The views and opinions expressed in this blog by Kyle Brady are solely his own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Intuitive Industries LLC, their clients, the sponsors or advertisers of this blog, or other employers Kyle may have.
You might be interested to know that there's two different kind of posts on this blog: "Thought of the Day" and "Normal". The "Thought of the Day" category is a once-a-day random tidbit, usually a funny video or picture, and the "Normal" is just what you'd expect from a blog like this:
Unicorn-Butterfly Soup.
--Kyle
p.s. the subscription options to the left (psst! <---- that way) reflect the same content options
Here’s a short piece I had to write for a class, answering the question:
What do you believe is important for successfully completing a project, the formal management structure or culture of the parent organization? Why?
— — —
Completing any non-trivial project is a difficult task, and so-called “experts” are typically divided into two beliefs on the most important aspect of the project: formal management structure and the culture of the parent organization. However, I believe that a mix of both a formal management structure and the overall organization’s culture are important, neither one eclipsing the other.
Companies such as Google thrived for years with an loosely formed corporate hierarchy, and a culture of freedom, fun, and brilliance. Recently, Google has found that such a structure does not facilitate a high level of productivity and innovation, and has begun to formalize itself into a more rigid version of itself. On the opposite side of the corporate structure rainbow is strictly hierarchical management, found at such companies as Microsoft. However, Microsoft is no more successful at pinning down innovation and productivity to a corporate structure, as they are well known for lazy employees and product delays of epic length.
Given these two radical examples, I can only conclude that a mix of the two would be the ideal goal: an organization with a formal hierarchy that also respects the employees’ freedom and individuality, but only until said freedoms encroach on the overall productivity and innovation. Whether or not this is ultimately achievable is up for debate; however, many modern companies aspire to reach such a “happy medium” and have been at least moderately successful, both financially and culturally.
posted on September 28th, 2008 at 7:38 pm by Kyle - Comments
Here’s my take on it, with a different end-game scenario than EHL, more-or-less duplicated from a comment I made on his blog:
Microsoft is, and always has been, about collecting as much money as possible, while doing as little as possible. “Stealing” MS-DOS and making huge profits from it, repackaging an OS as a “new” version with very little differences… we’ve all heard that before.
So why should the keyboard be any different? They could potentially ingest massive profits because unlicensed keyboards (aka “not Microsoft”) use the buttons associated with their patent, depending on how the courts interpret the depth and reach of this.
Also, this might be a play at what I’ve thought they might do for awhile: try and control and own as much of the computer as possible. As people move to Macs and Linux, it’s probably becoming more and more attractive for them to disrupt competitors by simply “owning” the technology. If your keyboard (or any other common component) ends up being radically different on a Mac (besides the minimal differences now), users might reconsider switching.
Next they’ll concoct a strategy about LCD monitors!
posted on August 22nd, 2008 at 2:22 am by Kyle - Comments
[This is an "open letter" to Bill Gates. The chances of him reading it are the same as me being an American President, but who cares.]
Dear Mr. Gates (Bill?),
You don’t know me, but I’m a 20 yr old living in Silicon Valley who has what only can be described as a “love/hate relationship” with you (not in a sexual sense, but intellectually and philosophically). And I thought I’d put it all in writing. For the ages, as it were.
The earliest I can remember using a computer was about 17 or 18 years ago, back in Maryland (yes, that makes me either 2 or 3 yrs old). I can remember learning how to type commands in DOS, not Windows 3.1 yet, that let me run my games that usually involved Sesame Street. After that, we got Windows 3.1 and I thought it was the best thing ever. Keep in mind this was way before the Internet was publicly used, so all my activities involved playing games or messing around with Windows itself (I actually got in alot of trouble, up to when I moved to California, for changing settings, specially configuring things, and “exploring” … get it? … how everything worked).
All of this set the foundation for what was to become an obsession and fascination with computers, and ultimately, how they worked. By 4th grade, I remember being “that guy” who the teachers asked to fix computer problems… even the computer teacher. By middle school, my “that guy” status had increased to include physically fixing hardware problems as well, and extended to almost everyone that knew me. By high school, I was heavily into the Internet and programming (learning HTML wasn’t enough… I immediately jumped into web-based languages).
