Change in Electronics

For a while now I've been wanting to write something about the state of electronics today and how unfortunate it is that we live in such a disposable time.  Frequently I have to ask people "How old is your computer?" to which they usually say "Oh not that old, only about 4 years".  I then say something like "Well, that's actually very old for a computer", and they look at me with complete amazement and surprise.

The reality, especially for businesses who rely on productivity, is that computers are only good for about 3 years.  Now this isn't to say that computers will all die after three years and a day, but even a functioning computer isn't necessarily a "working" computer.  What it really comes down to, is the cost of time and the drain on resources to keep a computer running "past it's prime."

Now part of the reason that electronics just aren't build like they used to be, is because of the quality of components we're putting in them.  Back in the day (and what made this post come to mind) RAM was not a cheap thing that you could just buy extra and throw into a computer.  In fact, I was digging through some of my spare/scrap components the other day and came across a stick of memory with a price tag still on it.

512MB DDR 333 - $305.32

Now, this isn't even that old school, DDR (that's DDR 1 memory, before they started putting the number on it), if you can't see on the picture the price tag reads $305.32 - that's for 512MB of memory.  Today's prices, 1GB of DDR memory is $29.99.  And you thought computers were expensive in today's market?

Part of that price reduction is technology advancement and better manufacturing, but part of it is also cheaper components.  Why do they use cheaper components?  Because technology is moving so fast that computers are obsolete in such a short period of time, that building them to last forever is silly.  This is one of the reasons that 20 years ago computers cost $3-5000, and today they cost $3-500.

So, what makes the computer obsolete so quickly?  The first (and foremost) thing is advancement in technology, the underlying hardware that runs computers advances so rapidly that major new product lines are put out every year.  With these new advancements in hardware software vendors continue to advance their offerings based on the newest technology.  Things we take for granted like Adobe Flash, Java, Quicktime - all of these advance over time as well, they use more processing power and more resources to do the same job they used to do.  This leads to older computers starting to feel slow, even if all you do is keep your programs up-to-date.

So whats the moral of the story?  Don't hang on to hardware just because it still works, computers are built to be cheap and easy to afford, and they're also built with an expiration date.

Ask the IT Guy: Password Protecting a Single Folder

I shamelessly snagged this question from Facebook since it's an easy one to answer and I haven't quite launched my "Ask the IT Guy" service yet to get questions directed at me specifically.

Stacy Writes:

Does anyone know how to password protect just one folder on the desktop ?

Why Yes Stacy, I do know, and included here with your answer are some screenshots showing the flow.  There are a ton of different ways to go about this, some are more complicated than others.  If you are on a shared computer with separate users you can encrypt your folder which will prevent anyone else from accessing it, or if you only have a single user it will actually password protect the folder.  To do that check this information HERE.

If you are using Windows XP or Vista you can create a compressed zip folder and set a password on it.  To do that ... 

Right Click on the folder you are wanting to protect.

Select Send to -> Compressed Zip Folder

That will create a new zipped folder.  Delete the regular folder and open the zipped folder.  Under the file menu select Set Password.  Unfortunately I don't have Windows XP so I can't show you from that point, but the option should be there.

Other than that I don't know of any ways to do it without using third party software.  Most zip utilities (Winzip, Winrar, Winace, 7-Zip) will let you create a password protected zip file which Windows can use seamlessly as a compressed folder.

There are actually free software solutions out there that are solely made to do this - I haven't tried any of them myself, but after a bit of research I can recommend these for you.  The installations appear to be quick and easy and will do the job for you.

Microsoft Private Folder (Windows XP Only)

TrueCrypt (More complex program)

My Folder (32-bit Windows only)

My Lockbox (This actually removes and then restores the folder)

I'll run through the My Lockbox program for you, to give you an outline of the process.  This will allow you to protect a single folder, and will actually completely remove the folder so people won't even know it's there and being protected.

First, run the setup utility.

Select Next, accept the license agreement, Select the folder to install (click next), create a start menu folder (click next), click Install

Once the program is installed Select Next, Uncheck open release notes, click next and finish.

