Office Upgrade

Working in IT, but also having computing, gadgets and most geeky things as a hobby means you are bang up to date with all the latest changes in technology and software. If I do not know something, then a friend will know or there is always the power of the web. This afternoon, I had my MD (of all people) showing me the intuitive features of Office 2007, specifically PowerPoint. Unfortunately only my manager has been truly been able to benchmark the productivity suite. I am just far too busy to be undertaking projects of such astronomical significance for the company IT policy. I am much more useful answering the telephone. Anyway, this topic got me thinking about my own personal upgrade policy, in reflection to a small/medium business considering the expense of migrating to the next version of the Microsoft package.

When I first got into computing, now some fifteen years ago, I always wanted the latest software. Even though my 386SX could only handle a certain amount of software available at the time. I would hate to try and explain to the kids of today, the numbers game back then. Hard drives were around 40MB in size, if you were lucky. Memory rarely went over double figures and if it did, anything above and beyond 640kbtyes was considered Extended Memory. Software? Well back in those a mouse was a luxury, not a bog standard requirement and you had to use the text based command line interpreter in the form of MS-DOS. Windows was around but if you saw a screen from Windows 3.0 or even 3.11, you would be shocked. Moving on, let me get to the point. The power of my machine limited my option on most software upgrades but I would try most things anyways and lost count of the number of times I had to format and reinstall Windows 3.x. When my built my second machine I became more realistic. Opting to stick with Windows 3.11 and do a manual upgrade to Windows 95 later. Yet I still would download and install absolute crap of the Internet (dial up at the time, remember those dark days people?). I even recall downloading and applying a X-Files Desktop Theme. Those were the days, even though I was not a big fan of the show and perhaps only watched a handful of episodes and never got around to watching the movie.

In recent years I have calmed down dramatically. I am much more fussy, actually that is the wrong word, much more particular when it comes to software and particularly upgrades. I only upgraded to XP in June 2003, nearly four years since it had be released to a mouthwatering public. I was so happy with Windows 98SE. It was stable, all my software worked, I could do everything I possibly wanted and even though I knew my Mesh was more than capable of running XP, I just did not want the hassle of moving across. I did eventually but it was a planned migration and not a shot in the dark.

The moral of the story is this. There will always be people that must have the latest everything, and that includes software (even more so if it comes from Redmond). I prefer to test out the software on a test machine and discover all the whether the software works for me, what features are useful, which features are down right problematic and how to disable them. The problem with Office 2007 and many other software applications, is that they have very much become the facto standard. Something tells me we will be spending the ten grand on the licensing upgrade. After all, most of our clients and partners will be doing the very soon in the coming months.

D'oh!

It has become part of Christmas tradition, like the fake tree and tinsel. The annual secret Santa gift exchange. The benefit of working for a small firm means you can quite easily find out who got your mystery gift (well maybe sometimes). Somehow the thought of having such a ritual at my previous workplace just seems unthinkable with a total seven hundred employees with around fifty just in the IT department. At a medium size firm I worked for prior to my job in the capital, I was actually excluded from the secret Santa due my gender. Yes, it was females only. Which considering it was 2002, was down right sexist if you ask me! However I only briefly flirted with any thought of bringing case of sex discrimination to the tribunal.

Last year, you might recall, I received a book and over twelve months later have still to discover the name of the sender. Although I have a few ideas, I was never provided with any evidence to confirm my hunches. This year I received a true novelty item. A gem! Just a shame I will never use it as it was intended. In fact, I very much doubt I will use it at all.

Firstly I would never place anything like this on my dashboard. You know me, I am a minimalist. My car only carries what it needs to. I can recall when, soon after passing my test that I would spend fifteen minutes clearing out my Mum's mini with all the clutter before driving off anywhere. So, a big thank you to one of my work colleagues for getting me this but it will now just proudly sit in one of the cupboards in my room. Guarding my CD collection from my sisters' prying eyes.

The Perfect Office Day

The title of this post perhaps surprises you. How on earth, could I, ever have a perfect day in the office. Well it happened today. I suppose I should start with the background. Today is referred to as Black Tuesday, the first working day back after the Christmas break and the Samaritans receive a peak number of calls and solicitors proceed with a record number of divorces. However, I was the complete opposite in terms of emotions today. Okay, I admit I was not looking forward to going into work. I expected a stream of voicemails, e-mails and other 'stuff' to action but there was nothing. Well nothing major. I was surprised. Usually after a prolonged break, the helpdesk usually has at least a few voicemails. We had e-mails but most of them were quite simple first time fixes. It was strange, surreal. Perhaps not everyone had returned and the real work would kick in on Monday 8th.

It would take some time to acclimatize back into the routine of work. However the company within the office, while somewhat sparse, did provide a great antidote after the festivities. My manager was particularly on form and kept the moral up, when at times all motivation was lost. There were many stories I could write up, but most would fit into the category of "You Had To Be There". However, let me have a go with this example. A field manager, in the office for a meeting, saw a photograph on my colleague's monitor and said out loud to the IT Team Leader, "Isn't that against company policy?" The reply, killed me, "I wouldn't know, different company". It was true, even though they were sitting together, they worked for two completely different companies. However, I only came to appreciate my day when I arrived into Marylebone station. Walking onto the main concourse, I came up against a hoard of people, just milling around. It was rush hour and they all had their eyes glued to the electronic red departure screen. In an ironic twist, I my mp3 player had randomly selected Patience from the 90s boy band, Take That. How apt! As I jumped down the escalator heading to the Bakerloo Line I had another picture ahead of me. At the bottom was yet another scrum for the escalator heading up. As I walked by, with a gleaming smile, I thought how great it was that "I don't have to do that anymore!". Then again, it has been over two years since I worked in the City. Thank God those days are behind me. Even if I miss the treat of a Chocolate Milkshake from the coffee stand every Friday evening.