Made the Big Time

An eagle eyed student (thanks Scott) has found a picture of me on Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_TouchSmart

Fame at last.

A Short Course in Reading

Went to Reading today. Spent a bit less time there than I planned, thanks to slow running trains. I was there for a meeting about the Imagine Cup. They had some student teams presenting UK projects and the Microsoft UK academic team, along with Joe Wilson, who heads up the contest.

The students did a couple of presentations and were then subjected to what we call the “Imagine Cup Grilling”. This is where we look at what they have done and suggest ways it could be made better. I was very even handed, in that by the end I think I had managed to offend everybody in the room, at which point I left to catch my train home. Settling down in my seat I was chatting to a lady next to me who was most upset that she had just had to pay 84 pounds just to get back to Nottingham. I responded, rather wittily I thought, by saying that I’d pay that amount just to get out of Nottingham. I’ve really no idea why I said it. I’ve nothing against the place really, and it didn’t go down too well. (actually, I think anyone who knows me can readily imagine me doing this. Oh well. I think I’m too old to change now.)

Anyhoo, the meeting was very interesting. Microsoft’s continuing commitment to the competition is very commendable, particularly in the face of present economic conditions. I think at the bottom line they recognise that the kind of people who enter the Imagine Cup are the future, and engagement with them is a good thing. I told the students that just taking part in the competition and surviving a grilling makes them better professionals and adds a huge amount of value to them as potential employees. I really think this is true, and perhaps the best reason for anyone to enter the competition.

Installing Update 1 of 1

Windows 7 is now installed on my machine. And it wants to bring along all it’s friends. It spent most of the day installing updates. I’ve had a day off the computer though, I’ve even done some tidying up.

Fortunately the weather was too wet for gardening.

Windows 7

Decided to celebrate my completion of everything by putting Windows 7 Release Candidate on my laptop. I did an upgrade, which seems to have worked fine except for my Nero InCd service, which I didn’t even know I had.

The desktop looks much nicer and seems quite a bit snappier than before. The system has even spotted the broken battery and told me that I might need to buy a new one, which is quite clever.

Nick of Time

Is the art of good planning where you have everything ready months in advance and just watch the deadline arrive with cool detachment? Or is it when you have things finished just in time, and finish within minutes of the due date?

I always try to aim for the first one, but then end up doing the second. But the good news is that the book is now complete and the Dare to Dream Different video is now with Microsoft.

And now I’ve no idea what to do with myself.