SteveOH

12 days ago I recieved a notification from Plaxo stating that the SYNC feature of the application was going to be turned into a “Premium Feature”.  My question is, what’s not a premium feature? The SYNC was literally the only reason I had that application installed.  Mind you, I’ve been using Plaxo for at least 5 years and rely on it to sync my desktop and laptop computers, to then sync with my Windows Mobile phone.  If you take SYNC away… and I can back up own PST’s up (I do weekly), then why exactly would I pay?

I wouldn’t.  And I hope you don’t either.

I am now setting up Google Calendar Sync.  I can easily have my Desktop computer save my information to Google, and my Laptop download from Google.  And for how much?  You guessed it, for free.  Not that “free for a short while” free, but free-free.

Good bye Plaxo.  Hopefully you’ll die a quite death… I think you will, you’ve already picked out your coffin with that move.

My name is SteveOH, and I’m a former Plaxo user of 5 years.

Currently my connection at home is out.  My server tells me it went out around 4 AM.

I’m going to use this blog to keep a history of the outages so that 1) I can get a refund for the time I was unable to utilized the promised service, and 2) so you can too, or at least know how the service is.

I live in a newer area of South Florida, so for the most part, the connection is fairly stable.  No real problems.  Let’s see how long this lasts.

Here’s my conversation with the Comcast technician over Chat.  Not horribly helpful, but whatever, I wasn’t looking to get my problem solved.

chat id : 5ef891cf-8789-4267-9f65-90db684e28f0
Problem : Internet is out.
Steve > Internet is out.
Jose > Hello Steve_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Jose. Please give me one moment to review your information.
Jose > How are you today?
Steve_ > I’m doing fine, thank you
Steve_ > I currently do not have an internet connection at my home
Steve_ > I rebooted the modem several times
Steve_ > and made sure all the connections were secured.
Steve_ > is there an outage in my area?
Jose > I understand you are having issue with your internet connection, Is that correct?
Steve_ > yes…
Jose > Thank you.
Jose > Please allow me to assist you with that.
Steve_ > can you please check if there is a reported outage in my area?
Jose > Before I proceed, may I please ask for the full name of the account holder, the account number, and the complete service address?
Steve_ > I do not have my account number
Steve_ > but the name on the account is XXXXX
Steve_ > and the service address is XXXXX
Jose > Thank you for the information. Can you give me a minute while I pull up your account record and view the necessary information that I would need to be able to assist you?
Steve_ > yes
Jose > Steve, I just checked your area and found out that there is an outage affecting your area.
Jose > Here is the outage ID number – OE011729502 CMTS cdn02.pembroke.fl.pompano.comcast.net HSD; Telephony; 7/28/2009 11:56:45 AM 1890
Steve_ > is there an estimated time when it should be resolved?
Jose > Steve, right now I can not give you an estimated time but rest assured that our technicians and system engineers are already working on this issue double time.
Jose > I can also assure you that after this outage, your services will be better than ever.
Jose > It was my pleasure helping you today. Is there anything else that I can help you with?
Steve_ > no, thank you for your help.

Unfortunately the chat does not show times (I don’t know why it wouldn’t, but I think that’s sneaky).  The chat took about 10 minutes, with the delay being on the technician’s side.

*shrug*

EDIT: 7/28/2009 @ 2:30 PM EST

chat id : ddb97b4e-b808-498a-b6ec-8958de053684
Problem : Internet is out.
Steve > Internet is out.
Maverick > Hello Steve_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Maverick . Please give me one moment to review your information.
Maverick > How are you doing today?
Steve_ > Fine, how are you?
Maverick > That’s great to hear!
Maverick > I am feeling better now that I have assisted you.
Maverick > I understand you are having problems with your internet connection, is that correct?
Steve_ > I would like to check on the status of the outage with the following ID number: OE011729502
Maverick > Alright! Let me check on that one for you.
Maverick > May I have the account number found on the bill please
Steve_ > i do not have my account number
Steve_ > i can give you my address and name
Maverick > Before going any further, may I ask for the account holder’s full name and the service address, please?
Steve_ > name: XXXXX
Steve_ > address: XXXXX
Maverick > Thank you for that information. Will it be okay if I put you on hold for 2 minutes while I pull up your account?
Maverick > I’m sorry that it’s taking quite a while to resolve your issue, but I really appreciate the patience you have shown. Not everyone is this gracious when faced with such inconvenience.
Steve_ > yes, please proceed.
Maverick > I do apologize for the incovenience. I just verified that currently Comcast is under going a system maintenance and I can assure you that there is nothing wrong with your Internet Services. We appreciate if you would b
Steve_ > Can I please have a credit for today’s service.
Maverick > Because I want to guarantee that this will be lifted at the soonest possible time, I will mark it as urgent and high priority. After this chat, I will still follow up on it once more. How do you find that?
Steve_ > That is fine.
Steve_ > I would like a refund for today’s service which I am unable to use.
Maverick > You will certainly have a credit for this once the outage last for 24 hours.
Steve_ > As a long time customer and having dealt with many connection issues, I will expect a refund for today’s service. It has been out since 4 am this morning.
Maverick > I will definitely document on that one as well.
Steve_ > Good bye.

Another 10 minutes of my day wasted.  This time I was given a gaurnetee as to when my service would return.  Risky move by the technician.

Melissa: What exactly would I contact your team for, as opposed to these wonderful technicians?

Leading people is a fundamental skill

By Peggy Albright

The computing field asks a lot of its practitioners. Its professionals must be diligent, naturally curious, good problem solvers, able to grapple with big concepts as well as minutiae and willing to think outside of conventional boundaries to develop new code, architectures and applications that will find value in business and society. Yet in today’s competitive and global business environment, computing professionals must add yet another fundamental skill to the mix: the ability to lead and manage people.

