Anecdote on software usability. FTA: “… and suddenly realized that it was a perfectly ordinary whiteboard felt-tip pen. The headwaiter just draw an ”X” over their booking, directly on the computer screen!”
(via “What’s the waiter doing with the computer screen?” (javlaskitsystem.se))
I've got a new office and I must clean off my inherited whiteboard. The previous owner left various diagrams, code snippets, etc. on for such a time that they can no longer be erased
by conventional means: the whiteboard eraser is useless! I couldn't find any whiteboard cleaner either, but Ali told me the following secret. You can write over the dried on text with a normal dry
erase marker. When you erase the new markings the old are erased as well. It sounds too fantastic, but believe me, its true! I don't know the brand or material of the whiteboard but the whiteboard
markers are 'Expo, Bold Color Dry Erase'.
I've been at Microsoft three years as of last Thursday. It makes me feel old but on the bright side I've upgraded offices. I now
have an office with a window. Its actually a coincidence that I got this office at the time of my Microsoft anniversary but I like to pretend. I've had a single office for only four or five months
now so its a nice surprise that I'm moving into a single window office so soon.
Of course this move means I'll be leaving some things behind. For instance the hanging dry erase pen holder that I created out
of office supplies I will leave attached to my old white board. My new office has fancy whiteboards with trays built-in (sooo fancy) so I know the person coming into my old office will make better
use of my hanging dry erase pen holder then I would. I explained to him that the rubber bands need to be replaced every eight months or so and not to exceed the maximum weight restrictions.
Additionally, the office art masterpiece I created I will also leave behind. When Bill Gates was featured on the cover of
Diversity Inc. for his amazing philanthropic acts many of us got copies in our mailboxes. I
collected mine and some from the recycling bins and put up five of the covers on the wall. Eventually others added to it which was my intent, but I only started this when I eventually checked my
mailbox a week or so after the magazine arrived so there weren't as many covers left with which to work. At any rate I ended up with eleven on the wall. I'll leave the interpretation of the artwork
up to the viewer.
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