i think i’ve mentioned before that i manage a blackberry enterprise server at work. in the nearly two years we’ve been using it, it’s been running on the free vmware server. we first purchased vmware infrastructure last summer and moving the bes v.m. over to esx has never really been a huge priority.
a few days ago, it was decided that we’d go ahead and move it over. a co-worker handles most of the vmware management but i volunteered to take care of this for a few different reasons (which aren’t really relevant).
so this morning, at 2am, i start working to import the bes v.m. off of the vmware server and onto esx. i spent an hour and a half having nothing but problems. i eventually figured out a way to make it work and, as i write this, it’s at 87% completion.
import directly to a specific esx server (as opposed to a cluster), and
use the credentials for my local account on the esx server (not the credentials i use to access the virtualcenter server — which is tied into active directory).
isn’t that fuckin’ retarded?
it just finished successfully, so it’s time to fire up the “new” v.m. and see how it went. *crosses fingers*
if you’re using a blackberry, hopefully you’ve already installed opera mini on it. just load up opera mini and point it at the mobile version of google reader and you’re set. it even syncs up so that you don’t see the articles you’ve already read when you later visit the site in your browser.
a native application for the blackberry would be nice, but i can deal with that for now. =)
about a week ago, i decided i should probably update the blackberry enterprise server at work. it was a little out of date but i was a bit afraid to update it due to simply not being familiar with the process. fortunately it was pretty straightforward (being able to snapshot it before the updating does wonders for your confidence) and everything went well. it was done in the middle of the night and, as far as i know, no one even noticed (notification wasn’t sent out to the users).
about the same time, i decided i’d go ahead and update the operating system software on my blackberry pearl. i went to t-mobile’s “blackberry upgrade” site and grabbed their latest version, v4.2.1.107. after about 45 minutes downstairs in the cold (where the windows xp machines live), it was done and everything was working.
until i responded to a text message, that is.
my pearl exhibited signs of what i can only refer to as a “repeating character” bug. namely, i’d hit the “1″ key quickly twice to generate “r” but would instead end up with “ee” (it was all of the characters, not just that key) and it was a real pain in the ass — sometimes it worked as it should, sometimes it didn’t.
playing around with the “key rate” setting under options -> screen/keyboard didn’t help. it was extremely annoying as i often compose complete emails and text messages without even looking down at the phone (i usually use multi-tap, but am now trying to switch to suretype — we’ll see how that goes), especially when i’m driving. it’s real annoying to have to go back and make 30 corrections before hitting send.
last night i was out drinking with some friends and sending a lot of sms’s and finally got pissed off enough to convince myself to get it straightened out. since the problem started occuring immediately after upgrading the os, i figured that must be where the problem lied. i submitted an e-mail to support through t-mobile’s web site asking for a link to the previous versions of the software and directions for downgrading (if anything special was required).
after sending the query, i got an auto-response that said that responses would usually arrive within 24 hours. i didn’t want to wait 24 hours, so i got to work googling.
in my search for an answer, i found out some interesting things. the most interesting was that i could use the software from any carrier; i didn’t have to use the one from t-mobile. in addition, i learned how to unlock the themes from all of the other vendors.
i finally scored a copy of v4.2.0.67 from o2 in the united kingdom and installed the desktop manager and the os software on another xp box. 45 minutes or so later i was back to running v4.2.0.67 and the problem was fixed. yay!
then, a few hours later, i got a response from “tariq m, 2743192″, a “technical care specialist” with t-mobile who tells me that “there is no way to downgrade the software“. here’s his response (with some comments inline):
From: Customer Care <customercare@t-mobilesupport.com>
Date: Sunday, 24 Feb 2008 15:39:42 -0500
To: <me@domain.edu>
Subject: Re: Phones and Accessories.FeaturesAndSpecifications (CASE_NUMBER)
Dear <MY NAME>,
Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to write to us. My name is Tariq, and it is my pleasure to be of assistance in providing you with a resolution.
I understand you have performed a software upgrade on your Blackberry 8100 and since then you are running into a few small issues. You would like to know how to get back to the old software version.
yes. yes, i would.
I know how upsetting it must be when things don’t work, as they should. It is definitely aggravating when you cannot use your phone according to your expectations. I can see how eager you must be to receive this information <MY NAME>.
i am, can we get on with it?
