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Windows Live Writer

Microsoft are renowed for getting ‘usability’ right with their products.

Windows Live Writer is no exception.

Three things I like:

  • 1. Installation is easy.
    • Download, install – then point at this blog url – and it detected I was running WordPress without any problems.
    • No fiddling with the correct url for the XML-RPC side of things. No need to remember that I’m running WordPress. (Remember – this is easy for non-technical people)
  • 2. It looks good.
    • Hey – I can use Textpad, Wordpad, Pico, Joe, VI or just pipe from the shell if I need to. But often it’s a lot easier just to have something that works and works well.
    • It looks a lot like Word – or any other Microsoft Office app.
  • 3. In place preview – with your theme.
    • Oooh – this is a sexy feature. Look at the screen shots.

 

WordCamp

So I’m in San Francisco at the WordPress Community geek-fest that is WordCamp.

It’s kinda interesting – the usual [x]camp format; the usual 80/20 mix of hackers and non-hackers; the lack of power outlets…


Power!

There are a lot of people here who are using WordPress and want more – there is certainly a wave of demand that could see the whole community become a lot stronger.

Spent time in a session this morning on ‘Helping out WordPress’ – the number 1 request is ‘help with support’. I’ll get with a few people and see what can really be done.

After working with Ximian for three years – I’m really wary of reliance on the community; I know it’s active; but without clout nothing moves.

Oh – and I gave out a stack of openSUSE 10.1 DVDs – as well as the link to the running WordPress on openSUSE article that I threw together. I was branded a dreadful person from corporate land for that. The folks at WordCamp who got the openSUSE DVDs were happy though.