Now that the install is done, you can open the program (I opened it from my desktop).  You'll see two icons, one is My Lockbox, one is My Lockbox Control Panel.  Open My Lockbox

The program will ask for a password, this prevents access to the program itself, and is used to protect your folders.  Make sure you choose a password you will remember since there won't be an option to reset it in the future.

Once you've put in a password, it will tell you to set a folder to be protected, click Yes

Find the folder you wish to protect, I have it located on my desktop as you see here.  Select it and click OK

Now the folder will disappear - don't worry! It's still there, it is just located in the lockbox.  To restore the folder open your My Lockbox Control Panel.  Enter your password, then select Unlock.

This will restore the folder and you can use it as normal.  When you want to protect the folder, you have to lock it once more.

There are some advanced options where you can have the lockbox automatically lock the file after certain conditions, make sure to check them out and configure them to your own needs.  First click on the Advanced button on the left, then select the Options tab.

Symantec Event: Gaining Confidence in the Cloud

I was fortunate this week to get an invitation to a Symantec sponsored event in Calgary dealing with Cloud Computing and all the products and solutions Symantec offers inside of the cloud.  It's been a while since I've taken time to start attending conferences and the like (I repeatedly say that it's something I need to do more often) and I had a great time.

The event started early (8:30am) which meant I had to be on the road by about 7am to get there on time.  I was glad I'd double checked where I was going the day before and it clicked in my head that it was right in the center of downtown Calgary at 8 in the morning, so I'd have to leave some extra time for traffic.

There was parking right across the street (OMG how expensive it was - next time I'll find somewhere cheaper) which was good because even with the extra time I'd left I was almost late.

Front Desk area of the Hyatt Regency

If you haven't been to the Hyatt Regency downtown I'd recommend just walking inside to take a look around.  I love the insides of large buildings so I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.  I even managed to snap a few pictures with my new Playbook that I was blogging about previously.  The pictures were actually an afterthought on my way out, but I got them all the same.

So - arriving, I had no idea what I was doing or where to go.  I always hate being put in those situations because I don't want to look foolish by doing something I shouldn't be doing.  Fortunately, right across from the main entryway was a sign listing all the conferences.  I went straight there to double check that I was in the right place.  I didn't see my conference listed - great.  Though maybe it wasn't listed, there was lots of other stuff going on and they might have run out of room.

After taking a quick survey of the area I decided to head up the escalator to the second level (the internal pedway) and maybe find a map or something there that had more information.  I found both a map, and another screen showing the events of the day.  Someone was using the events screen when I arrived (I realized at this point it was touch sensitive) so I went in behind him when he left and found the scroll arrow to show the rest of the conferences.  Happily mine was listed and I found it without further problems.

At registration I got a cool leather notebook embossed with Symantec and their logo.  I've been looking for a decent notebook, the notepad I carry around gets pretty ravaged after a short period of time.  It was also great to have for the conference itself and I found myself taking copious notes.

Heading upstairs at the Hyatt Regency

Normally I'm not a breakfast person, but the breakfast they served for this event was far from your usual continental.  There was 5 different kinds of cereal, juice (orange and apple), some type of potato casserole, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage.  When I was awake enough to appreciate the bacon I served myself up a plate just in time for the keynote speaker to get things started.

It was also an interesting table that I found myself at.  When I arrived there were two other guys, one on a laptop, one on a tablet.  I sat down and pulled out my Playbook, another fellow arrived with a tablet - then another.  I think in the end our table was full of tablet users, and we didn't really chat much.  I guess this just proves that we all live more in the virtual world than the physical.  Unfortunately for me, I'm never off the clock, so I was actually doing work and not messing around - maybe the rest of the guys were too.

I'm still new to the whole Cloud Computing everything, so most of what I heard was new to me.  Including the Gartner Hype Cycle (which is actually a good graph for life as a whole) that shows how new trends in technology rise and fall before plateauing somewhere in the middle.

I was also happy to learn that in my quest to begin virtualizing some clients I was well on my way to entering the cloud computing world.  I was also pleased to discover that I didn't have to jump in anywhere with both feet, that you can easily both consume services or extend current service into the cloud and integrate it with your current infrastructure without any major changes.

