I went to a Microsoft seminar this morning… alright, I guess it wasn’t really a Microsoft seminar. It was conducted by a local consulting firm who is partnered with MS, and they were pimping the release of Vista and Office 2007. Then again, there was a Microsoft guy there who did the real presentation – specifically this guy. I have to say that it’s pretty cool that I saw this guy speak today and could then check out his blog upon arriving at the office.
I’ve been running a release candidate of Vista for some time now, but there was still the “whiz bang” factor of seeing it on a decent computer as well as hearing about the features I haven’t even touched yet. Even cooler was finally getting some real exposure to the new interface design of Office 2007. Yes, the ribbon looks awesome, and makes me want to upgrade my company… tomorrow. Unfortunately, logistics say that won’t be happening for several months if not a year. But I really feel that the new interface designs Microsoft are using will help out users once they actually submit themselves to it (and not struggle to make their screen look like it’s still 1996).
Going to this seminar also emphasized how much I really do miss the real tech-heavy work I did back in ye olde days of NetTech. Being the head of IT at a small-ish company has a lot of perks, but you can really let yourself lose a grip on current technology trends if you’re not careful. It’s time I reclaim my inner geek! Fortunately, that entails more of me doing a better job at work, and not so much of neglecting my personal hygiene.
EDIT: I feel like a total mo-mo. I forgot to mention that I won a raffle for this Vista Administrator’s Guide – copies of which were provided by the aforementioned Michael Murphy from Microsoft. Yay! I’m a winner!
I can already hear the groans from the front office should you decide to switch to Vista. Certain people just can’t handle change, which is the kiss of death to any technological progress in a small office setting.