Windows 8.1 Blue - Kudos Microsoft

I have a really old Asus netbook that has had a version of every single operating system you could think of on it over the years, it's even had a teardown for a new hard drive when the old one snuffed it.  I have been running Windows 8 since it's first leaked Alpha versions and was reasonably pleased with the initial release (despite having to play with my registry to enable downscaling resolutions to run 'metro' apps.)

I downloaded the official Windows 8.1 ISO from Microsoft and did a clean install.

Install times were a reasonable 25 mins, and of course boot times are about 10 seconds from cold to the login screen.  Awesome.

The Metro Control Panel ("PC Settings") now has a lot more options to handle customisation and system information.  It feels more substantial, and it feels more complete.

The Start Screen is now more customisable with new bigger and smaller Live tile sizes, so tiles such as the weather can display more information and those apps that have no Live tile function can be squeezed in without taking up too much screen real-estate.  Well played again.  As well as the tile functions there's far more colour scheme options and patterned wallpapers that can be used along with an option to use the desktop app's wallpaper (my favourite way of linking the metro and desktop worlds thus far).  The customisations can now happen from the side menu bar meaning changes can be seen as theyre made; a much smarter way of doing things.  Microsoft seems to be listening, and listening well.



Another thing is the return of the Start button from the Desktop app.  Personally, I didn't care about this too much, and now it's back, it looks ok, but I couldve lived with or without it, didnt concern me at all.  But it's back.  Yay.




All in all, this is a great step forwards from Microsoft, and I really look forward to seeing the full release of this version later this year, perhaps alongside a Surface Pro 2 machine???  :-)   There are hundreds or little items that have been tweaked or changed to improve the User Experience and it's mainly for the good.  I'll keep using this as my main desktop and when Mavericks gets a full release I'll be getting a new Mac to test alongside a nice fresh Windows 8.1.  

2013 is an exciting year!

The right opportunity is worth waiting for

Most of my time in Asia was spent with one company, English First.  I originally joined them as a teacher, as I was coming from a teaching role in the UK and I'd knocked out a TEFL Diploma in one of the 6 week boredom-breaks in the Summer between school years.  Cushty.
Anyway, I'd done some time teaching English, and it was quite easy and most students were keen to learn (which always helps).  After several months I came across an opportunity with their global product development department as a Project Manager.  Long story short, it was a great experience and I ran several projects as well as playing my part in others' projects; some project management tasks, some hands on development tasks such as wire-framing  logic design, user experience and so on.  During all my time in Shanghai at EF, I never felt that I was wasting my time and I always felt fully rewarded just by the work I did and what was coming ahead. Truly a great time.  
When I moved to Singapore (following my wife who was promoted to a role based here), I scouted out several jobs and eventually landed a role, which didn't actually have any tasks to do, so I left.  I joined another company, stayed there a while but the CEO's vision and my own didn't match up, so I left.  I joined another company, had a long term plan, but came up against a CEO who couldn't listen and a miserable team (but seriously talented and pleasant), so I left.  I don't wanna say it's Singapore's fault as that would be unfair.  I've been told it could be my own fault for being "fussy".  
But I approach it in the same way that the late Steve Jobs described, ""If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."  Considering I've almost died once before, this is how I'll continue to live.

Xbox One vs PS4 (do you really need either?)

I'm always excited to see new hardware coming to the market, and when they do I always find myself in the quandary of "do I want/need one?".

I currently own a PS3 slimline version.  I use it occasionally for games (FIFA in particular, or whenever new interesting titles drop such as The Last Of Us), but mainly as my media viewing device.  Now that may be Blu-ray movies, or it could be something that I stream from my netbook, or it could even be some YouTube content using the YouTube app on the PS3.  I'm pretty much satisfied with everything that it has to offer me and I'd say I use it maybe 3-4 times a week.  Great.

So why would I need a new console?

Well, from the look of the games coming to the new PS4 and Xbox One, the graphics and performance look almost lifelike.  I was extremely impressed.  Xbox One added a Blu-ray drive, hmmm about time Microsoft. PS4 added ermmmm, a touchpad thing to the controller. Useful.

So as things stand, that's about as far as I understand in terms of what they have that can really convince me to upgrade my home entertainment system.  And in case you didn't catch the tone of what I'm saying here, let me clarify, I'm not convinced I need to upgrade anything.

