Vista Works for Me

About a month ago I bought a new Sony Vaio computer—my third since 2002—and with it the Vista operating system and Microsoft Office 2007. I couldn’t be happier with my choice. Of course, I was leery after reading the negative reviews and for a few fleeting seconds I actually considered switching to a Mac. But, as a consultant, I need to be as compatible as possible with my clients and I’ve always enjoyed my Sony computers.
My transition to Vista was almost immediate. There was about five minutes of new learning before I felt comfortable. I like the changes Microsoft has made to the look and feel and to the file system. I’m sure there is much more that is changed but it all seems transparent to me. I haven’t had any problems with crashes and/or bugs, knock on wood. And, I really like the automatic updates and built- in computer diagnostics capability. When I bought the new computer, I knew I had to also buy a new printer—my old one would not be compatible—but that was no problem as the prices on very good printers are so low and with rebates, it became a non issue. The only compatibility issue I’ve had is with automatic sync with my BlackBerry and that can be straightened out when I either have time to buy a new Blackberry (which I need to do) or call customer support.
Even more than Vista, I am thrilled with Office 2007. I find it is easier to find features, more intuitive and improves my productivity. Many of the changes are small tweaks but when added up, they make a big difference in my efficiency and overall enjoyment of the user experience. Again, it has been totally easy to learn and when I did have a problem migrating my Office 2003 Outlook file into Office 2007, I called Microsoft customer support. With very little wait time, I had a great agent on the phone who downloaded a software app that allowed him to take control of my screen. He helped me fix the problem, was extremely courteous and, it was free.
Over the years of dealing with Windows XP I became a very disillusioned Microsoft customer. But, now, Vista and Office 2007 have reset my positive expectations. Nice going, Microsoft.

Acela from NYC to Washington DC

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of riding the Amtrak Acela train from NYC to Washington DC. I had made this run several years earlier but had forgotten the beauty of the experience, especially when compared to the pain involved in flying the same route.
On Wednesday evening we took the 6:00 pm train from Penn Station and arrived 2 hours and 45 minutes later at Union Station with intermediary stops (very quick stops) at Newark, Philadelphia and Baltimore.
We rode business class. The cars were clean and spacious, there was plenty of room for us to work and cell access was intermittent but better than nothing.
There is also a “quiet” car where phones are banned and conversations need to be kept to a whisper.
There was plenty of room for carry-on baggage both in the overhead compartments and in larger storage units at the ends of each car. There was a wide-variety of food available to purchase and take onboard in Penn Station, and a limited selection of snacks and beverages for purchase on-board.
And, the real pleasure came from what we didn’t experience. There was no stop-and-go traffic getting out to LaGuardia airport, there was no need to suffer airport delays due to weather, malfunctions and/or poor scheduling, there was no being cramped into a tiny airline seat and fighting for an overhead bin.
When we arrived at Union Station, already decorated for the holiday season with giant wreaths, we were just blocks from our hotel in downtown Washington DC. If we hadn’t already eaten, we would have sat down and enjoyed a meal at the rotunda restaurant, with its Parisian bistro décor and white tablecloths.

Leaving Las Vegas

Well, I'm just back from a short, but long enough, weekend in Las Vegas. The highlight--Jerry Seinfeld's stand-up act at Cesar's Palace. He is truly the comic genius of our time and did not disappoint in this one hour laugh-after-laugh show. Seinfeld's forte is finding the hilarious in the mundane acts of daily life. The news ticker, cereal, parenting, the iPhone, Jerry touched on it all. He is much funnier in person than on TV. His physical comedy, timing, etc., is as stellar as his verbal comedy--even a little bit Krameresq in its delivery.
I hadn't been to Vegas in over a year, since May of 2006. The city continues to morph into a surreal fusion of what's real and what's definitely not real. It is more crowded than ever, even in the early part of hot, hot August, there were people everywhere at all hours of the day. It's more expensive than ever.
I have never seen so many bachelorette parties in one place at one time. Or, as many brides.
It's so nice to be back in cool, foggy and quiet San Francisco.

10 Friends On Facebook!

What is the odd feeling I have today when I log onto Facebook and see that I have 10 friends! 10 friends; it's actually pretty pathetic but when I see it there on the screen, it's making me feel like I achieved something.
And, it's fun to see their profiles.
And, now I want more.
I want all my friends on that page.
And, I hear that giant sucking sound as more time gets drained away....

On My Way to The Economist CMO Conference

I'm in the process of getting ready to leave Monday for the 5th Annual Economist CMO Conference in New York City. This will be my second time attending this conference. I attended briefly two years ago to see a speaker from Motorola. To be honest, I wasn't too impressed with the quality of the presentations that first time around.

I'm going back again for a couple of reasons. First, I haven't been to NYC in almost nine months and I need a fix of the city life. Second, I've been working non-stop on client assignments since early November and it's time to get my head out of the sand and find out what else is going on. I'm really hoping to meet some great new people and to get my creative juices burning again.

However, there already is one rant I have about this conference. I don't get their pricing model. They are charging $500.00 bucks MORE for "representatives of business service companies". The conference folks were nice enought to waive the late fee and give me a slight discount when I complained about this odd two-tiered pricing scheme. I just hope the conference is worth the time and $$.

I'll keep you posted. Julie