MSN Search Champs Program

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://office.weblogsinc.com/entry/0276273415216838/' target='_blank'>http://office.weblogsinc.com/entry/...76273415216838/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Well, the cat is out of the bag. Scoble blogged about it yesterday. Liz Lawley has announced she’s going. eWeek just released a story about it. So I guess it’s safe to chime in and announce that I too have been invited to join the MSN Search Champs program. I will be travelling to Redmond on Sunday to spend two days working with the MSN Search team. This event will begin an ongoing engagement to assist in evaluating their forthcoming search technologies and it’s both an honor and an exciting opportunity to help influence an important aspect of the computing experience."</i><br /><br />The above quote is by Marc Orchant from The Office Weblog, and it sums up what I'm going to be doing for the next couple of days. I've been asked to be an MSN Search Champ, and as Marc explains, it will involve giving feedback to the MSN Search team on their products. I don't know much more than that, but I'll be spending Monday and Tuesday in meetings and discussions with the MSN Search team and Microsoft Research. Basically, a bunch of people way smarter than I am. 8O <br /><br />There's an <a href="http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1663788,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594">eWeek article</a> about the event, but the actual guest list is still mostly shrouded in mystery. So far all the names I've seen are A-List bloggers...then there's me, Mr. Gadget Geek. :mrgreen: I'm not entirely sure what I can contribute beyond drilling the importance of having a great mobile-compatible search tool, but I've never been short on opinions, so I'm sure I'll come up with something. :lol: I'll be back in action on Wednesday morning, and largely offline until then.

[Wiggster]

I'll be back in action on Wednesday morning, and largely offline until then.

Wait... isn't the Pocket PC designed for portable connectivity? So you're going to be at Microsoft and won't be able to whip out the PDA and get on the internet in the breaks? Something's not adding up :wink:

[OSUKid7]

In an interview with eWEEK.com, Lawley said that the invitation provides few details about the types of search technologies or research that Microsoft will discussed, and participants had to sign a non-disclosure agreement that covers what they will see during the two days.Aww...darn NDAs. ;) Have fun in Redmond!

[Perry Reed]

I'm a BIG user of Outlook and have been dying for a good search program, not just for Outlook but for all of Windows. Having tried Copernic and X1, I've settled (for now) on Lookout (from LookoutSoft, now a part of Microsoft).

I'm VERY interested in what they come up with! I think a solid local search function is going to be a "killer app" and MS has some big competition with Google announcing a forthcoming product and Apple putting the functionality in Tiger.

I know you'll be under an NDA and won't be able to talk much about what they're doing, but I sure hope they get it right. And if they need additional input... :)

[arebelspy]

Make sure you kick their asses into providing lots of support for mobile searches on PPCs and Smartphones! :D

-arebelspy

[aliensub]

I'm a BIG user of Outlook and have been dying for a good search program, not just for Outlook but for all of Windows. Having tried Copernic and X1, I've settled (for now) on Lookout (from LookoutSoft, now a part of Microsoft).

I'm VERY interested in what they come up with! I think a solid local search function is going to be a "killer app" and MS has some big competition with Google announcing a forthcoming product and Apple putting the functionality in Tiger.

I know you'll be under an NDA and won't be able to talk much about what they're doing, but I sure hope they get it right. And if they need additional input... :)

All this is going to happen when the full Longhorn comes out (they have dropped WinFS for the first release). With WinFS the filesystem is basicly a big database (based of MSSQL.Net), which will enhance the search functions much. It will be interesting to see it in real action.

[gandi]

Well, they wouldn't have you invited if they didn't think about something.
So just go there and hang around. It'll sure be interesting. :)

btw: Do you get some money therefore?

[Perry Reed]

I'm a BIG user of Outlook and have been dying for a good search program, not just for Outlook but for all of Windows. Having tried Copernic and X1, I've settled (for now) on Lookout (from LookoutSoft, now a part of Microsoft).

I'm VERY interested in what they come up with! I think a solid local search function is going to be a "killer app" and MS has some big competition with Google announcing a forthcoming product and Apple putting the functionality in Tiger.

I know you'll be under an NDA and won't be able to talk much about what they're doing, but I sure hope they get it right. And if they need additional input... :)

All this is going to happen when the full Longhorn comes out (they have dropped WinFS for the first release). With WinFS the filesystem is basicly a big database (based of MSSQL.Net), which will enhance the search functions much. It will be interesting to see it in real action.

Yeah, but I'm not waiting that long. Longhorn won't be out until late next year at the very earliest. I need a good solution now. Besides, as you mention, the really interesting part of Longhorn, WinFS, won't be out with the rest of the OS. It's with WinFS that file storage, searching, etc. really should get good.

[JimPAQ]

Make sure you pick us up some goodies from the Microsoft Store on campus.

--Jim

[Jason Dunn]

Wait... isn't the Pocket PC designed for portable connectivity? So you're going to be at Microsoft and won't be able to whip out the PDA and get on the internet in the breaks? Something's not adding up :wink:

Microsoft has an 802.11x secured network for employees, but rarely do they have WiFi access for visitors. I could tecnically get online if I have GPRS coverage, but most Microsoft buildings are notorious for bad GSM coverage (I think they line them with tin foil to keep out the Java programmers). The bigger issue though is time - they usually keep me very busy, so there's not a lot of time to check email and post to Web sites. ;-)

[Jason Dunn]

Make sure you kick their asses into providing lots of support for mobile searches on PPCs and Smartphones!

Absolutely, that's on my mental list!

[Jason Dunn]

btw: Do you get some money therefore?

Hah - I wish! Nah, this is a volunteer thing. They do, however, cover my flight + hotel, and when I arrived in my room (I'm in Seattle now) I found a Swiss Army backpack full of some cool things, including software and a 256 MB USB memory drive. Cool! :-D

[Wiggster]

(I think they line them with tin foil to keep out the Java programmers)

:rotfl:

[Darren Behan]

Congrats, Jason, glad to have you representing us. It's also encouraging to see Microsoft considering the PocketPC when tweaking their other products.

db