As usual, Tim's got some great stuff to read:
People, on average and in the long term, aren't stupid and aren't patient and aren't cowards. When there's an obviously better way to get the job done, they go out and get it, and management can't stop them, and Forrester and Gartner can't stop them, and Accenture and EDS can't stop them, and not even Microsoft can stop them.
His commentary reminds me of the stuff the "IT Services" organization at my previous job tried to pull off. The standardized, locked-down, centrally controlled desktop plan comes to mind.
I was always amused, as an IT Services employee, how you heard a completely different story when you talked with actual users instead of IT Services project managers.
It really does work.
A few weeks back, before a meeting got started, I was talking with Brian and Michael about physical spam--the stuff that fills your real-world mailbox.
Michael was extolling the effectiveness of the Operation Opt-Out site which he blogged last year. You simply generate the forms, send them in, and wait. I thought it was too good to be true, but I tried it anyway. After all, it was only $3-$4 worth of postage.
You know what? It really works.
It's only been a month or so, but I'm already getting less junk mail--noticeably less. Michael said that they get virtually none. I can't wait. :-)