The talented people at 3Sharp are one of the best reasons to work here. Our Platforms Group is just one piece of the pie here; we've got some top-tier development talent who can make SharePoint stand up and dance. Those guys down the hall have been working hard on a little surprise they like to call the Podcasting Kit for SharePoint, which Microsoft has just released on Codeplex as indicated in their press release. 3Sharpies John Peltonen, David Gerhardt, and Paul Robichaux are also blogging about it, so if you’re interested, check them out.
I've been hearing bits and pieces, but last week I got to sit down and take a good look at what they're doing. Wow. This is some cool stuff that is going to make sharing podcasts, video talks, and other knowledge sharing content a lot easier. I can't wait until I can start using it; I've already lined up some content that I can put up and I'm already thinking of some more I can do.
If you haven't seen me in person recently, you may not realize I'm a heretic. Yes, that's right -- I use an Apple 15" MacBook Pro with Vista as my laptop. It took some jiggling to get it all working -- an upgrade to Leopard (OS X 10.5) for the final release of BootCamp, an upgrade to Vista SP1, and finding a stable version of the Atheros wireless drivers -- but it's now reliable and fast.
There are some downsides to this particular laptop. It's only gives me 2GB of RAM, which means that I can't run a typical VM configuration (DC, DPM, Exchange) and still have enough power to run PowerPoint like I could under XP. The battery life is okay but not great; I run out on long flights.
I'm off to Tech-Ed this week, so I stopped by the Apple store in Bellevue Square Sunday to pick up a spare battery for the flight. I've had bad experiences at this store in the past; I don't give off the right vibe(or maybe I just look light a tightwad) and can't get seem to get the attention of the staff. I took a chance, though, and walked in the store.
This time, my customer service experience was great. I caught the eye of Associate 1; although he was busy with another customer, he called for help; I didn't even see him do it. A minute later, Associate 2 walks up to me. "I understand you're looking for a 15" MacBook Pro battery." Pleasantly shocked, I followed him over to the appropriate shelf and soon had the battery in hand. "Is there anything else I can help you with, or are you ready to check out?"
If you've not been into an Apple store recently, they're doing something absolutely sweet. Each customer service associate has a hip-mounted scanner/cardreader. They scan your merchandise on the spot, take and run your credit card, and ask you for an email address to send the receipt to. Boom -- it's all done, your card is charged, and you don't have to stand in line at the counter unless you're doing cash or check. This is a great concept I'd love to see other stores use. My receipt hit my Exchange account (and thus my Windows Mobile phone) as I was walking out of the store.
I love living in the future.