Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was suspiciously absent from the opening of his company’s first retail footprint, last week in Scottsdale, Arizona. But he was among the living in downtown Boston recently, hosting a breakfast with the area’s top tech titans.

Participants have been mum about what was said, but Boston Globe correspondent Scott Kirsner did hunt down this interesting dialogue:

“The one sparky interchange — no surprise — seems to have been initiated by angel investor (and former Lotus exec) John Landry, who said it seemed to him that Microsoft is still very much focused on desktop computing, and considers all other devices to be peripherals to the PC. Landry waved his iPhone and said he does 80 percent of his work on that device. Ballmer responded by saying that Microsoft was aware that it has to do much better with Windows Mobile 7, its forthcoming mobile operating system (the release of which has been pushed back into 2010). “We know we have to kill on that one,” a meeting attendee recalled Ballmer saying. (I’ve got a call in to Landry, to get his version of the discussion about the iPhone.)”

Having spent a few minutes trying to navigate my sister-in-law’s non-iPhone cell phone last weekend, I wholeheartedly agree with Landry’s (and Ballmer’s) assessment on the mobile device front.

via Breakfast with Ballmer: Guest list and topics – Daily Business Update – The Boston Globe.

How big a deal was this meeting? Twitter For Dummies author Laura Fitton took the red eye from Las Vegas where she was attending an invigorating Blog World conference. She took advantage of the face time to point out that Twitter developers have yet to embrace the Windows Mobile platform. Ballmer countered that the company is working to get more developers interested in the Windows Mobile platform.

Want to find out more about this interesting meeting of the minds? Click the link above.

Postlouge:

Talk about six degrees of separation, how about six degrees of social media. I met Laura Fitton at a tech Boston cocktail party last month, and subsequently followed her on Twitter. She tweeted about the meeting, I clicked the bit.ly link, read the Boston Globe story and decided to blog it. So now, thanks to social media, I’ve met someone who has had breakfast with (and confronted) the CEO of Microsoft! How cool is that?

During training and consulting sessions, my clients often ask if a specific downloaded program is necessary or beneficial, or if they need it to complete a specific task or project. In most cases, it was recommended to them by a friend or family member who is a bit more computer savvy. I’ll often take the clients knowledge and comfort level into consideration prior to making a thumbs-up or -down recommendation.

In my personal computer use though, I find that add-on applications and utilities are nice, but often, not necessary. In fact, I can’t think of a single one that I’ve used over the past few years. The on-board tools and processes that come standard on my machine suit me just fine.

What I find most useful are the keystroke commands, secondary clicks, and the autofill feature available on my MacBook portable computer.

Keystroke commands were addressed in a previous blog post here. If you’ve ever stood over the shoulder of someone who efficiently uses them, you would be amazed at how fast the person is able to accomplish things without ever touching a mouse or trackpad.

Keystroke commands often work in harmony with secondary clicks, or as Windows users know them, right clicks. Mac users can set their mouse or trackpad to activate a secondary (right) click using several different methods, or choose not to use the secondary click at all.

On my MacBook, I’ve set the trackpad to activate secondary click by tapping two fingers on the trackpad. For example, if I need to refer to a thesaurus while composing a blog post, I’ll hover the cursor over the target word, then tap with two fingers anywhere on the trackpad. A dropdown menu appears with the option to look up the word in the dictionary. Once selected, the dictionary application opens to the selected word. A quick click on the dictionary’s thesaurus option sends me into synonym nirvana.

Autofill (or autocomplete, as it is sometimes known) completes items like names and e-mail addresses when working with online forms, and new e-mail messages. It is also useful when typing in web addresses into a browser. If you visit a web site often, the web browser  automatically completes the address as you type it in. Sometimes, the autofill kicks in after the first letter or two. Once you see the completed address, just hit enter, and your website loads.

Getting comfortable with these tips and tricks takes time. Its always best to start by practicing a particular trick and using it for a week or so before trying to learn something else. For example, sit at the computer for a few minutes, and type familiar web addresses into your browser address bar. Hit enter (or return) when the autofill kicks in. Repeat this step several times, a few minutes each day.

It’s a good thing no NFL team exists in the metro Los Angeles market. It would only serve to distract Southern California sports fans from the fact that both local baseball teams are playing in baseball’s League Championship Series. It is the first time in LA sports history that the two local teams are playing simultaneously in the championship series.

In fact, it’s been rarity that both teams have made the post season during the same season, or even been close to making the playoffs together. The 1982 race almost provided double the baseball excitement for Southern California fans. That year, the Angels took the AL West by three games over the Kansas City Royals, but the Dodgers were bested one game by the Atlanta Braves.

Dodger LCS victory means historic rival

Should the Dodgers avenge last year’s loss to the Phillies, a historic rival opponent  awaits them, regardless of who wins the ALCS. A Yankees-Dodgers World Series renews a decades old rivalry filled with spectacular moments and memorable personalities. It also pits the country’s two largest and most culturally opposite media markets against each other in a classic made-for-television battle.

An Angels-Dodgers World Series puts together two teams that, until the advent of interleague play, only faced each other during the penultimate games of spring training. For years, the lowly Angels played second fiddle to the Dodgers and their long tradition of solid pitching, farm-bred stars, managerial stability, and winning ways. Not so much anymore. Current Angel manager Mike Scoscia has spent the last ten years transforming a culture of losing and instability into a consistent playoff caliber team.

Story lines abound

Both series possibilities will provide reporters and bloggers with an abundance of fodder. You’ll be sure to see ink and pixel devoted to these topics:

• Joe Torre returns to New York to manage against the team he guided to 12 post season appearances and four world championships. Several of the Yankees, including their current manger played under him during that spectacular era.

