tonygoodson

Microsoft - There is an alternative!

And finally, I overcame my fear and started to try out some alternatives to Microsoft.
It feels naughty, like going against Big Brother.
I'd always thought (from experiences and hearsay from the early days) that changing my browser would screw up my PC.
But guess what, it doesn't. You can have different browsers open at the same time!
I gave it a go, with not one but two browsers.
Mozilla Firebird and
Crazy Browser
Both seem to work well, though I haven't played with them enough to see what the advantage is over Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

I've been thinking some more about this and I realise that I could do without Word and Excel (I'm not a particular sophisticated user of either).
PowerPoint would be more difficult to let go of.
I was also thinking what I'd like to see from Microsoft to improve the Office Products, which I like, but are expensive.
What if everything was lumped together? The ability to have one window and have Office work as a Word Processor, Spreadsheet, and Graphic Presenter, and throw in a WYSIWYG HTML editor as well.
Some Microsoft products seem more stable than others.
Outlook is always rock solid. Word and Excel are quite good. PowerPoint can be a bit flakey and I lose more work than with the others, but I guess there's more going on.

And let's see how Ton Ziljstra is getting on with Jettisoning Microsoft!

Pride Building

I read a great article today in Fast Company, Getting Extraordinary Performance When You Can’t Pay For It
All about “Telling It As It Is”
I’m a bit wary of guru catch all solutions nowadays but this had some good points based on the book by Jon Katzenbach, Why Pride Matters More Than Money
(or as I and the Amazon reviewers spotted - how to get more out of people without paying them!!)

"That is why, unlike many management ideas, pride building is not a CEO-led phenomenon, but rather a task for frontline leaders, who are closest to the real work of a corporation…… They have a tell-it-like-it-is philosophy of communication, keeping employees informed about everything that affects them, good and bad. And these exceptional leaders may even encourage thinking that pits their group or division against the corporation itself -- with the ultimate goal of gaining better performance for the company.
After the execs left, plant manager Ralph Harding made an impassioned speech to the shell-shocked workers, whose morale was at its lowest ebb. "There may be nothing we can do to affect this decision," Harding said. "But there is something we can do: We can make them feel really stupid! Because they are going to be closing the best plant in General Motors!" Harding then galvanized the workforce to make the Wilmington plant a model for every factory in the GM system.

Motivated by his challenge, the employees become newly engaged, working in problem-solving teams with managers to tackle quality-control problems and reduce costs. "Be the Best!" became a rallying cry to embarrass GM's top brass. It was printed on posters throughout the plant and sewn onto jackets given to employees. More important, union leaders and managers worked together more closely than ever to come up with ideas to improve quality and lower costs. Harding kept everyone informed of the plant's weekly progress on quality and costs. And the families of employees were invited to the plant for a luncheon in the spring and for a picnic in the summer. "When your family is engaged, it makes you feel good about what you do," says Harvey G. Thomas, the plant's current manager.

Within two years, the workers made the factory the lowest-cost producer in GM, with the lowest warranty costs as well. Car dealers began specifically requesting the Chevy Corsica and Berretta models, which were made by the Wimington plant."

I’m not in favour of management by fear or slave labour, but there’s some good points in the article, and I like the idea of getting the family invloved. That would be the first thing I would do if I came to power!

Mind you, Telling it as it is may not always work!!

In The Shower with Eddie Izzard!

Every day when I get in the shower I think of Eddie Izzard and my ex-wife!
Not Eddie Izzard with my ex-wife, but separate thoughts about them.
Eddie Izzard does a monologue about how showers are never the right temperature and there’s a massive adjustment tap which in reality only needs ¼ of a millimetre of twist to turn freezing cold into boiling hot. Our shower is the same.

I always dreamt of having a house with a great shower. I had this dream when I was first married, and now happily married the second time I climb into my shower every day, and my dreams have come true. Admittedly the shower area could be bigger and bathroom could have a window for some natural light, but my shower dream has come true, and I thank God everyday.

It’s amazing that I have my best and greatest thoughts in the shower everyday, given that I start from the same point of Eddie Izzard and my ex-wife!

And today with the shower talk it’s very poignant for me.

