About three months ago, Microsoft Learning (where I work) released Microsoft Official Courses digitally for the first time (DRM-free, I might add). I can say that adoption of the digital versions of these courses has exceeded our expectations (even if it’s still too early to see where this is going exactly).

Coincidentally, the tech world has seemed especially excited about digital content these past three months (just check out my delicious feed specific to e-books). With dozens of new e-reader devices, new e-reader software, new content deals, Amazon Kindle sales records, etc. etc., are we gearing up for a year where digital books really take off?

It seems that way even if, in my experience, the most vocal on this topic have tended to be either the most resistant to it or the early adopters. I’m not sure where the average consumer stands. Whatever the case, it’s a great ride watching this play out.

As for Microsoft Learning, see this news for the latest enhancements we just added to our digital content. If you have more to say on the topic of going digital (especially in the IT training world), feel free to leave a comment. Also, check out this week’s episode of Practically Ideal (also on iTunes) where Logan and I discuss e-books (and what they mean for consumers) in detail.

Logan and I are at it again with another episode of our new podcast: Practically Ideal (get episode 2 here, right-click and select “Save Link As…”). This week we’re discussing progressivism (general Democrat views) vs. conservatism (general Republican views) and figuring out if/where we fit in.

We also talk about Google’s Thanksgiving present of turn-by-turn GPS directions available on all their phones as well Microsoft Bing’s latest and greatest features just released. And lastly, Logan and I discuss which movies we plan to see this holiday season. Enjoy, and thanks for listening!

*Update* Practically Ideal is now on iTunes.

My friend Logan Beaux decided to start a podcast (get it here) and invited me to be part of the project as a regular cohost. For whatever reason, I’ve never done the podcasting thing (till now). And lately I’ve been thinking that Twitter/Facebook has replaced my need to blog like I used to.

But now having participated in a podcast, I can say (perhaps naively) that I’ve been missing out on a decent form of expression. We’ve only recorded one show, but I’m already feeling pretty excited about doing this new thing more. New for me, that is, I think I’m only five years late to the party?

Anyway, the podcast is called Practically Ideal. Logan mentions you can tell it’s our first try (which may be true), but I have to give him props for some pretty good production value. While I think what he’s trying to accomplish is fairly ambitious, I’m glad he (we) is (are) doing it.

The format used includes a discussion on the latest in politics/economics, followed by a discussion on the latest in tech, and wraps up with a nice dose of pop culture. In this episode we discuss libertarianism, “climategate”, Windows 7, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, the Mad Men season finale, and other TV shows we’re watching. And we do this all in about 50 minutes.

The truth is, Logan and I are fairly interested in each of the broad subject categories but haven’t found a show/podcast that addresses them all together in a condensed package of sorts. So he decided it was a good time to start what we’ve never found. I wonder, though, if it’s too much for one show?

It’s really 3 or 4 mini-shows with the same personalities behind each segment. In fact, if technology would allow more easily, I wish there was an easy way to present the podcast with bookmarks of sorts so you could skip to only those topics that interested you. Then again, I think the show works best when all together. But of course I would say that…

Anyway, enough of my take. Give it a listen, and let me know what you think. You can download it here (Right-click and select “Save Link As…”), and we’ll soon have it as something you can subscribe to on iTunes.

*Update* Practically Ideal is now on iTunes.

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve blogged. Facebook/Twitter have sort of replaced much of my blogging needs, but that’s a conversation for another day. The real excuse for not blogging that I wanted to point out today is what’s kept me busy at work. I work for Microsoft Learning as a product manager and wanted to share the latest news here:

It is my pleasure to announce that Microsoft has released 71 courses digitally. These are some of the most popular Microsoft Official Courses, giving you the same learning materials for use with instructor-led training on Microsoft technologies, only now in digital form.

The digital version of each course comes with three files:

1. The main course file including lab instructions and lab answer keys (the equivalent of the printed book)
2. *New* The lab manual file (just the lab instructions and lab answer keys, which is also included in the main course file)
3. The CD image file (an ISO image copy of the CD that comes in the printed book)

Digital versions of these courses are offered exclusively through Certified Partners for Learning Solutions (CPLSs) and are currently available in North America, Western Europe, European Union accession countries, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

What are some of the benefits of going digital?