My personal feelings aside, the devices both seem well designed, and would slot right in underneath the television in most consumers homes I'm sure.  Sony have priced their PS4 reasonably with no additional costs or catches.  Microsoft have really maxed out the price for the Xbox One and justified it by saying that the Kinect comes with it.

Where Sony have really won already, and Microsoft have shot themselves in the foot (then nailed the bleeding foot to the floor), is with the handling of game ownership.  Sony does not require an Internet connection to authenticate a game, nor does it impose any restrictions on the sale, resale, lending, borrowing, frisbee throwing of games to your friends/strangers/who ever.
Microsoft have a series of ridiculous restrictions that require a user to be connected to the Internet at least once every 24 hours (ET phoooone hooooome), and the whole (potential, depending on game studios) farce of restrictions on games 'registered' to your Xbox One that won't be transferable to anyone else without the game being re-bought.

The other crazy thing is Microsoft's response to criticism of the Internet issue. "Just buy an Xbox 360 instead".  Smart Microsoft, really smart.  On top of that, the Xbox One won't even make an appearance in Asia until 2014!?!?!?!  Wowzer.

So it seems Microsoft might have already lost the war before they even got started.  But then again, does anyone really need a new console anyway?

Being Chatted Up

Apparently WhatsApp, of cross platform messaging fame, has set a new PB for messages sent and received in a day.  27 billion messages handled, that's a big jump from the stats given for April.  Boom.  Well done WhatsApp.

I use WhatsApp, and I also use Line and WeChat and Facebook Messenger and Tango and Google Hangouts and Skype.  Seems the only ones I haven't bothered with Viber and KakaoTalk, although I've been told they're not bad.

I use all these different apps depending on who I'm speaking to.  For example, I use WhatsApp with a few friends but also some people that I know professionally, I use Line exclusively with my wife as she likes their 'stickers', I use WeChat to keep in touch with some Chinese friends, Facebook Messenger mainly for friends, Tango for video calling with my wife when she's away travelling and Hangouts for talking to my Mum back home as she's just got an Android phone and realised she can talk to me at any time with it.

You might think,'you know you can do everything you need with just one'.  You'd be right, I could just pick one.  But my friends, colleagues and family are spread out across all these services.  This means that I've got to have a little folder of apps on my Galaxy Nexus just for all these chat apps.  And I'm ok with that, it works for me, I don't need a one-size-fits-all.

I have a feeling though that once WhatsApp starts asking me to pay for the service, I might be reluctant.  The reason being that I don't have to depend on the app because others do a good job too.  Once my free time with them runs out I can just ask regulars on that one to switch to Line or Tango or Hangouts or whatever.  Simple.

I do however, occasionally use SMS still.  So it's not totally dead for me.  I get some free with my mobile contract as well so I feel obliged to use them. But I still wonder what's next for these apps?  Video calling and messaging never really took off, everyone has already jumped on the 'stickers' bandwagon, so what could come next?  Perhaps more seamless sharing of media and news stories and other content?  Bringing some more of the apps to the desktop like Hangouts?  We'll see.

Motivating without a whip

During my time with startups I've come across a number of different management styles coming directly from the top of the business, either from a CEO or MD or main investor.  So far though, none of them have particularly impressed or motivated me to do anything more than consider my options.

Here's a snippet of the types I've worked under:

1)  Hands off

This method of managing things mainly involved providing requests from customers; E.g. This customer wants XYZ, and I promised them that we'd have to them by this date and they'd pay us this much.  This method seems straight forwards on paper, but in reality (especially when the rest of the staff hadn't even met the customer) was extremely inefficient.  The reason for this being that the request was really bare-bones, there just weren't clear enough requirements.  For example, if I came to you and said 'hey, I need a website by next Friday, I'll pay you $1000', you could create anything you wanted.  Because, there's no real detail there in the request.  So you figure, just ask for more details.  Right?  But this manager has disappeared on a 3 week travel session to the States, China, and Europe off the radar to secure more of these poorly defined projects for you to amble through.  By the time you see them again, the project is due and you deliver it, only for there to be complaints that it wasn't what they wanted.  Not good.