Further breakout sessions delved more into the ways that you can extend into the cloud, as well as focusing on security concerns (which were a big thing for me).  One thing that was mentioned that caught me a bit off guard were some services that I had noticed in passing installed on user's computers (dropbox, box, office 365).  I hadn't really thought of those programs as 'cloud computing' but they are, and should be treated that way.  Really the bottom line was "cloud computing is already here, what do I do now?"  My brain has been working in circles wondering what I need to do to make sure that my clients aren't being opened up to risk by using these services and what recommendations I can make to keep them safe and secure.

One of the major points that was repeatedly spoken about was Symantec's web gateway and Data Loss Prevention software.  Both of which I'm going to be further researching in the coming weeks to see if it's viable for me to work in as tech plan suggestions for the near future.

Alas, the conference was over much too quickly and it was time to get back to the real world.  I did learn about the next conference later this month which I'll try to attend as well.  On my way out I saw an interesting sculpture which actually prompted me to take the pictures that I've posted here.  I was admiring it with a smile wishing I had a camera, then I looked down at my Playbook and realized that I did!  My Playbook takes decent pictures when I can hold it still enough, they're huge (both in scale and in size) but I actually find that a benefit.

The sculpture that caught my eye

Those of you I met there - it was a pleasure - and I hope to see some of the rest of you at the next events nearby.

Playbook Arrival

After all the work I went through to get my phone prepped and ready for connection it was a long next couple of days waiting for it to arrive.  I stalked the package tracking information and watched as it shipped, arrived and shipped again, then I was thrilled when it was out for delivery a full two days before I was going to "need" it for my next business trip.

I waited all that day, and no package arrived.  I was baffled, so at closing I went to check the tracking information and what did I find?  There was a note saying the delivery guy had come and found us closed for the day.  I found that surprising since there is always someone by the front door and both doors have bells in case no one is there to hear a knock.  It did happen over the lunch hour though, so I figured that as unlikely as it was, maybe it really did happen.  So, my hopes were dashed with cold water once more and I had to wait another day.



No ransom was requested from these playbook kidnappers

 The next day I ate at work and watched the front door like a hawk over the lunch hour just in case it happened again.  No one came - more disappointment.  All day I watched the tracking information religiously, and when quitting time came around it still hadn't arrived.  I quickly checked the website to see what their delivery schedules were ... latest delivery time was at 6pm, it was now 4pm.  I decided to hang around for a while longer, it isn't like I ever have a shortage of work to do.  Five o'clock came and went, and around 5:30 I checked in on the tracking again.  Once more the delivery was marked as failed because we were closed.  Impossible!

Now, when I say I "needed" the playbook for the next day, I meant I really, really wanted it - and I was going away for the weekend and would find it infinitely useful.  I will also admit to being upset that the delivery guy couldn't be bothered to ring the doorbell to do his job.  I made a phone call to the delivery company in a semi-rational state, and looking back I feel a bit sorry for the guy who had to take my call, but he was pleasant enough and helpful and arranged for me to pick up my package at the depot in Calgary by 6:30pm.  He assured me that it would be ready for pickup at that time - it was now closer to 6pm and I had missed dinner, and to be there on time I would have to leave immediately.  So I agreed, and left to drive into the city. 

I was fortunate as I got closer to the depot I pulled in behind one of the delivery trucks and followed it all they way back to the depot.  I thought perhaps the universe was smiling on me and I had caught up with the driver with my package and we would arrive at the same time.  Music plays, angels sing, rainbows part the skies.

That was not the case.  I arrived shortly after 6:30 to be informed that my driver hadn't returned yet.  On an intellectual level I understood that there was nothing the guys at the desk could do, but that didn't stop me from being a bit unreasonable.  In the end I agreed to wait, they told me the driver should be back at any time. 

For the next hour I went in every 20 minutes to check and see if he had returned.  In between I sat and waited in my car since there was no seating in the small shipping/receiving area inside.  The depot closed at 7:30, and I made my final attempt then.  The clerk was already on the phone with the back to find out if my truck had arrived, and finally ... he had.  I retrieved the packaged, apologised now that I was in better humor for my abrupt behaviour (I was told that I was one of their politest angry customers and not to worry about it) and drove back home.

