Should I run updates even if my computers are working?

Had a great question from one of our customers:

“Should I update my tablet computers even though they seem to be running OK?” 

It sounds simple on the surface but, as usual, there are some nuances that deserve attention.

There are four kinds of updates:

1. "Windows Update" updates,
2. Software Vendor application updates,
3. hardware manufacturer updates,
4. BIOS updates

Here is the rundown and rules for each:

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Vista: Can’t spellcheck ‘Klum’ and ‘Friendster’? HELP is ON THE WAY!

I am quasi-religious when it comes to installing updates and patches on my Vista Ultimate laptop as they come down the pike from Microsoft Update.  Once a week on the unoffical “Patch Tuesday/Wednesday,” my system tray icon dutifully notifies me that there are updates available.  I usuall do not read the details, but today was different for some reason.

I was amused to read the details of KB Article 955020:  (From the Microsoft Knowledge Base KB:

In Windows Vista and in Windows Server 2008, when you check the spelling of English language text in an application that uses the English dictionary, all the following words cannot be recognized and are flagged as being misspelled:

•	Friendster
•	Klum
•	Nazr
•	Obama
•	Racicot

Well, now that I have installed the update to fix that problem, I can rest easy tonight!

Interview Talking Points: Once again, with passion.

I’ve had a number of phone intervieiws with potential employers, bosses, partners, and entrepeneurs.  It’s been a long time since I last had to promote myself over the phone, so my first phone interview with a CIO was a bit of a train wreck; my thoughts were clumsy, disjointed, and confused.  After that phone call, I discovered that I did not remember how to communicate “who I am.” 

Speaking with prospective employers is a lot like speaking with the press; you have a finite amount of time to communicate your message.  You need to convey your strengths, admit your weaknesses, and communicate your passions.  It can be difficult to remember all of the tidbits during a phone call with a total stranger that controls [a portion of] your future, so you need a list of talking points to guide your thoughts and to remind you of your core values and ideals.  Here’s my list:

On SLDC, Methodologies, and Passion:

• Companies with good people creating good products will do well.
• SLDC methodlogies are frameworks to help talented people work together.
• No amount of ‘methodology’ will compensate for a lack of talent and passion.
• Passion drives innovation and performance.
• Passion without experience and direction leads to chaos and burn-out.
• Managers need to direct the passion of new developers to deliver on-time.
• Managers can rekindle the passion of old developers by re-investing in their vision and experience.

On Projects:

• Every project needs a person who owns and internalizes the vision.
• Constantly protect against over-engineering, focus on near-term deliverables.
• Capture the small design elements that give the users pleasure.
• Communicate frequently, avoid snowball e-mails with multiple paragraphs

 On Management:

• Lead by example, lead by doing.
• Know more about what your developers are working on than they do, but not necessarily more about how to get it done.
• Ask questions that show that you share their passions.
• Give all the credit, take all the blame, and fix problems fast and head-on.
• Hire developers that can communicate directly with the customers. 
• “Back-room coders” are a waste or money if they operate in a vaccuum.
• You don’t regret the people that you fire, you regret the ones you don’t.

I built this list over the last several years of personal experience with failures and successes, and it has changed only slightly over time.  These are some of my talking points, and I keep them with me during my interviews.

What are your core values, and can you communicate them within an “elevator speech?”

Scott Fletcher is now “on the market” in Peoria, IL

I am currently “on the market” in Peoria, IL as a developer, designer, and Director of Technology and Software Engineering.

How did I become available?  Our company’s owners decided to [close the company] instead of continuing to support this promising spin-off company.  Myself and over 20 other people had nurtured this company with passion and unrelenting commitment over the last 18 months, and we were poised to really drink our competition’s milkshakes.  Alas, our owners chose to [close the company].  Such is their prerogative. We should have [done things differently] for this product to [prevent what happened], but hindsight is 20/20.

Even if the decision makes sense from the owners’ perspective, it makes zero sense from our employees’ and customers’ perspectives.  It is/was a killer product with long, sexy legs and a growing fan base.  If we do not find a way to keep the product going, I will miss it deeply. Our pending installations and existing customers will miss it, too. They really like it.  The damn thing fits like a glove.  Also of note: The 800-pound gorillas that had previously dominated that market space were getting very nervous as we plucked customers away from them.

Regardless… no worries on the home-front.  I am updating my resume as we speak.  Look for a new page on this site soon listing my creds.  I started this product from scratch, and I can do it again.  I am in the business of creating something from nothing, and I can certainly do it again with equal or greater passion.

[edited 2008-06-25 for additional detail and tone]
[edited 2008-07-15 for detail]

Microsoft HealthVault: a bold, quiet launch?

I stumbled upon a very important initiative from Microsoft: HealthVault.  Here’s their blurb:

When it’s your job to protect your family’s health, you need every advantage. Imagine if you had a way to collect, store, and share the health information critical to your family’s well-being.  HealthVault is the new and FREE way to do just that.

They officially opened the site in October ’07, and I only found out about it through Jon Udell’s blog.  Not that Jon isn’t a media giant, but I would have thought I would have heard about it through one of my other Microsoft information channels.  So, with a few hours to ponder the project, here is what I know:

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Thoughts on Moonlight, Silverlight, and Flash

“Moonlight” is an open-source project attempting to implement a clone of Microsoft Silverlight on Linux.  This is great news for me (and other developers) faced with self-doubt regarding our continued allegiance to the Microsoft development platforms surrounding .NET.  This is also bad news for the Adobe Flash camp hoping to maintain a monopoly on the scaling vector graphics (SVG) market.

Funny how the business side of software must treat the minorities (Mac, Linux) with as much respect as the majority (Microsoft Windows).  Funny and true for my company, who looks to woo the sometimes persnickety healthcare market with their desire to use non-Microsoft thin client devices.  Whatever we make, it really needs to be able to run on Opera and/or Firefox on Linux, though very few are ready to implement Linux-based devices within their Microsoft Active Directory authentication infrastructure.  That’s been my experience, anyway.

Allow me to apply my  “curse” on Microsoft by predicting their victory over Flash within 4 years.  Every time that I have predicted a major upheaval or downfall of a company, the exact opposite has happened.  Read the rest of this entry »

HACCP not so standard after all?

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) procedures are designed to keep you safe from microbial nasties that live in your food.  Commercial kitchens are bound by regulations to properly handle, cook, and store food.  Some of the Critical Control Points (CCPs) refer to washing hands and utensils, some refer to cooking food at or above a certain temperature, and some refer to storing food below a certain temperate.

While HACCP is a ‘standard process’ for establishing food safety procedures, there does not appear to be a ‘standardized list’ of types, steps, or protocols for HACCP activities.  I haven’t found any list of things that contains “Anthropometrical Precaution #2: Wash Hands after handling,” or “Thermal Precaution #12: Cook at or above x degrees for a minimum of x minutes,” or “Nasal Precaution #42: Blow nose on clean shirt sleeve.”  This is driving me crazy.

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