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September 23 My new blogSeptember 05 I love appleI guess Steve Jobs and Apple read my blog:
All joking aside, this is just too sweet:
I am going to get the 16 gig touch as soon as it hits the stores. First (software) feature requests (without even playing with it):
The list of hardware requests is going to be bigger...but I'll hold off on that until I get my little paws on the thing. July 13 Some thoughts on the iPhone from a former ownerSee my previous blog post for why i returned my iPhone.
The iPhone is an amazing device but it is complicated mobile computer and a V1 (For those reasons I am glad I didn't buy a tesla roadster now). I will try it out again in the future after they have a chance to work out the end to end kinks in the hardware, software and support process (maybe v2, but likely v3 given the amount of complexity). Hopefully they'll add some features and clean up some of the UX nits that drove me bonkers. Some low hanging UX nits:
Feature wise what I really want is an iPhone without the phone part. The aspects I truly enjoyed about the device were the internet connectedness (though it needs a better email story than POP...read state synch is a killer feature) and the large touch screen interface for media (the flip cover UX finally was *useful* not just pretty and video looked great / was a great time killer). Oh, and it really does need 3G because the edge data rate was way to slow when there was no free wifi to tap into. I'd gladly pay 20 bucks a month for the data service for the device (though please make it tether then). If they throw in GPS it would rock my world as the ultimate iDevice. No more iPhone for meToday my iPhone was returned.
The thought of returning it first flickered into my mind when my iPhone wasn't working 100% a few days ago. The symptoms:
However being pretty smitten with the device (even with the limitations Omar pointed out) and I decided to work through the support process and keep my figures crossed that nothing would sour me on keeping the device. And luckily, the iPhone was on my second cell number which I don't use too much (another long story...let's just say I am addicted to cell phone hardware and leave at that). Anyhow I trucked down to the SF Apple Store today and found out that I had to "set" an appointment to meet with the Genius Bar folks to have them help me with my iPhone.
Next appointment: 3:30pm. Time right then: 1:00pm. Mmm...I feel the acid rising in my stomach.
I kill a few hours walking around union square doing some window shopping and getting korean bbq for lunch. The sun is out and I bump into a friend at a coffee shop. She says she has heard all people are having lots of problems with their iPhones. Nevertheless, I am in a zen mood and thinking gosh I would have been in doors this whole afternoon if my iPhone hadn't conked out. Acid in my stomach goes down to normal.
Arrive at the Apple store at 3:22pm. Find out that I am number 6 on the wait list for the next Genius. Acid level rises to slightly higher then when I was at the store originally.
Sit next to a guy who is also having problems with his iPhone. Start talking with him and we find out we are having the exact same problems. He is worried that they will have to ship his device off and he'll be phoneless for a few days. Acid doesn't rise in my stomach, but warning bells go off in my head at this point.
Line moves pretty fast because three people in front of me don't show up for their slots. Acid level in my stomach stays put as a result instead of rising because of having to wait. I belly up to the bar at around 3:45pm.
The nice Genius Guy tells me it is a software glitch and the device just needs to be restored. My first question is "will this happen often then?" He says no because the restore actually updates the software to fix this bug and also improves Wi-Fi stack. This is a good thing, but I feel slightly stupid for not checking online for this cure and saving myself a trip down to the Apple store and the wait time. I ask him to do the restore at the bar instead of heading home to do it to make sure there are no further problems though. Good thing.
After the restore both problems still repro. The nice Genius guy is surprised, but doesn't hesitate to offer to swap my iPhone out on the spot for a new one out of a sealed box. Cool, but at this point I decide to ask some questions cause of the earlier warning bells. Does this happen often? No, less then 10K out of nearly 1M iPhones have had problems since they went on sale. I think that seems high, but he frames it as less the 1% have had problems.
So I ask, what if this happens again? Well starting tomorrow the service policy is changing. The phones will have to be shipped out to be fixed and if you want a loaner it'll cost ya 30 bucks.
Whoa. Stomach acid level shoots up to dangerous levels.