My Dad died 26 years ago today.
In the bath!!

I don’t have a thing against baths;
I just love the shower even more.

Bath or shower, I’m thinking of you today Dad!

Kill Microsoft (or Alexa?)

I never learn my lesson! Never upgrade a stable system that you don’t need to!
I’ve been running Windows ME and IE5.5 for two years. Everything has been good (it only needs to reboot once or twice a day!!)
I foolishly thought it’s time to move along a bit so I upgraded to IE6.0.
The installation was fine.
And then disaster!
The browser was locking after clicking on approximately every 6 links.
The blue screen of death “System Busy”.

I was so angry. No perceivable benefit in IE6, and my PC locking after every 10 mins.
Choices? Of course all those bloody Microsoft supporters and techies, “Upgrade to XP mate!”
Yeh right. I have never had a Microsoft desktop operating system that didn’t require rebooting at least twice a day, takes equally as long to reload, and there’s always a promise that the upgrade (or reinstall!) will solve it. I’m not coughing up $250 for no additional benefit to what I already had. Why is it that each new Microsoft operating system still freezes the whole system when one programme crashes or is waiting for something? Why is it that loading lots of applications and then closing them, still seems to leave something residual in the memory? Is this just Windows?

If IE6 isn’t working then maybe I could uninstall and go back to IE5.5. And if the PC is knackered then I might as well take the chance to try Mozilla, as an alternative browser.

And then a miracle happened! Looking at the Microsoft Support Newsgroup for Windows ME, there was one of those crap suggestions, to delete all Spyware including Alexa, delete all cookies, and see what happens.
And guess what, a miracle!!!
So far everything is working great. No Alexa toolbar, almost all identified Spyware (there wasn’t that much as I already use Adaware) deleted, all cookies deleted and everything is fine.
What have I learnt?
1. Don’t upgrade a stable system unless you have to.
2. It’s not always the crappy Windows operating system that’s at fault.
3. I’d pay a dollar a day for a guaranteed non-rebooting system every day.
4. Why can’t Windows operating systems isolate rogue applications and not freeze the whole system?
5. If it wasn’t for PowerPoint, which all my clients use, I’d consider moving away from Microsoft now.
6. I wonder if Alexa is affecting the performance and stability of my browser.

I don’t mind Alexa, it’s a bit of fun, and it at least gives you links to similar sites. I can’t say for sure that Alexa was causing the problems, but it looks likely. Microsoft lives on my PC to fight another day, but only just, and my finger is itching over that mozilla link

Michael Moore's new book

I ordered Michael Moore’s new book, Dude, Where’s My Country?
I’m sure it will be as good as his last book, Stupid White Men, and his film Bowling for Columbine.

I picked up that Michael Moore has a new book out whilst reading Doc Searls’s gathering of comments on Wesley Clark, which linked to these two great pieces by Michael Moore,
Michael Moore to Wesley Clark: Run!

And Now a Chance to Bid Farewell to Mr. Bush" (from Michael Moore)

There was also another great piece and links by Doc Searls on “unbiased” reporting, whereby media organisations feel that any item the present has to be presented at the two extremes, which negates the point being made in the first place. This is best summed up by Paul Krugman, via Dave Winer

Krugman gets it, but hasn't yet put it together. He tells a story. If the Republicans said the earth is flat, Fox News would report (he says) The Earth is Flat, and people who say it isn't are unpatriotic. Then he says the other press would report Shape of the Planet: Two Sides to the Debate, and would quote Republicans saying it's flat, and Democrats saying it's round. The Harvard audience laughs.

Sporting History

Today was The Grand Final it’s like the F.A Cup final or the Super Bowl.
Amazingly, the Brisbane Lions won it for the third consecutive time, even though they weren’t the favourites this time.
What they did today is like winning the Double in English football or the Super Bowl, for three consecutive times.

An amazing achievement with a team that was carrying a lot of injuries.
But on the day they were magnificent, and smashed Collingwood.
The spirit of The Grand Final is amazing and reminds me of the spirit of the F.A Cup which over the last 10 years has faded.
There isn’t the excitement there used to be for the F.A Cup, the history, the analysis.

