Develop Daly » Microsoft

We Are Microsoft 2009

Patrick Daly — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:43:37 +0000

Last year was the first annual We Are Microsoft charity event. I was able to be a part of the start of a great organization that seeks to develop websites and applications for non-profits in the matter of one weekend. Basically the weekend requires a lot of planning on the part of the event coordinators and the coders/designers just show up on Friday and begin work with the goal to finish by Sunday afternoon.

The charity I’ll be working with is the Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas. View a list of all of the charities involved.

It’s no easy feat, but it’s amazing what can be accomplished when you have a deadline and the motivation to help out those who spend their whole lives helping others.

The only downside for me is that I’m not a Microsoft enthusiast. But, in the end, I’m a designer for the weekend and it really matters to the developers and there are some really talented developers that can utilize Microsoft programming and products to accomplish what it is these charities need.

It would be awesome if there was another event in Dallas with the same goal, but non-Microsoft focused. I’m challenging YOU to start that up. Thank you.

Microsoft's Failure at Owning Their Keywords

Patrick Daly — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:07:07 +0000

TechCrunch posted earlier today on the irony of Apple owning the first two results for the Google search “i’m a pc”.

This is a lesson to be learned. Own your own brand, your products, and even those of your competitors in the search engines.

Microsoft could have easily created a site dedicated to the idea of “I’m a PC” and used it to counter the advertising of Apple. Unfortunately, they’re just now getting started in their fight back and are struggling to capture the awe of the viewers.

Office Ultimate for $60!!! Expires tomorrow!

Patrick Daly — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:53:09 +0000

So Microsoft, in their desperation to distribute their new software, is selling Office Ultimate 2007 for $59.95. The only requirement is that you have an .edu email address. It retails for $680! Crazy.

You can pay $13 extra get a DVD mailed to you, $6 extra to have 2 year access to download as many times as you want, or just pay the $59.95 for the immediate download. There is NO catch.

Buy Office Ultimate 2007 for $59.95.

We Are Microsoft

Patrick Daly — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:23:51 +0000

I’m setting up with my team right now at the We Are Microsoft Charity Coding event. Basically, a bunch of volunteers are here building websites and applications for non-profits in the course of one weekend. At the end, we’ll be judged and winners will be chosen. Better yet, 15 non-profits will have greatly benefited from the efforts of so many volunteers.

My particular organization is North Dallas Shared Ministries. We’re redeveloping an intranet application that powers their medical record keeping. I’m excited to get rolling!

Monthly Budget Template for Google Docs

Patrick Daly — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 03:23:24 +0000

With Microsoft Money, Quicken, Mint, Wesabe, Yodlee, Geezeo and many other personal finance applications on the market now its hard to see much need for a hand-made spreadsheet to manage your budget. However…

The problem: Budgeting is second-rate on everyone of the above mentioned services. Sure, they’ll tell you where you’ve spent your money, but they still aren’t really helping us with future planning. Don’t you want to project how much money you will have, rather than how much you don’t have?

The solution: Use a simple monthly budget template that does all the work for you and have your annual budget done in minutes. Period.