Cheers from the depths!

Greetings, I’m Sharkey and I’ll be your guide on this adventure in the world of geeky tech. Ever had one of those day’s where everything electronic seems to gang up against you? Ever had the IT staff run the other way when they see you in the hall at work? Ever wonder what was the actual working title of Return of the Jedi? Well I’m here for you.

The Modding / Hacking war is it worth the hassle?

With news stories like Microsoft Bans Live Accounts For Modded Consoles and first virus hits jailbroken iphone is it worth hacking or modding devices for the enthusiast in all of us?  Many of you may be wondering what is a mod or hack and why would I do this to a device I paid good money for. Since the beginning of time people have felt an almost undeniable urge to tinker with stuff. This urge is present today and fueled by information available on the internet it has spread like wild fire. This has both good and bad consequences. On the good side many times people hack or mod a device to add functionality that the original designer may not have thought important to include and that functionality is included in future updates. On the bad side many people mod or hack a device to get around limits purposely put in place by device manufactures to combat things like piracy. I don’t want to debate weather modding / hacking is a good thing or bad thing but is it worth the hassle? Many device manufactures are cracking down on the modding community. This is made easier by the fact that many of today’s devices are connected to a service that allow the manufacture to update the device like and Xbox on Xbox live or and iphone. So I urge anyone who wants to mod any device to think of the consequences do you really want to brick that iphone or get kicked off of Xbox live and is there a way to reverse the mod and how easy is it. This can have effects even outside the modding community, I foresee a flood of cheap Xbox 360’s to hit e-bay soon as many people who did not have a lot of technical skill modded their Xbox and now can’t fix it so why not put it on e-bay and use the money to buy a new one. Bottom line is the fun you get out of modding out way the hassle of trying to keep one step ahead of the manufacturer, it’s getting less so for me by the day. As always till the next time I surface from the depths of the interwebs be safe and have fun.

I’M baaaack !!!!!!

Wow its been a long time since I have sat down and wrote anything for my blog. I was just not in the mood for it for a long time and some of the negative input I was getting from it was bringing me down. But to all you nay sayers and people who don’t like the information here all have to say is don’t read it. For the rest of you I hope you enjoy I will be posting more regularly on the things I find interesting and geeky. So long for now see ya soon and be safe surfing the interwebs.

What is Cloud computing and will it change your digital life?

One of the industry buzz words floating around that I hear all the time on technology podcasts and read on tech sites is “cloud computing”. What is cloud computing and why is everyone so exited about it? According to Wikipedia cloud computing is:

                       

Technologies that rely on the Internet to satisfy the computing needs of users. Cloud computing services often provide common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the servers.

 

How does this apply to normal computer users in their home? Basically if  you have ever used Google docs , Windows Live, or even Facebook you have participated in cloud computing.

 

Why is this being talked about so much if it’s something we already do everyday? Well many industry big wigs think that this is the future of computing in general. They believe that in the very near future we will do all of our computing over the internet. In fact Google is developing an entire OS based on this concept of doing everything over the web. The big question is this a good thing or a bad thing lets look at the advantages and disadvantages.

 

Advantages would include the ability to access your data on any system that can access the web. No longer will you have to worry about leaving a file back at the office you needed to work on while at home. You won’t need to worry about how much hard drive space all those pictures on your system are taking up because all your files are now stored on the internet. You would not have to purchase expensive programs to install on your system and deal with upgrading them each time a new version comes out. These are some of the advantages that average users would see with cloud computing now lets look at what could go wrong with this seemingly great concept.

 

The big disadvantage of cloud computing is what do you do when you don’t have an internet connection? With all your data stored on the cloud you are stuck can’t do anything with it until you have internet access. Also you know how when typing a paper you constantly hit the save button so if anything does go south you don’t loose much work well it’s not as easy when saving data involves uploading to the cloud. Also you have to worry about if you are uploading this data to a service or using a service to create the data who owns the data at that point. For example My Space terms of service indicate they have rights to anything you post using their site. What is to stop other services down the road from adopting the same mentality? Who will have access to your data and how secure is the service you are using becomes a concern as well. And for the big one what happens if the service you are using folds up shop will you be able to retrieve you data?

 

As you can see there is plenty to debate on both sides of the issue of cloud computing. I personally don’t think it will completely replace or drastically impact how we use computers in the near future, but it is coming and probably will be a gradual and sometimes painful transition to when all of our data is floating around in the cloud. That is if Skynet does not just wipe us out before then. Till the next time I emerge from the depths of the interwebs happy surfing.

