Black Warrior Technology has become an official member of the Microsoft Small Business Racing Team.

Which means The Arrowhead of Awesomeness can officially appear on the #00 Toyota Camry driven by Michael McDowell for Michael Waltrip Racing.

Why?

Because there is no type of sport that does more for its sponsors than racing/motorsports. And the motorsport that does more for its sponsors than anyone else?

NASCAR, without question.

Every NASCAR driver receives special media training, and is fully briefed on sponsors. Which totally rocks. Think about other professional sports. How many times have you heard any kind of ball/hockey/soccer/what-have-you player talk about a sponsor before, during, or after the event? Not at all. But NASCAR drivers, owners, and crew members constantly thank their primary sponsors by name whenever the cameras are running.

Why?

Because the teams know that without sponsorship, they have no rides. Without rides, they basically have no team. Which is why having your logo riding around right beside the numbers on a car during a NASCAR race totally rocks.

Not only that, but NASCAR fans are some of the most rabid fans anywhere. They are fiercely loyal to drivers, teams, manufacturers, and sponsors.

Why?

Because everything that goes into the creation of the grand carnival that is NASCAR matters to them. They’re no different in that regard than superfans of any sport anywhere. But the loyalty that fans of other sports have is pretty much limited to teams and players. OK…sure, there are bat, ball, glove and sportswear manufacturers who benefit in other sports. But only because they are directly associated with the activity of that given sport.

NASCAR is different in that they offer nearly any company from nearly any industry the ability to sponsor a team.

Why?

Because NASCAR also knows that sponsors also bring their own fans, typically greenfield type of fans, who have never been to or watched a race before in their life.

And, to be honest…

The attitude of NASCAR appeals to me. NASCAR races are preceded with a prayer, a singing of our national anthem and presentation of our flag, replete with a flyover of some kind of military aircraft normally timed to roughly coincide with the “la-and of the Freeeee!” crescendo.

Not only does the respect for God and country mean something to me, but the fact that NASCAR works hard to be a family-friendly sports matters VERY MUCH to me. It’s important to me that The Arrowhead of Awesomeness won’t be shown next to the Playboy, Penthouse or some other porn empire’s logo. Let alone plastered on the backside of some Vivid Video starlet.

Thanks to Microsoft and its amazingly awesome Small Business Specialist sponsorship program they entered into with MWR, the price point for all this is an astonishingly low price. $4K? That’s chickenfeed for the kind of exposure you are getting.

So the question you should be asking yourself shouldn’t be…

Why?

The question you should ask yourself should be…

Why Not?

And the only question I still have for myself is…

Why Didn’t I Do This Sooner?

The first of my speaking engagements at Worldwide Partner Conference went smashingly well yesterday. That was the Windows Mobile keynote in room 372 BCEF talking about Mobility in Small and Medium Sized Businesses.

The room was full, and I don’t remember anyone leaving during the session at all. Despite the fact that my own Awesome Per Minute ratio was through the roof.

Of course, the reason the keynote went so well was totally thanks to the amazingly kickass job that Laura Johnson and Steve Doe did laying out the case for Mobility in small and medium-businesses.

I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to share Black Warrior Technology’s approach to Mobility and Windows Mobile in particular.

The second of my speaking engagements at Worldwide Partner Conference happens Thursday, July 10th, which is tomorrow, at 1:30p. It’ll be in room 382 ABC, which is the room across from the Green (Mobility) Lounge.

I’ll be speaking about specific examples of Black Warrior Technology’s approach to Mobility and Windows Mobile that have turned into huge wins for both our customers and our company.

Which, like the hokey-pokey, is REALLY what it’s all about!

You’re prolly hearing lots about WPC 2008, even from people who aren’t anywhere near the conference.

Which means they missed the world premier of a brand-new rap sensation.

A-Fresh in tha hiz-zay.

Jea-lous?

Peace.

There’s no single more important thing to the long-term health of any network system than accurate time.

Without accurate time, there is no way to assure than any transactions flying in that environment will maintain fidelity. In other words…

There’s no way to know that databases, Active Directory, file systems, or anything else that uses any kind of timestamp isn’t shredding itself to bits.

10 years ago or so, time sync used to be much more of an issue. Oh sure, you could always load a dialer program that would call Colorado (in the US) and get a time adjust to the master clocks. But that was a major pain in the tookus. And it cost you money with each call.

Thanks to the glorious achievement that is the Internet, and a little gem called Network Time Protocol AKA NTP (including its eponymous sibling Simple Network Time Protocol AKA SNTP), time sychronization became largely a moot issue in data networks during the 90s.

The key to time synchronization, at least as far as maintaining a healthy network goes, is not so much having correct time (more on that in a minute), but having consistent time, which are two very different concepts.

