At a car park on Friday I noticed cars from SIX other support companies. That on it's own should show how crowded the IT support market currently is.
But I'm not cranky about the number of tech businesses fighting in the marketplace: It's about their names.
There's too many Geeks and Nerds: Geeks R Us, Geeks To The Rescue, Geeks On Call, Geeks Central, Geek Chick, Nerds Downunder, Corporate Nerds, Neighbourhood Nerds. I could go on and on and on with variations on this theme.
What these guys don't get is that the term "Geek" or "Nerd" is not a compliment. Some people get upset when they are called a nerd.
Quite rightly too. The term "nerd" or "geek" implies a sexually inadequate young man who gets off on fixing obscure computer problems. To the average person, this indicates your tech will fix your computer because they enjoy tinkering with computers, not because they want to get paid.
I'd suggest the computer tech industry is the only industry where the participants gleefully use a term that's an insult to them.
It's time to drop the "Nerd" and "Geek" names, they are lame and devalue your skills and services. Be proud of your talents and find a name that reflects what you do and the fact you do it well.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Don't let your kids use your computer
The US Congress' oversight committee held hearings on the security of Peer to Peer networking recently. This raised an issue that's bugged me for sometime about programs like Limewire.
Programs like Limewire automatically share parts of your "my documents" folder. For many people there's some pretty confidential information in there.
For business users this can have some pretty serious ramifications. The CNET article on this story has an example.
..the Department of Transportation experienced an incident in which an employee's daughter installed LimeWire on the home computer that her mother occasionally uses for telework--and misconfigured it in such a way that documents from the department and the National Archives were open to others using the network..
That's a pretty typical scenario for a home office or small business: The kids get on mum or dad's work computer and Very Bad Things Happen.
The moral here is to keep work and play computers separate. Make the kids buy their own computer and stick Limewire on it.
Programs like Limewire automatically share parts of your "my documents" folder. For many people there's some pretty confidential information in there.
For business users this can have some pretty serious ramifications. The CNET article on this story has an example.
..the Department of Transportation experienced an incident in which an employee's daughter installed LimeWire on the home computer that her mother occasionally uses for telework--and misconfigured it in such a way that documents from the department and the National Archives were open to others using the network..
That's a pretty typical scenario for a home office or small business: The kids get on mum or dad's work computer and Very Bad Things Happen.
The moral here is to keep work and play computers separate. Make the kids buy their own computer and stick Limewire on it.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Premium SMS scams
On the day the mobile phone industry celebrates the 15th birthday of the SMS, we find a premium rate SMS operator is fined $150,000 for spamming phone users.
This scam was an irritating little stunt where they'd call you and quickly hang up, leaving an "unanswered call" on your phone. When you returned the call you'd get a recorded message telling you that you'd won a prize and to call a premium rate phone number.
If you fell for this, you would then find that not only had you spent $15 to claim your prize, but also you'd subscribed to a pointless and expensive ringtone service.
DC Marketing is not alone in this sort of behaviour. In fact there are many operators who are far worse.
The attitude of the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association is laughable. The chief executive, Chris Althaus, believes that 9,000 complaints in a six month period is simply because of new 3G services.
Exactly what 3G has to do with SMS scams is beyond me.
The ringtone and premium rate SMS industry has a serious problem. There's only so many morons who will spend hundreds of dollars a year on this garbage. By definition, those morons are easily parted from their money so competition for them is intense.
So the premium rate operators stoop to some pretty low stunts to trick people. One of the most common tricks is to offer a prize but bury deep in the small print that claiming it is agreeing to receiving two ring tones a week at five dollars a pop.
The worse ones just subscribe people who have never even rung the number. The first these people know of the scam is some charges on their bill.
Many victims of this found the response of Optus, Telstra and Vodafone was "discuss it with the spammer" despite the fact the victims often had no relationship with them and the scammers made it difficult, if not impossible, to talk to anyone.
The real disgrace here is the action was taken against one provider under the spam act. The real scammers should be feeling the heat of the ACCC, TIO and state police forces for the frauds that have been committed.
The phone companies should be copping some penalties too. They are complicit in this and profit very nicely from these scams.
Until the authorities start taking serious action, the premium rate SMS scams will continue.
Anyway, happy birthday to the SMS.
This scam was an irritating little stunt where they'd call you and quickly hang up, leaving an "unanswered call" on your phone. When you returned the call you'd get a recorded message telling you that you'd won a prize and to call a premium rate phone number.
If you fell for this, you would then find that not only had you spent $15 to claim your prize, but also you'd subscribed to a pointless and expensive ringtone service.
DC Marketing is not alone in this sort of behaviour. In fact there are many operators who are far worse.
The attitude of the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association is laughable. The chief executive, Chris Althaus, believes that 9,000 complaints in a six month period is simply because of new 3G services.
Exactly what 3G has to do with SMS scams is beyond me.
The ringtone and premium rate SMS industry has a serious problem. There's only so many morons who will spend hundreds of dollars a year on this garbage. By definition, those morons are easily parted from their money so competition for them is intense.
So the premium rate operators stoop to some pretty low stunts to trick people. One of the most common tricks is to offer a prize but bury deep in the small print that claiming it is agreeing to receiving two ring tones a week at five dollars a pop.
The worse ones just subscribe people who have never even rung the number. The first these people know of the scam is some charges on their bill.
Many victims of this found the response of Optus, Telstra and Vodafone was "discuss it with the spammer" despite the fact the victims often had no relationship with them and the scammers made it difficult, if not impossible, to talk to anyone.
The real disgrace here is the action was taken against one provider under the spam act. The real scammers should be feeling the heat of the ACCC, TIO and state police forces for the frauds that have been committed.
The phone companies should be copping some penalties too. They are complicit in this and profit very nicely from these scams.
Until the authorities start taking serious action, the premium rate SMS scams will continue.
Anyway, happy birthday to the SMS.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Telstra offer a self install kit
Telstra have another crack at the small business market with a new offering.
AustralianIT reports that Telstra will be offering a small business network self install kit that includes a domain name, two managed Exchange mailboxes and a wireless router.
It certainly sounds like an interesting product. The small business market is seriously overlooked and this is the sort of product small business owners love.
I can see a few problems though; the cost of Telstra's plans, ongoing support and domain name problems.
Choosing domain names is going to be fun. A lot of small business owners don't understand the rules for choosing .com.au names and don't appreciate that most good dot com names are gone. I expect Telstra's support people will have some serious headaches with this.
The cost of Telstra's plans is another major drawback. Telstra are never cheap for Internet access and the proposed entry level plan of $55 for 500Mb of data is recipe for small business bankruptcy.
Ongoing support is the deal breaker here. Telstra's previous efforts in this field have left small business owners on hold and frustrated for many hours.
This product will take a lot of supporting and hand holding. To make it a success, they'll have to be sharp on both marketing and support.
Telstra's moves in the small business market are well worth watching. It looks like competition in this space is going to heat up and if Telstra can do it right, they'll be in the position to grab the best market share.
AustralianIT reports that Telstra will be offering a small business network self install kit that includes a domain name, two managed Exchange mailboxes and a wireless router.
It certainly sounds like an interesting product. The small business market is seriously overlooked and this is the sort of product small business owners love.
I can see a few problems though; the cost of Telstra's plans, ongoing support and domain name problems.
Choosing domain names is going to be fun. A lot of small business owners don't understand the rules for choosing .com.au names and don't appreciate that most good dot com names are gone. I expect Telstra's support people will have some serious headaches with this.
The cost of Telstra's plans is another major drawback. Telstra are never cheap for Internet access and the proposed entry level plan of $55 for 500Mb of data is recipe for small business bankruptcy.
Ongoing support is the deal breaker here. Telstra's previous efforts in this field have left small business owners on hold and frustrated for many hours.
This product will take a lot of supporting and hand holding. To make it a success, they'll have to be sharp on both marketing and support.
Telstra's moves in the small business market are well worth watching. It looks like competition in this space is going to heat up and if Telstra can do it right, they'll be in the position to grab the best market share.
You are not anonymous
The story that every single page of the latest Harry Potter book was photographed and posted to the web is fascinating on a number of levels.
First, who the heck has the time? This book has a lot of pages. Obviously some people at Scholastic have cushy jobs.
The more compelling point is the news that the poster didn't strip out their EXIF information before posting. This means the camera's maker and serial number are there for the world to see.
As the Electronic Frontiers Foundation points out, it's not just digital cameras that live your electronic fingerprints everywhere; mobile phones, printers and web browsers do a good job as well.
While it's not impossible to be anonymous it takes a lot of work. When I read some of the things people do on the net, I'm amazed they think they have some sort of anonymity.
First, who the heck has the time? This book has a lot of pages. Obviously some people at Scholastic have cushy jobs.
The more compelling point is the news that the poster didn't strip out their EXIF information before posting. This means the camera's maker and serial number are there for the world to see.
As the Electronic Frontiers Foundation points out, it's not just digital cameras that live your electronic fingerprints everywhere; mobile phones, printers and web browsers do a good job as well.
While it's not impossible to be anonymous it takes a lot of work. When I read some of the things people do on the net, I'm amazed they think they have some sort of anonymity.
Wireless USB is coming.
The news that Dell and Lenovo are releasing wireless USB equipped laptops will have those who hate cable clutter rejoicing.
Wireless USB is one of these technologies that's been promised for a long time but never seemed to arrive. With this announcement, it looks like USB devices without wires will be common by Christmas.
This is good news to a lot of computer users. Many people loathe the clutter that comes with a personal computer.
All these technologies have teething problems, so we'll probably see some frustrated people in the next few months. But as the prices drop and the technology is bedded down, we'll see more devices and more people buying them.
Wireless USB is one of these technologies that's been promised for a long time but never seemed to arrive. With this announcement, it looks like USB devices without wires will be common by Christmas.
This is good news to a lot of computer users. Many people loathe the clutter that comes with a personal computer.
All these technologies have teething problems, so we'll probably see some frustrated people in the next few months. But as the prices drop and the technology is bedded down, we'll see more devices and more people buying them.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Risks with wireless networks
George OU at ZD Net makes a point well worth considering about wireless hotspots.
"As ubiquitous and convenient as Wireless LAN Hotspots are, it is probably the single most dangerous technology to the mobile computer user"
He's right on the money. I've often wondered how many crooks have set up a honeypot of a free wireless access point to steal users data or passwords.
Another similar risk that's disturbed me for a while is how vulnerable many access points are. George illustrates this with the Wall of Sheep at the Defcon convention. For a competent but crooked tech it's easy to pick passwords up off a wireless network.
This is also a risk if you have unsecured wireless network, once someone is on it they can sniff out your usernames and passwords.
It's important to take care when you are using a wireless network. Like everything else on the internet; if you don't know them, don't trust them.
"As ubiquitous and convenient as Wireless LAN Hotspots are, it is probably the single most dangerous technology to the mobile computer user"
He's right on the money. I've often wondered how many crooks have set up a honeypot of a free wireless access point to steal users data or passwords.
Another similar risk that's disturbed me for a while is how vulnerable many access points are. George illustrates this with the Wall of Sheep at the Defcon convention. For a competent but crooked tech it's easy to pick passwords up off a wireless network.
This is also a risk if you have unsecured wireless network, once someone is on it they can sniff out your usernames and passwords.
It's important to take care when you are using a wireless network. Like everything else on the internet; if you don't know them, don't trust them.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Bidding on Ebay and other auctions
USA today has an article on irrational Ebay bidding. Apparently researchers found bidders often pay more than they could if they just accepted the "buy it now" price.
The researchers put this down this down to bidders getting carried away with auctions. While that's almost certainly true, I suspect there's also a mentality that an auction will always result in a bargain.
I used to go to technology auctions and and was an early adopter of the Grays Online website. One thing I discovered very early was that the average punter pays way over the odds for computers and electronics at these auctions and it's why I rarely bother with them these days.
One thing I've always noticed is that bidders don't know the retail price of items. Often you see somebody paying well over what it would cost to buy at the local computer store.
Another factor that trips buyers up is not understanding hidden costs. An observation in this article was that Ebay bidders are suspicious of hidden charges but often didn't consider shipping fees.
In computers there's even more hidden costs. Usually an auctioned second hand computer doesn't come with software licenses and warranties. My view is this alone reduces the value of the box by 60%.
I reckon auctions are a good way of buying and selling. But when you're buying the most important thing is you need to be aware of the retail price before placing a bid.
The researchers put this down this down to bidders getting carried away with auctions. While that's almost certainly true, I suspect there's also a mentality that an auction will always result in a bargain.
I used to go to technology auctions and and was an early adopter of the Grays Online website. One thing I discovered very early was that the average punter pays way over the odds for computers and electronics at these auctions and it's why I rarely bother with them these days.
One thing I've always noticed is that bidders don't know the retail price of items. Often you see somebody paying well over what it would cost to buy at the local computer store.
Another factor that trips buyers up is not understanding hidden costs. An observation in this article was that Ebay bidders are suspicious of hidden charges but often didn't consider shipping fees.
In computers there's even more hidden costs. Usually an auctioned second hand computer doesn't come with software licenses and warranties. My view is this alone reduces the value of the box by 60%.
I reckon auctions are a good way of buying and selling. But when you're buying the most important thing is you need to be aware of the retail price before placing a bid.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
The joys of selling a business
Over the last nine months I've been looking at exit strategies from the IT support business and to say the process has left me scarred and bitter is an understatement.
When selling a business, the prospect buyer quite rightly wants some certain that wheat they are buying is what's been represented. For the seller, this means quite a bit of work. What's more it's quite reasonable for the buyer to require the vendor to spend some time helping with the transition to new owners.
So given the amount of work involved for the business owner, the sale price of the business needs to be worthwhile.
My experience was that the prices on offer weren't. I even had one prospective buyer claim they had just bought a 30 year old business with a turnover of 750,000 and gross of 180,000 for $18,000.
With those sort of numbers it was hardly worth selling.
