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Microsoft get a bashing!
December 16th, 2008
Posted by Charlie Collins
I can't say I am Microsoft's biggest fan, but I have to say that the media hype around
Internet Explorer 7 yesterday was a little unfair. If more people use open source browsers
like FireFox I can't
say I am going to loose any sleep, but the media coverage was disproportionate. The BBC led the way
on the website, radio
and television. The Register reported that an emergency patch will be available today,
see Microsoft issues emergency patch warning for IE whilst other
technical resources - like http://www.slyck.com/ didn't seem
to provide many answers. One commentators said "a security company releasing sensationalist reports before xmas for
a little more advertising" seems to be about right and I have to say Microsoft is always an easy target, so we dug a little
deeper and found the following articles:-
How to Safeguard Against the IE Vulnerability
Further IE security flaw warnings
In reality all browsers suffer vulnerabilities because hackers are constantly evolving new techniques. In a recent security league table
FireFox came secound, with Microsoft trailing behind in eighth. The worst browser was Chrome and Flock didn't fair too well either. Users should make sure
they guard against attack by making sure they keep their software updated, including anti-virus software. Microsoft's operating system
also comes under attack, but again make sure you download any security patches.
It's worth saying Linux and Mac users were not affected and is often the case with security issues, although a recent trend shows that hackers are looking to exploit these operating systems as well.
Brand recognition!
December 13th, 2008
Posted by Charlie Collins
We are all for brand recognition in the Collins household! Hannah, my daughter (no I don't use this as a
password so don't bother trying) is on the BBC website,
see School Report provides deep learning and
I'll be in the papers next week, but more about that later!
Is your glass half full or half empty?
December 12th, 2008
Posted by Charlie Collins
So is your glass half full or half empty? Perhaps I have already answered the question for myself - by the order of
the options, half full first - but where are you. Now anyone that knows me will also know that I am not a natural
optimist, far from it, but we are starting to see some positive signs having been through a bear market since the
beginning of November, which saw two major projects delays / shelved and three major clients laying staff off! It was as if
someone just came along and turned the tap off and it has remained that way until this week. It all started when
Tom Ball of Cognac (the big picture company) invited me to one of
his recession dinners. Sounds
negative, but Tom is possiblely the most driven, optimist person I have ever met. He wanted to get a number of entrepreneurs
together and find out what they were doing! I attended the second dinner on the 6th November, in central London and found
it reassuring as we have already taken many of the steps others were only just starting to consider.
During the last twelve to eighteen months we have tightened up our business operations, clearing all of business debts and streamlining
of business processes by implementing our business management system. This has meant that we are going into the current economic
cliemt lean and mean and focused on the clients needs! I was talking to a colleague on Wednesday and he said what
every business needs to do is create trust and make peoples lives simpler, so our tag line - making complex task simple - seems
to hit the mark.
We have taken on a PR and Marketing company (Absolute PR & Marketing) to help us increase our brand awareness and looking forward to 2009! In the last week
we have seen the first signs of a turn around in confidence and the glass is definately half full!
So, if you only see a half empty glass try looking again - you might be suprised at what you see!
P.S. November saw 1,092 visitors to the blog with 509 visitors so far this month!
Bernie Ecclestone, no, no, no!
November 28th, 2008
Posted by Charlie Collins
So Bernie goes to the Olympics and comes back with a cracking idea! So what is this amazing idea? Give medals out to drivers
in first, second and third place and the award the guy with the most medals the championship at the end of the season. Wow! that's
original Bernie!
I think Bernie has been spending too much time with his lawyers (as he is currently getting divorced) and it's rubbing off
on him. The F1Blog posted an
entry and was hit by a number of F1 supports blowing off the idea and why not? Has he lost all his senses?
The last couple of seasons have provided some fascinating racing for a couple of reasons; firstly the number of talented young
drivers like Hamilton and Vettel - to name but two; the second reason is the consistent regulations since the death of Senna which
has seen large and small teams eek out every last ounce from their cars so that the difference between the front and back of the field
has been reduced. This has lead to a highly competitive two seasons with overtaking - yes, it does happen in F1 - throughout the field.
