2006 Archives

(The following comments, as usual, do not necessarily represent the opinions of C&P)

This morning, a graphic designer friend of mine sent me this link.

Now I don't want to get into a tiff over DRM here, but I generally oppose it. A few thoughts after reading this article:

1. The author, Michael Arrington, appears to be a Mac guy and opposes DRM (if the problem there isn't immediately apparent, wait until the 2nd observation). He takes pleasure at Gates walking into a room full of Macs and even includes a link to the AirPort Express, noting that someone had set up an AirPort network. For some reason, he didn't include a product link for the Zune, which he was given at the event.

2. Apple's hands are so far from clean on this issue that it's hardly worth debating. What do I mean? Read this and if you're a frequent iTunes downloader, brace yourself. I do enjoy using Apple products, but I'm painfully aware of how unfair iTunes is for artists, particularly those on major labels (don't worry, I still sleep well at night knowing that Bono will always have a roof over his head).

3. Gates didn't say much, but what he did say was encouraging. I've mentioned my concern with phoning-home in Vista before and I'll reiterate: I can only see it making life rougher for users, rather than easier. But it's good to hear Gates admit that he's no fan of the current situation and that DRM “causes too much pain for legitmate buyers.”

It's too bad that there's no clear direction for this, but hopefully some creative ideas will be brought to the arena soon, so we can avoid fiascos like Coldplay's X&Y from early this year.

We're crossing our fingers, but it appears that this may have been the culprit:

Another problem-filled day passed before the technician came back to install it. Since the new power supply went in, we've been ok, so hopefully our phone woes are now a thing of the past. If it turns out this was the sole problem with the hardware end (not the only problem, we know, since AT&T had to replace some cabling out in the street), then that's a disappointing piece of troubleshooting. After the months spent in high-level testing, for it to be a cable, is just... sad.

So you might be wondering, what good has come along with the busy signals and disconnects at just the precisely wrong moment in your conversation with the helpdesk. Believe it or not, this "upgrade" has not been completely fruitless. Once it's stable, this will be more apparent, but since I could use the encouragement and I sure as hell won't get it from users or staff at this point, I submit the following:

Good things about the Great C&P Phone "Upgrade" Incident of 2006

• I’ve learned a lot about phones. It’d be a good resume item if I were looking (which I’m not). I realize that this means nothing to the reader and the caller, but it's not insignificant to me and I am having to stretch a bit to find the positive. While we're at it, I now have a clue what's in the following picture:

• I’ve found that the service we give here really is excellent (when the lines are up). We maintain meticulous records of all calls and do a good job of giving consistent support. The majority of calls to our helpdesk are answered in under a minute by someone capable of resolving the question without a transfer. I haven't seen that level of quality support from any other company except my insurance company (USAA) and American Express. Sorry, Apple, love the product, but there are more than a couple goons manning the phones over at 1 Infinite Loop.

• Internal reports (which our old green-screen system was incapable of accurately generating) are showing that we’re better handling our current volume of calls and with greater distribution amongst our helpdesk members.

• Our sales department gives great web demos. The ones we endured from both equipment vendors were painfully bad. Many of our questions were simple, yet unanswerable by those doing the demo and the "format" was very loose (to put it lightly). Unprofessional.

I don't know if that will remove any of the sting of a disconnect, but this short-term problem will eventually be worked out for long-term benefit. Until then, we've got 6 repair cases open with the equipment vendor and another two with the telco.

Before I continue the story, I'd like to say how excited I am to be attending the Macworld Expo this year. We'll have a small booth in the Apple Developer Pavilion to show off the new 10.1 update as well as ASAP 2.0. While not at the booth, I'll be attempting to crash sessions in the MacIT conference. Sadly, exhibitors don't get access to the Stevenote.

Back to the phones.

(this is the BCM, the brain of the system, and bane of my existence)

Our first big issue was long periods of time were we couldn’t access voicemail. To fix it each time, we’d reboot the system (a 10-15 minute affair during which we couldn’t make or receive calls). Technicians came out repeatedly, scratched their heads, contradicted each other, applied patches, and sent logs overseas for analysis (which proved fruitless). At first, they explained that this was unusual, but after awhile, one of the techs finally told us that it was a known issue and they had released a patch to fix it. Unfortunately, the patch caused other bugs, so the patch was rolled back, then later applied.