2)  Eyes on the Exit

This method involves bringing in some business from friends, family and good contacts in the industry.  They start with a good idea, and they believe that if they do things reasonably well for a year or two they'll be able to sell the company on and make a cool million (or more). As such, they tend to look to scrimp and save at every opportunity.  They hire good talent, but they don't pay it well.  They talk the talk, but when it comes to walking the walk, they're so uninterested in the business, there never feels like any progress is actually being made. Feels more like they're just waiting for that phone call that has a CEO of a billion dollar company on the other end with an over-inflated price for the business.  Disappointing.

3) The Big Shot

This manager thinks they are God's gift to the world of business and they seem to think they're some kind of celebrity.  It's sad really. They're good at securing contracts and closing deals and bringing in business and so forth, and they may well have even had success (or successes) with other businesses in the past.  They seem to be living vicariously through those former glories like a retired baseball player or like the portrayal of Buzz Aldrin from Little Britain TV show.  And with these former glories, and ego that it's given them, they think that staff will be climbing over themselves to work for them.  Not the case.  They treat staff like cogs in a machine that they've paid for, and therefore have the right to push those cogs in the machine to the limit, as if they're not real people, but tools.  A very demotivating style, and one that ultimately leaves that manager sat in the room on their own surrounded by their toys but nobody to play with, telling stories to themselves of former glories in the mirror.


From my perspective, I believe staff motivation comes from the need to feel good about what you're doing; sharing common goals etc.  If a manager can't share that passion for what the company is doing with their staff and feels that they need to hold the whip to get things done, I think it's destined to fail.  Look at the fall of dictatorships in countries through history, it's telling.

To Buy or Not to Buy - Surface 2.0

I always liked the look of Microsoft Surface; I was excited when I saw the announcement and although the price point isn't the best, I was considering buying the Pro version.

However, after reading the various reviews and opinions from the online community, it seemed to me that consumer satisfaction wasn't so hot.  Particularly with the battery life of the devices.

I'm not one to follow the crowd usually so when I had the opportunity to get hands on with Microsoft Surface I was on it like a shot.

My take on the Surface is that it's a solid build quality, the screen size is ok, the weight is fine too, it feels comfortable in the hands, the responsiveness of Windows 8 running on it is great... and so on and so on.

So why didn't I buy one?  I hear you ask.  Well, it seems from every source that i've read or heard or seen, they ALL say the battery life is only good for 5 hours or so.  Ultra fail.
My iPad Mini lasts 8 hours at least no problem whatsoever, I charge it every couple of days.  I want a Windows 8 tab so much, I've been studying the market for ages (the Acer Iconia W700 was on my radar for a while), but it seems that these first gen Windows 8 tabs and hybrids just dont quite cut it.

I read that Microsoft is likely to introduce Haswell processors to the Surface successor, which will obviously fix my battery life worries whilst also kicking up the graphics power a notch.  Win.

Will they alter the design at all?  I'd love to see a more adjustable kickstand on the back, and I'd also like to see Microsoft just throw in the damn cases for free.

We'll have to wait to the end of the month to see what comes, I can't wait!

Upstarts and startups

Since I've been in Singapore, I've had the opportunity to either interview with or start work for several startup companies.  Before I go on, please don't see this as me taking a swipe at the companies I interacted with, but rather a perspective that may well help others when choosing their career path.

I should also provide some context that before Singapore, I worked for a big company in Shanghai, and in the UK I was a teacher for 4 years, so no start up exposure before this. Fresh.

I've been lucky in a way because my wife has a steady job with a major blue chip company and earns enough for me to part ways with jobs if I don't think that it's a good fit or if I think it's taking me down the wrong path.  Venturing down the wrong path is a real sin in my book, I don't think I've got any time to waste; but that's another story.  Perhaps later.

So, because I've been able to pick and choose, I've had the following experiences (and I won't name names).

1)  Locally run business supplying education solutions to schools and colleges.  My first Singaporean career experience.  Up sold on the profile of the company, made to seem as if it was a bigger deal than it was.  Low salary offer, I took because I wanted to get going with something asap.  They applied for an EP for me, and it was rejected.  This was down to the fact they owed government taxes.  *alarm bells*  They said they'd sort it out, but I politely declined, and moved on.

2)  Company linked to pharmaceuticals.  Owner was a former director of innovation at one of the major pharmas; super nice guy, really got on with him, liked his perspective.  However, in the office, there were 2 of us; me and a graphic designer, with another team in Dalian, China.  Boss spent most his time over there.  Projects were thin on the ground, and not the most innovative.  Was expected to do market research and PowerPoint presentations.  Frustrating, and frankly boring.  I thought best to be on my way.