That sucks I say. Isn't it Apple's responsibility since the device is defective? He says well they are expensive and they can't just give out the loaner devices because the cost would be too significant. This doesn't seem right to me and I say so again. He says he didn't make the policy.
Acid level is officially way too high and I decide to return the device. I am bummed out, but I am skeptical of the device quality at this point and can't stand the warranty service policy. Also, I can't help but to wonder what happens when the battery needs to be replaced...probably 50 bucks for that + 30 bucks to get a loaner! Yikes...there could be riots.
I ask to return the device for a full refund and no I am going to pay the 10% restocking fee since the device is defective. I get a little hesitation, but in the end that is what he did after speaking to a manager. Of course I still have to deal with AT&T and what ever ludicrous charges they are going to try to get me with for converting from an IRU (corp discount) account to a normal account + using the phone for less then 2 weeks. Ah well, the price of being a gadget addict. November 09 nokia e62everyone I know gives me grief over my addiction to new cell phones. I get a new one every 3 months or so...hey, everyone has to have their thing.
Anyhow, I got the e62 from my local cingular store. i thought it was going to be cool, but in the end it sucks. here is why:
1) the os / experience is slow. really slow.
2) the ui is terrible. this is heart breaking given how good the old noika 8120 (I think that is the model number) ui was.
3) the intergration into exchange is painful - slow, incomplete, and overall kind of broken. i don't know who to blame for this, but ouch.
4) the keyboard is too springee. maybe this is my razor and 3125 history of steel pads coming back to haunt me...but yowsers.
5) the joystick is a joke. if you thought the old audiovox 5600 joystick sucked...this is an order of magnitude worse. bleh.
thanks for listening to me vent. I feel much better now. soon, i'll post a story about my trip from september...i have to keep you coming back somehow, right? :) September 13 En GuatemalaUsing this as a blog should be used - to talk about my travels. :)
Spent the last week in El Salvador with my college friend Caroline and travelmate Eric. Caroline is in the peace corps and was an excellent guide. The highlights were visting a remote site on the salvadorian coast where another peace corper named Kati (kate) was stationed. We hit a beach for sunset and were the only ones on it...the undertow and waves were increadible. We also went to a small beach town called tunco where I had the best fish and slept within ear shot of the ocean. Eric and I tried to surf - he did better then me, but I really sucked so that wasn't too hard to do.
Now we are in antigua in guatemala. Much cooler here and today we hiked an active volcano. Saw flowing lava and felt the heat in my feet. Awesome. We hit lake atillian and the tikal ruins over the next week. Stay tuned for more stories...and post any tips you have for me if you've been to this part of the world!
be well! August 16 What is a normal email flow?I archived all of my email last night. So, I had 0 items in my deleted items folder and 0 in my sent items folder.
24 hours have pased and i now have 183 in deleted items and 50 in my sent items. The crazy thing was I "went offline" today and ignored mail as best as I could in order to get something critical done. In my info-ho days I would probably have been closer to 600 in deleted items and 150 in my sent items. Yoiks - kind of wierd to see this so explictly. Makes me want to write (or find) an addin to capture and plot the data...time based histograph could be very cool visual of my "ideal email hours" and more importantly "ideal flow times".
I wonder what kind of email flow dare, omar and torres have in a 24 hour period. Sorry if the links break...just did them from memory.
Time to install Windows Live Writer... July 24 Windows Live Gallery & Toolbar LaunchesHeather and Dare both noted that the new Windows Live Gallery launched today. Before my new gig I was pretty involved with the project and am impressed with what the team accomplished with this first Beta release. It is awesome to have one place to go download addins/extensions/gadgets to "pimp my windows live ride". Also, as the communities grow and contribute content I'm looking forward to all of the wacky cool stuff that will appear!
The new WL Toolbar also launched today. They worked closely with the Gallery team to enable a slick web based toolbar creation experince. Using the online tool I created a sample button you can add to your toolbar for quick access to this blog.
You know you want it. Now go create your own!
