I spent New Year's Eve celebrating with family and friends this year. I'm on the road plenty, and thought I'd take the safe approach to holiday cheer. Being in one place gave me some time to think back over the year and consider some of the things I've encountered, people I've talked with, and business concerns that have come up. To say the least, it's been a busy year with plenty of rewards and an equal number of frustrations.

When I arrived at my client's offices I found them deep into a discussion about how they were not going to use software any more. Now, you have to understand that I've spent my working life installing, training, fixing, and at times developing software. So to hear someone (especially one of my clients) in the midst of this kind of discussion took me by surprise

As I left my client's site in Texas after last week's unpleasant session, I reflected on exactly what they had said during their heated exchange. In truth, the accusations were pretty uncharacteristic of that normally laid back group.