TECH: the Osborne Syndrome — augers into the ground

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

The Post Money Value: Pissed Off Customer 2.0

http://ricksegal.typepad.com/pmv/2006/09/pissed_off_cust.html
***Begin Quote***

The capable logo and the (rapidly approaching) free upgrade coupon in the box promotion is designed to keep computers flying off the shelves, thus avoiding the Osborne Syndrome. (Short History: Osborne Computers pre-announced a new model, killing sales of old model, new model late, company augers into the ground.)

***End Quote***

Never heard that before.  Akin to spin, crash, and burn.

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Posted by reinkefj

TECH: FEEDBLITZ gives a daily feed of any blog

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

For example, to get this one use the link on the side or http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=98446

It’s free for all. And, works very nicely!

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Posted by reinkefj

JOBSEARCH: Have no fear being fired is not the worst that can happen

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

How to lose your fear of being fired

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Posted by reinkefj

TECH: What To Do When Your Computer Bogs Down — cry?

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

http://www.lewrockwell.com/tucker/tucker74.html

What To Do When Your Computer Bogs Down
by Jeffrey A. Tucker
Editorial vice president of http://www.Mises.org
September 19, 2006

***Begin Quote***

Relentless development in software, hardware, and the online world means living life in Beta with all its attendant problems. Each machine is different, and yet the Windows-based machines I’ve worked on for the last four months have all had the same trouble, and require the same steps to resolve it. Some of the problems result from the very first days that the computer was fired up, but use (along with spyware, adware, malware, viruses, and enormous software muck) only makes them worse.

Here are the steps that have worked for many Windows machines in recent days.

***AND***

That’s it! Your machine should be vastly improved in every way.

(Please don’t write to tell me about the wonders of Mac [granted] or of the feasibility of end-user Linux systems [please!]. You aren’t telling me anything I don’t already know, so I’ll just delete your email.)

***End Quote***

What you are describing is a phenom which I believe is generally called winrot. (I’ve blogged about it. https://reinkefj.wordpress.com/2006/02/24/prepare-for-winrot/ on several occasions.)

The only real solution is to reinstall from scratch.

Some fanatics urge a quarterly reinstall. I usually try during the End Of Year holidays when stuff is slow. The week between Christmas and New Years is deadly slow.

It assumes, and presumes, that you:

(1) have good backups of all your data.

(Entertaining exercise. Hand the corporate user a new laptop. Take the old one. And, then you see just how good your backup and recovery strategy is. I have had the equivalent happen to me when a hard disk drive dies and the first time I lost four months of work. Now I am a fanatic about backup and recovery. My worktop has been replaced three times with no loss. My personal one probably would be OK, but not as good, nor as crisp and easy.)

(2) have all your program distribution media. (All those darn CDs!)

(3) have all your program serial numbers (All those darn 29.5 character random strings. Sometimes on the last page of manuals.  Sometimes on folders. Sometimes on envelopes. Sometime on convenient easy to lose slips of paper.)

Arghhhh!!!

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Posted by reinkefj

TECH: Problems are opportunities, in disguise, to avoid bigger problems

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

http://kentblumberg.typepad.com/kent_blumberg/2006/09/focus_onstrengt.html

Focus on…Strengths and Success

***Begin Quote***

Drucker wrote that we tend to get pushed into focusing on problems, and distracted from the positive opportunities that were there for the taking.

***End Quote***

Well, I don’t necessarily agree with him on that.

I like to use my “patented” Power of Negative Thinking, with apologies to Norman Vincent Peale. “Problems” deserve a special laser-like focus. At least four times in the last year, I have seen small problems that were really precursors to big problems. If there had been a true “autopsy” on that small problem, then it would have exposed the potential for a “big hairy one”. But, the small problem was dismissed, (over my objections), as a “fluke”, “isolate incident”, “network blip”, or “who cares because we’re done”. Now don’t misunderstand, not only did I not say “see told ya so”, but it not an academic inquiry into “how many angels can dance on the head of a pin”. It’s is about, at least in my IT world, stuff happens for a reason. And, that reason usually portends, when neglected, a big alligator arising from the swamp to take a big bite out of your butt when you least expect it and have the least ability to deal with it. Then, your left with the coulda, shoulda, and woulda, usually in front of people you’d rather not spend time in front of.

It’s nice to be positive, but, imho, you need to take care of the negatives. Or at least get far enough away from the swamp, so that when the alligators come home to roost, (yeah yeah it’s chickens!) they don’t roost, or feast, on you.

Problems are opportunities, in disguise, to avoid bigger problems.

At least they are in my world.

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Posted by reinkefj

TECH: ASTERIK – could be the home pbx that unlocks great value

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/091206-von-sam-houston.html?t5
Subject: Network World reports “University dumps Cisco VoIP for open-source Asterisk”

***

I’ve got the book.

