Carlson Computer Blog

HP has really hit rock bottom of all technology providers when it comes to customer service, which is the reason I have been recommending that companies and personal technology users think twice and look at other options when it comes time to purchase a technology product. This is not to say that those who have purchased technology from other manufacturers will not have similar experiences with those non-HP products, however take it from someone who has purchased and own many technology products; the worst customer service experience I have ever had was with HP. That’s saying a lot since my profession for the past 20+ years has been computer/electronics engineering, technology business analyst and technology consulting.

Several years ago, I was an advocate for HP products. I even recommended an HP netbook to my brother. However, that all changed when I needed to contact their customer service for an issue regarding my HP tablet PC. I won’t go into all of the details in this post since I have already explained the entire case in a previous post on this blog. But I will say that not only did they refuse to take the necessary steps to correct their design flaw which rendered the tablet useless, but worst of all, the customer service supervisor I talked to did it with a level of arrogance and defiance I had never experienced from any other company in all my years. Their attitude toward my customer service case was the main reason I no longer use or recommend their products and on the contrary have discouraged hundreds of potential customers from purchasing HP products, giving them advise on alternatives that would fulfill their needs with an even higher level of efficiency at the same or lower cost. HP’s arrogance even outweighs the $1400 cost of the tablet I purchased which I will never recover. Basically, thanks to HP’s design which utilized an nVidia GPU with a design flaw that caused the chip to overheat and separate from the motherboard, HP claimed no responsibility when in fact it was completely their responsibility. Any flaws in their technology products are their responsibility and they owe their customers a satisfactory response. No customer should have to endure an arrogant and irresponsible response from their management. In addition, the customer should never pay for a companies mistakes!

I recommend the following; consider all other options before choosing to purchase an HP product. If it’s too late and you have already purchased an HP product, I hope for your sake it never fails so that you have to contact their customer service.

As an American living in Australia, I have found it difficult at times to download applications or content from my home country to my Windows 8 tablet that I purchased in Australia. A recent example was when I tried to locate the app for my bank in the U.S. from within the Windows 8 app store. When I tried to locate the app, it would not show up in any searches that I tried, even though software from other non-Australian banks showed in the list of available apps. Then I realized that the apps which showed in the app store were for banks that had branches in Australia. This pointed me to the root cause which was the region setting for my tablet. Since I purchased it in Australia, its region setting defaulted to Australia which resulted in setting the Windows app store to that region. There was a simple solution.

I opened up the desktop application, opened Windows Explorer, clicked on Control Panel, opened the Region application and set my current region to the United States. Then I went back into the Windows 8 UI and opened the Windows Store. I could now see the U.S. Windows 8 apps including my bank’s Windows 8 app. After downloading, installing and testing the app, I went back to the Region app in Control Panel and reset my region back to Australia.

At least now I can download apps from the U.S. Windows app store whenever I need to download an app that is not available in the Australia Windows app store. However, you will still need to test the apps that you download as certain content may be restricted to connections within the U.S. only.

We like to take trips during weekends and explore new places. While driving to a far places we always like to listen to music it makes the trip a lot easier with the two kids in the backseat. One thing I wish I know how  to do is to play a guitar it seems so hard for me to do it. Maybe I should just listen to a classic classical guitar cd for now and think about more on learning later on.

I grow up with music always played by my parents in the morning and afternoon. Also in our village playing loud music in the morning it seems to be a contest in the old days. I don’t know if it still the same now over there, I haven’t home for more than 8years. I guess I will find out soon when I visit my family.

Had a good lunch today and it was really yummy. I had the seafood risotto that is so creamy and delicious I can eat this food everyday. The last time I had it at the TTP they put squid rings in it, today I had it without the squid rings instead they put pieces of salmon. I would still prepare the squid, but the salmon is not a bad alternative to the dish. The good thing is that the whole flavor is still the same.

Anyway, the kids are home from school so now it is homework time for them and after that they can do whatever they want to do. My quiet time is over now that they are home hahaha. One thing they like while doing homework is eating, I  have to give my  two kids some food. They are munching some lumpia right now while working with their homework.

We are still in the process of unpacking the rest of the boxes in the garage. It is a lot of work specially with this hot weather, but we are getting there. So glad I have this very sharp safety box cutter it makes opening the boxes way easier. I have a whole huge box of clothing out there that I don’t know where to put it all the closet are already full. I might need to buy some plastic storage for it.

