Matthew Kotler, lead Program Manager for the SmartArt Team, further discusses SmartArt in great detail on the Excel 2007 Blog. The concept behind SmartArt is to allow users to display information graphically with as much work as simply typing in a bulleted list. SmartArt was designed from the ground up to take advantage of Office 2007's new UI. SmartArt is the feature's official name while you may have heard it referred to as code-named "IGX" previously.

In other news, Mary Jo Foley addresses whether Windows Vista Beta 2 will be a "make or break" moment for Vista's development. She took a quotes from myself as well as Brad Wardell, CEO from Stardock, regarding where Windows Vista is in development compared to Windows XP. Here's a bit:

While the exact Vista release date is fluid, the facts are not--this cut of Vista needs to be more solid than a year's worth of previous builds from Microsoft. Even the most recent Vista builds, including two interim CTPs delivered during the past couple of months to the company's squad of elite beta testers, known as Technology Adoption Program (TAP) partners, have suffered from a variety of performance and compatibility problems, according to interviews with eight testers.

Testers said that if the next build of Vista doesn't improve dramatically, Microsoft will have a tough time sticking to the outline the company issued in late March. Microsoft's current timeline calls for the company to release the final Vista code to manufacturing this summer or fall, allowing customers under volume-licensing agreements to get their hands on the code by November, 2006. Microsoft executives have maintained that the dual launches of Vista and Office 2007 is on for January 2007, when code for both products will be available to all customers.