Author: admin

Creativity++

Silverlight, Vista Rocks

Microsoft has a financial year that matches Australia’s financial year: July to June.

Each financial year the cards are thrown up into the air, and depending on which tarots are on top: the organisational entrails are read and the future is foretold. Or, at least that is what it seems like from deep in the trenches of “individual contributor” from “subsidiary” land (I am quoting the management-speak, just incase you think I’ve totally lost the plot)

What does that mean for me?

Thanks to an excellent manager, Anna Liu, and a very flexible organisation: I get to change my job a little.

Half what I’ve been doing: web/blogging/on10.net/videos and sundry journeyman things for DPE in Australia.

And Half Web Development Evangelism.

Which is really cool. C#, IronPython, IronRuby, Silverlight, Virtual Earth, Live Mesh et al: here I come!

Why the change?

Time to become more creative, build things. Help others build their things.

Also a change is as good as a holiday. My synapses were starting to atrophy.

Windows Home Server Power Pack 1

windowshomeserver 019

Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 is now available.

Power Pack 1 fixes the data corruption bug as well as delivers significant new functionality including:

· x64 support for home computers running Windows Vista

· Home Server Shared Folder backup

· Improved remote access experience

· Improvements to power consumption and performance

· Localization support for Japan and China

Double check Tranquil PC’s web site. They say its all good-to-go

Install, restart the server as instructed.

Back on General Melchett, Install the new x64 Connector. Done.

It all works!

ROI on MBA

1735

In 1993 I started on the road to a Masters in Business Administration. More commonly known as an MBA.

Completed in 2002, the MBA has given me a deeper understanding to theories driving business. MBAs are designed to provide a broad understanding of how organisations work. I found the most enlightening topics related to Legal studies and Accounting. I can now read a P&L, Cashflow and Balance Sheet with confidence.

Within a year of taking a management role after completing my MBA (est cost $16,000) I had recouped my fees.

What an MBA does not provide is how to manage people.

If destined for a management role, people management where you spend most of your time. Not reading contracts, dealing with paperwork and accounting. Each of these are specializations that have strict regulatory controls and therefore organisations employ experts to fulfill the roles.

People Management cannot be left up to HR. All managers are people managers first and foremost.

I contend that People Management: keeping your team motivated, working together and productive is the hardest job.

Learn this, and you have done your MBA.

Go Team SOAK!

Best in the world: Team SOAK from Victoria, Australia have won the worldwide Imagine Cup 2008.

SOAK stands for “Smart Operational Agricultural toolKit”. I saw this demonstrated in the preliminary finals prior to ReMIX finals for the Australian Imagine Cup contenders. As a farmer’s son, I instantly saw the application. Measuring water, including rainfall, is a constant management process. From memory, the farm I grew up on had daily rainfall measurement from 1972.

The enthusiasm of the team, the way they collaborated across 4 different universities and the application of their invention all contributed to their well deserved award.

Email is for old Farts

… to paraphrase the quotation below. Thanks to danah boyd for the inspiration.

(click on image to see larger version)

NestOfGeeks-3July2008

Thanks to Mark Pesce for the recommendation to the Essentials journalist, Nick Galvin.

Oh, and Fiona Morris had a version of the photo taken with cats. The cat versions were funnier. Behind the scenes: when the photo as taken, we were actually looking at http://icanhascheezburger.com/ for the LOL inspiration.