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Back to work
Don't get me wrong - I love my job (honest I do) but after a week at home doing exactly what I wanted, spending hours in my garden in the blazing sunshine - it is very difficult stepping back in the office and getting my brain back into work mode.
I managed to almost finish landscaping my garden, and yesterday shifted two tonnes of gravel - so I am glad to be back at work for a rest! It was great to come back to a mountain of unread email - which took me over two hours to plough through. How I missed email last week.
Also in the week that I was off - Bill Gates finally let go of the Microsoft reins, leaving the company in the hands of Steve Ballmer. It certainly is the end of an era - but I'm worried for Bill. How on earth is he going to manage without a regular salary coming in each month? With everyone still talking of a global slowdown and the price of everyday living increasing - he is going to have to watch his pennies carefully. Seriously, good luck Bill and good luck with all the sterling work he is going to be doing with his Foundation.
I was also delighted to find that the water mains replacement works in central London are still causing chaos and over-running - which added a good 20 minutes to my journey this morning. Just what the doctor ordered.
Well, enough ranting on about holidays, time to get on with some work.
Going away
I just thought I would write one final note before I go on my week off.
I'm not going anywhere exotic for a holiday- so sadly I cannot make anyone jealous with tales of the exotic places I will be travelling to - I'm just trying to sort out my back garden once and for all.
See you all in a week.
Noddy
Just when you think you know all the lingo of a particular industry - something else comes along to trick you.
I have just come from filming an interview for CRN TV - no, I'm not saying who it was.
I thought I had done quite a professional job, but when we were asked to 'do a couple of noddys' after the interview had ended I found it very hard to keep a straight face. Not very professional and apologies to my interviewee!
It almost spoils the moment by explaining what a 'noddy' is, if you haven't guessed already. It is basically nodding your head in response to a question - just so the film editors can get a different shot when a question is asked.
I will be prepared next time. But my interviewee stepped up to the mark in a very professional manner and produced a great noddy. No thanks to the grinning idiot opposite him.
Look over your shoulder
According to some new research - a third of IT staff at UK firms take a sneaky peek at confidential data such as salary details, personal emails and confidential information.
Quite a worrying thought - especially as a lot of people spend all the working week in the office and just cannot help having to send the odd personal email to sort out issues during office hours.
However it is human nature to be nosey and to try and find out everything that is going on - even if it is people you don't even know.
So next time you send a bitchy email about one of your work colleagues- watch out, because you never know who is actually going to read it.
More AOL Hell
My home internet service went down last night. One minute it was working. The next, nothing.
I tried all the obvious moves - checking cables, re-starting the PC, switching the wireless router on and off etc - but nothing. Dead as a dodo.
I am now waiting in a 'queue' for 'customer support'. Obviously I have been through all the 600 button pressing options to get to this point. I'm fully expecting to be cut off a couple of times along the way. Also I'm wondering if I will get through to a call centre in India, or somewhere remotely near the UK.
The level of customer support/service in this country has gone to the dogs, whether this is on the trains, in a shop, or technical support for the variety of gadgets and gizmos the average person has in their home.
Even more frustrating and annoying than that is that no-one will take accountability for the state of these services and there is absolutely no-one to vent your frustration on.
I would change service providers, but they have worn me down so much I don't have the will to even start that process and to be honest they are all as useless as each other.
Ten minutes have passed now and I'm still waiting to speak to someone. Brilliant.
Size IS everything
I was lucky enough this morning to be invited to the launch of the Windows-based RM Asus miniBook at celebrity favourite hangout The Ivy.
Usually I avoid launch events if I can help it, but this was was slightly different - not only because we were given a miniBook to take away and try for ourselves (how shallow do people think us journalists really are?) - but because I genuinely was interested to see how these machines looked, felt and actually worked. (no honestly)
From the short time I had to examine one of the miniBooks, I was impressed. It is light, portable and the screen is actually of a decent size. The tiny keyboard may take some getting used to - but no great hardship. I can see why it is going to be popular with schoolkids. It also allows for wireless access which is great.
At around £200 it is not difficult to see why RM, Asus and Microsoft are confident it is going to take the education market by storm. However I can see a market for these in the business space as well becasue they will fit on train/plane tray tables and will also not require a huge laptop carrying bag to be lugged around everywhere.
Also they are pretty durable - as demonstrated by one journalist from a well-known national newspaper, who threw the machine onto the floor - giving quite a few people a bit of a shock. I know our national cousins are known for their temperaments, but this was taking it a little too far. Everyone relaxed when they saw the calm-looking RM person next to this journalist.
Anway tantrums aside - I can't wait to have a proper go on the machine tonight - watch out for my review on channelweb coming soon.
