Via: Medical Billing And Coding

I have always loved this tablet / notebook (click here to read about my experience ordering it).  Not only was it very portable, but it was sufficiently powerful for my needs as a technology professional.  Unfortunately, approximately 2 years after I purchased this laptop, it is dead.

Once the power button is pressed the screen remains black, LEDs flash, all lights are on and the CPU / GPU fan spins.  That’s the extent of the laptop’s operation.  Prior to searching on the internet I began troubleshooting it myself, swapping out HDD, RAM, etc.  Nothing worked.

Then I started searching for a cause, since this was obviously a hardware issue, specifically the motherboard.  To my horror, I found my answers here:

TX2500 Dead after 18 Monts..

tx2500 no screen image

There are a few motherboards available on eBay, ranging from $140 – 180 (which is cheap considering the motherboard costs $300+ from HP).  Unfortunately, and in my case, I’m not sure a new motherboard will completely remedy the situation, since the GPU and / or CPU may be damaged.  If that’s the case, then that’s even more time and money to invest in this worthless laptop from a company who’s integrity mimics that of hitler.

In conclusion, I will save the money I would have used to repair this laptop, and purchase a higher quality laptop either a Dell, Toshiba or some other reputable company.  HP has been added to my BLACK LIST.

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.

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?

Well anyway, he was willing to wait for it, I agreed, and recommended the specifications.  The order was placed.

HP Strikes again.  Read the full story here: HP Customer Support = FAIL

Maybe, just maybe, HP is making so much money that they can afford to treat customers poorly, provide sub-par support, and sell low quality merchandise, without it hurting their bottom line.  Or maybe they’re like all other businesses (think GM) and are starting down a very dangerous path.

We’ll start by figuring out how much energy in kilowatt-hours the light bulb uses per year. We multiply how much power it uses in kilowatts, by the number of hours in a year. That gives 0.1 kW x 8,760 hours or 876 kWh.

The thermal energy content of coal is 6,150 kWh/ton. Although coal fired power generators are very efficient, they are still limited by the laws of thermodynamics. Only about 40 percent of the thermal energy in coal is converted to electricity. So the electricity generated per ton of coal is 0.4 x 6,150 kWh or 2,460 kWh/ton.

To find out how many tons of coal were burned for our light bulb we divide 876 kWh by 2,460 kWh/ton. That equals 0.357 tons. Multiplying by 2,000 pounds/ton we get 714 pounds (325 kg) of coal. That is a pretty big pile of coal, but let’s look at what else was produced to power that light bulb.

A typical 500 megawatt coal power plant produces 3.5 billion kWh per year. That is enough energy for 4 million of our light bulbs to operate year round. To produce this amount of electrical energy, the plant burns 1.43 million tons of coal. It also produces:

It also produces smaller amounts of just about every element on the periodic table, including the radioactive ones. In fact, a coal-burning power plant emits more radiation than a (properly functioning) nuclear power plant!

For the past few days I’ve been having issues surfing the web, in addition to even getting an IP address for my modem.  I’m tech savvy, so I try and solve the issue myself before involving an inconvenient 3rd party (ie. Comcast Tech Support – *barf*).   Unfortunately, the issue was not on my LAN (in my home).  I went as far as purchasing another Wireless Router, since I thought it possible that my old D-Link Wireless Router was failing (it is more than 5 years old).  To my surprise, nope, D-Link is working like a champ, it’s the Modem (or something upstream) that’s the issue.  I believe my issues to be 2-fold.  1) DNS is malfunctioning upstream on Comcast’s network (which is not  far fetched, read here), and 2) they sub-par DHCP Server is either malfunctioning or is not capable of handling all these requests.  Sometimes I’ll pull an IP, sometimes I won’t.  Weird. There’s a 3rd option, which may be a failing modem.  It’s possible, especially since I’ve noticed that my modem arbitrarily decides when to assign its clients 192.168.100.100 IP address, or a 98.x.x.x or 66.x.x.x which are on Comcast’s network.  Weird.

So I caved.  As you know, I use the internet heavily and require a consistent connection.  So last night, at 10pm, I called 954-COMCAST.  Spoke with a below average IQ’d woman, who ran me through the annoying steps of reseting the modem, restarting the computer, etc etc.  Great, just wasted 10 minutes there.  Then she proceeds to tell me “We’ll have to schedule a technician to go out there”.  “Fine”, I say.  I figured, I could give the tech hell once he walked in, instead of someone on the phone (I wanted a new modem to get rid of the issue).  So to my suprise this woman says “We have an opening tonight, from 8 to 11pm”, I was astonished.  Though extremely late, could I actually get this issue resolved tonight?!  “Sure”, I said, and then the conversation ended upbruptly.  “Thank you for choosing Comcast, good bye.” *CLICK*.

So now I wait.  It was 10:15pm or so, and 11pm was the cut off.  It’s late, I’m tired, but I need my connection.  I sit on the couch and wait…

At 1:25am my girl wakes me up and says “I don’t think he’s coming, let’s go to bed”.  I was so asleep I was dreaming, and out of rage I grabbed my phone and tried to call comcast.  But it sounded Chinese, I couldn’t hear or see… I gave up.  I got stood up by either the Comcast Technician, the Customer dis-Service Rep, or both.  This sucks.