Although it might make your users mad when the clocks on their PCs are off a bit, it is usually far more healthy for the average data network to be 5 minutes off everywhere, as opposed to having different parts of the network running on-time whle other parts do not.

The consistency of time in a data network has far-ranging implications. For Active Directory, one of the primary functions that depends on consistent time is network logon.

That’s because Active Directory uses Kerberos tickets to validate logon traffic. The tickets, which are by design time sensitive and expire so that captured traffic cannot be replayed and used to compromise systems in a classic man-in-the-middle attack, rely on consistent time. We’re normally talking about a 5 minute (which is an absolute eternity, in computer time actually) for everything to remain both hunky and dory.

The stampede rush to all things virtualization is poised to make time synchronization a key network design issue, all over again.

Because when the magic act that is virtualization makes the hardware go poof, there’s one major thing that goes away forever…

The BIOS Clock

Sure, a BIOS clock isn’t the end all, be all.

But it will keep you, and your systems, in the ballpark.

So if you aren’t spending time planning clock synchronization for your virtual systems, you’d best get that taken care of, and pronto.

While checking in this morning at WPC, I did not bring a printout of the final confirmation e-mail I had received earlier this week. And I actually did that on purpose.

That e-mail contained a barcode which could be scanned at the regstration desk, and would make checking in a breeze.

But it seemed to me, at a conference with subthemes of conservation, sustainability, and responsibility…

Asking people to print even one extra sheet of paper has…well, a pretty significant impact.

So what I did instead was…

• Opened the confirmation e-mail on my Windows Mobile device
• Asked the girl at the registration desk to scan it anyway (she was mighty skeptical)
• Reveled in saving one more tree from a senseless death when the happy “boop” sound indicated that the barcode actually scanned.

It worked a treat, just like those new electronic-only boarding passes.

If you’re using Windows Mobile 6 with an Exchange 2007 server, then you already have the e-mail in HTML format. So you can just open the e-mail and position the barcode on the screen.

if you’re still using Exchange 2003 like I am, well then you should prolly know the truth about HTML e-mail using Windows Mobile 6 and Exchange 2003.

But your confirmation e-mail should contain a hyperlink to the barcode image. Click the one that has GenerateBarCode.aspx buried in it and bang…you’re in business!

You know who has this sort of stuff knocked already? Who does this kind of thing every single day for the most ordinary things?

Estonia.

This kind of stuff is old hat to Estonians, the most digital people on the planet.

Unrepentant FaceBook junkie that I am, I’ve got a photo album rolling for WPC 2008.

WPC 2008 FaceBook album

Come check it out and see if you, or someone you know, has been immortalized yet. Obviously, the patented Funcave Smart-Aleck-Captionator has been activated.

Marion Ravenwood

Lara Croft

Every character played by Michelle Yeoh

and even…

Dora The Explorer

Pixar just gave us another one…

A long long time ago, in a lifetime far far away (20 years to be exact)…

I was in a session at a writer’s conference where a very well-known author basically told me I was full of it because…

Cartoons cannot, and will not, ever be able to adequately express emotion.

So all I can say now is…

Suck it OSC!

Best of all…

Emotion-expressing animation or not…

I got to see Wall-E with Cute as a Button right beside me.

And that’s always a good time!

First person to post the correct answer gets an assortment of swag from WPC.

Enjoy!

Sweet Mother of Moses.

There’s gotta be a 12 step program I can join for this one.

99% of the blame for getting me hooked on Crackbook rests squarely with Microsofties and the upcoming WPC in Houston in a couple of weeks.

Alright…I’m off to rob a liquor store to support my new habit.

The officially official version of Hyper-V just hit the download site today at noon Pacific time.

In an amazing feat of time-warping, this post was sent back in time to coincide with the exact moment of Hyper-V’s release.

Before you go all crazy downloading and installing Hyper-V, remember that upgrading your virtualization platform takes some planning and forethought…

If you care at all whether your virtual machines will still work, that is.

Some standard cautions about new versions of Hyper-V…

• Once you put Hyper-V RTM on, there’s no removing it.
• Virtual machines in a paused or saved state usually can’t be upgraded.
• Before you do anything else, export a copy of your virtual machines to an external drive exactly as you want them preserved.
• Archive all your exports into .zip files, so you don’t blow your only shot at an import later.
• Snapshots might not survive an upgrade. So merge your changes before shutting down your virtual machines for the upgrade. But push those exports first!
• Don’t forget to install the new Integration Services at some point, once you’ve verified your machines are all happy and working on the final release.

And for Pete’s sake…

• Keep a copy of the current version of Hyper-V that you are running, just in case. Otherwise, the export copies you pushed will be less than worthless.

In fact, why don’t you store that copy of Hyper-V used to make the export copies right WITH the export copies, so you’ll always have it if you need it.