3) Web design studio.  Pleasant owner, big aspirations, big contracts with major banks, miserable developers, super dull office plastered over with attempts to force cohesion.  Didn't work for me at all.  Perhaps the most depressing environment I've had to work in.  I don't expect sympathy there, just saying it was maximum dullocity.

4)  Locally run startup providing a restaurant reservations system on the web and mobile.  I was super excited about this one, lots of potential to do amazing things.  Only 2 developers and a graphic/front end dev.  That's to architect the system, do bug fixes, maintenance, handle server engineer tasks, do mobile development, everything.  Overworked developers.  One of the main things here was the reluctance to embrace change.  Initially the web and mobile products didnt sync up, but that got fixed quickly.  The main problem in the end (and I stayed with these guys the longest) was that they expected success overnight without extensive marketing and effort.  There was little effort from some staff there, the ceo has his eyes firmly fixed on selling the business as soon as he can hit a certain valuation, and not everyone was going in the same direction.  What's the point in creating great products if noone sees or hears about them?  Success is not measured from if your friends and family like and use the product.  15 Facebook 'likes' on a post every two weeks is not going to rock the boat really.  Especially when your main competitors have money to burn with marketing and manpower budgets.

5)  One company I'd been speaking to were very keen on me, and wanted to make me an offer, and kept putting it off and putting it off.  Turns out they have no money and don't pay salaries.  Damn.

6)  A social network site with  (unknown to me before I took the job) 70 million users globally.  This was a program manager role.  A return to regular project management.  Hugely disjointed, developers leaping off the ship as if it was the final scenes of Titanic, and a hint of desperation in the air.  I was brought in with the expectation of aligning the team in Singapore with the infrastructure and ops teams in KL and Australia. I introduced regular stand up meetings to keep better track of project progress and have everything in view with clear goals to aim for on a daily basis.  Soon became clear that each of the teams had been run ragged by certain members of authority in the company, one of whom who has had success in other startups previously in other countries, loved to regale developers with exactly what they should be doing and what object orientated programming is.  Very patronising and demotivating.  That said, the developers there were a great bunch of people with years of experience and honed skills.  I found out quite quickly that there was a mass exodus on the way with several key staff members leaving.  It is suggested that the powers that be believe the exodus is down to staff belief in the product rather than the management style not being to their tastes.  Hmmm.  Anyway, I'm away from this place now too.  The powers that be offered up a motivational story that involved calling me a dickhead indirectly; not the best idea.  I'd printed a resignation letter, but they said they didnt think it was working out before I had chance to deliver it.  Oh well. (Update: they don't pay salaries on time either.  What a sin.)

So, I was wondering, is it me?

...well?  Is it?

Then I spoke to other expats here who have been through a very similar situation with other startups in Singapore, and like me, have left them when they realised that they weren't good paths to be on.

I'm not too disheartened, and I won't stop working for startups, as I enjoy the challenges.

In conclusion, I love working for startups, I can channel all my energy, and be directly involved with moving a business forwards.  I feel involved, I'm always thinking about what's next.  I can live the job, rather than just do it 9-5 then switch off and come home.  

Perhaps I'll set my own up at some point.  I've ideas a plenty...

Glass shmass

Google Glass has been all over the news recently showing off it's cool potential uses, and lots of smiley faced Americans with awesome lives and the most colourful clothes purchasable.  At first I was drawn in, I though 'yeah i want some of those, awesome!'.  But now I've had chance to reflect and actually think about how I'd use Google Glass, I'm not so sure. In fact, I know that I don't want Google Glass.

Privacy issues are one of my main worries.  Yeah, all Prism revelation related things aside, Google are trying to attach cameras to people's lives without people even realising where their photos, videos, LIVES data are going and who can tap into it at any point (Barack, I'm looking at you).  I'm not gonna judge if there are evil intentions directly from Google, but things can only fall into the wrong hands when there are things available to fall into wrong hands; if you get my meaning.

People wearing Google Glass are going to alienate themselves because a) they look weird and b) people are gonna be more self aware when being around someone wearing the device...

Does anyone really need to record everything they're doing?  Or can people not reach into their pocket for their mobile device?  Who really needs this?  If you do, then I'd love to hear from you.as to why?