I love it because it melds the web and desktop in a cool way that is just a peek into what can be done as this approach is groked by folks. July 12 Microsoft SVC Open HouseI'll be the speaker talking about campus and almost every product team on campus is going to be out demoing and recruiting for their open positions. We are also giving away an xbox 360 and I heard the food is going to be awesome! Did I mention we've got nearly 100 openings on campus?
Hope you can join us. Leave a comment if you've got any questions. July 03 Click to CallWindows Live Local just got 50,000 times cooler with the new click to call feature. I'm sure it has been around for a long time, but I just noticed it, used it, and freaking loved it. This is how technology should work.
Check it out on search results - here is a collection with a biz on it that features click to call. June 18 Adios ScobleSo this is a little late in the world, but I was really hoping to tell Scoble this face to face and then follow it up with a big bear hug for luck. I'm still looking forward to getting to do the last one when I see him next...and I suspect it is only fitting to share this via a blog post in the grand scheme of things.
Scoble, you amaze me.
I went from not being sure what to think of you, to thinking you read too many RSS feeds (and talked about doing so too much), to thinking how funny you were after my first C9 interview, to understanding how human you were from talking to you on and off for 2 years, to bonding with you during an unexpected experince of guest blogging at your place, and finally to admiring you for going after your dreams.
Thanks for becoming a friend. I say that because you took the time to do so even when you had so many other things on your plate and in your mind. I hope we can get some sushi in the bay area again and that I can keep up with adventures. Maybe I'll try out that RSS thing again...scratch that, I'll try out a :)
Good Luck Buddy. Joel's First BillG ReviewWhat a great story.
I haven't yet gone to a BillG review, and I don't know if I will in the next two years, but I do think of them as the "crown jewel" of experinces in software development at Microsoft. They have certainly changed over the years, and while the "f---s" and other alpha tendencies of old school MSFT might be refined, I don't doubt that the intensity of the meetings is still white hot.
I wonder what ROzzie reviews will be like...
Quote Joel on Software - My First BillG Review June 04 120I always wondered how many and what all the VPs at MSFT did. Tonight I read up on many of them and thought it was cool how much info was availible about them. I'm not really sure if 120 is too many, too few, or just right...curious if anyone has metrics on the number at simlarly sized companie. GE has 28 listed on its page and Google has 25 listed which seems to infer this is on rhyme or reason to the numbers (or at least the ones "listed") . Please leave a comment if you have any data or insights! Quote Microsoft PressPass – Microsoft Executives and Images: May 23 Talking about My Windows Live Local collectionTesting the new Live Local collections feature. Check it out at the newly released Windows Live Local Site! Quote My Windows Live Local collection May 21 A brave new worldOver the past year or so I've gotten interested and subsequently involved in improving the culture at Microsoft. I haven't really written anything external about it to date, though my internal writings have gotten around via the thinkweek process at microsoft.
My goal with trying to impact the culture at MSFT started out of pure self interest - how can I stop complaining and actually change things that bothered me. Specifically, I was concerned about what it would take for me to continue working at microsoft from a variety of angles. My key questions were/are:
I figured if I couldn't get comfortable with the answers or my ability to change the answers I shouldn't stick around. As I started to investigate and engage people on the questions I found another deeper reason to get involved.
I cared about Microsoft. I really cared.
Somewhere over the last 6 years of being involved (intern, full time, consultant) with the company I developed an attachment to Microsoft. I didn't even realize it. Truth be told, I left twice with the intention of never coming back again. Both times. But somehow I always ended up back and personally invested in making great software and being "successful" in the company's eyes. It is almost like a weird twisty turny relationship that keeps on going even after a few crashes, interludes with others, and hard conversations that hurt. Along the way I grew up, learned a lot, and built a sense of loyalty and, as cliche as it is, a "love" for Microsoft. I haven't ever gotten up and screamed "I LOVE THIS COMPANY", but I certainly have become a cheerleader and "do gooder" for the company in my heart. To be clear, does this mean I'll be here for ever? I don't know - running my own business, going back to school, and traveling are all things on my long to do list. But I'm here now and I'm giving Microsoft everything I have and then some.
