I had known two of the founders of the Company since 1992.
In 1999, I was working for the Corporation, in Vancouver, to develop CAATS, the Canadian Automated Air Traffic System. I was starting to become uncomfortable with the Corporation. So, I asked the Company if I could work for them. Their response was positive.
My first idea was to leave the Corporation, but work for them as a self-employed consultant as well as work part-time for the Company. The Corporation did not agree. Someone suggested to the management of the Corporation that I should be allowed to work part-time. So, this is what I did initially.
I was not sure that working at home through the Internet for the Company was a a good fit for me. Working part time, I would learn if it was the case.
So I started to work 10 hours per week for the Company and 30 hours for the Corporation. And I saw that I could work alone. The main question had been: will I get up in the morning when I can do it whenever I want? Fortunately, I am a morning guy and the answer to this question was a definitive Yes.
Several months later, I started working 20 hours for the Corporation and 20 hours for the Company. And I was comforted in my belief that I could work easily for the Company.
Finally, in September 2001, I resigned completely from the Corporation and started to work full time for the Company. I have never regretted it since.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
My father
Like my mother and myself, my father was the third child of a very large family.
He was an intellectual. He had a bachelor of philosophy. He missed, twice if I remember correctly, an exam to become a high school teacher of philosophy. In retrospect, it was a blessing in disguise, because he would not have been happy as a teacher.
Instead, he became a librarian at the "Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France" in Paris, a large research library, where he spent all his working life. He wrote several books of philosophy that were not successful. During his retirement, he worked as a volunteer for the "Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française".
He had met my mother and her brothers before WWII in the city of Le Chesnay, near Versailles. Their marriage was somewhat arranged, but they loved each other and they both loved us, their children.
From 1947 to 1957, they lived in Rambouillet, 50 kms from Paris, in a three level house. My father took the train every weekday morning and returned at night.
In 1957, we were already seven children, and we moved to Saint-Ouen, a suburb of Paris, in a big house. Once all their children had moved out, in 1983, my parents bought an apartment 20 kms south of Paris.
In 1996, one of my sisters died of breast cancer.My father never really recovered from his loss. He died two years later, at the age of 83, from his third heart attack.
My father and myself had our differences over the years, but we had made peace before his death.
He was an interesting guy and he was lucky to have my mother at his side.
He was an intellectual. He had a bachelor of philosophy. He missed, twice if I remember correctly, an exam to become a high school teacher of philosophy. In retrospect, it was a blessing in disguise, because he would not have been happy as a teacher.
Instead, he became a librarian at the "Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France" in Paris, a large research library, where he spent all his working life. He wrote several books of philosophy that were not successful. During his retirement, he worked as a volunteer for the "Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française".
He had met my mother and her brothers before WWII in the city of Le Chesnay, near Versailles. Their marriage was somewhat arranged, but they loved each other and they both loved us, their children.
From 1947 to 1957, they lived in Rambouillet, 50 kms from Paris, in a three level house. My father took the train every weekday morning and returned at night.
In 1957, we were already seven children, and we moved to Saint-Ouen, a suburb of Paris, in a big house. Once all their children had moved out, in 1983, my parents bought an apartment 20 kms south of Paris.
In 1996, one of my sisters died of breast cancer.My father never really recovered from his loss. He died two years later, at the age of 83, from his third heart attack.
My father and myself had our differences over the years, but we had made peace before his death.
He was an interesting guy and he was lucky to have my mother at his side.
Friday, January 28, 2011
La Poste, Canada Post and USPS
La Poste, the French Post Office, and Canada Post, the Canadian one, do not seem to have major financial problems.
La Poste (a public company owned by the French state) has a reasonably large number of establishments all over the country. La Poste is also a bank (La Banque Postale) so this contributes to its financial success.
In Canada, most postal outlets are in privately owned shops, such as 7-Elevens. There are quite a few of those, so, at least in urban areas, you are never very far from the postal outlet where you get your packages/registered mail when the letter carrier does not find you at home. This contributes to the good level of service of Canada Post.
Incidentally, the mail is not distributed everywhere in Canada. I own a house in an unincorporated area in British Columbia, and there is no mail distribution there, and thus no postal code. To get your mail, you need to have a P.O. box at the near Post Office. The P.O. box is free if this is your main residence and prohibitively expensive if this is a secondary residence.
Here, in Miami-Dade county, the near Post Office is 5 kilometers (3.2 miles) from where I live. To go get a package, you need to take your car and spend the better part of an hour.
Also, in the apartment complex where we live, if a package is too large to fit in your mail box, the letter carrier put it in a bigger box and put the key to this bigger box in your mail box. Except, when there are no bigger box available. Then, you need to go get your package at the Post Office, 5 km away. There is no attempt by the letter carrier to knock on your door to deliver the package.
From what I hear, USPS is in dire straits. I am not really surprised.
La Poste (a public company owned by the French state) has a reasonably large number of establishments all over the country. La Poste is also a bank (La Banque Postale) so this contributes to its financial success.
In Canada, most postal outlets are in privately owned shops, such as 7-Elevens. There are quite a few of those, so, at least in urban areas, you are never very far from the postal outlet where you get your packages/registered mail when the letter carrier does not find you at home. This contributes to the good level of service of Canada Post.