Please be assured that I will make it my honor to assist you today.
great, let’s go!
<MY NAME>, I regret to inform you that there is no way to downgrade the software back to old version your Blackberry 8100 had before. We would be able to better assist you if you please let us know the followings:
“no way”? but i just did it!
What was the initial issue with your Blackberry?
Are you sure you clicked on the right software upgrade link available for Blackberry 8100?
What is the issue with the device after software upgrade?
Are you able to see anything or the screen has become blank?
Have you been able to successfully complete the software upgrade or it broke in middle of it?
Does your Blackberry have any power?
I offer my apologies for the short delay this will cause in getting your issue addressed, however; I am confident that your concerns will be processed in a timely manner. I once again apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and thank you for your patience and understanding.
Did you know you might change your signature on the Blackberry when sending emails? Simply follow these steps:
yes i knew that, thanks.
[SNIPPED A WHOLE BUNCH OF CRAP ABOUT HOW TO CHANGE MY SIGNATURE]
Have a safe and wonderful day!
Sincerely,
Tariq M, 2743192
Technical Care Specialist
T-Mobile USA
by the time i got this e-mail, i was already back to v4.2.0.67 and my device was working like it used to. i figured that email came from the “first level” support, so i decided to call up support and get the blackberry/pda department, thinking one of the folks there might know more.
i got ahold of alex, who was actually extremely helpful (though he sounded kinda “new”). alex had a blackberry pearl himself and was familiar with the issue i described, even telling me later that it was a known issue and should be fixed with rim’s next update.
unfortunately, the knowledge base (or whatever alex was getting his information from) wasn’t quite correct. alex said it might have been possible to revert back if the apploader had saved a copy of the old software on my pc but i checked and it hadn’t. i let it go at that, told him thanks, and asked to speak to a supervisor.
after a few minutes on hold i got to talk to ben. i let him know that alex was a tremendous help and that i wasn’t calling to complain (usually that’s the only reason people ask for supervisors)! i told ben that i’d gotten a copy of the software from o2 (it’s the same software, remember?), reverted it back, the issue was gone, and that t-mobile may want to update its information since this is a known issue with no workaround (other than using suretype instead of multi-tap — not an option, as far as i’m concerned).
ben let me know (kinda harshly, actually) that, as far as t-mobile was concerned, i no longer had a “t-mobile device” and that, were i a “my faves” customer, i would be having “some weird billing issues” (no idea if that’s right or not, i can’t confirm — but since i can easily add that feature myself from their web site, i’m not sure i believe that). ben also said they don’t keep older versions of the software on their web site since they don’t want “average users trying to do that” (somewhat understandable).
from everything i’ve read, the software is the same across carriers. i’m inclined to believe that as otherwise my pearl probably wouldn’t be working right now. i imagine my account is now “flagged” and i’ll be asked what version i’m running the next time i call. ;)
lucky me, i was at home and slept through it. i didn’t even hear any complaints from our “regular” users, so i guess it wasn’t too big of a deal for us (i have users on t-mobile, verizon, and at&t/cingular, by the way).
my logs show that that our srp connection dropped at 3:25pm. a trouble ticket didn’t get created in our system until 6:11pm and, ironically, that’s the same time i got the last e-mail from our blackberry server (letting me know it had re-established a connection to rim):
From: <besadmin@domain.edu>
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:11:36 -0500
To: "Me" <me@domain.edu>
Subject: BlackBerry Dispatcher SERVERNAME
<N/A> | BlackBerry Dispatcher SERVERNAME (Application
Event Log on SERVERNAME) | 02/11/2008 18:11:30
(XXXXXXXX) -> [SRP] Dispatcher\SRP Connection
established
one thing i haven’t seen mentioned is that rim was doing “maintenance” early saturday morning. when i was on my way down to lafayette, tennessee to help with the tornado cleanup, i noticed that i’d lost a data connection right about the time i entered kentucky (from the north) — around 3am. a call to t-mobile was returned about 45 minutes later and they let me know about the maintenance. they said it the maintenance window was until 6am, but i still had to call back about 6:30am. the guy i spoke to then “reset the data connection”, i “rebooted” my blackberry pearl and then all was good.
i wonder if the outage was related to this maintenance? rim is being quiet, again.