Dead is dead…right ..not always in Lost

Warning this post may contain SPOILERS for the T.V. show Lost.

I was cursing the interwebs today and stumbled across this article on slice of scifi that indicates some of our favorite characters from Lost that we thought dead and gone may return in the next season. At this year comic con in San Diego during the Lost panel the producers hinted that several characters, some from as far back as the first season will be making a resurrection of sorts for the final season.  They also indicated this will not be only through flash backs and flash forward sequences. They are also going to do something different and not time travel. To read the whole article check it out at slice of scifi the-dead-return-to-lost . Till the next time I surface from the interwebs (sooner rather than later I promise) happy surfing.

Google to launch new Chrome OS in 2010

Last week Google announced that it wants to enter into the Operating System game. Google is planning on launching the new Chrome OS. This is not the first time that it has been reported that Google wants to get into the building and OS. Back in 2006 there were rumors that they were working on a Linux OS built on the Ubuntu distribution quickly nicknamed goobuntu. Google was quick to quash these rumors. Well this time around it is no rumor Google Chrome OS is on its way.

 

Here’s what we know about the new OS that Google is going to put out.

 

1. It will have a Linux kernel at its core
2. It will initially be marketed to netbooks
3. It will not be designed for local storage of data all data will be housed on the web
4. It will run on both x86 and ARM processors
5. it will not need developers to design programs specifically for the OS but developers will need to design web application that could run on any browser
6. It will boot directly to the Chrome browser

 

 

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has admitted that he needed some convincing by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to jump into the OS game. Larry and Sergey seem to have wanted to build a browser and OS for years and only recently convinced Eric to go ahead with the project.

 

Google has a big job ahead of them that could warrant Schmidt’s reluctance for the project. Here are some reasons I think the Chrome OS will not be the big splash others may believe it to be.  Google has not proven itself as a major software developer there first attempt at and OS, the Android OS that runs on mobile phones was not as big a hit as predicted. It’s going to be a year before the OS and in tech time that is a very long time for things to change. Windows 7 will be out for almost a year before this OS hits the market and this is the best version of windows since NT in my opinion and runs very well on lower end netbooks. You do not save any of your data to the local drive it’s all in the cloud on Google’s servers and Google is notorious for collecting data for advertisers from its users.  This is an OS that will dependent on your ability to connect to the internet, so what can you do with your netbook if there is no internet service is available? This seems to not have the flexibility of a true operating system that customer have come to expect on a computer and will require consumers to rethink how they use their systems. Another big question is will the netbook market be large enough to support an OS designed specifically for it? Many consumers who buy netbooks don’t really know what they are getting and suffer from buyer’s remorse once they start using them.

 

So those are all the problems I see with this but let’s look at what could go right with the project. The system will boot remarkably fast since it will not have to load applications at start up. The system could be less susceptible to malware and viruses since there is no local storage and only runs one application on the system the browser. Your data not being stored on the local drive so hardware failures will not result in data loss (also could be a problem already stated above). The OS will be open source so development community could be huge. The OS will also not require the makers of netbooks to pay a license fee to put it on their systems so a $100.00 netbook could be available in the foreseeable future.

 

Will the Chrome be a big threat to Microsoft or Apple? I don’t think so. This will be niche OS for a niche market. We will have to wait and see how it goes once it comes out. I will want to try it out but that’s because I’m a geek and have to try all the new toys out there  but I don’t think this will be usable as a main system for the average users. Till next time I emerge from the murky depths stay safe and happy surfing.

Warehouse 13 pilot …a new show that is worth checking out.

Last night Sci-Fi channel not only changed their name to SyFy they also débuted   the new series Warehouse 13. I won’t go into how silly I think the new name for the channel is  , what I want to bring to your attention is the great new show. Warehouse 13 follows two secret service agents Pete and Myka (Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly) that are abruptly transferred to a mysterious government warehouse in South Dakota.

 

The show has potential to be another Sci-Fi hit.   The two main characters seem to have depth to them   with a back story that will unfold as the series progresses. They are complete opposite personality types. Pete is a laid back fly by the seat of his pants type while Myka is a complete by the book organizer. The secret warehouse is a dumping ground for anything the government finds that it can’t identify, think the end of Raiders of the lost Ark where they store the ark.

 

When the agents arrive at their new assignment they meet Artie ( Saul Rubinek ) the curator of the warehouse. He is the whimsical guide for the new agents who seems to have been on the job a little too long.

 

The series pilot was 2hrs and did drag in a few places but I think the show shows a lot of promise and would recommend it if you are a fan of shows like Eureka or the librarian. I will be keeping and eye on this one and follow up once a few more episodes have been aired.

