Goodbye Google?

I opted for a Gmail account back in the day when you still needed an invite to get it. It still said “Beta” on the logo. My gmail account has been my primary email address for pretty much EVER. I had an over abundance of blog subscriptions in my Google Reader.  I’ve got stuff in Google Drive. I use Google Calendar to share data with my hubby who’s an Apple fan-boy.  This blog is on Blogger.

And now I’m falling out of love. I’m worried about the compatibility with Microsoft and Windows 8, on my computer and on my phone. The end of support (and extension of support) for Exchange Active Sync is worrisome. And now they’ve told everyone to use CalDAV, but that’s going away too.  And Reader, well, everyone knows about what’s going on with Reader.

But my gmail address is so ingrained in stuff, I’m just not sure I’ll ever be able to cut the ties. But maybe a partial migration – I’m not sure. I’m really liking the two-factor authentication features. So instead of rushing and making any rash decisions, I’m taking it slow.

When it comes up, I change an email address registered with something away from my Gmail address. Starting to spread my eggs around in some other baskets, so to speak.

I took this opportunity to start fresh with my RSS feeds.  Today, instead of hunting for a place to move my subscriptions to, I culled them down to about a dozen feeds that I gravitate toward on a daily basis. New feeds will have to earn their place on my reading list and I’m hoping by July 1st, I’ll have found a new home for them.

What are you plans for your use of Google services?  Have they finally jumped the shark?

New Toys: HP Envy x2

I landed myself a new toy a few weeks ago, an HP Envy x2 laptop/tablet convertable. The screen is detachable so you can opt to just take the tablet portion with you.  I was considering a Microsoft Surface Pro, but I was facing some upcoming travel at the time and wanted to go with a device I could be sure would arrive before I left and I REALLY wanted a real keyboard.

The HP Envy x2 is has 2 gigs of RAM and 64 gigs of storage space, basic Windows 8 pre-installed with a 32-bit Atom processor.  This is NOT a workhorse machine.  I consider it more like RT-plus; able to install all sorts of Windows applications, but doesn’t have any of the enterprise features. 
However, it makes a great “portal” to the Internet, any of your cloud storage and the battery life is pretty decent. I’ve taken it to several conferences and it’s lasted all day connected to WiFi and performing the type of tasks you’d often do while attending a conference – taking notes, checking email, browsing the web, social media, etc.

The majority of the guts of the machine are behind the screen – battery and hard-drive, etc, otherwise it wouldn’t work when disconnected from the keyboard base.  The keyboard contains another battery and it will use the keyboard battery first when connected to that, leaving you the most charge possible while you are in tablet mode.

Couple things that bug me:

  1. The screen is top heavy compared to the base when it’s connected.  It will sit fine on your desk, but tends to want to topple backwards if it’s on your lap. Also, it will rock if you are tapping moderately hard on the touchscreen.
  2. When the two parts are connected and folded closed, the machine is slim and slides in and out of a laptop bag easily. When the screen is disconnected the hinge where the screen snaps in is locked in it’s open configuration, making it easy to snag on the edges of a bag and difficult to stow when you only need the tablet part. I find myself wishing for a little latch I could switch to swing it back into closed position.
  3. The spacebar is really sensitive, often giving me an extra space when I’m not expecting it. That just takes a little getting used to. I’m not a big fan of the “island” or “chicklet” keyboard style – with all the keys evenly spaced in straight rows – but that’s my own personal issue.

Good things:

  1. The touch screen is bright and responsive.
  2. The power cord isn’t very bulky or huge. It has a proprietary connector that’s flatter than most laptop connectors to allow for the cord to power the device in laptop or tablet mode.
  3. It has a great all metal casing, so it feels sturdy. Of course, this means it can’t be serviced by the user, or probably much at all. 
  4. At least one of the USB ports is powered even when the device is off, so you can charge your phone. I discovered this when I was at a hotel where the available plugs were pretty far from the bed. I was able to use the longer computer power cord as an extension to bring the laptop closer to the bed and then charge my phone from the laptop, allowing me to keep the phone on the bedside table.  (A must when your phone is also your alarm!)

The bottom line, I’m pretty happy with the device overall.  It’s pretty unique its design and meets my needs. 

To Trash or Archive? That is the Question…

I’ve spending most of the week here in chilly Bellevue, WA at the MVP Summit!  For this trip, I’m staying connected with my Windows Phone 7 and my new HP Envy X2 with Windows 8. I’m  accessing my Gmail account from both OSes and I noticed something interesting with the handling of mail within their individual apps.

On the Windows Phone, the mail application has a trash icon for deleting messages.  When I delete from the phone, the API call to Google is “archive” and that message is simply archived and moved out of my inbox.

On the Windows 8 native Mail application, the trash icon sends the API call for “delete” to Google, sending the message to the trash, which is removed after 30 days.

Perhaps the reason is because when you are on your phone, you probably aren’t actively “managing” messages and archiving them allows you to remove them from your device, but not really delete them.  From your computer, you might be more actively sorting and addressing messages, where a true “delete” function is more desirable.  Or maybe I’m over thinking it.  Since the applications were developed by different Microsoft product groups, they simply selected different API functions. 

