I made some sorbet at the weekend, and realised just when we were due to serve that I had forgot to take it out of the freezer to soften, and so it was rock hard.  What is the best way to bring it to a usable temperature quickly?  We chucked it in the microwave and then hacked it with a spatula, but ended up with a lumpy texture as many parts were still very frozen.  Any ideas to avoid a repeat in the future would be appreciated. 
The best way? Plan better. :)  The microwave is rarely a good plan for quick defrosting, as you found out. I would suggest putting the container in warm to hot running tap water.  The warmer the water is the faster it will melt, but it will also melt more unevenly - though nothing like the microwave. The important part is that the water is running, and is at least room temperature.  It's not going to be quick like a microwave, but it'll be faster than just letting it sit.  Edit  I've never tried this, but I imagine a hair dryer might work well too. It'll just be noisier :) The concept is the same, just moving air instead of water. 