I am hoping will get all this boxes out the way soon so we can park the car inside the garage. It will also take time to get rid of all the empty boxes since they only pick up recycle every two weeks. I want to thank you all for visiting this website. Have a great day everyone!!!

Summer is finally over, but the heat is still here and I don’t like it much when it reach to the 90s. Can’t do much outdoor stuff because of the hot weather. I just checked the 6 days forecast and it is going to be in the 90s for awhile hmmmp! I am wondering when is the fall cool down going to arrive. Anyway, the kids are going to have a 4day weekend this week and we need to find something to do indoor.

I am going to check out the aquadome near us and see if we can take the kids over there. I heard that they have this long slide and the kids would love that. So, swimming will be on the list for things to do this weekend.

I am rearranging our furniture here at home since our stuff had arrived already. Now we need to find a space to put all of this household stuff. We are happy that finally it arrived and everything is here. We can now relax and no more worries about it. Kids and I got the two Christmas tree up the house now look a lot like Christmas. We are so ready for Santa to arrive. We are excited for our first Christmas here in Australia.

I still have a few boxes that need to be open, but first I need to clear some space for it. I wanted to get that bell jars for sale that I saw in the store yesterday. Maybe I will drive in there tomorrow with the kids while hubby is working. I need to keep them busy, so they don’t get bored inside the house. I want them to enjoy their summer vacation from school.

Maximo Automation Scripts are a new feature implemented in Maximo 7.5. This feature allows you to customize the functionality of Maximo without writing code. There are definite advantages to implementing automation scripts instead of writing java extensions.

• Rebuild and redeploy is not required.
• Server downtime is not required.
• Changes to automation scripts function on the fly.
• Quick implementation turnaround.

You can write a simple script in either jython or javascript to perform various functions that would have required java coding in the past. As an example, lets say you want to update a field based on input from another field. Prior to automation scripts, you had basically three options; you could use workflow, an escalation or you could write a java extension. However, these options had definite disadvantages.

• Workflow can be used in most situations. However, if you are creating a work order from the Asset or Location Create Work Order dialog, workflow will not work because when you create a work order from the Asset or Location dialog, workflow will not auto-initiate.
• Escalations will work as well, but not in real time. Escalations are chronological-based events. Running them too often, for instance every minute, to simulate real time can cause performance issues. However, running them not often enough can cause operational issues because the data will not be accurate at the right time.
• Writing java extensions will also work, but this approach should always be a final alternative. Java extensions can cause functional issues that are not apparent at the time the code was written and may not manifest themselves until the worst possible time. In addition, writing code requires rebuilding the ear files, redeploying the application, testing and repeating the process if adjustments to the code are needed.

Automation scripts do not have these limitations. They work in real time and do not have the disadvantages seen in these other methods.

As Windows tablets start to hit the market, there are two questions you need to ask yourself. One is whether or not you want a tablet that is fully compatible with your Windows laptop or you want a ‘big boy toy’ like an Android tablet or iPad. Sure you can check your email, Skype and blog from any tablet, but try running Office or Windows development software on an Android tablet or an iPad, especially when the ‘Cloud’ is not available. The second question is whether you need a Windows tablet to enhance your laptop or to replace your laptop in many scenarios. The two real choices are Windows RT or Windows 8 Pro.

Windows RT is basically very similar to a Windows 8 phone. It can only run Windows apps that are specifically developed for Windows RT. This limits what you can do with your tablet since not every Windows app is a good candidate for a stripped down version and therefore many software developers may opt out of creating a Windows RT version of their software.

Windows 8 Pro tablets, on the other hand, have the potential to be the best of both worlds. They will be able to run most, if not all, Windows apps, plus they will have all of the functionality of a Windows RT tablet. The only downside that I can foresee in full Windows 8 Pro tablets will be in battery life, but to be honest, I am not impressed with my iPhone 4S battery life which is less than my HTC HD2.

For me, the choice is simple. I am going to wait until early 2013 when I am expecting that there will be several choices in Windows 8 Pro tablets available. It will be great having a lighter, more portable Windows machine that can handle the workload of my current laptop, plus still have the ability to work while disconnected from the internet, such as when flying in a plane or at a location that is a dead spot to wireless connections.