Thimbles & Care

XLink 1.1 Call for Review

And here I thought XLink was dead.

XLink was one of those things that seems like a really good idea, until you try to actually use it.

IE6 Funeral

Although this is probably a bit premature; I expect IE6 will still be around for a while.

From the “Memories” section:

Lynx is Not Attending

Ha! Now who’s your DADDY??? I’m still alive and kicking you weak young punk.

Via Daring Fireball: The Chess Master and the Computer

This is a review by Garry Kasparov of a book, Chess Metaphors: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Mind. I suspect that the review is better than the book, because Kasparov has some pretty good insights into the relationship between people and computers.

Eliminating bad complexity

Many organizations have enemies within. Departments and divisions care only for themselves. They will introduce complexity that makes the organization as a whole more dependent on them. In fact, the way modern organizations are structured rewards bad complexity.

Examples of bad complexity can be seen everywhere. Marketers and communicators don’t care if they make a website more difficult to navigate once they can push their message. Programmers will add more features to a product, not because these features are needed, but because new features show that the programmers have been doing something. Legal people don’t want you to understand legal documents because that would diminish their importance.

Bad complexity creates dependence. Good complexity creates independence. One of the things the Web reflects is a movement away from the production of products to the delivery of services. In a world of production the thing itself often dominates, but in a world of service the satisfaction of the customer dominates. In other words, in a service- driven world, the measure of success is not what you have produced, but rather how satisfied your customer is.

Sure glad none of that goes on around here.

Most people who read this blog probably already have some idea of how much knowledge, experience, and expertise the University lost when Greg Neunaber retired at the end of last month. Since talking to him and other current and retired coworkers at his retirement party, I’ve been pondering how the University has been able to recruit and retain so many intelligent and talented people. We all know it’s not the money, so what is it?
Money can be a powerful motivator, but there are other forms of compensation an employer can provide, especially an employer like the University of Texas. For example, there’s the opportunity to work with other good people, or to work with cutting-edge technology. There’s also the ability to continually learn new things and develop new skills. Perhaps the most potent compensation, however, is the feeling that you’re making a real contribution to something that matters—that the systems you work on make it easier for the University to educate people, expand the frontiers of human knowledge, and enhance our community, state, and nation. It can also help if you feel that the University’s leadership understands and values your contributions.
If you have any related thoughts, feel free to leave them in the comments.