I thought this was just me, that I really hadn't built a business that was worth anything. Fair enough, such is life and it's time to move on.
But then I started talking to others who've owned businesses and tried to sell them. I was surprised to find my experience was not unusual. Many people just walk.
So when I read a recent article on the Smart Company Blog about the under-representation of services businesses I couldn't help but add my two bob's worth.
This lead to this interesting reply from Andrew Kent at Biz Exchange. His view is the idea that these business are worthless is bunk.
I agree, all businesses have a value, but the market price for many businesses make it not worth selling for many business owners.
My suspicion is a service business needs to get over the two million dollar turnover threshold before it's attracts the attention of investors and serious buyers. Below that you are largely selling to people buying their own jobs or competitors who are at best half hearted about building a client base.
Andrew to his credit has decided to test this by making an offer on his blog: The first ten IT and construction business that approach him will get a free listing on Biz Exchange. It's an experiment I'll be watching with interest.
When selling a business, the prospect buyer quite rightly wants some certain that wheat they are buying is what's been represented. For the seller, this means quite a bit of work. What's more it's quite reasonable for the buyer to require the vendor to spend some time helping with the transition to new owners.
So given the amount of work involved for the business owner, the sale price of the business needs to be worthwhile.
My experience was that the prices on offer weren't. I even had one prospective buyer claim they had just bought a 30 year old business with a turnover of 750,000 and gross of 180,000 for $18,000.
With those sort of numbers it was hardly worth selling.
I thought this was just me, that I really hadn't built a business that was worth anything. Fair enough, such is life and it's time to move on.
But then I started talking to others who've owned businesses and tried to sell them. I was surprised to find my experience was not unusual. Many people just walk.
So when I read a recent article on the Smart Company Blog about the under-representation of services businesses I couldn't help but add my two bob's worth.
This lead to this interesting reply from Andrew Kent at Biz Exchange. His view is the idea that these business are worthless is bunk.
I agree, all businesses have a value, but the market price for many businesses make it not worth selling for many business owners.
My suspicion is a service business needs to get over the two million dollar turnover threshold before it's attracts the attention of investors and serious buyers. Below that you are largely selling to people buying their own jobs or competitors who are at best half hearted about building a client base.
Andrew to his credit has decided to test this by making an offer on his blog: The first ten IT and construction business that approach him will get a free listing on Biz Exchange. It's an experiment I'll be watching with interest.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Why the ACCC is wrong about Google
The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission's action against Google has generated a lot of interest. One article that caught my eye was James Kirby writing in the Sydney Morning Herald about his experiences with Google and the Eureka report
I don't agree with James, the size and cost of the Search Engine Optimisation industry is irrelevant to this issue. The point is that some businesses and SEO consultants are gaming the system and deceiving Internet users.
For instance, we hold the trademark for PC Rescue a search on the term "PC Rescue" in Google brings up our name as the first search item.
On the ads on the right of the screen, we find five ads that use the PC Rescue term and the top one is a local business that has almost certainly included "PC Rescue" as a phrase in their adword campaign.
Are they engaging in misleading conduct or breaching our trademark? Quite possibly.
Is Google? I don't think so. They aren't pushing or endorsing these services anymore than the SMH or Eureka report does with their advertisers.
Our trademark has been breached numerous times by IT businesses advertising in newspapers, Ebay and the Yellow Pages. While we've sent them sternly worded letters, we've never considered threatening the advertisers simply because the advertisers aren't responsible.
Just as the local paper, Ebay and Yellow Pages aren't responsible for these bozos who are too lazy to think of their trading name I can't see why Google should be. So far, the US courts have agreed with this.
There's no doubt that some advertisers are abusing the Ad Words system. They are deliberately using other's trade names as their key advertising terms.
In my non-lawyer reader of the Trade Practices Act, the ACCC certainly has a case against the Trading Post, if the allegations are true then their conduct was likely to mislead or deceive.
It's not the first time big Australian businesses have been accused of this and it's good the ACCC has decided to step in. I just suspect Google is the wrong target.
I don't agree with James, the size and cost of the Search Engine Optimisation industry is irrelevant to this issue. The point is that some businesses and SEO consultants are gaming the system and deceiving Internet users.
For instance, we hold the trademark for PC Rescue a search on the term "PC Rescue" in Google brings up our name as the first search item.
On the ads on the right of the screen, we find five ads that use the PC Rescue term and the top one is a local business that has almost certainly included "PC Rescue" as a phrase in their adword campaign.
Are they engaging in misleading conduct or breaching our trademark? Quite possibly.
Is Google? I don't think so. They aren't pushing or endorsing these services anymore than the SMH or Eureka report does with their advertisers.
Our trademark has been breached numerous times by IT businesses advertising in newspapers, Ebay and the Yellow Pages. While we've sent them sternly worded letters, we've never considered threatening the advertisers simply because the advertisers aren't responsible.
Just as the local paper, Ebay and Yellow Pages aren't responsible for these bozos who are too lazy to think of their trading name I can't see why Google should be. So far, the US courts have agreed with this.
There's no doubt that some advertisers are abusing the Ad Words system. They are deliberately using other's trade names as their key advertising terms.
In my non-lawyer reader of the Trade Practices Act, the ACCC certainly has a case against the Trading Post, if the allegations are true then their conduct was likely to mislead or deceive.
It's not the first time big Australian businesses have been accused of this and it's good the ACCC has decided to step in. I just suspect Google is the wrong target.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Ignoring Vista
Computer Reseller News tells of how many computer resellers and vendors, including Dell, are offering non-Vista systems and even ripping Vista off and replacing it with XP.
While I've been critical of Vista, the fact is that it is here and it will eventually be bigger than XP. Ignoring it is not an option if you work in general support.
So my mind boggles at the attitude of Jay Tipton, vice president of Technology Specialists, who is quoted as saying "Technology Specialists won't even run the operating system internally on any of its production systems because Tipton does not want his technicians taking time out of their day to "debug Vista.""
Apart from the obvious cheap shot that a business calling itself "technology specialists" is pretending the latest Microsoft operating system doesn't exist, the other question is how on Earth can Mr Tipton expect to support his customers when the inevitable happens.
I recall this was an issue when 98/ME was phased out for XP. At the time many, if not the majority, of suburban techs refused to support Windows NT/2000. I was telling those I spoke to that they had no choice if they wanted to stay in the business.
Most of them did stay in the business, but I suspect a lot of them still don't really understand Windows XP, let alone Vista.
This is another reason why computer techs need to have a training path similar to other trades like motor mechanics and hair dressers. Not only would this give techs better skills but it would also improve their image with consumers.
When you see comments like Mr Tipton's you can understand why many consumers are deeply worried when they have to ring the local computer tech.
While I've been critical of Vista, the fact is that it is here and it will eventually be bigger than XP. Ignoring it is not an option if you work in general support.
So my mind boggles at the attitude of Jay Tipton, vice president of Technology Specialists, who is quoted as saying "Technology Specialists won't even run the operating system internally on any of its production systems because Tipton does not want his technicians taking time out of their day to "debug Vista.""
Apart from the obvious cheap shot that a business calling itself "technology specialists" is pretending the latest Microsoft operating system doesn't exist, the other question is how on Earth can Mr Tipton expect to support his customers when the inevitable happens.
I recall this was an issue when 98/ME was phased out for XP. At the time many, if not the majority, of suburban techs refused to support Windows NT/2000. I was telling those I spoke to that they had no choice if they wanted to stay in the business.
Most of them did stay in the business, but I suspect a lot of them still don't really understand Windows XP, let alone Vista.
This is another reason why computer techs need to have a training path similar to other trades like motor mechanics and hair dressers. Not only would this give techs better skills but it would also improve their image with consumers.
When you see comments like Mr Tipton's you can understand why many consumers are deeply worried when they have to ring the local computer tech.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Strangling the data flow
One of the things that's always rankled me about the Australian broadband market is the way the big operators are determined to strangle demand in order to make a quick buck.
Alan Kohler picks up this point in his Fairfax column, he found he started copping a fat bill when his kids discovered the joys of Limewire.
I've always maintained these "cheap" Telstra Bigpond plans are dangerous as they mean you are writing a blank cheque to Telstra. A cheque that almost certainly will be cashed when someone in your family discovers file sharing or video downloads.
But that risk is a smaller issue. A slightly bigger issue is how the Internet providers have messed the whole market up by offering too many complex plans. My guess this was inevitable given theboth Telco and IT industries love complexity and the Internet combines the worst of the two.
The biggest issue of all though is how the providers use data pricing and limits to strangle demand.
While Telstra is the obvious bad guy with it's consumer and wholesale pricing policies, Alan identifies the underseas cable operators as the biggest villains. Despite their only operating at 25% capacity, their charges are outrageous.
In my view, this is where the problem really lies. We can roll out as many high speed domestic networks as we like, we can put WiMax in every village, ADSL 2 in every phone exchange and fibre to every home but it makes a spit of difference is the data is strangled under the Pacific.
This is a classic example of how successive Federal governments have misunderstood communications.
The Keating government screwed up seriously when they allowed the old Overseas Telecommuncations Corporation to merge with Telecom to create Telstra.
They then compounded the problem by creating a Telstra competitor out of a bunch of cronies who were more interested in building high rise monuments to themselves rather than provide a real alternative for Australian telcoms consumers.
The following Howard government further compounded the problem by privatising Telstra and allowing the existing operators to consolidate their power.
One of the beauties of the capitalist system is that big profits attract competitors. Telstra is planning to build it's own cable to Hawaii and PIPE networks has their own proposal as well.
I hope the proposal by PIPE networks get up. The Telstra cable will only increase their dominance and the only surprise is that taken Telstra so long to get around to do this. We need as much competition as possible in the market place.
It would be good to see the Federal and state governments support the PIPE proposal by committing to using some of their capacity. It seems to me the economics of the PIPE proposal rely on the goodwill of the smaller Internet Service Providers which is a risky proposition at best.
Hopefully our leaders will see the benefits and importance of these proposals.
Alan Kohler picks up this point in his Fairfax column, he found he started copping a fat bill when his kids discovered the joys of Limewire.
I've always maintained these "cheap" Telstra Bigpond plans are dangerous as they mean you are writing a blank cheque to Telstra. A cheque that almost certainly will be cashed when someone in your family discovers file sharing or video downloads.
But that risk is a smaller issue. A slightly bigger issue is how the Internet providers have messed the whole market up by offering too many complex plans. My guess this was inevitable given theboth Telco and IT industries love complexity and the Internet combines the worst of the two.
The biggest issue of all though is how the providers use data pricing and limits to strangle demand.
While Telstra is the obvious bad guy with it's consumer and wholesale pricing policies, Alan identifies the underseas cable operators as the biggest villains. Despite their only operating at 25% capacity, their charges are outrageous.
In my view, this is where the problem really lies. We can roll out as many high speed domestic networks as we like, we can put WiMax in every village, ADSL 2 in every phone exchange and fibre to every home but it makes a spit of difference is the data is strangled under the Pacific.
This is a classic example of how successive Federal governments have misunderstood communications.
The Keating government screwed up seriously when they allowed the old Overseas Telecommuncations Corporation to merge with Telecom to create Telstra.
They then compounded the problem by creating a Telstra competitor out of a bunch of cronies who were more interested in building high rise monuments to themselves rather than provide a real alternative for Australian telcoms consumers.
The following Howard government further compounded the problem by privatising Telstra and allowing the existing operators to consolidate their power.
One of the beauties of the capitalist system is that big profits attract competitors. Telstra is planning to build it's own cable to Hawaii and PIPE networks has their own proposal as well.
I hope the proposal by PIPE networks get up. The Telstra cable will only increase their dominance and the only surprise is that taken Telstra so long to get around to do this. We need as much competition as possible in the market place.
It would be good to see the Federal and state governments support the PIPE proposal by committing to using some of their capacity. It seems to me the economics of the PIPE proposal rely on the goodwill of the smaller Internet Service Providers which is a risky proposition at best.
Hopefully our leaders will see the benefits and importance of these proposals.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Charging for drivers and upgrades
A little storm was whipped at ZDNet about Creative charging for ALchemy software. This raises the question of when is it fair for a vendor to charge for an upgrade.
The initial ZDNet report was that Creative were charging for software to run their popular Audigy sound cards. Ed Bott's later report clarified the charge is actually for the ALchemy software which replaces features Microsoft have dropped with Vista, the drivers themselves are free but don't have the advanced gaming features.
To be fair to Creative, they are at least supporting their product. Plenty of other hardware vendors have told customers that it's tough luck, they won't support Vista for relatively new equipment.
I'm on Creative's side on this. Creative have obviously spent money and time developing the software so it runs on Vista. As a businessman I think they deserve being paid, although as a customer I wouldn't be happy.
The real problem for vendors is that with dramatically reduced margins, it's difficult to provide service like this. You certainly can't afford to build it into the profit from selling the original card.
This is the downside of cheap hardware and software. The cheaper it gets, the harder it is for vendors to supply after sales service.
One of the biggest challenges for the IT industry is educating customers that you can have a cheap product, but after sales support is going to cost.
Of course you don't have to do this if you don't compete at the cheap end of the market. But that's another issue.
The initial ZDNet report was that Creative were charging for software to run their popular Audigy sound cards. Ed Bott's later report clarified the charge is actually for the ALchemy software which replaces features Microsoft have dropped with Vista, the drivers themselves are free but don't have the advanced gaming features.
To be fair to Creative, they are at least supporting their product. Plenty of other hardware vendors have told customers that it's tough luck, they won't support Vista for relatively new equipment.
I'm on Creative's side on this. Creative have obviously spent money and time developing the software so it runs on Vista. As a businessman I think they deserve being paid, although as a customer I wouldn't be happy.
The real problem for vendors is that with dramatically reduced margins, it's difficult to provide service like this. You certainly can't afford to build it into the profit from selling the original card.
This is the downside of cheap hardware and software. The cheaper it gets, the harder it is for vendors to supply after sales service.