Why share all of the above? Well as people have been writing this past week ushered in some big changes. They were spearheaded by someone I've come to know and really respect - Lisa Brummel. Lisa is super candid and doesn't really duck away from hard questions. She also put her money where her mouth was and pushed for big changes as fast as she could. Plus, she is sincere, honest and trustworthy. Lisa and other leaders have convinced me that they deeply care and want to engage all the way down to the leaf nodes. Check that question off my list.
So, what is the point of this post besides rambling on about my strange yet serious relationship with microsoft? First, the obligatory comments on the changes announced:
The review model changes should result in more internal movement and "unblock" talent that is tied into a safe place where they know they'll be taken care of or stuck in a place because of a "low" life time review score. In other words I am optimistic that it will motivate people to take a chance on doing something they believe in because they don't have to be worried about getting "bad" reviews. People will be rated on what they achieve and not what they achieved relative to their peers. As a manager I'm looking forward to the opportunity to recognize great work from my entire team.
I'm glad to see the company recognize that the way it treated employees needed to be changed. Yes, compensation just got more interesting, but fundamentally it is clear that the leadership is becoming more transparent and forthright. Telling people what is possible, where they are relative to the opportunities and enforcing individual right to get clear communication from their managers is simply awesome. Yeah, i don't know why this wasn't done before (though I suspect it was a combination of size, history, and "analysis paralysis") but it is here now. I'm looking forward and am committed to helping drive more changes to reduce/eliminate opaqueness on how things work here.
Now on to the meat and hopefully real value of this post:
I want more. And not just from Lisa or other executives.
The announcement of this past week should only be the start of changes. I want people working at microsoft to engage and not only tell Lisa and others what needs to be changed but work on changing it themselves. I don't just want bitching and moaning...I want commitment and actions to change things from everyone.
I want people to bend over and pick up the "proverbial" litter that exists in the hallways. I want lemonade where there are lemons. I want to ship Vista and then figure out what we can do to make Vista++ come out faster smoother and better. I want Windows Live to make sense, be relevant and kick ass for our customers...and really for myself as an internet consumer. I want leadership that makes decisions clearly, openly and changes them in the same way when they need too. I want microsoft to be a place I can work for the next 10 years, and if I choose to do something different, I want that to be the hardest most difficult decision I make.
Just call me a your local "do gooder" and "fanboy".
Personally, I am going to continue to dedicate time and effort to changes. This means taking time to understand what is going on, figuring out how it could be improved and then buckling down to drive those changes one at a time. Most of the time this work will be in private...but occasionally I'll pop up here (or where ever there is a spell checker) to share something or maybe even "pull a mini" and try to drive the change through a public forum.
Here's to the brave new world of Microsoft. May 09 Talking about Lunch 2.0 » Reminder: Lunch 2.0 at MSFT SVC this WednesdayDoh...totally forgot to "talk" about this earlier. Tomorrow Mark Jen and the Lunch 2.0 crowd is coming over to SVC to eat at our Cafe. If you read this and can join please do! Dennis and I would love to have you! I wonder if we were supposed to tell anyone we were going to do this... Quote May 06 Talking about Philips BodygroomI heavily debaited linking to this...but in the end it is just too freaking funny to not link too. Warning - it is crass, over the top, and slightly offensive. I'm in shock and awe that it is a legitimate campaign from a bigco like Philips. I wanna find out who did it and ask them how they got through the corproate gauntlet in order to release this ad campaing. Quote Philips Bodygroom May 01 Talking Tribal WorkersThis piece talks about late 20s early 30s prioritizing work over life (roughly):
My friends Fil, Kristina and I were talking about “dieting” this weekend…like food many things have the potential to glut the mind, body and soul – information, social connections/obligations, books, music, rss, etc. Seems related to the article to me somehow... Quote Financial Times - Tribal Workers April 29 Paul Graham's Talk at Startup SchoolMy Notes:
Paul Graham just talked....here are the notes:
His Rules
So why do a startup? Startups are a way to speed up the amount of time you have to work and make a living. Time is the meaning of life and not wasting it is how you show your love of it. |
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