How important is keeping your system up to date?

Hello all I’m back after another rather long hiatus. Summer time seems to be a hard time for me to keep up my blogging so I apologize for the long time between posts. Recently over the forth of July holiday   I was visiting family and as usual I get asked to look at their computers that are acting up. I noticed a startling trend on each of the systems I looked at over the weekend. All the systems had notifications in the system tray of updates that needed to be downloaded and installed. What is this system tray I speak of? Take a look at your computer screen now look in the bottom right hand corner. Yeah where you see the time displayed. That is what is commonly called the system tray and it does more than tell you the time. Some applications can put icons in the notification area to indicate the status of an operation or to notify the user about an event that needs your attention. Do You see a yellow triangle with and exclamation mark in it? Or any other icons that show yellow exclamation marks if so you need to update your system in some fashion. It may be you need to download and install a windows update or your antivirus program may need some attention. Ok go ahead and click on it and see what it says. It’s really easy just follow the instructions on the screen and let your system fix what it needs to fix, your system will run better and you will be more secure in your computing. Be sure to check the system tray periodically to see if there is anything that needs some attention.  I will be posting some applications that can help you manage your system tray and taskbar in a future post. If you have any question or a suggestion for a topic you would like me to cover just drop me a line and I will do it.

Bad phone support how do you know if the person on the line knows what they are doing?

I had a co-worker the other day vent to me about a recent experience they had when calling their ISP for tech support. This started me wondering how you know if the person on the other end of the phone really knows what they are doing.  Here was her experience.

 

To set things up my co-worker is fairly experienced with computers and knows the basics about how internet connections work. She was running Windows Vista on a desktop system with a DSL modem plugged directly into the system. The problem was she could not view any web pages and would get a connection status of local only in network and sharing center.

 

Before she called tech support she did all the basis reset the modem, rebooted the system, made sure all the connections were correct. She also confirmed her system was getting and IP address and she could ping out to websites. Here is how here first call to tech support went:

 

After going through the IVR mamba she get to a “technical support representative”

 

TS- “ma’am you don’t have service until June 3^rd””

Me – “I ordered an upgraded modem that is to arrive on June 3^rd.  I have service, we did not stop the service.  Can you assist me with my browsing issue?”

TS “No, ma’am you can’t browse because you don’t have internet access”

Me – I can ping yahoo’s web address and I have a connection in ipconfig

TS Just because you can ping does not mean you have an internet connection

ME . . (after a pause) can you confirm for me that the ip address I have a connection on is one of yours?

TS No, how am I supposed to know that?

Me . .uhm . . you are tech support, right?  I can tell you it is because this is the only connection I have on my system

TS I think you are connected to wifi

Me – I can’t be connected to wifi because I don’t have a wifi adapter on this system.

TS You don’t need a wifi adapter. You are picking up wifi through your modem

Me (long pause) this modem is a cable DSL modem.  It is not a wifi adapter.  If in some way it is capable of picking up wifi the lights on the modem indicate it is on aDSL internet connection that is active.  There is no indication it is connected to wifi.  In my connections icon in the system tray it says “local only” .  As I am sure you are aware, this is a known issue with Vista.  Can you assist me with it?

TS You need to call Vista.

Me – (very long pause)

TS Ma’am?

Me Vista is not a company, it is the name of the operating system.

TS Oh.

Me Never mind.  I will call another time

 

 

 

Clearly this phone rep suffers from Tunnel vision syndrome. This is where a tech latches onto what they think the problem is (service listed as not starting till June 3^rd) and will not deviate from that conclusion no mater what you tell them. This can be very frustrating because the tech has shut down all other options and will just try to convince you by any means necessary that it is not his problem to solve. Combine this with the lack of knowledge this tech showed and your are going no where fast with the issue.

 

Her second call was no better the tech did acknowledge that she had active service but admitted they did not know how to solve the issue when she explained that her network and sharing center displayed local only when she was connected.

 

At this time she had to leave for work and left it up to her husband to try and resolve the issue. A third call later and he got a tech support rep that knew what the issue was and walked him through about 5 minutes of trouble shooting steps to Disable Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) and Link-Layer Topology Discovery on his system and he was up and running.

 

So how do we avoid the frustration of bad tech support? First off it is not entirely the phone representative’s fault. Many companies that offer services like an ISP skimp on the technical aspect of training there phone reps. They prefer to focus on soft skills. You may not get the right answers but they want you to feel good about it and they want the phone rep to provide the information in a pleasant manner. While this is important I think it should be secondary when I call for tech support I want the issue fixed and could care less if the rep calls me by my name or not.