One of the biggest challenges for the IT industry is educating customers that you can have a cheap product, but after sales support is going to cost.
Of course you don't have to do this if you don't compete at the cheap end of the market. But that's another issue.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
The real cost of Macs
Australian Personal Computer makes the point that Macs resale value makes them a better investment than Windows systems.
The fact there's a healthy second hand market for Macs 0is no surprise to anyone working in the industry. For years, you've been able to sell your two or three year old Mac for a decent price. While PCs are just run until they can run no more.
As Danny Gorog points out, this makes the Mac more attractive as an investment.
Most consumers and small business probably don't care; they'll just run it until it fails, then buy a new one and leave the old one sitting in a closet somewhere.
For a canny business owner, this is probably a good way of managing your IT investments. It's just a shame many business owners don't think this way.
The fact there's a healthy second hand market for Macs 0is no surprise to anyone working in the industry. For years, you've been able to sell your two or three year old Mac for a decent price. While PCs are just run until they can run no more.
As Danny Gorog points out, this makes the Mac more attractive as an investment.
Most consumers and small business probably don't care; they'll just run it until it fails, then buy a new one and leave the old one sitting in a closet somewhere.
For a canny business owner, this is probably a good way of managing your IT investments. It's just a shame many business owners don't think this way.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Confusing the masses
Not content with confusing us with five different versions of Vista, Microsoft throw seven different versions of Office into the mix.
In answering a question in our sister site, IT Queries, I was looking at the Microsoft Office website and the list of different versions of MS Office 2007.
What a mess!
On top of having the seven different types, there's also the added fun of OEM and boxed product licenses.
I won't even mention the Value Licensing scheme for larger organisations which is so complex even those who follow Microsoft for a living find themselves falling into a coma when trying to explain it.
Microsoft really need to look closely at this complexity. It too hard for professionals, let alone consumers and small businesses.
Software companies have to get it through their heads that all the messages they put out about software piracy are pointless if no-one can understand the rules.
In answering a question in our sister site, IT Queries, I was looking at the Microsoft Office website and the list of different versions of MS Office 2007.
What a mess!
On top of having the seven different types, there's also the added fun of OEM and boxed product licenses.
I won't even mention the Value Licensing scheme for larger organisations which is so complex even those who follow Microsoft for a living find themselves falling into a coma when trying to explain it.
Microsoft really need to look closely at this complexity. It too hard for professionals, let alone consumers and small businesses.
Software companies have to get it through their heads that all the messages they put out about software piracy are pointless if no-one can understand the rules.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Eating your own dog food
I've always liked the term "eating your own dog food". While it's a computer industry term for using your own software on yourself it could apply to any to any industry. There's a few executives at Telstra, Coles Myer and Hewlett Packard I'd love to see with a face full of Pal.
A good example of what happens when you don't try your own product is when you launch a crook website. I had just such an experience today.
As part of our new IT Queries website, I've been exploring advertising options. Yesterday I spent 45 minutes filling in a sign up form for a division of a multinational. So imagine my irritation when I receive a confirmation email telling me to click on a non-existent hyperlink to proceed with my application.
At least they have a phone number, unlike many others these days. So I call them first thing this morning to see if it has been processed.
The girl that answered the phone was charming and delightful, except she didn't speak English very well and had trouble even taking my name, let alone figuring out my problem. She transferred me to the webmaster.
Again he was very helpful and friendly. The website's under construction he said so there might be a few hiccups.
That's nice, but I really didn't feel like waiting a fortnight and then spending another 45 minutes so I explain this and ask to speak to someone who can confirm my application for the privilege of becoming one of their partners has been approved.
"Oh you'll have to speak the general manager for that"
Huh! WTF?!? "Okay, can you put me through?"
"Oh no, he's not in at the moment. I'll take your details and get him to call you back."
Now, as a small business owner I respect and admire other businesses that keep their management structures flat, but the GM of a division of a multinational dealing with a straightforward issue like this is a bit strange.
The real lessons here are that if you are going to automate your processes, make them simple and concise: Someone more pig headed and stubborn than me would have given up well before 45 minutes.
The other lesson is not to launch a product when the website isn't ready. This post is being written at the beginning of July 2007, the product was launched in October 2006. The website should have been tested and ready a year ago.
Another lesson is to test your systems. Sending a confirmation email with a missing or inoperative link is sloppy to say the least.
I believe every manager of every organisation should have to eat their own dog food. In this case it would have saved me a lot of wasted time. I wonder how many potentially profitable "partners" these guys have lost.
A good example of what happens when you don't try your own product is when you launch a crook website. I had just such an experience today.
As part of our new IT Queries website, I've been exploring advertising options. Yesterday I spent 45 minutes filling in a sign up form for a division of a multinational. So imagine my irritation when I receive a confirmation email telling me to click on a non-existent hyperlink to proceed with my application.
At least they have a phone number, unlike many others these days. So I call them first thing this morning to see if it has been processed.
The girl that answered the phone was charming and delightful, except she didn't speak English very well and had trouble even taking my name, let alone figuring out my problem. She transferred me to the webmaster.
Again he was very helpful and friendly. The website's under construction he said so there might be a few hiccups.
That's nice, but I really didn't feel like waiting a fortnight and then spending another 45 minutes so I explain this and ask to speak to someone who can confirm my application for the privilege of becoming one of their partners has been approved.
"Oh you'll have to speak the general manager for that"
Huh! WTF?!? "Okay, can you put me through?"
"Oh no, he's not in at the moment. I'll take your details and get him to call you back."
Now, as a small business owner I respect and admire other businesses that keep their management structures flat, but the GM of a division of a multinational dealing with a straightforward issue like this is a bit strange.
The real lessons here are that if you are going to automate your processes, make them simple and concise: Someone more pig headed and stubborn than me would have given up well before 45 minutes.
The other lesson is not to launch a product when the website isn't ready. This post is being written at the beginning of July 2007, the product was launched in October 2006. The website should have been tested and ready a year ago.
Another lesson is to test your systems. Sending a confirmation email with a missing or inoperative link is sloppy to say the least.
I believe every manager of every organisation should have to eat their own dog food. In this case it would have saved me a lot of wasted time. I wonder how many potentially profitable "partners" these guys have lost.
No advantage to Vista
Computerworld reports Gartner Research is finding there is no "real competitive advantage" in upgrading to Vista.
Unlike Gartner research director, Martin Gilliland, we don't find this surprising at all. No business, big or small, should be plunging into a new operating system without doing their homework first. For a large company, that's a lot of homework.
Our experience with Vista has been largely positive apart from some really irritating UAC issues and so far we've seen few issues with spyware.
For an upgrade to Vista, we'd be suggesting a new machine is the way to go. This means at least $1,500 when you include the machine, Office 2007 and Vista Business. That's not a minor investment across a dozen machines, let alone ten thousand and we're not including the migration costs.
While Vista will become common in small business over the next year, there's no real reason to junk your existing XP machines.
Unlike Gartner research director, Martin Gilliland, we don't find this surprising at all. No business, big or small, should be plunging into a new operating system without doing their homework first. For a large company, that's a lot of homework.
Our experience with Vista has been largely positive apart from some really irritating UAC issues and so far we've seen few issues with spyware.
For an upgrade to Vista, we'd be suggesting a new machine is the way to go. This means at least $1,500 when you include the machine, Office 2007 and Vista Business. That's not a minor investment across a dozen machines, let alone ten thousand and we're not including the migration costs.
While Vista will become common in small business over the next year, there's no real reason to junk your existing XP machines.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
The end of the big, ugly operating system
Australian Reseller News has a strange opinion piece on the end of the big, monster operating systems like OS X and Windows Vista.
Ephraim Schwartz thinks "our grandchildren will be using discreet, unobtrusive operating systems that will be invisible to the naked eye." I have news for him, we're using them already in mobile phones, DVD players and motor cars, just to name three of many thousands of items.
The small, compact and reliable OS is with us it's just that they are discreet and unobtrusive.
Comparing computers and operating systems to cars is a valid thing to do. I do it all the time because the analogy works well.
Unfortunately, Ephraim makes the comparison of today's operating system to a guy who built his garage in 1959 to fit a monster Cadillac of the ear. The problem with that analogy is such a garage would fit a modern SUV just nicely.
There's no doubt operating systems should go on a diet and I think that will happen as the current crop, particularly XP and Vista, are collapsing under their own weight.
They may well be simpler and have a smaller footprint but it's unlikely they'll have less features. This is what the market wants in an operating system. I don't think it's likely to change.
Ephraim Schwartz thinks "our grandchildren will be using discreet, unobtrusive operating systems that will be invisible to the naked eye." I have news for him, we're using them already in mobile phones, DVD players and motor cars, just to name three of many thousands of items.
The small, compact and reliable OS is with us it's just that they are discreet and unobtrusive.
Comparing computers and operating systems to cars is a valid thing to do. I do it all the time because the analogy works well.
Unfortunately, Ephraim makes the comparison of today's operating system to a guy who built his garage in 1959 to fit a monster Cadillac of the ear. The problem with that analogy is such a garage would fit a modern SUV just nicely.
There's no doubt operating systems should go on a diet and I think that will happen as the current crop, particularly XP and Vista, are collapsing under their own weight.
They may well be simpler and have a smaller footprint but it's unlikely they'll have less features. This is what the market wants in an operating system. I don't think it's likely to change.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Vista installation blues
Andy Pennell had a terrible experience installing Microsoft Vista. It started when he couldn't open the box, continued with a failed BIOS upgrade to his motherboard (luckily covered by warranty) and finally concluded with "My particular hardware cannot install Vista, and no-one knows why".
So what you might ask? Well Andy Pennell is a software developer at Microsoft.
What this shows is even skilled, well connected people like Andy struggle with operating system upgrades.
This is why we recommend consumers DON'T install Vista on a machine running XP. If the system is running well then it should be left alone, if it isn't running well then installing a new operating usually makes the problem worse.
If you want Vista, then buy a new system.
So what you might ask? Well Andy Pennell is a software developer at Microsoft.
What this shows is even skilled, well connected people like Andy struggle with operating system upgrades.
This is why we recommend consumers DON'T install Vista on a machine running XP. If the system is running well then it should be left alone, if it isn't running well then installing a new operating usually makes the problem worse.
If you want Vista, then buy a new system.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Securing Internet Explorer
ZD Net runs through the instructions for securing Internet Explorer from exploits and drive by downloads. The advice largely relies on disabling Active Scripting which is fair enough as this is way most malware gets on. The problem with this advice is that takes most functionality from IE.
Many secure sites, such as banks and stockbrokers, need Active Scripting to run properly. This is why those sites often don't work with Firefox, Safari or Opera.
To get around this, the advice is to add the secure sites you want to your trusted user list. There's a number of problems with this.
The first is many sites aren't consistent in their domain names. Your bank's online transaction site might have a completely different address to their main name. To further complicate things, the login page might be completely different to everything else.
A further problem is the risk that even trusted sites can be compromised. The Sydney Opera House fell to this and a number of Italian sites have hacked recently. So you can't necessarily trust trusted sites.
The final, and telling blow, to this advice is that Active X is not the only way to get infected. If you've been infected through another avenue, then you'll be in trouble anyway. What's worse some of the better spyware is watching as you type your password.
The best solution in my view is to surf the net in a restricted user profile. That is, a profile that doesn't have the rights to change the system settings or install anything new.
Spyware is the biggest problem facing Windows users. The reason for this is the total access most users have as administrators. By running as a limited user, you stop those problems.
Many secure sites, such as banks and stockbrokers, need Active Scripting to run properly. This is why those sites often don't work with Firefox, Safari or Opera.
To get around this, the advice is to add the secure sites you want to your trusted user list. There's a number of problems with this.
The first is many sites aren't consistent in their domain names. Your bank's online transaction site might have a completely different address to their main name. To further complicate things, the login page might be completely different to everything else.
A further problem is the risk that even trusted sites can be compromised. The Sydney Opera House fell to this and a number of Italian sites have hacked recently. So you can't necessarily trust trusted sites.
The final, and telling blow, to this advice is that Active X is not the only way to get infected. If you've been infected through another avenue, then you'll be in trouble anyway. What's worse some of the better spyware is watching as you type your password.
The best solution in my view is to surf the net in a restricted user profile. That is, a profile that doesn't have the rights to change the system settings or install anything new.
Spyware is the biggest problem facing Windows users. The reason for this is the total access most users have as administrators. By running as a limited user, you stop those problems.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Turn off the TV
It's not surprising Australian TV viewers are turning off the commercial TV stations. The Daily Telegraph reports viewers are down 7% this year.
Given the arrogance of the Australian commercial TV networks, this isn't surprising. They have kicked around their viewers for too long and people are getting the message.
Here's a few examples of how they treat viewers badly.
1. Slow bringing good product to market. The top US TV shows arrive on Australian screens at least one season late. This might have been alright in 1973, but viewers know better today.
2. Crap Australian product. Too little homegrown product and what does get to air is often rubbish. Licensed version of Big Brother and other pointless tripe just turns viewers off, even the dimwits who watch this garbage eventually get bored with the same thing.
3. Too many repeats. Now, I enjoy The Simpsons, but honestly Channel Ten just how many times can you flog repeats of poor Bart?
4. Bizarre programming decisions. When the good stuff finally arrives from the US it gets scheduled late at night. This wouldn't be so bad if you could record it, but the networks make that hard by showing the episodes out of order and a different times each week.
5. Inconsistent program times. You can't record these programs because no-one has any idea when the show will go to air next week. It might be 1.00am this Tuesday and 11.45pm the following Monday.
6. Late running programs. Even if you do figure out when the program is scheduled to be on, you may well find it's not anyway. Peak time shows commonly run late, by midnight shows can be up to an hour out.
7. Out of order shows. This has to be the ultimate insult. You get a TV series like the Sopranos and show it out of order. What's worse, you sometimes drop in episodes from a previous series just to make sure everyone is confused.