“doesn’t it seem as if every day that goes by there is more information being streamed to us in an almost non-stop fashion? 24-hour news networks, rss feeds from every web site, blackberrys, instant messaging, e-mail, cell phones — even digital billboards are taking over on the roadways to stream a constantly changing message to us.”
i don’t know about you, but this is definitely something that applies to me. in fact, all this information is probably one of the biggest obstacles to my productivity.
i’m a news junkie, plain and simple. it’s even worse now that the presidential elections are going on (i’m pretty big into politics). as i write this, the television is turned to cnn in front of me, showing the same teary-eyed hillary clinton they’ve been showing for the last few days. even though i’ve seen it multiple times and i know what’s coming up next, it’s hard for me to turn off the tv. i might miss something!
i don’t even want to try to count the number of rss feeds i’m subscribed to. i use google reader and i currently have 451 unread items amongst those feeds. i actually read perhaps 5% of those items. it’s more efficient, i suppose, to use a feed reader and have everything in one place as opposed to surfing to all of those different sites, but wouldn’t i be much more efficient and productive if i didn’t read them at all?
“there is no disputing the need for information so the solution is not to get rid of all the information that is available to us. instead, consider cutting the fluff and only keeping that information which is relevant. we have to learn how to detoxify our lives from the information overdose we are currently in. by doing so, we’ll free ourselves up to pursue other activities — such as spending time with loved ones, or enjoying our favorite hobby.”
i think this is the key. how many of those feeds do i really need to read? very few, honestly. i crave information, however, and like to be on the forefront of new developments. do i really need that, though? no. on that note, i’m imploring myself to unsubscribe from at least three feeds immediately after i commit this post.
besides rss feeds, “e-mail overload” is one of my big problems. i work in information technology and just within my group we send & receive a lot of e-mail. combine that with all the e-mails i receive from others, both inside and outside of my organization, and i probably get, on average, a few hundred e-mails a day.
i have a bit of control over my e-mail, but there are some things i cannot control — like the co-worker who insists on cc:’ing me on everything, even shit that has nothing to do with me or that i couldn’t care about. being i.t., we also get lots of “notification e-mails” that are automatically sent out by our various systems. lots of those i can ignore as well and, for the most part, i do. most of them bypass my inbox and go straight to the appropriate folders — thanks to outlook rules.
i can’t seem to tear myself away from my blackberry pearl, however. carrying a blackberry 24/7 has its advantages and disadvantages. on one hand, it allows me to deal with e-mails when it’s convenient for me — on the way to and from meetings, when i’m on the road, and standing in line at the grocery store. the downside of that is that anytime i hear the “new e-mail” alert, i’m conditioned to grab the blackberry and immediately read the new e-mail. that was something that my ex-girlfriend hated the most. it’s hard to enjoy a night out together when every 10 minutes i was checking my blackberry. i eventually managed to silence it or even — gasp — turn it off altogether! more often than that, however, i didn’t.
i do use the pearl for more than just e-mail, though. it does allow me to get things under control. with just a few clicks, i can send a new task or reminder to my remember the milk inbox, catch up on my rss feeds with google reader using opera mini, listen to music and take pictures (and send them to flickr or facebook).
besides my goals that i mentioned previously, one of the big things i need to do is get my life in order. i use remember the milk to manage my lists (inbox, actions, someday, waiting, etc.) and am doing pretty good with that, though it’s easy to “fall off the gtd bandwagon”. we’ll see how things work out.
how do you deal with all this information overload? what do you do to keep control of chaos? let me know in the comments.
awhile back i came across a video of a presentation made my merlin mann of 43 folders. the presentation was made to a group at google and is called inbox zero:
Merlin Mann, a well known productivity guru and creator of the popular 43 folders website will talk about Getting Things Done, the importance of getting your inbox to zero, and strategies for dealing with high volume email.
the presentation is a bit on the long side, coming in at just under an hour. i watched it in its entirety and i think it’s well worth the time (if you’re interested in getting your e-mail under control).
on that note, merlin mann also put together a post entitled recap: becoming an email ninja. it’s a collection of both merlin’s favorite and his site’s most popular posts on the subject of email — “how to better deal with email as a recipient, and how to improve the lives of others as a better sender.” like the inbox zero presentation, they’re definitely worth checking out:
about a week ago, i decided i should probably update the 