In case the absolute very worst happens.

It’s officially official.

I’ll be part of two sessions at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Houston next month!

In a stunning development that should shock no one…

Both of them have to do with mobility solutions AKA Windows Mobile.

Here are the official session codes and titles. I’ve even included links to a pair of .vcs files so you can lay the appointments in your Outlook calendar if you want.

If you’re planning on attending WPC, be sure and stop by. There’s gonna be a whole of lot of reasons, ways, and means you can use Windows Mobile to grow your practice.

E-Cycling Day was recently included as part of an Alabama Public Television feature on green initiatives in our state.

The entire show is available online from the APTV.org website. If you just want to catch the section on E-Cycling Day, start at the 26:27 mark.

And for the record…uncontrollable laughter.

That was the reaction from Running Antelope, Apple of My Eye, and Cute as a Button to the awesome Winter Hat of Justice I’m sporting.

With the public release candidate of Small Business Server 2008 floating around and about, there might be a few folks who want to stand it up inside of Hyper-V RC1.

When configuring a virtual machine to run SBS08, you’ll want to remove the native adapter that is configured by default, and add a Legacy Network adapter instead.

Otherwise, you’ll get the following error during installation

Network Adapter was not found

SBS08 can’t see native adapters until Integration Services are loaded. Which you really can’t do safely until after SBS is done installing.

Talk about a Catch-22, huh?

Also, certain things in SBS08 won’t install correctly without an adapter loaded. So you end up with a borked install.

Which maybe is something you’re after. But prolly not.

Go legacy adapter, if all you are wanting to do is put SBS08 through its paces with the least amount of hassle.

So this is really just a tease shot, yes.

Instead, think of it as a whetting of your appetite.

My primary focus is shifting to Essential Business Server.

Well, not that SBS was ever really a focus for me. Still don’t know how that happened.

But it doesn’t take a badge to push information that matters, right?

First up…

Virtualizing Essential Business Server (posts tomorrow)

First one to post up the right answer might get a prize from the infamous Funcave prize stash.

Unless your last name is Stanfill. Or you have a pink blog.

Note to self…

Never yank memory out of a server that was just running multiple servers in Hyper-V and maxed out on memory.

At least not without something to put them down on…fast! I guess they don’t call them heat spreaders for nothing.

Owwwwwwwwwww. Time to go ice my tech pimp hand.

Totally worth it to see this tho…

NEVER make this setting change on a virtual machine…

Unless you really don’t care how it runs, or if it runs at all.

Or if you just want to see what it would be like to run Small Business Server with the processing equivalent of a Sinclair ZX Spectrum…

Kicking it old school. Word.

Seriously…

It’s pink and it’s awesome.

Not because it’s pink mind you, but because it has one of the absolute sharpest minds in the drawer powering it.

Beatrice Mulzer’s SBS TeeKlatsch

Add it to your feeds list. Bookmark it. Have a flunky print it and put it in your chair each morning. Whatever.

She’s been laying the smackdown on technological ignorance for years all over the world.

But she’s kicked up to a whole other level of thrashing when it comes to the newest stuff being released this very year.

So if you have even the slightest interest in having at least a shred of knowledge about any of the actual technology that’s coming down the pink…

Err, pike…

Ms. Mulzer’s blog is an awesome place to start.

Watch closely at the start of the video, to see what lights this candle.

Office Worker Goes Absolutely Insane - Watch more free videos

That’s right, someone knocking over a stack of papers.

Here’s the last half, in color and with sound.

Office Worker Meltdown Second Angle - Watch more free videos

What I really don’t understand is…

There’s a door. More than one. So why didn’t more of those folks use one and get the h-e-double-hockey-stick out?

When crazy people go crazy, it’s time to get as far away from them as humanly possible.

Watch closely for how this guy get subdued. Please tase him, bro!

No kidding, I’m drooling as I type this…

Damn, that is hot. HTC Touch Pro.

Weird weird issue on the normally kickass server here at the Funcave, which just so happens to be named Charlene. As in…

The name of this server is CHARLENE, SIR!

Tried to copy a 45GB VHD file to our girl…

A file which came courtesy of someone who just so happens to have a pink blog…

No matter how many different ways I tried to copy the file, Charlene eventually got into a totally frozen state. No matter if I tried to copy directly from USB HDD, via network client, or copying from another share, eventually Charlene would become totally unresponsive at the console, sever all network connects, etc.

Now Charlene’s a badass in her own right…

• HP ML350 
• 2Ghz single quad-core Xeon
• 19 GB RAM
• 80 GB OS volume
• 250 GB Data volume

Charlene’s running…

• Windows Server Standard 2008 x64
• Hyper-V RC1

Seeing all kinds of weirdness trying to copy files to/from her.

