Free Beer and Pizza

Aloha everyone! Brian here from MB Technologies, LLC to dazzle and entertain with a bit of guidance and humor thrown in for good measure. I constantly lament the state of tech and amidst this tsunami of information, useless flotsam and meaningful jetsam, how to tell the difference between them and cut to the solution. After all, what is it that you really want to accomplish? Despite the wild variety of software and end-purposes, the truth is, people just want to get their work done. Did you know, in the ‘olden’ days, the think-tanks and experts promoted the idea that computers would allow the workforce to do more work in fewer hours resulting in more leisure time for the workers? LOL!!!! Not in America my friends, maybe in Sweden or Germany, but not here. It has come to mean that fewer people can do the job of many. We are so convinced of our need to be available, many of us no longer really disconnect from the office. But I digress. While at my favorite watering hole this last weekend, they suffered the ignominious insult of having their POS (Point of Sale) computer system crash and require a complete reboot. Wow. I know almost everyone there by name, they are some of the nicest, friendliest wait staff anywhere and I count many as my friends. I will tell you though, they were HATERS that day! I had never heard so many F-Bombs, vague threats towards management, gnashing of teeth and speaking in tongues all whilst screaming about their inability to do their jobs correctly. WORST DAY EVAR! They couldn’t submit orders, run credit card charges or even open their cash drawers! They had NO alternate system and it was true chaos. Being an IT admin and knowing exactly what was going on, it was amusing. At first. As I watched the meltdown continue it became clear to me that this is how my users (clients) feel when computer things don’t go their way. Even though we are all inextricably linked to the network, the Internet, our Smart Phones, our work process, our email, etc., the link is tenuous. Interrupted for whatever reason, we are bereft of input and output. We are disconnect. We cannot think straight much less get our work done. The resultant angst is understandable and yes, I feel the same way if I come into the office and I can’t get to the Internet. Does not make me happy. It is exactly that need for absolute perfection at all times that creates this paradigm of near hysteria if anything and I mean ANYTHING goes wrong. DO you have ANY idea how many things CAN go wrong? SRSLY?! There is hardly any amount of money that can create a system that is entirely infallible and completely perfect, because in the end, one system depends on another. They are all interconnected by the thinnest of wires. Bringing it all around to a completed circle, I, we, can only do the best we can with the tools we have at our disposal. BTW, there is always a workaround. If you haven’t ‘Turned it off and turned it on again’, you are doing both of us a disservice. Workarounds are legitimate temporary fixes for problems that need a permanent solution but can be fixed in the short term by modifying behavior, whether it’s the user or the program. Nothing is perfect, after all, this IS a relative world and we all know that what can go wrong, will go wrong. (To misquote a famous ‘law’) But, we here at MB Technologies, LLC really do care about you and it is our intent to protect you from yourself and the noxious rabble that skulk on the Interwebs to steal your banking info and your credit card numbers and crash your computer. BTW, you know how I always tell you to ‘lock your computer’? I just learned, or relearned, that hitting the Windows key + the ‘L’ key will instantly lock your screen. Try it! Leaving your screen ‘open’ invites people to write on your Facebook profile and send emails out in your name. You don’t want THAT do you? Thanks for listening and being part of this grand social experiment. After all, the world has never been at this very moment in time before. It is unique, precious and amazing. These are the good old days. Aloha, Brian _______________________ Brian D. Hughes MB Technologies, LLC brian@mbtechnologies.com (808) 383-9986 Simple Reminder: Be the conscious creator of your experience.