The big security gap: people

Amongst the hubbub of the recent leak of LinkedIn passwords has come a piece of analysis from security experts about the most popular passwords (you can read a short piece from Forbes here.). Now of course, by definition, the most popular passwords used for any website are going to be obvious ones. That so few … Continue reading The big security gap: people

Weeknote 102: jubilee

Achievements this week included: - surviving the monsoon conditions at our street party for Liz with good, solid British stoicism - getting some great insight into the gaming industry with a colleague from Microsoft Studios - a fantastic day at the BizSpark European Summit, listening to start ups, investors, and other interesting types - some … Continue reading Weeknote 102: jubilee

The value of useless apps

I was reminiscing yesterday in conversation at the BizSpark Europe summit about the first smartphone app that I ever saw. A good friend had, a few years ago now, had just got his first iPhone, and was excitedly demonstrating the iPint app - a piece of marketing gimmickry that replicated a pint of lager in … Continue reading The value of useless apps

Popular Programming

There's a great article on ReadWriteWeb that illustrates a couple of my recurring themes: how darn difficult it is to measure things, and also the fallacy of the idea that developers merely "go where the money is". The piece tries to identify what are, currently, the most popular programming languages. It presents five sets of data: … Continue reading Popular Programming

Weeknote 101: the one that people are scared of…

Achievements this week included: - helping to start implementing a new team structure, and my new role  - a good day spent in Old Street at Reasons to be Appy - many conversations started about the world of Marketing and Apps... - ... and many more booked in the diary - surviving the annual staff … Continue reading Weeknote 101: the one that people are scared of…

A new focus

Another year, another job title... It seems that the summer is the time for role changes at Microsoft, and my role is changing this year as we enter into the (hopefully) warmest months. There are times when I wish I were something like a plumber - a profession where the job title is readily understood … Continue reading A new focus

Weeknote 100: tonne up

Achievements this week included: - booking lunch with a Baroness - further shaping of plans for the year ahead - a productive cross-company manager's forum - a reasonable volume of blogging - writing hash tags on a coffee cup to prove a social media point Next week: the jollity that is calibration.

The end of IT projects

So another piece of Green Field thinking for you (remember: it's not necessarily what you should do - just what could you do if you weren't constrained by legacy)… do we need IT Projects any more? There are two threads to this: firstly that in a world of commoditized services, the need for IT infrastructure … Continue reading The end of IT projects

Philately

In my early-thirties I set myself a specific career goal – to be a CIO by the age of 40. It was a very specific target, time-bound and measurable in the good tradition of SMART. I achieved it when I took the role leading IT at Imagination, actually somewhat ahead of schedule at the age … Continue reading Philately