Bob Caswell

The Bing team today unveiled turn-by-turn directions for Windows Phones. Now for those that know me, you may know that I currently am using an Android phone (yeah, yeah, I work for Microsoft and use an Android phone; it happens). And one of the reasons specifically was for the free GPS app available via Google.

Having a phone with this kind of app makes my life less complicated, as it removes one more gadget from my life that I’d just as soon not have separately. But lately my Android phone has felt sluggish (it’s a G1), and with this announcement, I think it’s safe to say that I’m looking at getting myself a nice new Windows Phone 7 this holiday season. Anyone else making a major phone change soon?

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?

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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.

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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.

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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:

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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:

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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.

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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.

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