The infamous ticketing system .. a necessary evil

What happens when the telephone system goes down.

So today, i had to send a email to all our employees to inform then that our telephone system is down. We are in the process of changing the old telephone system to a new Voice over IP system ( which means telephones that use our data network), and the telephone company is still working to fix a few unforeseen issues.

the infamous ticketing system a necessary evil

And now we have users knocking at our door asking for help!

I understand it is much easier to pick up the phone and call than filling a service request. However, when using a ticketing system allow us to serve the users better as it gives us a way to track our work, we get some important information we need beforehand, gives the supervisor an opportunity to assign jobs to the right help desk person and the ticket just need to be submitted once instead of calling and getting a busy tone and having to call back.

My tip for today:

Use the ticketing system, once you do it one or two times, you will realize it is not that hard and it is fair for everybody.

See you all soon with more tips.

what is the cloud???

About the cloud and other storage. 

I love that commercial where a woman ask "Where is the cloud? Are we in the cloud?". So I thought it would be nice to talk about Cloud Storage.

Cloud storage is internet base storage or put in another terms, it is storage that you access through internet. "The cloud" is just a metaphoric name for internet computing.

Is this the cloud?

There are several companies that offer free cloud storage as: iCloud, Dropbox, Onedrive, Google Drive, and many more. They are all different but at the same time they offer the same, storage space that can be accessed over the internet.

And you might wonder why would people store their information on the cloud? well, it makes it easier to share files between your different devices, as your computer and mobile devices. Also, it gives you the opportunity to access your files from any computer as long as you have access to internet and can remember your log in and password. And you could also share files and collaborate with other users.

As many users I have seen having problems with corrupted or ran over flash drives, I would really recommend them to give cloud services a shot.You could still use your flash drives as a secondary backup option.

Which one is the best? they all have their pros and cons.

My tip for today:

 If your current email service provides cloud storage, then, than would be your best option because at least you already know that user name and password.

See you all soon with more tips.

It's like magic....isn't it?

When users see the computers just as a black box.

It's like magic

For some users computers are like a black box that works like :

input -> blackbox -> output.

They don't really know how it works or what make things work the way the do. I remember meeting a young lady that said to me "computers are like magic to me". I guess it gave me a lot of insight of what some users perception of computers is.

It does seem like magic now with the new operating systems, but there is a lot of engineering inside those black boxes and a lot of processes going on before and after every click the user makes.

What to learn more about what goes on inside the black box?  then keep reading my blog.  :)

See you soon.

All roads lead to Rome.

When working with technology if it doesn't work one way, try another way. Do not get stuck.

When personal computers first started, the user used the command line to input commands one at a time and it was easier to have a written procedure to follow from beginning to end. It is not like that anymore. Now users can reach the same results following different paths or methodologies. We just need to be more flexible and creative.

A good example of what I am talking about is all the different browsers now available. For example the most popular ones are: internet explorer, fire fox, chrome, safari. There are more out there.

I have noticed that some websites work better in ie and others prefer chrome or firefox or safary. So, when facing problems with display on certain websites, it is a good idea to try a different browser.  I wouldn't recommend to have 4 different browsers on you computer but you can pick 2. I would have IE and another of your preference (chrome or firefox).

Users tend to have a preferred browser and it is just that they are used to it, their layout, colors, etc. But as i have said, in this day and time it is best to be flexible and just try different ways to accomplish the task. 

So my tip for today:  Be flexible and don't get stuck. :)

Who you gonna call?

When facing computer problems, Who you gonna call?

As a user myself, I sometimes face issues with software I am trying to use or deploy. As part of education system,  we tech people also have a helpdesk support in Frankfort we could call if needed. However, it is important to know whom to call. When it is a internal operations issue we call our helpdesk, otherwise, when it is a software application issue, then we need to call the software company support.

I  know it is a fine line and I guess as a user calling your own tech support would be the first option for most users and that is ok. 

My Tip today : There are several sources of help we could use.

• GOOGLE IT. Don't underestimate the power of "googleing".
• FAQ. In most websites they have a FAQ (frequently asked question) sections where they have posted questions and answers to common questions.
• FORUMS.  most software companies also have forums where users can go and post issues they are experiencing and they get answers from other users.

Of course when all this options fail, call me :D, but don't be like some users that work for 2-5 days and call everybody on their contact list and then, when the level of frustration is 200 (on a scale from 1-10), they call tech support.... It is hard for us too.

Hope these tips help you and I'll be back soon.