In fact, developing leadership and managerial skills is no longer a career option, it is becoming a requirement, says Wade Shaw, an IEEE Fellow, editor-in-chief of IEEE’s Engineering Management Review and dean and professor of engineering at Mercer University.

According to Shaw, computing professionals today can expect to supervise someone else in some capacity within three to four years of completing an undergraduate degree. Most successful computer scientists and engineers will need to augment their technology skills with management responsibilities at some point in their career.

Teams and silos

The broadened expectations in the discipline are an outgrowth of an industry whose products are often built by project teams and whose members are often based in different parts of the world and contributing their skills from within various silos of expertise, Shaw said. With comparatively fewer advancement opportunities available for those who prefer to remain individual technology contributors in their companies, any strategy to advance one’s own value to an organization and earn better recognition and compensation must now involve management responsibility.

“The idea that someone changes their career midstream to enter management is an outdated notion,” Shaw said.

“It’s not ‘if’ I become a manager, it’s ‘when’ I become one,” he said. “That’s the starting point. It’s a key attitude difference.”

Soft skills essential

Whether a computing professional is just starting out, taking steps to advance from individual contributor status to project leader or managing multiple teams, or taking the leap from middle management to the executive ranks, the successful cultivation and use of “soft skills” is an essential part of the career advancement process.

Key among these soft skills is the ability to develop relationships with individuals and groups and to communicate effectively. Soft skills also include general business savvy, a big-picture understanding of the organization, a correct perception of one’s own role in the company and how other functions in the organization, such as finance and marketing, contribute to overall success. It includes learning how to think strategically.

“Our technical skills get us in the front door of an organization, but as we work there longer, we need soft skills,” said Dwight Jaggard, IEEE Fellow and director of the Executive Master’s in Technology Management program at the University of Pennsylvania, which is co-sponsored by Penn Engineering and The Wharton School.

Relationships matter

It might seem obvious, but strong relationship skills are among the most fundamental traits that technology professionals should have if they want to succeed in a leadership capacity. In fact, effective relationship skills are a necessity, not just an added value.

James Kouzes, executive educator, author of the best-selling book, The Leadership Challenge and the dean’s executive professor of leadership at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University, says that poor relationship skills is the one weakness that is “most likely” to derail a technology professional’s ambition to succeed in management. While these skills have been emphasized in other careers, such as customer service and business development, they have not been routinely taught in the computing field. These skills can be learned, but they must be practiced regularly, and on a daily basis, Kouzes said.

“It is a competency that can be developed, but it does need time and attention,” he said.

His advice: It’s all about focusing. Listen to others’ points of view, learn how to resolve conflicts that leave both parties feeling that they’ve gained something, and if you need to give direction to non-technical people, learn to communicate coherently in non-technical language. And trust others to carry out their roles and responsibilities: lack of trust undermines one’s relationships and leads to managerial failure, he said.

Kouzes noted a few new observations from his most recent surveys of working professionals and executives around the world that should be of particular value to technology professionals who are in or seeking management roles. The first most important trait people want in their leaders is honesty, he said. The second most important trait is having a forward-looking vision that is shared by one’s peers and followers in an organization and an ability to communicate that vision to inspire others.
Additionally, he recommended that managers develop a competency in seeking feedback. This is one trait his respondents have indicted to be the most challenging, yet it is also vital to success because it important to be always learning. “The best leaders are the best learners,” he said. And feedback is an essential part of learning.

“If you want to go into management, you must ask for feedback. Be open to receiving it. Act on it. Take it earnestly and do something with it,” he said.

Big-picture perspective

Computing professionals taking steps to move higher in corporate ranks must recognize that the demands that come with developing soft skills may require that they disengage to a certain extent from the technology roots they established when they began their careers. It’s a commitment that needs to be taken seriously.

Ronald Danielson, vice provost for information services and chief information officer and associate professor of computer engineering at Santa Clara University, has found that as an IT professional advances in an organization, including to C-level roles, he or she is expected to have the same general business skills and traits as other top executives. A lack of these skills–whether real or perceived by upper management—can keep senior IT professionals from advancing to the top levels of the corporation, he said. The challenge for IT professionals is to overcome this perceived bias.

Computing professionals who are striving to advance into management, Danielson said, must recognize that once the commitment is made, there may be no going back to their former roles.

“The difficult thing for many technical people is that you can’t really do it all,” he said. “If you’re going to spend more of your time and energy on the soft skills that senior executives need to have, you’re necessarily going to give up some of your technical competencies. And that’s very unsettling because our discipline advances so rapidly that if you give that up for a while, it is very difficult to go back in as the same level of contributor that you were before.” CW
(8 July, 2009)

1. Use Notepad to open the Web application Web.config file. By default, this file is in the following folder:

2. Add the following section at the end of the web.config file in the respective site:

  <system.webServer>
 <security>
  <requestFiltering>
   <requestLimits maxAllowedContentLength=”1073741824“/>
  </requestFiltering>
 </security>
</system.webServer>

Where the number is in bytes.  This amount would allow you to upload 1024 MB (1 GB) and was calculated as follows (1024 B / KB * 1024 KB / MB * 1024 MB / GB).

Note This code sets the value of the maxAllowedContentLength property to 52428800. Therefore, the maximum file size of an uploaded file is 52428800 bytes. However, set the value of this property so that it is larger than the file that you are trying to upload. Also, set the value of this property so that it is larger than the maximum file upload size that you have configured in SharePoint. If you do not, users will not receive an error message that they are exceeding the size limit if they try to upload a file that is larger than the maximum file upload size that you have configured in SharePoint.