All the mayhem starts when Free Physical Memory drops to sickeningly low levels.

Anyone with any serious knowledge of what’s going on wanna ping me? I’m talking Windows Server team, etc. Or anyone with the last name of Russinovich.

Thanks to everyone who was in New Orleans earlier this month, and who took the time to fill out the mobility survey. Some awesome info there.

Erick “Pimp Mastah” Simpson happened to uncover a weird little something today. Prolly having to do with the curious interaction of permissions that allows the SharePoint survey to work with totally anonymous logins.

Erick found that if he submitted the survey without filling something in the comment section, it dumped his responses with nary a squawk.

So if you filled it out the survey, but didn’t put something in each section…yours might have hit The Great Bit Bucket In The Sky.

Feel free to fill it out again, if you’d like:

http://wss.blackwarriortech.com/nola08/Lists/Mobility%20Survey/overview.aspx

Best way to know if it took your response? See if the response count increments by 1 after you submit yours.

And just so ya know…the only reason I ask for an e-mail address?

Well, there are really 2 reasons…

• To say “Hey thanks!”
• To get the mailing info for folks who requested discs.

But if you don’t want either, then feel free to put something bogus for your e-mail address. No one else will ever see it.

You can also sound off about the pirate ROM issue. Which is really an issue with the way official ROM updates are distributed now. Here’s the pirate ROM survey:

http://wss.blackwarriortech.com/nola08/Lists/Pirate%20ROM%20Survey%20and%20Pledge/overview.aspx

Let it all hang out. The responses to the pirate survey have been VERY interesting.

NOTE: This is another information transplant from the now-deceased Funboard.

DISCLAIMER: This information is provided as-is, with no warranty or liability assumed from your use of it.

Here’s the sequence of steps used by the robot horde when upgrading any Windows Mobile device. There may be device-specific instructions from the particular device OEM/operator that overrule this sequence.

CAUTION: We only recommend loading officially released updates supplied by the device OEM/operator.

• Document existing ROM version of device
• Document existing ActiveSync/WMDC profile settings on device
• Download existing ROM version installer from device OEM/operator to PC
• Fully charge device
• Sync all valid data from device to PC using ActiveSync/WMDC
• Disconnect device from PC
• Update ActiveSync/WMDC version on PC to compatible version (major release changes only)
• Power off/on device
• Create full backup on device using 3rd party backup utility, such as spbBackup (PPC) or IBE Backup (SM) 
• Save backup file to memory card, if available
• Delete synchronization profile on device (major release changes only)
• Connect device
• Copy backup file to PC using “Guest” connection
• Disconnect device
• Reboot PC
• Power off device
• Remove memory card, if available
• Power on device
• Disable radio & all other comm functions
• Execute new ROM version installer
• Connect device when prompted
• Wait for completion
• Power off/on if prompted by installer
• Verify successful device boot
• Check OS function by launching programs on device
• Connect to PC
• Reconfigure synchronization (major release changes only)

As the announced upgrades to Windows Mobile 6.1 roll in, this post will keep a running list of links to those upgrades.

No idea if the upgrades will be time-limited as many of the Windows Mobile 6.0 upgrades were, but it’s almost a given that you will have to sign-up or register your device to get access to a ROM update for it.

CONFIRMED UPGRADES

HTC

TyTn II = Europe (Registration required)

NOTE: This is the first information transplant from the now-deceased Funboard.

Thanks in a large part to MS offering Windows Mobile 6 free to OEMs & mobile operators for the purpose of creating upgrades for existing WM5 devices, there have been a slew of new upgrade announcements lately.

This post will keep a running list of announced upgrades for current WM5 devices to WM6

FYI: Availability for most of these upgrades have been announced as May-July.

If you hear a rumor, post it up. We’ll deploy the robot horde to verify. Here’s hoping the list isn’t a short one…

CONFIRMED UPGRADES

ASUS

• A626 = Available here (TONS of countries/languages)
• A639 = Available here (TONS of countries/languages) 
• A686 = Available here (TONS of countries/languages)
• A696 = Available here (TONS of countries/languages)
• P535 = Available here (TONS of countries/languages)
• P735 = Available here (TONS of countries/languages)

AT&T

• 8525 = Available here

Dopod

• D810 = Available here
• P838Pro = Available here
• P800W = Available here
• U1000 = Available here

E-TEN

• Glofiish M700/X500 = Available here (English, French, Russian)

HTC

• Advantage = Available here (Signup for HTC e-Club and product registration required)
• TyTN = Available here (Signup for HTC e-Club and product registration required)
• S620 = Available here (Signup for HTC e-Club and product registration required)
• P4350 = Available here (Signup for HTC e-Club and product registration required)
• P3300 = Available here (Signup for HTC e-Club and product registration required)

iMate

• JAQ3 = Available here (Signup for iMate e-Club and product registration required)

