Innovation through Automation - As Americans begin to use self service kiosks more and more one might wonder, "What's going to happen to the folks who used to do those jobs? Unemployment will get worse. Right?" The answer is, "not necessarily." MacDonald's added self service stations to some of their stores.  The results?  People ordered faster and tended to order more food than they would before, causing the need to hire more workers.

The Homeless Hacker - You would think that one of the most effective and clever hackers in the world today would be an expert in computer languages like C++ and Java.  Not so! Meet Adrian Lamo. He didn't even graduate from high school.  Yet this odd 23 year old with his eight-year-old Toshiba laptop, has hacked into companies such as the New York Times, Excite@Home and WorldCom.

A Compelling Case for Extreme Programming - At Menlo, we both use and teach Extreme programming to facilitate agile software delivery teams.  Read about how Sabre Airline Solutions have dramatically improved quality by switching to extreme programming.

Mind-to-Mind Communication - The dream of mind-to-mind communication and the desire to transcend one's own consciousness is as old as language itself. And it's closer to reality than you think. How might it work? Create an implantable cell phone. Then tap into the brain's language centers, specifically the part of the motor cortex responsible for controlling the throat and mouth. With such a system in place muscular movement wouldn't be required at all to generate a neural signal. Instead, sheer thought alone would produce the desired language.

Touchy-feely Toasters - Menlo stresses the importance of user-focused design.  Donald Norman's 1988 book The Design of Everyday Things centered on this topic.  Now the much anticipated sequel is out called Emotional Design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things.  In it Norman argues that we should judge successful design not just in terms of how it functions but also in terms of the emotions it evokes in us.  Yet Martyn Perks suggests that Norman's new call for emotionalism actually negates much of his earlier work

Eliminating Waste in Software Development Teams - This free seven part course from Menlo is not marketing fluff. It is heavy on content and will make you think. A lesson will be e-mailed to you each day for seven days. The material is presented as multiple lessons, instead of just a single white paper, because we really want you to seriously consider what is covered each day. These lessons are essential to understanding why agile development techniques work so effectively. Sign up for it here.

Future of Software - Clay Shirky, a Professor at NYU, discusses how his students have shed light on the future of software development.  He sees a new age of personalized software that he calls "situated software" where the main focus will be the fit between the software and its group of users.  Concepts like scalability, generality or overall completeness will no longer be unqualified virtues in software design.

It's Getting Warmer! - It's a good time to join us for Menlo Innovations' new "Taste of Success." Focused on High-Tech Anthropology®, the goal of this 90-minute session is to help folks understand how to create great software. The next session will be hosted on Thursday, May 27 or June 24 at Menlo Innovations in Ann Arbor. Please register in advance to reserve a seat.

BASIC hits 40 - "Forty years ago, at 4 a.m. on May 1, 1964, two Dartmouth College professors -- with the help of two of their undergraduate students -- made computing history."  The BASIC computer language was born. One of the co-inventors, Thomas Kurtz, reflects on what it was like. 

Outsourcing and The Devaluation of Intellectual Property -  The fact that American companies have embraced the concept of moving IT jobs offshore in an effort to save money is not new.  But, Kenneth Brown argues that many of these companies have unwisely pursued business partnerships with countries that are home to widespread intellectual property (IP) theft.  While some might think that IP theft abroad does not have a significant impact on our economy, the math provides the grim truth.

Hurry! Sign up for a Menlo Class.  - The Menlo May and June class schedule is out.  Spring is a great time to buckle down and learn how to really apply those use cases, manage those projects, and deliver systems successfully! 

Need a Speaker for an Upcoming Event? - We love public speaking (yes, we really do!) and are happy to deliver inspiring messages focused on business success with information technology. Call us at (734) 665-1847 to schedule your next event. Look here for a list of some of the topics that we’ve spoken about in the past.