Celeb spotting
I have just returned from a very amusing lunch with two great characters from a well known storage vendor. You know who you are! With topics such as vibrating beds, goosing waiters and short skirts forming a significant part of the conversation - the lunch was further enhanced by a couple of paparazzi's hanging around outside the window during our meal. Being very nosy - I went and asked one of them who exactly they were waiting for and it turns out it was some guy from the CSI series. I'd never heard of him. We were sat there for a couple of hours and no 'celeb' turned up. The paps were so bored in the end they were taking pictures of each other and of a Union Jack flag hanging up outside the hotel. And people think chasing celebs is a glamorous lifestyle. Give me the channel anyday!
The Apprentice - The Final
Well - it certainly was a shock result.
I was sure Claire had it in the bag - particularly because she handled difficult question at their final presentation very well.
The four finalists had to create and market a new men's fragrence that would retail for under £30, and create an ad campaign to go with it, which was then presented to the who's who of the perfume/retail industry at the end of the week.
I have to say I was impressed with what they did in such a short time! If only they had smell o'vision.
Claire and Lee went for a gambling themed ad for their frangrence and some people picked up on this as a negative thing that encouraged gambling. How gullible ARE people nowadays? Just because a frangrance has a gambling-based name does this mean whoever buys it is going to head to the nearest casino? And blame the perfume if they lost? Please!
Alex and Helene went for a clever dual purpose bottle that turned out to be far too expensive to make and would leave them with little margin, once all the expenses had been taken into account. This lost them the chance to be the Apprentice I think.
I personally wanted Claire to win - not just because she was a woman, but because I really do think she changed the most and learned the biggest lesson. The fact that Lee was last week caught out spectacularly lying on his CV would have put me off him to be honest. He claims he has learned from his mistake, but why do it in the first place?
Apparently a lot of people jazz up their CV to make them sound better than they are - but blatently lying is a different thing altogether.
Anyway, one thing is for sure - I don't know what to do with my Wednesday evenings any more.
Drowning in email
Taking a day off is always such a welcome break - but it is only when you get back in the office and the emails hit you that you begin to wonder if it was such a good idea in the first place!
I can't wait for my week off later this month - but I know I won't be able to resist checking emails during the week, purely because I can't spend my first two days back the following week ploughing through emails.
When I first started my journalism career (11 years ago) - emails were unheard of as a form of communication, it was purely letters and phone calls only. The fax machine was the lifeblood of the office (scary thought). It is only now when I stop and add up how many hours of the day are spent answering emails and trying to get to the end of the list - that I realise it is pracically impossible to keep on top of them.
How does everyone else cope? Please let me know if there is a secret to it. Pressing the delete button is not the answer I am looking for either.
Not so mobile
According to a recent report mobile working is on the slide, as employees shun the flexible working lifestyle pushed as a channel moneyspinner by so many vendors, and choose to stay in the office.
This is because in the current period of economic uncertainty, many staff, particularly junior staff, feel it would be better if they were actually seen in the office rather than just a remote presence. For the vast majority of respondents to a survey by Microsoft, remote working is still seen as a senior level employee perk.
However, over a quarter of those questioned by Microsoft said they would leave a job in six months if it did not offer remote working.
This research is very interesting for a couple of reasons. Firstly the channel is relying on the uptake of mobile solutions as a guaranteed revenue stream, particularly in the SME space. Secondly, for many firms that have employees working off site ie estate agents, surveyors etc - being able to connect to the office remotely is a vital part of their working day.
Flexible working is an interesting, yet at the same time potentially dangerous situation. It is unfair to allow one person to work remotely on a regular basis, but to deny the other employees the same benefit. However a firm cannot have all its staff out the office all the time because it leaves no-one at the back end to deal with customer queries.
Bring people with children into the equation and it gets a whole lot trickier to deny them the choice of working from home at certain times.
I think in today's working environment it is pretty much impossible to implement a blanket strategy on all employees - the nature of the modern day workforce is just far too diverse. It is just a case of trying to strike a happy medium.
From a personal point of view, mobile working is not a pleasant experience at the moment - if you looked at the size and weight of my laptop you would understand why. I think actually it would be easier for me to carry a breezeblock around with me than my current laptop. Hence I too prefer to stay in the office.
The Apprentice - semi-final
I was absolutely engrossed in The Apprentice last night. I have to say that the interviews each candidate went through were extremely harsh - but hilarious to see some of them squirm.
I'm not sure about my predictions for the winner now - both the guys let themselves down bigtime - Alex because he just couldn't take criticism (Yes, we know you are only 24 - but big deal) and Lee because he blatently lied on his CV about his time at University - he claimed he was there for two years, but in fact it was four months. A slight discrepancy I would say.
Lucinda was hilarious, but it was obvious she was going to be the first to go, purely because when things weren't going her way - she said she didn't think she was cut out to be the Apprentice. But it is amazing how quickly minds change once in the boardroom. She WANTED it! But it was not to be. She was fired.
