Work(ing Title)

I had a great conversation at work on Friday. Rory Blyth is a Channel 9 person, as he puts it, and he’s been at Microsoft for some time longer than I have. He’s also joyously verbose, which is just my brand of gin, and so our conversation was easily one of the best I’ve had since beginning this segment of my life.

We talked mostly about my frustrations with the Microsoft experience, in an attempt on my part to reconcile my Apple-fied cortex with my relatively earnest desire to appreciate Windows. I gave him some of my chief complaints in Windows Mobile (the complexity of the user experience and the apparent lack of simplicity as a design priority). I also drew out my Vista installation gripe, something I’ve pitched to just about anyone who will listen.

The brilliant thing Rory was able to do was to interpret my issues clearly and explain the thinking behind them. While I ultimately don’t agree with the motives behind why Windows Mobile or the Vista installer are built the way they are, what was more important was how Rory made me feel about it.

Previously the people I’ve spoken to at Microsoft about my issues have left me with the sense that I either didn’t ‘get it’ or that I was at the nonexistent mercy of Microsoft’s intertia. Instead, Rory explained the logic behind the design decisions and, in spite of my disagreement, I was able to see the logic for the first time.

Thanks Rory…air knuckles ;)

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