8. The death of late night TV. No-one expects good television at 3am. But the "interactive quiz shows" that encourage morons to waste their pensions on texting premium call lines are beyond an insult.
9. The death of the ad break. The crucial moment in CSI arrives where you find whodunnit. As the music rises to a climax and the DA prepares to give their denouement, Rove McManus's head bounces across the bottom the screen to announce his interview with Paris Hilton tomorrow night.
10. Sheer incompetence. Channel Seven paid over $300 million Australian dollars for the rights to show half the Australian Football League games. They promptly gave the good ones to the Pay-TV networks and scheduled the remaining ones in a way that managed to irritate every Aussie Rules fan in the country and cause a major clash with their coverage of the V8 Supercars.
The latter point probably explains why Pay-TV subscriptions are up. Half the country's Aussie Rules fans are either signing up or about to. With this Channel Seven also managed to singlehandedly sink the Save My Sport campaign. Most Aussie sports fans now know free to air sport means "near live" or "we might show it next Wednesday at 3.00am after Hot Dogs super text quiz."
There's a simple answer to criticism of TV: Turn the thing off.
I have for the above reasons: The only commercial TV I now watch is the 5pm news (it suits our family routine) and the odd bit of sport. It seems I'm not the only one.
Given the arrogance of the Australian commercial TV networks, this isn't surprising. They have kicked around their viewers for too long and people are getting the message.
Here's a few examples of how they treat viewers badly.
1. Slow bringing good product to market. The top US TV shows arrive on Australian screens at least one season late. This might have been alright in 1973, but viewers know better today.
2. Crap Australian product. Too little homegrown product and what does get to air is often rubbish. Licensed version of Big Brother and other pointless tripe just turns viewers off, even the dimwits who watch this garbage eventually get bored with the same thing.
3. Too many repeats. Now, I enjoy The Simpsons, but honestly Channel Ten just how many times can you flog repeats of poor Bart?
4. Bizarre programming decisions. When the good stuff finally arrives from the US it gets scheduled late at night. This wouldn't be so bad if you could record it, but the networks make that hard by showing the episodes out of order and a different times each week.
5. Inconsistent program times. You can't record these programs because no-one has any idea when the show will go to air next week. It might be 1.00am this Tuesday and 11.45pm the following Monday.
6. Late running programs. Even if you do figure out when the program is scheduled to be on, you may well find it's not anyway. Peak time shows commonly run late, by midnight shows can be up to an hour out.
7. Out of order shows. This has to be the ultimate insult. You get a TV series like the Sopranos and show it out of order. What's worse, you sometimes drop in episodes from a previous series just to make sure everyone is confused.
8. The death of late night TV. No-one expects good television at 3am. But the "interactive quiz shows" that encourage morons to waste their pensions on texting premium call lines are beyond an insult.
9. The death of the ad break. The crucial moment in CSI arrives where you find whodunnit. As the music rises to a climax and the DA prepares to give their denouement, Rove McManus's head bounces across the bottom the screen to announce his interview with Paris Hilton tomorrow night.
10. Sheer incompetence. Channel Seven paid over $300 million Australian dollars for the rights to show half the Australian Football League games. They promptly gave the good ones to the Pay-TV networks and scheduled the remaining ones in a way that managed to irritate every Aussie Rules fan in the country and cause a major clash with their coverage of the V8 Supercars.
The latter point probably explains why Pay-TV subscriptions are up. Half the country's Aussie Rules fans are either signing up or about to. With this Channel Seven also managed to singlehandedly sink the Save My Sport campaign. Most Aussie sports fans now know free to air sport means "near live" or "we might show it next Wednesday at 3.00am after Hot Dogs super text quiz."
There's a simple answer to criticism of TV: Turn the thing off.
I have for the above reasons: The only commercial TV I now watch is the 5pm news (it suits our family routine) and the odd bit of sport. It seems I'm not the only one.
Dell listen and admit mistakes!
The Direct2Dell blog is an good insight into the workings and thinking of Dell. So today's blog entry about the mistakes Dell have made with trying to close down a consumerist story is a very interesting read.
Dell clearly made a mistake by letting their lawyers send off a take down demand without supervision. Experience shows take down demands only draw attention to the message. In my view, every lawyers letter should be checked by relevant managers who should ask "how does this demand help the business".
That said, the blog is a good apology for it and an interesting look at Dell's thinking and strategy.
The original consumerist article came about because Dell have too many channels offering too many products. So it's not a surprise a canny buyer can exploit loopholes and inconsistencies to get a better deal.
Dell's current set up just confuses customers. I have to say I'm often confused when I visit their website. So the point made in the Direct2Dell blog entry that small business products will be different to their Home and Home Office offerings is important.
I'd actually like to see them drop the "Home and Home Office" label, put the home office products in with small business and offer systems purely for home.
One of the banes of my life are home business owners who allow their home office computer to be used as a home computer by the kids. We need to get the message out to those who work from home that letting the kids use your business computer is as dumb as letting the kids drive your car.
It's good to see, though that Dell are listening. You just hope they won't let their legal counsel to go off half-cocked in future.
Dell clearly made a mistake by letting their lawyers send off a take down demand without supervision. Experience shows take down demands only draw attention to the message. In my view, every lawyers letter should be checked by relevant managers who should ask "how does this demand help the business".
That said, the blog is a good apology for it and an interesting look at Dell's thinking and strategy.
The original consumerist article came about because Dell have too many channels offering too many products. So it's not a surprise a canny buyer can exploit loopholes and inconsistencies to get a better deal.
Dell's current set up just confuses customers. I have to say I'm often confused when I visit their website. So the point made in the Direct2Dell blog entry that small business products will be different to their Home and Home Office offerings is important.
I'd actually like to see them drop the "Home and Home Office" label, put the home office products in with small business and offer systems purely for home.
One of the banes of my life are home business owners who allow their home office computer to be used as a home computer by the kids. We need to get the message out to those who work from home that letting the kids use your business computer is as dumb as letting the kids drive your car.
It's good to see, though that Dell are listening. You just hope they won't let their legal counsel to go off half-cocked in future.
Dell and Nokia rise to meet the iPhone
The story that Dell are going to offer unlocked Nokia mobiles is an interesting counterpoint to the Apple iPhone's release.
It seems to me Nokia and Dell are using their comparative strengths to counter Apple and their phone. The biggest advantage for the Dell-Nokia partnership is that the phones won't be locked to any phone company. This puts the iPhone at a huge disadvantage with many early adopters.
This won't kill the iPhone though. One of the attractions of the Mac is "it just works" and it indeed it does for the typical user. If Apple can do the same thing with the iPhone then the customers that just want their phones to work will be quite happy sticking with whoever Apple wants to tie their service to.
While I'm an iPhone skeptic, one thing is for sure: It's going to shake up the existing mobile industry. This Dell-Nokia deal looks like the first reaction. We'll no doubt see more of this in the future.
It seems to me Nokia and Dell are using their comparative strengths to counter Apple and their phone. The biggest advantage for the Dell-Nokia partnership is that the phones won't be locked to any phone company. This puts the iPhone at a huge disadvantage with many early adopters.
This won't kill the iPhone though. One of the attractions of the Mac is "it just works" and it indeed it does for the typical user. If Apple can do the same thing with the iPhone then the customers that just want their phones to work will be quite happy sticking with whoever Apple wants to tie their service to.
While I'm an iPhone skeptic, one thing is for sure: It's going to shake up the existing mobile industry. This Dell-Nokia deal looks like the first reaction. We'll no doubt see more of this in the future.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Sensis to sell The Trading Post
The Australian Newsagency Blog picks up the news that Sensis might be selling the Trading Post.
This isn't before time. When Sensis purchased it, I was baffled as to how a classified listing service like the Trading Post would fit with the monopoly Yellow Pages business. It's difficult to think of a sector more different than Sensis' core business.
As it turns out, it looks like Trading Post hasn't delivered, or rather Sensis hasn't found those synergies. With the rise of free listing services like Craigslist and auction sites like Ebay, the Trading Post was always going to struggle anyway.
I say it's difficult to think of a business more alien to Sensis, but they did find one. They decided to become a competitor of ours by buying Invizage.
To say the Home and small business IT support industry is alien to Sensis is an understatement. The industry is fragmented and even players like Invizage wouldn't have 5% of the market. This on it's own would be alien to Sensis' management.
Selling and providing IT services is even more different to Sensis' Yellow Pages business. I actually feel sorry for the Sensis managers who found themselves having to get their heads around the cultural differences.
If the Trading Post is up for sale, then Invizage can't be far behind. Hopefully Sensis will stick to it's knitting of the Yellow Pages and find ways of leveraging the massive market power they currently have in this sector.
This isn't before time. When Sensis purchased it, I was baffled as to how a classified listing service like the Trading Post would fit with the monopoly Yellow Pages business. It's difficult to think of a sector more different than Sensis' core business.
As it turns out, it looks like Trading Post hasn't delivered, or rather Sensis hasn't found those synergies. With the rise of free listing services like Craigslist and auction sites like Ebay, the Trading Post was always going to struggle anyway.
I say it's difficult to think of a business more alien to Sensis, but they did find one. They decided to become a competitor of ours by buying Invizage.
To say the Home and small business IT support industry is alien to Sensis is an understatement. The industry is fragmented and even players like Invizage wouldn't have 5% of the market. This on it's own would be alien to Sensis' management.
Selling and providing IT services is even more different to Sensis' Yellow Pages business. I actually feel sorry for the Sensis managers who found themselves having to get their heads around the cultural differences.
If the Trading Post is up for sale, then Invizage can't be far behind. Hopefully Sensis will stick to it's knitting of the Yellow Pages and find ways of leveraging the massive market power they currently have in this sector.
Smashing Keyboards
I smashed a really good keyboard on Friday thanks to a customer.
Last week, I visited a home where their wireless network was down. I did good job. Before leaving, I explained that wireless networks were unreliable and it might be that we have to look at alternatives.
The following morning she rings and gives me an earful. I was "out of my depth", "incompetent" and didn't follow her instructions.
I smashed the keyboard after she hung up.
The sad thing is I walked out of that job thinking I did well.
This episode made me think about why this industry is so difficult. Out of a hundred customers, you'll get twenty call backs about other problems. Of that twenty, five will be angry and rude like the lady on Friday.
You'd be lucky to get one in a hundred thank you for a good job.
I'd suggest the biggest cause of burn out in the IT industry is this constant battering on a tech's self esteem. Getting shot down like on Friday really hurts.
Last week, I visited a home where their wireless network was down. I did good job. Before leaving, I explained that wireless networks were unreliable and it might be that we have to look at alternatives.
The following morning she rings and gives me an earful. I was "out of my depth", "incompetent" and didn't follow her instructions.
I smashed the keyboard after she hung up.
The sad thing is I walked out of that job thinking I did well.
This episode made me think about why this industry is so difficult. Out of a hundred customers, you'll get twenty call backs about other problems. Of that twenty, five will be angry and rude like the lady on Friday.
You'd be lucky to get one in a hundred thank you for a good job.
I'd suggest the biggest cause of burn out in the IT industry is this constant battering on a tech's self esteem. Getting shot down like on Friday really hurts.
Multiple listing in the Yellow Pages
Smarthouse News has a grumble about Audio Visual retailers having to list in two Yellow Pages categories. They should be so lucky as IT support businesses have the luxury of listing in seven different categories.
Computer equipment-hardware
Computer equipment-home &/or small business
Computer equipment- Installation & networking
Computer Equipment - Repairs, service & upgrades
Computer Equipment - Supplies
Computer systems consultants
Computers-Technical support
Now that's a nice little earner for Yellow Pages. Given a Yellow Pages listing is probably the single most expensive marketing expense for a small business asking to list in SEVEN categories is prohibitive and probably impossible.
Computer equipment-hardware
Computer equipment-home &/or small business
Computer equipment- Installation & networking
Computer Equipment - Repairs, service & upgrades
Computer Equipment - Supplies
Computer systems consultants
Computers-Technical support
Now that's a nice little earner for Yellow Pages. Given a Yellow Pages listing is probably the single most expensive marketing expense for a small business asking to list in SEVEN categories is prohibitive and probably impossible.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Vista service pack on the way
It seems there's more sighting of Vista service pack one. The latest being in Mary Jo Foley's "All About Microsoft Blog".
Many experienced users won't touch a new Microsoft release as history has shown the first version always has bugs that will be fixed in the first service pack.
Microsoft's strategy seems to be to pretend there will be no Vista service pack so you'd be silly to wait. This strikes me as a silly strategy. All it means is many users simply won't buy it.
Another problem is the situation with Windows XP service packs. SP3 is way overdue and a new computer now has over 80 critical downloads when you first run Windows Update.
It's a real shame Microsoft have let flawed marketing ideas override the more important task of giving their customers secure and reliable computers.
Many experienced users won't touch a new Microsoft release as history has shown the first version always has bugs that will be fixed in the first service pack.
Microsoft's strategy seems to be to pretend there will be no Vista service pack so you'd be silly to wait. This strikes me as a silly strategy. All it means is many users simply won't buy it.
Another problem is the situation with Windows XP service packs. SP3 is way overdue and a new computer now has over 80 critical downloads when you first run Windows Update.
It's a real shame Microsoft have let flawed marketing ideas override the more important task of giving their customers secure and reliable computers.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Slashing support services
It's always dangerous for a business to assume that slashing their support services will make them more efficient so the news that Telstra are cutting 500 jobs as part of a restructure of their support makes me raise an eyebrow.
When dealing with telcos, it's quite common to hit the problem of "siloing". That's where each group of employees lives in their own self contained world and rarely talks to other groups or divisions in the same company. Telstra are notorious for this.
These changes may well address part of this problem, Telstra services group managing director Michael Rocca claims " the new model would provide customers with improved service and fewer internal call transfers because more staff would be located in the same centres and receive the same training."
