Channel 9: a base hit, not a home run.
Like a good like drone, I visited MSDN's channel 9. I'm not going to let my first impression -- which frankly wasn't all that favorable -- be my only impression of it.
What I liked:
- That they made the effort. Kudos for opening up.
- Doctrine points #3, #6 and #8 and #9. Very sage.
- That it has a lot of potential.
- That it has different types of channels (Moblog, threaded discussions and Wikis) that appeal to different segments.
- RSS feeds.
What I didn't like
- Top prority: One page, please, listing of all the enabled RSS Feeds. Don't make me hunt for them.
- ActiveX controls? Are you kidding me? Who on earth has ActiveX enabled in the Internet Zone? Thumbnail the video with a link to a player Window, please.
- What message does not using or integrating with Passport send?
- Great if your a developer or on the developer tools teams. What about the IT professional? When does Microsoft open up that channel?
- Doesn't seem like RSS Bandit's broswer very much.
- The different channels don't feel very well integrated. Feels like a mismash.
- Avatar? Avatar? Oh man, that's so 20th century.
I'll read the feeds, for now, and check-in periodically to see how the site progresses. Today it feels more like base hit than a home run to me. But then, that's consistent with Doctrine #6.