Blog
Fixes, investigations and things worth knowing in Microsoft and Windows land.
2021
Boring tech wins
Mature, well-documented tools outlast the hype. Render on the server, reach for a library before a framework, and keep SharePoint customisation light.
2020
The cloud value ladder
Move identity and communications first, ERP and plain VMs last.
2019
SharePoint 2010 branding, in hindsight
Nine gists from 2011 to 2013, what each one worked around, and what modern SharePoint does instead.
2018
Intranets fail on the business case
The technology is a minor implementation detail. Find out what the business is trying to change, then pick the tools.
2015
The Chrome account switcher
Struggling with multiple logins? Chrome’s user accounts let you run separate instances, each with its own history, cookies and bookmarks for each client.
Office 365 developer accounts: add 1 free year to your new/existing account
After Build 2015, Microsoft’s new Office Dev mailing list offered a free year of an Office 365 Developer account, and you can add it to an existing one.
2014
The .html.bit library: rich HTML in SharePoint 2010
A quick and dirty trick for injecting HTML, CSS and JS into SharePoint 2010 pages with .html.bit files and a Content Editor Web Part. You should not do this.
2013
Another look at enterprise Metro: Microsoft CRM codename Orion
In the next Dynamics CRM user experience, codename Orion, the ribbon gives way to a command bar, and we’re seeing the ribbon hidden in Office too.
2012
Chrome quick-search for SharePoint
Chrome’s “tab to search” lets you search a site from the address bar, and it’s easy to set up for SharePoint with an OpenSearch description file.
Cloudshare.com: a major efficiency boost for SharePoint pros
For tinkering with SharePoint or CRM, CloudShare’s hosted, pre-configured dev and test environments are the easiest way to get started.