JayMcCormack.com

Those who know me know that I have to have a new toy to play with most of the time, and right now it’s my new Microsoft mouse.

I bought this mouse 2 weeks ago and have now had the opportunity to have a good play with it.  First off, I love the fact that it is Bluetooth.  I’m really starting to rely on this more and more now as a connection medium for devices and get annoyed when it doesn’t work (which is rare).  I have Bluetooth built into my dell notebook computer and so this mouse is great, no wires, no plug in USB adapters, you just turn it on and start using it. I exclusively hook my phone into my notebook using Bluetooth also.

The second thing I like about this is oddly enough the power switch.  I have had a Microsoft wireless notebook mouse in the past and it’s power switch was controlled by the USB adapter that you fitted in underneath it.  The problem though is that the little switch that the adapter pushes in gets worn out and for the last 3 months or so have been going through batteries with that old mouse as it was typically always on, regardless of the power saving device.  This new one however has as actual power switch on the bottom, nice.

I think the other major feature I like about this mouse is the size.  I’ve grown to really like small mice, I have a Logitech mouse on my desk at home also but my hand gets tired due to the size of the mouse.

This new mouse has a couple of extra buttons which I will probably never really use, however it does a have a cool ‘presenter’ mode.  What this does is disable the left and right mouse buttons and allows you to turn the mouse over and use the buttons on the underside.   There is a forward and back button, an increase and decrease volume button and a button to blank out the screen.  These all work well in PowerPoint as you would expect.  I exclusively use PowerPoint for presentation work so no problems there.

Finally it also has a laser pointer.  I actually bought the mouse the expectation that I would never actually use the laser pointer, it’s a little 1983 isn’t it?  However last week at a technical meeting I used the pointer to highlight different parts of an architecture diagram, so you never know it might just come in handy.

All in all, happy.  Plus I bought it in July and at the time they had a cash back offer of $30.  It’s a little pricey for a mouse, but I probably only buy one about every 2 years or so, so it’s worth the investment for something you’ll like.

Currently Listenning To: Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion by PoLiNi_46 - 10 - Happy Ending

• Leave a comment... (0)

There seems to be a great debate right now on the sphere around whether the iPhone will be a business phone or not.  I have an iMate JasJam, it runs Windows Mobile 5 and has all my contacts and calendars as well as an thin exchange client.

I don’t see these sort of applications on the iPhone, in fact this article and video report to show some of the business capabilities of the phone, but i struggle to recall the last time i had to zoom into a photo or see the cover art to a sinatra album during a business meeting.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great device and I want one.  But not for work!

On my current phone I can schedule a meeting with a colleague or organise emails into different folders and then synch that back up with outlook on my desktop (and subsequently exchange).

The piece I might be missing is the equivalent business tools offered on the Mac environment.  Do they exist?  Is there an exchange style server for the Mac?

• Leave a comment... (0)

So, you’re given 6 minutes to explain your philosophy, your product, the value, the market and your competitive advantage huh?  Give me 3 and I’ll get the message across!

The thing that seems to stand out in these demonstrations is the complete lack of pizzazz!  Explain to me why the founder of a company is the best person to do a demo. And the thing the annoys me the most about these demos is the way that some of the presenters completely disrespect the audience.  Someone last year was quoted as saying “I know you’re really tired but this is really important so pay attention.”  WHAT!

Ok, so i’m very critical, but my job is doing product demonstrations.  Unfortunately some of these people look like this is the first time they have ever seen the product, let alone done a demo.  I know, I know, hundreds of people in the audience etc.  But honestly that should make you thrive, not scare you into doing a bad job.

In my opinion if you are passionate about your product and believe that it will actually help the people who choose to buy it then your demo is filled with emotion and interest.  If your intention however is to really ’sell hard’ then you might just miss the boat.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the purpose of demo is to show emerging products, that’s not lost on me.  I would have expected however that the quality of the demo is up to scratch.

• Leave a comment... (0)