As soon as the voicemail situation was resolved, we ran into a much worse issue - dropped calls. Periodically, all lines would simply go dead. Internal calls were fine, but all external lines were dead, both incoming and outgoing. Obviously, for a call center, that’s bad news. Helpdesk members were getting frustrated and a few started using their cell phones to return calls. I’d leave messages, they’d run tests, which would have us down for sometimes an hour, and nothing ever changed. I got our telephone company, ACC, together with Black Box, but that didn’t go well either. ACC failed to show up to a vendor meet and never called to explain why. Finally, AT&T came out and replaced some cabling in the street, which only helped for a day. Technicians are supposed to come out, don’t, and we get no call about it. Bad service abounds.

I know our clients are frustrated. We’re frustrated too and are doing everything in our power to resolve it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we’re at the mercy of poor customer service.

Now I must say that repeated frantic calls at all levels of the chain have proved somewhat helpful. Our equipment vendor has become more responsive, but at this moment it appears that the telco is more to blame and they're the ones who are terrible. They're a middleman for AT&T, who handles the lines, but I, of course, can't call AT&T directly for support, as I'm not their client. So this extra step is hurting us a lot.

In the midst of this mess, I have identified a few positive things, which I will share next time.

Happy belated Thanksgiving and welcome back. On with the story.

After wasting a month looking at the 3Com system, we decided to investigate our previous vendor, Nortel. I have no explanation for why we didn’t look at them first other than it never occurred to me that we could “upgrade” and preserve our current system design. Not having to retrain the staff on an entirely new system was very appealing.

We started talking with Black Box (a Nortel dealer) about upgrading with all new hardware. Despite a very rough sales process (bad web demos, repeated typos in proposals, having to jump through hoops to get to people who could answer our basic questions) we went with them (yes, I know, all red flags). We bought all new phones (including a fancy wireless speakerphone for the boardroom), hung a new rack, and switched from all analog lines to a voice T-1. After having to learn an entirely new vocabulary (having never implemented a new phone system before), fill out a 30+ page workbook to configure the rack unit (the BCM, aka “brain” of it all), and pay for all of it, I figured that the worst was behind us. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

In late August, the components started arriving and our installer showed up. Despite the fact that the programming I had filled out the immense workbook for wasn’t done properly and we had to redo it all onsite, the install went relatively smooth. We redesigned our call routing, distributed the new phones (which, fortunately, were similar enough to the old ones for the staff to transition smoothly), recorded new messages for those in queue, crossed our fingers, and flipped the switch.

We had a few hiccups at first, but were able to meet all of our goals. The estimated wait time system was working, helpdesk members were able to see who was on the phone and for how long, we could generate useful reports, and our routing was working as designed. We had no idea how sour things were about to turn....

As you may be aware, we've been having phone problems here at C&P for the past few months. To explain what's going on, I've decided to blog about it. Not only will it provide some insight into the situation, but it'll also explain the benefits behind the changes we've made. Also, I'm hoping it'll be therapeutic, since I'm at my wits end with it today and could use a place to vent.

I'll start at the very beginning... (which I'm told, is a very good place to start)

After visiting a local client of ours with state-of-the-art office technology in early 2006, I was inspired to look into a new phone system for C&P. Our existing system, Nortel Meridian, was purchased over 10 years ago and was really showing its age. The administration was all done from a single green-screen PC sitting in a server room and most configuration changes required a reboot *wgucg . Additionally, the reports that came out of it for time tracking were quite unreliable. Knowing that efficiency in call handling is crucial to our business, both in sales and the helpdesk, we were prepared to spend whatever was necessary for a solid product.

So, around March, I started shopping around. Our goals for the system were the following:

• Estimated wait time while in queue

• Web-based wallboarding (a web page showing agent status so that helpdesk members knew who was on the line, who was at lunch, and who was available to transfer to)

• Flexible reporting options (in order to see if we were adequately staffed for the volume of helpdesk calls)

• More options in call center routing (we wanted the sales department to employ a different routing system than the helpdesk)

The first system we looked at was a 3Com solution. These were the cool-looking IP phones that you see on tv all the time (in case you look at the phones). I do. They offered web-based administration with tons of options, even down to individual button programming. Unfortunately, the phones themselves were the only real strong suit of this package. During our multiple web demos we never were able to see the wallboard in action (were just told, “yeah, we have that”), the reports were powerful, yet very clunky (looked like they were designed around the same time as Windows 3.1), and the administration tool was an ugly, awkward, Windows-only affair. Not only that, but the system was pretty expensive (the call center package being ~$45k of the ~$100k expense). For other businesses who don’t need a call center package, I’m sure it’d be great, but it wasn’t for us.