Incidentally, the mail is not distributed everywhere in Canada. I own a house in an unincorporated area in British Columbia, and there is no mail distribution there, and thus no postal code. To get your mail, you need to have a P.O. box at the near Post Office. The P.O. box is free if this is your main residence and prohibitively expensive if this is a secondary residence.
Here, in Miami-Dade county, the near Post Office is 5 kilometers (3.2 miles) from where I live. To go get a package, you need to take your car and spend the better part of an hour.
Also, in the apartment complex where we live, if a package is too large to fit in your mail box, the letter carrier put it in a bigger box and put the key to this bigger box in your mail box. Except, when there are no bigger box available. Then, you need to go get your package at the Post Office, 5 km away. There is no attempt by the letter carrier to knock on your door to deliver the package.
From what I hear, USPS is in dire straits. I am not really surprised.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
No stupid questions
Sometimes my first gut reaction to a question from a customer is: RTFM. But of course I never answer anything like that. We are always pleased with any question from the customers.
When a customer never asks anything from us and never reports any bug, it usually means that they either don't use the software at all or that they use it very little. And such a customer at some point will realize that they are paying for a support contract that has given them no support and that made them more likely to drop the contract the next year.
So, no, there are no stupid question. If a customer is asking a question that we feel he would not ask if he had read the documentation, we patiently answer the question and indicate where in the documentation he would have found the answer by himself.
There are three kinds of reactions to such an answer.
The customer may thank us and we reply that they are welcome.
The customer may apologize for asking such a trivial question and we answer that they should not apologize, because we are happy to answer any question from them; this is what their support contract is for.
Or the customer may indicate that he has read the documentation on the subject, but that he feels that the documentation is ambiguous. Then we enter into a dialogue with the customer to improve the documentation.
At the end, every one wins: the customer has the answer to his question and we have interact with the customer which makes his support contract worthwhile and then more likely to be renew the next year.
And of course we really think that there are no stupid questions, because we all have been in the same position as the customer and also asked some questions that in retrospect seemed stupid to ourselves.
When a customer never asks anything from us and never reports any bug, it usually means that they either don't use the software at all or that they use it very little. And such a customer at some point will realize that they are paying for a support contract that has given them no support and that made them more likely to drop the contract the next year.
So, no, there are no stupid question. If a customer is asking a question that we feel he would not ask if he had read the documentation, we patiently answer the question and indicate where in the documentation he would have found the answer by himself.
There are three kinds of reactions to such an answer.
The customer may thank us and we reply that they are welcome.
The customer may apologize for asking such a trivial question and we answer that they should not apologize, because we are happy to answer any question from them; this is what their support contract is for.
Or the customer may indicate that he has read the documentation on the subject, but that he feels that the documentation is ambiguous. Then we enter into a dialogue with the customer to improve the documentation.
At the end, every one wins: the customer has the answer to his question and we have interact with the customer which makes his support contract worthwhile and then more likely to be renew the next year.
And of course we really think that there are no stupid questions, because we all have been in the same position as the customer and also asked some questions that in retrospect seemed stupid to ourselves.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Hunting bugs
I love bugs.
What I really mean is that I love hunting for bugs. The harder it is to find a bug, the more satisfying it is to hunt for it.
As is well known, any software that is not too simple contains bugs. So, the software produced by the Company does contain bugs. It is not possible to test for all imaginable configurations.
Of course, some of our customers find some of the bugs and they report them to us.
Some of these bugs, when fully described by the customer, are very easy to correct. And there has been a few cases when we reply to the customer in less than 15 minutes that indeed there is a bug and it has now been corrected. Usually the customer is pleasantly surprised.
Other bugs may be difficult to find. Of course, it is easier when we are able to reproduce the problem ourselves, specially when the procedure to reproduce it works every time. But even when we have a reproducer, it may take us a long time to find the real problem.
There are cases when the customer cannot provide us with a reproducer. Then, we have to ask him to do various experiments until we are able to find the circumstances of the bug and to create a reproducer ourselves.
In any case, I love to look for hard to find bugs.
Personally, I believe that hunting is more interesting that killing, I mean correcting, the bug.
What I really mean is that I love hunting for bugs. The harder it is to find a bug, the more satisfying it is to hunt for it.
As is well known, any software that is not too simple contains bugs. So, the software produced by the Company does contain bugs. It is not possible to test for all imaginable configurations.
Of course, some of our customers find some of the bugs and they report them to us.
Some of these bugs, when fully described by the customer, are very easy to correct. And there has been a few cases when we reply to the customer in less than 15 minutes that indeed there is a bug and it has now been corrected. Usually the customer is pleasantly surprised.
Other bugs may be difficult to find. Of course, it is easier when we are able to reproduce the problem ourselves, specially when the procedure to reproduce it works every time. But even when we have a reproducer, it may take us a long time to find the real problem.
There are cases when the customer cannot provide us with a reproducer. Then, we have to ask him to do various experiments until we are able to find the circumstances of the bug and to create a reproducer ourselves.
In any case, I love to look for hard to find bugs.
Personally, I believe that hunting is more interesting that killing, I mean correcting, the bug.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Different cityscapes
We live in a 400+ apartment complex in an unincorporated neighborhood of Miami-Dade county, called "The Hammocks".
