Tech in the Trenches

Unique Screaming Proposition

On August 25, 2011

I hate television. I hate how loud commercials get. The explosions in Burn Notice are nowhere near as loud as the screamer yelling at me about the new Mazda Blahblahblah.

BUY THIS BEER! IT WILL MAKE YOU FAMOUS AND DESIRABLE TO WOMEN!
THIS CAR IS THE BEST CAR EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!
ONE DAY CURRENT HOLIDAY SALE! GET THE BEST PRICES EVER!!!! ((Until our next holiday sale!))

Do advertisers feel a louder ad makes people more likely to buy the product advertised? It does nothing for me except hurt my head and constantly lower the volume to a tolerable volume.

The dilemma remains. Do I turn the commercial volume down then turn it back up when my TV show returns? Do I sit through the screaming advertisers at higher volume then return to enjoying my show?

I wish I had a third option. I wish commercials were the same volume as the shows around them. This is an issue with live TV because Netflix has no ads in their shows and Hulu has ads but the volume doesn’t go up drastically. Even the Tivo’d programs can be fast forwarded. On the rare occasion TiVo fails or misses the last few minutes I can go looking for the episode online, there are no commercials at all there.

Am I the only one that is so turned off by the screaming ads that watching live TV my last option for entertainment?

Tips for a better flight

By Carl

On August 16, 2011

In Observations

Flying is stressful. Flying is very trying on your patience and sanity. Flying is harder when you’re tall. I’m 6’5″ and do not fit well into standard airline seats. The joys of having the seat in front of me smashed into my knees. The inability to move or reach to the floor and the lack of armrest space makes for a miserable travel experience. I’ve had the good fortune to be able to attend a couple of family functions requiring air travel this summer and as a result I’ve compiled my thoughts on flying.

Be Flexible if you can.

Sometimes taking a later flight in the day will result in upgrades (to first class) or a voucher for a free flight later. I was once given a first class upgrade just for volunteering to take a flight leaving an hour later. I got on my original flight but was bumped to First Class as a thank you for my flexibility and offer to move back.

Luck

Sometimes you’ll get an empty seat next to you. Sometimes a person in a more desirable seat will offer to switch with you due to their poor planning. ((Usually being separated from a family member.))

Planning

If you have the opportunity to choose your seat, do so as soon as possible. On a recent flight US Airways emailed me the moment we could choose seats. As a result Annie and I snagged Exit Row seats on both legs of our flight to and from Las Vegas. It was an infinitely better experience flying without the seat in front of me smashed into my legs.

Relax

TSA is just doing their job. If you relax and let them do their jobs and be polite and agreeable everything will go smoother. I had the pleasure of having my bag searched three times on a recent flight because the TSA checker couldn’t find a small fold-up screw driver that could have been a knife. I was patient. I was polite. I made my flight. It was annoying but not the end of the world and stressing out wouldn’t have helped the situation.

Rewards

Sign up for clubs or rewards with an airline you fly often or use a credit card with airline perks to book your travel. That being said, do **not* sign up for the credit card they offer you on the plane. The interest is sky-high and there’s always a catch to those thousands of miles they offer at sign up.

Research

Find the terminal maps and gate locations before landing or even leaving. Knowing where you need to get to after you land can save you some frantic minutes searching for a map.

Relax again

Travel is unpredictable. Take it all in stride.

Pre-Plan

Refreshments are limited. Buy something on the ground once you’re through security to take with you. Though be aware of the liquid rules and buy something after you get through security.

Geek

WiFi on the plane? Find out if there’s a free promo going on.
Track your flights with apps like Trip-It to assure they’re on time.
Find gates and connections before you land.

Corporate Stockholm Syndrome

By Carl

On July 29, 2011

In Observations

You may be working a job that makes you plenty happy to go to everyday. You may really enjoy what you do. You enjoy the company of the people you work with. You like where you are and what you’ve done. Overall, you’re happy and content with where you are in life.

Then one day something changes. You realize what else is out there. Maybe you start idly looking. Maybe someone tracks you down. But either way, you learn what else is out there for you. You learn what you could be doing and where you could be doing it. You realize there’s more money out there for you. ((Possibly a LOT more money!)) You realize it’s possible to work with a skilled group of people to learn from and share expertise and ideas.

You realize a lot of things when your perspective changes. In this case, I am this person. My perspective has changed. With my wife’s current job hunt underway to move to somewhere better I started looking around as well. I wasn’t terribly motivated to leave where I am and move on. I wasn’t terribly motivated to go through the job hunt process again. I wasn’t very excited to put myself out there to be judged and rejected all over again. ((As every job hunt goes.))

Then out of the blue, I was contacted. I was headhunted. Someone called me out of the blue, and despite rarely answering my phone, I took this call. A sign? A higher power? A random act on a random day? Who knows. The result is I have an interview Tuesday with real live people. I get to put myself out there in front of a new group of nerds. I want to be accepted by these new nerds. I want to join their ranks. I want to get more support for my career at work and I want to advance in my career. I want to make more money and take on more responsibilities.

I am tired of racing around and putting out fires. No, I am tired of putting out imaginary fires created by a series of poor planning and poor communication. I am very tired of having to do more work or rework through no fault of my own.