At home I finally got to open the box and behold my new toy - er ... my new device that would enhance my productivity! 

My first impression was something along the lines of "this is awesome!"  It went a bit downhill from there.  Apparently RIM decided not to ship their devices with a charged battery.  That was disappointing.  It was even more disappointing when I couldn't figure out why it wouldn't turn on.  I had it plugged into the computer through the USB connection which should supply power, I would turn it on, and nothing would happen.  Google is my friend in these kind of circumstances.  I discovered that the USB plug doesn't provide enough power to actually charge the battery, and for first time uses the Playbook had to be plugged in with the wall charger.  OK, no problem - I plugged it in, and it turned on!

I saw a start up screen, and it looked like it was going to turn on, then it stopped and told me that before it could do anything it had to be connected to the network so it could download the latest software.  Great.  I got it hooked up and it started doing it's downloading thing.  I watched it for a while, and then left it alone, it was going to take a few hours to finish.  I checked on it every now and then and was concerned to find that the battery didn't appear to be charging, it was stuck at 3%. 

Blackberry Playbook with keyboard open

While it updated I decided to run some searches to see if these had known battery problems.  I didn't end up finding any definitive conclusions by the time the updates were done.  I did discover that the device could not charge if it was powered off.  I'm not sure exactly who came up with that idea, but they shouldn't be in charge of decisions like that any longer.  The battery still hadn't charged when I finished setting it up and actually got it to boot up for the first time. 

It was very easy to set up, and I was immediately in the advanced settings checking on the wireless information, bluetooth settings, setting up wireless file sharing and all the fun stuff that I had gotten it for in the first place.  Connecting through the Blackberry Bridge was quick and easy.  I opened up the bridge application on both devices and ran through the manual connection, unfortunately by phone didn't recognize the QR code for automatic setup.  The manual connection consisted of inputting strings of information from one device to the other, it took about 5 minutes tops to type everything in and since then I haven't had to do anything to keep them talking.

I love the larger calendar and mail screens that I get on the Playbook, trying to do things from my phone just was not easy.  Don't get me wrong, I can thumb type with the best of them, but my thumbs are pretty large so they frequently hit two keys instead of one.  I also appreciate that the playbook locks access to the bridge when the phone is out of range, so I don't have to worry about security risks with someone walking off with my tablet and having access to all my work information.

At this point the battery still hadn't charged, and it was getting late so I left it to charge over night and went to bed.

In the morning the battery was fully charged (yay!) and it was ready to go with me.  During the trip I managed to play with a few other features, including the text editor (which is great) and web browser (also great).  One of the bridge features is a bridge browser, so I can still surf through the phone if I'm not connected to a wireless network (I can also tether the tablet to the phone if necessary). 

I'll admit that one of the next things I did when I had a few minutes was paw through the Blackberry App Store to see what they had for free games and the like.  I was surprised to find it very sparsely populated.  I'm not sure what the cause is, whether it is exceedingly difficult to code for the Blackberry OS or if there is another problem - I keep planning to look into it further but still haven't got around to that yet.  Maybe it's a blessing (in a way), I've been considering getting into the app market, but all of my ideas have already been created (not so Blackberry!).  We'll see what happens.

In conclusion, I'm more than happy with my Playbook.  Seeing some of the other tablets I do get a bit of "screen size envy" - but it passes when I think about the things I do with my tablet and how well it integrates with my work life (which was the whole point).  I think if I was getting a more recreational tablet and didn't already have a Blackberry Phone that this would definitely not be my first choice - but the rest of you Blackberry users out there, don't be discouraged ... if you're looking for something that is going to integrate with what you have now you won't find anything better suited.

Blackberry Curve 8330 and Blackberry Playbook

Can my Blackberry Curve 8330 be connected to my Blackberry Playbook?  I sure hope so.

Ever since I started seeing tablets come to market I've wanted one, each time I saw a commercial I could see myself using it to make my job so much easier in so many ways.  What held me back?  Price mostly, and the fact that I have a Blackberry.  I've appreciate the blackberry in many ways, setting up and running a BES server is easy and full featured.  Hooking BB's up to an Exchange server is simple enough and works flawlessly. With the relatively high cost of mobile bandwidth in Canada paying for a second data plan just wasn't in the cards.  Enter the Playbook.

