What does MVP mean to you?Being an MVP means that I am provided with more resources and structure to do what I already love doing, which is to enthuse people about technology. I get to give more presentations and assist in providing resources to people. It also means that I get to get my eyes on all the new gadgets at an early stage, which is really great because I am a gadget freak.If you could ask Steve Ballmer one question about Microsoft, what would it be?What are you going to do to help my grandmother get Windows XP SP2 installed? Microsoft needs to find a mechanism to help all the people who are intimidated by technology or view the maintenance of their computer as a chore. Many everyday users have the philosophy, "If it isn’ct broken, why fix it?" Microsoft needs to go a step further to help these people and teach them to embrace security.What do you think the best software ever written was?Well to me, e-mail is the killer app! So SMTP probably gets my nod as the most fundamentally useful piece of software. As far as Microsoft soft-ware is concerned, I’m a big fan of Microsoft Access. I think it’s amazingly powerful and allows knowledge workers to build quite complex applications. I also think it is a fantastic and underutilized teaching tool for information systems–type courses.If you were the manager of Windows® Mobile Devices, what would you change?Fix Connection Mangler (Connection Manager) on Pocket PC! This is an inside joke, but every year MVPs ask the product group to fix this because it confuses even some of the MVPs. I think they have declared it a "no-go" zone for our feedback now! Being more serious, I’d probably commit some more resources to bedding down and usability testing some of the existing featureset in the Smartphone platform. There is no way I could go back to a normal phone now, but the platform still feels a bit green. | If you were given unlimited data bandwidth, what would you do with it?Assuming that I could use it for my mobile devices, I would want to be able to stream TV. I’m the type of person that always has to be doing something and I especially like fiddling with gadgets. If I am stuck in an airport and have nothing to do, I at least want to be able to watch TV on one of my gadgets.What was the last book you read?I am currently reading Writing Secure Code, Version 2, by Michael Howard. I usually keep a technical book by my bedside and will read it until my fiancee "tidies it away," which really means that she hides them from me. I don’t generally read non-technical books because once I start one; I end up staying up all nighreading itit cover to cover. Some authors that I like are John Grisham and Jeffrey Archer.What music CD do you recommend?I love vinyl. Most of my music is on vinyl because it is dance music and I like to DJ in my spare time. In fact, the night before the MVP Global Summit began, I DJ’d at a local Seattle club. I like break beats, dark progressive, and dark tribal house the best. My favorite mainstream DJ is Brian Transeau aka "BT."What makes you a great MVP?I have a lot of energy, am enthusiastic about technology, and love to enthuse others. Also, I have enough knowledge about just about every Microsoft technology to be dangerous!What’s in your computer bag?Well, that’s not too exciting, let me tell you what is on my desk instead: A Panasonic Touchbook Pocket PC; two iPAQs, a 5455 and a 5550; a Qtek 8080 Smartphone; a wireless keyboard and mouse; an MVP calendar/calculator from Summit; a FireWire hard drive; a Toshiba notebook PC and 17" LCD monitor; a big Phillips audio amplifier; several MSDN subscription DVDs; a couple of reams of paper... spread across desk accordingly; three golf balls; a few Microsoft text books; a very full in-tray and a very empty out-tray; a heart rate monitor watch; three pairs of headphones; the pump for my Swiss ball (office chair); and that is just the start of it. | What’s the best thing that has happened since you’ve become an MVP?I got to be the bingo boy at the Asia-Pac dinner at Global Summit!Seriously, I guess I would have to say that I get more opportunities to speak about cool Microsoft technology. I eventually would like to travel more and speak outside of New Zealand and I think that as an MVP I might get that opportunity.What is your motto?I don’t really have one. I’m not a motttype ofof guy.Who is your hero?I don’t really have a hero. When I’m trying to improve at things, I do look towards others a lot of the time. At the moment I am really trying to work on my public speaking skills. I think few ofof the people that I have really enjoyed seeing and would like to take speaking tips from would be Steve Ballmer (I want his energy), Steve Riley from the Microsoft Security Business Group (I want his humor), and Don Box (I want to be able to code on the fly from the bathtub like he did@ Tech Ed Europe 2001!) There are a few political figures I admire too-but mainly because they want to lower my taxes, which is pretty heroic in a strong welfare state like ours!What does success mean to you?Success should be a pretty high goal to reach in my book. It should be something that is always just out of reach so that you have something to strive for, because if you reach it, then what do you do? So I figure success should be one step beyond anyplace that you’ve already been or any achievement that you have already made. |