O2

• Xda Atom Life = Available here
• Xda Orbit/Graphite/Trion =  Available here
• Xda Zinc = Available here

Orange

• SPV M3100  = Available here

Palm

• Treo 750 = Australia, UK (unbranded), US
• Treo 750v = Available here (Ireland, Netherlands, UK)

Samsung

• Blackjack = Available here
• i600 = Available here (Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Swiss, UK, Ukraine) 

Telus

• P4000 = Available here

T-Mobile

• Ameo = Available here
• Dash = Available here 
• MDA Compact III = Available here
• MDA Mail = Available here
• MDA Vario II = Available here

UBiQUiO

• 501 = Available here

Let me come right out and get this review over with in one sentence, for those of you who have important things to get done…

The new Indiana Jones movies TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY SUCKS!

Yep, I said it.

Don’t waste your money on this tired old gasbag of a movie.

In fact, I won’t waste your time going into the innumerable ways it sucks.

But I will tell you this…

Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Oh-Who-Gives-A-Damn-Anyway makes Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom look like an Oscar-worthy MASTERPIECE by comparison.

Which I’m sure will make Kate Capshaw very happy.

Instead of telling you all the ways that the latest Indiana Jones delivers every cliche and hackneyed idea that has been put to film for the last 27 years…

Ever since Raiders of the Lost Ark basically kicked the ass of every action movie that had come before it, not to mention all that have come since…

I will instead share with you all the alternate titles I came up with while waiting for this pig of a movie to end tonight…

Raiders of the Aching Lumbago

Indiana Jones and the Search for the Golden Geritol

Indiana Jones Soils His Depends

Indiana Jones and the Last Sandwich (which he promptly gives to his anorexic girlfriend, Ally McBeal)

Indiana Jones and the Quest for Even More Special Effects

Indiana Jones and the Sequel of Doom

Raiders of the Last Nerve

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Gullible Viewers

Indiana Jones and The Final Sellout

Raiders of the Last Box-Office

Indiana Jones and the Lost Cliches

Raiders of My Last $10

Feel free to post up your own opinion, or alternate title suggestion.

But if you want my advice…

Wait for this piece of felgercarb to hit the video store.

I am. And I hope to see you there!

Man, is this my shortest post ever, or what?

And man…do I deserve it.

In response to the post on pirate ROMs, and how I handled declining to answer a question on how to do it at the NOLA conference, I used the analogy of being a drug user (possession), rather than a drug dealer (distributing), Daniel took me out behind the woodshed and proceeded to lay into me with an ax handle. For good reason.

Here’s Daniel’s response, in its entirety…

I absolutely agree with your position and the decision you made. It is better just to be the drug user and never cross the line into drug pusher/dealer.

On the other hand, how respectable is it to be *just* a drug user?

Let’s continue the analogy of software piracy = drug use and look at the whole picture.

You are a speaker presenting on the topic of marijuana and it’s benefits (it’s legal but only in rare instances). After discussing the topic at length, one of the participants asks, “You’ve convinced me, I’d like to get high as soon as possible, where can I get some drugs.” Immediately you find yourself between a rock and a hard place. You know that drugs (including marijuana) can really mess a person up and that there is no legal option that you can answer with. So you pull a stash of crack-cocaine out of your pocket and explain, “I am a user who likes to get high, but I’m not about to become a dealer or tell others how to commit such a crime.” Then you light your crack pipe and take a hit.

I think the better answer would have been to explain that the only legal option is to wait until its official release and keep your illegal warez to yourself.

Not that it would help your integrity more…a person of integrity does what is right even when nobody else is looking. So to install a pirate rom kills your integrity whether you advertise that fact or not.

So yes, I respect your decision and attitude to have “more” integrity by not pointing the way towards illegal software use. But I hope you can understand why you have lost some level of respect from some people.

Not only is he absolutely right, he’s DAMN right.

Worse yet, railing against how bad pirate ROMs are like I am, and then doing it myself makes me not only a damn dirty pirate, and still part of the problem…

But also makes me a damn dirty hypocrite too.

I wish Danial had been in the NOLA audience and said that. Because I would have not only made the audience applaud him for saying that, but I would have also taken this long overdue step right then and there.

Today…

I am taking a solemn vow RIGHT NOW.

I, Chris Rue, pledge to never EVER use or download pirate ROMs. Ever.

Folks, that’s how important I feel this issue is to the long-term health of the Windows Mobile platform.

And I hope you will join me in this pledge, by also filling out the following…

Pirate ROM Survey & Pledge

This is OPEN to anyone who is interested in commenting on Windows Mobile and the ROM situation.

Eileen Brown (eileenb) is now following your updates on Twitter.