The real key to getting these plans to work is good management that's looking beyond short term savings in wages. The quick fix of saving money usually ends up biting technology companies hard in the medium term.
Hopefully, Telstra's management is serious about improving service rather than just looking at saving a few bucks.
When dealing with telcos, it's quite common to hit the problem of "siloing". That's where each group of employees lives in their own self contained world and rarely talks to other groups or divisions in the same company. Telstra are notorious for this.
These changes may well address part of this problem, Telstra services group managing director Michael Rocca claims " the new model would provide customers with improved service and fewer internal call transfers because more staff would be located in the same centres and receive the same training."
"We want our people to be able to assist and resolve more of our customers' issues the first time — first-call resolution and less call transfers"
The real key to getting these plans to work is good management that's looking beyond short term savings in wages. The quick fix of saving money usually ends up biting technology companies hard in the medium term.
Hopefully, Telstra's management is serious about improving service rather than just looking at saving a few bucks.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Free trial services
I noticed a Google ad on a webpage the other day referring to a free IT review of small business networks. In principle, a free consultation is a good way for a service provider to get their foot in the door for customers. Sadly in the IT industry this is rarely the case.
The main reason is most prospective customers don't value the service. You can present them with a beautifully bound and presented report and it will, at best, be filed. It's highly unlikely the report will ever be read, let alone acted upon.
In the rare occasion it does get acted on, most companies will put the job out to competitive tender. Your free audit and the recommendations become the specifications and because other IT companies don't have the overhead of giving out free audits they'll be cheaper.
Word of mouth is the best marketing tool in the IT industry. The best way to grow your business is to provide quality service to the customers who value those services. Giving away your services, like system audits, for free is only attracting the customers who don't value what you can do for them.
The main reason is most prospective customers don't value the service. You can present them with a beautifully bound and presented report and it will, at best, be filed. It's highly unlikely the report will ever be read, let alone acted upon.
In the rare occasion it does get acted on, most companies will put the job out to competitive tender. Your free audit and the recommendations become the specifications and because other IT companies don't have the overhead of giving out free audits they'll be cheaper.
Word of mouth is the best marketing tool in the IT industry. The best way to grow your business is to provide quality service to the customers who value those services. Giving away your services, like system audits, for free is only attracting the customers who don't value what you can do for them.
Dumping on the competion
Criticising your competitors is always a risky proposition. The SMH Enterprise Blog discusses an example of this.
Valerie Khoo's experience with a real estate agent is pretty typical of what we see in the IT industry. The first agent did the right thing referring her to a competitor that could help. The competitor could resist dumping on the guy who referred her.
This sort of behaviour is unprofessional and most customers hate it. When I look at another technician's work I generally don't comment on the quality of the work unless they've done something seriously wrong.
Sadly, a lot of computer techs don't see it that way. They can't wait to big note themselves on how good they are and how bad the previous guy was. All this confirms in the client's mind is that we are all cowboys.
It's always best to be positive with a client. Even when recommending one product over another, I find it better to focus on the positives of the preferred product rather than the negatives of the the others.
There's karma in this too. Its too easy in the IT industry to be negative given the behaviour of many of the participants. By being positive, you feel better and so does your customer.
The simple rule is don't be negative: Don't dump on your competitors.
Valerie Khoo's experience with a real estate agent is pretty typical of what we see in the IT industry. The first agent did the right thing referring her to a competitor that could help. The competitor could resist dumping on the guy who referred her.
This sort of behaviour is unprofessional and most customers hate it. When I look at another technician's work I generally don't comment on the quality of the work unless they've done something seriously wrong.
Sadly, a lot of computer techs don't see it that way. They can't wait to big note themselves on how good they are and how bad the previous guy was. All this confirms in the client's mind is that we are all cowboys.
It's always best to be positive with a client. Even when recommending one product over another, I find it better to focus on the positives of the preferred product rather than the negatives of the the others.
There's karma in this too. Its too easy in the IT industry to be negative given the behaviour of many of the participants. By being positive, you feel better and so does your customer.
The simple rule is don't be negative: Don't dump on your competitors.
ZD Net interviews Kimmo Alkio the new CEO of Finnish security company, F-Secure, about the mechanics of online threats.
A very obvious point is malware writing is one of the few opportunities for a smart young programmer in the developing world. That's one of the reasons for the explosion in malware, phishing and spam. The Internet allows these opportunities from anywhere.
Where I would disagree with Kimmo is that mobile phone viruses and spyware are the stage now that PCs were at in the late 1980s.
In the late 1980s we were seeing the first viruses and they were spread by floppy disks with the odd ones lurking on message boards. The problem was there and the mass adoption of the Internet just took it to another level.
On the other hand, there's no reported mass outbreaks of mobile phone viruses which we would be seeing if there was a problem.
I suspect this is partly because mobile phones are used differently. People don't expect, or use, the functionality of a PC in a mobile and the telcos are reluctant to let their customers use such functionality because it allows the customer to break free of the Telco's content controls.
Kimmo makes a couple of other very good points: ISPs need to take more responsibility for protecting their customers and we need a .bank domain.
A .bank domain could be setup that only legitimate banks can sign up to. Having a reasonably secure domain means Internet banking because more secure.
On the other hand, were governments to make ISPs more responsible for security, we'd see a marked drop in spam, phishing viruses and compromised machines. I'd suggest making ISPs partly responsible for damages caused by compromised machines or swindlers on their network if the ISP can't show they've taken reasonable steps to close down errant account holders.
There's a few challenging ideas there that can be used to reduce Internet based crime.
A very obvious point is malware writing is one of the few opportunities for a smart young programmer in the developing world. That's one of the reasons for the explosion in malware, phishing and spam. The Internet allows these opportunities from anywhere.
Where I would disagree with Kimmo is that mobile phone viruses and spyware are the stage now that PCs were at in the late 1980s.
In the late 1980s we were seeing the first viruses and they were spread by floppy disks with the odd ones lurking on message boards. The problem was there and the mass adoption of the Internet just took it to another level.
On the other hand, there's no reported mass outbreaks of mobile phone viruses which we would be seeing if there was a problem.
I suspect this is partly because mobile phones are used differently. People don't expect, or use, the functionality of a PC in a mobile and the telcos are reluctant to let their customers use such functionality because it allows the customer to break free of the Telco's content controls.
Kimmo makes a couple of other very good points: ISPs need to take more responsibility for protecting their customers and we need a .bank domain.
A .bank domain could be setup that only legitimate banks can sign up to. Having a reasonably secure domain means Internet banking because more secure.
On the other hand, were governments to make ISPs more responsible for security, we'd see a marked drop in spam, phishing viruses and compromised machines. I'd suggest making ISPs partly responsible for damages caused by compromised machines or swindlers on their network if the ISP can't show they've taken reasonable steps to close down errant account holders.
There's a few challenging ideas there that can be used to reduce Internet based crime.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Selling technology
The New York Times asks why Apple can sell computers from retail stores while other companies like Sony, Dell and Gateway can't.
Apple stores do well because they are destinations. People will travel to see an Apple store either for cool new technology or to get help from the Genius Bar.
The Genius Bar is an important aspect to this, this enhances the brand and can only be done if your margins are high enough to afford to pay for the Geniuses.
Which is an interesting contrast to Dell's deal with Walmart. Once again, Dell have decided to follow the cheap route. That's fine, but it further locks Dell into the bottom end of the IT market.
The stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap model doesn't work for IT products: Computers are not baked beans.
To survive in the IT industry you need to establish relationships with your customers. But relationships cost time and money, which you can't do if you are selling cheap boxes to the bottom of the market. Apple can, and are, doing this while Dell can't afford it and Sony doesn't understand how to do it.
Apple stores do well because they are destinations. People will travel to see an Apple store either for cool new technology or to get help from the Genius Bar.
The Genius Bar is an important aspect to this, this enhances the brand and can only be done if your margins are high enough to afford to pay for the Geniuses.
Which is an interesting contrast to Dell's deal with Walmart. Once again, Dell have decided to follow the cheap route. That's fine, but it further locks Dell into the bottom end of the IT market.
The stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap model doesn't work for IT products: Computers are not baked beans.
To survive in the IT industry you need to establish relationships with your customers. But relationships cost time and money, which you can't do if you are selling cheap boxes to the bottom of the market. Apple can, and are, doing this while Dell can't afford it and Sony doesn't understand how to do it.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Protecting children online: Get their computers out of the bedroom
The story of the Tweed Heads magistrate breaking down and weeping is touching and tragic and it illustrates why all parents need to supervise their kid's web usage.
This particular pervert took advantage of kids as young as nine, meeting them through chat rooms and exploiting through webcams. In this particular case, a teenage girl was manipulated into sexually abusing her younger brother in front of her webcam.
Jeff Linden, the magistrate who heard this Australian case, calls for more internet filtering. I'm not sure this will avoid such horrific cases. Perverts like the perpetrator of this crime will find a way to exploit kids wherever they congregate, be it on MySpace or the local playground.
In my view, parents need to supervise Internet usage. The Internet is like a big city and there are parts of any city where most adults would feel safe visting, let alone children. No parent would allow their children to wander around big cities unsupervised.
Yet this is what many do with the Internet. Not only do a lot of parents allow the kids to use the computers in their own room, but they also allow them to use equipment like webcams.
It's bad enough letting kids have TVs in their rooms and allowing the unmitigated, brain numbing trash into their bedrooms. But the Internet invites far more trouble.
Forget filtering. Supervise your kids.
On a slightly different topic, it's clear there's a chilling effect on Australian reporting by not mentioning the name of the perpetrators of these acts. The reason's clear: Australian judges have shown they will abandon trials and even cite reporters for contempt if they name anyone who might face such charges .
This chilling effect worked with me, I deliberately re-wrote this post to remove names and links to non-Australian articles. I'd hate to see one of these online predators getting away because their lawyers can claim a blog like this is responsible for them not being able to get a fair trial.
This particular pervert took advantage of kids as young as nine, meeting them through chat rooms and exploiting through webcams. In this particular case, a teenage girl was manipulated into sexually abusing her younger brother in front of her webcam.
Jeff Linden, the magistrate who heard this Australian case, calls for more internet filtering. I'm not sure this will avoid such horrific cases. Perverts like the perpetrator of this crime will find a way to exploit kids wherever they congregate, be it on MySpace or the local playground.
In my view, parents need to supervise Internet usage. The Internet is like a big city and there are parts of any city where most adults would feel safe visting, let alone children. No parent would allow their children to wander around big cities unsupervised.
Yet this is what many do with the Internet. Not only do a lot of parents allow the kids to use the computers in their own room, but they also allow them to use equipment like webcams.
It's bad enough letting kids have TVs in their rooms and allowing the unmitigated, brain numbing trash into their bedrooms. But the Internet invites far more trouble.
Forget filtering. Supervise your kids.
On a slightly different topic, it's clear there's a chilling effect on Australian reporting by not mentioning the name of the perpetrators of these acts. The reason's clear: Australian judges have shown they will abandon trials and even cite reporters for contempt if they name anyone who might face such charges .
This chilling effect worked with me, I deliberately re-wrote this post to remove names and links to non-Australian articles. I'd hate to see one of these online predators getting away because their lawyers can claim a blog like this is responsible for them not being able to get a fair trial.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Symantec update screws China
Why am I not surprised a Norton update screws up a few million Chinese PCs?
The undermining of the cheap laptop
I previously noted Microsoft's undermining of the OLPC per child. Now John Negroponte has criticised Intel for the same thing.
It's a shame these people can't work together. Getting this project out would be one of the greatest long term achievements for the computer industry. It would probably result in more computers being sold as well.
It's a shame these people can't work together. Getting this project out would be one of the greatest long term achievements for the computer industry. It would probably result in more computers being sold as well.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Dell's woes continue
The New York Attorney General is suing Dell for not delivering on it's customer service. This is not surprising as Dell have really soiled their reputation in the last few years.
Dell's spokesman claims these complaints are from a "a small fraction of Dell's consumer transactions in New York". A read of their 161 comments to date on the ABC story indicate otherwise.
The big problem for Dell is they've chased the bottom of the market. The consequences were inevitable: To maintain margins they had to lowered levels of service and the cheap prices attract the toughest customers.
Computers are a difficult, complex product at the best of time. As I pointed out in a previous post, selling technology is not like selling baked beans. Pile and high and sell 'em cheap only works if you can fob off aggrieved customers when the technology fails or is beyond them.
For retailers, this has been quite easy. They job fob the customer off to the manufacturer. Dell's cutting the middle man means they have nowhere to fob the customer off to.
The problem for the channel and direct seller like Dell is the bottom of the market is populated with demanding customers with tight budgets. These people want to buy a Hyundai but they want Lexus level support.
There's no way around this if price is your only selling point. The key is not to go to the bottom of the market. Stay in the mid to high range where you'll sell far fewer computers but you'll keep your margins and reputation.
This is largely the strategy of Apple. Although they do lapse sometimes.
For myself, I don't know why Dell chose this path, my suspicion is that the stock market and renumeration agreements were rewarding unit sales numbers, so the bosses didn't care as long as more boxes were sold. Now they are suffering for chasing the bottom of the market, just as Packard Bell did.
I suspect it's too late for Dell to overcome the "cheap but dodgy" label. It might be time for Dell to split their range, keep the Dell brand for the cheapies and rebadge their high level computers and support. Just as Toyota did with Lexus.
The sad thing is the Japanese worked hard to associate their brands with quality. They took a generation to shed the "cheap but dodgy" label. Dell have done the opposite and trashed a good name.
Dell's spokesman claims these complaints are from a "a small fraction of Dell's consumer transactions in New York". A read of their 161 comments to date on the ABC story indicate otherwise.
The big problem for Dell is they've chased the bottom of the market. The consequences were inevitable: To maintain margins they had to lowered levels of service and the cheap prices attract the toughest customers.
Computers are a difficult, complex product at the best of time. As I pointed out in a previous post, selling technology is not like selling baked beans. Pile and high and sell 'em cheap only works if you can fob off aggrieved customers when the technology fails or is beyond them.