Would have been nice to have those cool-looking phones, though.

(to be continued...)

This month, volume license customers get to begin the adventure of Windows Vista. The rest of us get to wait until late January of 2007. From our testing, I'll share a few observations.

1. It looks cool. The new alt-tab is a worthy competitor to Exposé in OS X (assuming your computer has the graphic might to run it smoothly).

2. Improved user-friendliness. From the redesigned install process, to more intuitive control panels, to the new application launching using the Windows key, and numerous other little changes, it looks like quite an improvement over XP.

3. More "Mac-like". I don't care if it imitates OS X. Imitation, flattery, whatever. If it makes it a better product, so be it. Plenty of other industries "borrow" design elements from each other. Ever notice how many sport sedans look like BMWs nowadays? Designers see winning elements, imitate them, and it becomes a trend. At C&P, we certainly know what that's like, seeing our own terminology used by imitators.

As for the not-so-nice, I'm not pleased about the frequent "phone-home" feature I've heard about. At this point, RC1 appears to run C&P X just fine, but we have had issues connecting to OS X Server volumes. So while it looks good, caution in upgrading is advised (as always).

A few months ago, I traveled back east to visit a client of ours in North Carolina (and have a little vacation). While out there, I knew where I was staying wouldn't have wireless internet and my MacBook Pro would only function at a fraction of its normally high level of productivity. I lamented over how I could and should have brought my AirPort Express and resolved that if I happened to go past a store that had them, I'd buy one. I figured it was an extremely long shot, but was soon proven wrong when I walked past this in the Atlanta airport during a connection:

Before me was the greatest vending machine I have ever laid eyes on. Behold the "zoom shop"! The ultimate geek machine! Loaded up with iPods, PSPs, Game Boys, headphones, power adapters, external hard drives, and (you guessed it) AirPort Express. My travelling companion was not half as excited about this find as I was as I fumbled around for my digital camera and credit card.

In my defense, I was not the only one amused enough to stop for photos.

After a short and painless transaction and an entertaining display of mechanical genius which fetched my hardware, the deal was done. With prize in hand and images on memory stick I headed off for my connecting flight.

From time to time, clients send us their databases. Sometimes it's to convert from an old version, sometimes it's to troubleshoot an issue that we can't duplicate, and sometimes it's just to see how shops are putting certain features to use so that we can make improvements. When we receive a database, we need a login and password to get in. The default MGR login with no password is fine if users want to re-create it before sending (though hopefully it wasn't there already), but sometimes we're given another password.

As someone who has seen a lot of databases and is also a sys admin, I can safely say that I've seen a lot of passwords. Most of them quite bad. And for those thinking Big Brother, don't worry. We have no access to your offsite data. Not only that, but you're protected through the confidentiality section in the C&P license agreement.

Fortunately, I've never heard any stories of unauthorized access to C&P data, but that doesn't mean that simplistic passwords are ever a good idea. Most security breaches nowadays are internal, so spending a lot of time and effort securing your network against Icelandic hackers, doesn't prevent a disgruntled soon-to-be ex-employee from making a mess of your books under someone else's login.

Apple and Microsoft both offer password checkers, which can tell you whether you've got an ironclad tricky password or one easily guessed.

Microsoft:

You have to be a bit sneaky with Apple's, but it is significantly more full-featured (surprising, huh?). Within system preferences > accounts, choose change password, then click the key icon and you can test whatever password you like. Just hit cancel afterwards or you'll alter your OS X login. It offers some colorful suggestions, as seen here:

I'll be honest. I don't use passwords as long as that. The only places I've used passwords like that were 128-bit WEP keys for wireless networks. Still, in most offices there's a lot of room for improvement in this area. And remember if you do use really complicated ones, don't write them on Post-Its only to be left in a desk drawer.

Short and sweet. Pick 5 free web apps/sites and justify them. As you'll see below, I'm big on accessibility and efficiency (you can call it laziness if you insist) . I'm also a fan of google products. I've tasted their kool-aid and I like it.

Google Reader
Great, easy, RSS reader with one-button subscription (with Firefox).

