TECHNOLOGY: Taming the email monster

Saturday, May 15, 2010

http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2010/05/five-realistic-tips-for-using-email-more-efficiently.html

MY COMMENT:

*** begin quote ***

May I suggest that more email accounts, with a proper strategy, mail actually be more “efficient”?

All too often, I see folks with a single email account with everything jumbled together. No ability to segregate personal from business, financial from non, family from weirdo, (Oh wait some of my family are pretty weird!), … any way, you get the idea.

I personally use lots of different accounts for different purposes. Reading down my inboxes in my mail client: Urgent Matters, Brokerage Account, Bank Account, Paytrust, Family, Friends, Work, Job Search Networking, College Alumni, My High School Class Specifically, High School Alumni, Networking, Technology Playing, Catch All, and Routine Subscriptions. And, few other oddballs ones.

May sound like a mess, but:

(1) Email time is IMMEDIATELY presented in priority order. (Most people just reply to email, so they get to know me by the address. I have my own domain so I am in complete control of the names, the archiving interval, and automatic handling.)

(2) Messages purporting to be from my bank sent by a spammer stand out like a sore thumb when they come it on the “wrong” email account.

(3) Message originating from me are distinctive in the account name so the recipient can quickly place my association with them. (e.g., HighSchoolNickname @ mydomainname dot com) Saves angst on all ends.

(4) “Lost messages”, remembered or needed later, can be found by looking in the “dedicated email” box which is just a fraction of the overall mail volume.

So in this case, more is actually less. More mailboxes; less wasted time.

# # # # #


SERVICE: Back up your FACEBOOK data (FREE)

Sunday, May 9, 2010

http://givememydata.com/

Give Me My Data helps you reclaim and reuse your Facebook data.

*** begin quote ***

Give Me My Data is a Facebook application designed to give users the ability to export their data out of Facebook for any purpose they see fit. This could include making artwork, archiving and deleting your account, or circumventing the interface Facebook provides. Data can be exported in CSV, XML, and other common formats. Give Me My Data is currently in public-beta.

*** end quote ***

RECOMMENDED!

# # # # #


SERVICE: Using the user to … …

Saturday, May 8, 2010

*** begin quote ***

Dear Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia Member

   This weekend there was a patch implemented that corrected the Portal Error members have been receiving. Please go to the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia website and try to access your account. If you continue to get the Portal Error, please give Web Support a call at (866) 292-6253 Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. excluding Holidays. Please reference this email when speaking to a Technician.

*** end quote ***

I’d call this “using the user as unpaid debugging help”!

Argh!

# # # # #


SERVICE: TABZON — not recommended

Thursday, May 6, 2010

http://www.tabzon.com

*** begin quote ***

The best little in-out board for your office.

Tabzon is a free online in-out board designed to help you keep track of your co-workers’ whereabouts.

   * Centralised Team

   * One-Click Updates

   * Quick Contact Lookup

   * No Software

   * Safe, Private, & Secure

   * Completely Free!

*** end quote ***

I tried it to solve a person problem. I learned about it on blog. (Unfortunately, I forgot which one.)

I thought it would be like a public bulletin board that who show anybody status. It only shows if you have defined users. So it’s a closed community that you have to “invite”. Argh! I didn’t get that from the description. It doesn’t have the granularity of control.

I gave them other feedback as I worked with it.

“You need to declare what it costs on first screen. Always will be free? Freemium? Something else?” (Addressed!)

“Email address restrictions should be up front. Not after you wipe out all the input I did. Argh!” (Don’t know.)

“Your activation email goes directly into spam folders. Unlike what others do. Something needs fixing.”  (Don’t know.)

I was trying to use it as a bulletin board for family to know when to call my wife.

Yes, realized. And, yes. It appears to “reset” to unavailable for no apparent reason.

On May 5, 2010, at 12:07 AM

>Hi again,

>Nice to see your finding the idea useful in a way we handn’t intended.

>This behaviour is odd indeed. Just a couple of things to confirm :

It’s always showing “unavailable”. I’ll try and find another solution. Argh! Sorry. It looked good.

# # # # #


TECHNOLOGY: Interesting panel

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

201005052108.jpg

# # # # #


TECHNOLOGY: MEGAMILLIONS site is overwhelmed

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Winning Numbers – Mega Millions Official Home

Winning Numbers: 4/30/2010. Mega Millions drawings are held Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 p.m. Five balls are drawn from a set of balls numbered 1 through 56; …

# – # – #

The page cannot be displayed

The request cannot be processed at this time. The amount of traffic exceeds the Web site’s configured capacity.