• Manny Ramirez and his dreadlocks visit the Bronx once again. Yankee closer Mariano Rivera probably thought he was done with the hard-hitting right hander when he was dealt west at last year’s trade deadline.

• Mike Scoscia faces the team that nurtured him throughout his playing career. Many of the Dodger’s coaching staff were team mates or opponents during Scoscia’s own 13 year tenure behind the plate at Dodger Stadium. He also spent several years managing in the Dodgers’ farm system before being snatched up by the Angels.

Here’s few facts I’ve yet to see in the mainstream media.

If you’re following this year’s MLB playoffs, you may be experiencing some serious deja vu. Every October, it seems, my television watching is full of  numerous between-pitch shots of Joe Torre’s contemplations, and Mike Scocia’s scowls, and this year is no different.

This year’s Fall Classic participants includes a collection of past World Series participants, and managerial royalty, more so than in previous years. The rosters include some of the most familiar, and longest tenured managers currently in the game.

Several playoff teams also claim extensive recent playoff experience, and World Series titles. Check out these facts:

• The Angels have been in the playoffs five of the last six years, the Red Sox four of last five years, and the Yankees, well, their dominance  has been well documented. After a long streak of ineptitude, the Dodgers have made the playoffs three of the last four years.

• Six of the eight participants (Rockies, Phillies, Cardinals, Yankees, Red Sox, Angels) have appeared in previous World Series’ this decade.

• Five 2009 playoff teams have won World Series titles in this decade (Phillies, Cards, Yankees, Red Sox, Angels).

If you think market size has nothing to do with on-field performance, think again. Money talks, and tradition speaks loudly:

• Six of the eight participants can be considered large market teams (Los Angeles Angels/Dodgers, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, St Louis)

• The two remaining teams may be considered borderline large markets (Colorado/ Denver, Minnesota/Minneapolis)

• Six teams are original franchises (Phillies, Cards, Yanks, Red Sox) or relocated original franchises  (Dodgers, Twins)

Managers seem to get more TV time in October, especially these guys:

• The crew of team managers represented in this years playoffs include the deans of baseballs managerial corps: Torre, 32 years, Larussa, 30 years, Scocia 10 years

• Five of eight managers have extended stays with their current teams (Larussa, 13 years, Scocia, 10 years, Gardenhire, 7 years, Manuel 7 years, Francona 5 years). You could also include Joe Torre in this group with his 9 years with the Yankees

• Five mangers have led teams to previous World Series victories during this decade (Torre, Manuel, Larussa, Francona, Scocia).

I’ve spent a lot of my teaching time lately talking about keystrokes combinations. These are key combinations that accomplish tasks normally done by moving the mouse to the menu at the top of the screen and selecting a menu item.

If you own a Windows machine, most of the common keystrokes are activated by using the Control key. For those same tasks, Mac users will reach for the Command keys, located next to the spacebar.

The most popular keystroke combinations are copy and paste. For example, on a windows machine you would highlight a word or sentence, then instead of moving the mouse to the edit menu, you press and hold the Control key, then press “C.” If you did it correctly, the edit menu at the top of the window will flash at you.

At this point, the selected text is copied into the clipboard, or buffer, (a part of the computer’s memory) were it remains until something else is copied over it.

To paste the selected text, move the cursor to the copied text’s intended destination, then press and hold Control, and tap the “V” key. Voila! The copied text appears in the new spot. A novice computer user might ask why “V” instead of “P” for the paste function; “P” is reserved for print.

Computer History 101

Some users have a hard time understanding why there are different ways to accomplish simple tasks, and struggle over which method to use.

The former question can be answered simply by looking at the history of the computing machine. Prior to the invention of the mouse, all commands on the computer were text based, and activated by key combinations. The addition of the mouse device was the result of the transition from a text-based interface to a graphic-based interface.

As for which method to use, it’s purely a matter of choice. In my experience, novice and intermediate computer users sometimes throw up a mental block against learning keystroke combinations. Those who who break through that wall, find keystroke combinations invaluable.

Computer Ergonomics 101

Keystroke combinations allow the users to keep their hands over the keyboard, and limit the reach for the mouse or trackpad during a work session. It might not seem like much when you first think about it, but minimizing trackpad and mouse movements helps to eliminate stress on your wrists and fingers. For example, saving often while composing a Word document is considered by some, a religious commandment. Instead of reaching for the mouse every few lines of text, you can instead use your thumb and index finger to tap Control-S, then immediately get back to your task at hand.

Learning Strategies

So, how can you learn the different combinations? There are literally hundreds of different keystroke shortcuts, some specific to an application or program, others (like copy and paste) universal to the computer operating system. Try these tips to move toward your own personal keyboard keyboard zen:

Start with the basics - Most users find success with keystrokes when starting with a few easy keystrokes. The previously mentioned copy and paste functions (Control-C and Control-V) are excellent starting points. Users can add the following when you are ready (Mac users will press Command instead of Control):

Control – P to print

Control – S to save any type of active document (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, e-mail message)

Control – N for a new blank document or e-mail

Control – Q to quit the active application of program

Control – W to close an active Internet Explorer or browser window

Remind yourself - Never will you find a more useful task for a Post-it note. Copy the keystrokes mentioned here, and put it on or near your computer. Before you know it, you’ll be adding to it often.

Check dropdown menus - Many tasks have a keystroke combination ready for use. Next time you click on a menu bar item, take note of the icons and letters to the right of the desired action. If there is one that you use often, practice it a few times till you get comfortable, or add it to the Post-it note.