Philip Richardson

Last week our team signed off on our CTP3 release of Titan. Earlier this week we made it available to partners in our closed beta programs. If you are a partner in our Ascend/Metro or Pre-Release program please sign in to the Connect website and download the latest bits. At this stage access to CTP3 is by invitation only. I’ve also posted a set of Partner Test Scenarios on the private pre-release newsgroups. These scenarios will help guide partners through the evaluation and testing of CTP3.

FYI: We’ll soon be opening up access to Titan (bits or VPC) to a wider partner audience. Unfortunately I can’t help more partners be admitted to the current programs. If you aren’t in one the pre-release programs already you’ll have to hang on just a bit longer for Titan.

Update: Microsoft Internal people should check http://productsweb. There is a license key and the binaries for download. The internal VPC is on http://infoweb/crm.

Ye Xu, one of our CRM PMs in China, has developed an SMS (aka text message) add in for CRM 3.0. You can download the add in and the source code from CodePlex. The add in does more than just simple notifications. You can send messages, create/update records, query CRM etc. If SMS is an important part of your customer communications (or heavily used by your internal mobile users) then it's worth checking out this add in.

Here is some great CRM in action: Meijer prints notices of a recall which might impact a shopper based on purchase history. via The Consumerist. A great site/blog which I can't get enough of lately. All serious CRM practicioners should subscribe: each day there are great examples of customer experiences which require improvement (and the occaisional praise – like the Meijer example).

Could you pass the Australian citizenship test? Here are some of the proposed questions with answers in parentheses for my international readers. Via SMH. All were dead easy – except the one about the floral emblem being the Wattle. I always get confused with the Waratah (the floral emblem of New South Wales).

1. In what year did Federation take place? (1901).

2. Which day of the year is Australia Day? (January 26).

3. Who was the first Prime Minister of Australia? (Edmund Barton).

4. What is the first line of Australia's national anthem? (Australians all let us rejoice)

5. What is the floral emblem of Australia? (Wattle)

6. What is the population of Australia? (approx 21 million)

7. In what city is the Parliament House of the Commonwealth Parliament located? (Canberra)

8. Who is the Queen's representative in Australia? (the governor-general)

9. How are Members of Parliament chosen? (by election)

10. Who do Members of Parliament represent? (the people of their electorate)

11. After a federal election, who forms the new government? (the political party or coalition of parties which wins a majority of seats in the House of Representatives)

12. What are the colours on the Australian flag? (red, white and blue)

13. Who is the head of the Australian Government? (the prime minister)

14. What are the three levels of government in Australia? (Commonwealth, State or Territory and local)

15. In what year did the European settlement of Australia start? (1788)

16. Serving on a jury if required is a responsibility of Australian citizenship: true or false? (true)

17. In Australia, everyone is free to practise the religion of their choice, or practise no religion: true of false? (true)

18. To be elected to the Commonwealth Parliament you must be an Australian citizen: true or false? (true)

19. As an Australian citizen, I have the right to register my baby born overseas as an Australian citizen: true or false? (true)

20. Australian citizens aged 18 years or over are required to enrol on the electoral register: true or false? (true)

We hit the Westside of Seattle today (there is a strong psychological divide between the East and West shores of Lake Washington). It appeared that the Traffic Apocalypse over there had passed. Unwilling to stray far from familar territory we hit Espresso Vivace's Alley 24 Outpost, Urban Beast, REI and new Southlake Grill.

The folks at the 'beast' provided us with dog snacks that shouldn't poison our dog (thanks China – you really should do something about pet food safety). I'd like to see the domestic pet food manufacturers step up here and sell some premium products with a better safety record. I'd be happy to pay more than the cheap Chinese stuff found at Costco etc.

Vivace provided the usual high end coffee fix. I'm always puzzled at the nature of the barista. A relatively new 'craft' which has emerged – it may only be with us for a few years before automation and the soft drink companies kill off espresso. A Vivace barista typically does a year's apprenticeship as a bar assistant before being allowed to pull shots. The price is the same as a 'normal espresso' anywhere else. Yet, just meters away, out the front of REI there were barbarians lining up for some dodgy espresso stand. I watched the 'coffee technican' at the stand ply her trade. It was ugly. Like watching TV wrestler play a violin solo. I can only hope that the strong coffee culture of Sydney and Melbourne stays strong. The locals there value a good cup over the automated stuff (civet cat coffee notwithstanding).

We lunched at the Southlake Grill (just around the corner from Vivace). It's located in one of those bare concrete ultra modern office/apartment complexes (you know the type). Service was confusing (good – just confusing). A nice feature of the place is 1/2 price Sundays: everything on the menu is 1/2 price. A nice unexpected surprise. I liked the look of the place and I liked the menu. The service could be a little more 'crisp' and 'precise' – but that's no big deal (I tipped well). My dislike was temperature, specifically the temperature of my food. It wasn't cold yet it wasn't warm. During my meal it became apparent as to the cause. The chefs were turning out the food at a prompt rate and a large amount of plates were sitting under 'warmers' (I use the term loosely) wating for wait staff to collect them. About a dozen plates sat attended for 5+ minutes. Not good. The place probably needs a decent manager to sort out some business process issues and it will be great.