Thursday, July 31, 2014

Linksys could be hiring Comcast Customer Service people

Why does Customer Service have to start sucking everywhere? I  have enough issues with those you cannot connect but when you are paying for support it damn well ought to be the best.

From the title this is obviously linked to Linksys. I have been Linksys router user for years, I have owned a number of routers and  have always been pleased with their router’s and their life span. Today my love affair with Linksys has gone away.

A little history: In September of 2013 I purchased a Linksys EA2700 WiFi Wireless N600 router. It fit my needs and yet may have been a little overkill for practical purposes. In April of this year (2014), while having some issues with the router I called Linksys Support. I purchased a phone support package for 6 months @ $39.99. I did not think that was too bad. .I had some issues in June of 2014 and I called and got great service and actually learned some things to keep from calling again. That was until July.

Now the issue: Out great cable company, TWC, went down for about 2 days (may have been longer, we were out of town). When the system came back up I could not get the router to see the modem. I spent some time rebooting modems and routers. I could access the router via a web browser however just could not get it to connect to (or talk to) the cable modem. So I called Linksys.

A nice gentleman connected with me and although the connection wasn’t the best (sounded like a radio phone of days gone by) we were able to communicate and he verified who I was and then started into a spiel about since I was having so much trouble with this router they would be inclined to give me a $15 rebate on my contract toward the purchase of a new router. I said I did not want to purchase a new router however he persisted. Finally he gets to a  point of saying he would be glad to suggest a better router for me and again they would provide a $15 rebate. He inferred that I had an old router – hmm – by about 10 months.

I said something to the effect that I will be looking at new routers however Linksys may not be on the list and at that point I thanked him and hung up. I didn’t wait, I had reached my limit. What a waste of time.

The take away from this was that Linksys router’s may only be good for 6 to 10 months – even if you purchase the service contract. I would hope that is not true however it’s the best I know.

Just a note: I downloaded and re-installed the software (using the Linksys site) and the router is working fine. Something my friend at Linksys could have fixed much faster if he wasn’t hell-bent on scoring a new router sale. Hmm…..I wonder if sales is not in charge of Customer Support? I think that is what happened someplace else.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

My Office 365 Home and Office Just Got 1 TB Of Online Space


In Computerworld last night I read the linked below and went to check and sure enough I have 1 TB of Online Storage space now,. The blog post pretty well spells out who gets it. The interesting thing I found is that the 7 GB of storage for non-subscribers (or those with an Outlook email address) is going to 15 GB. In all reality that may be as much as anyone individual needs.

I have a couple of issues. The first being I have had a number of corrupted files over the months that I have had a subscription to Office 365. The second one is the upload time also appears to be slow. I measure that by uploading to Dropbox or Google Drive - which both appear to be faster.

If I could ask for anything at any of the currently 3 big online storage providers that would be an ability to Share with TOTAL control over my whole online storage account. My wife and I share everything and if I needed to hide something I could use a different service. I would like her to sign in with her account and yet I could give her complete access to all I have stored and not folder by folder. I really believe that if this is going to be for Home and Office that needs to be.

Right now we share Google Calendar and it is as if we are both using the same calendar. We both enter items and we both can edit each others items. It's like having one calendar for both. I know many others that do this.

One of the reasons I am considering going with Dropbox is that I can give her my access and she can get into anything that is there. We could use it to backup files for both of us. I cannot do that on OneDrive or easily on Google Drive. I can share specific folders however that is not what I want to do.

We all have different needs and I am sure that I am not the only one with this issue.

OK here is the link to the article for the details on the 1TB drive update.

Microsoft boosts OneDrive storage to free terabyte - Computerworld:

Enjoy!!

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Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Instead of Fighting Chromebooks Microsoft Want To Use Them

In today's TechRepublic there was an article: Microsoft ready to go head-to-head with Chromebooks and Android tablets - TechRepublic: and after reading about IBM getting caught up with Apple it was my thought that Microsoft might want to get better acquainted with the Chromebook.

Compared to the Chromebook most of Microsoft's (and partner's) hardware is bloated, heavy, and out-of-touch (not to mention out of date). Just sayin'.....

Microsoft in the last months released Word and Excel to the iPad and it is time they released it to Android.

I think one thing that is being overlooked here is Google is trying to connect the world to data and they are also working with IBM. They got into the hardware business because everything else was bloated and not necessary. Hardware today is a commodity and we need that which we can use easily, everywhere, and is exciting. That is E3 or better said E to the Third Power - it's Everywhere, it's Easy, and it's Exciting.

Once again I have to say it is time Microsoft started to think about separating Windows and Office. In today's world tying your software to the Operating System is hindering the software sales. Some of the best app's are across all OS's. Something like Evernote which has hurt OneNote in the last few years. There are others.

Recently I had a CPA I know come up to me and tell me all about his new purchase of a Samsung Galaxy S tablet.  This is the same CPA that not too long ago stated his big concern was Excel and Word and had therefore put off anything until Microsoft did something he thought would work. Well change of plans. He is now using Samsung and has found an app that will allow him to open and work with his Excel files. He is so delighted that he does not have to carry around his laptop wherever he goes. He does a lot of reading and the Kindle App is also very good. He was so excited.

Maybe it's time for Microsoft to re-think the re-think - or did they already do that? Hmm......

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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Apple forge enterprise app pact - Oh Baby, What's Next?

Very interesting read. Although they do knock Android at the end and give Microsoft some chance.

There are two articles you should read.
It is my belief that in the next few years the Windows platform will lose ground to the mobile devices which are supporting 'other' operating systems.  I also believe that Microsoft is going to have to separate Windows and Office. The control of Windows Operating System is losing and Office, to succeed, needs to be on all devices beyond Windows devices - and quickly. 

The second article above is a bit more general and I believe that Android is making inroads to the Enterprise through the Consumer and that is the important part. The "USER" is the most important asset of any Enterprise and they, the "USER", are getting smarter and smarter, quicker and quicker, better and better, at every turn in this world of technology. 

I am impressed with how many people I talk to, not in the tech world, that have Samsung TV's and are transmitting things from their phone, as well as laptop or tablet, to their TV. People who 3 years ago would have laughed at you. 3 years ago.

This is a different world than it was in 2010 and it will be greatly different by the end of 2015. If you are not thinking away from your past methods you could be left behind. 

Or, better put, If you continue to think along the path that it took you to get where you are you will never get ahead. Times change, you must be ahead of the change. Get excited about the future not fearful.




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