 

Things to look for that could indicate the phone tech is in over their head or just does not know how to help you.

1. Always hesitant in their reply’s to your questions
2. Constantly putting you on hold
3. Does not explain the steps they are taking you through
4. Sounds like they are reading from a script and will not deviate
5. Gives information you know is wrong

 

What to do when you see two or more of these from your tech support rep? Always remember that it is a person you have on the other end of the line. You have to convey you are not an idiot without coming of as a jerk or raving lunatic. Ask politely to be escalated to the next level tech support or a manager. Some time like my co-worker you just have to bite the bullet and play the tech support roulette game and call back till you do get someone who knows what they are doing. When you do get that rare combination of  a rep who knows what they are doing and wants to help be sure to complement them and see if there is a way to pass on what a good job they do to their supervisor.

Microsoft’s new search tool does more than just serve up links

Bing is now more than a the answer to a Friends trivia question. (what is Chandlers last name). It is Microsoft’s new “decision engine”. Don’t confuse this with your run of the mill search engine because it offers much more than just a list of links to sites based off your input.

 

You more than likely have seen the ads on T.V. that are a part of Microsoft’s reported $80 million campaign to try and break Google’s strangle hold on the search market. The ads are humorous and address a major concern with search engines today that is information overload. I hoe that future ads highlight some of the useful features of this product that I think make it stand out from your ordinary search engine.

 

 I first heard about Bing on the pod cast Windows Weekly with Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte when it was code named Kumo. At the time not much was know about this project other than it was going to be a possible replacement for live search that would   deliver fast, organized and differentiated results. Well they did that and more.

 

Bing has a very nice looking home screen with a new interactive background that looks like it changes each week. As of the writing of this post it is of Florence Italy. Just hover your mouse over key area’s of the background to find out interesting facts about the image such as Julius Caesar established the city as a settlement for his veteran soldiers in 59 BC. Clicking on the links takes you to different info pages like travel in Italy picture galleries ect.    At the top of the page you get links for taking a tour of Bing, MSN, Windows Live and a sign in for your Windows Live account. Also is a link that easily makes Bing your homepage. Also is a link to the extras that include being able to set your preferences, your cashback account, blogs and more. Also in the extras is webmaster tools that allow you to troubleshoot the crawling and indexing of your site, submit sitemaps and view statistics about your sites. Across the bottom are links that correlate to the back ground image and what the most popular searches have been.

 

Where Bing really starts to shine is when you enter your search query. I used Star Wars as my search and instead if just getting a bunch of links to Star Wars related sites. I got and organized listing of links divided up into best match, images, DVD, quotes, ect. Also on the side bar I could narrow my search by separate categories or select a related search like Star Wars Games and it included a list of my search history. To the right of each result is a area you can hover your mouse and get a detailed description of the site.

 

One of the best features of Bing is for people who like to shop online. The Bing cashback. This allows you to creat a cashback account for free with your windows live account sign in and earn money when you purchase items online form participating stores. You can redeem your cash back as a check or have it deposited in a Pay Pal account.  The list of stores is extensive  including some big names like Eddie bower, Newegg, and Office Max just to name a few.

 

Bing has a lot to more to offer than just searching the web and I think it deserves a try.

Catch up on Sci-fi entertainment

Ok so I have been surfing the web and have come across several interesting stories in the entertainment world. Most of this comes from the Slice of Sci-fi web site and thought I would wrap them all up in one post. If you want to read more than my take on these stories visit the  Slice of Sci-fi  web site.

 

Darth Maul comes to Heroes.

The actor who played Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode I Ray Park has been cast as a  new villain for the T.V. series Heroes. Who his charter is and what He can do is being kept secret at this time. Given his portrayal as one of the shortest lived but  beloved characters in the Star Wars universe I am exited to see what they can do with him.  

 

Is Charlie coming back to Lost ?

The latest promo for ABC’s hit series Lost shows Dominic Monaghan who play’s Charlie on the show playing foose ball and during the course of the promo one of the cast members say’s “you’re so dead” and Monaghan replies “Actually I was”. Will we see Charlie rise for the dead ala Locke? I hope so I very much enjoy his character and have missed him on the show.

 

 

Johnny 5 is alive

Short Circuit is getting the “Reboot” treatment and will be written by Dan Milano who has worked on Robot Chicken and Greg the Bunny. Also on board to produce is David Foster who produced the original 1986 version. If you have not seen this classic I highly recommend it.