Technology

A couple of days ago I found a message on my home phone from a local guy named Dell Schanze. It was one of those automated messages that political candidates use when they are running for office, and want to get their message to as many people as possible.

Dell, or Super Dell, as he likes to be called, started slinging mud almost immediately at two other candidate, all of which are running for the Governor of Utah. When ever someone leaves a message on my phone, Vonage provides an audio file I can download and listen too on my PC. I thought hey, this is too good to pass up, I wanted to share the message with a few friends.

I created a Twitter post which included the URL to the MP3 file of the message on my web server. A few people responded, and apparently Robert Gehrke, a writer for the Salt Lake Tribune, wrote a story about Schanze and his message, and included a link to my MP3.

While I think it’s cool that the Trib writer used the link to my file, I would have appreciated a heads up, and even some attribution (as I’m doing in this post). Thanks to Russ Page, I was able to move the file to an Amazon S3 server so my blogs bandwidth isn’t all chewed up.

The audio is interesting, funny, and has since been changed to be a little less abrasive. Sorry Super Dell, you won’t be getting my vote.

superdell.mp3

‘Super Dell’ launches Super Attack against Huntsman - Salt Lake Tribune

There comes a time in any business, when the original founders either retire, move on, and in some cases are pushed out. Bill Gates is no exception. I don’t think it matters who you are, running any business for as long as Bill Gates has run Microsoft, and the time for change is now.

Fortunately for everyone on the planet, Bill (can I call him Bill?) will make his final trip to the Microsoft campus as a full time employee this week. Sure he’s the Chairman and will still be involved in corporate decisions, but he really is walking away.

I’ve had a long time love hate relationship with Microsoft. And at times with Bill. However, the software his company makes has allowed me to build my business and make a living, and that’s something I’m thankful for. This isn’t a sappy retrospective of Microsoft or Bill Gates, but it is a momentous occasion for everyone, for two reasons.

First I think Microsoft will become need to be a leaner meaner company. As stated in Steve Levey’s Newsweek article:

Since Gates and his partner Paul Allen invented the PC software industry (they formed Microsoft to write the first program for the very first personal computer, the Altair), one can say that an era is truly ending. On the other hand, critics of Microsoft contend that Gates’s departure is anticlimactic—because the company is past its prime. “The Gates era has already ended—this is the coda,” says Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus, the spreadsheet giant humbled by Microsoft in the 1980s. “Today, Google is the defining company in the industry.”

I agree with this statement. Google, and companies like Google, are the future of global technology. Not being tied to one specific operating system or computer platform, Google is able to move with the demand of its customers and the market. But Microsoft can survive if it wants too.

I think in order for this new Microsoft to take shape, it needs to shed its old image, and old management style, and take queues from the faster, smarter start up community. With the vast amount of resources Microsoft has at its disposal, they could reduce overhead, split up into multiple companies, and, as bizarre as this may sound, focus more on non-os or platform specific software, and build products that everyone can use.

Many of you may think I’m living in fantasy land, and that may be, some of the time, but I truly think Microsoft can make changes and compete, but will they? I doubt it.

Second, the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is exactly where I would expect Bill to spend the rest of his working life. The people of this planet will benefit from his success for the foreseeable future. I know this is where he can make the biggest impact. I would also hope he becomes an advocate for other wealthy individuals to follow his foot steps. I know some have, but there is so much to be done.

I wish Bill luck in his new, or rather different, life.

Find my latest post on The Gadgets Page here.

Find my latest article on The Gadgets Page.

Joseph Scott mentioned to me at PodCampSLC that he was interested in having a WordCamp here in Utah. I thought it was a fantastic idea. So over the past few weeks we’ve talked about it and it looks like the event is going forward.

Because this is a community event, it’s important that everyone get involved early. We only have a few months to put a great camp together. Please join us on April 10th at 6:30, Applebees in Draper, for a first draft WordCamp Utah meet-up. There’s a lot to cover and we need as many people as possible to help out. Let us know you’re coming on upcoming.org.

Another thing we want is bloggers to present topics at WordCamp. There will be a spot on the WordCamp Utah site to register and sign up to present.

This is a great opportunity to meet other WordPress bloggers, learn more about the platform, network, and get some great ideas to succeed.