This is a neighborhood that has been built for automobiles, not for pedestrians. You barely see people walking on the sidewalks. I like to walk, when it is not too far (less than one kilometer), but it is not really pleasant because of all the cars that run at forty miles an hour.
The street in front of my office has 5 lanes, but it is not possible to park on the street. So, if you want to walk around, you need to find some place to park first, such as a strip mall.
At night, there is no public lighting. Daisy who works three kilometers from the apartment usually walks to work mornings and evenings. However, if she works late, she does not want to walk in the dark, so she calls me to come get her with the car.
According to Wikipedia, Burnaby, British Columbia (where we lived two years ago) and The Hammocks have the same population densities. But, in Burnaby, you see people walking on the sidewalks continuously. Here, apart from people exercising, there are almost no pedestrians.
Token: TQPVY2BZ6MTX
This is a neighborhood that has been built for automobiles, not for pedestrians. You barely see people walking on the sidewalks. I like to walk, when it is not too far (less than one kilometer), but it is not really pleasant because of all the cars that run at forty miles an hour.
The street in front of my office has 5 lanes, but it is not possible to park on the street. So, if you want to walk around, you need to find some place to park first, such as a strip mall.
At night, there is no public lighting. Daisy who works three kilometers from the apartment usually walks to work mornings and evenings. However, if she works late, she does not want to walk in the dark, so she calls me to come get her with the car.
According to Wikipedia, Burnaby, British Columbia (where we lived two years ago) and The Hammocks have the same population densities. But, in Burnaby, you see people walking on the sidewalks continuously. Here, apart from people exercising, there are almost no pedestrians.
Token: TQPVY2BZ6MTX
Monday, January 24, 2011
Working all over the world
I believe I have one of the best job in the world. A big part of it is to be able to work anywhere, as long as I can connect to the Internet.
As long as I work reasonably long enough, the Company does not really care where I am.
I have been able to make extended trips across North America in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010.
Several years ago, my younger sister spent two years in Beijing with her family and I went to visit her for three weeks. Incidentally, she had more visitors in Beijing in two years that I have had in Vancouver in fifteen years.
I had synchronized my visit with my mother and my eldest brother who traveled from France. During the day, we would visit Beijing and around (including the Great Wall) and at night, I would work. I remember that I was quite productive and that I contributed some delicate piece of software still in use today.
It is hard to find such a job where you have no obligation of location and where you are mostly free to travel.
As long as I work reasonably long enough, the Company does not really care where I am.
I have been able to make extended trips across North America in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010.
Several years ago, my younger sister spent two years in Beijing with her family and I went to visit her for three weeks. Incidentally, she had more visitors in Beijing in two years that I have had in Vancouver in fifteen years.
I had synchronized my visit with my mother and my eldest brother who traveled from France. During the day, we would visit Beijing and around (including the Great Wall) and at night, I would work. I remember that I was quite productive and that I contributed some delicate piece of software still in use today.
It is hard to find such a job where you have no obligation of location and where you are mostly free to travel.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
From Calgary to Miami in December 2010
Traveling from Calgary, Alberta, to Miami, Florida, in eleven days was an amazing experience. We left Calgary under the snow and arrived in Miami in what for us felt like summer.
Our furniture was very compact. Almost every piece was folding or easy to disassemble. Most of it, we had bought at IKEA. We had rented a U-Haul trailer with a capacity of around 5.5 cubic meters. The trailer was completely full and our car, a Nissan Rogue, too.
We made sure that things that would break if frozen were in the car, not in the trailer, and everything was in good shape when we arrived.
We had rented through the phone and the Internet an apartment in Miami-Dade County, but the apartment was not available before December 11th. As we had to leave our apartment in Calgary on November 30th, we had plenty of time, so we did not need to hurry. As we were two drivers, we could have gone in a week.
We stayed in cheap motels/hotels. We realized that every motel near the high ways has free Wireless, even the shitty ones. So, I was able to connect almost every day and work several hours in the evenings.
We visited Mount Rushmore and Wall Drug in South Dakota, the Arch in Saint Louis, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and the Jack Daniel's Distillery in Tennessee.
For people of our ages, it was a little crazy to do this trip of 5,500 km in December, but if you never do some slightly crazy things, you are missing something in life!
Our furniture was very compact. Almost every piece was folding or easy to disassemble. Most of it, we had bought at IKEA. We had rented a U-Haul trailer with a capacity of around 5.5 cubic meters. The trailer was completely full and our car, a Nissan Rogue, too.
We made sure that things that would break if frozen were in the car, not in the trailer, and everything was in good shape when we arrived.
We had rented through the phone and the Internet an apartment in Miami-Dade County, but the apartment was not available before December 11th. As we had to leave our apartment in Calgary on November 30th, we had plenty of time, so we did not need to hurry. As we were two drivers, we could have gone in a week.
We stayed in cheap motels/hotels. We realized that every motel near the high ways has free Wireless, even the shitty ones. So, I was able to connect almost every day and work several hours in the evenings.
We visited Mount Rushmore and Wall Drug in South Dakota, the Arch in Saint Louis, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and the Jack Daniel's Distillery in Tennessee.
For people of our ages, it was a little crazy to do this trip of 5,500 km in December, but if you never do some slightly crazy things, you are missing something in life!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Junk mail in Canada and in the U.S.
