Friday was Bill Gates last day at Microsoft.....like you were able to miss the biggest retirement since Bill Clinton (not that I am comparing Ballmer to George W!). I have to write a small thank you to Bill, as without him I would not have a job, the passion I have or the vision for the world I do.

I think there are many people in the world who have passion for technology like Bill Gate`s. Most of us do not the opportunity to take that passion to the same level Bill has. Equally I believe there are a number of business savvy people around the world on par with Bill. What differentiates Bill Gates from all others, other than maybe Steve Job, is his extreme ability in both of these fields. He is an uber geek and a ruthless businessman all rolled in to one, and it as been awesome to watch.

I received my first home PC computer in 1984. I used to write basic applications to help my dad’s company cost out products it manufactured and keep track of the average cost of the year’s production. I was just entering university and there was a limited number computer classes but I was enrolled in them. I ended up leaving university after the 2^nd year to go to work for a while to try and find my focus but kept working on computers.

It was from this point that I started to use predominately Microsoft products. DOS, the early releases of Windows, Windows 95, 98, NT, the early releases of Office and Windows Server. Sure I learned some UNIX, Novel, Corel, Adobe and Apple along the way, but the reality is that what I have been using, like most of the computer world is Microsoft’s products. No other software company has been able to find a niche in almost every single computer field. The bread and butter is the OS business, on the desktop and server side but the dominance in the browser, development tool set and framework, productivity tool sets, email solutions, mobile solutions and gaming systems is unbelievable. While they do not own some of these markets, they are usually 2^nd in all other niches.

Sure there have been some failures along the way (see Bob, ME, URGE, TabletPC, UMPC and some of the hardware they have pushed) but they tend to succeed way more than they fail.

I love technology and the possibilities it provides, and for this I thank Bill Gates for his vision of a world with a computer in every house and on every desk. Some said it was crazy, but in some areas of the world it is the norm. I have had 20+ years to watch the evolution of the PC and computing in general, and can’t wait to see where it goes. Gates fingerprints are all over this…..for good or bad some may argue…but no one can argue his impact.

So not to sound like a 11 step program group leader, Hello my name is Will and I have an addictive personality!

Addiction #1.....PEPSI

Anyone who knows me at any level knows that I am addicted to Pepsi and have been for over 20 years. I consume a few of these drinks a day, and need one first thing in the morning to get my day started. When I am feeling stress, or trying to recover from a tough day, it is Pepsi I turn to. From my perspective this is a good thing! I do not drink, smoke or do drugs, so if the worst thing you can say about me is that I consume too much Pepsi, all is good.

Addiction #2.....Technology

I admit it, I love technology and the application of it. Seems logical that I work in the technology field, but I find lots of people in the technology business who do not have a deep love for technology like I do. It does not matter what it is, new phones, media players, all forms of computers, UMPC's, laptops, desktops, servers, screens, etc I dig them. Even more I love how these devices can be used to improve work, life and processes. It is hard to explain the exhilaration I feel when I get to use my smartphone to connect to my home Exchange server to pull my email, the endorphin rush of a touch screen laptop mounted in a vehicle with GPS and EVDO to provide live mapping and traffic info.

Are you a gadget junkie? Does using your mobile device cause a release of dopamine to your brain’s nucleus acumens’ and make you happy? Some are worried that our addiction to gadgets and being always online (texting, email, etc…) are hampering our interpersonal communication. I am not sure I agree, I see it as only making it better! 

Thoughts?????

Another day, another hard drive failure on my work issued Lenovo X41 tabletpc! That now brings my total to 4 drive failures in the last 2 years on this model. I personally blaim the Hitachi half height drives that are being used in these models in combination with Lenovo's drive shock system.

I fully admit to being a hard-core tablet user. I take my tablet with me to every meeting, appointment, conference, or workshop I go to. It is in the convertable state as much as it is in the laptop state in my world as I do not spend very much time at my desk. The reason I got a tablet was to replace paper, and I am working hard to do just that....but if the technology can't live up to the expectations.....then there is a problem. My last tablet was a Acer C110 and I have been playing with a Itronix Duo-Touch over the last 18 months as part of a project I am workin on....and both of these have never given me an issue. Now both of these have full height laptop drives.

This is not to say I dislike my X41 completely. I love the size and weight of the unit and the fact it came with a fingerprint reader for biometric logon. The battery life is OK, the processor is slow like George W at a press conference and the video sucks (8meg!). Now for the good news, I finally will be getting a replacement...the much heralded X61 and maxed out with 4 gig of RAM....that should help with loading and running some VM's. We will see if it fairs much better...only time will tell.