I am tired of imagined fires becoming my problem. The latest example being receiving a call from an out-of-state office at 5:42 on a Friday afternoon asking to re-add a computer to the domain and set it up for a new hire for Monday. There’s no way. It took all the self-control I could muster not to scream at this person for their carelessness.

Do I have this right…?

You’ve known about this new hire for a several days. You’ve known about this new hire all day today. Instead of calling in the morning, when there was a snowball’s chance in hell of the request getting completed today, you waited until 18 minutes until I leave for the day and our office closes. ((I am also the last technician on site and while we are on-call for after-hours work, this does not qualify as an acceptable after-hours request.))

The saddest thing is this is not a unique situation. This ((Not this exact event but a similar situation)) seems to crop up every week or two. ((Especially in that office. Though it’s not a condition unique to them.))

I have office Stockholm Syndrome.

I have seen the light. I see a way out.
I am going to meet with my rescuers this week.

If I go, I am also going to cause headaches for my current manager. I am an integral part of the department there. I am the rock on which all things are built. I have the serious technical chops to answer any question that comes my way. I diligently document everything I run across, especially if I think I may ever run across it again.

Wherever I am, I bring my A game. And I may be bringing that game to a new place soon enough. I am excited.

Berries rotting on the vine

By Carl

On July 25, 2011

In Observations

I look up from my screens to see a sales rep standing over me. I can tell he’s frustrated. Before I can open my mouth, he slings his Android phone down on my desk. How do I know it’s an Android? It’s always an Android.

“I can’t type on this thing! I can’t see pictures in my email! I can’t get the company email setup! Can you show me how to use this thing?

He has gone out and bought an Android phone. He moved to it from the Blackberry Whatever he had before. He’s used a Blackberry for years. He misses his tiny tactile keyboard. He misses the familiar corral of icons. He misses that every single Blackberry looks like its predecessor. ((With minor changes.))

Why did he buy something he doesn’t want to use or even likes? He wants to do more with his phone. Maybe he wants to use Twitter and Facebook. Maybe he wants to stream music. Maybe he wants to graze through a vast application landscape. Maybe he simply wants a decent web browser.

Not a week passes when I don’t meet another Blackberry switcher. He’s left the comfortable, familiar tap-tap of the keyboard behind. He’s leapt headfirst into the alien world of Android phones because he wants more. ((And isn’t on AT&T or Verizon or doesn’t want an iPhone.))

He wants a web browser that can reasonably assemble a modern web page. ((He doesn’t care about flash.)) He wants to read the links he gets sent throughout the day. He wants to pull up the NY Times. He wants to check his stocks or send a quick Tweet. He wants to look at the new pictures of his niece that just popped up on Facebook. He wants all of this outside s tiny picture window. He wants the luxurious 3″ or 4″ display.

He wants more and more is not what RIM((Research in Motion)) is delivering. They got left behind. Apple’s iOS devices are eating their lunch Microsoft and Google ((and their army of partners)) stole the leftovers and their wallets. Just today, announced 2,000 layoffs.

People all across our company are dumping their Blackberries and moving to iPhones or Androids. ((I rarely see the iPhone people. Email setup is simple and consistent across providers.)) Judging from the news, this is not unique to our company.

It’s always the Android folks that stand over my desk or grab me in the hallways. It doesn’t matter which Android phone they’ve purchased on which carrier. Their tale of woe is always the same.

I miss the stock “Google Experience” my original Motorola Droid provided me. It’s a maze of skins and user interfaces out there now and trying to walk someone through a simple task like setting up email is an exercise in futility.

Every Android is unique to each provider and manufacturer has to put their mark on Android so even if you can successfully navigate one phone, a similar phone can have a completely different UI. ((It’s very frustrating from a support perspective to provide documentation or help over the phone.))

Every week I see more and more people turning from the Blackberries to Androids because they’re cheaper than iPhones and they offer a similar experience.

RIM is losing their base of business men with a choice. They will still cling to the government employees and those with more draconian IT departments but the writing is on the wall.

No one is buying Playbooks. ((We got one to test out but it’s almost useless without a Blackberry paired to it.)) No one is buying Blackberries. They all look the same.((Storm and Torch being the exceptions.)) There has been no innovation in the Blackberry patch in some time.

Instead of producing new phones and creative ideas, they’re pushing out the same phones over and over with slight differences. They are rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic as the ship goes down.

What is Twitter?

By Carl

On July 8, 2011

In Observations

Trying to explain Twitter is the Rorschach Test for the 21st Century. The entire platform is exactly what you make of it. It is everything to everyone and can be tailored to match each person’s needs and desires.

In the beginning, there is nothing. As we find friends and heroes sharing their bits of wisdom Twitter evolves from a blank slate to a customized information pipeline specific to each one of us.

My Twitter feed is a stream of tech bloggers, photographers, designers, friends, co-workers and local food trucks. My feed is a reflection of who I am and who I interact with.

My wife’s Twitter feed is filled with food bloggers, family, and crafters. It is perfect for her just as mine is perfect for me.

Twitter is The Washington Post. Twitter is CNN. Twitter is TMZ. Twitter is AOL. Twitter is ESPN. Twitter is a yearbook. Twitter is a family album.

Twitter is exactly what you want it to be. Twitter is the media landscape in a world staffed by your clones.