For retailers, this has been quite easy. They job fob the customer off to the manufacturer. Dell's cutting the middle man means they have nowhere to fob the customer off to.
The problem for the channel and direct seller like Dell is the bottom of the market is populated with demanding customers with tight budgets. These people want to buy a Hyundai but they want Lexus level support.
There's no way around this if price is your only selling point. The key is not to go to the bottom of the market. Stay in the mid to high range where you'll sell far fewer computers but you'll keep your margins and reputation.
This is largely the strategy of Apple. Although they do lapse sometimes.
For myself, I don't know why Dell chose this path, my suspicion is that the stock market and renumeration agreements were rewarding unit sales numbers, so the bosses didn't care as long as more boxes were sold. Now they are suffering for chasing the bottom of the market, just as Packard Bell did.
I suspect it's too late for Dell to overcome the "cheap but dodgy" label. It might be time for Dell to split their range, keep the Dell brand for the cheapies and rebadge their high level computers and support. Just as Toyota did with Lexus.
The sad thing is the Japanese worked hard to associate their brands with quality. They took a generation to shed the "cheap but dodgy" label. Dell have done the opposite and trashed a good name.
Microsoft Update failing
We've been seeing a lot of problems with the automatic Microsoft Updates program and now it's hit our systems. My computer is hanging with the update processes hogging up to 80% of resources.
Having tried everything suggested by Microsoft, the only solution appears to be to disable the Microsoft Update and go back to the Windows Update. That means running Office updates manually.
I haven't tried to update Office manually for some while, so I wasn't surprised to find the site changed. The irritating thing is the site prompts you to the Windows Update page. Problems with that are why I'm doing this manually.
Luckily, there's a tiny link below to the Office update page where we can update Office and only office.
But, Microsoft being Microsoft we have to validate Office before we can download.
Is it just me that's sick of having to validate my Microsoft products every second time I visit their websites.
Perhaps if Microsoft spent more time testing their products and updates and less time worrying about validating their products, we might get fewer of these problems.
Having tried everything suggested by Microsoft, the only solution appears to be to disable the Microsoft Update and go back to the Windows Update. That means running Office updates manually.
I haven't tried to update Office manually for some while, so I wasn't surprised to find the site changed. The irritating thing is the site prompts you to the Windows Update page. Problems with that are why I'm doing this manually.
Luckily, there's a tiny link below to the Office update page where we can update Office and only office.
But, Microsoft being Microsoft we have to validate Office before we can download.
Is it just me that's sick of having to validate my Microsoft products every second time I visit their websites.
Perhaps if Microsoft spent more time testing their products and updates and less time worrying about validating their products, we might get fewer of these problems.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Get your web servers right
I've just spent ten minutes filling in a feedback survey for a major corporation. The aim of the survey is to measure how reliable customers find the company's website.
It crashed with an SQL error when I pressed submit.
I'm amazed at how large organisations have trouble like this. The ticketing woes of Cricket Australia come to mind. There's many other examples.
I don't know how much these companies spend on websites, but they need to insist these services can deal with peak demands.
There's little point in having a pretty website when it crashes at critical times.
It crashed with an SQL error when I pressed submit.
I'm amazed at how large organisations have trouble like this. The ticketing woes of Cricket Australia come to mind. There's many other examples.
I don't know how much these companies spend on websites, but they need to insist these services can deal with peak demands.
There's little point in having a pretty website when it crashes at critical times.
The perils of being a tech
It's dangerous admitting you know something about computers at parties as you'll often find yourself being asked to have a look at the host's dodgy system and you spend the time in PC Hell.
Jeremy Allison describes just such an evening in his ZDNet blog. He foolishly agreed to help setup a relative's laptop and found himself in a hole.
The big problem with IT support is that something simple can turn very bad very quickly and often from an angle you didn't expect.
Jeremy's experience is a good example as the trial edition of MS Office 2007 which bought him undone.
The solution involved re-downloading the Microsoft Office trial. He's lucky he's not in Australia as his relatives might have been on an uncapped 200Mb plan and that download would have cost half the price of the Office 2007 home edition.
Jeremy doesn't say how long this debacle took him to resolve, but my guess is he wasted many hours with the problem.
This illustrates why tech support is hard and why merely "knowing something about computers" does not qualify you to become a tech.
It also shows why do it yourself support is a recipe for frustration and a great deal of lost time. Small businesses that go the DIY path often waste a lot of their own time and end up with a substandard system.
On another aspect, I hadn't closely looked at the trial MS Office products and didn't realise copy and paste was disabled along with the "save as" function.
This is dangerous stuff for the typical computer user. It basically traps customers into buying the new product. We'll be recommending avoiding the trial edition once we confirm this.
Jeremy Allison describes just such an evening in his ZDNet blog. He foolishly agreed to help setup a relative's laptop and found himself in a hole.
The big problem with IT support is that something simple can turn very bad very quickly and often from an angle you didn't expect.
Jeremy's experience is a good example as the trial edition of MS Office 2007 which bought him undone.
The solution involved re-downloading the Microsoft Office trial. He's lucky he's not in Australia as his relatives might have been on an uncapped 200Mb plan and that download would have cost half the price of the Office 2007 home edition.
Jeremy doesn't say how long this debacle took him to resolve, but my guess is he wasted many hours with the problem.
This illustrates why tech support is hard and why merely "knowing something about computers" does not qualify you to become a tech.
It also shows why do it yourself support is a recipe for frustration and a great deal of lost time. Small businesses that go the DIY path often waste a lot of their own time and end up with a substandard system.
On another aspect, I hadn't closely looked at the trial MS Office products and didn't realise copy and paste was disabled along with the "save as" function.
This is dangerous stuff for the typical computer user. It basically traps customers into buying the new product. We'll be recommending avoiding the trial edition once we confirm this.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Collapsing home automation markets
The news that US electronics retail Tweeter is on the verge of bankrupcy is not surprising given the state of the computer and home automation industries.
The problem for retailers is the market is largely driven by price. The large chains and big brands have discounted themselves into a corner. The only way to make a profit is to move in bulk.
While this business model is good if you are selling baked beans, technology doesn't quite work that way. It's labour intensive and has much higher overheads than a loaf of bread or carton of milk. This model only survives in the technology retail sectors while customers are in a buying frenzy.
What I suspect's happened in the US industry is the downturn in the housing market has cooled the buying frenzy. In Australia, the housing market hasn't declined to the point that it's affecting consumer buying, but it might soon.
The slim margins have already affected specialist retailers. Hi-Fi shops are closing up and I've previously discussed computer shops closing. The box movers have pretty well won the technology retailing war with only the premium, top end shops surviving.
In the consumer entertainment sector, Smarthouse News speculates on how this might affect the Australian industry. In the local sector, the bulk movers have pretty well put the specialists out of business
The problem now for the low margin brigade is maintaining their turnover. If we are seeing a slowdown in consumer spending then these guys will be caught in a pincer movement of declining margins and declining volumes.
The problem for retailers is the market is largely driven by price. The large chains and big brands have discounted themselves into a corner. The only way to make a profit is to move in bulk.
While this business model is good if you are selling baked beans, technology doesn't quite work that way. It's labour intensive and has much higher overheads than a loaf of bread or carton of milk. This model only survives in the technology retail sectors while customers are in a buying frenzy.
What I suspect's happened in the US industry is the downturn in the housing market has cooled the buying frenzy. In Australia, the housing market hasn't declined to the point that it's affecting consumer buying, but it might soon.
The slim margins have already affected specialist retailers. Hi-Fi shops are closing up and I've previously discussed computer shops closing. The box movers have pretty well won the technology retailing war with only the premium, top end shops surviving.
In the consumer entertainment sector, Smarthouse News speculates on how this might affect the Australian industry. In the local sector, the bulk movers have pretty well put the specialists out of business
The problem now for the low margin brigade is maintaining their turnover. If we are seeing a slowdown in consumer spending then these guys will be caught in a pincer movement of declining margins and declining volumes.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Mac security and myths
The news Mac Internet use has doubled in the US has been greeted with all sorts of comment.
In my view, this is because it's dawning on consumers just how vulnerable Windows users are to malware. Consumers want reliable computing and don't want their banking details going to a Moscow crime ring. Apple Mac offer that security.
But it's interesting to see the myths continue. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes in ZDNet offers the old chestnut that, that Macs have only avoided the malware deluge because they have a smaller market share.
With all due respect to Adrian, that's nonsense. The Mac is more secure simple because the system is better protected from the actions of users and the websites they visit.
The problem is that most Windows users run as administrators, which means they have full control over the operating system. The equivalent on the Mac is a root user. I have no doubt if you ran as the root user for a month on a Mac you'd be hopeless compromised as well.
The fact is Macs and Linux systems are currently more secure and more reliable than Windows machines. With increasing publicity of the risks of compromised computers, consumers and business want equipment that is secure and reliable.
One thing that does concern me about the Apple zealots is another group of myths along the lines that "Apple's don't crash, are bug free and don't lose data."
That's silly. All computers have bugs and crash. Sometime in your computing life you will lose data and it doesn't matter what operating system you use. That's why you need to back up and take basic security and data protection seriously.
Computers are tools to do a job. If the job you want your computer to do involves security then right now a Mac may well be the proper tool for the job.
In my view, this is because it's dawning on consumers just how vulnerable Windows users are to malware. Consumers want reliable computing and don't want their banking details going to a Moscow crime ring. Apple Mac offer that security.
But it's interesting to see the myths continue. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes in ZDNet offers the old chestnut that, that Macs have only avoided the malware deluge because they have a smaller market share.
With all due respect to Adrian, that's nonsense. The Mac is more secure simple because the system is better protected from the actions of users and the websites they visit.
The problem is that most Windows users run as administrators, which means they have full control over the operating system. The equivalent on the Mac is a root user. I have no doubt if you ran as the root user for a month on a Mac you'd be hopeless compromised as well.
The fact is Macs and Linux systems are currently more secure and more reliable than Windows machines. With increasing publicity of the risks of compromised computers, consumers and business want equipment that is secure and reliable.
One thing that does concern me about the Apple zealots is another group of myths along the lines that "Apple's don't crash, are bug free and don't lose data."
That's silly. All computers have bugs and crash. Sometime in your computing life you will lose data and it doesn't matter what operating system you use. That's why you need to back up and take basic security and data protection seriously.
Computers are tools to do a job. If the job you want your computer to do involves security then right now a Mac may well be the proper tool for the job.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
How bad are the Microsoft search tools?
Microsoft just doesn't get how to run search engines
While researching a listener's problem this morning, I went looking for instructions on using the System Restore tool. As I was already in the Microsoft Knowledge Base so I thought I'd search there. Typing in "how to use System Restore" returned over 200 results, with not one of them vaguely useful.
Narrowing the search down to Windows XP only still returned another 200+ with none of the first two pages being any use at all.
Despairing I turned to Google. The first result on the search string "how to use System Restore" returned the very page I was looking for.
I've always found it quicker to use Google or Yahoo! to find information on the Microsoft web site. It seems, despite the developments with Windows Live, Micorsoft still have a long way to go.
While researching a listener's problem this morning, I went looking for instructions on using the System Restore tool. As I was already in the Microsoft Knowledge Base so I thought I'd search there. Typing in "how to use System Restore" returned over 200 results, with not one of them vaguely useful.
Narrowing the search down to Windows XP only still returned another 200+ with none of the first two pages being any use at all.
Despairing I turned to Google. The first result on the search string "how to use System Restore" returned the very page I was looking for.
I've always found it quicker to use Google or Yahoo! to find information on the Microsoft web site. It seems, despite the developments with Windows Live, Micorsoft still have a long way to go.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
The spyware threat grows
One of the scariest videos I've watched in a long time is Mark Russinovich's presentation on advanced malware cleaning.
It's a long, technical presentation but the content chilled the blood of this computer tech.
Mark described how clever the malware writers are and how difficult it's going to be to detect and remove the next generation of spyware.
With the current generation of tools, we find it difficult to clean up many machines within three hours. I tell my techs that if you can't clean it in the first hour, wipe the system. That usually means the client is going to see a $600 bill.
For many clients, they'd be better off buying a new system.
The lesson for home and office users is to make sure your staff and kids are restricted users. While it might mean some programs won't work, it's a small price to pay for keeping your system clean.
For techs, it means we've got to develop better tools to protect our clients and clean out infections. Russinovich makes a good point that we're going to rely more on live CDs like BartPE or Knoppix to clear infected systems as the malware is going be too deeply embedded in the system to remove any other way.
Personally, I'm considering running away and joining a call centre. This stuff is going to be very hard, frustrating work.
It's a long, technical presentation but the content chilled the blood of this computer tech.
Mark described how clever the malware writers are and how difficult it's going to be to detect and remove the next generation of spyware.
With the current generation of tools, we find it difficult to clean up many machines within three hours. I tell my techs that if you can't clean it in the first hour, wipe the system. That usually means the client is going to see a $600 bill.
For many clients, they'd be better off buying a new system.
The lesson for home and office users is to make sure your staff and kids are restricted users. While it might mean some programs won't work, it's a small price to pay for keeping your system clean.
For techs, it means we've got to develop better tools to protect our clients and clean out infections. Russinovich makes a good point that we're going to rely more on live CDs like BartPE or Knoppix to clear infected systems as the malware is going be too deeply embedded in the system to remove any other way.
Personally, I'm considering running away and joining a call centre. This stuff is going to be very hard, frustrating work.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Vista compatible firewall
It's amazing what you find in your junk mail box.
While checking mine I stumbled on the latest version of Scot's newsletter which my ever vigilant spam checker had taken offense to.
The newsletter looks at firewalls and links to an excellent firewall review at Matousec.
I've needed an update to our firewall recommendations since Symantec took over Sygate and stopped development on SPF. While it's still available, it's not supported or compatible with Vista.
