Underwhelming experiences with Google Wave

Took some time today to work with the new communication meme – Google Wave. I wouldn’t call it a fundamentally new way to communicate – well, not yet. I think Google is safe to continue with a “preview” label – clearly not even “beta” yet. No horrible bugs – at least on the Windows platform [...]

Real Business Users and SharePoint

Introducing buzzword-compliant technology like a wiki, or integrated collaboration spaces like SharePoint, will typically go well with a motivated audience like your internal IT department. But if you really want to understand how this stuff works, try it with “real people” – line employees in sales and marketing, operations, and finance.Sure, you’ve heard complaints from [...]

Field Notes: Video Conferencing for Business Conversations

This past week saw my first experience with video conference calling – something obvious to consider in these tight economic times. Some observations –

I got quick feedback that my original camera position was disconcerting for the others. I had put it off to the side, which made me look “off camera”, almost in profile, [...]

Another Take on Enterprise Open Source

Today’s best conversation was with Christopher Young, of B2BSX, a startup software exchange where corporate IT departments can buy and sell their development efforts, and make a little cash to offset stressed budgets. It’s an interesting idea, and spawned some ideas in a couple of different directions.Andy Hardy, IT DirectorEvery company I’ve worked for has [...]

Hacking the Google Chart API from Excel

a bit of code on a Saturday night …I’ve written before about a simple way to measure and report IT value to the business – quantifying alignment with strategic initiatives  project spend in context. It all culminated with a single, simple slide – numbers, with some Tufte-esque Sparklines thrown in. Click on the picture for [...]

Third Time’s the Charm? Blackberry Bold

I recently had to part ways with my Blackberry Pearl – some heartache, I suppose, but time and product innnovation march on. There is a lot to like about the Blackberry Bold – I am definitely happy to have made the change …

<aside> … although my inner conspiracy theorist sees a case of planned obsolescence. [...]

Excel 2007 is a BOB system (Bag’O'Bugs)

I am getting seriously aggravated with the flighty behavior of Excel 2007. Yes, I acknowledge that the spreadheets in question is quite complicated …

shared VBA modules in an XLA file
database read/write using ADO
array-manipulation for ranges of cells (see this post)
lots of macro (VBA) logic to control look/feel of the tabs
code to automatically insert formulae into [...]

Linkfest: Data Visualization

I’m a long-time fan of effective visualizations, and I’ve often written about the effective use of visual information when making presentations or communicating complex information. I’ve subscribed to my share of blogs and feeds on the topic, and have amassed quite a backlog of interesting links … presented here for your hyperlinking enjoyment …
Best Blogs
information [...]

Does Excel 2007 VBA have Sneaky Hidden Issues?

I’ve done a lot of coding over the past few years, on a number of platforms – but since I’m not a full time developer, it’s typically limited to VBA, PHP, SQL, some simple web stuff. Still, I’ve developed some tools that people use – and need to carry forward as the underlying technology moves [...]

Data Visualization: ‘Life’ of Open Source Projects

Part of the “art” of communicating IT and business abstractions – technical challenges, project roadmaps, budget performance, customer relationships, IT effectiveness – is landing on the right visualization. A picture tells a thousand words, and if you can draw the picture well, your target audience will grasp these concepts quickly, and (potentially) get insights that [...]