So this morning I decide I was going to Blog this, since this is the 1000th time I’ve had an issue with Comcast (2 months ago my service was unsuable for an entire month – got that month free… ohh joy… – turns out that the exterior wires were oxidizing (rusting) and needed to be replaced…) and I don’t appreciate being stood up on prom night.

To resolve half the issues, I’ve removed Comcast’s DNS Servers with that of OpenDNS .  Like magic, the internet works again (modem still goes out though).

Comcast is incompetent for their DNS server management and their customer service.  You would think that if you cannot provide the service you promise, you would use that money you’ve obviously saved in infrastructure equipment and pay to train your customer service.

In conclusion, the instant another provider is available in my area, I’m jumping ship.  10 agonizing years with Comcast is enough… I’m ready for a change.  Maybe Obama can do something about this.  Haha.

It’s kind of flimbsy and very light, it almost feels as if it’s hallow.  But, it has a small color screen and easy to understand controls, so I can’t really complain.  I do fear, however, that if I drop it, it will dissolve into the air.  It’s not necessarily a bad thing to be very light, but, it should be noted.

Things I don’t “really” like, but that aren’t a HUGE deal:

• Proprietary usb connector – Instead of using USB Mini-A Type connection, they decided to use a port that took up the entire width of the unit (about an inch) to connect via USB.  Why?
• Wasted Space – there’s a lot of space all around that could be utilized.  Either for the other controls or to space things out a little better.  This is my personal opinion, but I don’t “really” like the fact that the volume control is all the way at the top, while the play button is on the front, and then menu button all the way at the bottom right.
• Built in Battery – This really annoys me.  Why would you do that?  Now, you MUST charge this thing at a computer, because 1) you need the special cable that only connects to USB Type A connections, and 2) there’s no other port to use to charge.  So you must charge this thing at home before leaving the house.  I wonder how long it lasts?
• COULD NOT get it to sync as an MTP device – the device freezes (On both Vista and XP).  But I CAN get it to connect as a storage device (only on XP) where I can manually copy my songs over (which isn’t a problem for me) or manage it with WinAMP or something else.
  • Please note that to get it to connect, I enabled the HOLD (push it so it shows the orange) and held down the REWIND button, then CONNECTED the USB.  I had to do it in that order for it to work, no other worked for me.

Things I like:

• Micro SD Slot – It’s expandable!  Yay!  This makes complete sense and is a great selling point: why not buy a device that you can upgrade as your music collection increases?!
• LOUD – this little thing gets VERY LOUD!  A lot louder than my Creative Zen this is replacing.  Like, crazy loud.  I’m not sure I’ll ever use it louder than half way.
• Equalizer – It has an equalizer that allows you to customize the sound (and has a custom setting for your personal preferences).
•  Color Screen – it’s not high resolution or anything, but it’s nice to see things in color.  And the graphics aren’t half bad.
• Music, Audio, Radio, Recordings – This unit really does it all in terms of functionality.  It definitly plays music well and recieves radio signals even inside of buildings.

I will use it for a week or two and report back.  As of right now, I give it a 7 due to the USB connection and the syncing issues (which are not unique to me).

Nov 20th 2008 | BAGHDAD
From The Economist print edition

WHEN General David Petraeus, now America’s most celebrated military commander, arrived in Iraq in 2003 at the head of an airborne division, he asked a journalist: “Tell me how this ends?” For years nobody had a good answer. But now, thanks to a military pact between America and Iraq, a conclusion is in sight: America’s war in Iraq will end in three years’ time, with American troops being shown the door and Iraqi politicians competing to claim credit for getting rid of the foreigners.

A “withdrawal agreement” approved by the Iraqi cabinet on November 16th requires American troops to pull out of Iraqi towns and cities by the end of June next year, and to leave Iraq altogether by December 31st 2011. Those deadlines, said Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, in a televised address, would not be extended. The deal was not perfect, but marked “a solid start for Iraq to regain its full sovereignty in three years.”

There were no secret articles, he said, and there would be no permanent American bases. Iraq could not be used to attack others (ie, Syria or Iran). There would be, he promised, “no detainees any more, no detention centres any more, no searches or raids of buildings or houses, until there is an Iraqi judicial warrant and it is fully co-ordinated with the Iraqi government.”

This is a big moment for America and Iraq, yet the Iraqi government was more regretful than jubilant, calling the deal the best it could achieve after more than a year of negotiations. The Bush administration, now in its last weeks in power, made several concessions. It had long opposed any notion of a fixed timetable for withdrawal, saying any troop pull-out had to be based on security conditions on the ground. The White House said the new deadlines were “aspirational”, but the text leaves less wiggle-room; clauses allowing for a review of the deadline, and the possibility that some American troops would stay on to train and support Iraqi forces, have been deleted. Security has improved markedly. But the political context has also shifted against the Bush administration—and the Iraqis have got their timetable.

