I'm writing this from a new MacBook Pro! I never thought I'd work on a Mac...

It all started when the company I was working for lost investor funding. Thanks to the sour economy, my contract was not renewed and I was out of a job for about a week. No problem, though, had plenty of means to continue onward and upward.

So being out of a job for a week gave me a chance to, first, find a new one and, second, learn a little Flex. I built a simple online signature for one of my clients so that persons applying for jobs can sign their name using their mouse. It's a little awkward (signing your name with a mouse), but it works and they can use it to streamline the employment application process. You can check it out here.

Then I called a former boss to get a reference. Instead of a reference he wanted me to work for him as a General Manager of his new company STEDI, LLC. They are a new spinout from Utah State University specializing in substitute teacher training for school districts all over the country. I'm quite excited and am looking forward to the challenge! Especially learning ASP.NET. But I told them they would have to learn Flex and ColdFusion.

That's where this new MacBook Pro comes in. STEDI is a Mac shop (except for the one programmer that uses .NET) and while I had a choice to get a Mac or PC, you can thank my friends at the USU PAD Team for finally convincing me to get a Mac!

Now, how do I install programs on a Mac? I'll figure it out after I take my kids out to get stuffed with candy.

I love a new challenge and my new job is just that. I'm very comfortable with ColdFusion and consider myself an advanced CF developer, although my advanced certification happened in 2004. While I've done plenty of it, I'm not so well versed in AJAX, script.aculo.us, RIA, etc., which is what my new job does a lot of.

Its out of my comfort zone, but that's what makes it cool.

I recently attended the Utah Economic Summit in Salt Lake City. In my opinion, this is one of the best economic conferences available for entrpreneurs looking to expand their knowledge about how to further their company. Some of my impressions:

Product Development Coordination

During the first breakout, I attended the Websites and Branding session where one point they emphasized was the coordination of product development, marketing and sales. Marketing of new products occur long-before the product has finished development. Sometimes sales also happens early (similar to building and selling jet airplanes). The important part is that coordintation between all three elements will assist in a successful product release.

Governor Huntsman's Lunch Address

I'll be the first to admit that I like Governor Huntsman. He is a good politician (if that phrase is possible, Governor Hunstman makes it so). His address focused on Utah's positive economic stability. Utah is a good place to do business and many large companies are moving to or new companies are starting in Utah.

Social Networks

The new hipe is social networking and interacting with those social networks. New applications and web programs are being developed all of the time to take advantage of that vast marketplace.

Allow Employees to "Do What They Want"

OK. That statement needs an explanation. I found out that some software development shops allow their engineers to work on their own projects for a certain percentage of their time. For example, Google requires their engineers to spend 20% of their time working on their own projects. Most of the products Google offers were developed by their engineers on their own time. I think that is a really good idea.

Employees as Users

As I mentioned in my blog post Implementing An Unbiased Approach to Software Development there is a disparate usability issue between programmers of a system and users of a system. Requiring (or suggesting) that employees use the systems they develop will actually harmonize what programmers build and what users need. Frankly, an obvious solution to a common problem.

Home Grown Products

The final breakout session I attended focused on Utah grown products. It was interesting to learn the stories of successful entrprepreneurs and how they started. In the end I left the session with a more determined sense of customer service, hard work, and supporting local businesses.

Overall, the conference was a huge success and I look forward to attending next year.