April Fool: Sad Day in Dynamics GP (Great Plains) Community
Hi everyone,
It is a sad day today. I have been thinking about this day for a long time and have been dreading writing this blog post.
As many of you know I have been involved with the Great Plains world since 1994 and Dynamics v2.0. The company I was with at the time, Sequel Technology, actually looked at version 1.0, but decided not to get involved with the initial release. I learnt Dexterity v2.04 in Melbourne, Australia when Kevin Kidder made his first international trip and conducted the first Dexterity Fundamentals class outside of Fargo (quite a long way outside).
I spent a total of five years as a Director of Sequel Technology, a time which includes highlights as presenting Cross Dictionary Dexterity Development techniques at the 1998 Great Plains World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC), and winning the 1997 Great Plains Technical Innovation Award for Named Printers (which was later sold to Great Plains and is now part of core code).
In 1999, I made a very hard decision to leave Sequel Technology and created my own business, Winthrop Dexterity Consultants. I decided to focus on development of products and custom development and to no longer be directly involved with sales and implementation. My concerns were unfounded as the business was a great success, with achievements such as developing most of the GST (Goods and Services Tax) implementation for Australia while on contract to Great Plains Australia, and developing the Omni Tools and Omni Price products, which were later sold (Omni Security and Omni Field Security to Microsoft and the rest of the modules a few years later to Rockton Software).
In 2001, in conjunction with the sale of what became Advanced Security and Field Level Security, I joined Microsoft. Initially, I continued to maintain the Advanced Security, Field Level Security and Business Activity Statement (Australian GST) code, but these were later handed over to dedicated development teams. My role in Microsoft has shifted from a development focus, to a consulting focus and now to a support focus. All the time, I have continued to leverage my development background to provide better results for the teams I have worked with. This can be seen with the "pet projects" I have been involved in such as the Developing for Dynamics GP blog, Menus for Visual Studio Tools and the Support Debugging Tool.
I have really enjoyed my time in the Dynamics GP (Great Plains) community and find today a very sad occasion.
So, with great trepidation, I must announce that I still have no plans to move to Fargo, it's just too cold in Winter, floods in the Spring, is hot and humid in the Summer with giant mosquitoes and has Fall instead of Autumn. I think I will just stay in Perth and keep doing my job.
David
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Comments
Anonymous
March 31, 2010
The comment has been removedAnonymous
March 31, 2010
You had me for minute or two, then remembered you're a few hours ahead of us here in the states!Anonymous
March 31, 2010
Glad to here you're staying in Perth. With a bit more encouragement perhaps Fargo will relocate to Perth?Anonymous
March 31, 2010
Good one mate... You definitely created an interest in the reader's mind... :) Created a curiosity... :) :) :)Anonymous
March 31, 2010
David, on behalf of the Microsoft Dynamics Community Team, thank you for your dedication, expertise, and assistance with the Microsoft Dynamics Community. Best of luck in whatever it is you choose to do. Hopefully it will be somewhere working with Microsoft Dynamics, so we can continue to work with you in the Dynamics Community. Keep in Touch ~ ShaneAnonymous
March 31, 2010
David, I am sad to hear that you are leaving Microsoft. You have been a key person in the success of Microsoft Dynamics GP Community. Your presence will be greatly missed and I think a lot of people will attest to that. I hope you still find time in your day to visit the community site. Keep in touch!Anonymous
March 31, 2010
HA! It’s still March 31st here in Fargo so as I was reading this post I was growing more and more nervous about where you were headed with this!! I should have known better. :) Great post David…it’s entries like this that keep your loyal audience asking for more! Andy WestbyAnonymous
March 31, 2010
HI every body. This site is helpful for me.Anonymous
March 31, 2010
thanks for keeping us awake! ;-) MattAnonymous
March 31, 2010
This looks like an April Fools Joke, take care David.Anonymous
March 31, 2010
The comment has been removedAnonymous
March 31, 2010
You got the mosquito part right - giant, persistent, mutant man-eating pests that will not rest until they've dined on human essentialsAnonymous
March 31, 2010
David, I am going to really miss working with you and your humor. I was really looking foward to seeing you in Atlanta and having some fun. It is truely a sad day today.Anonymous
March 31, 2010
You almost gave me a heart attack, I thought you were leaving Microsoft! Guess you fooled me. Please keep on working in Perth, I guess I'll have to do without you in Fargo. Pam MisialekAnonymous
March 31, 2010
David, When I read the first lines in your post, I been scared! Losing someone like you is a nightmare to the Dynamics community, but finalizing the reading of your post and finding it under Fun category especially in April 1st and your history with posts in such events made me laugh allot!!! I have to admit, it was a great trick!Anonymous
March 31, 2010
That's it?! I've been waiting all year for your April Fools post. I imagine it would be difficult to top last year's.Anonymous
March 31, 2010
OK David, Trying to do the April Fools again. At least you did not say you were leaving GP. I was waiting for that :) How about telling everyone about the new Report Writer conversion wizard. LeslieAnonymous
April 01, 2010
Woah, David, you had me there for a bit! Looking forward to Convergence.