Archive for ‘May 16th, 2015’

Consume and extend and find the good

So, two weeks ago.

Two things of momentous importance in my life: Find the Good by Heather Lende and the Microsoft Build 2015 Keynote.

It might sound like a tenuous connection, but for me, it seemed as if the two were intertwined in that week … with some similar messages.

The Microsoft Build 2015 Conference and specifically the Keynote address (nearly 3 hours!), might make most of my blog audience yawn and skip the rest of this post. But, the keynote address is a look into the future…a near future…as in this year. And it is amazing.

The Build conference is geared toward software developers – which is what I do – and it is an unveiling of new tools, new platforms, new ideas and a new device. Along with an overview of all of those things, there were showcases of people who are using those tools to make incredible applications. And while those applications will hopefully make money for those developers, it is more than that. The showcased applications opened windows into some pretty incredible stuff:

  • a composing application for music that allows the composer to quickly sketch in notes, to copy and paste refrains and to play it back
  • several apps that provide information … up to the date and changing as fast as someone can key it in … in response to various world catastrophes
  • interactive apps that engage users to help make decisions on charitable giving…mission of this app is to ensure that charitable dollars go where the giver wants and that charities worldwide have an equitable chance to entice funding
  • the NFL utilizes the technology and the Microsoft Cloud (Azure) to upload statistics and video to make all of those onscreen squiggles, up to the minute statistics and video available to the teams and the play-by play broadcasters
  • and much more…above just a few of the showcased applications.
  • Hololens … this is NOT Google Glass. Video link at the end of this post, but the Hololens is here now…leveraging not only some of the technology of Xbox, but also of Windows 10 and other of the new tools …YES, Windows 10!! and some incredible hardware to bring a device to market that has life changing opportunity in education, remote support, how we interact with each other and with technology. I commented to my co-worker that it was very cool. He replied, “No, it is HOT!”

    Our work team saw many things in the keynote that we could see would make our lives as software developers easier, more efficient and more fun! We are excited. All of us have made our livings to date using Microsoft products. None of us are haters of Apple or Linux or Android and one of our team and his family are all Apple, but Microsoft’s software remains our platform of choice for development.

    The other exciting thing about the keynote was Microsoft’s decision to embrace all devices. New Windows Universal applications will run on all devices and they are releasing a container tool that will allow iOS (Apple), Linux and Android applications to run these Universal applications. Hoo-rah! And they demoed how this works in the keynote (the 9 minute version includes this).

    Part of my reason for sharing this, even though it might make everyone’s eyes glaze over – is that it illustrates the great opportunity for those who have a passion for anything – to use technology to share the passion, to teach, to communicate, to learn, to solve problems and to make the world smaller and hopefully more peaceful. Microsoft’s relatively new CEO, Satya Nadella, expressed it as giving developers the ability to “consume” and “extend” the tools and platforms for incredible applications.

    Is Microsoft in this to make money ??? Certainly!! – they are not a charitable organization. But, for me, the point is that this round of innovation is exciting. These tools and platforms ARE consumable and extendable and I am excited to be part of it.

    The day before I started watching Build 2015 ( I watched it in snippets over 2 1/2 days), I started reading Find the Good by Heather Lende. Heather Lende lives in Haines, Alaska and one of her jobs is writing obituaries for the Chilkat Valley News, a weekly newspaper published in Haines. I can’t remember how I found her or her blog, but both the blog and her books are favorites of mine. They make me think about life and how I approach my own life and about being more thoughtful and compassionate.

    The title of Heather’s most recent book: Find the Good refers to how she approaches writing an obituary. It makes sense. Most people, even those that seemed curmudgeonly – also have some or even a lot of good to them. A person might be hard to live with but maybe there was a reason and maybe beyond the difficult aspects of that person … there is good. Heather finds it as she speaks to the family and friends and occasionally as she helps sort through the persons belongings.

    I read “Find the Good” during the days when I also watched the Build 2015 keynote. The Build conference and particularly the keynote are definitely a marketing effort by Microsoft. But as stated, Microsoft is not a charity. The development and support of software is not inexpensive. I truly cannot fathom the man hours that are in the development of the tools they showcased. But what I saw in the keynote was the passion of the speakers – both Microsoft employees and the showcased developers. I was inspired and in the midst of some of the terrible, horrible and shocking news stories…this passion, this finding of good things with technology and seeing the good in most of humanity – THAT is the connection for me and I’m thrilled that I have been and will continue to be part of using this incredible technology.

    A few links below:

    The Build Conference in 9 minutes: Microsoft Build 2015 in 9 minutes

    The Entire Build Conference (nearly 3 hours, but worth it if you are interested in software development and I encourage everyone to watch at least Satya Nadella’s intro): Microsoft Build 2015 Keynote

    An interesting article about the differing approaches of Microsoft and Apple – neither right nor wrong, just different and viva la difference – each of us has the ability and opportunity to choose!: Apple and Microsoft visions for the future are delightfully different

    Hololens: Hololens

    If nothing else, please watch “Hololens”. If you or a child or a grandchild or ??? has a passion for anything and they have a vision for a way to make “doing” it better, more engaging and/or more accessible…watch all of these with them and be inspired.

    Cheers, all!!