Google Browser Sync (for Firefox)
For anyone who works on multiple computers (isn't that almost all of us nowadays?), this allows you to share history, persistent cookies, tabs, windows, and saved passwords. For those concerned with security, you can choose what to sync and it periodically asks for your password.

TinyURL
Super simple, but I use this all the time. Ever get annoyed when forwarding or receiving long ugly links? Me too. This free site turns your long ugly link into a nice neat tiny one. For instance, see the following.

This:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=4755+Oceanside+Blvd.+92056&ie=UTF8&om=1

Becomes this:
http://tinyurl.com/mhhlm

And that's not even a bad one. I have this set up as a toolbar shortcut so it feeds me the tinyurl of any page I'm on with one click.

Flickr
Ok, this one is free, but offers premium features (which are well worth it) for $24.95/year. Fantastic place to store and share photos. Offers pretty much any feature you could imagine from a photo-sharing website. Their organize tool is amazingly intuitive. A model of smart design.

VNC
PC:

RealVNC (client and server)

Mac:

Chicken of the VNC (client)

OSXvnc (server)

This technology makes my day so much easier. From one interface I can control every server and workstation in the office. That's smart and efficient. Truth be told, I now use Apple Remote Desktop (http://www.apple.com/remotedesktop/), which is far from free (and doesn't offer upgrade pricing from earlier versions which infuriates me), but it integrates with any VNC server, so I can administer my Windows servers through it. It offers a host of other features, but perhaps I'll talk about my love for ARD another day.

So, leave some comments and let's hear your top 5!

I'm not too sure about the details of the Apple Developer Connection NDA, so I'll play it safe and not comment on my own experience with the pre-release version of OS X 10.5 Leopard, but I'll say one thing: Spaces will sell Leopard. Yeah, I know there have been methods to do this sort of thing for years, but it's all Apple-ized now and very user friendly.

The idea is pretty simple. You have multiple workspaces which all share a common dock. You can bind applications to always open in a certain space or to appear in all spaces. With one click you can view all your Spaces at once (very similar to expose) where you can drag apps from space to space. With up to 16 spaces, you can customize your work environment like never before. Look out Dashboard, you're going to lose your binding on my mighty mouse ball button to Spaces.

I know there's a lot more in Leopard, but if they stopped development right now and called it OS X 10.5 Spaces, I'd buy it. Recently, I suggested this to an Apple marketing rep, but his reply was "patience is a virtue."

R&D can be rough sometimes. I take the bullet of early adoption of new technology because our clients need to know how new hardware and software affects C&P. Since we usually buy at least one of every new Mac, it was time to get a Mac Pro. And seeing as it doesn't come with a monitor, today also became the day to get a 30" Cinema Display. Today was not a rough day. On with the pics!

This is Marcelo. Marcelo is on the C&P Helpdesk, works on our websites, does some graphic design, and really wishes he was getting this hardware for himself. Not today, Marcelo.

Fortunately, it fits on my desk (I would have gone to drastic measures to make it fit if it didn't). And, no, I don't regularly use that Viva 2400 baud modem.

What I lose in visibility out the window is more than made up for with 2560x1600 inside.

It's hard not to be a bit giddy here. And, yes, that IS a tiki bar in the background. Come out for a training class and perhaps I'll demonstrate my mixology skills.

For those who'd like to experience a 2560x1600 desktop without visiting the Apple store, click here.

The Mac Pro is a beast of a computer, though mine is beast-lite with only 1GB of ram (that's all they had at the Apple store) for now. Even Rosetta apps (like Photoshop) run nice and quick. They ran quick on my iMac Core Duo as well, but an extra 10" of real estate is the change I'm loving. C&P runs great on it, but it's serious overkill.

Welcome to the brand new C&P System Manager Blog, aka The Rantings of Chris. I can't promise they'll be useful for your agency, a productive use of your time, or even mildly amusing, but I'll do my best to present things which could be of interest to system managers, or enthusiasts of technology (read: geek-tendency) in general.

Your comments and feedback will provide important direction for the blog, so please do use those avenues liberally, and I'll censor them appropriately to preserve my oh-so-fragile ego.

This blog will address, but not be limited to, operating system development, servers, web technology, networking, security, email, office technology (e.g., phones, printers, nerf guns), and whatever else I find fit to write about (or someone else passes my way).

Until our next episode, thanks for stopping by and please come again when there's more of interest. Please do pass along any interesting news and should it make the cut, I'll publish it here.