Technology in our Community

Want to learn how to code?

2012-01-30T03:49:00.000-05:00

There's still time ... Code Year (a project via Codeacademy just started) and it sounds like a pretty cool way to learn how to code. They'll email you a new interactive programming lesson every Monday and they promise you'll be building apps and websites before you know it! Check it out and sign-up.

25 Worst Passwords --- is your password listed?

2012-01-30T01:59:00.000-05:00

As I hear more about online accounts getting compromised, this article from Yahoo/Forbes.com shares some really good tips.
-----------

If you see your password below, STOP!

Do not finish reading this post and immediately go change your password -- before you forget. You will probably make changes in several places since passwords tend to be reused for multiple accounts.

Here are two lists, the first compiled by SplashData:
1. password
2. 123456
3.12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passwOrd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football

Last year, Imperva looked at 32 million passwords stolen from RockYou, a hacked website, and released its own Top 10 "worst" list:

1. 123456
2. 12345
3. 123456789
4. Password
5. iloveyou
6. princess
7. rockyou
8. 1234567
9. 12345678
10. abc123

Click here to read the entire article.

Season's Greetings ... Blessings and Peace this Christmas day!

2011-12-24T22:10:00.000-05:00

Give Hope. Give Love. Tapulanga Christmas Giving

2011-11-30T10:51:00.000-05:00

As some of you may know, my wife Kate and I help support a school that my sister runs in the Philippines. Some of you were there to join us at the "Eat. Share. Love." event at Kahler Hall last September and we shared that we will be visiting the Philippines this year. Our trip is coming up and one of the highlights is a Christmas party for the scholars on December 20. We're looking forward to sharing Christmas cheer with the scholars and having our kids (Maggie, Anna and Carlo) meet the students.

We've inviting everyone to join our Christmas Giving Program this year. For only $15, you can give a Tapulanga Foundation scholar a gift that their families can enjoy. Your donation will buy a pair of shoes, a nice shirt and a food basket.

You will also have the opportunity to print or email a holiday gift card to tell your loved ones that you have honored them with a gift that truly matters. Please visit http://www.tapulanga.org/christmas2011.php to send your gift!

hocoblogs@@@

GRAND OPENING of Howard County Library's New Charles E. Miller Branch & Historical Center

2011-11-12T14:46:00.000-05:00

The Grand Opening of the new Charles E. Miller Branch & Historical Center is on Saturday, December 17. This free event is open to the community.

Festivities begin at 9:30 am with music by Mt. Hebron High School's Dixieland Jazz Band. County Executive Ken Ulman will deliver a brief opening address, followed by remarks from U.S. Congressman Elijah Cummings, State Senator Jim Robey, State Delegate Guy Guzzone, and County Council Chair Calvin Ball. Doors will open after the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.

When:
Saturday, December 17

9:30 am - Musical Entertainment
9:45 am - Remarks
10 am - Ribbon Cutting and Doors Open
10 am to 6 pm - Ongoing tours and activities

Where:
Howard County Library
Charles E. Miller Branch & Historical Center
9421 Frederick Road
Ellicott City, MD 21042

Questions: Call 410.313.7750 or visit hclibrary.org.

Raffle Tickets still available for the iPad 2, nook Color, and Kindle!

2011-09-16T00:20:00.000-04:00

We still have a few more raffle tickets available! 3 great prizes --- iPad 2, nook Color, and Kindle. We're only selling 125 tickets @ $25/ticket!

Purchase Raffle Tickets

The drawing is this coming Sunday (18th) at the Eat. Share. Love. benefit at Kahler Hall in Columbia. If you are unable to attend the event, we will notify you if you are the winner by mail, email or phone.

Thank you Steve Jobs!

2011-08-24T21:59:00.000-04:00

Check out this video from 1984. Even back then he was already classy and confident in showing off his new products. In leaving his role as CEO of Apple while his company is at the top and his products are loved worldwide, he is leaving with style and grace, and we hope that his remaining days/months (and who knows maybe even years) as Chairman will be fruitful.

My very first computer was an Apple and I still have a Mac Classic sitting on the floor in my office. It's been amazing to see one man's genius and persistence shape (and reshape) an industry ... quite a ride. Best wishes Steve and thank you for sharing your talent (and magic) to the world!

2 days to go till Hocoblogs Party at Stanford Grill!

2011-08-09T18:57:00.000-04:00

2 days to go till the Hocoblogs party on the 11th (Thursday, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm). Please join us at the Stanford Grill in Columbia. Event is open to the public (please register at http://hocoblogs-baltsun.eventbrite.com).

Tech tools for startups

2011-07-26T20:20:00.000-04:00

Curious to see which tech tools startups use? Hint: Lots of cloud-based apps like Google Apps, Dropbox and Salesforce and some legacy tools like quickbooks, paypal and Adobe CS5.

See article at http://mashable.com/2011/07/26/startup-tools/.

Goodbye Classic Macbook

2011-07-21T22:35:00.000-04:00

Apple quietly retired the Classic (white) Macbook yesterday as it announced upgrades to the Macbook Air and an updated, faster (and lower priced) Mac Mini.

The Classic Macbook was a favorite among students and teachers and was also my favorite among all the Mac laptop models partly because of its playful look and feel vs. the silver business like feel of the Macbook Pro.

I also liked the $999 price tag which is still available if you choose the 11-inch Macbook Air. My only concern with the entry level Macbook Air is the 64GB drive. It's a solid state flash drive so it's very fast (almost twice as fast) and will never crash like a regular hard drive but it won't take me long to fill up that 64GB drive.

I take it Apple is probably selling this as a secondary laptop, one for taking on the road and not use as your main computer for your photos, music and videos. Or they expect us to use an external hard drive? or store most of our photos, music and videos on the cloud?

10 Gmail Gadgets to Try

2011-06-23T05:49:00.002-04:00

[Source: Gmail Blog]

There is a powerful but little known Gmail feature that lives in Labs called “Add any gadget by URL.” Once you turn it on, you can add iGoogle gadgets (or any gadget specified by an .xml file) to the side of your Gmail account. While most of these gadgets are built by third-parties and not owned or maintained by Google, they can be super handy.

To install any of these gadgets, follow those steps:
1) From your Gmail account, go to the Labs tab of Gmail Settings.
2) Look for the Lab “Add any gadget by URL.” Enable it, then click “Save changes.”
3) Go to the new “Gadgets” tab under “Settings” and add the relevant .xml address.

Here’s a list of a ten I’ve found worth trying out:

Wikipedia
Look for a specific query right from Gmail.
http://www.google.com/ig/modules/wikipedia.xml

Google Calculator
Make some quick calculations while typing an email.
http://calebegg.com/calc.xml

Note
Add a sticky note to the corner of your Gmail account.
http://www.google.com/ig/modules/sticky.xml

Remember the Milk
If you’re a fan of this task management system, accessing all your “Remember the milk” notes from right within Gmail can be super handy.
http://www.rememberthemilk.com/services/modules/gmail/rtm.xml

PolyClock
Gives you the time of day for any place in the world.
http://gad.getpla.net/poly/clock.xml

Currency Converter
A real time currency converter.
http://helloworld123---.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/currency-converter.xml

bit.ly URL shortener
Lets you shorten URLs in a single click.
http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/107368512201818821991/bitly-shortener.xml

Chuck Norris fact generator
Displays a different “Chuck Norris fact” every day of the year. http://marsupialmusic.net/stu/scripts/chucknorris.xml

Finally, you might be familiar with the last two gadgets, since they are also available as individual Gmail Labs:

Google Calendar
Displays your Google Calendar agenda right from Gmail.
http://www.google.com/ig/modules/calendar.xml

Google Docs
Gives you quick access to your most recent documents.
www.google.com/ig/modules/docs.xml

You can find lots of other gadgets optimized for iGoogle on this page, and many of them work well in Gmail, too.

Gmail Accounts Attacked

2011-06-01T17:25:00.004-04:00

There's been a recent spate of Gmail Accounts being attacked and Google sent out a notice today about the attacks affecting some accounts of senior US officials. Most of the attacks are carried out through phishing (responses to e-mails from malicious hackers posing as trusted sources).

Google also released some tips on how to keep your account safe and avoid these phishing attacks and they encourage everyone to spend ten minutes today taking steps to improve your online security so that you can experience all that the Internet offers—while also protecting your data.

If you're on gmail, or any other 3rd party email site (including Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, etc..) take the time to do this because it is not pleasant when your account gets compromised. The typical scenario is the attacker will login to your account and send out an email containing a malicious link to EVERYONE in your addressbook. Not pleasant at all. So 10 minutes ... that's all it takes and you'll be safer online (as well as everyone in your addressbook).

Mac virus?

2011-05-25T22:57:00.002-04:00

Kudos to Apple for releasing a security update that will halt recent malware attacks. I guess sooner or later this was bound to happen as Macs are gaining market share and becoming a viable target for malware developers. But I have yet to see any Mac infected compared to the regularity that I see infected PCs.

This particular threat is a trojan, which is technically not a virus, but it's still malware that nobody wants on their computers.

Until I actually see a Mac infected, I wouldn't strongly recommend for Mac users to immediately go out and buy security software, but if you're a Comcast subscriber, you can get Norton Security for your Mac (already included in your subscription) and Verizon subscribers can get Verizon's Internet Security Suite (from McAfee) that also supports Macs.

Hocoblogs party on the 19th!

2011-05-17T19:03:00.002-04:00

2 days to go! Hocoblogs party at Union Jack's (5:30 pm to 7:30 pm). We have over 60 RSVPs already ... free food. Our sponsors (the Howard County Library and Howard County General Hospital) are launching their new blog (Well and Wise). Please join us ... bloggers and readers welcome!

http://well-n-wise.eventbrite.com

Kindle books from the library

2011-04-20T23:51:00.002-04:00

Finally, Amazon is making it possible to borrow books for your Kindle from the library. This is scheduled to be launched later this year and hopefully the Howard County Libraries will be among the initial libraries who will be part of the program.

Amazon to Launch Library Lending for Kindle Books

Tagging on Hocoblogs

2011-02-22T09:24:00.004-05:00

We just added the hocofood@@@ tag on hocoblogs. Now you can put this tag on your food related blog posting (anywhere on the page or on the title) and your blog posting will appear in the food section. In addition to this tag, we've also had our hocoblogs@@@ tag which puts your blog posting in the community section.

Happy blogging!

A Very Merry Social Media Christmas!

2010-12-24T13:14:00.001-05:00

This is cute ... enjoy!

Christmas Cheer!

2010-12-23T08:51:00.003-05:00

Several hundred people at the Columbia Mall last night singing, dancing and spreading holiday cheer!

hocoblogs@@@

Apple lists top iPhone and iPad apps

2010-12-10T20:38:00.002-05:00

Apple just released the top apps for the year.

iPad (Free non-news apps)
Apple's iBooks
Pandora Internet music
Netflix
Google's Mobile App
Solitaire
Flixster's movie directory
Amazon's IMDB movie-and-TV credits and sypnosis charts
Amazon's Kindle app
Google Earth
Virtuoso Piano, a virtual piano.

iPad (Free news apps)
USA TODAY
Fluent News Reader
BBC
New York Times
Wall Street Journal

iPad (Paid)
Apple's Pages for word processing,
GoodReader, Apple's Numbers for spreadsheets
Angry Birds game
Apple's Keynote for presentations
Glee Karaoke for singing along with the hits
Wolfram Alpha reference
Pinball HD
Friendly Plus for Facebook
Star Walk astronomy guide

iPhone (Free)
Facebook
Angry Birds Lite
Words with Friends
Skype
Tap Tap Revenge
the Weather Channel
Paper Toss
Bing
Rock Band
Talking Tom Cat

iPhone (Paid)
Angry Birds
Doodle Jump
Skee-Ball
Bejeweled 2
Fruit Ninja
Cut the Rope
Gamebox 1
The Moron Test
Plants vs. Zombies
Pocket God

Notice that all the top iPhone apps are games. Angry Birds is popular all-around with both the iPhone and iPad. And of course Facebook (the official app on the iPhone and the unofficial app Friendly Plus on the iPad) is also popular on both platforms.

HocoBlogs party on the 30th at Pure Wine Cafe!

2010-11-28T05:08:00.002-05:00

Howard County bloggers and readers, please join us at the HocoBlogs party on the 30th (Tuesday) at Pure Wine Cafe in historic Ellicott City. Matt Kircher of the Vino Trip blog is co-hosting along with Jessie Newburn.

hocoblogs@@@

Hoco Bloggers in the mainstream

2010-10-20T11:06:00.002-04:00

It's been almost 4 years since Jessie Newburn suggested to me that we should help promote local Howard County bloggers. That suggestion turned into HocoBlogs and last month I was priveleged to join Jessie at the Howard County chamber luncheon where David Hobby spoke about his personal journey launching Strobist and how it has become a "movement" in the photography blogging world. Congratulations to Jessie and the other Howard County bloggers who keep the blogging medium alive and interesting in Howard County.

Blogging: Melding with the Mainstream (from the Business Monthly)

Using the iPad for special needs kids

2010-10-20T10:47:00.002-04:00

This one touches my heart. A few years ago our oldest daughter Maggie who was born with a genetic condition that limits her ability to speak needed an alternative communication device. Although we belong to a well-funded school system, we still had to go through some challenges for her to avail of a device. When we inquired about purchasing it on our own we were surprised that it was so expensive (about $6000). I realized then that it was purely an economies of scale issue and hoped that sooner or later when tablet computing devices hit the mainstream the prices of similar devices will drop significantly. When I saw the iPad when it first came out, I immediately saw that this was one such device and the possibilities for these devices in terms of software would usher in a new wave of innovation that could really benefit kids like Maggie.

Using the iPad to Connect (Parents, Therapists use Apple Tablet to Communicate with Special Needs Kids

iPad, Laptop and Kindle raffle tickets still available!

2010-09-15T10:00:00.005-04:00

Raffle tickets are only $25 and we will only sell 150 tickets. You can purchase raffle tickets online at http://www.tapulanga.org/sharinghope.

3 great prizes --- Apple iPad, ThinkPad X100e laptop and Amazon Kindle. 3 chances to win, top winner chooses which among the 3 prizes they want, 2nd winner chooses from remaining 2 prizes

Raffle drawing is on Sunday, Sept. 19 at Kahler Hall in Columbia at the Sharing Hope benefit for Tapulanga Foundation. If you are unable to attend the event, we will notify you if you are the winner by mail, email or phone.

We're Hiring! Tech Support and Consulting Associate

2010-09-08T08:00:00.002-04:00

Percworks (www.percworks.com) is a small, innovative technology company based in Ellicott City looking for an associate with a completed Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems or a related field.