In Canada, Canada Post offers as a paid service to distribute junk mail. This is called "Unaddressed Admail". Direct marketers deliver their stuff to the Post Office for some neighborhoods and they are distributed to every household in these neighborhoods.
If you don't want to get this unaddressed or junk mail, you simply have to put a sign "No junk mail" on your mailbox. Canada Post then decrements the number of mail boxes where junk mail is distributed in your neighborhood and the direct marketers then reduce the size of the junk mail to be distributed. This way, less paper is wasted.
In the week after we arrived in Miami, I met my letter carrier and I asked him what I should do so that I don't receive the junk mail. I told him about the "no junk mail" sign in Canada. He indicated to me that if he were not distributing what I call "junk mail", he would not do his job.
Later, I discover that each piece of junk mail is individually addressed to each household with the full address, including the apartment number. No name of course, just "Resident" or "Our neighbor". I then understood that indeed the letter carrier had to distribute the junk mail to everybody, as it is individually addressed. Of course, like most people that would like to not receive junk mail, I put it directly in one of the large garbage cans around the mailboxes in our apartment complex.
I find the Canadian system much better, mostly because it reduces waste.
If you don't want to get this unaddressed or junk mail, you simply have to put a sign "No junk mail" on your mailbox. Canada Post then decrements the number of mail boxes where junk mail is distributed in your neighborhood and the direct marketers then reduce the size of the junk mail to be distributed. This way, less paper is wasted.
In the week after we arrived in Miami, I met my letter carrier and I asked him what I should do so that I don't receive the junk mail. I told him about the "no junk mail" sign in Canada. He indicated to me that if he were not distributing what I call "junk mail", he would not do his job.
Later, I discover that each piece of junk mail is individually addressed to each household with the full address, including the apartment number. No name of course, just "Resident" or "Our neighbor". I then understood that indeed the letter carrier had to distribute the junk mail to everybody, as it is individually addressed. Of course, like most people that would like to not receive junk mail, I put it directly in one of the large garbage cans around the mailboxes in our apartment complex.
I find the Canadian system much better, mostly because it reduces waste.
Friday, January 21, 2011
My ancestors
As I have already said, I was born in France. All my known ancestors were French, born in France.
I know that because my mother is an amateur genealogist and in the 80's she has established our family tree on many generations.
Both my parents had nine siblings.
I never knew my paternal grandmother as she died before I was born.
My paternal grandfather Leonce was an archivist, and he worked all his life at the Archives nationales in Paris. His last job there was the "general inspector", the second in rank, after the director. He had a house in Le Chesnay, near Versailles. He was a heavy smoker and he died, probably from smoking too much, when I was 14 years old.
My maternal grandmother had Parkinson's disease before I knew her. My paternal grandfather Henri became a Navy officer in 1910 by chance, and I may explain later how that happened. He later became an hydrographer and he ended his career in the Navy a three star general officer as the director of the Navy Hydrographic Service, that later became the SHOM. He spent most of his time taking care of my grandmother until she died. He had a house in a sea resort in Brittany where we have spent many summer vacations. He was a very kind person, but when we were young children we were terrified of him. We later realized as teenagers that it was simply a facade. He died at the beginning of the 80's.
I know that because my mother is an amateur genealogist and in the 80's she has established our family tree on many generations.
Both my parents had nine siblings.
I never knew my paternal grandmother as she died before I was born.
My paternal grandfather Leonce was an archivist, and he worked all his life at the Archives nationales in Paris. His last job there was the "general inspector", the second in rank, after the director. He had a house in Le Chesnay, near Versailles. He was a heavy smoker and he died, probably from smoking too much, when I was 14 years old.
My maternal grandmother had Parkinson's disease before I knew her. My paternal grandfather Henri became a Navy officer in 1910 by chance, and I may explain later how that happened. He later became an hydrographer and he ended his career in the Navy a three star general officer as the director of the Navy Hydrographic Service, that later became the SHOM. He spent most of his time taking care of my grandmother until she died. He had a house in a sea resort in Brittany where we have spent many summer vacations. He was a very kind person, but when we were young children we were terrified of him. We later realized as teenagers that it was simply a facade. He died at the beginning of the 80's.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Arguing and reaching consensus
It is often the case that there are differences of opinions between us in the Company, for example to correct a bug or to add a new feature to the software.
We always try to resolve these differences by exchanging arguments and trying to reach a consensus. Everybody's input is welcome.
We don't modify the software until we have reached a consensus that is acceptable to everybody, even if it is reluctantly.
I have often been in a minority of one, but I have accepted the majority consensus. And sometimes the consequences have shown that I was in the right, but more often than not, I was wrong in my opinion.
The opinion of one of our founders does not carry more weight than any other. And there has been multiple cases when one of our founders has been alone against the rest of the Company and have then accepted the consensus.
This is an Open Company in every sense of the term.
We always try to resolve these differences by exchanging arguments and trying to reach a consensus. Everybody's input is welcome.
We don't modify the software until we have reached a consensus that is acceptable to everybody, even if it is reluctantly.
I have often been in a minority of one, but I have accepted the majority consensus. And sometimes the consequences have shown that I was in the right, but more often than not, I was wrong in my opinion.
