In all of the recent hubbub of coverage amounting from the New York Times' expose of how Amazon works, one aspect I haven't seen much comment on is how all of this comment might actually be in Amazon's interest. The "revelations" shouldn't come as any great surprise to anyone - especially anyone who has read … Continue reading Kate Moss syndrome
There was a great article by Horace Dediu on his Asymco blog on Monday looking at some of the causes of how big organisations went from being early adopters of information technology to be late, or even laggards, in the past 10 years. My paraphrased take is that whilst the tech world has shifted from … Continue reading Insourcing
After an extended break, here's what I've learned: it's so nice to feel that I'm out in the world again... ...but different clients on different days is much more mentally stimulating/challenging/tiring despite my best efforts to keep within the rules, I have been (at last) censored big organisations aren't the way forward - as I saw … Continue reading Weeknote 254: summer leaves
My wife’s smartphone went into overdrive last night. Some poor schmuck had managed to send a trivial service request to mailing lists that meant that everyone in the 30,000+ company received a copy. Madness ensued of the thousands of “PLEASE DON’T REPLY TO ALL” replied to all type, interspersed with wry, witty or just downright … Continue reading Chain mail
A few years ago I found myself teaching some of the skills of project management to a group of people who worked at a shipping insurance company. There was a module about risk management, and I was somewhat daunted by presenting it to a group of people whose professional life revolved around the assessment of … Continue reading Risk, hacking, internet fridges and bad journalism
I've been blogging in one form or another for about eight years now, and in earnest for about six. Still a newbie in comparison to some, an old hand to others. I've undoubtedly gained work through my writing, both directly and indirectly. But that's not why I do it - it's a side outcome, not … Continue reading Emotional connections
A few weeks back I did a little experiment. Bored with the usual annual challenge of being bamboozled by the complexities of telecoms company charging models, and the feeling of exploitation that was aroused by the end of "12 month introductory" deals, I issued a challenge to five of the main broadband providers (BT, Virgin, Sky, PlusNet … Continue reading The social consumer – a curious coda
This week I have learned: - un-constructive name-calling is surprisingly hurtful. Criticize by all means... - being the edge case of an automated process is surprisingly stressful. But at least they had the sense to talk to me about it... - there is a pre-holiday tax to be paid - and probably a post-holiday tax … Continue reading Weeknote 254: en vacances
So here's the narrative: Windows XP was a storming success. So successful that people didn't need to upgrade from it. And certainly weren't going to upgrade to Windows Vista, which was widely accepted within and without Microsoft as a dog. With three legs. And mange. Windows 7 sorted out all of the problems with VIsta, … Continue reading Windows 10… first impressions
I woke up early this morning. I had things on my mind. And the kids are away so I was perturbed by the silence in the house. I checked my phone. I skirted through LinkedIn, Facebook. On Facebook there was a particularly irritating ad for Windows 10 proclaiming that it would allow me to "sign … Continue reading The end of the PC era
