as well as other casts of bones you can get up close and personal with. It’s not a big display but it is interesting and worth the $60 entrance fee.
Sue aside, this was my first visit to NAPA – the National Academy for the Performing Arts. You know, the same NAPA that cost a fortune and was used to host the Opening Ceremony of the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference (CHOGM). I unfortunately have to say that the criticism of the place seems to be justified. There are already stains on some of the silver exterior panels, the fountain water urgently requires changing and the interior is frankly a little plain. Granted, I only went as far as the outer halls of one section where the T-Rex display was but for the cost and the architecture I expected something more posh beyond the glass doors. I mean, we’re talking about Vinyl flooring and fuzzing carpets here.
National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA)
At least on the outside we have a nice landmark…right? Ah well.
Back in action June 10, 2010
Posted by Emir in Thoughts, Uncategorized.add a comment
Let’s see how long this lasts. Time to get this blog moving again.
Stay tuned…or tooned.