Please try the following:

   * Click the Refresh button, or try again later.

   * If this error persists, contact the Web site administrator to inform them that this error continues to occur for this URL address.

HTTP Error 500.13 – Server error: Web server is too busy.

Internet Information Services (IIS)

Technical Information (for support personnel)

   * Go to Microsoft Product Support Services and perform a title search for the words HTTP and 500.

   * Open IIS Help, which is accessible in IIS Manager (inetmgr), and search for topics titled Monitoring and Tuning Web Application Performance, Performance Monitoring and Scalability Tools, and About Custom Error Messages.

# # # # #


TECHNOLOGY: “Drive by” messages!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Ever notice how many more what I call “drive by messages” are being sent?

That is a message that includes a disclaimer saying that it won’t be read.

I imagine them saying: “If you ask for clarification, we’re going to ignore you”!

Arghhhh!

Wasn’t “marketing” supposed to be a “conversation with customers”?

Well, that’s like “Customer Service” being expected to “service” “customers”?

I know I feel like I’ve been “serviced”! In the sense of bulls and cows.

Argh!

*** begin quote ***

This is an automated email, and replies will not be delivered. If you need to contact us, please log on to your account and click the “Contact Us” link to send an email.

*** end quote ***

*** begin quote ***

Please do not reply to this message. This is a service email related to your use of XXXXXXX. To learn more about XXXXXXXX’s use of personal information, including the use of web beacons in HTML-based email, please read our Privacy Policy.

*** end quote ***

# # # # #


TECHNOLOGY: Security has to be a core value; not an after thought

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/20/security-policy-privacy-technology-cio-network-data.html

Commentary
Keeping Data Safe From IT Snoops
Mike Schaffner, 04.21.10, 06:00 AM EDT
How to improve data security and privacy.

*** begin quote ***

If possible, add a formal security role. This job isn’t just about limiting access and changing passwords. It involves looking at all of the processes from the user side as well as within IT. It is important that this role audit compliance and educate users and IT alike about security issues.

*** end quote ***

With all due respect to Forbes and the author, this is indicative of reactive and “after the fact” thinking.

“If possible”?

(Argh!)

Either Information Security, and it’s natural sidekick Business Recovery, are core functions of your infrastructure or they aren’t. If they are, then they are essential components of your Strategic Requirements with resources to accomplish their mission. If not, then this is lipstick on the proverbial pig.

You don’t say: “If possible, we should have a CFO.”!

Customers, Employees, Suppliers, and everyone are quick to pick up the implications of your deeds. Words don’t matter; actions do! Spot one of these “bolt on” “paper over” tactical cover overs and you should be looking for your replacement. Get away before they take you down with them.

What are your requirements? Else your next credit card statement may be delivered to Lagos Nigeria. There’s no substitute for “doing it right”. After the fact can never be right.

# # # # #


SERVICE: UofP blows it by not offering alumni email

Friday, April 23, 2010

*** begin quote ***

A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of
its recipients. The following addresses failed:
<xxxxxxxxx@email.uophx.edu>
SMTP error from remote server in greeting:
host email.uophx.edu[204.17.28.37]:
550 Requested action not taken: mailbox unavailable.

*** end quote ***

Interesting! University of Phoenix takes down email when it’s student’s graduate. How short sighted is that?

Obvious, even if I had to cut a deal with Google for Gmail to offer to all my alumni that’s a great marketing ploy.

Future sales. Referrals. References. Social networking. Free advertisign when folks use it. Alumni networking.

Boy, did they blow it.

They may have the next generation in the “education” model, but they still have old thinking at the top.

Traditional schools most flub it as well, but they’re dinosaurs so what would you expect!

# # # # #


TECHNOLOGY: MacBookAir decided it needed a power off

Thursday, April 22, 2010

No apparent reason other than it detected an unspecified “problem”.

Upon restarting, it dutifully sent a report off to the Apple Corps Headquarters.

So here we start the MTTR, MTBF, and ELAPSED clocks again.

This is unusual behavior that one would expect of WIndoze, or Microstuff’s Autoupdate?

Perhaps Apple has “clay feet” as well.

# # # # #