The opinion of one of our founders does not carry more weight than any other. And there has been multiple cases when one of our founders has been alone against the rest of the Company and have then accepted the consensus.
This is an Open Company in every sense of the term.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Supporting customers through e-mail
When the customers of the Company have a problem or want to ask a question about the software, they either do it through the Company web site or by sending an e-mail to a specific support address. If they send an e-mail, they need to specify their customer ID in the subject line. If they use the web site, an e-mail is automatically send to the support address with the customer ID in the subject line.
The support address is in fact some kind of a mailing list and the e-mail is sent to most of the Company developers. The subject line also has a unique ticket ID. All e-mail exchange with the customer or internal inside the company have the ticket ID in the subject line and are copied to the support address.
The customer receives in return to his initial message an e-mail indicating the ticket ID.
All this is rather standard. Here is something specific to the Company.
Whoever knows better the problem or the question replies to the customer. There is no procedure to decide who needs to reply to the initial message. Of course, if a developer has already received (through the support address) a response to the initial message from a colleague, he will refrains to answer directly to the customer, or he will do it after coordination with the initial responder.
Sometimes, two or even three Company developers answer the initial message. Most of the time, these responses will give similar or complementing answers. If this is not the case, then the different responders will coordinate and the one who has given incorrect information will say so to the customer.
This process ensures that most of the initial messages are answer very quickly. Fast reaction to customer problems or question is one aspect of the Company support that makes it "outstanding".
The support address is in fact some kind of a mailing list and the e-mail is sent to most of the Company developers. The subject line also has a unique ticket ID. All e-mail exchange with the customer or internal inside the company have the ticket ID in the subject line and are copied to the support address.
The customer receives in return to his initial message an e-mail indicating the ticket ID.
All this is rather standard. Here is something specific to the Company.
Whoever knows better the problem or the question replies to the customer. There is no procedure to decide who needs to reply to the initial message. Of course, if a developer has already received (through the support address) a response to the initial message from a colleague, he will refrains to answer directly to the customer, or he will do it after coordination with the initial responder.
Sometimes, two or even three Company developers answer the initial message. Most of the time, these responses will give similar or complementing answers. If this is not the case, then the different responders will coordinate and the one who has given incorrect information will say so to the customer.
This process ensures that most of the initial messages are answer very quickly. Fast reaction to customer problems or question is one aspect of the Company support that makes it "outstanding".
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Gun shot in high school
In France, in my days, high school was called "lycée" and started in
"sixième" (grade 6) and ended in "terminale" (grade 12).
For the two first years (grade 6 & 7), I was in an establishment now called "Lycée Stéphane Mallarmé", and the next five years in "Lycée Honoré de Balzac" in the XVIIth "arrondissement" of Paris.
At Balzac, in "quatrième" (grade 8), I was 13 years old. One day, during recess, I was talking to one of my comrades, whose name I don't remember.
We were alone, and there were nobody near us. This guy told me that he had a gun, and he showed to me a small hand gun that he put back in his pocket. He assured me that he was very careful and that there was no bullet in the chamber.
Suddenly, I heard a loud noise and I saw a hole on the cement we were standing on, some ten centimeters from his right foot. Apparently, he had not been careful enough and he had pressed the trigger. We were fortunate to not having been injured.
We were both scared of what could have happened. Needless to say, he never brought back the gun to school again!
I remember this episode, when I learned that a gun was accidentally shot today in Gardenia High School in California.
"sixième" (grade 6) and ended in "terminale" (grade 12).
For the two first years (grade 6 & 7), I was in an establishment now called "Lycée Stéphane Mallarmé", and the next five years in "Lycée Honoré de Balzac" in the XVIIth "arrondissement" of Paris.
At Balzac, in "quatrième" (grade 8), I was 13 years old. One day, during recess, I was talking to one of my comrades, whose name I don't remember.
We were alone, and there were nobody near us. This guy told me that he had a gun, and he showed to me a small hand gun that he put back in his pocket. He assured me that he was very careful and that there was no bullet in the chamber.
Suddenly, I heard a loud noise and I saw a hole on the cement we were standing on, some ten centimeters from his right foot. Apparently, he had not been careful enough and he had pressed the trigger. We were fortunate to not having been injured.
We were both scared of what could have happened. Needless to say, he never brought back the gun to school again!
I remember this episode, when I learned that a gun was accidentally shot today in Gardenia High School in California.
Software licensed under the GPL
Many people wonder how a company that produces only software under the GPL may be successful.
There are many examples of GPL companies, starting with the Linux companies, such as Red Hat or Suse (now owned by Novell). Other well known examples are JBoss (now owned by Red Hat) and SugarCRM.
The software produced by these companies is licensed under the GPL. This means that the sources must be available and that any body may "fork" a modified version of the software. And there are indeed small or large companies that fork software produced by GPL companies, including the Company.
The GPL companies usually have a community driven version and a Professional or Enterprise version of their software. They make their money by selling support contracts for the Professional version. They can do that, because the software is complex and not easy to maintain and their customers have other things to do than maintain such software. Hard to maintain does not mean hard to use, of course.
The software produced by the Company is used to build other software applications. There is a difference between the Professional version and the Public version. The applications produced with the Public version are automatically licensed under the full GPL, or under a license compatible with the GPL. This is not the case for the Professional version, and the applications do not need to follow the source and distribution requirements of the GPL.
