Somethings faster, somethings slower - oh well
on
Review: KDE 3.2
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· Score: 2, Informative
I Installed it and I (old one was 3.1.4). Takes longer to load and the fonts are ugly, again!. Everything else seems much the same except Konqueror which ROCKS! Starts really fast and does not crash as much as the old one (not that it was that bad). I Have not tried Kontact yet. I hope it's good as the review says because I do not like Evolution.
If Tech Support people would just take the user's word for it that there was an outage in the area, there would never be any service!
User: "The Internet is down"
Tech: "Oh no, it must be terrorists, I'll call CNN!"
Give me a break.
I can't remember the number of people who have assured me that the problem was with our ISP and not with there Linksys router (or whatever brand) only to eat crow when they are online with a stand alone computer. Broadband internet outages can stem from hundreds of different things, they can be system wide, or on a single access concentrator, single cable, etc... There is no way that any one will figure out and be able to repair an outage if we just take our user's words for it.
It only takes a few minutes to bypass a router and run some diagnostics. If the customer does not follow the steps, most of the time the 1st line agent cannot escalate the problem as the 2nd or 3rd line tech will not accept the call or trouble ticket because the customer is still on a router!!!
Where I worked, the guys who actually serviced the DSL equipment where union line men who worked with the phone company. If there was any little thing out on the repair or test order, they would drop the ticket like a hot potatoe. No attempt to call us back and verify any information. Not in their job description!
Poor user would wait several days, call back and have to start all over again.
Unfortunately it does not help the user's case, the most call centre management are only concrened with processing the calls in a short a time as possible.
Very few call centres grade there tech on their ability to fix customer problems. They are more concerned with product branding, trying to sell new product and services, pleasant tone of voice, getting the customer to go to the corporate website to get hits, following a script which is often been written or edited by a non-tech. There often is some middle manager, brought in from Human Resources or Payroll, with a mandate to find reasons why they should shut down the center and sub it out to an Indian company. Meanwhile, the company will spend 5 time as much tracking, grading, and recording their techs than giving them the tools or the training to do a better Job.
So the best way to get anything resolved is just be calm, follow the steps asked within reason ( if the tech says re-install windows for acable modem problem, ask for supervisor right away. This guy is either a rookie, or has burned out on the phones and should get a new job). If you only have couple minutes to resolve a problem, don't call. You will just waste your's and the tech's couple of minutes. Make sure you have a bit of time to mess with a cable or two. If it is a widespread outage, another more co-operative customer will be calling shortly if not already be on the phone, and the tech will be able to determine the type and scale of the outage and send out the proper repair request.
The tech you are talking to has no authority, limited training, is usually poorly paid and treated with the utmost disrespect by their own management. They are just trying to get to their next paycheck, whilst looking for a better job.
I switched to Gentoo because it was the only distro (tried several versions of RedHat, Mandrake and even the latest Slackware, have'nt tried Debian yet) that would give me any kind of performance on my useless motherboard with an onboard Sis 530 Graphics Chip. Even Gentoo was kind of slow until I used the Sis drivers from
http://www.winischhofer.net/linuxsisvga.shtml. This guy has a ton of really useful info for people with any of these old junky graphics chips and no budget for real equipment.
The difference for me was night and day. I tried the new drivers in RedHat and Mandrake. Although there was an improvement, it was nothing like the improvement for Gentoo!
The lesson of all this? I will never buy onboard video again! My next box gets Nvidia or something else that works!
My ISP has some pretty dubious sections. Not as blatant as the one from NZ.
"You hereby acknowledge that Your Service Provider and its affiliates may retain and use any information, comments or ideas conveyed by you relating to the Service (including any products and services made available on the Service). This information may be used to provide you with better service."
The section in brackets gives me the willies.
Best to encrypt everything of value.
I own 3 Hammond Organs, and nothing digital sounds as good. The latest Roland vk-7 organs come close, but no cigar. The combination of electromechanical tone generation and tube amplification is unbeatble. Unfortunately they weigh a few hundred pounds each. I just played on an organ dated from 1947, and it was the warmest sounding instrument I have ever touched. Sweet.
