The return of Windows Mobile…

Some time ago, I attended the Windows Mobile Smack Down, a sneak preview of Windows Mobile 6.5. And it became very clear: my next device will probably be a Windows Mobile again. I had a Tytn II before my E71. A very powerful device, but practically unusable without the stylus. The fact that HTC added his own UI on top of Windows, is not really an elegant solution for me. And yes, one of the major improvements of 6.5? The usability with just your fingertip. That and a better personalisation are key features for me that I missed on previous windows mobile devices.

I will probably have to wait until september to get my hand on a new device with 6.5 preinstalled. As the hardware requirements seem to be different for this release, it is better to wait than to upgrade.

Matching the trends

What is good about spending 10 hours in a plane? You finally get the time to catch up on your reading. I read the Netlash trendrapport, and Stephen Downes’ The Future of online learning: ten years on.

Both reports were written from a different viewpoint and with a different scope, but it is interesting to see that they make similar observations:

  • Interaction will be key: wether it is called social learning, conversation or social networking, technology will facilitate  the fact that we can learn from each other.
  • Technology once seen as futuristic can break through: I wrote this in San Diego on a 300$ netbook, you might read this as an RSS feed on your iPhone. Virtualization and cloud computing will change the way we work and learn.
  • Connectivity and always-connected devices will allow us to interact with and learn continuously from people in our virtual network. 

The ones who manage to deal with all these changes and use them in a creative way will survive. At least one thing that did not change…

SharePoint Search: where to go from here…

search_smallA lot of users are disappointed with the search function that is in MOSS 2007. Some of them are looking for other alternatives, or just leaving SharePoint because of this.

First, I still believe that you can get a decent user experience with the out of the box search engine. It is just not something you can turn on and forget about it. Best bets, customisation of the search results, authoritative pages, scopes… just don’t come there by themselves, you need to create, maintain and promote them.

But for those who are still looking for a more enhanced search, there is some light in the darkness: Microsoft announced yesterday that the FAST search engine WILL be included in the next version of SharePoint, and offers an solution for customers who need the enhanced search today.

Quotes from SharePoint Best Practices

It is an amazing experience to attend the SharePoint Best Practices Conference in San Diego. MVP speakers, a beautiful location, and very interesting content.

It’s impossible to summarize what I learned until now in a blog post, but these quotes will give you an idea of what’s happening:

  • SharePoint is not about building software, it’s about building services.
  • The most difficult thing about SharePoint is the people thing.
  • Information that is hard to find, is hardly ever used.
  • Vista is Microsoft’s gift to Apple.

To avoid that some people lose their MVP status, I will not tell anybody who made the last statement.  🙂