SharePoint gets an open-source podcasting add-on
As part of its ongoing campaign to emphasize SharePoint Server's social-computing capabilities, Microsoft rolled out on June 9 a test version of the Podcast Kit for SharePoint (PKS), which it is making available under an open-source license.
PKS is built on the Microsoft Silverlight platform and is compatible with the Zune, Windows Mobile devices, PCs and "other devices that play podcasts," according to the company. Microsoft's own sales organization has been implementing PKS internally during the past year.
PKS can record and distribute video and audio information. It also can access audio or video podcasts on any device that can play them; integrate with instant-messaging programs; discover "the most relevant content using a rating system, tag clouds and search functions"; and allow subscribers to receive content automatically via RSS feeds. Silverlight is the vehicle for playing the podcasts using PKS.
The source code for PKS is free for SharePoint customers under the Microsoft Public License. (It also requires Windows Server and SQL Server.) The fine print, regarding support:
PKS "is not supported by Microsoft, and we recommend that you ask your integration partner for such a support. Since the PKS's code is distributed any partner who understands development for SharePoint 2007 will be able to deliver this support for you."
According to the roadmap on the Microsoft CodePlex site, the first full-fledged beta of PKS is due out in September 2008. That beta build will be stable enough for customers to deploy in production, according to company officials.
Via the PKS page on CodePlex, Microsoft is seeking partners to build new capabilities for future versions of PKS. Among the ones Microsoft is seeking:
- Facebook like features: add to co-workers, the wall
- Netflix-like homepage (rate and comment your latest downloaded podcasts)
- Tell a story: assemble podcasts together in a wiki type environment
- “Content being watched right now” banner
- Offline rating and commenting: rate and comment just by replying to a weekly digest email
- Filtering v2: extended filtering solution, similar to what newegg.com is doing
- Use existing meta tags as suggestions during upload process
Do businesses really care about podcasting and other social-networking tools? Microsoft believes so and included this supporting factoid in its PKS press release:
"According to an April 2008 Forrester Research Inc. report, 'Global Enterprise Market Forecast: 2007 to 2013,' 56 percent of North American and European enterprises consider Web 2.0 to be a priority in 2008, and the market will increase from $764 million in 2008 to $4.6 billion by 2013."