These courses are available for last minute orders, do not require shipping and handling fees, eliminate the need for inventory on hand, enable easier distance learning options, includes full text search, allow for new separate lab manual for easy access, reduce waste and paper needs, and allow new courses to be made available digitally earlier than printed. Check out the FAQ for more details and a listing of the 71 courses.

If you are a CPLS, login to the Courseware Library to get immediate access. If you are a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), visit the MCT Download Center for new materials available for these 71 courses. And last, but not least, if you are someone interested in taking one of these courses, check out this nifty class locator tool.

For regular readers, this announcement is what I was talking about last week when a coworker (who shall remain nameless, *cough* Tjeerd *cough*) couldn’t help but get early information and post a video of me discussing some of these details.

It’s a slow news day (should be, it’s Sunday) and good ol’ Mini-Microsoft has taken the top spot over at Techmeme. For those unfamiliar, Mini-Microsoft is an anonymous blogger and Microsoft employee who has been calling for radical change to happen at Microsoft for years. He (she?) has been quiet since the last round of layoffs but decided to share some praise today in a post titled “Microsoft Has Turned The Corner.”

From Mini’s blog:

What has helped make the turn?

* Windows 7
* Bing
* Silverlight
* IE EU chutzpah
* …and award worthy, coherent ads that aren’t a demonstration of how best to destroy millions of dollars quickly.

This was quickly followed by a Robert Scoble tweet explaining that Microsoft will announce something cool tomorrow to be added to Mini’s list above:

Mini-Microsoft is right. Microsoft has turned a corner and tomorrow morning I’ll show you another example of how. http://ff.im/58Szj

Of course, Mini-Microsoft wouldn’t be Mini without suggesting further radical changes using unsubstantiated, oversimplified rhetoric (in this case, laying off 15,000 people is the solution). But I enjoy the perspective, and he does get it right sometimes. All things considered, it’s nice to see the complainers getting excited. That, in and of itself, is a corner turned.

*Update* Scoble reveals what he was referring to: “Microsoft’s new Office 2010 brings Office back from the dead (tons of videos)”

Not something I normally write about, but I thought I’d do my part in the “do nothing” response from the United States. If that didn’t make sense, let me explain:

The prevailing wisdom I keep hearing is that the U.S. shouldn’t meddle, as it will just fuel the fire for the current Iran regime to crackdown on protesters even more. If meddling were to occur, the regime would blame the West and have an easier time handling their current situation.

Makes sense, I suppose, at least in theory… in practice, the regime is already blaming the West and is already cracking down on protesters (20 people dead and counting). I’m not sure specifically what the difference might be if the U.S. were to meddle in any way. Whose mind might that change of the reformers/protesters in Iran to all of a sudden side with the current regime?

But then again, I’m not suggesting the U.S. meddle. I mean, what would we — or any other major country — do? We have a pretty bad track record when outcomes of U.S. meddling are analyzed, especially in the recent past. Of course, that doesn’t stop plenty of Americans (myself included) from wishing we could do something to help in some way that is perhaps just short of meddling. Building awareness is really the only idea I’ve seen anyone come up with.

So here goes. The recent Iran elections appear to have been fraudulent and Iranians are not happy about it. So much so that a group of a couple hundred of them (in addition to the crowd of one million in Tehran) have been protesting on my street corner (in Bellevue, Washington) each weekend since this began. See below for pictures and some video:

I know what you’re thinking: I work for Microsoft, so of course I’m going to use Bing! The truth is, though, that I’ve been using Google as my default search engine up until Bing was released two weeks ago. Previously, I just didn’t find any compelling reason to use Microsoft’s search engine(s). I like to think of myself as someone who doesn’t change habits just because he works for a company. Rather, I need to want to change a habit, if that makes sense.

That said, I’ll give most anything (specific to technology) a try at least once. So I thought I’d give Microsoft’s latest response to Google search another try for a couple weeks. This time: I’m sticking. The difference? I think Microsoft nailed it with the “vertical” search decision concept. You see, Bing is optimized for four types of searches decisions: shopping, travel, health, and local.