Associate will primarily take on tasks related to computer technical support and technology consulting working with residential clients and small businesses in Howard County and surrounding areas. Other tasks may include working on website development projects and providing technical support for Akubo CRM, a web-based database service operated by Percworks.

The ideal candidate will have the following skills:

•PC and Mac expertise
•Web development experience, preferably on Unix/Linux environments
•Excellent analytical skills
•Persistent and resourceful in finding solutions to new technical problems
•Patient and pleasant personality to work with clients needing technical support
•Must be able to explain technology to non-techies in a clear, courteous and simple manner
•Self-motivated and disciplined
•Excellent writing skills
•Always willing to learn

Note that this position requires visiting clients at their locations, so you will need to have a reliable means of transportation.

Please send your resume to robin@percworks.com. No phone calls please.

•Location: Ellicott City
•Compensation: competitive, based on experience
•Telecommuting is ok.
•Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
•Please, no phone calls about this job!
•Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

HocoBlogs Party tonight, and NEW hocoblogs page

2010-08-16T09:32:00.002-04:00

Hocoblogs party tonight at the lakefront. Join us for Monday Night at the Movies and our August hocoblogs blogtail party. Bring a picnic blanket and/or low beach chair, some munchies and your fam/SO/kids/friends. Columbia Lakefront, Monday, 8/16. Dusk. Free. The movie is "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs".

And check out our newly redesigned hocoblogs page --- www.hocoblogs.com. Bringing local, personal and community news and blogs to Howard County.

4 Fundamental Rules To Successful Email Marketing

2010-07-14T20:11:00.001-04:00

(Cross-posted from the Akubo Blog)

by Amanda Lee

1. Strategically choose your subject line. Constructing an attractive subject line may require you to do some research on current buzzwords in your industry. However, here are a few small adjustments that can make a huge difference.

• Use numbers. Readers can easily grasp something that’s quantitative because it gives them a better idea of what to expect. For example, “3 Days Left To Purchase Tickets” or “8 Volunteers Needed for Upcoming Food Drive”.

• Include a call to action. Readers are more likely to open an email without delay if the verbiage conveys urgency. “Offer Expires Tomorrow” is an example of this. However, if your message is in the form of a newsletter, the call to action may be more subtle, such as, “Learn How To…”

• Keep it at 50 characters max. Some email accounts only display the first 15 characters so make sure the first few words in your headline provide value to the message you are trying to communicate. Furthermore, do not capitalize all your characters because it can be an indication of yelling – only caps the first letter of each word.

2. Timing is everything. Choosing the best time of day and best day of the week to blast your emails is important. Although each industry is unique, it’s safe to say that Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays generally have above average open and click through rates. For the best time of day, avoid mornings. Bombarded with emails, the first thing we do is delete all the unnecessary ones to get them out of the way. The best time tends to be around lunch when people have some downtime. Try experimenting by breaking your contacts into 4 separate groups and send one at 11am, 12pm, 1pm, and 2pm and observe the response (and open) rate. Determine the best time/day combination that suits your target market.

3. How many is too many? Once or twice a month is generally the rule of thumb. It pays off to keep a dialogue going so your contacts don’t forget who you are, but harassing them once a week or more will lead to a surge of unsubscribers. Most people who unsubscribe feel the information is not relevant to them so it may work to your advantage to tailor messages targeting specific groups within your contact list.

4. Sometimes, less is more. The content of your emails should be short, sweet, and to the point. A common mistake people make is trying to fit all their great ideas into one long message, which is confusing to the reader and ineffective marketing. Try brainstorming with a group to come up with several ideas and write them down on a whiteboard. Then, funnel down to the most suitable content for this particular email. Save other ideas for future emails.

HocoBlogs party tonight at Pure Wine Cafe

2010-06-02T11:32:00.002-04:00

Bloggers party tonight for local bloggers who live in Howard County. Hosted by Jessie Newburn and Frank Hecker. Pure Wine Cafe, from 6:15 - 7:45 p.m.

http://hocoblogs-pure-wine-cafe.eventbrite.com

iPad first impressions

2010-05-25T07:26:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago I blogged about Apple's $500 laptop, which I referred to as the iPad. I had thought about it as Apple's answer to the Windows-based netbooks more than Apple's answer to the Kindle, but after spending some time using an iPad recently, my impression is that the iPad is more in between a netbook and a Kindle. For those who have an iPhone and an iPod touch, it is really for the most part a larger version of these devices. The main advantage of course is the larger screen which is bright and crisp, and the larger touch keyboard (for those of us who've had problems using the iPhone and iPod touch keyboard, the iPad's keyboard doesn't have the same typing challenges).

So my first impression was really a combination of great, this is cool, to not so cool, it's just a large iPhone/iPod touch. Then I tried out the iBook app, and flipping through the pages was pretty cool, but when I tried holding it like a book (standing up) I thought it's a little heavier than I expected. The iPad is larger than a Kindle so it allows you to read the book in landscape mode so you can see both pages (which is how we usually hold a book anyway), but it got me thinking that a smaller iPad about the size of the Kindle would attract me enough if only because it would also weight less. Plus I think reducing the screen size to the size of the Kindle's screen wouldn't hurt the ability to view webpages in full size vs. the impossibility of doing this on the iPhone/iPod touch's mobile screens.

And for the smaller size (and weight) maybe the price will also drop to say $399, which at that price point brings it to less than double the price of the Kindle and close to the price of a basic netbook. We'll see if Apple will do this, but judging from their past practice with the iPod and the iPhone, we may see a smaller, less pricey, and more capable iPad in 6 months and then the marketplace will really be very competitive across these various devices and consumers will have the best choices available to them at prices they will find hard to resist.

Magical and Revolutionary? If we had never seen the iPhone/iPod touch, yes the iPad would be truly magical and revolutionary. But we expect much more from Apple now, so simply introducing a larger version of these devices is not enough to impress us ... so we eagerly await version 2.

Akubo Updates: Email enhancements, New editor, Spell Checker, File Browser and more

2010-02-11T19:04:00.002-05:00

Here's the latest Akubo update.

-------------------------------

We're pleased to announce recently added Akubo features.

New editor with File Browser for Emails, Notes and Letter (Mail-Merge)

* New rich text editor that's easier to use and provides more text editing capability including
* Spell checker with spell as you type functionality
* Enhanced image upload and file browser (with rename and delete)
* File upload with file browser (to send links to files instead of sending attachments).
* Allowed files are csv, (MS Word - doc, docx), pdf, (MS Powerpoint ppt, pptx), rtf, (MS Excel xls, xlsx), txt, zip
* View HTML source is improved (you no longer have to switch back from source view to commit changes)
* Copy and Paste from MS Word (with it's own paste from Word button) reduces the extra HTML formatting characters that would typically get included when pasting an MS Word document
* Copy and Paste from Excel (preserves formatting on Excel into HTML table and cells)

File Browser with File Repository

* New file browser functionality allows you to maintain a file repository of images and files.
* Allowed image types are bmp, gif, jpeg, jpg, png.
* Allowed files are csv, (MS Word - doc, docx), pdf, (MS Powerpoint ppt, pptx), rtf, (MS Excel xls, xlsx), txt, zip.
* Upload, Browse, Rename and Delete files.
* You can use your images and files for Notes, Letters and Emails.
* Send links to files in your emails instead of sending attachments.

Email your Notes and Letters

* You can now easily email your Notes and Letters. From the view notes and view letters page, you'll see an Email button to easily send your note or letter to your contacts.

Email enhancements

* You can now email individual contacts without having to put them in a group first. This is very useful when you need to send out an email to a select group of individuals that you don't really wish to put into a group.
* Opt-out (unsubscribe) link now automatically appears at the bottom of your email messages. This will further ensure that your emails are not marked as SPAM (Junk Mail) by your recipients.
* Enhanced email delivery reports --- see Unique Opens, Total Opens and Opt-out statistics for each email address recipient (in real time as your recipients receive your email).
* Images --- We've made it easier to add images in your email. You can now add images directly from your computer and the images are hosted on our servers. You can also still continue referencing images from your website if you already have those images images on your servers.
* With new editor you get spell checking, enhanced image uploads and image browser (with rename and delete), improved view HTML source and improved copy and paste from MS Word and Excel.

Envelopes and Mailing Labels Enhancements

* Choose the font style and font size for envelopes
* We added size A7 for envelopes
* Choose fields to include in the envelope name/address label
* You can now choose the font style for mailing labels
* Choose fields to include in the name/address label

Export to .Doc (MS Word)

* Notes and Letters can now be exported as .Doc files (opens in MS Word). The exported document opens in print view (instead of web view) so you'll get the layout and view you would expect when editing MS Word documents.

Year-end Reports

* Year-end reports (in the reports section) now include a full report that shows the total sales/donation from each customer/donor. The full-year report can also be downloaded as a CSV file (opens in Excel).

Mobile browser page save password checkbox (Blackberry, iPhone and other mobile browser phones)

* You can now choose to save your password when you access Akubo from your Blackberry or iPhone web browser. Passwords expire after 2 weeks.

--------------

As always, thanks for all your suggestions and feedback. We love hearing from you!

You can reach us at info@akubocrm.com or call 1-888-576-5592.

Computer Virus Season

2010-01-29T10:26:00.002-05:00

I've been seeing a lot of computer virus attacks in the last 2 weeks and I just want to remind everyone to make sure your antivirus software is updated and your web browser is also updated. Some of these viruses have been coming in through Internet Explorer so I recommend switching over to Mozilla Firefox (you can download their latest version at www.firefox.com) because it's a safer browser.

For those of you looking for a good FREE antivirus software I've been recommending the following:

AVG
Microsoft Security Essentials

And for cleaning out spyware, I really like Malwarebytes.

Hope these tips help you stay safe and virus free!

Robin

Apple's $499 laptop?

2010-01-28T08:45:00.002-05:00

Not quite a laptop but the iPad is close to being a laptop and at $499 it's the price point that Apple needed to be at to compete with the netbooks. Check out the video below. The book app looks pretty cool (flipping through pages with your fingers) and the virtual keyboard is similar to the size of a netbook's keyboard ... so for those of us who primarily use apps on the web (e.g. gmail, facebook, Akubo, etc.) this will be very interesting to try.

See the iPad Video

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-24T20:41:00.002-05:00

I would like to wish all my customers a very Happy Holidays filled with peace and blessings for the coming year. As I celebrate my 6th year of service in Howard County, I'm looking forward to another great year, with more new technologies in the marketplace and of course continuing my commitment of providing the best service that made Percworks what it is today.

Whatever you’re doing this season, enjoy yourselves and your families and thank you for being a part of the Percworks family.

Windows 7 First Impressions

2009-11-06T02:27:00.002-05:00

My first impression is so far so good! I admit there was some hesitation on my part to upgrade to Windows 7 only because in the past every upgrade made my computer slower, but everything I had read suggested that Windows 7 (unlike past releases of newer versions of Windows) was actually going to be faster than its predecessor (Vista). First I upgraded one of my desktops ... just to test it out and see if the upgrade would work ... took about an hour without any problems. That desktop didn't have much in it, so I wasn't worried if the upgrade didn't work. But my laptop has everything in it, and being right in the middle of project deadlines I usually wouldn't do a major upgrade like this. But just the other day after a Vista update caused my laptop to almost not start-up, and it also froze a few times, I decided it was time to do the upgrade.

I had ordered the family pack (good for 3 computers) upgrade from Microsoft for Windows 7 Home Premium so I stuck the 32-bit DVD in (they do send you the 32-bit and 64-bit versions). The upgrade took considerably longer (3 hours) than my desktop because I had more files and programs on my laptop. But after the few prompts I had to answer I basically just left it to run on its own while I played with the kids and put them to bed. When it was done I entered the product key and Windows 7 started-up successfully.

Only 1 device driver failed to upgrade. Windows 7 complained that it couldn't find the device driver for a PCI Memory Controller. So I looked it up on Google and found that it was referring to the Intel Turbo Memory booster. I did a search again on Google and found the Intel Turbo Memory Windows driver for Windows 7 at Lenovo's website.

I fired up my desktop email (Windows Live Mail), no problems there. I fired up Photoshop, Dreamweaver ... no problems as well! I did a couple fresh restarts just to see if it really is faster in restarting, and YES, it really is faster especially in bringing up your desktop. My Vista desktop was taking so long to come up but now Windows 7 brings it up considerably faster. And no freezing, so far!

Just a few months ago I was thinking of Microsoft as being in the same state as the American auto companies who fell way behind the Japanese (Apple in Microsoft's case) in terms of reliability and product design. I still think the Apple OS is superior if only because I've always been a fan of unix, but this upgrade experience does give Microsoft a chance in the battle.

Competition is great for consumers because it forces the players to be at the top of their game. Let's face it, it's not because Apple's OS is great that Microsoft got a wake-up call. Apple's OS X was released in 2001, the same year Windows XP was released. But Apple's market share was still minuscule then and people were still not buying Macs the same way they fly off the shelf today. Windows Vista came out in 2006, just when Apple's popularity started to really gain momentum, and more and more people realized it's not too hard (and not too expensive) to switch to a Mac.

So I'm quite happy with my Windows 7 upgrade. I recommend it!

Lightroom 3 beta

2009-10-30T02:05:00.002-04:00

Lightroom 3 beta now available for download from http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom3

Beta is good until April 30, 2010.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software is a digital darkroom and efficient assistant designed for serious amateur and professional photographers. With Lightroom, you can organize, enhance, and showcase your images all from one fast and nimble application that’s available on Macintosh and Windows® platforms.

* Manage your growing photo collection in a visual library that makes it quick and easy to organize, find, and select your images.
* Get the absolute best from every shot—whether raw, JPEG, or TIFF—using state-of-the-art nondestructive editing tools.
* And when you're ready, showcase your images with the impact they deserve using customizable print layouts, powerful slideshows, web gallery creation tools, and connection to online photo sharing sites (may require third-party plug-ins).

Space still available for How to Use your Digital Camera class

2009-09-23T08:24:00.002-04:00

Space is still available for my class "How to Use your Digital Camera" which starts tomorrow at the Columbia Art Center. Class will run for 3 Thursday evening sessions from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

In this introductory workshop, learn how to use your digital camera including transferring files to the computer, organizing the photo files and printing.

Thursdays, September 24-October 8, 6:30-8:30pm (3 sessions)
$60-Columbia residents/$70-non-Columbia residents

MacBook Pro Raffle tickets still available

2009-09-15T00:27:00.002-04:00

Raffle tickets are only $25 and we will only sell 100 tickets. You can purchase raffle tickets online at http://www.tapulanga.org/sharinghope2009.php.