I have seen a number of suggestions about how F1 can be made even more exciting, not that I think it is needed after last seasons
closing race in Brazil! One of the best ones I saw was the introduction of spraying the tracks with water intermittently. I think
this is a wonderful idea, along with more night races like Singapore last year. The most exciting races, without doubt, last season
were all effected by rain - Silverstone, Spa, Monza, Interlagos (to name but three). So my idea for wouldn't be to introduce medals for
god sake, just pop down to your local gardening centre and purchase some of those watering systems and then switch them off and on
throughout a race. What's even better is that F1 would then come up with innovative ideas that would be translated into road cars
and everyone would benefit.
Alistair Darling's Pre-Budget Report (2008) throws spanner in the works for some ...
November 25th, 2008
Posted by Charlie Collins
I have being involved in writing software for far too long; longer enough to remember VAT rates change! As a result
all our systems treate VAT rates as a variable, which means they go up as well as down (bit like stocks and shares). So I
was shocked - well, not really - to hear a software house bleating on (Radio 5 Live) about how the VAT rate changes was going to cost him £ 20k
and only had five days to fix the issue! Well tough, they should have thought about that first; I have NO sympathy at all, this is BASIC common
sense and will sort the men from the boys.
So if your software house / web designer tries to charge you for any work associated with
the VAT rate change seriously look to change suppliers. God knows what other gremlins are
lurking in the cupboard.
I spoke to our accountants this morning as asked him if he had a top ten tips or frequently asked questions and he has pointed
me to their website, so check it out (thanks Clive).
PS. HMRC VAT finally sorted out their online system on the 9th November, a month after my first query. So what happened, well
the site got hacked after the Government Gateway login details found in pub car park!
Lewis wins F1 2008 drivers championship!
November 4th, 2008
Posted by Charlie Collins
One of the best championships I have watched since the clash of titans (James Hunt and Niki Lauda) in 1976 when
James Hunt was crowned world champion!
The last two years has created some of the most exciting F1 racing, with the time sheets showing how close the
entire field was! Just look at how close the Brazilain GP qualifying session was with less than a second
between 1st (1m12.368s) and 8th (1m13.297s) position
(see F1 Blog).
As a result we have had lots of different drivers winning (Sebastian Vettel, Heikki Kovalainen, Robert Kubica,
Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa) and an extremely close race to the finish!
Without the weird decisions made by the stewards throughout this session, perhaps it would have not been so
close, but who knows what could have happened, that is what makes F1 what it is!
But you cannot take it away from either Massa or Hamilton, they both did brilliantly and I really respect
Massa’s comments in the post race interview, what a sportsman!
Hamilton really deserved the championship, especially in the light of last years disappointment, despite an
awesome rookie session. Having said that I think history will show this was Massa’s best chance, where as
Hamilton could have a successful career ahead of him and the weight of expectation will be upon his shoulders
next year.
But I wonder if the new regulations will spread the field out again and see Honda come out on top and this time
next year will Jesson Button be champion? Who knows, that is why I follow this fascinating sport and put up
with the highs and lows.
Big well done to Lewis Hamilton and congratulations to Ferrari for winning the constructors championship.
Who said watching F1 was like watching paint dry?
Lewis struggles during Friday afternoon practice ...
November 1st, 2008
Posted by Charlie Collins
Lewis Hamilton had a good session Friday morning leading the session until the later stages when Massa topped the time sheets,
but the afternoon session looked a litte ragid. Lewis went out for a final attempt but flat spotted his front left tyre going
into the first corner, effectively ruining any chances of a respectable laptime.
This afternoons qualifier should be extremely interesting, lets see if Lewis has managed to find a good set-up, but having watched the
practice sessions on ITVs website, it didn't look too promising. Heikki Kovalainen didn't look too comformable either, but lets hope the
team can find the sweet spot during qualifying.
Online parcel delivery success is down to investment in a bespoke software solution ...
October 30th, 2008
Posted by Charlie Collins
There was an interesting article in the Business Section of The Daily Telegraph yesterday; the article was talking about
the success of parcel2go.com, the UK's first
internet parcel delivery service, which was founded in April 2000. The business is hugely successful and anticipates a
turnover of £ 10m in 2009/10. What caught my eye was the fact that the business had invested in a
bespoke customer data management software package in
2003 (which together with an advertising campaign on Google and eBay) and accredited much of its success to this.