Not only that…

eileenb @chrisrue - thanks for the advice - the nasties are just growin - we’re looking at a full format now 24 minutes ago from web in reply to chrisrue

SWEET!

No idea what advice she got from me, but that rocks!

Been wanting to meet her (virtual or in person) for a couple of years now.

Everyone in New Orleans last weekend who was in the final session about the community prolly heard me talk about the very real side that most people don’t want to hear about.

All most people ever hear about is how great, grand, and wonderful the community is.

And you know what? That can be true. It really can.

But in most cases, the wonderfulness occurs on a one-to-one basis. Direct interactions between 2 folks who have discovered, through some connection they have in common, that they can help each other out.

That is how business is done, folks. That’s exactly how you and your customers interact successfully. That’s how ANY successful business interacts with its customers.

Unfortunately, that is NOT how the community works. Or at least, not how it thinks it should be working.

Which, in my opinion, is where it stumbles, badly.

A whole lot of folks are spending a WHOLE lot of time, money, energy, and hair follicles figuring out how to get EVERYONE in lockstep.

WE MUST BAND TOGETHER ON EVERYTHING. ABSOLUTELY. IT IS EXPECTED OF YOU AS A GOOD LITTLE COMMUNITY MEMBER.

That’s a crock.

The secret to leadership? it’s so freaking simple people.

You decide what, generally, you want to happen. A goal.

You put together a kickass and diverse team with the skills to make that happen.

You give them the tools/funding/support they need to make things happen.

Then you get the H-E-DOUBLE-HOCKEY-STICK out of their way. You stand back and see how they are doing. If someone’s kicking ass, YOU TELL THEM THAT, AND OTHERS TOO!

If someone is struggling, you find out why. Get them the help they need, remove an obstacle, whatever.

And you do your primary job. Which is both super simple, and difficult beyond belief

Tell the story. Get the word out. Get NEW BLOOD excited and fired up about what you are doing! Doggedly. Persistently. Continually.

No matter who ridicules you or tries to tear you down. Because it will happen. Especially in our community, if you are in the US.

Despite whatever jealousy or spite or elitism you will encounter. Even to the point of people trying to steal or take over what your team is trying to accomplish. Because it will happen. I can tell you that from personal experience, ESPECIALLY in our community.

I can tell you…

Looking around our little biosphere that so many folks think is so all-mighty and all-important (which is also a crock) for some real leadership?

I’m not seeing any worth having.

None at all.

Despite that, during that session I pledged to resurrect Alabama SMB, which died a slow, horrible death thanks completely to my missteps at the helm.

I plan to keep that promise, but not steering the ship myself.

So this is also a call to IT Professionals in the state of Alabama. If you want to try to create something that will help you, and that you can be proud of, then you need to ping me within the next 2 weeks.

If no one shows up, ready to either lead or help, there will be no second chance.

And Alabama SMB will be fully dead and buried.

A lot of interesting things happened in NOLA last weekend. Some of which I’m at liberty to discuss, some of which I’m not.

But by far, the most disconcerting had to be the number of people who said to me at one point or another during the conference…

Oh, I saw that you closed/killed the Funboard forum. I used that ALL THE TIME. I was sorry to see it go!

WHA…?

Ove the entire life of the Funboard, which was the Vanilla-based forum system used here at the Funcave, I personally accounted for over half the postings.

I simply couldn’t get anyone to talk at all.

And I just couldn’t understand why, either.

I thought I was posting intresting topics, especially for a starter board, etc. Open-ended stuff.

But two key stats from the Funboard tell a certain story.

There were 650+ members of the Funboard at the time of its closing.

But there were over 17,000 anonymous views. Now, that’s not accounting for multiple views from same computer, etc.

Still tho…that is a HORRIBLE conversion ratio.

No matter what, I chalk a good bit of the relative failure of the Funboard to a group of things I like to call The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly…

GOOD = Super strong content (which doesn’t generate discussion, simply lurkers/leechers)

BAD = No working notification module/plug-in for Vanilla

UGLY = The utter lack of support for it among my peers, including a few who were downright hostile toward it, ridiculing the effort to start a place where folks wouldn’t be, well…ridiculed for asking a simple question.

But even if that has been fixed, the simple fact of the matter is that if people don’t get off their own duffs, and support resources they find helpful…

Whether that support is monetary (FB was never a pay site, so this is not about a money thing), or simply posting a comment, question, a note of thanks, or whatever…

If no one takes the time to offer the kind of support that resource needs, then that resource will die.

That is a 100% stone cold guarantee.

R.I.P Funboard.

Evidently folks other than me miss you. Maybe there are more. Really tho…how would I know?

Been preaching the mobile device revolution was the next big thing for a couple of years now. And decent web browsing would be the key.

