The new Dynamics CRM UI that no one is using (yet)
Microsoft Dynamics CRM has been around since 2003, shortly after .NET launched in 2002, which incidentally makes Dynamics CRM one of the oldest, and largest .NET applications in existence. Looking back at its previous versions, its UI design was largely built around Outlook, and the general Windows Forms paradigm, even though running CRM in a browser has always been an option. The idea seems to have been "lets make it look like a Windows Forms app", hence the browser toolbar is hidden from most windows (so no Back button) and there a a lot of use of pop-up dialogs.
Charities and Hackathons
Someone asked an interesting question at a charity-focused hackathon I was at last year - along the lines of "This is the third year we've held this event to help Charities, why aren't more of them here with projects?". From what I've seen of (medium to large) charities, the answer would be along the lines of "the technology problems that charities have to deal with can't easily be tackled by a hackathon". Technology problems in charities tend to be things like:
Salesforce and Dynamics CRM - Unwizzy Wizards
At the moment I am working for two different charity clients, both of whom are implementing CRM systems - one has gone for Dynamics CRM, and one has gone for Salesforce.
Scribe Adapter for Web Services and complex structures
If you're looking at migrating data into Salesforce or Dynamics CRM then Scribe Insight is one of your options. Its an integration system like SSIS and many others but its known for its particularly good support for cloud CRM systems.
CharityHack 2012
Last weekend was my fourth Charity Hackathon of the year, CharityHack 2012. The CharityHack series started in 2009 and is sponsored by PayPal, JustGiving, MissionFish (aka PayPal Giving Fund) and PlayMob.Whereas some of the hackathons I've been to this year were actually organised by charities, CharityHack had more a feel of "people who work in the private sector doing a hack for charities". Not that there weren't charity people there, but the general make-up of the crowd was different.