While it might be desirable to have the same experience across both of my Windows devices, I can use the difference to my advantage – making sure that my mail ends up where I want it, depending on where I delete it from.

AT&T: The Great Teacher

Ah, AT&T.  My favorite service provider.  My day just wouldn’t be complete without them and they’ve taught me so much.  Let’s recap:

1) When you have a problem dialing one number in your DID block, you can not open a ticket using the automated system – because a DID number is not a PRI circuit, nor is it an individual line and those are the only two choices available.  Also, it is remarkably difficult (near impossible) to open a ticket without using the automated system.

2) When you open a ticket for your PRI circuit, simply so you can then talk to technician to tell them it’s not really your circuit you are having trouble with, they will immediately test your circuit.  Thus disconnecting you.

3) When you move from one PRI circuit to another, your DID numbers must be both ported to the switch and programmed to the circuit.  Both parts might not actually be done, even though they are both required for a functioning number.

4) It takes no less that 4 people (and 4 visits) to install a managed, fiber Internet circuit.

5) When they seamlessly cut your IP addresses over to that new circuit, the technician will not know that the DNS system will automatically suspend your reverse DNS zone.  No one will tell you this.

6) Not even the first DNS technician you talk to a day later after you discover some places won’t accept your email because your reverse DNS records are missing.

7) But the 2nd guy you talk to will know this.  But it’s something they discover accidentally as they do their job.  It’s not written down anywhere.

Now if they would only tell me where to send the gear from our old managed Internet connection, I’d be golden.

Detail Levels in Outlook Calendar

In the monthly view on the Outlook 2010 calendar, you have the option of several “Detail Views” – Low, Medium and High. If you accidentally select anything other than the default of high, you might be in for a surprise – with any other view most of your calendar items don’t appear.

  • Show Low Detail – Only holidays appear on a blank calendar.
  • Show Medium Detail – Holidays and color bars appear that indicate days on which you have calendar items.
  • Show High Detail – Time and header information, including category colors for calendar items appear.

I’m not exactly sure when I’d have a use for any view other than high detail, but this is useful information in case appointments suddenly disappear for you or someone you support.

She’s Geeky – Just Hack It

Last week, I enjoyed my 4th time at the She’s Geeky Un-Conference.  If you are a woman, you really shouldn’t miss out on a chance to network and share your geeky-ness with other like-minded women.  And maybe not even like-minded… I even learned about the science behind making balloon animals this year.  What a fun way to unwind!

One of the quotes tweeted around after one of the conference days was “Whatever you want different in life, you should hack it.”

It was tweeted by a IT friend of mine in attendance and a noticed by another non-IT friend to whom I had recommended they work together on a project.  I received an email expressing concern that my IT friend was not “reputable” because she was endorsing HACKING. OMG.

Yeah. So here is my PSA.

Hacking isn’t criminal by nature. That’s just how the word is mostly in the common media. It’s gotten a bad rap, but really it’s about embracing discovery, learning and improvement. Like anything, you can apply it to more that just computers and technology and you can use it for good or for less than good. You can choose to make things worse for others, or you can choose to make things better for everyone.

So get out there and “hack” the things in your life that aren’t the way you want.  Learn a new skill, figure out ways to change things that don’t work well. Use something “off label”. Order off the menu from time to time.

Need an example?

This particular post (Beth Scott, @scanlime) embodies that quote from above in a way I can’t even describe (and the topic is generally NSFW) but you’ll see what I mean when you take a look. I’m not that skilled in electronic circuits and I don’t have that awesome 3D printer, but this takes hacking your life right to the, um, edge.

So, get out there and “hack” your life a bit.  You’ll be better off for it.

Going Home is Hard

One of the major projects for the end of 2012 was moving the office to a new location.  It’s been quite the learning experience, but it’s not often the average Sys Admin gets to help out planning and designing for a whole new data center.  So it’s been pretty cool overall.

As part of the moving process, I deal with all the telecommunications.  I started early with AT&T to lay the ground work, trying to eliminate as many possible problems as I could. But alas, it was mostly in vain.

Today will be the 2nd official work day in the new office where several staffers (including executives) and our fax machines are experiencing an issue where they aren’t receiving any inbound calls from outside our PBX system.

Some history:  We have two 100 blocks of DID (direct inward dial) numbers. The numbers are “native” to a switch/central office we’ll call SANFRAN01.  Our office, before my time here, was located a building that was serviced by SANFRAN01.  Over 10 years go, the office moved a short distance, but to a location serviced by a different switch (SANFRAN21).   AT&T did some fancy footwork and allowed my company to keep their block of numbers.

Fast forward to now.  The office has moved again.  This time back to a building located in SANFRAN01.  “Fabulous” says AT&T, “Your phone numbers are going home!”

Except some have gotten lost on the way.  When our new PRI was turned up on Monday, the DIDs were cut over and some random number of them (from each block) have appeared to have taken a detour. Or a vacation.