There are many examples of GPL companies, starting with the Linux companies, such as Red Hat or Suse (now owned by Novell). Other well known examples are JBoss (now owned by Red Hat) and SugarCRM.
The software produced by these companies is licensed under the GPL. This means that the sources must be available and that any body may "fork" a modified version of the software. And there are indeed small or large companies that fork software produced by GPL companies, including the Company.
The GPL companies usually have a community driven version and a Professional or Enterprise version of their software. They make their money by selling support contracts for the Professional version. They can do that, because the software is complex and not easy to maintain and their customers have other things to do than maintain such software. Hard to maintain does not mean hard to use, of course.
The software produced by the Company is used to build other software applications. There is a difference between the Professional version and the Public version. The applications produced with the Public version are automatically licensed under the full GPL, or under a license compatible with the GPL. This is not the case for the Professional version, and the applications do not need to follow the source and distribution requirements of the GPL.
Monday, January 17, 2011
A Company that trusts its customers
As the software produced by the Company is free software, there is no checking of any license when the customers use the software.
The cost of an annual support contract depends on the number of users. As there is no way to automatically check how many people are using the software, this number of users is what the customers declare.
The Company trusts its customers to declare the correct amount of users.
Prospective customers that are not sure whether the software will be beneficial to them can get an evaluation at no cost for them, with full support. The standard duration of such an evaluation is 3 months, but it may be extended for qualified reasons.
The Company is only asking the prospects that they send a short report on their evaluations. In most cases, an evaluation will be converted into a support contract.
The support provided by the Company is the same for customers with a support contract and prospects evaluating the software. It is in the best interest of both the Company and the prospects to provide outstanding support, either to have the customer renew his contract or to have the evaluating prospect buying a support contract.
The cost of an annual support contract depends on the number of users. As there is no way to automatically check how many people are using the software, this number of users is what the customers declare.
The Company trusts its customers to declare the correct amount of users.
Prospective customers that are not sure whether the software will be beneficial to them can get an evaluation at no cost for them, with full support. The standard duration of such an evaluation is 3 months, but it may be extended for qualified reasons.
The Company is only asking the prospects that they send a short report on their evaluations. In most cases, an evaluation will be converted into a support contract.
The support provided by the Company is the same for customers with a support contract and prospects evaluating the software. It is in the best interest of both the Company and the prospects to provide outstanding support, either to have the customer renew his contract or to have the evaluating prospect buying a support contract.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Working while traveling across North America
I have made several cross-country trips across North America, and each time I was able to work almost every day. The trick is to always choose a campground or a motel with a Wifi or Ethernet connection to the Internet.
In November 2005, with my eldest brother Philippe, we went south in a 22 foot RV from Vancouver to San Diego and back through Washington state, Oregon, California and Nevada. We visited three of my colleagues from the Company that live in Washington state, Cupertino and San Diego. One month on the road.
In May-June 2007, again with my brother Philippe, we made a two month RV trip of 12,000 kilometers through 6 Canadian provinces and 17 US states. We went through Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City. Then Vermont (a week at the country house of the president of the Company), Boston, New York city, Washington, DC (where we visited my son in Maryland). Then, on our way back, Saint Louis, Kansas City, Rapid City (Mount Rushmore), Billings, Missoula and Spokane. During this trip, a business meeting was organized by one of our commercials with one of our customer in Saint Louis.
We made another trip with Philippe and my companion Daisy in June 2009, in British Columbia and Alberta.
Finally, in the first half of December 2010, with Daisy, we moved from Calgary to Miami, a big difference in climates! We had packed all our furniture in a U-Haul trailer that we towed behind our car for eleven days.
The Company was made aware in advance of all these trips and, as I already said, I was able to work almost every day on the road.
This is one reason why I often say: "I am never on vacation, I am always on vacation".
In November 2005, with my eldest brother Philippe, we went south in a 22 foot RV from Vancouver to San Diego and back through Washington state, Oregon, California and Nevada. We visited three of my colleagues from the Company that live in Washington state, Cupertino and San Diego. One month on the road.
In May-June 2007, again with my brother Philippe, we made a two month RV trip of 12,000 kilometers through 6 Canadian provinces and 17 US states. We went through Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City. Then Vermont (a week at the country house of the president of the Company), Boston, New York city, Washington, DC (where we visited my son in Maryland). Then, on our way back, Saint Louis, Kansas City, Rapid City (Mount Rushmore), Billings, Missoula and Spokane. During this trip, a business meeting was organized by one of our commercials with one of our customer in Saint Louis.
We made another trip with Philippe and my companion Daisy in June 2009, in British Columbia and Alberta.
Finally, in the first half of December 2010, with Daisy, we moved from Calgary to Miami, a big difference in climates! We had packed all our furniture in a U-Haul trailer that we towed behind our car for eleven days.
The Company was made aware in advance of all these trips and, as I already said, I was able to work almost every day on the road.
This is one reason why I often say: "I am never on vacation, I am always on vacation".
Saturday, January 15, 2011
My life (short version)
I was born during the forties (2 months before the end!) in France, the third out of eleven children. My father was a civil servant working in a big library in Paris. My mother (who will be 90 years old in May 2011) was a professional mother.