So you see, I can only credit you and my father for this. Him for his genes (Engineer) and having the computer around, and you for creating “the right thing, at the right time”. But I’ve also had a fascination with the stories of your personality and success, often hoping that I would be the “next Bill Gates”: coming from nowhere to eventually rule the computing world.
But as my computer abilities progressed, I discovered Linux, and became increasingly frustrated with the speed and access constraints that are so often associated with Windows. In fact, I am now officially a Linux “geek”, and only use Windows when I have to (i.e. I have a PC for the Adobe Suite, because I hate Macs more). And with this glowing new relationship with Linux, I’ve discovered the freedom and security that comes with moving away from Windows. I won’t bother with the details, because I’m sure you’re aware of the old arguments, but they are anything but myths.
You might see my problem by now. I detest Windows, and most other Microsoft products, and avidly suggest friends and family take alternatives (Linux vs. Windows, iPod vs. Zune, Firefox vs. IE, etc.). Just yesterday I came across the issue of Fortune that features your wife, and found this quote:
Reading the article, Bill learned about the World Bank’s 1993 Development Report, which calculated the cost of these disease. He got the 344-page document and read it several times. [Page 50, Right Column]
I actually tore that page out, highlighted it, and it’s going on my wall. Why? Because it so perfectly describes what I’ve always admired about you… the attitude. “Cut the crap, get to the point” is something I have lived by for years, and the willingness to devote massive amounts of time to something you believe in is not a common human trait.
To wrap this up, I find myself often comparing myself to you (goals, personality, and, hopefully, intelligence), while hating almost everything that Microsoft does. Except the XBOX. That was a stroke of pure genius, so congrats on that one. And now, with your philanthropic efforts being mixed with your foresight and attitude, I can only hope that my goal to become the “next Bill Gates” one day comes true.
Except for the Microsoft part.
Sincerely,
Kyle Brady
posted on January 21st, 2008 at 1:36 pm by Kyle - Comments
I think we should all let Microsoft take our data. Really. Everything about us… blood type, injuries, health insurance…
Did you catch the sarcasm? Did you? Because something tells me the creator of the most buggy, flawed, attacked, and hacked software in the world is going to have a hard time convincing people their data is secure. I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong, but I just have this weird feeling that they’re probably running the same software that gets hacked thousands of times a day worldwide…
“W3 R S3kur3″ - Microsoft’s Quote of the Day
Congratulations, Microsoft. You beat Google to a release of a new product for once. That is admirable. But that doesn’t mean it’s a better product, or that people will even care. Being the first to the finish line may win you a race… but we all know that in war there is no ticker tape. There are only mines, rocket launchers, and stealth bombers, but I digress.
Google has been supposedly developing their own product that is intended to revolutionize the medical industry, this is common knowledge in the tech world. Who do you really think is more secure with their data? How many times have you heard of your personal account information being leaked from Google? How often has Microsoft’s systems been hacked? How often has Google’s systems been hacked? Who is generally treated with greater trust?
There are 1.3 million results for curing your STD.
The answer is obvious: Google. The world leader in search and information storage considers your personal health information to just be one more shelf to index: all the better to personalize your services, my dear. From my personal experience, people who use Google’s products love Google, whereas people who use Microsoft’s products typically don’t. What is your most used email account, Gmail or Hotmail/Live Mail/Whatever-they-call-it-today?
“We’re good for your health!” - Google’s Quote of the Day
When the battle is begun, and sides are taken, where will you side? Where will the doctors, and subsequently, the industry side? I’m willing to put the smart money on Google, it’s a pretty simple choice. The two behemoths will face off, and battle for the attention… this much is true. But given the history of each company, and their respective mottos (both official and unofficial), chances are that Microsoft Windows Live Spaces Personal Health Identifier Super Home Edition will fail.
Completely, utterly, disastrously… fail.
posted on October 10th, 2007 at 5:23 pm by Kyle - Comments