So far, AT&T has taken well over 48 hours to solve the problem and it’s still unsolved, with little explanation.   I suspect some of the fancy-fancy footwork done over a decade ago is tripping some things up. The ticket has been “escalated”.  My AT&T rep probably cringes every time he sees me calling.

But I guess he doesn’t have to worry for long – I also got a call today from my “new” AT&T rep telling me she’s my new person starting in 2013.  “You mean like since yesterday?” I ask her.

“Yes”, she says.

I’m not sure she’s so happy she called me today.

Girls in Tech LA hosts Windows 8 Unleashed!

Here’s a great event for you tech ladies in the LA area… Jessica is a friend of mine, so I know she organizes and gets behind some fabulous events!

WHAT: Girls in Tech LA partners with Microsoft and UberGeekGirl‘s Jessica DeVita (Microsoft MVP) to present a class on Windows 8 mobile and desktop apps! At this all-day workshop, Microsoft evangelists will thoroughly train from soup to nuts. By mid-day you’ll be building an app with an all-star team!

WHO: Calling all FEMALE college students and professionals throughout LA – aspiring and experienced female coders, developers and app-builders! Required: Very basic programming experience.

WHERE: Microsoft Office in Downtown LA

WHEN: Date: Saturday, January 19, 2013

WHY: Girls in Tech LA realizes the untapped pool of aspiring female developers and we make it our goal to provide opportunities for growth, education and exciting challenges.

Why Windows 8? Microsoft Surface is selling out, Windows 8 mobile is going gang busters! Join Microsoft and Girls in Tech LA to learn how to make money with your app and capitalize on the next generation of tablets. We’ll even show you how to market your app in the Microsoft app store!

BRING: A laptop (Windows or Mac)

To register, go to http://gitlawindows8unleashed.eventbrite.com/

Windows 8 Road Test

I have Windows 8 installed in two locations, on my “lab” box at work, which is standard monitor/mouse/keyboard and on my Lenovo W510 laptop at home, which has a two-point touch screen.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I used Windows 8 back when it was in it’s Release Candidate days. I have an out of the box install as a Windows-To-Go stick that I played with from time to time.  But I really didn’t get down and dirty with it until I started using it as my main machine at home and have it in front of me all day at the office.

My “first” impressions?

It’s bigger. Visually bigger. Fluffy even. The tiles are great, I don’t mind that as my start screen. But the resolution on everything just seems big, even though I have it set to highest possible. The built-in mail application. The calendar.  My contact list.  I might be getting older, but I’m not THAT old yet. My vision is still hanging on, I swear. I just like to have more of my data visible. (And in a smaller font so that the people in the next cube can’t read what I’m typing.)

I don’t mind not having touch screen capabilities on my full sized monitor.  While I occasionally find myself about to tap the screen, I’m happy with the way the mouse and keyboard work.  I find myself using the keyboard to bring up menu options and to get back to the Start page quickly.

I’m annoyed that the “Messenging” application can’t connect to gChat, or any commonly used instant messaging service for that matter.  And the mail application is pretty bare bones, to put it nicely.

I miss having multiple applications “open” at the same time, unless I’m using the Desktop. I know they are running in the background, but sometimes its feels like they aren’t really there unless I can see them. Now only having one application active on your screen could be handy when you are trying to concentrate on that ONE thing, but when the computer is just there in the background with Rowi (for Twitter) going and IM+ (for connecting to Yahoo! and gChat) and my personal email, I feel like I want to see them all.

Right now, Windows 8 makes me wish I had a Surface or a laptop that converts to a tablet format, since I feel like it’s better for a device that’s more “private” than a desktop monitor.  I’d love some kind of feature or setting you could change that would make better use of the real estate provided by a regular monitor.

Meanwhile, I’ll stick with it – I know there’s more to love as I use it more and more.

Windows 8 with Stephen Rose at PacITPros!

Ah, 2012 is quickly drawing to a close and the Pacific IT Professionals are proud to have Stephen Rose presenting on Windows 8 at our December 4th meeting.

Stephen Rose is the Sr. Product Marketing and Community Manager for the Windows Commercial Team at Microsoft Headquarters in Redmond, WA. Before joining Microsoft, Stephen spent 15 years working as a network infrastructure design and virtualization consultant for many Fortune 500 companies. His current role includes managing the IT pro community for the Windows Commercial team overseeing the technical content on the Springboard Series on TechNet, managing the Windows7 Forums, the Springboard Insider Newsletter, and the Windows Team Blog.

According to a Gartner study, the average user carries 3 devices, a tablet, a smartphone and a PC every day. With the release of Windows 8 and Server 2012, how does this change how you manage your users while taking advantage of the many new ways to make your users productive? Stephen Rose, Sr Product Marketing Manager with the Windows team will discuss the impact  and opportunities that Windows 8 will have on users, IT pros and developers. From a new fast and fluid UI  to being able to manage and deploy custom Windows 8 applications,Windows 8 brings new opportunities to users and business.

RSVP here!

Also, since the first Tuesday in January 2013 happens to be New Years Day, there will be NO PacITPros meeting in January.