I am a technology specialist and product evangelist for the Microsoft Office System and Windows client working in Dallas, Texas (of all places).  While I'm much more comfortable in the foreign urban jungle of Hong Kong where my family has lived for over 25 years, Dallas is giving me a thorough education in country living.

Since the release of Office 2003, the terms "technology specialist" and "Microsoft Office" can hardly be used in the same phrase.  My role covers the huge number of client products, services, and servers that make up our information worker platform.  Tablet PCs and Mobile Devices also fall within my scope.  Our Integrated Innovation strategy means that all of these parts work together to build some incredible solutions for our customers.  It also means my job is becoming increasingly complex (and even more fun). 

Among the 130-some customers I work with, I spend about half of my time with IT professionals and business leaders in the region and the other half with end users of our products.  The two categories aren't mutually exclusive, but I do see a difference between the people who decide what to deploy and the people who then have to learn how to become productive with it.

If you're downloading any one of our recent product updates, you might want to take a moment to brush up on what's new in Office 2003.  I've put together two 45-minute webcasts designed to help people increase personal productivity in the core Office applications:

Microsoft Outlook 2003 Inside Out
Available on demand
From search folders to side-by-side calendars, Outlook 2003 has many features to increase productivity.  Attend this webcast for strategies on battling spam and e-mail viruses, along with learning some keyboard shortcuts that can save you time every day.  The presentation also includes a link to a printable handout detailing the tips and tricks discussed.

Microsoft Office 2003 Tips and Tricks
Thursday, August 12th, 9:00 - 10:00am (Pacific Time)
Microsoft has added numerous enhancements and productivity features to Microsoft Office 2003 from document sharing with Windows SharePoint Services to Information Rights Management.  Join us online and see demonstrations of many techniques for improving the way you work every day including the functionality of SmartTags, pivot tables and new, time-saving list tools in Excel 2003.

I have to admit, "Outlook Inside Out" wasn't the best title for the first webcast.  This was a (seriously trimmed) adaptation of a 90-minute presentation I frequently give to Outlook users, and that just gets us warmed up.  If you're like me, you spend ridiculous amounts of time with your e-mail - I need every shortcut I can get my hands on.  This presentation should get you started ...