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I Installed it and I (old one was 3.1.4). Takes longer to load and the fonts are ugly, again!. Everything else seems much the same except Konqueror which ROCKS! Starts really fast and does not crash as much as the old one (not that it was that bad). I Have not tried Kontact yet. I hope it's good as the review says because I do not like Evolution.
If Tech Support people would just take the user's word for it that there was an outage in the area, there would never be any service! User: "The Internet is down" Tech: "Oh no, it must be terrorists, I'll call CNN!" Give me a break. I can't remember the number of people who have assured me that the problem was with our ISP and not with there Linksys router (or whatever brand) only to eat crow when they are online with a stand alone computer. Broadband internet outages can stem from hundreds of different things, they can be system wide, or on a single access concentrator, single cable, etc... There is no way that any one will figure out and be able to repair an outage if we just take our user's words for it. It only takes a few minutes to bypass a router and run some diagnostics. If the customer does not follow the steps, most of the time the 1st line agent cannot escalate the problem as the 2nd or 3rd line tech will not accept the call or trouble ticket because the customer is still on a router!!! Where I worked, the guys who actually serviced the DSL equipment where union line men who worked with the phone company. If there was any little thing out on the repair or test order, they would drop the ticket like a hot potatoe. No attempt to call us back and verify any information. Not in their job description! Poor user would wait several days, call back and have to start all over again. Unfortunately it does not help the user's case, the most call centre management are only concrened with processing the calls in a short a time as possible. Very few call centres grade there tech on their ability to fix customer problems. They are more concerned with product branding, trying to sell new product and services, pleasant tone of voice, getting the customer to go to the corporate website to get hits, following a script which is often been written or edited by a non-tech. There often is some middle manager, brought in from Human Resources or Payroll, with a mandate to find reasons why they should shut down the center and sub it out to an Indian company. Meanwhile, the company will spend 5 time as much tracking, grading, and recording their techs than giving them the tools or the training to do a better Job. So the best way to get anything resolved is just be calm, follow the steps asked within reason ( if the tech says re-install windows for acable modem problem, ask for supervisor right away. This guy is either a rookie, or has burned out on the phones and should get a new job). If you only have couple minutes to resolve a problem, don't call. You will just waste your's and the tech's couple of minutes. Make sure you have a bit of time to mess with a cable or two. If it is a widespread outage, another more co-operative customer will be calling shortly if not already be on the phone, and the tech will be able to determine the type and scale of the outage and send out the proper repair request. The tech you are talking to has no authority, limited training, is usually poorly paid and treated with the utmost disrespect by their own management. They are just trying to get to their next paycheck, whilst looking for a better job.
I switched to Gentoo because it was the only distro (tried several versions of RedHat, Mandrake and even the latest Slackware, have'nt tried Debian yet) that would give me any kind of performance on my useless motherboard with an onboard Sis 530 Graphics Chip. Even Gentoo was kind of slow until I used the Sis drivers from http://www.winischhofer.net/linuxsisvga.shtml. This guy has a ton of really useful info for people with any of these old junky graphics chips and no budget for real equipment. The difference for me was night and day. I tried the new drivers in RedHat and Mandrake. Although there was an improvement, it was nothing like the improvement for Gentoo! The lesson of all this? I will never buy onboard video again! My next box gets Nvidia or something else that works!
My ISP has some pretty dubious sections. Not as blatant as the one from NZ. "You hereby acknowledge that Your Service Provider and its affiliates may retain and use any information, comments or ideas conveyed by you relating to the Service (including any products and services made available on the Service). This information may be used to provide you with better service." The section in brackets gives me the willies. Best to encrypt everything of value.
I own 3 Hammond Organs, and nothing digital sounds as good. The latest Roland vk-7 organs come close, but no cigar. The combination of electromechanical tone generation and tube amplification is unbeatble. Unfortunately they weigh a few hundred pounds each. I just played on an organ dated from 1947, and it was the warmest sounding instrument I have ever touched. Sweet.