Raffle drawing is on Sunday, Sept. 20 at Kahler Hall at the Sharing Hope benefit for Tapulanga Foundation.

Facebook, Twitter and other Social Media Classes at HoCo Library

2009-09-10T22:06:00.002-04:00

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, FriendFeed ... learn about these various social media tools at the Howard County Library this Fall.

Tweet, Tweet: All a Twitter About Twitter – Learn what Twitter is, how you can use it and how to follow someone. Discover several other social web applications that tie into Twitter.
Wednesday, September 23; 7:00 pm (Miller branch)

Facebook 101 – Introduction to this social networking site, including how to set up an account (Must have a valid email address.) Wednesday, September 30; 7:00 pm (Miller branch)
Facebook 102 – Learn more specifics about uploading photos, applications, privacy settings (Must have a valid email address.) Wednesday, October 7; 7:00 pm (Miller branch)

Flickr 101 – Learn how to use this popular photo-sharing site, as well as basic photography tips. (Must have a Yahoo account to attend class.) Thursday, October 15; 7:00 pm (Miller branch)
Flickr 102 – Learn how to use this popular photo-sharing site, as well as advanced photography tips. (Must have a Yahoo account to attend class.) Tuesday, October 27; 7:00 pm (Miller branch)

Social Web – Introduction to the world of the social web with demos of Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, Friendfeed, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Wednesday, October 28; 7:00 pm (Glenwood branch)

YouTube – Introduction and tour of the site. Thursday, October 29; 7:00 pm (Miller branch)
YouTube II - Hands-on class where you will earn how to upload your videos. (Must bring a short video, up to three minutes, on USB drive to upload in class.) Thursday, November 12; 7:00 pm (Miller branch)

LinkedIn – Learn about the social networking site LinkedIn and how you can use it professionally. Tuesday, November 17; 7:00 pm (Miller branch)

There's more info from the Howard County website.

Sell your house through a blog --- thanks David!

2009-04-24T23:35:00.002-04:00

David Hobby lends his blogging and photography expertise to the Real Estate world. See this blog site he created to help sell his house.

The pictures are beautiful as expected from David's expertise in lighting. Be sure to read more about how he created this site and the prep-work involved.

And if you live in Howard County, Maryland, be sure to check out our growing and active community of bloggers at hocoblogs. We now have close to 150 bloggers from all over Howard County blogging about various topics including community, politics, faith, tech, food, arts, and lots of various special topics and personal stories.

Congratulations Bev Speed - Bronze Medal for Underwater Photography

2009-03-14T20:28:00.006-04:00

Congratulations to Bev Speed for winning another award for her beautiful underwater photography. There were 12,591 entries from 134 countries this year and Bev won the bronze medal for the super macro category for Underwater Photography Magazine.

The UnderwaterPhotography.com photo contest is the longest running and most prestigious contest online, or off. If you want to make a name for yourself it is THE place to do it.

One of the medals awarded is the reward for all the hard work underwater photographers put in chasing those great shots in far-flung destinations. It's the industry's most coveted prize because it says the winner succeeded in the most competitive environment there is, against the top talent of the moment.

Bev Speed - Super Macro - Bronze Medal

You can check out Bev's gallery over at SmugMug where she has underwater pictures from all over the world.

Lenovo Netbook first impression

2009-01-13T07:31:00.003-05:00

If you're in the market for a small and ultra-portable laptop, consider a netbook. These laptops are small, typically having a 9 or 10 inch screen, light (less than 3 lbs) and very affordable, starting at less than $300.

At that price I decided to get one to take with me on the road. It was a choice between a Dell Inspiron Mini or the Lenovo Ideapad S10. The Dell Inspiron Mini was my initial choice because they're very light (2.28 lbs.) and they were recently on sale at the Dell Outlet for $279. This would come with Windows XP, 8 GB solid state hard drive and 512 MB RAM. I almost hit the buy button when I decided to continue shopping around and went to the Lenovo site where I saw the Ideapad S10 which comes with a regular 80 GB hard drive, 10 inch screen and on sale at $349. After reading some reviews about both netbooks I decided to get the Lenovo (the reviews mentioned the Lenovo build felt more solid & durable and the larger hard drive was going to be worth it).

It arrived in 2 days and if I didn't see the shipping label from Lenovo, the size and weight of the box fooled me to think this was another book order from Amazon. After opening the box and attaching the battery I was up and running in minutes. Since this runs regular Windows XP, no surprises here. It recognized my wifi network immediately and I started browsing on Internet Explorer. I wanted to test out how slow (or fast) this computer really is with its Intel Atom processor. So I went to YouTube, Vimeo, Akubo, Picasa and it was fast. No problems at all. I also installed Skype (it has a built-in webcam), uninstalled Norton (replaced it with AVG) and installed MS Office (this I had to do through a flash drive because it doesn't have a CD/DVD drive).

At this point I was pretty impressed. The build feels solid and the fast performance doesn't feel compromising in any way. Of course I haven't tried loading up photoshop and I'm not sure I will, but looking at the task manager, the Intel Atom is a hyper-threading processor so you get some of the benefits of a dual-processor.

I also loaded up Rhapsody and Verizon VZAccess Manager. So last Saturday on the way up to PA, I plugged in my blackberry to the netbook via USB, fired up Verizon VZAccess Manager, connected to the internet, started Rhapsody, chose an album to play and connected an audio cord from the netbook to my car's Aux input and for the next hour and half driving up I-83 we were listening to music from my Rhapsody account, online, on the road. Pretty cool!

I will be taking this netbook on the road with me and my guess is when my clients see it, they will want one for themselves.

2009 Wish List

2009-01-02T20:06:00.001-05:00

My wish list for 2009.

- $500 Mac laptop
- Windows 7 is released on time (late 2009)
- Quad-core laptops from Dell
- Nikon releases an SLR to improve upon the D90 that allows zooming and focusing while taking videos
- Rhapsody on my Blackberry
- Touchscreen iMac/Macbook
- Carbonite releases feature to back up external drives
- Facebook merges with Linked-In so we only have to maintain 1 social network account
- Blackberry/iPhone synch for Akubo
- Wii 2
- VZAccess Manager official release for Linux with support for using my Blackberry as a modem

Last chance for Wii Raffle by Maryland AT Coop

2008-12-02T14:19:00.002-05:00

The Maryland AT (Assistive Technology) Coop is having a Wii raffle to be drawn on December 4 at 2pm. Tickets are $10/ticket; 3 for $25, 7 for $50. Click here to purchase tickets through the Maryland AT Coop website (pay by paypal or credit card).

The Maryland A.T. Co-op is a great resource for Howard County families and organizations that need or are exploring the use of assistive technology products. The Co-op provides discounted purchasing and training opportunities to schools, agencies, organizations, and families.

AVG Online Backup powered by Carbonite

2008-12-01T19:52:00.002-05:00

AVG, the popular free antivirus product is now offering online backups. AVG's backup system is powered by Carbonite. I've been seeing Carbonite in various installations and my overall impression of it is good. Online backups are worry-free and very easy to use. They're not the fastest in terms of data recovery, but at $50/year it's cheap and worth it. I still recommend an external backup drive for quick recovery, but if you want something completely automatic and never want to worry about filling up your external drive, sign-up for online backup.

AVG's online backup is free for the first 2 Gigs, after that it's $50/year for unlimited space.

http://www.carbonite.com/avg/signup.aspx

Update on my 2008 wish list

2008-10-22T14:25:00.004-04:00

We're 10 months into 2008 and so far 4 out of 5 of my wish list items (from January 1st) have come true:
- $100 blackberry
- Facebook has grown up (sort of) ... they no longer assume they'll be the next advertising king.
- Norton Antivirus 2008 is a lot better ... it seems to not slow down your computer anymore.
- We're beyond 100 local Howard County bloggers on HocoBlogs (blogs are no longer on ezColumbia but on our partner site HocoBlogs).

What's close is internet TV as more and more episodes are starting to be shown online. The iPhone is down to $199. Emu did release non-beta Vista drivers but not for all their products. There are streaming radio apps for the iPhone now but not yet Rhapsody. No similar store to CompUSA yet in Columbia. We'll have to wait and see how much of a memory hog Windows 7 will be when it comes out next year. Probably no near-term chance of iPhone working on Verizon's network.

Here's a recap of my 2008 wish list.
- Apple's iPhone will work on Verizon's network
- a $100 iPhone
- a $100 Blackberry
- Internet TV
- 50 Meg download speeds at home
- Emu releases non-beta drivers for Vista
- Facebook grows up
- A more open and less cluttered system challenges Facebook
- Norton, McAfee, Trendmicro (and all the other bloated PC security software) release a security software that doesn't slow down your computer otherwise we'll continue using AVG.
- Microsoft announces that their next version of Windows will be Unix-based and doesn't need 2 Gigs of RAM to work well.
- Apple announces that they're developing the iRadio for cars (and I can use my Rhapsody subscription on the road).
- a store similar to CompUSA opens in Columbia
- 100 Howard County bloggers on ezColumbia (we're almost 50 bloggers today)

Creating PDFs from Office 2007

2008-09-04T19:57:00.003-04:00

This add-in is quite useful if you need to send your Office 2007 (Word, Excel, Powerpoint or even Publisher Files) in PDF format. I used to always use PDF995 but this add-in works seamlessly from Office 2007.

Office 2007 Add-in for Saving Files in PDF

This add-in only works from Office 2007 so if you're using an older version of Office, try PDF955. It works great and it works from any software including your web browser, email program, etc..

Finally: Digital video on an SLR

2008-08-27T12:57:00.002-04:00

Just saw this news today --- Breakthrough Nikon SLR shoots standard and HD video. I bought my digital SLR, a Nikon D70 exactly 4 years ago and since then Nikon has come out with at least 5 newer models from their D300 to their D40 and not one of them has interested me in upgrading until now. And the main reason I'm finally considering an upgrade is going to be the video capability.

I must confess, I hardly even use my digital SLR anymore. I use it for special portraits of my kids during Christmas time, but I mostly use my excellent Fuji point & shoot not only for shooting everyday photos but for shooting videos as well. I slid into using the digital video piece almost by accident. I've known about digital video on these point & shoot cameras for a long time but I've always found the quality wanting. But one afternoon I took a video of my daughter using the digital camera and when I viewed it on my 24-inch monitor I thought the quality was actually not bad, not bad at all. So I started using it more and after awhile I was ditching my Sony digital camcorder as well in favor of my excellent Fuji point & shoot (model is Finepix F20 --- same sensor as the renowned F30). And we love how we can upload the videos onto YouTube and share with our friends and family.

Here's a sample of our YouTube videos from my Fuji point & shoot (warning, there's singing involved in this video). YouTube compresses the video so the quality is not the greatest, but if you go to the YouTube page for this video , there's a *Watch in High Quality* link at the bottom of the video to see a better version of the clip.

The D90 can be the start of a new phase for digital camera owners because soon we can have access to a good digital SLR that can also shoot videos including High Definition clips. I'm looking forward to seeing some reviews before I jump in and make the purchase. When I make the purchase (whether it's the D90 or some other model) you'll see me posting some of those clips. I'll be comparing those clips to my Fuji point & shoot and see how they fare and see if it's going to be worth it for me to lug around an SLR on our trips or stick with my pocket size Fuji point & shoot.

Photoshop Express First Impressions

2008-03-29T17:00:00.001-04:00

Adobe launched Photoshop Express this past week. When they announced this effort about a year ago (March 2007), I was thinking it would be a web-based version of Photoshop. So today I signed up for an account. It's still in beta but there are already more than 17,000 galleries online including my lame attempt for a gallery I just put up a few minutes ago.

So what's the verdict? Disappointing!

This is not so much a web-based version of Photoshop but really more of an online gallery with some editing features. If you're looking for a web-based version of Photoshop, go to Splashup.com. Their web-based software features tools and layers that photoshop users will recognize.

If Adobe's focus for Photoshop Express is the online gallery, they need to do more than just offer a splashy way to show-off your pictures. Two things come to mind when I consider using an online photo gallery. Ease of use and the size and quality of the pictures on the slideshow. I first started using online photo galleries through Ofoto (now called Kodak Gallery) and Shutterfly. Although they were easy to use, their slideshow limited the display size of your photo. This has since changed with Shutterfly now allowing you to view your photos in full-screen mode, but Kodak Gallery still resizes your photo down in their slideshow. The full-screen slideshow was what prompted me to switch to using Picasa Web Albums then and today I'm still using it because it's easy to use and their slideshow looks great.

The slideshow on Photoshop Express has some layout options that Picasa doesn't offer. You can choose a single, strip, grid or ring layout and also choose between 2D or 3D effect. Although these features looked clever when I tried them out, I would probably just stick with the single layout mode. Plus the 3D effect gave me a headache after a few minutes of watching these pictures fly into the edges of my screen.

The one advantage that Photoshop Express gives you is the 2 Gig of free space. Picasa only gives you 1 Gig, but expect Google to bump that up as our pictures get larger and larger.

Web 3.0?

2008-03-13T03:45:00.002-04:00

We're just getting comfortable with Web 2.0 and now an article from Newsweek is suggesting the coming of Web 3.0. They're suggesting that web-content written/reviewed by experts (Revenge of the Experts) might be the new era that could be Web 3.0. I wonder what the experts think ... after all it took them awhile to agree on what Web 2.0 was really all about.

The gist of the article suggests that the public is getting tired of inaccurate and unregulated information on the internet and we need the experts to come back and give us trustworthy information again.

I think we need to step back and think about what this really means. Who are the experts? Some would say the professionals are the experts, but to me a professional only means someone who gets paid for what they do. But is the professional landscape designer better than my Aunt who genuinely loves gardening and blogs about her success in organic gardening? Is the professional computer programmer better than the college kid who spends countless evenings writing an operating system that he freely distributes to the world? There are lots of countless examples and I think the internet has allowed us to find these experts that traditional businesses, media and organizations may never define as experts. I certainly hope that whatever Web 3.0 turns out to be, these non-professional experts will continue to shine on the web.

Revenge of the Experts

Unfiltered, Unedited News from CNN - iReport.com

2008-03-01T05:34:00.004-05:00

CNN is jumping on the community driven news bandwagon. They recently launched iReport.com which allows anyone in the world to upload news-related articles, videos and photos. The key element of this site is that CNN is NOT going to filter or edit any submission. CNN is relying on the community to be the watchdogs and any reader can flag a news article for review. This is similar to how Craigslist relies on the community to flag a posting and seems to work well considering they receive millions of postings a month that their 19-person staff (??? not sure if they broke the 20 staff mark yet) cannot possibly handle reviewing one-by-one.

CNN is saying they will scan the site for news they find important and relevant and those articles may show up on the main CNN.com site.