(Wall Street types believe that they can … do brain surgery … with a book and a tool … while doing everything else … driving in traffic at 90mph … on themselves!)
And, have been toying with the idea of deploying it at home. If I rewire and home run all phones to the “pbx” in the garage, I have all the centrex like services AND, probably can figure out how to use voip to the voip-able, cell minutes on weekends, and pots when all else fail. It has GREAT promise!

For example, I pick up any phone in my house and Asterix can decide if my call to my friend in NC should go: by yim because he’s available; by voip;  by  free after hours cell phone minutes; or by pots line. (Least cost call routing in the pbxjargon!). And if he doesn’t answer, and I say “unimportant” it will ring his cell phone if it is in his free minutes. Or if I say “important”, it calls his cell anytime. And if I say “urgent”, it rings his cell every five minutes to deliver my recorded message. (Follow him by priority in pbx jargon). And if he calls me back, same scenario, except it’s “following me”. And, if I’ve gone to bed or don’t want the phone to ring, it can say “Wake him up?” and act on a response.

From my pov, you could “do voip” plus Asterix with say a consortium of internet people (talk about herding cats) and everyone supply a local jump off to the ptsn. Voila! Free phone service for everyone?

Example, I have a pots line and a broadband connect. My friend in NC has a pots line and a broadband connect. With Aterix at both ends, it should be “possible” for: someone to call my local NJ phone number, give codes to Asterix, My Asterix connects via the net to his Asterix, his Asterix dials a local number in NC (wouldn’t want to pay for a freeloaders toll calls), and (Voila! Poof! Shazam!) free long distance service.

Now granted there was a lot of things that have to go right, but now let’s go “corporate”.

The example is use Asterix for your remote office and you don’t need no business Centrex lines unless they are very very cheap. You probably have broad band to the remote locations already. You don’t need expensive CPE or PBX or Cisco IPBXs. Old hardware, free software, and WOW! you’re in competition with a phone company.
Looks like things are getting very interesting – soon – real soon – soon !
Hmmm, note to self, sell verizon stock.

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Posted by reinkefj

TECH: free app to magically discover the serial numbers for all of the Microsoft software

Monday, September 18, 2006

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2006/09/18/keyfinder-thing-find-those-microsoft-serials-and-cd-keys/

Keyfinder Thing: Find those Microsoft serials and CD keys
Posted Sep 18th 2006 3:45PM by Jordan Running
Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware

***Begin Quote***

It’s a free app for Windows that will magically discover the serial numbers for all of the Microsoft software you have installed with just a few clicks. Keyfinder Thing comes in two versions: Full and Lite. Both are free and both do basically the same thing, but the former has a few more features and requires the .NET 2.0 FX library which you may or may not have. The latest version of Keyfinder Thing is capable of digging up the keys for more than 90 titles.

***End Quote***

Very useful. If for no other reason than catching all those rotten codes in one place. Arghh! Probably right after WGA, and all the other various forms of “legitimate user frustration”, those darned serial numbers are the gigantic pia. while not as complete as that inventory utility I have run from time to time, this is good.

This is a keeper imho

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Posted by reinkefj

TECH: “finger print lock” doesn’t

Monday, September 18, 2006

Ahh yes, security technology 0, hackers 1!

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Posted by reinkefj

TECH: microsoft bug in windoz and word?

Monday, September 18, 2006

Interesting. Copy a fragment from a webpage. Paste it to word pad – note pad – or your favorite text editor. (I like EditPadPro http://www.editpadpro.com/) You know it is there. Fire up microsoft word. (Fire may be a bad choice of an action verb!) Try to paste. Nada. Back to that editor. Try to paste. It’s el gonno. (Tech term for “what cha talkin bout Willis?”) What cut? Who supposed to paste? And word and windoze all do a sargent shultz. (“I no nuthin. Nuthin! nuthin at all!) Redo the copy. Go to word. And magically it works. Interesting!?!

Doctor Watson, do you think that maybe microsoft took liberties in handoffs between windoze, word, and lookout? says Sherlock

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Posted by reinkefj

TECH: “BITTORRENET” protocol in visual terms; I use the Azureus client!

Sunday, September 17, 2006

BitTorrent Simulator: How and Why BitTorrent works

BitTorrent Simulator: How and Why BitTorrent works
***Begin Quote***

BitTorrent is a great protocol to distribute large files. One of it’s main advantages is that every downloader starts sharing right away, even without having a full copy of the file.

***End Quote***

For the visuals among us, the graphical model really gives a great visualization of how the think works. If a picture is wortha thousand words, the simulation is a grazzillion words.

Now I need to learn about torrents.

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Posted by reinkefj

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