IDEO and "non standard cubicle configurations"

So I'm just reading Tom Kelley's new book The Ten Faces of
Innovation. It looks really great so far.

At one point, Tom mentions the story of a former employer that had an
office so bland they also had an arbitrary "nothing should stick up
more than four inches above your cubicle" rule. One of my former
employers had a similarly strange 'building services' group, and I
thought I'd share a story with you.

Firstly, I had a cube on the relatively high floor, where my back-
wall was all glass... it was great... had a terrific view, and it
made a great whiteboard (and we all know that dry-erase marker comes
off glass without a hitch). In any case, building services was deeply
dissatisfied with my doing this, and told my boss as much. Nice.

Next, another colleague on the same floor actually also had a 'window
cube', except that he had a cube wall blocking the window (there was
nothing between that wall and the window). So, of course, we called
building services, had them come down and look at the cube. They
brought measuring tape and rulers, made a bunch of notes and
disappeared without a trace from whence they came. A day later my
colleague got a note saying they couldn't take down that cube wall,
"as it would result in a non-standard cubicle configuration." :)

Hotspot insanity

At a Starbucks today... looked at the WiFi hotspot service available
(an initiative of the Canadian wireless operators). Now the insane
prices ($8 for an hour of Internet!?) aside, here's what struck me:
Reading the fine-print, there's actually some clause that talks about
VoIP services not being allowed over this link, claiming that the
Internet isn't meant for this, and that it may degrade the service of
the hotspot. Um... sure. I'll admit that I'm not one to pay $8 for
WiFi, so didn't even bother checking if Skype was actually going to
be somehow blocked/degraded, but I'll bet it'd work just fine
(especially if I used my good ole' Google [or work] VPN first).

In any case, the notion of paying $8 for an *hour* is bad enough...
but then being told I can't use whatever service I want? Come on
guys... If Google can blanket a city, give people 300K access AND a
VPN for free... surely my 8 bucks gets me VoIP?

Actually... why isn't it a nice carrier-branded VoIP tool? "Oh hey,
you're a Rogers Wireless subscriber at one of our hotspots... well,
while you're here, why don't you try our our nifty Voice over IP
service for free... and by the way, you can subscribe for our Rogers
Voice over IP service at home too if you like it." (Believe me... I
was visiting the family a few weeks ago, and showed them the wonders
of Skype for calling Europe and Asia... and all it took was 2 calls
and they were wondering where to download the software and pick up a
bluetooth headset.)

Cool firms rock...

So everyone talks about having cool customers that you like, get
along with, and excite you. Add to that one where they're tossing out
the occasional recommendation from their own bookshelf to help make
you a better manager, and build an EVEN STRONGER team? Wow... these
guys rock. :)

Flock... why can't you multitask?

Okay, so still using Flock (though just about to switch back to Safari, I think)... Why is it that Flock locks up when opening multiple tabs in the background at once. I mean, I *know* I'm not the only one who Apple-Clicks several links on the same page to open them in tabs for later reading... Anyway... cool browser, nice UI improvement over Firefox... not sure I want to use it as my main browser... yet. But I'll keep using it today... we'll see.

Treo 650 tip

This might be in the user guide... But since I never read those things: Pressing and holding the center button pops up the alert manager window... That's the thing that stores alerts about calls you've missed, calendar appointments, messages, etc. Instead of having to get your finger to the top-left of the screen (which is always irritating), this little trick will get you right to the menu.

First Flock impressions...

Was just playing w/ flock on a Mac... first impressions:

- Clean UI
- Nice integration w/ delicious
- like searching through history
- like the 'starring' of pages

however:
- WAY slower than Safari on a Mac
- Tabs take ages to open and load
- While a new tab's opening, the browser seems to be entirely locked up

It's pretty early code, and I'm sure there's a tonne of debug stuff
in there... so... just waiting for the speed improvements now.

TorCamp

So in the spirit of BarCamp (which was in the spirit of FooCamp),
there's going to be a TorCamp in Toronto this November. http://
barcamp.org/index.cgi?TorCamp (I just sent the link to Leila... who
told me to look back at the registrants page... she signed up just
after me... go meme go :)

Palm... sometimes you're really annoying...

So, Palm Canada has a promo where you can download some cool free
music and music video's if you've got a Treo 650 or a LifeDrive...
well, if you've got a Bell Mobility Treo 650 at least... those of us
w/ GSM handsets, however... are hosed. Now... I'm not a fan of using
my Treo as an MP3 player... I nearly burst out laughing everytime I
see someone that DOES ... (sorry, I really love my Treo, it's
fantastic... but an iPod it ain't), but c'mon, this sort of exclusive
promo isn't cool when we're talking about a $500-1000 phone. Anyway,
if you DO have a Bell Treo 650, check out http://nettwerk.com/palm/

Looking for a great mobile job?

One of the kickass firms we're working with is looking for someone to help them manage some mobile content and messaging campaigns. Cool company, good people, sounds like a bunch of fun. If you think you'd be a good fit, send me a note and I'll connect you with them.

Oh, and as always, if you or your friends happen to know (or be) a scary-smart software developer (I'm talking "writes lisp interpreters in smalltalk over a weekend... For fun" kind of smart), send me a note. We're always looking for more smart folks.

"And the guy... yeah, he was a loser..."

Inside joke. :)

oh what a difference a day makes

So I'm having dinner with my good friend Mike at Bandido's in Toronto... (a great Mexican place if you're ever in the mood)... So it turns out that Saturday AND yesterday the Pussycat Dolls were here... Ah... Le sigh... "Dontcha'" think?

Goodbye Robert

Paul & Leila's dog Robert passed away a few days ago (http://
www.hyperbio.net/fric_frac/2005/10/robert.html). Blind, and not the
most sure-footed of dogs, Robert had his challenges... but he was
always kind, loving, and fun to be around. Calling his name or
patting his head was all it took to get him up and excited. He will
be missed.

The lapdance of molecules...

.. Was what it should have been called, but the publishers insisted on "The dance of molecules". Oh well, its to be expected I suppose. Yesterday, Ted Sargent, a prof at U Toronto, a friend, and all around smart guy had the launch party for his first book being published... The book's cover reminds me of Kurzweil's Age of Spiritual Machines, but I won't hold it against him. :)

I've just started it, but so far it's looking great... I can't wait to find out how we're going to re-generate Greta Garbo... (or a personal copy of your favorite star, perhaps?)... On a more serious note, Ted's book looks at a lot of the practical applications of nanotechnology and how it's going to change the way we look at things like health and energy production. I'd encourage everyone to go out and pick up a copy!

Zimbra's very cool... but what I *really* want

.. is to be able to be rid of Exchange... but still have something
supporting Exchange's interfaces.

Let me explain: Calendaring is great. Group calendaring is fantastic.
Sync'd calendars and address books (to one's Treo/Berry/etc.) is
terrific... if only we could do it without Exchange. I've got push
email on my Treo, and it's great... but without Exchange, no
calendaring, contact syncing, etc.

Now, the Treo supports ActiveSync... so if there were an app that
provided all the eMail/Calendaring/Contact management that Exchange
provided, and also had the option to provide them through the
interfaces we use to talk to Exchange... well it'd be the bees knees.

Minutemen?

Okay... So a bunch of bizarre, 'vigilante border guards' in the US are wasting their time (and getting news coverage) hanging out making sure people aren't smuggling stuff (themswlves?) in through the Canada/US border. Now, this is idiotic all by itself, but surely they could find a better name for themselves than MINUTEmen ?