Honestly, there’s no magic. You can see what’s coming, as long as you are paying attention.

If you don’t, I can for sure tell you your future.

And it ain’t pretty.

And with this being the big day for LT, I especially wanted to give a big shoutout of thanks to the LT Program Chair this year, the always amazing Pam Smith!

She and her team did an amazing amazing job with LT this year, and I know all of my classmated will join me in giving her a standing “O” this afternoon.

And yes, Pam got to play firefighter too!

I asked to join the LT team next year. I hope they will accept me. I have a couple of ideas that might help them streamline operations (*ahem* less paper!)

I’m feeling…really overwhelmed by it already.

When I applied for Leadership Tuscaloosa, I knew it would be great. Even Running Antelope knew how important it was to me. When my acceptance letter came, I was away travelling somewhere. She called to tell me, and I yelled out loud wherever I was at. I remember people looking at me.

In 9 months, my 39 classmates and I…

• Looked at what has gone on in Tuscaloosa’s past, and what it needs for the future.
• Participated in a SIMSOC, an eye-opening simulation, about society.
• Talked about leadership, especially what it is, and what it isn’t.
• Spent a day roleplaying as someone with needs trying to navigate the labrynthian maze of social service agencies.
• Saw the political system, and city and local government in action in Tuscaloosa
• Discussed ways to foster the growth of the local arts and cultural resources.
• Worked in a team of 8 to helped a very worthy non-profit with their annual fundraiser, which brought in double their target amount. Also, helped get them squared away in some key operational areas. And…helped them request a $105,000 technology grant to fund all their technology needs, which is still pending approval. While our 32 classmates worked on equally important projects, with equally stunning success.

Plus…I got to be 8 years-old again for half a day, which was priceless.

And even though it wasn’t part of our Leadership Tuscaloosa class, certain of my classmates helped make West Alabama’s inaugural E-Cycling Day an unqualified success, thanks in total to their talent, dedication, hard work, and commitment to our local community.

I mentioned Leadership Tuscaloosa during the final session in New Orleans this past weekend, which happened to be on “Community” in an unannounced, last-minute change.

I talked about what Leadership Tuscaloosa had done for me, both personally and professionally. How it was far far better than I ever could have imagined it would be, and that I know it is an investment in the future. That the deep relationships I forged with these amazing amazing people will continue to grow stronger over time.

During the session, because I knew that Jason Leib had been through a Leadership program in the Kansas City area, where he lives, I asked him to stand and tell the crowd what the experience of going through that program was like.

I thought his answer was absolutely perfect.

He simply paused a brief moment, then said, “Life-changing.”

I couldn’t agree more. And all for the better.

Again…let me tell you how astonished, humbled, and amazed at how many of you got real, tangible value out of the talk on Mobility I delivered in New Orleans this weekend.

I appreciate EVERYONE who has already filled out the Mobility Survey. I will be responding to each of you individually about your awesome awesome comments. that’s least I can do for the amazing outpouring of support this community has show to me over the years, and to the ideas I have about Mobility.

I’m worried though, that one of my answers during the Q&A session might not have been as clear as it should have been. I’d like to get the chance to clarify it now for both those who were there, and even folks who were not there. It’s a VERY common question, that comes up all the time in the Mobile world, and is a complex, frustrating, and bothersome issue, as it veers in the very real and nasty world of software piracy.

Let’s start with the question. A gentleman in the audience asked if I would explain how he could get Windows Mobile 6.1 for his device, even tho it’s not slated for a release. He knew that there were unofficial sources out there, but wanted some guidance how to do it, the tools needed, the best sources, and how to avoid destroying his device.

I will tell you…I was taken aback. Here’s why. I will state this in no uncertain terms…

When ANYONE uses an unofficial ROM update to upgrade their device, they are…at best, risking rendering their device useless (bricking it) or exposing themselves to embedded data exploits. However, even if those don’t happen, ANYONE who uses an unofficial ROM update it committing SOFTWARE PIRACY!

Seriously. No different than grabbing a copy of SBS 2003 or 2008 off a warez site.

So…this person was asking me to tell an assembly of roughly 200 SMB IT pros how to commit illegal software piracy, while at the same time potentially giving them information that could destroy their devices, or expose them to hidden data exploits they might never know about.

Not only that…but everything I was saying was being recorded, by a professional audio and video crews being paid by Microsoft, to create videos that may be rebroadcast on the Microsoft Partner site.

If I seemed nervous, I was. I was trying to pick my words very carefully. My first reaction was to simply say…

DON’T DO IT! DON’T THINK ABOUT IT! IT’S NOT WORTH THE RISK! NO WAY!

I didn’t say that.