I think it's commendable for a traditional news organization to do this. Although considering how CNN started, they may not like to be called traditional. But they're big, and powerful and from most people's viewpoint, they are a traditional news organization. It seems that CNN is embracing community driven news without worrying too much that it may someday eclipse the ~~main~~ traditional CNN site in viewer traffic. The point is some traditional news organizations understand that they no longer have the monopoly of trust and the internet has made it possible for citizen journalists to be trustworthy as well.

Why Verizon FIOS Faster Upload Speed Matters

2008-02-29T00:38:00.003-05:00

One of the common questions to ponder these days is which of the two are better - Comcast or Verizon FIOS. I usually answer that technology-wise, Verizon FIOS is superior because technology advances allow fiber optic cables to carry more data at a faster and more efficient rate than copper cable ever will. But a more relevant reason to switch to Verizon FIOS is because they offer a plan that gives you the same upload speed as your download speed. Why does this matter and what is the difference between upload and download speeds?

When you're receiving email or watching a video over YouTube, you're downloading. When you're sending email or sending a video clip over to YouTube, you're uploading. A few years ago, most of us didn't care about upload speeds because the largest files we were sending were pictures and those were not even larger than a megabyte then. But today with larger megapixel cameras and video sharing sites like YouTube, we're starting to care about upload speeds.

Just to give you an idea how upload speeds matter, consider your Comcast service with 20 Mbps download speed but your upload speed is only 1.5 Mbps. So that 1 minute video clip (about 100 MB in size) you just took of your daughter sledding is going to take almost 10 minutes to send/upload to YouTube while on FIOS (if you have their 15 Mbps upload plan) it would only take about 55 seconds.

Note that this only mattes if you are doing some amount of uploads such as sending videos over to YouTube or sending your photos to web sharing sites like Flickr or the Kodak Gallery. If you're not doing any of these, chances are you'll be OK with Comcast and the standard FIOS packages that give you about the same upload speeds as Comcast. Last time I checked, the FIOS 15/15 internet access package costs about $65 compared to about $43 for their 5/2 (5 Mbps download, 2 Mbps upload) plan.

A Trip Down Tech Memory Lane

2008-02-28T16:02:00.003-05:00

Found myself enjoying this fun and nostalgic article (1988 vs. 2008: A Tech Retrospective) today on tech.msn.com. They looked back 20 years ago to common gadgets we now live with everyday. Here's a brief summary:

Laptops
- 20 years ago: 9 inch screen, weighed 14 lbs. and cost about $4,000
- Today: 14 inch screen, 4 lbs. and cost about $1,000

Home PCs
- 20 years ago: Tandy 80286 with 640KB RAM, floppy-drive (no hard drive) and 14-inch monitor (16 colors), for about $1,400
Today: HP dual-core desktop with 2 Gigs of RAM, 750 GB Hard drive, CD/DVD drive and 17-inch flat panel LCD (16.7 million colors) for about $1,000

Printers
- 20 years ago: $1,000 color dot-matric printer
- Today: $100 photo-quality inkjet printer

Modem
- 20 years ago: 2,400 baud for about $400
- Today: 38 Mbps for about $60

Internet Access
- 20 years ago: Compuserve, $47.50/hour for high-speed (9,600 baud) dial-up access. Low speed (up to 2,400 baud) was $12/hour.
- Today: 20 MB/sec for unlimited access for about $50/month (and you can wirelessly share with multiple computers at home)

Hard Drives
- 20 years ago: 150 MB for almost $5,000
- Today: 500 MB for about $200, 1 TB for about $360

Cell phones
- 20 years ago: Analog, weighed 28 ounces and cost $2,500
- Today: Digital, weighs less than 5 ounces and cost about $100 (ofte FREE upon sign-up)

It's amazing how far we've come in 20 years. Just imagine what the next 20 years will bring us. Prices will probably not go down much more on some devices because as Dell learned last year, you can't continue selling computers for less than cost and still expect to make a profit. But at today's prices, most of these devices are simply affordable to the general public unlike 20 years ago when not anyone can just plunk down $2,500 for a cell phone. And note that I didn't even show inflation-adjusted prices here, so that $2,500 cell phone is really $4,300 in today's dollars.

Satellite Internet Making a Comeback?

2008-02-27T02:50:00.003-05:00

A few years ago, I worked with some satellite companies in the area and another one in the West Coast. Some of them were trying to break into the internet space and one of them had a product out in the market. But the latency issues made the user-experience wanting. The concept was great in terms of span and coverage and although the cost was going to be high there were some good arguments that satellite would provide coverage where terrestrial (e.g. cable, dsl, fiber) products were missing.

But then the bubble burst and the failure of Iridium wasn't good publicity for all satellite companies no matter how different their business models were, so most of us thought we'll just have to wait until fiber covered all the corners of the globe.

And lo-and-behold, just the other day Japan announces a satellite for high-speed access. And the speed they're hoping to achieve --- are you ready for this? --- 1.2 GB/second. That's about 100x faster than your typical Comcast and Verizon access, so that's very fast. Those HD movies coming down the pipe can be downloaded in less than a minute, instead of hours.

So maybe there's hope for satellite after all. It does make sense especially for some places in Southeast Asia where the terrestrial landscape is composed of islands and laying fiber across those islands is more challenging than being included in the satellite's coverage.

eBay sellers strike next week

2008-02-16T12:04:00.003-05:00

After the hollywood strike, we now get an eBay seller strike. Sellers on eBay are going on strike next week to protest a change in fees, feedback and search policies. It wasn't too long ago that eBay was considered a lock-in for longevity and their business competition was floundering. But in the recent year, more and more smaller, niche sites are closing in and making for good competition.

This threat to eBay's business can actually be good for eBay's long term prospects. Competition can push a business to do better. Competition can also serve as a wake-up call to businesses that are no longer as exciting and innovative.

eBay is also big enough to buy out smaller competitors like StubHub which was a smart investment for eBay considering how successful the ticket selling site had become. The recent resignation of eBay's CEO is a signal that eBay is ready to chart a new course after almost 10 years of comfortably being the largest *store* in the world.

Just to round out some of the threats to eBay, Amazon is the surprise sleeper hit. While eBay was enjoying its comfortable leadership status all these years, Amazon was busy building out its technology infrastructure and now they're not only positioned to take on eBay's business, they are also becoming a force in the web services arena --- see Amazon Web Services.

Also hear from long-time eBay sellers who have switched to other services to sell their wares --- eBay backlash: 5 sellers who ditched it.

Zero Heating Cost

2008-02-16T08:31:00.004-05:00

I've been reading about the Rocky Mountain Institute recently and how their energy efficient design going back to the 80s cuts their heating cost to almost $0. We're up in the mountains this weekend and it's close to zero degrees outside. The house we're staying in is fully heated and warm inside thanks to propane gas heating. This house doesn't have air-conditioning because the summers here are mild and the fresh mountain air and the breeze is enough to cool the house on a hot summer day. The orientation of the house faces the south, so it's already suited to receive the sun's heat from mid-day till the mid-afternoon to collect the heat.

Take a photo tour of the Rocky Mountain Institute building.

And here's an article from MSN about these green buildings.

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack

2008-02-15T16:22:00.003-05:00

With the user-base of Office 2007 starting to grow, chances are one of these days you may receive a Word 2007 file that you can't open with your Word 2003 or earlier version. The same is true for Excel 2007 and PowerPoint 2007 files. This has already caused some problems for some of my clients so what I've been doing is after we install Office 2007, we immediately change the default settings to tell Office 2007 to save the files in Office 2003 format.

But just in case you happen to get one of those Office 2007 files (the file extensions are .docx for Word, .xlsx for Excel and .pptx for PowerPoint) the good news is Microsoft has an Office Compatibility Pack that enables older versions of Office (only up to Office 2000) to open and save in the Office 2007 format. It's an easy install and works very well. My only other wish is that Microsoft includes this as an automatic update so users don't have to separately install it.

2007 winners: HP and Apple

2008-01-14T09:14:00.000-05:00

The numbers for 2007 are out. HP and Apple were the winners in terms of growth. HP's consumer market share grew to almost 30% in 2007 from 27% in 2006. And Apple's consumer market share grew to almost 10% from 7.6% in 2006. The big loser was Dell whose consumer market share shrank to almost 17% in 2007 from almost 26% in 2006.

After dominating the consumer market for years, Dell is shifting its sales strategy by going after consumers who buy computers from physical stores. A few months ago Dell computers started selling in Staples and a few weeks ago they announced that Best Buy will be carrying Dell computers as well. This strategy has clearly worked for HP and I noticed their laptops are the only ones prominenty displayed at the local Costco in Columbia. Although they also sell Dell computers through their website (costco.com), I didn't see Dell computers at their Columbia store the last time I was there ... maybe that will change soon.

Calling Young Howard County Film Makers

2008-01-10T01:14:00.000-05:00

A festival for short-films is being sponsored by the Howard County Library. Students, ages 14-22 are welcome to join, so if you know someone who is into video editing, encourage them to submit their entry. Deadline for submission is February 6. Full details below:

Future Filmmakers: Original Film Festival

- Films must be directed, shot, and edited by students, ages 14-22, attending classes in Howard County.
- Each director may submit one film.
- Films may be on any topic, but must be limited to G or PG rated language and subject matter. (Visit www.mpaa.org for more information on these ratings.)

Films must:
- run no longer than 10 minutes
- include title pages and credits
- be in their finished state when submitted
- be submitted on DVD
- DVDs will not be returned.
- Films will be previewed for quality and content. Selected films will be screened at the Future Filmmakers Film Festival at Howard County Library’s Miller Branch on Tuesday, March 4 (high school student films) and Thursday, March 6 (college student films).

For further information call 410-313-1950 or e-mail futurefilmmakers@hclibrary.org

Submit your finished film to any Howard County Library location between January 2 and February 6, 2008 with the following information:

- Your Name
- Your Age
- Your Phone
- Your School
- Title of Your Film
- Length of Your Film
- Date of Completion
- Subject of Your Film
- Names of all filmmakers involved with the film

Bill Gates' last day at Microsoft

2008-01-08T09:36:00.000-05:00

Watch Bill in this amusing spoof of his last day at Microsoft ... with an all star cast ... shown at his keynote speech (CES 2008).

Vista Tips: Lose the Blocked Startup Programs Message

2008-01-08T02:04:00.000-05:00

If you've switched to Vista and have changed the startup programs via msconfig, you've probably seen this dialog box when you restart the computer.

To disable this message, right-click the blocked programs system tray icon, choose Run blocked program -> System Configuration Utility, and check the "Don't show this message..." checkbox. Next time you restart your computer, you won't see the dialog box anymore!

See the step-by-step instructions at How-to Geek.

Symantec (Norton): Why do you persist on shipping broken software?

2008-01-04T02:04:00.000-05:00

For the nth time in the past couple weeks, I encountered a PC with Norton installed (this time as part of the Verizon/Yahoo apps) that slowed down the computer and failed to uninstall. The only remedy was to go to the Symantec website and download their Norton Removal Tool. Their normal uninstall process was running for an hour before I just decided to kill it. In the past couple weeks I've seen this same problem happen on Norton 2006, Norton 2007 and Norton 360. And I remember seeing this a few years ago on Norton 2003 and Norton 2004. So in the last 5 years, they still haven't fixed the problem.

Here's the link to their removal tool for those who may need it --- service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039.

My advice to anyone running Norton, remove it (if you can) and switch to AVG (free.grisoft.com). AVG doesn't slow down your computer and it uninstalls in about 2 minutes.

If you need anti-spyware, use Microsoft's Windows Defender (www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx) and just stick with the Windows firewall (on XP and Vista) instead of installing 3rd party firewall that Norton and McAfee will try to sell you. If you have a wireless router, you're already protected by a hardware firewall in the first place, so between that and the Windows firewall, you're pretty well protected.

$40 to help your old TV on rabbit ears

2008-01-02T15:37:00.000-05:00

We're about 13 months from the switch digital TV and if you're still using your old TV on rabbit ears, the government is giving away $40 coupons (up to 2 per household) to help offset the cost of the digital box converters. Beginning February 18, 2009 (note this is next year yet), anyone who does not own a digital set and still gets their TV programming via over-the-air antennas will no longer see a TV picture.

If you're on cable, fiber optic (e.g. FIOS) or satellite, you won't need the digital box converters.

Government offers TV Coupons

To request a coupon, you can apply online at www.dtv2009.gov. There's also a 24-hour hotline to take requests, 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009).

2008 Wish List

2008-01-01T08:57:00.000-05:00

- Apple's iPhone will work on Verizon's network
- a $100 iPhone
- a $100 Blackberry
- Internet TV
- 50 Meg download speeds at home
- Emu releases non-beta drivers for Vista
- Facebook grows up
- A more open and less cluttered system challenges Facebook
- Norton, McAfee, Trendmicro (and all the other bloated PC security software) release a security software that doesn't slow down your computer otherwise we'll continue using AVG.
- Microsoft announces that their next version of Windows will be Unix-based and doesn't need 2 Gigs of RAM to work well.
- Apple announces that they're developing the iRadio for cars (and I can use my Rhapsody subscription on the road).
- a store similar to CompUSA opens in Columbia
- 100 Howard County bloggers on ezColumbia (we're almost 50 bloggers today)

Merry, Merry! Give a laptop promo extended to Dec. 31st!

2007-12-25T15:07:00.000-05:00

This late gift recommendation is for the younger techies out there since my last blog post was about giving a Wii for your grandma.

You can donate the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in recognition of your contribution. But you need to hurry fast because the promo is only until December 31st.

Give One Get One

My brother in law got to play with one a week ago and he said these laptops are pretty cool (Explore the XO Laptop). They connect to the internet via wifi and it includes games, drawing and music apps, a mini word processor and more! It runs on Linux.

A Wii in Grandpa's and Grandma's stocking

2007-12-15T09:21:00.000-05:00

Just in case you're still wondering what to get Grandma and Grandpa this Christmas.

It turns out Nintendo's Wii is growing in popularity among seniors.

A article on the Washington Post reports "On the retirement community scene, bingo is looking a little like last year's thing, as video games have recently grabbed a spot as the hot new activity."

Granny Got Game

There's even Wii parties over at Riderwood Village in Silver Spring ... "It loosens the joints, stirs the brain waves and breaks the ice."

To all the young-at-heart Dads, now you have a great excuse for buying that Wii you've been craving.

For Stars Wars Fans

2007-12-11T14:55:00.000-05:00

A great (and amusing) tribute to the maker of Star Wars. Enjoy!

