Sunday, January 18, 2009
Microsoft Songsmith Rocks!!
Check out Microsoft Songsmith: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/songsmith/. We spent some time goofing with it this weekend to blow off steam during a 37-hour code-a-thon, and it's awesome. You sing (whatever comes to mind...) to a beat, and it then adds music to accompany your ramblings and off-pitch vocals. It's like karaoke without any rules, and I'm hooked. It says it's still a "Microsoft Research" product, and the video advertisement is hokey, but the product is almost as entrancing as Rock Band.
DNN serves a purpose, but...
I spent this weekend working with some of my coworkers to develop a content-managed website for a local charity. We've worked 37 hours since 2:30 PM on Friday, so we're a bit short on sleep... which may explain why I'm feeling feisty.
So, about that feistiness...
DNN is not my favorite tool. For this weekend charity challenge, we developed the website on the DotNetNuke (DNN) platform to ensure that the small staff at our charity would be able to manage it. DNN provides tools to update site content, upload photos and documents, and manage event calendars, announcements, etc. So, it serves a purpose. But, those features come at a cost. The platform is slow, it is cumbersome to style, and it is not a good platform for custom applications. It is a simple CMS platform.
I have developed many DNN sites over the past few years, and I had hoped the performance shortcomings and feature bloat would have been addressed in this new version. I was disappointed to learn that it's still the same ole' DNN... painful.
Our team is happy with the choice to use DNN because it will provide a solid solution for Cedar Hill ISD. It's simple. But, i would not recommend it to any organization with a dedicated IT staff or any organizaiton that wishes to extend it with custom features. Look to a different platform (SharePoint, Sitecore CMS, etc.) instead.
So, about that feistiness...
DNN is not my favorite tool. For this weekend charity challenge, we developed the website on the DotNetNuke (DNN) platform to ensure that the small staff at our charity would be able to manage it. DNN provides tools to update site content, upload photos and documents, and manage event calendars, announcements, etc. So, it serves a purpose. But, those features come at a cost. The platform is slow, it is cumbersome to style, and it is not a good platform for custom applications. It is a simple CMS platform.
I have developed many DNN sites over the past few years, and I had hoped the performance shortcomings and feature bloat would have been addressed in this new version. I was disappointed to learn that it's still the same ole' DNN... painful.
Our team is happy with the choice to use DNN because it will provide a solid solution for Cedar Hill ISD. It's simple. But, i would not recommend it to any organization with a dedicated IT staff or any organizaiton that wishes to extend it with custom features. Look to a different platform (SharePoint, Sitecore CMS, etc.) instead.
Great working with Cedar Hill ISD Education Foundation
This year, our We Are Microsoft team developed a new content-managed website for Cedar Hill ISD Education Foundation. You can see the new site at http://www.cedarhillef.org/.
Cedar Hill EF is a foundation that provides programs and academic support for students in the Cedar Hill Independent School District. Their old website, http://www.chisd.org/CHfoundation/index.htm, provided them with a venue to share their mission, but the organization did not have tools to easily manage their message and update site content. We created a new content-managed website with tools for staff to update content, events, and photos. We setup their new domain name, configured new corporate email, created a blog, and setup a Flickr site for them to manage photos of their events.
Many thanks to Microsoft for sponsoring this event!
Cedar Hill EF is a foundation that provides programs and academic support for students in the Cedar Hill Independent School District. Their old website, http://www.chisd.org/CHfoundation/index.htm, provided them with a venue to share their mission, but the organization did not have tools to easily manage their message and update site content. We created a new content-managed website with tools for staff to update content, events, and photos. We setup their new domain name, configured new corporate email, created a blog, and setup a Flickr site for them to manage photos of their events.
Many thanks to Microsoft for sponsoring this event!
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