Ayrmer Software has developed a number of bespoke systems
for businesses across the UK and has seen similar levels of Return on Investment (RoI) for businesses that understand the advantages
of using customised solutions that match the Unique Selling Point (USP) or specific business processes, providing a competitive
edge!
I am often asked about packaged vs bespoke solutions; when should businesses opt for bespoke solutions? There are two questions
businesses need to ask themselves:-
- What is the total cost of ownership?
People often don't consider the costs associated with software; licensing costs as the business grows, cost of upgrades
forced upon the business by the vendor, maintenance costs, training, business continuity, hardware and associated infrastructure
costs. I was talking to a network colleague yesterday and he said businesses are scared of bespoke systems because once the
business has committed to a system the client can often find themselves hooked in to a specific supply. Although I would agree
some software companies do this, most relie on building a long term relationship and don't, whereas packages solutions
don't care about an individual client as it's a number game. Ayrmer Software write
all their systems in open source, which in turn allows businesses to seek alternative suppliers, if they feel they aren't
getting value for money.
- Can you afford to compromise?
For some businesses a packaged solution will fit their business, especially where the software has being developed for a specific
purpose or sector. I don't believe in reinventing the wheel, so core systems like accounts packages should definitely be packaged
as there are benefits that far out weigh going bespoke; accounts packages are kept up to date with new legislation and regulations
from HMRC.
However this isn't always the case! Businesses typically use a tiny proportion of a systems functionality and while this might seem
unimportant it can lead to increased training costs and inefficiencies within the business.
Some businesses need bespoke systems because the benefits out weigh using packaged solutions. I spoke to a potential client this summer that
runs a successful training company, offering courses for the Microsoft Office Suite. She is currently using a variety of
free / lost cost solutions which work, but take time and create inefficiencies within the business. Whilst this will work for a while
there will come a time where the business simply cannot afford to waste time. Start-ups are often "time rich, cash poor"; the tipping point is
when the business becomes "time poor" and can no longer carry these inefficiencies; this is when a business management system can really help.
Another business we are working with was forced to use a packaged solution by one of the clients; although they found the software useful it didn't quite
match their needs. When they approached the software house and asked if they would consider customising it, the company said and big fat NO, leaving
them stranded with a system that didn't work for them.
I will be doing a series of seminars in the spring about the subject and will post details nearer the time, but in the meantime here are some
articles I have found during researching the seminars, which you might find interesting.
bespoke vs off-the-shelf
the true cost of business software
... and a slightly off centre article about open source vs. proprietary.
HM Revenue and Customs ...
October 28th, 2008
Posted by Charlie Collins
I have recently signed up to the HMRC VAT online system having used the PAYE for Employers for a
couple of years. When I initially used the PAYE for Employers online I hit a few teething problems
and anyone that has left their end of year returns till the last moment will know that the government
aren't very good at ensuring their systems work well during high demand periods. As a result I have
changed the way I use these tools avoiding leaving PAYE and tax returns to the last minute.
So I thought I was safe signing up for the VAT online service! This has being an unmitigated disaster from
start to ... well, haven't got to the finish yet! Initially hit an error "AGENT_NOT_AUTHORISED" and contacted
the HMRC Online Services Helpdesk and they said "clear you browser cache"; like I hadn't already thought of
that and took them over a week to respond! So, I cleared my cache (again) and then attempted to log on again
but hit an unhandled error saying the site was down; tried again forty eight hours later and got a handled error
saying the site was temporarily down whilst essential site maintenance was being carried out; tried again after
another twenty four hours and got a new error, "system is unavailable, please try again later"!
So this has now being going on since the 9th October and still counting! So will I get penalised for
their incompatence, from experience I would say yes! A couple of years ago I almost ended up in court, dispite the
fact that I had paid my PAYE contributions on time; but would HMRC accept proof of payment using there own reference
numbers and supporting bank statements, NO! It was only when I went into the HMRC offices and complained bitterly that they
called off the pet rockwhilers and unofficially admitted they could organise a piss up in a brewery!
A business colleague of mine is currently going through similar torment! When will the government sort out their systems
and start helping small businesses or is this too much to ask for?
What frustrates me more than anything thou, is that as a business (Ayrmer Software) we
are measured on how we respond to our clients needs; I know if a client had a problem and we took three weeks to respond,
we wouldn't survive and to be honest, we wouldn't deserve to survive!
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