Looking over the review, it appeared the PC Tools free Firewall is exactly what I needed to recommend as a replacement to Sygate.
I've been slack with PC Tools as they are a real Australian success story. Unfortunately, there's not a great deal of them so we should be encouraging them.
We'll be experimenting with this ourselves over the next few weeks but so far, so good.
While checking mine I stumbled on the latest version of Scot's newsletter which my ever vigilant spam checker had taken offense to.
The newsletter looks at firewalls and links to an excellent firewall review at Matousec.
I've needed an update to our firewall recommendations since Symantec took over Sygate and stopped development on SPF. While it's still available, it's not supported or compatible with Vista.
Looking over the review, it appeared the PC Tools free Firewall is exactly what I needed to recommend as a replacement to Sygate.
I've been slack with PC Tools as they are a real Australian success story. Unfortunately, there's not a great deal of them so we should be encouraging them.
We'll be experimenting with this ourselves over the next few weeks but so far, so good.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Doing it on the cheap
I don't spend a lot of time but I stumbled on this offer the other day.
$80 to fix any PC problem?!? (since dropped to $50).
I feel sorry for kids like Billy. They really don't know what they are getting into. The $50 rate is only going to attract the cheapest, nastiest customers with the most difficult problems.
Maybe I should hire Billy, he seems an enterprising type.
$80 to fix any PC problem?!? (since dropped to $50).
I feel sorry for kids like Billy. They really don't know what they are getting into. The $50 rate is only going to attract the cheapest, nastiest customers with the most difficult problems.
Maybe I should hire Billy, he seems an enterprising type.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Why businesses aren't happy with Workchoices
This month's MYOB survey shows many small businesses are not happy with the Federal government.
The most worrying statistic for the Liberal government is the fact that 30% are less likely to hire as a result of Workchoices.
What the Libs don't understand is we small business owners hate complexity. We're simple beasts that just don't have the time, money or resources to deal with paperwork.
For instance, Australian IT reports an IT hire agency has set up an Australian Workplace Agreement for it's contractors.
This is fine when you have 2,000 contractors, but when you are local business employing half a dozen people, an AWA is an expensive and time consuming process.
The silly thing is the old unfair dismissal rules that scared many businesses off employing people were more straightforward, if somewhat formulaic. Making the system more complex doesn't help the problem.
A good example of the complexity is the new requirement that businesses have to keep a log of overtime. Failure to do so incurs fines of up to 5,500 per employee. I know businesses that are looking at introducing bundy clocks for white collar staff.
Another way complexity works against small business are the fines for not getting BAS forms in time. I don't know any business that hasn't copped at least one $55 penalty in the last year.
It's a shame business groups don't stand up to the Federal government. If anything, they do the opposite as the Australian reported yesterday. It's quite clear many of the groups who pretend to represent small businesses are too close to the Liberal party.
The fact is this Liberal government has been no friend of small business. They have dramatically increased our paperwork and the penalties for not completing that paperwork. I suspect they do quite nicely out of the fines and charges we get levied.
With an election looming and a viable alternative on offer, it's time small business owners starting rattling the cages of their local MPs.
The most worrying statistic for the Liberal government is the fact that 30% are less likely to hire as a result of Workchoices.
What the Libs don't understand is we small business owners hate complexity. We're simple beasts that just don't have the time, money or resources to deal with paperwork.
For instance, Australian IT reports an IT hire agency has set up an Australian Workplace Agreement for it's contractors.
This is fine when you have 2,000 contractors, but when you are local business employing half a dozen people, an AWA is an expensive and time consuming process.
The silly thing is the old unfair dismissal rules that scared many businesses off employing people were more straightforward, if somewhat formulaic. Making the system more complex doesn't help the problem.
A good example of the complexity is the new requirement that businesses have to keep a log of overtime. Failure to do so incurs fines of up to 5,500 per employee. I know businesses that are looking at introducing bundy clocks for white collar staff.
Another way complexity works against small business are the fines for not getting BAS forms in time. I don't know any business that hasn't copped at least one $55 penalty in the last year.
It's a shame business groups don't stand up to the Federal government. If anything, they do the opposite as the Australian reported yesterday. It's quite clear many of the groups who pretend to represent small businesses are too close to the Liberal party.
The fact is this Liberal government has been no friend of small business. They have dramatically increased our paperwork and the penalties for not completing that paperwork. I suspect they do quite nicely out of the fines and charges we get levied.
With an election looming and a viable alternative on offer, it's time small business owners starting rattling the cages of their local MPs.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Is "Digital Smog" the new technology threat
The Independent coins the phrase "digital smog" in an article about the potential risks of wireless networks.
I'm surprised it's taken so long for these concerns to arise. Given the fears about mobile phones and power transmission lines, it was inevitable someone was going to finger wireless LANs.
The jury's going to be out many years, if not generations, to see if there are real risks from these networks. My guess is if there is, the dangers are dwarfed by the radiation put out from mobile phone networks or CRT monitors and TV sets.
I think an inquiry is a good idea. It's important we are aware of the risks of all the technology we use. I just hope any such enquiry looks at real science and doesn't just jump on any hysterical bandwagon.
I'm surprised it's taken so long for these concerns to arise. Given the fears about mobile phones and power transmission lines, it was inevitable someone was going to finger wireless LANs.
The jury's going to be out many years, if not generations, to see if there are real risks from these networks. My guess is if there is, the dangers are dwarfed by the radiation put out from mobile phone networks or CRT monitors and TV sets.
I think an inquiry is a good idea. It's important we are aware of the risks of all the technology we use. I just hope any such enquiry looks at real science and doesn't just jump on any hysterical bandwagon.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Dell to sell a phone?
Are Dell planning to release their own iPhone?
According to Digitimes, Dell's laptop supplier are developing a phone/PDA for Dell.
Are they crazy? They recently dropped the Axim handheld because they didn't know how to sell or support it. Now they want to enter an already crowded mobile phone market.
Like Apple, they're going to find some very established incumbents when they enter the market.
Personally, I think Nokia, Motorola and the other established phone makers are going to eat Apple and Dell alive.
According to Digitimes, Dell's laptop supplier are developing a phone/PDA for Dell.
Are they crazy? They recently dropped the Axim handheld because they didn't know how to sell or support it. Now they want to enter an already crowded mobile phone market.
Like Apple, they're going to find some very established incumbents when they enter the market.
Personally, I think Nokia, Motorola and the other established phone makers are going to eat Apple and Dell alive.
Looking a gift horse in the mouth
Am I the only one disturbed by Microsoft's idea to sell $3 software to emerging markets?
It appears this product requires a government to sign up with Microsoft which locks that government into MS products. That's one concern.
A bigger concern though is how this affects projects like the One Laptop per Child project. The whole idea of the OLPC is to bring cheap, reliable computing to the third world.
Microsoft's idea seems to go against that, instead it locks those people into expensive, complex Windows systems.
It's a real shame Bill Gates can't work with the existing projects, a bigger shame is that Microsoft can't resist trying to tie governments into commercial deals when offering assistance.
It appears this product requires a government to sign up with Microsoft which locks that government into MS products. That's one concern.
A bigger concern though is how this affects projects like the One Laptop per Child project. The whole idea of the OLPC is to bring cheap, reliable computing to the third world.
Microsoft's idea seems to go against that, instead it locks those people into expensive, complex Windows systems.
It's a real shame Bill Gates can't work with the existing projects, a bigger shame is that Microsoft can't resist trying to tie governments into commercial deals when offering assistance.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Fatboy PCs need slimming down
I'm not a fan of "I'm an Apple and I'm a PC" ads but the latest ad, linked to by Gizmodo is spot on the money. Apple are so right on this.
"Programs that don't do very much unless you buy the whole thing or are just plain useless really slow me down".
This is so true. One of the first things we do when setting up a new PC is to remove the toolbars, trialware and all manner of tripe brand name Windows systems come with.
Ed Bott blogged that the stories of Vista being slow aren't based on fact. On his test system, he only found Vista to be 16% slower.
This is probably true, but it overlooks the problem of this bloatware infesting systems.
I setup a new Vista Toshiba laptop last week that took ages to load: This was all due to bundled software and fiddly installation routines.
Punters don't want to wait half an hour for a new computer to boot. Out of the box, a new system should be lightening fast: The customer should go "wow!" when they turn the thing on for the first time.
Micheal Dell might get paid $50 for every computer he sells with craplets on, but it's coming at a cost to his reputation.
I'll leave the last word to Gizmodo and Brian Lam who wrote the original post.
A message to those PR people, engineers, product managers, VPs and CEOs at Dell, HP, Sony, Lenovo, and our other favorite PC makers: Don't let the people in charge of putting these demos on your machines ruin your computers. Please, fight back, for our sake, and for the sake of your reputations.
"Programs that don't do very much unless you buy the whole thing or are just plain useless really slow me down".
This is so true. One of the first things we do when setting up a new PC is to remove the toolbars, trialware and all manner of tripe brand name Windows systems come with.
Ed Bott blogged that the stories of Vista being slow aren't based on fact. On his test system, he only found Vista to be 16% slower.
This is probably true, but it overlooks the problem of this bloatware infesting systems.
I setup a new Vista Toshiba laptop last week that took ages to load: This was all due to bundled software and fiddly installation routines.
Punters don't want to wait half an hour for a new computer to boot. Out of the box, a new system should be lightening fast: The customer should go "wow!" when they turn the thing on for the first time.
Micheal Dell might get paid $50 for every computer he sells with craplets on, but it's coming at a cost to his reputation.
I'll leave the last word to Gizmodo and Brian Lam who wrote the original post.
A message to those PR people, engineers, product managers, VPs and CEOs at Dell, HP, Sony, Lenovo, and our other favorite PC makers: Don't let the people in charge of putting these demos on your machines ruin your computers. Please, fight back, for our sake, and for the sake of your reputations.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Windows XP to go the way of the dodo
Australian Personal Computer reports that Windows XP won't be available to customers after the year's end.
I'm not sure it's going to matter. It's so hard to find an XP machine in the shops now, most people are getting Vista whether they want it or not.
One thing this will do is drive the sale of Windows XP boxes late in the year. So I guess that's good news for the channel and retailers. Assuming they can get stock.
I did a Vista set up yesterday. One thing that concerns me about it is how slow the system is. Even with a gig of RAM it ran like treacle.
I'd recommend going with Vista if I could find a clear, identifiable advantage in the new system. Right now, I can't. So if you can, get an XP box.
I'm not sure it's going to matter. It's so hard to find an XP machine in the shops now, most people are getting Vista whether they want it or not.
One thing this will do is drive the sale of Windows XP boxes late in the year. So I guess that's good news for the channel and retailers. Assuming they can get stock.
I did a Vista set up yesterday. One thing that concerns me about it is how slow the system is. Even with a gig of RAM it ran like treacle.
I'd recommend going with Vista if I could find a clear, identifiable advantage in the new system. Right now, I can't. So if you can, get an XP box.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
What will Grisoft's free rootkit find?
Grisoft's AVG anti-virus has been high on our recommended list for a long time and their new rootkit detector will join the list.
It's going to be interesting what we see when customers start using it. Our suspicion is that rootkits are far more widely distributed than many people think.
My view is the bad guys have been winning the malware war for some time. I've noticed a lot of spyware infections seem to have been getting more subtle recently. I'm sure this is not a good thing.
We'll be recommending this to all our customers in our newsletter this month.
It's going to be interesting what we see when customers start using it. Our suspicion is that rootkits are far more widely distributed than many people think.
My view is the bad guys have been winning the malware war for some time. I've noticed a lot of spyware infections seem to have been getting more subtle recently. I'm sure this is not a good thing.
We'll be recommending this to all our customers in our newsletter this month.
Choosing the wrong Internet plan
The story of Andrew Boughton, a Rose Bay businessman who got a thousand dollar bill for his $30 a month Internet service, is not surprising to any of us who regularly deal with Internet users.
The simple fact is subscribers to these plans are giving a blank cheque to their Internet provider.
In my view, these low limit, high excess use fee plans are immoral: They are designed to separate the least informed consumers from their money.
A relative of mine was told by her school that she needed a broadband connection to do her homework. We'll put aside the fact this is a state high school in a disadvantage area for a future post. Her family's first thought was one of these plans.
Luckily they were put straight very quickly on these plans and signed up with another provider that offers capped plans: Once they go over the monthly limit, the connection is slowed.
These plans are the only ones families and businesses on a budget should consider. Anything else is a recipe for disaster.
Another interesting point in this story is Bigpond reimbursed his account. We see this a lot with Telstra: If you push them, they'll refund your money.
I suspect they know these "cheap" plans are unfair.
The simple fact is subscribers to these plans are giving a blank cheque to their Internet provider.
In my view, these low limit, high excess use fee plans are immoral: They are designed to separate the least informed consumers from their money.
A relative of mine was told by her school that she needed a broadband connection to do her homework. We'll put aside the fact this is a state high school in a disadvantage area for a future post. Her family's first thought was one of these plans.
Luckily they were put straight very quickly on these plans and signed up with another provider that offers capped plans: Once they go over the monthly limit, the connection is slowed.
These plans are the only ones families and businesses on a budget should consider. Anything else is a recipe for disaster.
Another interesting point in this story is Bigpond reimbursed his account. We see this a lot with Telstra: If you push them, they'll refund your money.
I suspect they know these "cheap" plans are unfair.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Dell ditch the Axim
According to The Mobility Site, Dell are to bury their Axim handheld devices. We had many bad experiences with these and aren't sad to see them go.
The big problem was the early models shipped to the Australian market came with the wrong version of Windows Mobile (or CE as it then was). Some of our clients spent many hours bashing their heads against the wall trying to explain to a polite lady in India that her screen was totally different to hers.
Those early problems seem to put Dell off because they seemed to stop marketing them here.
It seems to me this is symptomatic of Dell's problems. The Axim should be a profitable, high margin line. Instead, they continue to focus on the bottom of the market and ever narrowing margins.
