Marcus Hamaker is The Sleepy Geek

Many of us geeks have a reputation for being the Mr. Fix-it of the group and our families. Like many others in my boat; I have taken that to the next level and started a small business on the side. When you start out you want to have 100 customers the first week but you quickly learn that this isn’t reality and your goals change.

In my case time management is the issue because I have a young family and still have a full time 9-5 job. Customers come and go and hopefully a few will stick as regulars. I am lucky to have a small company that trusts me with most of their IT and so continue to do regular jobs for them. Most recently I was asked to install a file server for them and as I started to configure this server with folder rights and nested groups it was very apparent that the managers would need access to me.

I can’t be available for them 24/7 and they know that. But what if they need something done quick and aren’t sure of the best way to reach me? Wouldn’t it be nice for them to have one go to location – a single point of contact? In the large corporate world when supporting end users this really makes them feel more secure and so why can’t I do the same for my customers?

I was looking for simple and I found it. osTicket is an open source ticketing system that can be installed on your domain host much the same way that WordPress is. Most of us have the knowledge to create parts of this or perhaps even all of this but do we have the time to invest? osTicket let’s you concentrate on your core business, be it general IT services, web development for different clients or even support for your own web site/service. You can customize how it contacts you after a ticket is created and that’s what I like about it. You don’t have to give out your email, phone number, home phone, etc. If you are like me you most likely have already but this takes the onus off the customer to remember all of those coordinates and simplifies their experience. The KISS model succeeds again.

Far too often I get caught up in the details with this sort of thing. Not looking for the most simple solution I look for something that is the coolest or the most geeky in my case – to me they are synonymous.

These small laptops or netbooks are a great idea. Small, light, portable and relatively cheap. My father bought one about a month ago so they can check their email while on trips and so I have a chance to use it while we are here this week.

It does everything you need it to do. Pretty much good for checking your webmail and browsing for information about what ever area you are visiting. We have used it a few times to do just that, but it’s interesting to me that you can’t do much more with it. I suppose you could use it to store pictures because it does have a USB port and a ton of storage for it’s size (230GB). But storage is about it.

This thing tagged in about $300 CAD so if you compare to an iPad in Canada you are looking at $549 for the 16GB model. So which is worth it? Neither unless you need a slightly larger screen. What am I getting at here? The iPhone or really any smartphone that you are comfortable with.

I think that you would be good in spending your money on an iPhone and then you have wireless 3G coverage to browse wherever you are. Even if you are out of the country you still have wifi, something you would have to find with the netbook anyhow.

Some things to think about.

I couldn’t take a whole week off could I?

Short of taking next Friday off I don’t think that I am going to be able to get my hands on one before I leave on vacation. Friday is iPhone 4 launch in Canada and Saturday morning sometime before the air wakes up I plan to be on the highway towards the Maine coast. Being from Montreal Wells Beach is only 5 hours away (if you haul ass) and I have been going since the wee age of 3.

NOW… The reason my doubt arises is due to the lack of information from Apple or Rogers at this point. In an article written by iphoneincanada.ca I learned that Rogers has release an internal memo to its employees that indeed the iPhone is coming and to “be prepared” but no official outside word as of yet. At this point in the game in the US AT&T had released official information, had a quick way to check eligibility, had confirmed a price and setup a pre-order process. None of these have happened here in Canada. Not that I really am concerned personally with the other Canadian carriers but it hasn’t happened with any of them.

I work for a company that deals with Rogers and so I get a employee plan through them. I contacted my corporate rep this week (ok, this is the 3rd time in the past month I have emailed her – I feel guilty) and she told me that from what she heard they are only getting 50 iPhones for their ~30 store operation. That’s freekin’ nuts! This is where my assumption of a long wait comes in. I know that Apple has had some throughput problems but a release date with no phones is pretty ridiculous and leaves a sting.

Doesn’t mean I won’t get one, just have to wait extra long. Wish me luck :)

Geek on!

Turns out some of the posts that I read online yesterday were right. I had no idea it would work but it did!

Whoa Marcus – backup the story a little there! This is what happened to my Blackberry Bold 9000

Yesterday I had just arrived at work and was looking through a few things when I got a call on my cell from one of my colleagues. I pick up the phone and try to answer without luck. The small ‘hourglass’ which is actually a spinning dial on the Bold was going like crazy – and so I couldn’t do a thing! I missed the call and decided to sit the phone on my desk and let it figure itself out. After 10 minutes passed by I got fed up and tried a myriad of reboot attempts to be finally done with a battery pull. Gave it a standard 15 seconds and then put the battery back in.

Now at this point normally the phone’s red LED comes on, it loads up for 5 minutes and everything is cool. This time – NO RED LIGHT :(

No matter what I did I could not get the phone to start up. I tried to take the battery back out and replace it, tried a buddy’s battery, tried plugging it in to the USB on my computer, tried plugging it into the wall, tried resting it on the cradle and all with or without the battery. Nothing! I am thinking dead phone now. This sucks – my Bold couldn’t get me another few weeks until I can get my hands on a new phone (still kinda hoping for an iPhone 4).

Looked at a bunch of articles online and there really wasn’t much out there if even the red LED didn’t come on. It pointed to a dead phone for most people. A couple did mention that they took the battery out of their unit, left it unplugged and didn’t touch it over night and when the plugged it in the next morning it worked.

In the end I had nothing to lose so I gave it a try and sure enough, the BOLD IS BACK!

