Windows MVP for another year - and I feel terrible about it....

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I feel terrible about this. After writing a blog post saying that I won’t be upgrading to Microsoft Windows 11 (which is looking even nicer the more I look at it) because my computer won’t run it I discover that Microsoft have renewed me as a Microsoft MVP.

Thanks so much to Microsoft for putting up with me. And there have been some very interesting chats over email between MVPs and Microsoft folks who have patiently explained the reasons why Microsoft will not be allowing machines like mine to run Windows 11. Having thought about it properly I agree with their policy. It is all about containerisation and security. What you really want is strong, hardware based, protection for your processes that the operating system can use to make sure that stuff that appears on your machine is managed in a proper way and that badly behaved code is detected and kicked off before doing any harm. The threats to vulnerable software and hardware are only going to get greater over time and if a device has flaws that make it impossible to secure you really shouldn’t be using it in the long term.

In the olden days people used to drive around in cars that had no safety features at all. These cars were perfectly good for moving you around but they were inherently dangerous to the people inside and those around them. Nowadays we don’t do that. Cars are built with crumple zones and air bags to make things safer for drivers and pedestrians. Me saying that I want to stick with my old PC because it still works is a bit like a driver saying that they are quite happy to zoom around in a car with no seatbelts and a really pointy bumper.

Maybe there is a place where systems like my existing one can be used in a secure way. Perhaps playing a server role behind a secure firewall. I’m going to look into that. I’m also going to start saving my pennies for a Windows 11 box. Rather looking forward to it now.

Winning on Table 6

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Click Through for the 360 degree experience of Table 6

Day one of the Microsoft MVP Community event. Great fun. Interesting content on Story Telling and whole bunch of like minded folks. We're at the National Space Centre in Leicester which is a fantastic venue. Tonight we had the event dinner. With a quiz. And I was on the winning table, which was rather nice. More talks tomorrow.

Hull Pixelbots at the MVP Community Connection

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Today it was just a simple matter of driving to London, running a few robot races and then back again. And it all went beautifully. The event was held at the RAF Museum in Hendon. So I put the postcode into the satnav and headed out. The journey down was smooth enough, and after a while I was all set up, with just a bit of nervousness about the network connectivity. 

As it turned out, we had a few races and at least one winner. 

This is one of our happy winners, with his winning robot. After the racing it was back into the car, enter another postcode (the one for home) and head back. I got into Hull just after midnight. It was great to meet up with a bunch of folks that I'd not seem for a while and talk "proper shop".

Thanks to Claire for inviting me. 

MVP Summit Last Day

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This is what passes for MVPs on the rampage....

This is what passes for MVPs on the rampage....

Today was the last day of the Microsoft MVP Summit. Tomorrow I fly home. I've just about got over the jet lag, in time for another bout when I get home. We had another day of interesting discussion and a hackathon which was great fun. Then out for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then packing.

It's been a great summit. I always leave these occasions with a head full of ideas for things to do and a strong desire to come back for the next one. Thanks to Microsoft for setting up such a fantastic event.