Rix Bits

Today I attended a local Sharepoint Conference sponsored by our User Group. Kudos for a job well done! Topics included:

• Governance
• InfoPath
• Troubleshooting Environment Issues
• Custom Branding
• Content Types 101
• Search – Keywords, Best Bets, and Property Mappings
• Content & Infrastructure Deployment Challenges

Interestingly enough, I think I learned the most not so much from all the expert presentations, but rather from the Local Spotlight track, where local folks gave presentations on how they are using Sharepoint in a real-world environment in their own organization. Sometimes all the APress books and Level 200 demos in the world just can’t beat good ole fashion real-world scenarios! ;-)

I was shopping for a new bluetooth headset for my Mogul.  Found a site that made me appreciate having a triple-monitor setup. :)  I was able to view their side-by-side headset comparison w/o too much scrolling:

(i added lines to symbolize where my monitor boundaries are)

For the most part, 2 monitors is enough.  It certainly is the new minimum – I can’t go back to just one.  But many times, that 3rd monitor does come in handy.  I particularly like it while developing web applications with Visual Studio:

• I expand VS to use 2 monitors
• In one monitor I have the Designer view of my ASPX page
• In the other monitor I have the code-behind view
• In the third monitor, I have a IE open for when I need to View In Browser

Nice! :)

Although I work daily on Sharepoint development as part of my job, I also think Sharepoint is such a great tool that I’ve also been using it at home.  I administer two WSS 3.0 sites for my two small group bible study groups from church.

It helps with the distribution of readings, membership rosters, and calendars.  Each study meeting has it’s own meeting workspace.  The discussion boards allow for additional conversations on the readings.  And we even have a convenient way of posting Prayer Requests and Praise Reports.

But, just like in the workplace, adoption is slow.  My study groups have certainly accepted e-mail as a way for us to communicate, but Sharepoint as a way for us to collaborate has only caught for some so far.

For instance, I’ve realized that the simple power of sending readings as text via email is still more valuable to some than posting a nicely-formatted list item of the reading into a document library.  They prefer reading it directly from their phones & blackberry’s as opposed to logging into a website.  My first thought was to combat this preference by using the power of the built-in mobile version of WSS sites.  However, that feature is very weak.  Most things in the WSS site don’t translate well, if at all, to the mobile version.  And meeting workspaces don’t work period.  I appreciate that Microsoft threw that little extra feature in there, but it feels more beta than anything else.  I wait for the day when that becomes full-feature.

My personal use of WSS helps remind me that there are still some simple technologies and methods that still make sense in today's WSS world.  It’s important to be realistic about the needs of your audience, and not pull out the WSS hammer for every one of their nail needs. :)

I know my blog may sometimes seem like I'm pretty anti-Mac. ;-) Even tho ever since I got my Mac Mini, I've been trying to find the positive side of the Mac experience (with little success so far). Nevertheless, when I read articles like the one below, it's just like - this stuff writes itself! Is there no limit to the amount of material that's out there??? LOL

This one truly brings the pun "Macintrash" to life. Apparently, there's a complaint about an odor coming from the Mac Pro. And there's speculation that it might be TOXIC!

All I can say is, for all the bugs and computer crashes that Windows may have put me thru in the past, at least it never tried to kill me!!!