Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Overcommitment

I would not describe myself as type A. I would also be hard pressed to find somebody who would describe me as type A. However, I do tend to overcommit on projects to where I have no way to physically deliver on everything. 

The problem becomes exacerbated when one project takes longer than expected. Suddenly planned time for other projects gets shoved aside, putting other projects in jeopardy. 

While, it's easy to blame outside factors, the truth is that there are far too many projects for too limited time. 

It is vital to have the fortitude to say no and deflect the work to somebody who can deliver. 

Thursday, May 02, 2013

This Phone Will Self-Destruct . . .

Yesterday, I activated a Samsung Windows Mobile Phone. It has been years since I last touched a WinMo phone. The last time was my old T-Mobile Dash, which I shoehorned WinMo6 into towards the end of its run. It was a good phone. So, I was doing an activation for a friend on her new phone. I find myself perplexed that Microsoft would design such a finicky product, and that Samsung would agree to manufacture it.

The interface is really nice, don't get me wrong. There is a lot of ooh and aah designed into the OS. However, activating the phone requires that you install a memory card... no, hold that. The phone requires you to install a Certified Windows 7 Compatible memory card.

You could try a non-certified card; but, the system will rip it to shreds and make it unusable, even unformattable. I can see maybe if you want the phone to use a Class 10 card, you would discourage the use of a Class 4 memory card. However, this is the opposite. The cards that are known to work are Class 2, 4, and 6.

Not knowing this, I popped in a spare card to get my friend up and running. She messaged me today that the card (and phone for that matter) crapped out today.

I can't, for the life of me, figure out what the thinking was in creating this monster that eats memory cards. The operating system becomes one with the memory card of your choice. If you take out the card to upgrade to a better one (assuming you got it to work), you can't do it without reinstalling the entire system.

For somebody like me who is used to messing around with tech, this is a little speed bump. But, to the average consumer, this can be a major sore spot. Especially if it craps out after one day of use.

If we can get it running reliably, the phone could be great. But, between now and then, it's a disappointment.