In America, Ike Skelton, chairman of the House armed services committee, a Democrat, said he was worried by provisions that could result in American troops facing prosecution in Iraqi courts. But the text suggests that this is a remote possibility. Iraq has legal jurisdiction over American troops only in cases of “major and intentional crimes”, and even then only when they are outside their bases and off-duty.

The agreement should make life easier for Barack Obama, although there is some dispute as to whether it will have to be ratified by the American Congress. The deal supports the president-elect’s principle of a firm timetable for leaving Iraq, but allows him to draw out the process beyond the 16-month withdrawal he promised in his campaign. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said America had so much equipment that it would take two or three years to withdraw completely—security conditions permitting.

The agreement was strongly endorsed by the Iraqi cabinet but its passage through the Iraqi parliament, which could vote on it as early as November 24th, is less assured. There were brawls among the lawmakers when it was discussed on November 19th.

In a country with a history of intense opposition to military pacts with an invading power, the deal could polarise opinion. Followers of Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shia cleric who heads a powerful (though now dormant) private army, oppose the treaty and demand an immediate withdrawal of foreign troops. Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s most senior Shia cleric, says any agreement had to restore Iraqi sovereignty and win “national consensus”. But he did not oppose it, which supporters take as tacit assent.

Some Sunnis want the agreement to be put to a referendum. Another contentious issue is the status of some 17,000 (mostly Sunni) prisoners in American hands. The Iraqi government is due to take responsibility for them, but some Sunni leaders want them all released.

Iran is equivocal. The speaker of its parliament, Ali Larijani, said America was seeking to turn Iraq into a vassal. But the leader of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi Shahrudi, said the Iraqi government “has done very well”. Some interpret this as Iranian endorsement. But like so much else in Iran, it is hard to pick out a genuine signal from the political noise.

By Andy Serwer, managing editor

Last Updated: November 20, 2008: 8:08 AM ET

NEW YORK (Fortune) — I was thinking about the financial mess the other day and I came up with this theory. I’m wary of it because it’s comforting, even uplifting, and by definition any economic supposition that has a happy ending is suspect. So with that caveat here goes:

I remember talking to a wise man at the end of the last decade who was pointing out to me how much the market had gone up during the 1990s and how stocks couldn’t possibly continue to go up at that rate. The market’s historical annual mean gain is about 8%, and yet between 1990 and 2000 the market had climbed some 15% per annum.

There is only one way to revert to the mean, the wise man pointed out, and that is for the market to go up less than that for quite some time. So we were looking at low single digit gains – or worse – for years.

But how could that be, I asked? Remember, the world looked pretty damn good back then. Sure tech stock prices were ridiculous, but other than that, what could possibly make the market tank? I have no idea, the wise man said, it’s just very likely to happen.

And of course it did happen. First tech stocks crashed – and for sure, a few people saw that coming. But who envisioned the horror of 9/11 and its fallout? Who saw Enron, Worldcom and the wave of corporate scandals? Who saw Hurricane Katrina? And who saw this current financial meltdown. No one did. Back then our big concern was Y2K.

At the end of 1999 the Dow was around 11,400. Today the Dow is at 8,400, which means the index has fallen some 26%, a decline of almost 3% per year. With just one year left in this decade – even if 2009 is a humdinger – it is increasingly likely that first 10 years of this century will be one big washout for investors. A lost decade. (Just fyi, if the Dow had climbed up 8% a year from 11,400, the index would be over 22,000 now.) As for the Dow since 1990 – the entire 19-year period – the market has climbed on average some 6% per year.

The next big thing: Green tech?

So what does this mean for us going forward? Well, we don’t really know, but we can make assumptions. First, at some point the carnage will end. The government and the markets will somehow figure a way out of this mess. Stabilization and confidence will return, and the economy will recover.

Second, at some point stock price returns will revert back up to the mean. In fact, to revert to the mean, stocks will at some point have to exceed the mean, in other words go up more than 8%. I know it could be years off, but you see my logic. It’s just math.

And there’s the rub. I believe that in order for the market to achieve a sustainable advance that is above the mean, we are due for some unforeseen positive event or events. Think about it. In the 1990s stocks went way up because of an unanticipated revolution in technology, i.e., networking and the Internet. In this decade we had a slew of unexpected negative events – bookended by 9/11 and this current meltdown. At some point, and it may be a few years from now, we will likely be subjected to an unforeseen positive.

What will it be? Of course no one knows. If we did, it would be priced in. But you could see how something like this might work. Take, for example, the discovery of a sustainable energy source or sources. You can see the incredible boost this would be to our economy and our markets. Imagine the geopolitical benefits. (And how it might defang our enemies.) Imagine the boost to our national psyche. And on and on.

I know you might think this is wishful thinking. And, of course, it is. Right now we are in for the toughest slog we’ve had in decades. We are going to have sacrifice in unimaginable ways. It’s probably even true that George Soros is right and that we are at the end of the era of American dominance. (That’s okay. Who wants to dominate anyway?)

The bigger point is this: Somewhere over the horizon is an unrealized economic benefit that will lift us up in a way that right now, in the gloom, we can’t even imagine. We have much work to do in the meantime, but some day it will come.