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Don't Assume

  • Artigo

I spent the good portion of today back in Seattle at the global sales and marketing meeting. Today I helped out by demoing a Flight Sim mission but the day did not start out very smoothly. Yesterday, in order to be on stage for the FSX demo (the demo machine was backstage), the tech crew hooked my Xbox 360 controller to a USB extender. These are really neat (but apparently expensive) gadgets that push USB signals over an Ethenet network. Basically there are two doggle-like thingies with RJ45 connectors. Your device connects to one and your computer to other then each doggle connects to your local network. Amazingly this thing just worked and I was able to fly the demo even though the machine it was running on was 30 feet away. (BTW, these are same things we used at CES.)

Well, when I returned this morning I discovered that the USB extenders had left the building, along with the rest of the gear from yesterday's event. This left me with a controller but nothing to connect it to. Fortunately I was only the "demo monkey" so my presence on stage was optional. After a quick huddle with the presenter, our product manager, Jerret, we decided that I would fly the mission from backstage. The audience didn't care and I was able to hear them "ooh" and "aah", though the setup did lend a bit of Wizard of Oz, "man behind the curtain" atmosphere to the presentation. The morale of the story is a classic: if you're depending on something being there, don't assume it will and make sure, just in case.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    February 15, 2006
    so, where did the extender go?
  • Anonymous
    February 15, 2006
    Oh, I feel for you. In spite of tons of experience there were many times in my career when I stood on a podium and the presentation wouldn't display, the notebook would not attach to the beamer, a cable would not connect......

    ..... no matter how prepared you are.. there is often something that manages to go wrong anyhow. :-)

    Presenting makes great improvisors !!! ;-)
  • Anonymous
    February 16, 2006
    Sounds like an episode from Trump's The Apprentice.
  • Anonymous
    February 16, 2006
    v-henlee: sorry if that wasn't clear. It was part of the kit used by the Windows team. Since their obligations were done they packed it all up and took back to campus.
  • Anonymous
    February 16, 2006
    hah, I was kiding, but next time you might need to buy one :D