I was so happy when I heard that RIM was making a tablet, I couldn't wait for it to come out.  As I saw more and more features I was more and more excited.  Then I learned that it ran through my current BB so I didn't need to get a separate plan or worry about anything other than synching it.  My email and contacts etc. would synch automatically - it was perfect.

Today I finally got a quote for it, and made the decision to but it.  Tonight, I went to my computer and before I sent in the 'ok order it for me' I decided to double check to make sure I wasn't going to have any problems using the Playbook, and to get a head start in learning how to configure it properly.  The first thing I discovered was that I needed to be running OS5.  I couldn't recall what my Curve 8330 was running, but I was pretty sure it wasn't OS5.

So I looked, and looked, and had just about given up that I was going to be able to do this.  While I can afford to get the Playbook, getting a new phone as well isn't a possibility.  Until finally I came across a post on the Crackberry forums showing that it was possible to load the 8330 with OS5.  From there I went to the official BB site and unfortunately my carrier hasn't "officially" released OS5 just yet.

That gave me enough hope to get the process started and do more research.  The first thing I needed to do was install the latest version of BB desktop software and perform a proper backup. Just in case things go irreparably wrong I wanted to be able to have a working phone tomorrow.

After the backup was completed, I downloaded the OS5 software and installed it on my computer.  From what I had read so far I could just load this immediately on my blackberry and it should work (after removing vendor.xml).  I had also discovered though from further research that it was possible to get a "Hybrid" OS that was more stable than this "cracked" release, and that I might need to "shrink" my OS to properly fit it on my low flash memory Blackberry.  More Work.

From there I went to BlackberryOS.com to learn what "shrinking" my OS meant for me, and how to do it.  From there I downloaded and installed the shrinking software as outlined.

I also went to BBtweaks.com and learned what a "Hybrid" OS was and how to install it with my new Blackberry OS.

So I downloaded their Hybrid version of my OS (which was confusing because it was labelled as version 4.XX.XXX when I thought I was installing OS5).

Now the all important step, navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research In Motion\AppLoader and delete the Vendor.XML file.  I assume these are specific settings for the carrier that released the OS - since I don't use them as my carrier I needed to dump their special configuration.

Next I installed the Hybrid OS files from BBtweaks, which had an awesome installer BTW (kudos guys).  I just selected the default options, it seemed to know where to find my install files without any prompting.  It also prompted me to install something called BBSAK which appeared to be some type of device configuration tool, having features like "wipe", "update", etc.  I can see how it might be useful if I get into some hardcore BB configurations.

Then it wanted me to install Blackberry Master Control, which I did as well.  This appears to be an even more powerful configuration and OS management tool.  If I had a more high powered device it might be more useful, but for now I just want to get my Blackberry to work with my soon to come Playbook.

I did run the Shrink OS function, but even after checking off all the stuff I didn't think I'd want it didn't change the size of my files - I assume this means that my OS was pre-shrunk by BBTweaks.

Now I got to the scary part, and actually found the use for BBSAK.  Here I hit my first major snag, apparently BBSAK isn't detecting my device.  I checked some quick help files, then with a hint of frustration just mashed something in the password field.  TADA!  I'm not sure if the something in the password field worked (I used to have a password) or not.  Either way, it was currently working so I was going to forge ahead!

I backed up my third party apps, after seeing what was backed up I didn't care if they ever got restored.  Why did I ever want these in the first place?  Who knows.  After the backup came the hard part ... I had to wipe the device.  This felt like the point of no return.  It took surprisingly little time and when my device turned back on there was an icon on it that indicated it had no software.

Now it was time to load the OS back on the device, again using BBSAK.  To my dismay, I immediately received an application error and everything crashed.  Now I had a Blackberry with no software, and apparently no way to load the software.  My wife innocently asked me if I my Blackberry would be ready for my trip tomorrow to do some training for one of my clients.  Confidently I said "Sure, why not".  Famous last words?