My pet interest is the history of sporting teams. There is something almost immeasurable, a spirit, which dictates that certain teams and certain sportspeople perform time and time again, no matter what the circumstances.
For a start, the same two teams that met in the Grand Final this year were the same as last year.
The chances of that were impossible, both in terms of the draw, and the fact they weren’t the outstanding teams of the season.
And yet it happened.
Often like in Rugby Union the Captain is iconic and can a have a massive influence on the team.
In this case, Michael Voss, who has been carrying a knee injury, only has to appear on the pitch and the team is galvanised.

What is it about some sports teams, that they add up to more than the sum of their parts?
What is it that each of these teams always has a non-star player or two who has won Premierships and Finals time and time again?
I am amazed that patterns of history from years ago, can dictate the outcome of sporting events.
All things being equal, teams that have no history of winning Premierships and Finals, often fall at the last hurdle.
History and luck seems to conspire against those who have never won, and give a helping hand to those who have already won.
It’s almost an intangible spirit like thing.
I’m fascinated by it.

Man Utd over the last 10 years. Winning the European Cup after being a goal down with 5 minutes to play. The struggles of Chelsea and Newcastle. It will be fascinating to see what happens to Chelsea with all this money being pumped into them, but history suggests a disaster is around the corner. The Brisbane Lions will be favourites to win a fourth Grand Final, even though the draft pick goes against them, and they have the oldest player in the competition (who also suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). The England Rugby Team are the favourites for the World Cup, but history suggests they’re not going to win it. If they do, they will create a new history that may just revive all English sports across the board.
I’m fascinated to watch that one unfold, here in Australia next month.

25 More Words

It's late so time for another 25 words.
It's been a roller coaster day, in fact more a flat day than a roller coaster day.

My Working Day

And this very neatly describes most of my working days right now!
Not Much Left in the Tank!

Monday's Child is Fair of Face!

It's Georgia's Birthday Today!

Due on 11th September 2001, and born on Monday 24th September 2001.
She's 2 today.
"Georgia, say one, two, three."
"Toow Toow Toow."
"Say One."
"Toow"
"Say Two"
"Toow"
"Say Three"
"Toow"
"One Two Three."
"Toow Toow Toow"
"Georgia, how old are you today?"
"Toow"
So it's just as well she's 2 today, because that's the only number she will say!

How We Learn

A great Weblog by David Jennings on Ecademy.
Apprenticeship and What is e-learning good for
And with his e-learning background, he should know.

He also points to a great link written by Charles Handy.
“Looking back, I wonder why we decided as a society to deconstruct so much of our education, to separate out classroom knowledge from the experience of using it.”
Charles Handy of course has the answer.
“the formal education of the classroom was more convenient, easier to calibrate and certificate”
And of course with the rise of psychometric testing for soft-skills, this disease is getting worse not better.

And there’s a second link I haven’t read yet.
Professor Hubert Dreyfus, AnonymityvCommitment

The gist is that we learn from others and not by sitting in classrooms.
We do not learn by downloading a “warehouse of knowledge” be it in a book, on the Internet, in the classroom, or by e-learning.
This is a critical point, and one I’m beginning to agree with.

Nearly all of us learn how to use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, by experience and asking others whilst we’re on the job.There’s nothing like preparing for an important presentation to act as a sharp focus for learning how to use PowerPoint. Let’s face it, most knowledge is in books and on the Internet, and the last thing we want is for teacher to just read the book out.
Of course learning is enhanced by anecdotes from teacher, by discussion and role-plays, but isn’t the best learning done by being an apprentice to someone who is good at something (or in some cases bad at something, so we think we can do better!)?

I’m beginning to wonder if my vocation, sales training, is really needed.
Most of the knowledge seems to be out there now, most people seem to know what it takes, it’s just a matter of actually doing it, and besides, there is no right way.

You can’t “teach” anybody anything now.
It’s all there for free on the Internet.
It’s just a matter of applying it, and the best way to learn and apply it is, to be an “apprentice”.
I learnt all about sales, and moved into selling, by working with a really bad Salesperson!
I thought I could do better, and I did!