Office Newswire: All about Office 15: Outlook 15, Word 15, PowerPoint 15 – 3.22.2012

Radio is a big part of my work day. I listen to music, news, baseball, and a ridiculous amount of advertisements. During the summer I listen almost exclusively to baseball. But, what I listen to doesn’t really matter as much as the device itself.

I love a good radio. As a kiddo in the sticks of West Texas, my radio was freedom. I listened to country music… it was available on any and all stations within range. I could connect to far away places like Houston and St. Louis… and listen to baseball at night. In fact, I fell asleep listening to it. I think it expanded my mind… exposed me to culture at an early age… made me a man of the world before I was able to venture into it.

This is not some segue into a discussion about the Internet. Yeah sure the Internet, you could argue, is like my radio of old. But you would be wrong to think that.

The radio is an old school broadcasting medium. To spread your message using radio you have to master the spoken word. You must become an effective story teller. You must think on your feet and avoid saying “uh, uhhh, uhhhhhhhhhhh”. You must invoke the listener’s imagination.

Which is why I love to listen to KEOM.fm It’s a local radio station run by the Mesquite, TX school district. The DJs are high school kids. The stuff they do and say on air can be more entertaining than an episode of WKRP.

I’m listening to them now as I write this morning’s Newswire. You can join me as you read… they stream over the web. It’s “the super hits of the 70s with some 60s and 80s thrown in”.

I don’t know who wrote that tag line. It’s a little wordy but it does explain what they do/play. I’m sure the high schooler that wrote it is a on his or her way to a bright career. I like hearing the DJs improve. I like that they are trying, worker hard to learn the skill of radio.

So that’s that. On to this week’s Office Newswire where it seems that somebody leaked some Office 15 bits and a big big way…

Office news & editorials!

• Office 15 Preview :: More info about Office 15 here :: Word 15 :: PowerPoint 15 :: Outlook 15 :: OneNote 15 :: Wow! Paul Thurrot has made the most of his copy of Office 15 and we are the beneficiaries. Mr. Thurrot does a good job detailing each app. He goes the extra mile by reviewing Office 15 installed on Windows 8. It’s peak into our future! I bet he’ll post something about them so keep a look out… or I will and post them here for you. (est. reading time: 30 mins for all of 'em)
• Office 15 licensing details emerge :: Not only licensing details emerge… this states that an Office 15 public beta will be thrust upon by the end of March. That’s next week right? Okay, I’m ready. Let’s see it. It will be interesting to see how the licensing for Office 15 offline/desktop incentives Office 365 and vice versa. (est. reading time: 1 min)
• SharePoint vs Salesforce.com is an enterprise platform battle royale (with cheese) :: The opening of this article sets the stage. The Software Company vs. the “No Software” company. They have been on a collision course for quite some time. What’s gonna happen? This is worth reading just for the mixed metaphors and mixed analogies… something I am prone to do myself. I have a found a kindred spirit in this author. (est. reading time: 2 mins)

There are tons more articles and blog posts on the InterWeb. I know because I read them all. I didn’t keep an official tally but… 99% of them were “me-too” posts that piggy-backed on Mr. Thurrot’s thoughtful analysis. I weeded them out as a service to us all.

Office tips, tricks & tools

• Self service Business Intelligence with SharePoint 2010 :: Who wants to call IT each time they want a new BI-type report? Not me. This is why I like this article. It DIY BI w/SP. (est. reading time: 5 min)
• 8 Word shortcuts you (probably) don’t know :: Take the challenge. I was dubious but I didn’t know about 5 of these. (est. reading time: 3 min)
• OneNote declared most popular note-taking application :: I make heavy, heavy use of OneNote. It’s my “note book of record”. But I also use Evernote (I still love you MSFT). It’s about using the right tool for the job. I use each of them for differently reasons. But OneNote… you’re my true love when it comes to note taking. OneNote, I’m glad you won. (est. reading time: 2 min)
• Onetastic! It’s better than fantastic! :: Speaking of OneNote, this add-in is fantastic. I whined on Twitter once that I wanted a favorites tab within OneNote so I could insert bookmarks to my favorite note pages. I am going to stop whining now because this add-in is just what I wanted. It even has a cool calendar view that I think will be useful from time to time. (est. reading time: 3 min)

Office developer items of note

• SharePoint 15 Technical Preview Interoperability API Documentation :: Here is a zip file from the MSFT mother ship. This zip file contains a .CHM (aka chum file… which makes me thinking of fishing) that explains the Interop API for SharePoint 15. (est. downloading time: 2 min)
• SharePoint 2010: Create unique login page with forms based authentication :: Learn to take advantage of other authentication methods supported by The SharePoint. (est. reading time: 6 min)
• Visual Studio 11 simplifies the development environment :: I think there are several “hot sports opinions” about Visual Studio 11… mostly around the UI. I’m not worried about how it looks… although the monochrome does make me dizzy if I stare at if for too long. But I digress. I am interested in features and this video digs in. (est. viewing time 28 mins)
• Visual Studio 11 features no one noticed :: If no one noticed, I’d say that’s a problem. Anyways, Scott Hanselman explains further. (est. reading time: 7-9 min, I lost track)
• Write expressions for web queries, forms, & reports (Access) :: I really like Access Web Databases. I like how they integrate with SharePoint. I’m really curious to learn what MSFT will do with Access in the Wave 15 release. This article discusses how to deal with the nuances of an Access web database when writing expressions for web queries, forms, & reports… as the article title states. (est. reading time: 5 min)

Cutting Room Floor

• When will iPads replace desktops?
• Crazy man jumps from 13 miles in the sky… and survives!
• Update to Windows Live Essentials is ready & waiting for you
• If you work more than 40 hours per week you are going to die! :: Life is terminal. Bummer. In the meantime, read this and take it with a grain of salt. My advice? Not that you asked, but… find something you like doing and do it. Then it isn’t work. It’s enjoyment even if it is sometimes painful.