What I did was hold up my personal mobile device, a Palm Treo 750. I did not use it for the WM 6.1 demo at all, on purpose. I used Microsoft Device Emulator running Windows Mobile 6.1 images. Which is not only free, but an official tool. I talked about how this is the best way to learn for everyone, etc.

I did say tho…that my Treo was running Windows Mobile 6.1 and that it was a pirate build. That I do NOT have direct access to the Windows Mobile team, nor any mobile operators. So that ROm came from an unofficial source.

However, I have vowed to never ever EVER disseminate, distribute, or otherwise give out information to anyone about how to find, use, or otherwise commit software piracy with pirate ROMS.

Think of this like…the War On Drugs. We’ll call it The War On ROMs.

If I get a pirate ROM for personal use and use it, then I’m roughly the equivalent of someone busted possession. Most times…nobody does much of anything.

But if I am directly involved in the distribution, dissemination, and the use of pirate ROMs, then I am the equivalent of a drug dealer. And that’s some seriously bad juju.

Let me ask this question…

How many of you help your clients commit software piracy on their PCs? Do you load warez or illegal OEM copies of Windows, Office, or other software for them?

I hope not. I sure don’t.

In fact, as Running Antelope says…

You Are Mr. Super Straight Arrow About Software Licensing

So much so that even in our own house, we follow software licensing to the letter. Because as I understand it, if I commit, or help commit software piracy, MS has the right to revoke all my certifications, everything.

Basically all the knowledge and certification equity I have worked so hard to build my entire 14 year IT career.

All because someone at a conference wants to use pirate ROMs.

[EDITED: Ending removed on the advice of people much smarter than me. Thank you Susan! Thank you Mark!]

I want to say BIG HUGE thanks to everyone who has filled out the Mobility survey so far.

I am truly, honestly, and utterly amazed, humbled, and grateful at all the fantastic response from those folks who attended my talk on Mobility at the SBSmigration conference in New Orleans this weekend.

I really hope that the rest of you who were in attendance (and there are a WHOLE lot of you left) would please please take the time to finish the survey.

I know all of you are back home now, back to work…and have tons of stuff demanding your attention. I know I’m asking a lot of you. Seriously, I do.

The survey has taken most folks a max of 2 minutes. But the feedback that being generated is stuff that has some serious serious opportunity to shape Windows Mobile. No kidding!

In the interest of full disclosure, and so you all know exactly why I put the survey together, here are my reasons…

First, I did want some feedback that would let me know how well my session came across. Was my delivery OK? Did I make sense? Were the demos compelling? All that typical presenter-y stuff. Mainly to help me be a better speaker in the future. And, also…to hopefully get on a speaking slate at other conferences about this topic of Mobility in SMB.

Here’s why.

I have been trying to get Mobility as a topic on the agenda at all the SMB conferences and tech conferences you know and love for almost 3 years now. And have had NO success at cracking that.

You know why I think that is? Because, quite frankly, the approach toward Mobility I outlined in my talk is a unique enough approach to be completely foreign to 99% of folks. Including conference organizers. Including…heck, especially including MS.

And I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter what one insignificant person like me says about something, no matter how passionately or often I do it. Because I’m only one voice.

Sometimes, it takes a choir to move people.

Ever hear a choir sing, and something about the way the voices all come together just send shivers up and down your spine, and makes your soul jump around inside you?

That’s what I’m hoping this survey feedback will become.

If everyone who was in the session would complete the survey, it would be a chorus of voices louder than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, all stuff that is super fooking awesome about how MS could improve Windows Mobile. And maybe, just maybe…

Would actually compel some change for the betterment of the platform, which ends up bettering us, MS’ Partners.

Because let me tell you…the things that have been posted already are super compelling, awesome awesome stuff that I think the Windows Mobile team would like to hear, and be able to make things happen.

In fact, I know they would like to hear it. Because MS and specifically the Windows Mobile team is right at this very moment doing some amazing amazing things to open up the channels of communication about Windows Mobile, which is totally and utterly new.

And best of all, these channels are open to ANYONE. Anyone who is willing to engage in reasonable, constructive, positive (altho not white-washed) feedback that can help make Windows Mobile the truly kickass platform we all know it can become.

Honestly, I had hoped to have time to talk about these very initiatives during my session. But my session was chopped to 35 functional minutes very early in planning, so I couldn’t get everything in.

So here’s a link to the survey again…

Mobility Survey

Thanks in advance for filling it out. I promise to be a good steward with your feedback and to get it where it can do the most good.

Now, hopefully…

No one will think that anything I said in this post comes across as elitist, exclusionary, or otherwise a-hole-ish.

Evidently, according to some people…I have a real problem coming across like that.

Thanks to everyone who’s responded so far. If you haven’t responded yet, please do!

And if someone you know was at the conference, please remind them to fill out the survey. Gracias!

You can get to the survey by clicking…