CompUSA Closing

2007-12-08T22:31:00.000-05:00

Our big local computer store in Columbia (CompUSA) is closing shop. A few months ago all the CompUSA stores in Maryland were closed except for the one in Columbia. In fact things seemed to have been picking up for the store in Columbia with their assortment of electronic goods including digital cameras, computers, TVs and they're the only non-Apple store in the area that also carries Apple computers. But the company has been sold and their announcement indicates they will close their store operations after the holidays (plan to check out their store-closing sales).

CompUSA is sold and stores will close after the holidays

So who are we left with now? Among the big stores there's Best Buy over at Gateway Overlook Drive. But they don't carry as much computers and parts as CompUSA. And there's also Staples which now also sells Dell computers but they have even less of a selection than Best Buy (although it's a great place to buy printers). And over at Arundel Mills there's Circuit City.

And of course there's always the small stores like ComputerShop over at Owen Brown which carries various computer parts and supplies. There's also Computer Installations over at Clarksville Square which is a good place to order your custom made computer

I've enjoyed going to CompUSA and I hate to see them go but with people buying their computers online (although Dell announced last week they will also start selling their computers at Best Buy) and with falling computer prices, it's a tough business environment. Will we see another big computer store in our area in the future?

Buy Dell computers below cost

2007-12-02T19:46:00.000-05:00

You can now buy Dell computers below cost.

Sounds like this is not really a new special because it turns out in the past few months, Dell has been selling their computers below cost. I am constantly amazed how cheap computers are these days and practically every week there's always a Dell special. A few weeks ago a client of mine bought a brand-new Dell Vostro PC with a 19-inch monitor for about $470. When I saw that price, I just found it hard to imagine how Dell could squeeze out a profit. Turns out there were no profits. What kind of a business is Dell trying to run?

Dell's U.S. sales fall, profits disappoint

Is this similar to how some car companies sell cars below cost to earn their money back from repair parts and hope that they win a customer for life? But if computers are this cheap, when it's time for a computer repair, it might be cheaper to just get a new one. In fact there are a few computers and monitors sitting in the floor of my office from clients who just recently upgraded their computers. These are 2 to 3 year old computers that are in fairly good condition, but the Dell ads for a new computer with a flat-screen monitor for about $500 was too enticing to pass-up.

Google shares the Wealth

2007-10-30T22:57:00.000-04:00

It's a great business model. Make wealth, then create a platform for your users to create their own wealth. eBay is a great example of a site that has allowed its users to build viable businesses.

Now we turn the spotlight on Google whose AdSense program has allowed websites to earn money by displaying Google ads and get paid every time sometime clicks on those ads. How much can you really make from those clicks?

Meet Mr. Natural Handyman whose website earns him $120,000/year just from Google ads and meet Ms. Cooks Recipes whose site earns her $90,000/year mostly from Google ads. See their story below:

Gray Googlers strike gold

Photo Exhibits

2007-10-25T15:20:00.000-04:00

There's a photography exhibit at the Columbia Art Center "Trick or Treat: A photography exhibition by the Baltmore chapter members of the American Society of Media Photographers". The reception is on Saturday, Oct. 27 from 6-8 pm. Refreshments will be served.

One of our local photographers (Denee Barr) recently sent me a note about her exhibit at the American City Building:
--- Stop by the Columbia Foundation in the American City Building 10am-5pm and see my photo-based mini-retrospective of Columbia/Howard County put together along with Howard County Artist Alice Webb in celebration of Columbia's 40th Birthday! I will be changing my photo based images every few months! Look through my scrapbook and sign my guestbook on display. Also on display is a book entitled "Dialogue With Photography" that I think you will interested in looking through as well.

And head down to DC where the Corcoran Gallery of Art is exhibiting the work of two great photographers: Annie Leibovitz (exhibit runs through January 13, 2008) and Ansel Adams (exhibit runs through January 27, 2008).

A Local Artist shares her craft in her own Blog

2007-10-03T16:12:00.000-04:00

Barbara Nuss is an award-winning local artist who is not only talented in the arts, but also quite talented in technology. When I met her a few months ago, little did I know that this unassuming lady is also very tech savvy. She told me that she took a class to learn html, and using notepad she proceeded to build her website (barbaranuss.com). I helped her move away from notepad and use a web authoring tool, and her website has been transformed into another work of art.

Not only can you see pictures of her painting, you can also purchase some of her pieces like the high-resolution and high-fidelity computer generated fine-art print Giclees of her paintings. Barbara personally mounts the canvas prints onto archival board and apply a water-resistant and U-V protective varnish alleviating the need for glass. These Giclees are the same size as the original paintings and each print comes with a certifcate of authenticity.

Now Barbara has a blog (Artist's Point of View)! Many years ago she wrote a book titled 14 Formulas for Painting Fabulous Landscapes and now Barbara is sharing her technique in her blog. In the next many weeks, Barbara will be working on a new painting and every week she will share the progress of her painting on her blog. She is now on week 4.

Check it out ... it's quite fun to see the progress of her painting every week. Here are the links from the past 4 weeks --- Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4.

Apple's iPhone Surprise

2007-09-09T16:14:00.000-04:00

From $599 to $399, it was a price cut nobody expected so soon. I somehow guessed that the next version was going to be cheaper because that's typically the way Apple does things with the very first iPod costing $400 back in 2001 and the following year they had a $300 model. In 2004 they released a $250 model and by 2005 they had a $150 model.

But my best guess was a price cut in 6 months, maybe even a year, but the announcement last week was only after about 2 months of being in the market. My first thought turned to some of my clients who had already bought the iPhone and what they might be thinking. Fortunately enough irate customers complained and Apple is giving a $100 refund to the first time-buyers. I guess that's not too bad then ... $100 for being among the pioneers. But will these pioneers ever buy a first generation product from Apple again? or will they play the waiting game next time?

There is no other industry like the electronics and computer industry when it comes to price cuts. From flat-screen TVs to digital cameras, waiting a little bit typically means paying much much less than the early adaptors. And now the industry is learning that these early adaptors have become more price sensitive.

Electronics buyers have price limits

Software Freedom Day at the HC East library

2007-08-30T08:54:00.000-04:00

Did you know that the computers at the library all run Linux and free software? Check it out if you'll be pleasantly surprised that it's not much different than Windows. I had my Mom try it once and she didn't even realize she wasn't on a Windows PC. Want to learn more?

See the world of Linux and free software at the Software Freedom Day at the East Columbia branch Library.

Date: 9/15/2007
Start Time: 10:00 AM
End Time: 5:00 PM

A global effort to teach the advantages of free software, Software Freedom Day will help you learn how it can work for you. Join the Maryland Ubuntu Loco Team, Howard County Library and others for fun and festivities. In addition to helping you install Ubuntu Linux (proudly used on many library PCs) to your PC, we will demonstrate and discuss free software. Some "gently used" computers will be available for sale ($50.00) for Ubuntu installation.

Please see www.ubuntu-maryland.org for more details.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community

Comparing High Speed Access Around the World

2007-08-29T09:08:00.000-04:00

In Japan, the median download speed for high speed internet access is 60 mbps/second. In the US we're only at 2 mbps/second. As you'll see in the chart below, we have some catching up to do.

An article on Washington Post tells how Japan is aggressively improving and building out its high-speed infrastructure to meet their goal of doubling the number of people who work from home by 2010. It's great to see a country's government actively promote telecommuting. This has been one of my favorite benefits of internet access.
Japan's Warp Speed Ride to Internet Future

See article above for an insight into how government regulation will be key in pushing the US forward in the broadband race.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, Broadband

Upgrading to Vista?

2007-08-16T09:14:00.000-04:00

If you haven’t upgraded to Vista yet, sooner or later you will have to either by default (when you buy a new computer) or you bought a computer late last year and Dell or HP gave you a free offer to upgrade to Vista.

Vista is no show stopper in terms of new features and even the much hyped Aero interface doesn’t really elicit the *wow* factor that Microsoft touts in its ads. Frankly I expected more given all the hype and 6 years of development.

But then again, as a software developer, I can understand that taking a leap from a mature and fairly good operating system like Windows XP can be a major challenge. Apple’s OS X was a major jump from OS 9 and that upgrade certainly elicited a *wow* across mac lovers. The major jump was not just due to a fancier user interface, it was also due to the change in the underlying platform of the OS (from Apple’s homegrown OS to the Next OS based on Unix). This was essentially a replacement, not an upgrade.

Maybe this is what Microsoft needs to do --- a complete replacement instead of just an upgrade. For those of you who have upgraded to Vista and have seen the problems of incompatible hardware and software, an OS replacement will mean even more incompatible hardware and software.

The problem on Microsoft’s side is their 90% share of computer operating systems in the world. It will be a very challenging task to move such a large number of users to an OS that works very differently and is mostly incompatible with their current hardware and software.

Even Apple’s jump to OS X was painful and they only had a 3% share of computer operating systems a few years ago (they’re now at 6% and climbing). If such a move does happen from Microsoft, Apple’s share may jump even higher as some would consider just changing to a different OS altogether if the new OS from Microsoft will essentially be like moving to a new system.

But since that is not likely to happen anytime soon, here are some tips on upgrading to Vista. Get a machine with a multi-core processor, lots of RAM (2 Gigs), a graphics card with at least 256 Megs of RAM, and a big hard drive (250 MB to store all your pictures, and even bigger, 500 MB, if you’re storing videos). And if you want to treat yourself, get a big wide-screen flat panel monitor. Prices have come down dramatically and you can now get 19 inch monitors for less than $200, and 22 inch monitors for about $300. Your hard drive and monitor choices will be limited for laptops but you can get an external hard drive and unless you don’t care about portability, go for the biggest screen available.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, Windows Vista

Scott Kelby's Lightroom seminar in DC

2007-08-08T12:43:00.001-04:00

Scott Kelby is coming to DC on Sept. 10 (Monday) to give a seminar on digital workflow using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. If you don't know Scott Kelby, he's the foremost Photoshop expert and my favorite author for Photoshop books. He's become sort of a Rock Star in the Photoshop world.

Here's a brief what you'll learn summary:
- The best way to set-up and optimize Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
- Techniques for processing digital images quickly and easily
- When to use Photoshop Lightroom and when to use Photoshop
- Dynamic ways to show your works like a pro using Photoshop Lightroom
- How to use Photoshop Lightroom to make printing easier than ever

Here's the website with more details about the upcoming seminar. It's only $79 for NAPP members and $99 for non-members. If you're not a member of NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals), consider their $99 yearly membership. You get their photoshop magazine 8x a year, access to online training videos, discounts and more. You can find out more by visiting the NAPP website.

This seminar is going to be mostly about LightRoom and how to use it for your digital workflow.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, Scott Kelby

The Digital Divide

2007-07-30T09:24:00.000-04:00

I was with a client recently who was still on dialup and although she wanted very much to upgrade to highspeed, her husband (who doesn't use the computer) didn't want to spend the money for it. The problem with dialup these days are some websites including popular ones like eBay and especially YouTube are designed for broadband users. In fact it's next to impossible to view videos on YouTube on a dialup connection. Although this client doesn't have any plans to go on YouTube, her problem related to her not being able to receive emails with large attachments. It is not uncommon anymore to receive emails with a bunch of digital photos, and downloading 2 or 3 emails with attachments can be very time-consuming ... in her case, if she continued trying to download those emails with attachments, it would have taken her about 2 hours.

On the one hand, this couple could really very much afford to upgrade to highspeed. They subscribe to cable TV which some folks would easily drop if they had to choose whether to pay for cable TV or highspeed internet access. Her husband just doesn't understand the merits of highspeed internet access because he doesn't use the computer. I suspect that in a few months (or even weeks), this couple will be upgrading to highspeed internet access. They can definitely afford it. If only they lived in an area where Verizon's DSL access is available, upgrading to highspeed wouldn't be a cost issue since Verizon's DSL packages start at about $15/month, costing about the same as some dialup packages out there.

But there's another part of our population who cannot afford the overall cost of highspeed internet access. That overall cost includes a computer which cannot be too old (more than 5 years old) otherwise it may not handle the videos on YouTube. A recent article on Washington Post talks about how this digital divide could affect the coming Presidential elections --- America's digital divide.

It's interesting to see how the internet has really matured as a medium. Various groups are arguing that access to the internet should be available to everyone. In the early days of TV, there too was a divide among those who had a TV in their living room, and those who didn't have one. Now, almost everyone has a TV and maybe the only ones that don't are the ones who choose not to have one. TVs are very inexpensive now and unless you really want cable TV, access is free (because advertisers and donors pay for it). Can we apply the same model to internet access?

There's probably a good chance that internet access itself can be given away for free and supported by an advertising model, or maybe even by tax dollars. But a computer is harder to maintain than a TV. You can buy a TV from a local store, plug it in and for the next 20 years expect it to give you trouble-free access to your news and favorite shows. The same cannot be said for a computer these days. Chances are you will get infected with a virus or spyware at some point and even if you have the latest and greatest anti-virus software, you may have to call somebody to help you clean up the infection. Software and hardware continue to improve so in 5 years, your computer may not be sufficient to handle the content on the internet. I know this was true when my Mom complained she couldn't hear the music from an electronic greeting card she received. At first I thought she only had the volume down, but it turned out that her computer was just too old to handle the card's animation and audio. So whatever solution we come up with will also have to address the expected maintenance and upgrades that computer users will be needing.

We do have public sites like the local libraries that can help bridge the gap, but this may not be realistic in the long run for families with kids who may need access to the internet when they're doing their homework at night. But I support and applaud what I've seen at least in the Howard County Library. I know of friends who do not have a computer and they regularly use the computers in the library to access their emails. I also have a friend whose computer broke down right when her son needed it for his homework, so they immediately ran to the library and used the computers there. She did get her computer fixed the following week as it would not be realistic to drive her son to the library every night he needed the computer. On the one hand, our friends who do not have a computer (this is by choice by the way), still choose to go to the library to check their emails.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, Digital Divide, Howard County Library

You Want Speed?

2007-07-21T11:58:00.000-04:00

And you think your 15 meg connection is fast, try 40 gigs ... yes, you read that right. That's more than 2600 times faster than your 15 meg connection.

Old Lady surfing Web at 40 gigabits-per-second

It really brings the speed spectrum to different heights. It makes me remember how we changed our mindset when we spoke of CPU speeds moving from MHz to the GHz scale. Not a few years ago when CPU speeds moved from 300 MHz to 500 MHz, it was a big deal. Now we don't even flinch when CPU speeds move from 2 GHz to 3 GHz and now we're starting to get used to multiple-core CPUs so the speed increase is even multiplied more.

But just imagine what 40 gigs/second can do. Movie downloads in seconds ... of course, we might have to wait just a little bit longer than 2 seconds for the HD movies. Video teleconferencing in HD quality. Crystal clear telephone calls. Fully distributed, highly redundant networks across the globe that act and feel like they're in the same room. Think about the applications for virtual medicine, and of course gaming to the limits.

