This just in from Intuit... if you are using a version of QuickBooks prior to 2006, you will have problems if you upgrade to Windows Vista. To quote the email from the Senior VP of QuickBooks:

Since QuickBooks 2006 and earlier versions were developed
and released before the introduction of Windows Vista,
these versions may be adversely affected when used on
a computer running Windows Vista.

(it was centered and bolded in the email)

Most users aren't compelled to upgrade QuickBooks or Quicken every year, mainly due to the fact that if you want to use the same functionality, what has really changed? I heard one time in the early 2000's that Quicken hadn't changed since the mid 1990's.

Not that I needed another reason not to upgrade to Vista.

Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink

Yesterday my friend Chuck asked me how I have the time to write for my blog. I told him that doesn't take as long as it would appear, as I usually write and edit the first draft in my head before I type it.

This reminded me of a conversation I had with someone recently (sorry, I forget who) about the concept of making time. Unless you are a supreme being, super hero or maybe even Adam Sandler, we don’t have any control of time itself – it's what we do with the time that we have control of. Or as it appears to me and many people, we don't have control of.

I have found that it's about scheduling time, not making it. Open-ended appointments usually don't happen or do not go as well as they should, usually due to lack of preparation. I strive to schedule appointments, prepare for them, and execute on them efficiently. The fact that the appointment is written down also adds a level of accountability to the meeting or event.

This has worked well for me. Does anyone else have other ideas on scheduling time?

Diversions • (2) Comments • Permalink

If you are a fan of Web 2.0 and the 80’s band Throwing Muses, then the subject of this post rings familiar, and here’s how they are connected.

LaLa.com is a CD swapping service. It is a true Web 2.0 application in its functionality, and in this case it works well as getting pop-up details on CDs and artists is a great help. I literally ran into this service at the main post office Chicago over the holidays of all places – there was a giant sign in the lobby. Here’s how it works in brief: you create a free account, list CDs you are willing to swap, then you search for CDs you want, and initiate a swap. Shortly thereafter you get a set of special mail envelopes (thus the USPS connection?) and CD cases that fit nicely in them. If someone initiates a swap for a CD you have made available, you register the code on the special envelope and you are given the address of whom to send the CD to. There is a charge of $1.75 for each CD you receive.

Out of curiosity I signed up, and have sent and received a few CDs without problems – only mail delays over the holidays slowed some deliveries to almost a month. The CDs are coming directly from members, and sometimes there are notes on the back of the envelope. On the back of a Throwing Muses CD I just got, there was a note from the sender hoping that I was as much of a Muses fan as they were. No fear, as my college radio days in the late 80’s, complete with skinny leather ties and gelled spiky hair, says it all.

Though I don’t know how many CDs I will post, I am wondering how long it will be around. Once I receive a CD, it goes onto my list of CDs available. So am I supposed to send it back out? That should be a huge red flag to the lawyers at the RIAA. The $1.75 comprises 75 cents for postage and $1 for the service, with a portion – 20% - going to a foundation to support performing artists. Not sure how that will be executed on, but maybe it will keep the lawyers away for a bit. Now I will go see if I can complete my Husker Dü collection.

Technology • (2) Comments • Permalink

This Thursday, January 25, 2007 is the next TechCocktail. As you can guess by the name, it is an tech networking event where drinks are served. This is the third of what has become a quarterly event, and will be held at Amira at the NBC Tower in Chicago.

I went to the first one, missed the second, and I am looking forward to this one. Its success can be contributed to many reasons. It was heavily promoted on blogs, and as a result brought in a wide variety of people in technology including programmers, entrepreneurs, bloggers, venture capitalists and lawyers. As a quarterly event, it is not overdone, and still has momentum. And free admission and drinks aren’t a bad thing either.

TechCocktail's success is in its simplicity, and that’s why I think it will be around for a while. Many user groups or other organizations fail because of the complexities of their services and offerings. As well, when there is a turnover in the organizers, it is hard to regain much of the momentum the group had. I have seen this personally with tech user groups as well as established organizations like the Jaycees, and it falls in line with the team development model of forming, storming, norming and performing.

Are you going to TechCocktail? Hope to see you there!

Business • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink

I just got off the phone with a good friend, QA guru and fellow entrepreneur Eric Patel, and he used this phrase in our conversation, and it's one I have to share:

"It's not in the encouraging column..."

I'll make sure to use that to put a positive spin on my next not-so positive encounter.

Diversions • (0) Comments • Permalink