At 19 years old, I entered the French Naval Academy (Ecole Navale) and I spent 20 years in the French Navy, finishing with the rank of commander. I learned software mostly on my own during my Navy years. I spent 3 years as a Nato exchange officer in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
I met my first wife in Douala, Cameroon, while on vacation in 1973. We got married in 1979, just before going to Halifax. We adopted two Haitian girls and I also became the guardian of a nephew and a niece of her.
In 1988, I left the Navy to work in a software house near Paris.
In 1994, I emigrated alone to Vancouver, British Columbia, with my four children, Petunia, Elisabeth, Syprien and Carole (not their real names). In Vancouver I worked for a big Corporation to develop the Canadian Automated Air Traffic System (CAATS).
And in 1999-2000, I moved gradually away from the Corporation to work for the Company.
In 2008, I met my companion Daisy (not her real name either). In 2009, she was let go from her sales job for a medical equipment company, and she found another job in Calgary, Alberta, in the summer of 2009. We moved there, and I continued to work for the Company, of course.
Recently, she found a better job in Miami, Florida, and we moved there in December 2010. A trip of eleven days, across eleven US states, with our furniture in a U-Haul trailer behind the car.
This is how I ended up working in Miami.
At 19 years old, I entered the French Naval Academy (Ecole Navale) and I spent 20 years in the French Navy, finishing with the rank of commander. I learned software mostly on my own during my Navy years. I spent 3 years as a Nato exchange officer in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
I met my first wife in Douala, Cameroon, while on vacation in 1973. We got married in 1979, just before going to Halifax. We adopted two Haitian girls and I also became the guardian of a nephew and a niece of her.
In 1988, I left the Navy to work in a software house near Paris.
In 1994, I emigrated alone to Vancouver, British Columbia, with my four children, Petunia, Elisabeth, Syprien and Carole (not their real names). In Vancouver I worked for a big Corporation to develop the Canadian Automated Air Traffic System (CAATS).
And in 1999-2000, I moved gradually away from the Corporation to work for the Company.
In 2008, I met my companion Daisy (not her real name either). In 2009, she was let go from her sales job for a medical equipment company, and she found another job in Calgary, Alberta, in the summer of 2009. We moved there, and I continued to work for the Company, of course.
Recently, she found a better job in Miami, Florida, and we moved there in December 2010. A trip of eleven days, across eleven US states, with our furniture in a U-Haul trailer behind the car.
This is how I ended up working in Miami.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Recruiting people that will fit
The Company is not trying to grow fast. It recruits very slowly and only people that it is sure they will fit.
There are two main ways to be recruited.
The first one is to already be known by the Company founders or main employees. I am one of those. I have know the Company founders for years before joining the Company.
The second one if from paid internships. The Company regularly have interns that get paid to do real work that will benefit the Company. During these internships that last several months, they are evaluated and if it appears that they will fit in the culture of the Company, they are proposed to join the Company.
Amazingly, the turnover is almost zero. In its more than 15 years of existence, only one person left the Company. This indicates how good the Company is for the people that work for it.
There are two main ways to be recruited.
The first one is to already be known by the Company founders or main employees. I am one of those. I have know the Company founders for years before joining the Company.
The second one if from paid internships. The Company regularly have interns that get paid to do real work that will benefit the Company. During these internships that last several months, they are evaluated and if it appears that they will fit in the culture of the Company, they are proposed to join the Company.
Amazingly, the turnover is almost zero. In its more than 15 years of existence, only one person left the Company. This indicates how good the Company is for the people that work for it.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
A trusting Company
To be able to work as I do, and as other people working for the Company do, the Company need to trust us.
Trust is an important characteristics of the Company. Nobody is going to spy on us to know exactly what we are doing each day.
We don't even have to write monthly activity reports. For those of us in North America, we only have a one hour weekly telephone conference that lasts a maximum of one hour, where each participant explains what he has done for the last week and what he is going to do in the future.
And it is OK if you cannot participate to the weekly conference. You should simply explain why you cannot participate and give your personal report by e-mail.
Such a system of trust works for two reasons:
Trust is an important characteristics of the Company. Nobody is going to spy on us to know exactly what we are doing each day.
We don't even have to write monthly activity reports. For those of us in North America, we only have a one hour weekly telephone conference that lasts a maximum of one hour, where each participant explains what he has done for the last week and what he is going to do in the future.
And it is OK if you cannot participate to the weekly conference. You should simply explain why you cannot participate and give your personal report by e-mail.
Such a system of trust works for two reasons:
- We are a small company and most people know everybody else, with the exception of the last recruits.
- The Company only recruits people that it knows will fit well and that can be trusted.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Working alone at home
As I already said, I work at home, alone.
Most of the communications I have with the customers and my colleagues in New York, Paris, or elsewhere are done through e-mail. I also sometimes use Skype or the telephone to speak to my colleagues.
I realize that this way of working is not for everybody, as you need to have enough discipline to not slack off. I usually have this discipline, although I have been know to stray.
The Company is not checking on my working hours, and in fact I work at strange hours: as I often have insomnia during the night, I read and answer my mail in the middle of the night, for an hour or so.
I am lucky enough to not need an alarm clock and I usually wake up around seven in the morning. It happens sometimes that I wake up after 7:30 or even, very rarely, after 8:00, but it is usually because I have had a longer than usual insomnia.
