The banker: “With all this money you and your children will be secure forever. You will not have to worry about a thing.” The old lady: “Sounds like a curse to me!”
September 2022
‘Retrocomputing’ sounds old. That’s exactly what it is: About systems and software from yesteryear and long before that. And since things change extremely fast in the tech-business, ‘retro’ must mean obsolete – with a scent of museum. But wait. Not everything changes all that fast. Some things hardly change at all – and continue to run the same old stuff forever. Who’s taking care of that?
I tried, but I couldn’t quit completely. Significant reduction but still addicted – to the good feeling. That’s what the backup/archive system in the garage delivers. Peace of mind, a feeling of safety. Is it real?
Customer service used to be just that – service: A helpful voice at the other end of a swift phone call. That’s long gone. Helpful became dreadful. For the last 10-20 years, customer service has become something to avoid at almost all cost. Because life’s too short – for the wait and the annoyance. Which makes the following question interesting: What happens when you suddenly meet real customer service?
Can a typo ruin a business – or the world? The answer is less obvious (and much more scary) than you think.
Want to learn from the best? Make sure you don’t repeat their mistakes? Save time and money, collect the glory? Of course. That’s what Best Practices has been about – for ages. And for a long time it worked. Now it doesn’t – for obvious reasons. Why are we still using it?
“Work on Things That Matter” is a quote from a keynote speech by Tim O’Reilly some 15 years ago. It stuck. So simple, direct and obvious, yet so easily forgotten. What if we make this our motto every day?
Your medical records need protection. Not from spies, hackers and nosy neighbors but from bureaucrats, politicians and all kinds of ‘data protection agencies’. They don’t care about you. They care about themselves. They have ‘bullshit jobs’ to protect – and may kill you in the process. You’ve heard, read or seen…