I think it was pure voodo, but I have dasBlog 2.0 installed now. I hope it sticks.
Now, off to copy all my content back, migrate my modified page layout, …
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Category: Tech
If you’re looking for a great starting place for finding SharePoint information, then check out the SharePoint Learning Resources site. It’s a searchable resource for both developers and IT workers and even offers feeds so you can stay up to date on the latest additions.
Perhaps this weekend I’ll curl up with a warm laptop and do a little light reading.
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Ah, spaces
So, now that I’m digging on Windows Live Writer it is really easy for me to bounce around several different blogs for posting. I would, however, need a good mechanism for monitoring comments (which is always the issue for me). For a while I’ve been considering slowly teasing apart the content on my uber blog to allow me to have a little more coherent theme.
Does this mean my space is now going to spring back to life? Only time will tell.
Why not join us?
Earlier this week we launched a microsite for our team here in Dublin. The new site is chock full of informational goodness.
The new site was built under the watchful eye of Dan and the end result is quite slick. It even makes me want to re-apply for a job.
So, if you like the sound of great benefits like 31 days of paid vacation (yep, 6 weeks) and being within spitting distance of anywhere in Europe… review the job list then click one of the “e-mail your CV” links on the site to submit a resume.
Now, that you’ve applied, it’s time for a little hide-and-seek… can you find the picture of me on the site?
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A quick search can pay off big
Paula’s using my old laptop and Pa really needs to take it out back behind the barn with a shotgun. It’s slow, it won’t dock properly and I really don’t like the way it’s been looking at the toaster.
This past weekend we finally bit the bullet and placed an order for a new laptop for Paula, the ThinkPad X61s. Paula’s top desire is small and light and this unit fit the bill (as well as came with a ton of awards to ease our minds). Sony and Toshiba have some very sexy laptops… but the price of the ThinkPad sold us (although we were both tempted by the pretty hardware). The total with shipping and tax: $1,989.93, a full $1000 less than the Sony.
We were very pleased with the results. Paula really wanted the Sony TZ, but once we added a dock, shipping and tax the price jumped up to $3,158.07. Lenovo had a sale on ThinkPads through October 1st making the price hard to beat. But it gets better…
Our order was delayed because I didn’t have my alternate shipping address (Leslie’s house) on record with my credit card. As part of the process I went back to the web site and what should I find? Lenovo started a new sale. Bad news normally, but good news for me since my order was still pending. I canceled the order and put in a new one. Ding! Saved $100!
But wait, there’s more. While I was admiring my new, lower total I noticed a blank line: “eCoupon”. I’m already getting a great price on this laptop (in my opinion)… they’re not going to allow me to apply a coupon to their sale price, are they? Only one way to find out… I type “lenovo ecoupon” into Live search and first result is for a coupon listing on Dealigg.com. I hop back over to my order and sure enough, my good deal just got better!
End result: the laptop I was pleased to get for $1,989.93 is being shipped to me for $1,527.22.
Oh, by the way, out of curiosity I went back and tried the same search on Google… the money saving coupon was seven links down. Thanks Live Search!
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Where does Reeves work?
I gave you a rough idea of what I do… but here’s a little information about where I do it.
A week back I went searching for a picture of my MS building on the web (I was trying to provide a visitor with a picture of the front of the building). What I found proved quite educational.
The first image which came up on my search was one from the web site of the Institution of Structural Engineers for the Republic of Ireland (our as everyone’s favorite newsman, John Stewart, would say: “NAMBLA”). The short article goes into some interesting technical details of the project, including that 22,000 cubic meters of granite were excavated to build the structure.
I know… interesting to whom? I’m a geek.
Read all about it: http://homepage.eircom.net/~istructeroi/news/news17/ms17.htm
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Windows Home Server RTMs
I’m really excited about this product. I’ve been needing to update my home backup solution for a while now and have been holding out for the release of this product. I just have to make sure none of my PCs crash and burn between now and the fall release. 🙂
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Turning lemons into lemonade
The web, the ultimate tool for the generation and dissemination of irony, hasn’t lost it’s touch. A recent post by a Google employee intended to illustrate how advertising can be used for issue management created a bit of… you guessed it… an issue. While I’m sure the movie was not a target but provided Lauren Turner with a great segue into a pertinent topic, the blogstorm which resulted highlights an important point: when blogging on a corporate site… just how much can you say?
When we were ramping up to do the Windows Live Hotmail beta we knew that in addition to the private beta tester forum we wanted to have a public mechanism for putting out the good word about our new baby. The Hotmail team blog was a “grassroots” effort, driven by the line-level employees and not by our PR department and, as a result, we needed to make it clear to the powers-that-be that we had our act together and weren’t going to post something which would prove embarrassing. To smooth the way I wrote up a guide to communicating with the outside world which covered newsgroups, dealing with press calls and, of course, blogging.
Personal blogs are just that, personal blogs. Everyone puts the requisite disclaimer on their blog (“the opinions expressed here… blah blah blah”) but it’s pretty much accepted that unless you have a company logo emblazoned at the top of your page there is no other source for the drivel contained within. There’s no need to set up regulations for your own blog.
If, however, you’re planning on starting a blog for your team, product or whatever you must set up some guidelines, there’s no way around it. If your company already has a policy on blogging, start there, it will provide a great framework for your new rules. There are also a ton of great blogging guidelines blog posts on the web. In the fallout of the Google’s Sicko-gate Matt Cutts wrote a good Company Blogging 101 post with great tips for corporate bloggers. The article well written and broken into easily digestible sections. If you blog on a site for your employer (or a site which is identified with a work project) I highly recommend you read Matt’s post and figure out how you can work the salient points into your own policy or mental framework.
So, back to my original question: how much can you say on a company-sponsored blog? The answer: as much as you like… but you have to establish the bounds well in advance. Corporate America is starting to realize the value of blogging as a tool for customer relations, PR, advertising and more but many companies are still quite shy when it comes to taking the plunge. Creating a solid set of posting guidelines will keep your boss and PR firm happy (and keeping your team blog on the net will make your customers happy).
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Thin, beautiful and wearing leather
Intel recently commissioned Ziba Design to build a sexy laptop and I’d say they hit the target… and blew right through.
About as thin as a Motorola Razr, this magnesium shelled bit of geek pron is only 2.25 pounds, has back-lit keys and an optional leather folio cover sporting an external side show screen.
For more details you’ll have to check out Business Week’s write-up… at least until I find out the limb to fantasy hardware exchange rate.
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Ten years!
Well… my ten year anniversary with Microsoft was actually back in November of 2006, but due to my move to Ireland the award was slightly delayed. After a long journey it’s resting comfortably with my other stuff.
Yep… my camera phone sucks. I’ll have to bring in my real camera on Monday.