And it's not just data transfers that can take advantage of this speed. Think about clustering technology spread across a worldwide network sharing not just data but machine resources like CPU cycles and physical RAM and that's a very very fast and powerful global super computer.

Of course for all this to happen there's going to to be a lot of work that needs to happen at the last mile. We can have a very fast 40 gig pipe running across the globe but if the last miles are still limited to megabits, it won't quite work. So sooner or later we'll have to get that fiber into our homes because copper and coax won't cut it.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community

What People are Doing Online

2007-07-10T08:45:00.000-04:00

Business Week recently published a chart of online behavior broken down by age groups and it's interesting (but not surprising) to see the shape of the graph. No bell curve here. I'd be curious to see how this chart will change in 10 years.

Who Participates and What People Are Doing Online

Another chart shows how much Social Media has grown in the past year --- Social Media now at 12% of Web Traffic --- but it notes very few users create content.

One of the things I notice in some very busy sites is that too much (user generated) content can be distracting. On some discussion boards and/or blogs, the commentors leave a trail of comments that almost look like a discussion on IM. So while some of us are looking for more in depth discussions, some are just merely conversing with their one or two line comments. Sooner or later we'll probably start seeing a happy medium where in depth discussion can co-exist with shorter comments.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, Social Media

News sites learning from Blog sites

2007-06-28T11:49:00.001-04:00

The newly redesigned AOL news site now looks like a Blog site.

AOL's News Sites Adopt Look of Blogs

The influence of blogs over news sites has also spilled over into some major news sites like USAToday.com. Just look at how they've opened up their platform for user comments. The folks over at Washingtonpost.com are also developing ways for their news site to evolve into a community where bloggers can actively participate.

The thing to remember is most blogs are not meant to be objective because it is after all a personal log/commentary about whatever topic the blogger wishes to address. Some folks get caught off-guard when they see non-factual information being shared in a blog or when the opinions get too one-sided. A busy blog will hopefully generate comments and opinions from all sides of the corner.

For a snapshot of community blogs in our area, check out ezColumbia's blog section.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, AOL, Blogs, USAToday, Washington Post

Art in the workplace

2007-06-09T09:13:00.000-04:00

Need to justify spending for artwork?

The biggest software company in the world has 45,000 pieces of contemporary art hanging in its corporate complex (Microsoft's art collection has some hangups).

Why does Microsoft collect art?

A New York gallery owner remarks, "Because they can. And they should. They are involved in culture. Technology is culture. And the art informs the culture."

A Microsoft staff member shares that her aim is to spark creativity and to give workers, who spend so much time in the plastic environment of phones and computers, access to contrasting, tactile objects.

It turns out, by the late 70s, companies started buying art to stimulate employees sequestered in office parks. I was just reading earlier today how kids with ADD improve their focus when they're exposed to the outdoors more. What is art that it can stimulate employees, stimulate our minds and soul? to perform better? to think better? be more creative? think outside the box? remember the world outside instead of just thinking of the world inside the office park?

If you've been thinking about spicing up your home office, now you have some motivation to justify that expense.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, Microsoft, Art

Web Apps on Steriods

2007-06-05T00:45:00.000-04:00

Just read about Google Gears tonight. Is this the framework of the hybrid web we've been waiting for?

One of the problems of relying on web apps is what happens when the internet is down. Granted that our broadband connections are getting better everyday, what about when you're travelling and you don't have access to the internet?

If a system can be built such that it intelligently keeps copies of data locally just in case the internet goes down or is not accessible and it can synchronize automatically when the internet is accessible again (all done as efficiently and painless as possible), the future of web apps looks even more promising.

Of course there's a wrench to this equation. One of the appealing things about web apps is the ability to access your app from any computer. But if there has to be this mechanism of keeping copies data locally, it means you're sort of tied down to your own computer again. Unless we create some kind of peer network that can intelligently keep copies of the data in various points of the network from the immediate local peers in the LAN to various branches up the WAN. And these caches will need to be intelligent enough to synchronize their data and elect who has the latest fresh data.

Sounds complex. I remember similar functionality with cache clusters when I was at Inktomi. But even the simple model that doesn't have to use this complex network of caches can allow your online word processor to be both online and offline. So Google docs can really work locally, just like Microsoft Word and Excel.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, Web Apps, Google Gears

Solar power in howard county

2007-05-27T19:58:00.001-04:00

Saw this article in the Baltimore Sun today (Solar credits have residents glowing). It's nice to know that Federal, State and County programs are now making solar energy more affordable making a $5,500 solar powered water heating system just $1,255. For those who need to replace their water heating system, that's a very attractive price.

The article also mentions a company in Jessup (Cheasapeake Wind & Solar LLC) that specializes in renewable energy technologies. I hope their business prospects continue improving as more people are encouraged to consider solar energy with the help of these tax programs.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, Solar Energy, Renewable Energy

Infrared tech for the outdoor cook

2007-05-27T02:22:00.000-04:00

Infrared to sear your steaks. The article says infrared burners will do to outdoor cooking what the microwave did to indoor kitchen.

Infrared burners are ready to barbecue

I remember many years ago, I attended a tech summit and the speaker on the stage started his presentation by showing us his latest tech toy ... a stainless steel weber summit grill. He shared details of the features including pictures and some reviews about its performance. Then he went into the rest of his presentation.

I've had my weber for about 8 years now and I've changed some of the parts including the burners and I've often remarked how simple the technology is inside these grills. Gas flowing through a burner tube ... not much different than old gas stoves. That will all change when infrared burners becomes mainstream.

Something to look forward to in the summers to come.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, Infrared Burner

Solar energy

2007-05-19T17:47:00.000-04:00

I've been a fan of solar energy since I was a kid. When my Dad gave me a solar calculator back in the 70s, I honestly thought that by the time I had my own kids, the world would be using mostly solar energy for most of its power consumption. I guessed wrong. I would have thought that 30 years would be enough time to do the research into making solar power viable and affordable for everyone to use.

The good news is maybe that could still happen in my lifetime. I saw this article earlier today about how the Amish community have adopted solar enery for their needs and I find it interesting that they're in some ways more forward looking than most of the world when it comes to energy.

Amish in Southern Md. find solar power plain practical

The main barrier today is cost. But one company is trying to change that (Selling Homeowners a Solar Dream). They're just in the launch phase and time will tell if their plan is viable.

One country that is successfully pursuing a long term approach to solar energy is Germany (Cloudy Germany a Powerhouse in Solar Energy). Solar panels have become commonplace in new German homes and a great wall of solar panels line the autobahn. Today they are the biggest producers not only of solar energy but also wind energy. Their goal is by 2020, at least a quarter of their energy use will be from renewable sources of energy. The German government has also decided to close down all their nuclear power plants by 2020.

All of this sounds exciting and promising. If we can only see as much advancement in renewable energy in the next 30 years as we have seen in the computer industry the past 30 years , think about what could be possible.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Amish

Amazon buys dpreview.com

2007-05-14T19:13:00.000-04:00

Just saw this on the news --- Amazon Acquires dpreview.com.

dpreview has been my favorite camera equipment website for a long time. The site always looked and felt authoritative and genuine. Plus they're strictly a reviews site, so you know going in that you're there just to research. And the research is pretty good, enough technical information for the pros and serious amateurs, but also a lot of information that the not too technical can understand.

You might wonder why Amazon would want to buy a reviews site. But if we consider that people who are doing their research on dpreview are thinking of buying camera equipment at some point, making it convenient to buy that equipment on Amazon might be the underlying motive here.

The founder (Phil Askey) is mentioned as saying the acquisition will allow him to devote more time to expand and improve features. The forums section is a bit lacking so hopefully that will be an area that we'll see some improvements on. With an excess of 7 million unique visitors a month, dpreview has a solid following that could only grow if the right features are added.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, dpreview, Amazon, Digital Photography

Shopping for clothes online?

2007-05-14T08:36:00.000-04:00

Clothes, fashion accessories & footwear are now the number 1 items being bought online (Computers bumped from top of online sales). Retail stores are making it easier to return items bought online to a local store in case you need a different size or color. And often times it's easier to search among hundreds of clothing and shoe designs online than in a store who may not even have your size and color in stock.

The future is going to be virtual reality that will allow you to fit and maybe even touch and feel your clothes without having to step in the store. There's been some work done on virtual fitting the past couple years and this year some retailers hope it will help their customers who are shopping for swimwear (Online fittings take the dread out of swimsuit shopping).

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, Online Shopping

Working from home?

2007-05-13T08:19:00.000-04:00

I first thought this was a joke but sounds like it's the real deal.

For those who work from home (or who've always wanted to), here's something to make your home office literally sound like a real office --- Background Sounds for the Home Office.

I guess there might be some appeal to this, but one of the reasons I find great about working from home is the silence and the privacy. But you can get cabin fever especially if you work in the basement. And I remember when I started telecommuting 8 years ago, the one thing I began to miss was the interaction with other people so everytime I went to work (once a week if I wasn't travelling) I would always chat with my officemates just to reconnect with the world.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, Telecommuting, Background Sounds for the Home Office

Wise words from WordPress founder

2007-05-11T19:32:00.000-04:00

Even though this blog is on blogger, I still want to share this posting from the founder of WordPress (Matt) ---
Meaningful Overnight Relationship.

I read a lot of blogs out there that are written on WordPress and most (if not all) my clients who are blogging use WordPress. It's a good take on how he views success and where he wants WordPress to go. The one thing I've liked about WordPress is how customizable it is and how the platform allows developers to build on top of a pretty robust framework.

I think judging from the title of his posting (Meaningful Overnight Relationship) Matt really wants to talk more about the difference between an overnight success and a long-term success. I couldn't agree with him more. One of the books to read about how overnight success and a lot of publicity doesn't necessarily translate into long-term success is Jim Collin's book "Good to Great". And there's money to be made from this theory as Jim Collins shows how investors can be rewarded if they choose these companies that are built for the long haul.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, WordPress

Photoshop Rock Star

2007-05-09T07:49:00.000-04:00

In all my photoshop classes I recommend to my students that if they wanted to go out and buy a photoshop book they should look for the ones written by Scott Kelby. I ran across his very first book (Down and Dirty Photoshop Tricks) a few years ago and was very impressed with the quality and content so I've been a fan ever since. I never knew he was a former rock musician. Looks like he's developed quite a following - his books have sold more than 1 million copies and his Photoshop TV podcast is downloaded more than 3 million times monthly.

Scott Kelby - A career built on Photoshop

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Technology, Community, Photoshop, Scott Kelby

Vonage troubles

2007-04-04T09:06:00.000-04:00

A few months ago I wrote about my troubles with Vonage and pretty much wrote them off due to the poor quality of their phone calls. But I also said that I wasn't about to cancel my service with them (and still haven't) because I love their features such as simultaneous ring, voicemail by email and being able to bring my phone anywhere in the world. In fact as I write this, I'm in the Philippines with my Vonage phone with me. Somehow I've been able to live with the poor call quality believing that sooner or later they will fix their problems as their technology continues to mature and our broadband networks become more efficient.

But it looks like they may not even get a chance to fix their poor quality problems. Verizon has won their case against Vonage for patent infringement and unless they can win their appeal, they may not be around by next year (Is Vonage's time running out?). Somehow part of me hopes that will not happen because Vonage has a lot of customers and I really believe VOIP is the way telephones should work in the first place. It's great for the consumers and it's also great for businesses. It's not great for telephone companies because it changes their entire business model.

A similar battle was fought a little more than 10 years ago between phone companies and internet service providers. Some internet service providers were driven out of business, but fortunately the phone companies learned that cheap and affordable internet was here to stay and look at how we can't live without it today. Now Vonage may suffer the fate of some of those early internet service providers and although that doesn't mean that VOIP will also die, it is unfortunate that the company that essentially put consumer VOIP on the map may not live to see the day when it eclipses old land line telephony.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Columbia Maryland, Technology, Community, Vonage, VOIP

Help Desk video --- you gotta see this

2007-03-03T23:41:00.000-05:00

Someone shared this with me ... Help Desk in the medieval times. Enjoy!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xFAWR6hzZek

We were all laughing ... but hey, this happens everyday! The tech support guy is great! He follows all the rules of great tech support especially being patient, understanding and very clear and non-geeky with his instructions.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Columbia Maryland, Technology, Community, Help Desk, Tech Support

Web Apps: Google Apps out of beta, and Photoshop online coming soon

2007-03-01T07:51:00.000-05:00

Now that Google apps has been officially released (it's been in beta for quite some time now), let's see how it gets used in the enterprise world. There are a couple concerns from security to ease of use since most people are not yet that used to using full-fledged web-based apps other than email. I think it's a step in the right direction and innnovation in this space will be exciting. The advantages can outweight the initial discomfort --- redundant & automatic backups and not being tied down to your machine (access your workspace from anywhere, from a mac or pc or even linux). If you haven't seen it yet, check out Google Apps.

Photoshop online coming soon --- just saw this today. I teach Digital Photography and Photoshop at the Columbia & Ellicott City senior centers and at the Columbia Art Center and some of the issues we discuss is when to upgrade when the latest version comes out and getting students to upgrade (or even buy) the latest version. Having an online version may be a solution to some of these issues --- that's another advantage for end-users --- not having to worry about upgrades and patches since they'll be done for you automatically.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Columbia Maryland, Technology, Community, Google Apps, Photoshop

Good Tech Support

2007-02-28T23:06:00.000-05:00

The value of good tech support is priceless. Anyone who has had a bad experience with tech support from Dell, Comcast, Verizon, AOL, HP, etc.. will agree that this great article from Joel Spolksy about remarkable customer service hits the right spot. When you have someone like Joel Spolsky writing about tech support, you realize how bad the state of the industry has come to. But he doesn't suggest how a company like Dell can still continue selling a computer for $299 and afford to offer premium quality tech support. I think this is a case of you get what you pay for. The success of tech support companies like my company Percworks, Geeks On Call and Geeks Squad is a testament that people are willing to pay more for tech support. But it's usually after a bad experience being on the phone with Dell for 3 or 4 hours.

Here's Joel's article in its entirety.

Seven steps to remarkable customer service
By Joel Spolsky
Monday, February 19, 2007

As a bootstrapped software company, Fog Creek couldn’t afford to hire customer service people for the first couple of years, so Michael and I did it ourselves. The time we spent helping customers took away from improving our software, but we learned a lot and now we have a much better customer service operation.

Here are seven things we learned about providing remarkable customer service. I’m using the word remarkable literally—the goal is to provide customer service so good that people remark.