What I didn’t realize until now is that those four categories cover around two thirds of all my search decision queries (that’s an approximation for myself, I’m guessing the Bing team has a more accurate aggregate number that explains query breakdown). And now Bing displays those kinds of results very effectively. Here are a couple examples from my past week of searching deciding:

1. I was interested in Indian food, so I searched for “Indian Food 98004” and right away got a listing of all the Indian restaurants in my area. If I click through on one, I get a landing page that aggregates reviews, shows a “scorecard”, provides 1-click directions, and shows photos and pricing information.
2. I was looking for a particular flight, so I keyed in “Seattle to Austin” and right at the top of the list of results was the best price along with a prediction of if it’s going to rise or fall. If I click through, I get a landing page with all sorts of relevant information for booking travel.

Does this mean I’ll never use Google again? Of course not. The thing about search is that switching costs are very low. If Bing doesn’t give me what I want quickly, there’s a good chance I’ll give Google a try (just like I used to use other search engines other than Google when Google didn’t give me what I wanted quickly enough). But now that Bing shines with two thirds of my searches decisions, it’s earned the right to be my default.

According to some, Bing has Google running scared. While I’m not sure about that, I am glad to be in a position where I want to use my own company’s search engine.

Cross-posted to the Microsoft Learning blog.

So I’m walking back to the office (work for Microsoft in Bellevue, WA) after meeting my wife for a nice dinner out. And I’m wearing a black t-shirt that says “I’M A PC” in white letters across my chest. I’m half way through crossing the street and a guy runs up to me, whips his arms around, points his two index fingers an inch away from my chest, and then yells loudly: “I’m a Mac!”

I give him a shoulder shrug and say, “cool, dude” while the rest of the crosswalk traffic is trying to ignore what just happened. We then walk our separate ways. My first thought was: “how bizarre.” But then that thought was quickly followed by my second thought, which was: “how normal.”

Sure, this is ancedotal and an isolated story. But for being completely random, I can’t think of a better story that characterizes my experience with how Mac fans express themselves as compared to PC fans. Some fans feel the need to yell their stance to your face (read any Apple fanboy blogs lately?) while others feel more comfortable simply wearing a shirt.

Now I’m wondering if I still want to wear this shirt from time to time. I think so. I wouldn’t want to pass up another chance at a Mac fan proving my point.

*Disclaimer* I work for Microsoft but do own certain Apple products, just how most all of my “Mac” friends own Microsoft products. I personally think the tech world is a better place because of both companies. But that’s too long a message to shout to someone’s face.

Cross-posted to the Microsoft Learning blog.

Michael Arrington discusses what he thinks is a fantastic idea in his latest post “Paid Twitter Streams Are Here: Super Chirp.” So Super Chirp is this new third party service that allows Twitter users the ability to charge others for access to their direct messages (Twitter’s private messaging system). The idea is that celebrities could say their extra special stuff to people who pay for it!

Here’s what I said in a comment on the TechCrunch post:

Wait, so as we Internet users complain about the last few remaining pay walls for what we thing should be ubiquitous information… we’re now supposed to be super excited for a new pay wall just because it has something to do with Twitter?

What goes around comes around, I guess…

Mike, if it’s such a fantastic idea, why don’t you drop the ads off your site and make every 5th post something I pay for?

I kid. Your site, as cool as it is (and I mean that sincerely), doesn’t have the “get out of jail free” card that makes Twitter, well, Twitter.

But what do you think? Is this something you’d see yourself paying for?

Microsoft’s new search engine (or “decision engine” as the Bing team calls it via their Twitter profile) is now live at Bing.com. Early adopters already had a chance to preview/review Bing last week. So this launch has left bloggers coming up with more creative ways of covering the release.

Loic Le Meur (of Seesmic fame) thought the best test would be to search for himself followed by a search for sex. TechCrunch, in their infinite wisdom, followed Loic’s lead and pointed out just how cool the video preview feature of Bing is when it comes to searching/watching porn.

You see, Bing presents search results for videos as thumbnails that auto-play when you hover over them. So you can watch lots of videos (of any kind) without ever leaving Bing. Unique coverage of a great feature.

Whatever the case, it’s nice to see Microsoft getting some good press (such as this endorsement) not only with Bing but also with a half a dozen other recent releases.

*Update* Michael Arrington has a good run down of user first impressions in his post titled “Apparently Bing Is Something Of A Hit.” Also, see below for a short video introduction which covers most of Bing’s best features.