Further investigation of what was going on with my computer revealed windows performing updates, namely on the .NET framework, which I believe the BBSAK runs off.  Well ... that might be the cause.  Stupid Microsoft, always wanting me to perform updates.  Well, I let the updates finish, then gave the computer a reboot, praying that when it came back on it would be more inclined to help me through this.

Unfortunately that didn't fix my problem.  From there I went back to the first forum post and re-read the instructions for manually installing the base image.  It indicated that I could run "loader.exe" (C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research In Motion).  So I went back and tried that instead.  This appeared to work just fine, and looked exactly like the installation directions.  So I followed along and continued the installation.  Now all I could do was sit back and hope that after all this I would have a working phone once more.

It didn't take long for the installer to finish.  I was actually surprised that it happened so quickly after reading some of the forum posts while I waited.  Maybe it took longer then I think it did.  Afterward my Blackberry Desktop Software continued to complain that it can't communicate with my device.  After waiting a few moments and handling my device I saw that it appeared to be loading.  It said "Blackberry" in the center of the screen and had a progress bar.  The bar paused for a long time at about 2/3 of the way finished until I started to wonder if it was just frozen in place.

Why don't they make progress bars that actually show progress?  I mean, it should be continually moving, if only to prove that it was doing something. When it stops in one place forever you have to start wondering why nothing is happening.  I have this reaction often enough with my job that I've learned to just walk away and come back later.  If after 4 hours it still isn't done, then there is probably something wrong and I should attempt to fix it - but if it finishes before then, it was better that I didn't mess around with it.

Finally (maybe 20 minutes later) it loaded and made me agree to the RIM ULA then run through the setup process.  It let me connect to the network immediately.  Once I had the home screen back up I tried to reconnect with the desktop software and everything went just fine.  Whew ...

The next step was to install my apps, I went through it but all I ended up reinstalling was Google Maps. I didn't use any of the others any longer and didn't see the need to waste any space.

Next I restored some of my backup data.  I was warned in the instructions not to restore any options, so I just marked off all the data stuff that I could find.  Some things I didn't know what they were so I just left them off, just in case.  I didn't want to mess anything up and have to start this whole process over at 'wipe' again.  I figured out at this point that I was going to have to re-register my device with the BES server that I connect to.  Not that this is usually a long process, but it has caused me issues in the past.  The best way I've found to do it was to connect the device manually to the BES server and let it install from there.  Not always a practical solution at 10pm at night. That would have to wait for tomorrow anyway.

Some of the setup options didn't apply to me.  The service books and registration appeared to all happen automatically when I told it to turn on the radio during the initialization process.  I did have to set my permissions up again, as well as my theme, owner settings, and other various options and settings.

When I was finished with that, I had a working phone! Hurray!  And it was properly running OS 5, which meant that I could connect with my new Playbook - double awesome!

Fake Microsoft Caller

I thought this would be a good place to start with this blog since it both happened to me personally, and it's a great thing to spread around so people are aware about it.

A little background first.

This summer we were visiting my family, one of my standing jobs whenever we visit is to fix every one's computer problems, or at least to be consulted about them.  In addition I install hardware, recommend upgrades and clean up all the junk that they've managed to infect their computers with. 

In this case, it was my grandfather with the problem.  He was having constant problems with his computer shutting down randomly while he was working on it.  After a while these problems might even out and he could work for a while, but at the beginning it seemed like every five minutes.  Ok, from those symptoms it sounded like a real problem - I was all set to dig in and get it fixed for him.


When I got to his place and sat down at the computer I asked the first question that I always ask "So, walk me through what has been happening."

It turned out that he'd hired some company already to look at his computer.  I apologised that it was so serious and he couldn't wait.  He surprised me by telling me they knew what was going on and had called him, not the other way around.  At this point I'm getting a sinking feeling in my stomach, "So what happened Grandpa?" ... and he told me.

