Technology and Life

The old software model is outdated

2010-04-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

I'm trying out the beta for Microsoft Office 2010. This beta program is a great marketing option for Microsoft. At this point they allow almost anybody to download their software and use it. But it comes with a price, the software will expire in October 2010. At that point many of us will be hooked on the new features and will have the need to purchase the software.
The product I've used the most in this new Office suite is Outlook. It is significantly improved and finally has some much needed features such as message threading. Outlook also gets the Ribbon functionality, with its graphical menu, which it only partially had under 2007.

This is bad.

It isn't bad that we have those functions. It is bad that we had to wait until now to get it. The Ribbon was one of the main features of most of the other Office 2007 products, but apparently the Ribbon hadn't been completed in Outlook in time for the 2007 release. So we got what was ready and had to wait until 2010 to get this feature integrated into Outlook. And I get to buy the product again.
Don't get me started about threaded messages. This is the feature that groups your messages with the same subject line together. I've been enjoying that feature for at least four years in Gmail and was hoping for it in Office 2007. Now I can have it in Outlook 2010. If I want to buy the full product.

What is next? Office 2012, 2013? Will I wait three years for improvements? This is no longer the way to run a software company. Improvements should be incremental and more frequent. Cost structures should be changed. Microsoft will realize this at some point but it will come at the cost of lost revenue.

Obligatory Tax Protest

2010-04-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

Today is the deadline where all U.S. citizens must reconcile their taxes for 2009. Taxes are really in a mess.
We are taxed when we earn and when we spend. We are even taxed when we save. We pay taxes for just owning something. Those that don't make much money or who have a large number of kids might actually receive money from the Federal Government by filing taxes. Where does that money come from?

It comes from people who pay taxes, which are individuals or couples with no kids, or who make a lot of money. Or it comes from debt. Even with all the money that is paid in it isn't nearly enough to run the country.

I'd like to see a National Sales Tax. No more taxation when we earn or save.

Relationships Atrophy if left alone

2010-04-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

As we move through time it is important to understand that everything that lives is in motion. The earth revolves around the sun, the sun continues its trajectory through space, the earth spins on its axis. Those things that don't move die.

That is the way it is with relationships, whether they are with your customers, co-workers, or spouse. If you don't take care of your relationships things will just get worse.

I was reminded today that we tend to treat those we know well much worse than those we don't. Is it the familiarity that leads us to think we don't need to cherish those we know and love? Time to spend time with those that matter most.

We are all salesmen

2010-04-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

Whether we are making a proposal to our boss or applying for a job we are all selling ourselves and our ideas. Unfortunately most of us aren't very good salesmen and we sabotage what we want.
Sales doesn't mean you are tricking others, rather it covers how we present our ideas and services. As Dan Miller has said many times "Sales is simply sharing enthusiasm."

It is a search

2010-03-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

Google isn't known for having a great User Interface, but I'm often pleased by the intuitive options presented through some of their interfaces.

I use Google Docs somewhat regularly and I have a hundred or so documents created going back almost four years. One thing I don't like about the Google Docs interface is that the default view is All Items. That means when I share a bunch of documents with someone I'm collaborating with I pollute their default view with a bunch of recent documents. That means that my collaborator needs to manage my documents in her view.

This has led me to use the Folders more heavily. Folders are really Tags, but the Google Docs team had decided to name them Folders since most users know what to do with a folder but don't understand Tags. This means they have the extended functionality of Tags (you can put a document in multiple "Folders").

So I have started sloshing through all my documents in order to put them all in Folders which means I'm scrolling through the All Items view in order to do this. Then I think, Wouldn't it be nice if I could do a search that shows me ever document that isn't in a folder? Yes it would. So while I'm trying to decide how to do this search I stumble upon the More Searches... option in the list and I find an Items not in Folders. Then I discover a way to Save Searches.

This leads me to realize that all of the options including Owned by Me, Starred, and Hidden are all searched on the metadata associated with the files. Quite interesting and intuitive. And probably not easy to understand.

Scriptfrenzy

2010-03-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

During November 2009 I wrote a novel. 51,185 words. No, you can't read it. Yet. It is in severe need of editing and a rewrite.

Starting in just a few days I will be attempting Scriptfrenzy which is a challenge to write 100 pages of a script. I am looking at a couple of different options, but at least part of what I plan on writing will be a script for a murder mystery.

Meetings

2010-03-25T11:36:00.000-07:00

Meetings have long been thought to be necessary in most organizations, but they are used too often. With the great tools that technology offers we can be more effective using Wikis, Microblogging, or other asynchronous methods.

Meetings have the advantage of

Providing a set time and/or venue where items can be addressed
Allowing synchronous communication (although this isn't always used effectively)
Some meetings allow for collaboration which is sorely needed in most organization

I expect the list is longer and I will add to the benefits throughout the next weeks.

The downside is that it takes a lot of time and often the results don't warrant all the attention.

Downsides

Everyone is committed for the block of the meeting and cannot do much else. This is inconvenient at best and possibly very disruptive
If the meeting is face to face there is often a fair amount of overhead such as travel to the meeting site, coordinating schedules, and waiting for the participants to arrive

What is it you like or hate about meetings?

Life is a Dance

2010-03-25T08:09:00.001-07:00

I watched my son's Ballroom Dance Team last night as they performed for a small church group. The dancers are learning completely new dances and only have a few hours of practice into the new routines so there were quite a few missteps. The dancers recovered quickly, mostly with smiles on their faces as they struggled to get back in step.

As one would guess, these teens and pre-teens are dancing to have fun and improve their abilities. Some dancers are more confident than others but all are improving and hopefully all are having fun.

Life is like that. We are improving and having fun. If we aren't then we are doing it wrong.