MSN Tech & Gadgets (in conjunction with CNET) has a page set to test your internet connection on CNET’s Bandwidth Meter.
Go to http://tech.msn.com/products/speedtest.aspx
You can take the speed test and see just how fast your Internet connection is. Mine tests as better than a Full T1 by 5Kbps. ; )
This week in LA, Kevin Collins from MS showed off HD DVD drive for Xbox 360 at the at the DVD Forum. No pictures as of yet, but CNET reported that…
“The device–about the size of a hardback book–played “The Phantom of the Opera” as Collins pulled up a menu bar to display a few of its navigation and interactive features that can be called up on screen while a movie is playing. Collins said Microsoft’s HD DVD drive will be among the least expensive of the HD DVD players, but he declined to disclose the drive’s retail price.”
There’s something about some high-powered aircraft buzzing a couple of hundred feet over your house, followed by an amazing boom. The Navy’s Blue Angels performed (click for pic) this weekend for Seafair and the show was great. We took our boys to see them live down at the local beach and then saw the show this afternoon on TV.
Just awesome.
(The offical site for the Angels is here.)
Added 080706: You can also find royalty-free, hi-res photos of the Blue Angels on the Navy’s Photo Site… one example of the Blue Angels in formation is here.
In his post this week “When bad customer service turns good,” Ted Lee highlights how when he sent his fairly new Macbook Pro in for service, techs promised it would be back by the end of this week. When that wasn’t happening due to a missing part, this intrepid blogger/customer took matters into his own hands…
“In a fit of desperation, I fired off an email to Apple’s executive team and detailed my problem. I was realistic in my requested, and only asked that they do something to get my laptop back to me by Friday Aug 4. By the close of Wednesday, I hadn’t heard anything and resigned myself to plan B. I was going to have to buy a Macbook to have something during the trip, and when I returned, I would unload it on eBay and take whatever hit in price that I needed to.
“Today I got a call from a man from Apple who identified himself as Steve Job’s personal assistant. Jobs had gotten my email and instructed his assistant to make the necessary calls to get my laptop fixed and returned back to me in time for WWDC. His assistant also mentioned that Steve found my line about “going to WWDC without a laptop is like going to war with a bannana” funny. Ha. I made Steve Jobs laugh today. How about that.”
What I particularly liked about this was that the writer noted that when you’re running into a wall on support, you can usually get the help and assistance you need when you keep a level head, hold back on being nasty to the person on the other end of the line, and make sure to escalate up the food chain when needed. You may not need to contact the chairman’s office in order to get the problem resolved, but it’s nice to know in some cases that the approach works. I know that I’ve had my share of emails and letters sent from execs who were contacted by customers frustrated by one thing or another.
We employ systems internally and through our partners to provide assistance with software bugs and problems with product functionality, feedback loops for collecting suggestions on product features, business issues and other things that come up from time to time. There’s also new systems employed by Windows Vista in the Windows Feedback Platform as an extension of Windows Error Reporting as found in Windows XP.
And yes, even feedback sent to the execs makes it in to these systems, so we can resolve the issue and (hopefully) learn from it.
A blast from the past (ok, July 4th), as the heat wave is keeping it hotter than ever in many cities across the States and Canada this week… the heat wave continues but I heard that it should start to cool down by Sunday in some parts.
So for a hot weekend, here is Tom Bartlett’s take on the best coolers to keep your stuff cold while you’re out. Tom is a writer for Slate and his personal blog is Minor Tweaks. Slate also offers a brief article today on how heat can kill you, for those who were wondering about the perils of heatstroke.
“So which cooler is the coolest? To find out, I performed three tests:
- The Beer Test
- The Ice Cream Experiment
- The Beach Trial
“Along the way, I gained some general cooler wisdom, which I’ll share for your benefit. For starters, pack your cooler in layers: Toss in some ice, your soda, and then some more ice. Put soft food near the top (otherwise, that turkey sandwich will get crushed) or pack it in Tupperware. And, perhaps most important, fill your cooler entirely: Ice in a half-filled cooler melts much more quickly.”
If the link doesn’t work, here’s the URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2144849
Have a safe weekend.
Tags: Friday Link, coolers.