A guy from "Microsoft" had called him and told him that they were getting reports of errors from his computer and had asked if he wanted them to fix it.  Now, my Grandfather isn't a gullible man, nor does he lack any form of intelligence.  He doesn't really know much about "tech" stuff, and that's where they got him.  I'm sure they sounded convincing, and told him just what he wanted to hear.  It was probably compounded by the fact that he was actually having problems with his computer.  Whatever it was, the guys on the phone talked him into letting them take control of his computer.  Then, they ran some kind of program on his computer, and then they told him that he'd have to pay them for their service because it was in such bad shape.  So they sent him an official looking invoice (not from Microsoft, but from some company that has an online store in India) and he paid them $250.  They had control of his computer for hours before calling him back and telling him they couldn't fix it, and would have to schedule another appointment. 

Now, I had arrived before this second appointment.  I told him to call his credit card company and tell them to watch for fraudulent charges, and to either cancel the card outright, or watch it carefully every month for the rest of his life because odds were the info would be sold and used.  I then asked to see all the emails that they sent him and checked on the companies (this is how I found out they weren't a real tech company). 

I asked him what kind of stuff they did, because he should have been able to watch.  He just said there was some program running with bars moving on it.  I assume it was some kind of looped program like in the movies that looks like it's doing something important.  I also told him to email them back and tell them to cancel whatever appointment they scheduled, then to tell them he wanted his money back because they didn't provide the service they had promised (fixing his computer).  If that didn't work I told him to dispute the charge on his credit card, he shouldn't have to pay for this nonsense scam.  I haven't heard anything since about it, so I'm not sure what ended up happening, but it must have gone fairly well.  At the time I had never heard of anything like this before.

Now, on to my story.

This will be short in comparison because I just couldn't drag it out any longer.  I was sitting at my computer and the phone rang.  Some 1-2345 number, or something like that.  Great, telemarketer - I get so many of those calls I wonder sometimes why I bother having a phone, it just annoys me.

So I answer and the guy on the other end of the phone says "Hello, I'm calling from Microsoft - we have reports that you are having problems with your Windows PC"

I was so stunned that I could barely answer.  I think I managed to say "Oh really?"

To which he answered seriously, "Yes, really."

So I asked a reasonable question, "Can you tell me the name of my computer?"  Since I have 3 in the house I figured that might narrow down how he got my information to call me.

"Sorry we don't give personal information out over the phone," he says.  I'm kind of baffled by this, I figure he thought I was asking what 'his' name was, or he doesn't know that computers have names.  So I'm speechless and he continues, "Are you at your computer now Sir?"

"Yes," I reply.  Now I'm kind of curious to see where this goes.

"Down in the lower left corner of your keyboard do you see the Ctrl key?"

"Yes, I see it"

"What is next to it?"

"Shift," I reply trying to be difficult.

"No sir, next to it, not above it," he says in a less than patient voice.

I pause here, I know he wants me to say that there is a windows key there - I can't figure out what the heck he is going to do with my windows key but I want to stall for time, so I think of my laptop and I say "Function."

"And next to that," he says immediately.

I've given up at this point, and while I'm amused that this guy thinks he's going to scam a technician I don't feel like playing along much longer.  "Alt" I reply.

Picture courtesy of http://www.police.belleville.on.ca

"Yes ... wait, there is no windows symbol key?"

Now I drop the bomb on him, "I have a MAC."  I don't really, but I know it'll fluster him and likely get me off the phone.

"Oh, goodbye" - *click*.  Instant hang up.  I bust out laughing and relate the story to my wife who had been listening very confusedly to my side of the conversation. 

So - be aware.  There are people out there that will scam you by claiming to be from a legitimate company.  NEVER let someone take control of your computer unless you have called THEM.  Do not give someone money if you have not solicited their services.  There is no one out there watching your computer for signs of problems.  Just imagine what kind of personal information they would be receiving on a daily basis from your computer, you wouldn't 'really' want that company to exist would you?

And if you really want to get a scammer from Microsoft to leave you alone, just tell them that you have a MAC - problem solved.  Maybe next time, if they call again, I can string them on a bit longer with some random nonsense and give you a better story.

First Post

Getting ready to start my new blog.  Haven't figured out exactly what is all going to be in here yet, but it will definately include technological information, humor, and personal observations. 

I almost can't wait to get started - lately it seems I always have something to write about.