"Here’s a question I have about Mediasite itself (not about the company): How do you rewind and fast-forward manually? The only way to move the tape seems to be by selecting a specific slide, which is an inefficient way to replay a short passage that you just heard."
Good question. Simply move the button which sits on horizontal line just above the "play", "pause" and "stop" buttons just below the viewer screen of the presenter. Move the "round button" with your mouse to the desired location in the presentation.
Madison WI is only 70 minutes form my house and I venture that way at least once every few months. No problem viewing the parking lot. ;)