1. Fix everything two ways
Almost every tech support problem has two solutions. The superficial and immediate solution is just to solve the customer’s problem. But when you think a little harder you can usually find a deeper solution: a way to prevent this particular problem from ever happening again.

Sometimes that means adding more intelligence to the software or the SETUP program; by now, our SETUP program is loaded with special case checks. Sometimes you just need to improve the wording of an error message. Sometimes the best you can come up with is a knowledge base article.

We treat each tech support call like the NTSB treats airliner crashes. Every time a plane crashes, they send out investigators, figure out what happened, and then figure out a new policy to prevent that particular problem from ever happening again. It’s worked so well for aviation safety that the very, very rare airliner crashes we still get in the US are always very unusual, one-off situations.

This has two implications.

One: it’s crucial that tech support have access to the development team. This means that you can’t outsource tech support: they have to be right there at the same street address as the developers, with a way to get things fixed. Many software companies still think that it’s “economical” to run tech support in Bangalore or the Philippines, or to outsource it to another company altogether. Yes, the cost of a single incident might be $10 instead of $50, but you’re going to have to pay $10 again and again.

When we handle a tech support incident with a well-qualified person here in New York, chances are that’s the last time we’re ever going to see that particular incident. So with one $50 incident we’ve eliminated an entire class of problems.

Somehow, the phone companies and the cable companies and the ISPs just don’t understand this equation. They outsource their tech support to the cheapest possible provider and end up paying $10 again and again and again fixing the same problem again and again and again instead of fixing it once and for all in the source code. The cheap call centers have no mechanism for getting problems fixed; indeed, they have no incentive to get problems fixed because their income depends on repeat business, and there’s nothing they like better than being able to give the same answer to the same question again and again.

The second implication of fixing everything two ways is that eventually, all the common and simple problems are solved, and what you’re left with is very weird uncommon problems. That’s fine, because there are far fewer of them, and you’re saving a fortune not doing any rote tech support, but the downside is that there’s no rote tech support left: only serious debugging and problem solving. You can’t just teach new support people ten common solutions: you have to teach them to debug.

For us, the “fix everything two ways” religion has really paid off. We were able to increase our sales tenfold while only doubling the cost of providing tech support.

2. Suggest blowing out the dust
Microsoft’s Raymond Chen tells the story of a customer who complains that the keyboard isn’t working. Of course, it’s unplugged. If you try asking them if it’s plugged in, “they will get all insulted and say indignantly, ‘Of course it is! Do I look like an idiot?’ without actually checking.”

“Instead,” Chen suggests, “say ‘Okay, sometimes the connection gets a little dusty and the connection gets weak. Could you unplug the connector, blow into it to get the dust out, then plug it back in?’

“They will then crawl under the desk, find that they forgot to plug it in (or plugged it into the wrong port), blow out the dust, plug it in, and reply, ‘Um, yeah, that fixed it, thanks.’”

Many requests for a customer to check something can be phrased this way. Instead of telling them to check a setting, tell them to change the setting and then change it back “just to make sure that the software writes out its settings.”

3. Make customers into fans
Every time we need to buy logo gear here at Fog Creek, I get it from Lands’ End.

Why?

Let me tell you a story. We needed some shirts for a trade show. I called up Lands’ End and ordered two dozen, using the same logo design we had used for some knapsacks we bought earlier.

When the shirts arrived, to our dismay, you couldn’t read the logo.

It turns out that the knapsacks were brighter than the polo shirts. The thread color that looked good on the knapsacks was too dark to read on the shirts.

I called up Lands’ End. As usual, a human answered the phone even before it started ringing. I’m pretty sure that they have a system where the next agent in the queue is told to standby, so customers don’t even have to wait one ringy-dingy before they’re talking to a human.

I explained that I screwed up.

They said, “Don’t worry. You can return those for a full credit, and we’ll redo the shirts with a different color thread.”

I said, “The trade show is in two days.”

They said they would Fedex me a new box of shirts and I’d have it tomorrow. I could return the old shirts at my convenience.

They paid shipping both ways. I wasn’t out a cent. Even though they had no possible use for a bunch of Fog Creek logo shirts with an illegible logo, they ate the cost.

And now I tell this story to everyone who needs swag. In fact I tell this story every time we’re talking about telephone menu systems. Or customer service. By providing remarkable customer service, they’ve gotten me to remark about it.

When customers have a problem and you fix it, they’re actually going to be even more satisfied than if they never had a problem in the first place.

It has to do with expectations. Most people’s experience with tech support and customer service comes from airlines, telephone companies, cable companies, and ISPs, all of whom provide generally awful customer service. It’s so bad you don’t even bother calling any more, do you? So when someone calls Fog Creek, and immediately gets through to a human, with no voice mail or phone menus, and that person turns out to be nice and friendly and actually solves their problem, they’re apt to think even more highly of us than someone who never had the opportunity to interact with us and just assumes that we’re average.

Now, I wouldn’t go so far as to actually make something go wrong, just so we have a chance to demonstrate our superior customer service. Many customers just won’t call; they’ll fume quietly.

But when someone does call, look at it as a great opportunity to create fanatically devoted customer, one who will prattle on and on about what a great job you did.

4. Take the blame
One morning I needed an extra set of keys to my apartment, so on the way to work, I went to the locksmith around the corner.

13 years living in an apartment in New York City has taught me never to trust a locksmith; half of the time their copies don’t work. So I went home to test the new keys, and, lo and behold, one didn’t work.

I took it back to the locksmith.

He made it again.

I went back home and tested the new copy.

It still didn’t work.

Now I was fuming. Squiggly lines were coming up out of my head. I was a half hour late to work and had to go to the locksmith for a third time. I was tempted just to give up on him. But I decided to give this loser one more chance.

I stomped into the store, ready to unleash my fury.

“It still doesn’t work?” he asked. “Let me see.”

He looked at it.

I was sputtering, trying to figure out how best to express my rage at being forced to spend the morning going back and forth.

“Ah. It’s my fault,” he said.

And suddenly, I wasn’t mad at all.

Mysteriously, the words “it’s my fault” completely defused me. That was all it took.

He made the key a third time. I wasn’t mad any more. The key worked.

And, here I was, on this planet for forty years, and I couldn’t believe how much the three words “it’s my fault” had completely changed my emotions in a matter of seconds.

Most locksmiths in New York are not the kinds of guys to admit that they’re wrong. Saying “it’s my fault” was completely out of character. But he did it anyway.

5. Memorize awkward phrases
I figured, OK, since the morning is shot anyway, I might as well go to the diner for some breakfast.

It’s one of those classic New York diners, like the one on Seinfeld. There’s a thirty page menu and a kitchen the size of a phone booth. It doesn’t make sense. They must have Star Trek technology to get all those ingredients into such a small space. Maybe they rearrange atoms on the spot.

I was sitting by the cash register.

An older woman came up to pay her check. As she was paying, she said to the owner, “you know, I’ve been coming here for years and years, and that waiter was really rather rude to me.”

The owner was furious.

“What do you mean? No he wasn’t! He’s a good waiter! I never had a complaint!’

The customer couldn’t believe it. Here she was, a loyal customer, and she wanted to help out the owner by letting him know that one of his waiters needed a little bit of help in the manners department, but the owner was arguing with her!

“Well, that’s fine, but I’ve been coming here for years, and everybody is always very nice to me, but that guy was rude to me,” she explained, patiently.

“I don’t care if you’ve been coming here forever. My waiters are not rude.” The owner proceeded to yell at her. “I never had no problems. Why are you making problems?”

“Look, if you’re going to treat me this way I won’t come back.”

“I don’t care!” said the owner. One of the great things about owning a diner in New York is that there are so many people in the city that you can offend every single customer who ever comes into your diner and you’ll still have a lot of customers. “Don’t come back! I don’t want you as a customer!”

Good for you, I thought. Here’s a 60-something year old man, owner of a diner, and you won some big moral victory against a little old lady. Are you proud of yourself? How macho do you have to be? Does the moral victory make you feel better? Did you really have to lose a repeat customer?

Would it have made you feel totally emasculated to say, “I’m so sorry. I’ll have a word with him?”

It’s easy to get caught up in the emotional heat of the moment when someone is complaining.

The solution is to memorize some key phrases, and practice saying them, so that when you need to say them, you can forget your testosterone and make a customer happy.

“I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t accept your money. The meal’s on me.”

“That’s terrible, please tell me what happened so I can make sure it never happens again.”

It’s completely natural to have trouble saying “It’s my fault.” That’s human. But those three words are going to make your angry customers much happier. So you’re going to have to say them. And you’re going to have to sound like you mean it.

So start practicing.

Say “It’s my fault” a hundred times one morning in the shower, until it starts to sound like syllabic nonsense. Then you’ll be able to say it on demand.

One more point. You may think that admitting fault is a strict no-no that can get you sued. This is nonsense. The way to avoid getting sued is not to have people who are mad at you. The best way to do this is to admit fault and fix the damn problem.

6. Practice puppetry
The angry diner owner clearly took things very personally, in a way that the locksmith didn’t. When an irate customer is complaining, or venting, it’s easy to get defensive.

You can never win these arguments, and if you take them personally, it’s going to be a million times worse. This is when you start to hear business owners saying, “I don’t want an asshole like you for a customer!” They get excited about their Pyrrhic victory. Wow, isn’t it great? When you’re a small business owner you get to fire your customers. Charming.

The bottom line is that this is not good for business, and it’s not even good for your emotional well-being. When you win a victory with a customer by firing them, you still end up feeling riled up and angry, they’ll get their money back from the credit card company anyway, and they’ll tell a dozen friends. As Patrick McKenzie writes, “You will never win an argument with your customer.”

There is only one way to survive angry customers emotionally: you have to realize that they’re not angry at you; they’re angry at your business, and you just happen to be a convenient representative of that business.

And since they’re treating you like a puppet, an iconic stand-in for the real business, you need to treat yourself as a puppet, too.

Pretend you’re a puppeteer. The customer is yelling at the puppet. They’re not yelling at you. They’re angry with the puppet.

Your job is to figure out, “gosh, what can I make the puppet say that will make this person a happy customer?”

You’re just a puppeteer. You’re not a party to the argument. When the customer says, “what the hell is wrong with you people,” they’re just playing a role (in this case, they’re quoting Tom Smykowski in the movie Office Space). You, too, get to play a role. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault.” Figure out what to make the puppet do that will make them happy and stop taking it so dang personally.

7. Greed will get you nowhere
Recently I was talking with the people who have been doing most of the customer service for Fog Creek over the last year, and I asked what methods they found most effective for dealing with angry customers.

“Frankly,” they said, “we have pretty nice customers. We haven’t really had any angry customers.”

Well, OK, we do have nice customers, but it seems rather unusual that in a year of answering the phones, nobody was angry. I thought the nature of working at a call center was dealing with angry people all day long.

“Nope. Our customers are nice.”

Here’s what I think. I think that our customers are nice because they’re not worried. They’re not worried because we have a ridiculously liberal return policy: “We don’t want your money if you’re not amazingly happy.”

Customers know that they have nothing to fear. They have the power in the relationship. So they don’t get abusive.

The no-questions-asked 90-day money back guarantee was one of the best decisions we ever made at Fog Creek. Try this: use Fog Creek Copilot for a full 24 hours, call up three months later and say, “hey guys, I need $5 for a cup of coffee. Give me back my money from that Copilot day pass,” and we’ll give it back to you. Try calling on the 91st or 92nd or 203rd day. You’ll still get it back. We really don’t want your money if you’re not satisfied. I’m pretty sure we’re running the only job listing service around that will refund your money just because your ad didn’t work. This is unheard of, but it means we get a lot more ad listings, because there’s nothing to lose.

Over the last six years or so, letting people return software has cost us 2%.

2%.

And you know what? Most customers pay with credit cards, and if we didn’t refund their money, a bunch of them would have called their bank. This is called a chargeback. They get their money back, we pay a chargeback fee, and if this happens too often, our processing fees go up.

Know what our chargeback rate is at Fog Creek?

0%.

I’m not kidding.

If we were tougher about offering refunds, the only thing we would possibly have done is pissed a few customers off, customers who would have ranted and whined on their blogs. We wouldn’t even have kept more of their money.

I know of software companies who are very explicit on their web site that you are not entitled to a refund under any circumstances, but the truth is, if you call them up, they will eventually return your money because they know that if they don’t, your credit card company will. This is the worst of both worlds. You end up refunding the money anyway, and you don’t get to give potential customers the warm and fuzzy feeling of knowing Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong, so they hesitate before buying. Or they don’t buy at all.

8. (Bonus!) Give customer service people a career path
The last important lesson we learned here at Fog Creek is that you need very highly qualified people talking to customers. A salesperson at Fog Creek needs to have significant experience with the software development process and needs to be able to explain why FogBugz works the way it does, and why it makes software development teams function better. A tech support person at Fog Creek can’t get by on canned answers to common questions, because we’ve eliminated the common questions by fixing the software, so tech support here has to actually troubleshoot which often means debugging.

Many qualified people get bored with front line customer service, and I’m OK with that. To compensate for this, I don’t hire people into those positions without an explicit career path. Here at Fog Creek, customer support is just the first year of a three-year management training program that includes a master’s degree in technology management at Columbia University. This allows us to get ambitious, smart geeks on a terrific career path talking to customers and solving their problems. We end up paying quite a bit more than average for these positions (especially when you consider $25,000 a year in tuition), but we get far more value out of them, too.

Technorati Tags: percworks, Robin Abello, Columbia Maryland, Technology, Community, Joel Spolsky

More reasons to switch to Vista

2007-01-30T20:32:00.000-05:00

Here's a reprint of a good article (from PC World) about reasons for switching to Vista. Even if you're not switching anytime soon, chances are in the next year or two you'll be on Vista either by default when you buy a new PC (unless you go to a Mac) or you just take the plunge because everybody else is also doing so.

1. It's the Interface, Stupid

Perhaps the best thing about Windows Vista is the most obvious: its new interface. With transparent animated windows that swoosh into place, subtle and elegant colors, a new Start menu, and plenty of other changes, this is the most beautiful version of Windows you've seen. If you've ever had Mac envy, this is the Windows you want--it's the most Mac-like interface yet.

2. Flip Over Windows Flip 3D

Switching between open windows using Alt-Tab in previous versions of Windows was always a shot in the dark, as you never quite knew to which window you'd switch, or even which ones were open. That has all changed in Windows Vista. Press Alt-Tab, and Windows Flip 3D springs into action, displaying thumbnails of all your open windows in a gorgeous, 3D stack. You can then flip through them until you find the one you want.

