My Windows Mobile History

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Why Windows Mobile? Because it let me do whatever I want and needed.

I have been a portable Windows Device user for sometime.

It start with my Compaq iPAQ pad 3600. It was running WM2003. I got it mainly for TomTom. It was year 2003 when SatNav is still a luxury. I bought a GPS jacket for my iPAQ and installed TomTom 2.

Then I moved on to a better iPAQ H5550 with fingerprint scanner, running WM2003 with TomTom3 and bluetooth GPS

Then I crashed it, while trying to update the ROM.

I purchased an O2 XDA Atom while I was in Hong Kong.

This was my first Windows Mobile (a phone as well as a PDA), it was running WM5. Now I can carry one gadget less with me. It was my phone, my PDA, my TomTom.

Next I upgraded myself to truly one of the great Windows Mobile.

The HTC Kaiser, with full qwerty keyboard and a tilting screen. It was running WM6 (later WM6.1) with 3G connectivity. It was great for my work, while I was on site, I can connect to 3G broadband. and was still my TomTom (now version 6).

Now I am using a Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 Windows Mobile. It is more stylish and still has the qwerty keyboard. The screen resolution is brilliant, can watch decent video on it. But it is more like a phone, compare to iPhonce, it can do much more. It is as powerful as a computer. It is still my TomTom (now version 7)

It is my phone, my camera, my emailer, my web browser, my 3G modem, my TomTom, my music and video player, my calendar, my contact book, my Twitter tool. It is no match for the iPhone or Blackberry or Android

Will do a proper review on it later.

Checkout Thinking

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We make decisions all day everyday, even at the supermarket.

I want to pick the decision about which checkout queue you should join.

Operator is a factor. Is he or she young, old, male or female? I would prefer someone young quiet and just efficient. Some of them are too talkative and SLOW the process down.

Number of people in the queue, obviously you want to join a shorter queue. The actual transaction takes the longest, so number of people in the queue equal number of transactions.

But actually is the product sum of the number of people and number of items. Because there might be one people in the queue but he/she has got a big trolley full. This queue will be considerable slower than One queue of 3 people with 3 baskets full. But this rule doesn’t work if  there are 10 people in the queue with just 5 items each compared with 1 people with 50 items. This is because 10 credit card transactions will probably take considerably longer. So there is an optimum here.

Another one is the estimated packing speed of the people in front of you.

So

Supermarket Checkout Queue time = f (Operator Efficiency, Number of People(transactions) in Queue, Number of Items per person in Queue, Packing speed per person in Queue)

One interesting thing is while you have joined a queue, do you then think the next queue is always quicker?

The thinking process here demonstrates “Intelligence Resource Methodology”. It is about breaking down a  problem into multiple of smaller factors. Highlighting the critical factor and making the best decision with the information (intelligence)

Simon

The one Gooner Reason

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When I was a kid, there was a program in Hong Kong called

“March to Wembley”

It shows FA cup games. Without any knowledge of football, you pick a team to support. This is normally by the colour of the kit they worn.

It is as simply as either Red or Blue. I follow the Arsenal is also relating to a piece of clothing too.

Not until I came over, it has became apparent amongst my boarding school room mates, I need to support a team (not picking a team by their kit). They suggested it that I pick a name out of the hat, which I refused and thought it was too random. What if I get Tottenham Hot Shit!

The school let us out on Wednesday and Saturday to go “Down Town”. That is the term, because my school is on the top of the hill. (When you are in the sixth form, you are also allow out, Friday and Saturday night to the pub!) I normal wondered in Sport shops, looking at cool surfing T-shirts. This sport shop I used to go, called Tony Pryce. They have a giant billboard with Ian Wright sporting the nike/arsenal kit. I have always felt it look great and he was and still is cool. Ian Wright Wright Wright

My cousin at the time, ran a Chinese Takeaway in Aldershot. He use to sent stuff down to me in Cornwall. Things like Chinese snacks, food etc.

One time, he went to a Nike Store and brought me a coat.. It was an Arsenal training coat. I have still got it at home in Hong Kong. So that was it, my first Arsenal merchandise and then I became a gooner.

Never standing still and Never giving in

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It is very difficult for me to explain my tendency to hide away from thing.

Deep down I am a very shy person and I tend to shy away from everything. Sometime I walk away and sometime I just hide.

I have been like to for most of my life.

At time, I do make impulsive decisions to counteract my shyness. But this takes alot of energy. Most of the time, I just think too much.

I do hate myself sometime for missing out, “Standing Still”. But you never able to time travel and re-live your life. The moment you are standing still is the moment you have just lost.

For me, I never wanted to be stood still. I search for improvement, upgrade the next level, whatever. This is essentially what we human does, right?

I have enough of standing still and I have made a promise to myself I will change from now on. Help me if you can!

The other side of me, is a grafter. I work and work, in fact never stop working to achieve what I want. However low or down I am, I pull myself together. I have never give in and will never give in. I can’t explain this either.

It is something in me that will never give up. Everyone needs something to recharge themselves. For me it is in the shower. There is something magical happens when I am in the shower. I think straight, I solve problems, I see the truth, I understand, I realise, I figure out.

It is funny that sometime to go forward you have to be standing still!

ps many of my blog entries have no real intentions or meaning, it is just a download of what I am thinking right now. I only hope to inspire or initiate your thought process.

Simon