Remember this if you have a Blackberry. I can only assume that even when you pull the battery there is some residual power left in some of the components and until that is gone it could remain frozen.

Good luck with your problem if you are having one!

My buddy told me today that we can sign up for beta versions of some of the internal Blackberry apps! Go here… now – https://www.blackberry.com/beta.

This site lets you install the newest beta versions of Blackberry software. Right now I am participating in the Blackberry Messenger beta program. It’s nice to have all the new features now in software but keep in mind that betas have problems at times. If you see a problem, do the right thing and report it so that it can be fixed before release. We all have a better product in the end with that strategy.

So what specifically does RIM offer in the Beta program?

(Organizations) BES v5.0.1 for Novell GroupWise

(Consumer) Twitter for BlackBerry

(Consumer) BlackBerry Feedback Tool

(Consumer) AOL Instant Messaging Service for BlackBerry smartphones 2.5 Maintenance Release

(Consumer) Google Talk for BlackBerry smartphones 2.5 Maintenance Release

(Consumer) ICQ for BlackBerry smartphones 2.5 Maintenance Release

(Consumer) Windows Live Messenger for BlackBerry smartphones 2.5 Maintenance Release

(Consumer) Yahoo! Messenger for BlackBerry smartphones 2.5 Maintenance Release

Keep in mind one thing. RIM doesn’t make it easy for you to get the program. Downloading takes a lot of hoop jumping with some verifications of address and identity which you have to do with each program you sign up for. Once you sign up they will generate a key code for you.

This will come by email and it is a manual process so don’t get too excited like I did and download the app right away. Right now I have a wonderful new BB messenger that I can’t use until I get that email … BOO!

I guess Microsoft and Apple have made it pretty standard to announce things via a big keynote. Google is doing the same.

You can find Engadget coverage here.

You can also watch live coverage here at Twit.tv.

Geek on!

A lot of people will be tuning in to listen or follow the iPhone 4.0 announcement today. From what I have read they could be talking about a lot of different things and even the phone 4.0 OS is a rumor so it will be fun to watch. Let’s hear it for turtleneck man!

engadget.com – Apple holding phone OS 4 event, April 8th!
Wired.com – Live Blog: Apple Introduces phone OS 4 (Note – UPDATE 7:30 a.m. PT: Change of plans — rather than live blog, we’ll be posting a news report of the event. We’ll update this post as major announcements are made.gdgt.com – Live phone OS 4.0 event coverage)
HuffingtonPost.com – Apple Announcement LIVE: phone OS 4.0 News, Updates
gearlog.com – Live Blog: Apple phone OS 4.0 Announcement, 4/8/10

TekGoblin is reporting that Leo Laporte and Twit friends will be covering the news via http://live.twit.tv and that might be the better place to follow.

Update 12:40 p.m. ET: CaliLewis I’ll be live in an hour at 10 AM Pacific to chat about the iPhone OS 4.0 event in Cupertino. Join me at http://www.calilive.tv!

Have fun… can’t wait to see what they tell us. I am in the market for a new phone come the summer (timing is impeccable) so let’s hope they stick to their every year in June schedule.

Geek on!

Me thinks I am mostly a 4, oh boy!

The 8 Most Irritating Types Of Gadget Owners courtesy of geeksaresexy.net.

Geek on!

It’s amazing, this weekend was relatively tech free for me. We spent a lot of time as a family, I got some work done around the yard with some help from my wife. It was really nice!

One thing we did do together was play some Super Mario on the Wii. My wife and I, along with our 6 year old son really got into it. The amazing thing is that we can play 3 player Mario now :)

Nintendo has always been considered the least powerful console units out there. They don’t have the best graphics, they don’t have the fastest processor, but MAN – they have the best games. They never try to be over the top with realism so you get to jump into their make believe world and escape for a little bit. Tons of fun!

In my 20′s I was a fan of the high powered Playstations and XBoxs but those systems don’t interest me much anymore. They require a major investment in time. The reason for this is the types of games. They are usually story based games or games that take quite a lot of practice to master (it. sports games). It was always frustrating to try and walk up and play with a buddy who had the game for a while. Learning curve was way too steep.

The best part of the Wii is the ability for almost anyone to walk up and play it. I have never seen my father manage a video game in the past, the controls were just too difficult to learn quickly and he didn’t have time to putz around. Now we have turned on the Wii and put on the bowling and he and his grandson can have a game and everyone is interested and able to participate. People who have never played before can be taught in a matter of minutes and have a great time with it.

Hope you had time to geek out a little in some way if you had some time off this weekend.

Geek on!

Google has just release Buzz. This is a new service for sharing things and it’s built right into Gmail. The first thing that I looked for was how long it would be before they would roll this out in Google Apps for people who have hosted email for their own domain. Answer – a few months. From their enterprise blog:

Today the Gmail team introduced Google Buzz, a new feature that lets individuals share links, photos, and other updates with their network of contacts – or with the whole world – right within Gmail. Google Buzz helps people kick off conversations around information that people find mutually interesting.

Within a few months, we also plan to make Google Buzz available to businesses and schools using Google Apps, with added features for sharing within your organization. Stay tuned, and for more information about using Google Buzz with your personal Gmail account, head over to the Gmail blog or visit buzz.google.com.

The service itself looks really cool. They have done something far more simple than Facebook and their typical simpler approach to things quite often works well in the real world. Time will tell.

I like this video they put together to show how it works -

Geek on!