3. Live Thumbnails

Do you run a lot of programs and visit a lot of Web sites simultaneously? If so, you'll appreciate Live Thumbnails. Hover your mouse over any window on the Taskbar, and a thumbnail of the window pops up, with the program and document name, or the Web site name, just above it. The thumbnails are truly "live," so if a video is playing in a window, you'll see the video playing in the thumbnail too.

4. Boost Performance With ReadyBoost

Windows Vista includes a quick way to enhance system performance: ReadyBoost. It preloads files and programs you often use into RAM so that they're there when you want them, and you don't have to wait for them to load from the hard disk. You can buy an inexpensive USB flash drive and use up to 4GB of cheap RAM to boost your system performance.

5. Cool Performance Tools

If you're the kind of person who tends to peek under the hood and tinker, you'll find a lot to like in Windows Vista, which contains plenty of applets and utilities. Probably the best of them all is the Reliability and Performance Monitor. It keeps tabs on every aspect of your PC in exquisite detail, including the CPU, hard disk, network usage, and RAM use, and it includes plenty of charts, reports, and logs for your inner geek. The Reliability Monitor module is particularly noteworthy, as it charts the reliability of your PC over time and shows you every single problem or failure in a calendar format.

6. Better Security

At every level of Windows Vista, you'll find improved security. The firewall is now two-way, including inbound as well as outbound protection. Windows Defender offers spyware protection, and Internet Explorer has an antiphishing filter to protect against Web scams. A slew of security holes have been plugged in Internet Explorer, and the browser now operates in what's called Protected Mode, which guards system files against external attacks. There's plenty more under the hood as well, including Windows Service Hardening, which protects vital files and settings. (Note: BitLocker's automatic drive encryption and other advanced Windows Vista security options are available only in the Business and Ultimate versions.)

7. Find Anything Fast With Search

Can't remember where you put an important file? It's no longer a problem. Windows Vista integrates a new search technology throughout the operating system--on the Start menu, within Windows Explorer, and just about everywhere else you look. It uses indexing and is lightning fast, and it literally searches as you type. A powerful advanced search tool lets you narrow your search by date, file size, author, tags, and location. It also accepts Boolean searching. You can even save your searches for future reference.

8. Nifty Software Gadgets

If you're a software gadget fan, you'll love Windows Vista. It includes a variety of software gadgets that live on the desktop and do little tasks such as delivering stock quotes, showing weather forecasts, displaying RSS feeds, monitoring the state of your computer, checking your e-mail inbox, and more. Windows Vista ships with a gaggle of them, but you can find dozens more online--and they're all free.

9. Better Wireless Networking

Anyone who uses a wireless network at home, at work, or on the road will appreciate the way Windows Vista handles wireless networking. You can more easily find new wireless networks, and save them and manage them as permanent connections. Wireless security has also been improved: When you connect at a public hotspot, security precautions (such as the shutting off of file sharing) automatically lock into place.

10. Map Your Network

Want to see every single computer and device connected to your network--and get instant information about each, such as their IP addresses? The Network Map does that for you. It also lets you make instant connections to any device; double-click a PC, for example, and you'll connect to its shared folders.

11. Better Graphics With Windows Photo Gallery

Finally, with Windows Photo Gallery Microsoft has shipped a graphics utility that's worth using. It's a kind of jack-of-all-trades--you can view graphics and create slide shows, for example. But it also includes a surprisingly good set of simple-to-use image editing tools, including one for eliminating red-eye and another that cleans up photos with a single click.

12. Become a Director With Windows Movie Maker

Windows Vista comes with a new version of the much-maligned moviemaking tool Windows Movie Maker, and it's a big surprise--you'll actually want to use it. Importing video and music, creating transitions between scenes, and syncing music with video are easy. When you're done, you can burn your creation to DVD with Windows DVD Maker.

13. Better Notebook Support

In previous versions of Windows, the mobile-computing features seemed bolted on after the fact. That's not true with Windows Vista, as the Windows Mobility Center puts all the tools you need in one place.

You can turn your wireless adapter on or off, change your battery settings, and connect to an external display from a single location. And the new Presentation Settings feature is a big leap forward for anyone who often gives presentations with a notebook. You can customize settings--such as the resolution, mute, background, and so on--and then save them. Afterward you can switch from normal mode to presentation mode in a snap.

14. File Sharing and Syncing

With Windows XP it was possible to share files among PCs on your network--possible but often impossibly hard, it seemed. That changes with Windows Vista. The Network and Sharing Center lets you turn on and configure file sharing with single clicks. And the Synch Center lets you automatically synchronize files and folders among separate PCs. You won't have to do anything to keep them in sync; Windows Vista will do it for you.

15. Protect Your Kids With Parental Controls

Worried that your children may be exposed to inappropriate content online? Want to make sure they're not playing violent games? Parental Controls put you in the driver seat. Not only can you determine the kinds of sites they visit and games they play, but you can also enforce rules about when they'll be able to use the computer at all.

Technorati Tags: percworks, ezColumbia, Robin Abello, Columbia Maryland, Technology, Community, Windows Vista

Vista in the horizon

2006-12-31T17:42:00.000-05:00

After 6 years, Microsoft is finally releasing a new operating system to replace Windows XP. Yes, it's been 6 years so it's about time! The question in everyone's mind is should we upgrade? Depending on your PC situation, there are also a couple other questions to consider like --- when should we upgrade? or can we upgrade?

Why do we upgrade our OS anyway? I remember when XP came out, I only upgraded by default when I bought a new laptop and it came with XP installed. But it was XP Home Edition and when I needed to run IIS for a project using Visual Studio I switched back to Windows 2000. And then a few months later I heard about this wonderful software called Windows Movie Maker and lo and behold it would only run on Windows XP, so I reinstalled XP on my laptop. This upgrade was necessitated because I wanted to run software that wouldn't run on my older OS. I've heard of a couple folks upgrading to XP in the past few years because they got an iPod and iTunes would only run on Windows 2000 or XP.

If you're thinking of upgrading, make sure that you can even upgrade (run the Vista readiness test from PcPitstop). Vista requires more PC muscle than XP, so if your computer is more than 2 years old, there's a good chance it may not even be able to run Vista well (if you find XP slow on your 2 year old computer, Vista will make it even slower). Plus consider the cost of upgrading. The premium home version of Vista is going to sell for $159 (upgrade price) so you may also just consider getting a new PC which will come pre-loaded with Vista.

If you really want to upgrade and your PC has the muscle to run Vista, it's probably prudent to wait until Service Pack 1 is released. We're probably looking at Spring 2007 when this might be released --- of course this will all depend on how many bugs are reported and how critical they are. Plus let's wait and find out which among the many consumer software will not be compatible with Vista.

If you're worried that Vista will have bugs and problems that will make your life miserable, consider that XP, after 6 years is not bug and problem free either. In fact if you're diligent about getting those Windows updates, you probably got another XP patch/bug-fix from Microsoft just last week.

So YES, Vista is in the horizon, and after 6 years, it's about time!

Technorati Tags: percworks, ezColumbia, Robin Abello, Columbia Maryland, Technology, Community, Windows Vista

Holiday Rhapsody

2006-11-26T22:28:00.000-05:00

A big part of our holiday season is listening to Christmas songs and this year we started on thanksgiving day ... a bit early for my wife but I couldn't wait to tune in to the radio stations that play holiday songs throughout the season. But this year I also fired up Rhapsody and listened to their holiday offerings. I went to their radio and found a couple stations featuring holiday music. One that I particularly like is their Cool Yule radio station that features jazz holiday tunes.

If you haven't tried Rhapsody yet, or if you haven't heard about it, it's this great music subscription service from Real Networks (http://www.rhapsody.com/). I got hooked into it by the free version available to all Comcast internet users. Of course the free version is pretty limited because you can only listen to 25 songs in a month, so it wasn't long until I signed on for their paid version. You get unlimited use of their million+ songs and the quality is superb. I'm not even a power user but having access to a new album (or an old one that I haven't heard in a long time) makes it worth it. I pay about $9/month and given the amount of songs I can freely choose to listen to, it's well worth it. I only wish we had internet access from cars already so that I can use Rhapsody from my car as well.

What makes Rhapsody really great is it turns the whole broadcast model of radio upside down. We choose what we want to listen to and when we want to listen. There's even this new gadget from Sonos (http://www.sonos.com/) that allows you to integrate Rhapsody with your home stereo without having to use your computer. I'm not about to shell for it yet because it's still a bit pricey, but it sounds like a great idea. They even have these cool controllers that you can hand to a friend who's visiting your house so they can also browse your million song collection.

Technorati Tags: percworks, ezColumbia, Robin Abello, Columbia Maryland, Technology, Community, Rhapsody, Sonos

Word and Excel on the web brought to you by Google

2006-10-11T23:36:00.000-04:00

They're actually calling it Docs and Spreadsheets, but they also mean Word and Excel.

If you haven't checked it out yet, go to docs.google.com.

The implications of this release from a big giant like Google is quite significant. First the technology behind rich apps on the web has been around for quite some time now (remember the promise of Java?). But the timing in the past was not always quite right for many reasons, some due to logistics (most people were still on dialup), and maybe people were just not yet ready to use apps that they thought of as desktop apps on the web.

So we had to take baby steps with web email being the first of these desktop apps that slowly became widely accepted on the web. When Hotmail came out in the mid-90s, people were using it primarily as a secondary email account. Something to use when you buy things online (so that your private email remains, well private). And the performance and features were just not that great in the beginning, but those who used hotmail then really liked the ability to check their emails from any web browser anywhere in the world. And it's FREE, how about that?

But a few years later Google mail came along with almost unlimited storage space and features that made it behave almost like desktop email. Soon people were using it not as a secondary email account but as their primary email account. Why get stuck with a Comcast or Verizon email account when you can have Gmail and not have to worry about switching your email address again when you finally got tired of Comcast and switched to Verizon?

So now people are starting to be pretty comfortable with rich web apps and after email and IM, what other apps do we use? Word and Excel (really they're calling it Docs & Spreadsheets) on the web is not only great because you can use it from any computer with a browser but think about the number of times you sent someone a Word document and they didn't have MS Word installed on their computer, or they were on a Mac and you assumed they at least had Windows Write on their machine (which could also open Word files). The beauty of Google docs and spreadsheets is it works great on a Mac as well.

The ultimate goal is to allow people to essentially access their digital domain on any computer. So you're no longer tied to a single computer. I've been lugging my laptop with me all these years and one of the things I dread is what if something happened to my laptop. I have all my files, email and my favorite apps on my laptop. Sure I have backups but if I was in a bind and lost my laptop, it would take me hours if not a full-day just to get my computer environment back. Why be tied to a single computer? I really like the idea of being able to just walk up to a computer terminal in the library, or my Aunt's house and in a few seconds my digital domain is in front of me.

There will be lots of questions about privacy and control that will further shape the growth and acceptance of this technology. But it's truly great to see a big step towards changing the way we think about using computers.

Technorati Tags: percworks, ezColumbia, Robin Abello, Columbia Maryland, Technology, Community, Google, Google Docs & Spreadsheets

Mapquest gets an upgrade

2006-10-09T22:36:00.000-04:00

Finally I can start using Mapquest again.

For a long time now I have been using Google Maps or Yahoo Maps instead of Mapquest because of the click and drag the map feature. It's a feature that allows me to see the route more and find other ways to get to a destination. And being that Mapquest is the map site that most people use (at least that's what I gather since most people often remark they'll Mapquest the directions) it's a much needed upgrade otherwise it wouldn't have been long before people went the same direction I did. In fact on some of the earlier pages we had built on ezColumbia we only used Mapquest and for quite some time now we have been thinking of converting those links to Google Maps mainly because of this feature ... but now we don't have to do that anymore (on our new pages we do offer links to both Mapquest and Google Maps).

Technorati Tags: percworks, ezColumbia, Robin Abello, Columbia Maryland, Technology, Community, Mapquest

Ask.com - worth another look?

2006-10-04T21:55:00.000-04:00

Check out this article about Ask.com from USAToday.

For those of you familiar with Ask Jeeves, well, it's now Ask.com. The technology behind Ask Jeeves is now the search engine behind Ask.com. Their method of searching is to organize the search results into different groups of results instead of just giving you all the results and letting you take care of finding the relevant information you're looking for.

Comparing the results from Google and Ask.com when searching for "Columbia MD", both agree on their #1 result --- General Growth's website on Columbia. The rest of the results are pretty mixed for both (probably a result of the link farms out there that skew the results for those who subscribe to SEO services). But it was nice to see the Columbia Wikipedia page on Google's results (#4) and Columbia Association's website on Ask.com's results (#2). Interestingly the wikipedia page didn't appear on Ask.com's first page results and the Columbia association's website didn't appear on Google's first page results either. I looked at pages 2,3,4 and 5 of Google's results and the Columbia association website didn't appear there either.

Now what about Ask.com's organizing into different search groups (they call it clusters) feature? Well, the search groups it found were links to more defined searches for "Columbia, Maryland", "Columbia MD Restaurants", "Columbia MD Mall", "Jobs Columbia MD", "Fireworks in Columbia MD", "Columbia Association Maryland" and so on. If you drill down on those searches, the results are still pretty mixed.

But I think the technology is promising. And trying it out on more common search topics like "wifi" or a school research item like "photosynthesis" yields search group results that effectively provide guidance on where else to look for additional information. The search groups for photosynthesis were "Process of photosynthesis", "Photosynthesis diagrams", "Chlorophyll", "Steps of Photosynthesis", "Light Reactions" and so on.

So is it worth another look? Give it a try and see for yourself.

Technorati Tags: percworks, ezColumbia, Robin Abello, Columbia Maryland, Technology, Community, Google, Ask.com

Groovix - the new computer systems in the library

2006-10-02T17:01:00.000-04:00

When I was at the library last week (East branch) I noticed on one table there were 6 keyboards/mouse and monitor attached to a single computer. The Howard County library had been using Linux for quite some time now and when I saw that setup I thought it was pretty clever of them to use Linux in that way. Not only is it cost-effective but it's great for maintenance (instead of maintaining 6 computers for 6 users, they just have to maintain 1 computer).

I then thought of where else this kind of setup would be ideal and I thought schools where you usually have a room full of computers and maybe even some offices where people sit not too far from each other. Because the keyboard/mouse and monitor have to connect back to the computer, you can't be too far unless you get special long cables. I even thought about it for homes where you can setup up two terminals (monitor,keyboard/mouse) and the kids can effectively be using just one computer (so no more scheduling conflicts on who gets to use the computer).

The Groovix Linux system is made by a company called Open Sense Solutions. They're saying you can turn one computer into essentially ten computers. Check them out!

Technorati Tags: percworks, ezColumbia, Robin Abello, Columbia Maryland, Technology, Community, Groovix, Howard County Library