The sad thing for Dell is these Windows Mobile devices are coming of age. They may be jumping off the ship just as it starts to float.
The big problem was the early models shipped to the Australian market came with the wrong version of Windows Mobile (or CE as it then was). Some of our clients spent many hours bashing their heads against the wall trying to explain to a polite lady in India that her screen was totally different to hers.
Those early problems seem to put Dell off because they seemed to stop marketing them here.
It seems to me this is symptomatic of Dell's problems. The Axim should be a profitable, high margin line. Instead, they continue to focus on the bottom of the market and ever narrowing margins.
The sad thing for Dell is these Windows Mobile devices are coming of age. They may be jumping off the ship just as it starts to float.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Microsoft Volume Licensing
I don't know if I'm a slow learner, but I still can't get my head around Microsoft's Open Licencing program.
Why do these guys have to make it so complex?
Why do these guys have to make it so complex?
Monday, April 02, 2007
Doing business on eBay
The Sydney Morning Herald's small business blog discusses using eBay to source business supplies. I have to say this idea is flawed to say the least. The time involved, delivery and risk doesn't really make ebay worthwhile as a feasible source.
As ever, the comments are amusing. I really enjoy those boasting about their eBay businesses. These folk don't get it.
Valerie's assistant bought on eBay because the price was ridiculously cheap. That's the typical reason people buy on eBay.
If you want to get stuck in a business with stupid, if any, margins then eBay's the place for you.
I'm beginning to wonder about the wisdom of this small business blog. Valerie Khoo doesn't seem to understand the biggest problem for her and all other small business owners is time. There simply aren't enough hours in the day.
Small business owners can't afford to waste this precious asset on surfing Google for computer advice or lurking on eBay trying to scoop up "bargains".
One of the thing experienced small business owners like me have learned is it's critical to find good suppliers. We simply don't have time to tune our own cars or prepare our own accounts and even if we did have the time, we wouldn't do a good job because we don't know what we are doing.
Valerie should stick to what she and her staff do best. That's what earns her money and keeps her staff in a job.
As ever, the comments are amusing. I really enjoy those boasting about their eBay businesses. These folk don't get it.
Valerie's assistant bought on eBay because the price was ridiculously cheap. That's the typical reason people buy on eBay.
If you want to get stuck in a business with stupid, if any, margins then eBay's the place for you.
I'm beginning to wonder about the wisdom of this small business blog. Valerie Khoo doesn't seem to understand the biggest problem for her and all other small business owners is time. There simply aren't enough hours in the day.
Small business owners can't afford to waste this precious asset on surfing Google for computer advice or lurking on eBay trying to scoop up "bargains".
One of the thing experienced small business owners like me have learned is it's critical to find good suppliers. We simply don't have time to tune our own cars or prepare our own accounts and even if we did have the time, we wouldn't do a good job because we don't know what we are doing.
Valerie should stick to what she and her staff do best. That's what earns her money and keeps her staff in a job.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Sometimes you wonder why you bother
A long standing client rang yesterday with a crisis. Her and her husband had a drunken fight which he lost. In revenge he password protected all the profiles on the computer, the following morning he'd forgot the passwords and now their daughter was in trouble at school for not doing her computer based homework.
Reluctantly I dragged myself out there. I got there at 8.30pm, keep in mind I started at 5am and had been with clients solidly from 10am. To say I was tired and irritated was an understatement.
While I'm there, hubby comes home. The lady of the house mentions how good it is of me to show up to fix his drunken stuff up. His response?
Oh, he enjoys this stuff of stuff.
Excuse me? I enjoy 17 hour days fixing your drunken stuff ups? Yeah right.
Sometimes you've gotta wonder why you bother.
I should have sent her to the local PC shop. They'd have probably reformatted the thing because they can't be bothered figuring out Peter Nordahl's excellent NT password recovery tool (can't wait to try it on Vista). The problem is they are all closing.
I noticed this again in Neutral Bay on my way to the late night Indian take away, the computer shop a few doors up has suddenly shut up shop.
Once there were dozens of computer shops on the North Shore, now it's lucky if the larger suburbs can support one. Neutral Bay still has two, but one seems to be constantly hanging on by it's fingernails.
I guess they're finding simply 17 hour days of sheer computer enjoyment isn't too rewarding.
Reluctantly I dragged myself out there. I got there at 8.30pm, keep in mind I started at 5am and had been with clients solidly from 10am. To say I was tired and irritated was an understatement.
While I'm there, hubby comes home. The lady of the house mentions how good it is of me to show up to fix his drunken stuff up. His response?
Oh, he enjoys this stuff of stuff.
Excuse me? I enjoy 17 hour days fixing your drunken stuff ups? Yeah right.
Sometimes you've gotta wonder why you bother.
I should have sent her to the local PC shop. They'd have probably reformatted the thing because they can't be bothered figuring out Peter Nordahl's excellent NT password recovery tool (can't wait to try it on Vista). The problem is they are all closing.
I noticed this again in Neutral Bay on my way to the late night Indian take away, the computer shop a few doors up has suddenly shut up shop.
Once there were dozens of computer shops on the North Shore, now it's lucky if the larger suburbs can support one. Neutral Bay still has two, but one seems to be constantly hanging on by it's fingernails.
I guess they're finding simply 17 hour days of sheer computer enjoyment isn't too rewarding.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Stupid wireless security advice
George Ou repeats his comments about dumb wireless security advice. Unfortunately I have to disagree, much of this advice isn't stupid. It's just needs to be taken in context.
While he's right that WPA-PSK is the most fundamental part of securing your network, not everybody uses strong passwords. What's more, many old units don't support WPA or turn off encryption to get a performance boost. It doesn't help that many wireless routers don't come with WPA enabled.
MAC Filtering
We tend to do this because it does add another layer of security. If the customer turns off encryption (and the buggers do) they are still protected from the next door neighbour. I would agree that administering a large network with MAC filtering would be a pain, but most of our customers only have a handful of wireless devices.
SSID hiding
I'll agree with George here, SSID hiding is pointless as most wireless software will still show the network, albeit without a name. To make matters worse, many devices won't work properly without the SSID. We find Netgear equipment loathes hidden SSIDs.
LEAP authentication
I don't know much about LEAP, we've never had to deal with this. So I'll have to defer to George's superior knowledge.
Disable DHCP
Like MAC filtering, this would be a pain if you had a large network. In smaller networks, it's a pain if you have laptop users moving to different locations. Generally we recommend restricting DHCP ranges and reserving IP the addresses within that range to specific machines.
Antenna placement
This one we don't often do because usually we're just thankful we can get a signal and we're loathe to play with the bugger. Restricting leakage makes sense to me though. Why put out more signal than you need?
George misses a number of points. Firstly, the biggest problem with wireless networks is casual hitchhikers. All of these aspects stop them.
He also assumes WPA is near impossible to crack, while this might be so it's still possible for a determined hacker or intruder to find the password using other means. What's worse is disaffected employees or disposed laptops might still have the keys saved.
His example of the doorman is instructive of George's view: Sure, a doorman ticking off names won't stop a Frank Abagnale, Kevin Mitnick or George Ou getting in, but it will stop 99% of the potential gatecrashers. What's more, ticking off lists might alert management to the presence of gatecrahsers.
What we have to accept is that wireless networks are not as secure as wired networks. Wireless networks are convenient but that convenience comes at a cost.
While he's right that WPA-PSK is the most fundamental part of securing your network, not everybody uses strong passwords. What's more, many old units don't support WPA or turn off encryption to get a performance boost. It doesn't help that many wireless routers don't come with WPA enabled.
MAC Filtering
We tend to do this because it does add another layer of security. If the customer turns off encryption (and the buggers do) they are still protected from the next door neighbour. I would agree that administering a large network with MAC filtering would be a pain, but most of our customers only have a handful of wireless devices.
SSID hiding
I'll agree with George here, SSID hiding is pointless as most wireless software will still show the network, albeit without a name. To make matters worse, many devices won't work properly without the SSID. We find Netgear equipment loathes hidden SSIDs.
LEAP authentication
I don't know much about LEAP, we've never had to deal with this. So I'll have to defer to George's superior knowledge.
Disable DHCP
Like MAC filtering, this would be a pain if you had a large network. In smaller networks, it's a pain if you have laptop users moving to different locations. Generally we recommend restricting DHCP ranges and reserving IP the addresses within that range to specific machines.
Antenna placement
This one we don't often do because usually we're just thankful we can get a signal and we're loathe to play with the bugger. Restricting leakage makes sense to me though. Why put out more signal than you need?
George misses a number of points. Firstly, the biggest problem with wireless networks is casual hitchhikers. All of these aspects stop them.
He also assumes WPA is near impossible to crack, while this might be so it's still possible for a determined hacker or intruder to find the password using other means. What's worse is disaffected employees or disposed laptops might still have the keys saved.
His example of the doorman is instructive of George's view: Sure, a doorman ticking off names won't stop a Frank Abagnale, Kevin Mitnick or George Ou getting in, but it will stop 99% of the potential gatecrashers. What's more, ticking off lists might alert management to the presence of gatecrahsers.
What we have to accept is that wireless networks are not as secure as wired networks. Wireless networks are convenient but that convenience comes at a cost.
Windows Genuine Activation: It's back!
Microsoft didn't release any security patches this month, but it appears they did update their Windows Genuine Advantage Notification tool.
A few months back we explained to our newsletter subscribers how to disable the tool. This thing is a buggy pain which further shows how Microsoft are losing the plot in their quest to capture every dollar. We don't like it and it causes our customers grief.
So imagine my delight when the thing starts appearing again. Apparently Microsoft upgraded it this month so the previous instruction of "don't ask me again" is now redundant.
To add insult to injury, the thing appears to dob you into Redmond if you choose not to install it.
I really don't understand their mentality. When you start assuming all your customers are thieves, it's time to quit and grow mangoes or something.
A few months back we explained to our newsletter subscribers how to disable the tool. This thing is a buggy pain which further shows how Microsoft are losing the plot in their quest to capture every dollar. We don't like it and it causes our customers grief.
So imagine my delight when the thing starts appearing again. Apparently Microsoft upgraded it this month so the previous instruction of "don't ask me again" is now redundant.
To add insult to injury, the thing appears to dob you into Redmond if you choose not to install it.
I really don't understand their mentality. When you start assuming all your customers are thieves, it's time to quit and grow mangoes or something.
Microsoft further confuse their market
Not content with five different versions of Vista, Microsoft further muddy the waters with Office 2007.
We set up a computer for a client last week. All new machines from our suppliers come preinstalled with a 60 day trial version of Office 2007. It's just a matter of paying for, and registering a licence key.
Or so it appears.
If you choose to buy the Home and Student Edition, however. IT'S A DIFFERENT BLOODY PRE-INSTALL!!!!!!!!!
So, we have to tell our supplier which version of Office the client is going to want to install.
Doesn't that defeat the purpose of preinstalling the thing in the first place?
I'm also uneasy about not getting media for OEM stuff. Microsoft's "buy a backup disk" policy is cumbersome, time consuming and expensive for Microsoft.
It's another example of big IT vendors being penny wise and pound foolish. They might save a few bucks in stopping people re-using OEM disks, but their increased support costs and the generally irritation is going cost them far more.
In fact, I'm so irritated by it, I'm recommending people try Open Office or the Google apps.
We set up a computer for a client last week. All new machines from our suppliers come preinstalled with a 60 day trial version of Office 2007. It's just a matter of paying for, and registering a licence key.
Or so it appears.
If you choose to buy the Home and Student Edition, however. IT'S A DIFFERENT BLOODY PRE-INSTALL!!!!!!!!!
So, we have to tell our supplier which version of Office the client is going to want to install.
Doesn't that defeat the purpose of preinstalling the thing in the first place?
I'm also uneasy about not getting media for OEM stuff. Microsoft's "buy a backup disk" policy is cumbersome, time consuming and expensive for Microsoft.
It's another example of big IT vendors being penny wise and pound foolish. They might save a few bucks in stopping people re-using OEM disks, but their increased support costs and the generally irritation is going cost them far more.
In fact, I'm so irritated by it, I'm recommending people try Open Office or the Google apps.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Symantec renewal blues
One of the great assets Symantec has is it's band of loyal customers: No matter how buggy, bloated or overpriced their product, these trusting folk keep coming back.
But they seem to be getting their renewal process badly wrong. We get two or three calls a week from customers who couldn't update their subscriptions because of bugs in Symantec's processes.
Yesterday, I got a phone call from a nice lady who's been using Norton Anti Virus for ten years (it was good back then) she found she couldn't activate the renewal she paid for.
So she tried to contact them. The support web site shows the waiting time for live chat and email responses. At the time she tried to start a live chat session it claimed a 30 minute wait and she was 84th in the queue.
90 minutes later she was still 84th in the queue.
It boggles my mind how these businesses are trashing their good name. Symantec is still the market leader in the home desktop security market. Yet they seem determined to fritter this asset away.
Instead of taking over more businesses or getting into silly fights with Microsoft, they need to focus on getting their core products and customer service right. The goodwill they have is being tested. Sooner or later, even their most loyal customers will give up on them.
But they seem to be getting their renewal process badly wrong. We get two or three calls a week from customers who couldn't update their subscriptions because of bugs in Symantec's processes.
Yesterday, I got a phone call from a nice lady who's been using Norton Anti Virus for ten years (it was good back then) she found she couldn't activate the renewal she paid for.
So she tried to contact them. The support web site shows the waiting time for live chat and email responses. At the time she tried to start a live chat session it claimed a 30 minute wait and she was 84th in the queue.
90 minutes later she was still 84th in the queue.
It boggles my mind how these businesses are trashing their good name. Symantec is still the market leader in the home desktop security market. Yet they seem determined to fritter this asset away.
Instead of taking over more businesses or getting into silly fights with Microsoft, they need to focus on getting their core products and customer service right. The goodwill they have is being tested. Sooner or later, even their most loyal customers will give up on them.
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