There was even an IT angle to last night's episode - one of the interviewers was from PC maker/integrator Viglen Computers (one of Sir Alan Sugar's companies).
One of the other interviewers was Karen Brady, chairman of Birmingham City Football Club - who (what a surprise) was asked to discover the more personal/touchy-feely side of the candidates. Nice to see that sexism is alive and well in Mr Sugar's ranks after she was thanked for providing a 'lady's view' on the candidates.
Three of them were supposed to be fired last night - but four still remain. I think it is anybody's prize now, but I have a feeling Alex might just win through. After all, he is only 24.
Ongoing battle
There is always going to be a battle of wills between groups of people in every industry, and for journalists there is the fine line between us and PRs/their clients.
I know it is often not the PR's fault when an interview is cancelled/postponed, but they are on the front line and unfortunately receive all the wrath of the particular journalist that has been stood up.
Sadly some (not all) large corporates (naming no names) seem unwilling to have an open relationship with the press anymore - and certainly in the eight years I have worked in the channel press, this relationship has changed quite considerably. Gone are the days when you could ring a high ranking executive at a tier one vendor and get straight through for a chat. Now they have to be monitored all the way in case they actually say something interesting and fail to tow the corporate line.
Today, the preferred press model by a lot of vendors, seems to be having one person in the entire company (no matter how large) that is able to talk to the media, and if they are not available - it is basically tough luck.
A lot of that stems from the US attitude to the media, which cannot understand that the UK press is independent, and has no qualms about asking difficult questions to satisfy the queries of their readers. Certainly when I went on a recent business trip to the US, the trouble I had getting past customs when they saw I was a journalist was unbelievable.
Sadly I think things are only going to get more strained as corporates tighten their ranks even further as the years progress. I hope I'm proved wrong.
High energy
I was reading an interesting article in the evening paper yesterday about the power consumption of gaming consoles. Apparently a PlayStation 3 (PS3), if left in standby mode all year, will use more power than an average household fridge. That is quite scary stuff really considering IT firms are meant to be getting greener. Hopefully people will remember to switch them off at the mains after use. Having recently become the lucky owner of a Nintendo Wii - I have to say I am disappointed at the lack of an on/off button on the actual console - it is in permanent standby mode, which is very awkward for me becasue the TV is on a heavy cabinet and I have to move it every time I want to turn the Wii on or off. At least the PS2 and Xbox consoles that I also own can be switched on or off at the unit. Come on Nintendo, think of the environment a little more.
A free what?
It is not all bad being a teacher. Apart from helping to develop the working population of the future that is, there are some perks of the job. For example every teacher that attends an industry event entitled the Handheld Learning Conference in October will be given a free Nintendo DS along with a copy of a brain training game.
Now we all know that handheld and interactive technology is playing a huge part in everybody's life, especially education, and apparently the teachers can use these DS consoles to their full advantage in the classroom. Of course none of them will be buying Zelda games and battling away in their living rooms - the consoles are strictly for educational purposes only.
Now that is what I call a good freebie. Can anyone top that?
Names
I've just been reading a comment posted by an anonymous person about the Channel Expo event, implying quite a few interesting things. Unfortunately because of the charming language used in said post - I cannot share it with everyone. Obviously if you had given me your name it would have been nice to be able to discuss these points over the phone and I would still welcome a call from you to hear your thoughts if you feel like revealing who you are. I have great respect for people that post scathing comments and stinging criticism, but do so in an anonymous fashion. No sarcasm intended.
Doom and Gloom
Yet another day, yet another story about a bank that has run into trouble. The Bradford and Bingley is the latest one to disclose its woes in the face of an economic slowdown.
Northern Rock continues to flounder, despite the millions poured into it by the government.
At the same time, two other banks - Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland - have been accused of price fixing as they try to cling onto business and beat the competition.
All the UK banks should be feeling a little red faced at the moment because of their help in fuelling the crazy and unsustainable consumer spend that has been happening over the past few years, lending money here, there and everywhere to anyone who could get their hands on it. Conveniently forgetting to outline how important it was that the money was actually paid back with interest. And also reminding people of the consequences of not paying the money back.
Now, more people than ever face losing their homes as they fail to keep up with mortgages payments and and spiralling debt. To top it off, fuel, food and the cost of living keeps going up, but wages are staying the same.
This in turn has an effect on businesses - both small and large. Not only are the staff personally tightening their belts, but so are their customers. Rather than invest in that new infrastructure - they will buy a cheaper add-on that will keep it going just that little bit longer.
For resellers than can batten down the hatches and survive this latest storm, there is the promise of rich rewards to come. Slowdown, and even recessions, do not last forever - and considering the pace of technology development has not slowed down either, there are going to be a lot of firms that will need to catch up when the clouds of gloom have finally lifted.