And, of course, I read my mail on week-ends, and answer urgent requests from customers.
Most of the communications I have with the customers and my colleagues in New York, Paris, or elsewhere are done through e-mail. I also sometimes use Skype or the telephone to speak to my colleagues.
I realize that this way of working is not for everybody, as you need to have enough discipline to not slack off. I usually have this discipline, although I have been know to stray.
The Company is not checking on my working hours, and in fact I work at strange hours: as I often have insomnia during the night, I read and answer my mail in the middle of the night, for an hour or so.
I am lucky enough to not need an alarm clock and I usually wake up around seven in the morning. It happens sometimes that I wake up after 7:30 or even, very rarely, after 8:00, but it is usually because I have had a longer than usual insomnia.
And, of course, I read my mail on week-ends, and answer urgent requests from customers.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Academic and public versions
As the software is used in universities and by individuals, the Company produces once a year an Academic/Public version of the software on several popular platforms, including Linux, Windows and Mac OS.
These versions are pure GPL. While the software for the customers may produce applications that may be distributed without all the requirements of the GPL, this is not true for the Academic/Public versions: any application produced with these versions can only be distributed with all the requirements of the GPL; there must be a way to get the complete sources.
Thus, the Company is benefiting the free software community, while at the same time it is protecting its business.
Universities may participate in the Academic Program and they will then get free support. However, the only versions they will get are the annual Academic/Public versions.
These versions are pure GPL. While the software for the customers may produce applications that may be distributed without all the requirements of the GPL, this is not true for the Academic/Public versions: any application produced with these versions can only be distributed with all the requirements of the GPL; there must be a way to get the complete sources.
Thus, the Company is benefiting the free software community, while at the same time it is protecting its business.
Universities may participate in the Academic Program and they will then get free support. However, the only versions they will get are the annual Academic/Public versions.
Monday, January 10, 2011
A Company that produces only free software
The Company I work for (from now on, the "Company") produces only free software under the GPL (the GNU General Public License) or an allowed modified version of the GPL.
How does the Company make money?
The software produced by the Company is rather elaborate, and like all such software products, it contains bugs. So, the customers buys support contracts, so that whenever they have a problem with the software, we help them.
Help can be, for example, answering questions on how to use the software, reporting a bug or asking for enhancements in the software.
If the support from the Company is not deemed appropriate by the customers, they will not renew their contracts the next year, so it will mean a loss of revenue for the Company.
So, obviously, it is in the interest of the Company to provide outstanding support.
And this outstanding support is of course beneficial for the customers.
In more that 15 years of existence, the Company has always made money and has expanded slowly to its current size of around 70 people.
How does the Company make money?
The software produced by the Company is rather elaborate, and like all such software products, it contains bugs. So, the customers buys support contracts, so that whenever they have a problem with the software, we help them.
Help can be, for example, answering questions on how to use the software, reporting a bug or asking for enhancements in the software.
If the support from the Company is not deemed appropriate by the customers, they will not renew their contracts the next year, so it will mean a loss of revenue for the Company.
So, obviously, it is in the interest of the Company to provide outstanding support.
And this outstanding support is of course beneficial for the customers.
In more that 15 years of existence, the Company has always made money and has expanded slowly to its current size of around 70 people.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Working wherever and whenever I want
The company I work for has employees/consultants in several countries: USA, France, Canada, Spain, etc...
This is a small company, what I all a micro multinational: less than 70 people.
The culture of the company is based on trust: trust that the employees/consultants will work honestly, trust that the customers will not lie.
Because of this trusting culture, I am able to work wherever I live and whenever I decide, as long as I do work.
Before joining the company, I was not sure I could work alone at home. So, I started part time (10 hours a week, then 20 hours a week) and I realized that indeed this work lifestyle suited me.
I never had the temptation to sleep in, for two reasons: 1) I have always gone to bed early (around 10PM) and 2) I am usually excited with the work I am doing.
However, I realize that this way of working is not for everybody.
This is a small company, what I all a micro multinational: less than 70 people.
The culture of the company is based on trust: trust that the employees/consultants will work honestly, trust that the customers will not lie.
Because of this trusting culture, I am able to work wherever I live and whenever I decide, as long as I do work.
Before joining the company, I was not sure I could work alone at home. So, I started part time (10 hours a week, then 20 hours a week) and I realized that indeed this work lifestyle suited me.
I never had the temptation to sleep in, for two reasons: 1) I have always gone to bed early (around 10PM) and 2) I am usually excited with the work I am doing.
However, I realize that this way of working is not for everybody.
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Have laptop, will travel and work
I am a traveling engineer. I work for an excellent small open source company that allows me to live wherever I want.
I have been working in Vancouver, BC (where I lived for 16 years), Calgary, Alberta (where I lived for 18 months), Beijing and France (where I was born).
I am now living in Miami, Florida (in The Hammocks to be precise) where my companion Daisy started working 3 weeks ago.
I have been working in Vancouver, BC (where I lived for 16 years), Calgary, Alberta (where I lived for 18 months), Beijing and France (where I was born).
I am now living in Miami, Florida (in The Hammocks to be precise) where my companion Daisy started working 3 weeks ago.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)