After months of putting off buying the Xbox360’s wireless adaptor due to it being overpriced, I finally just gave up and bought one. Happy to finally get rid of the Linksys Wireless-G Game Bridge that has been a problem since day one, it was just my luck to discover that I couldn’t connect to my wireless network. After about an hour of trying everything I could, I gave a quick google search and discovered others were having problems connecting to an Apple Time Capsule router also. I had waited so long to get the wireless adaptor for the 360 that I wasn’t going to give up.

My Time Capsule is basically an Apple Airport Extreme 802.11n Router with a hard drive built in. The router supports 802.11 a/b/g/n while the 360’s wireless adaptor supports a/b/g. My laptop is a/b/g and the only other device I connect wirelessly is my iPhone which is b/g. This left me with a few choices. Currently I run the Time Capsule in 802.11n with b/g compatibility running at 2.4Ghz.

I’ll spare the details of the hours of headache trying to get this to work by saying this: the Xbox360’s Wireless Adaptor does not work with Time Capsule…yet. Well thats not entirely true. Lets looks at what options we have:

802.11n (2.4Ghz) = Not Supported

802.11n (5Ghz) = Not Supported

802.11n (802.11b/g compatible) (2.4Ghz) = Not Working

802.11n (802.11a compatible) (5Ghz) = Not Working

802.11b/g (2.4Ghz) = Not Working

802.11a (5Ghz) = Not Working

802.11g (2.4Ghz) = Not Working

802.11b (2.4ghz) = Working

So out of 8 modes, 6 of which are supported, only 1 mode works. 802.11b is the only mode that allows the Xbox360 wireless to connect. Pretty worthless. Right now this looks to be a Microsoft problem as there are reports of the wireless adaptor not connecting to other draft N routers. Hopefully Microsoft will add support for Time Capsule in the Spring Dashboard update like they added support for Airport Extreme 802.11n routers in the Fall Update back in December. Until its fixed, you will either have to run your wireless network in 802.11b only mode or hardwire the Xbox360 using Cat5.

What happened to the design?

To know more about why styles are disabled on this website visit the

Annual CSS Naked Day website for more information.

My one year subscription to Spanning Sync is coming up and while I’ve been very happy with the program itself, the $25 a year or $65 one time fee doesn’t. Last year I opted for the one year subcription as Leopard hadn’t been released and I was hoping for some built in support for syncing iCal to Google. Well that didn’t happen. This year at Macworld, BusyMac showed off a beta of BusySync 2.0 which supports syncing to Google Calendar… all for $19.95 for 1.x and a free upgrade 2.0 when released. Thanks to a 50% coupon code, Google Calendar syncing only costs me $9.98. Due to the different way each program uses to sync iCal and Google Calendar, its not as straight forward to switch to BusySync.

1) Backup. This is the most important step. Go to iCal > File > Export and save each of you calendars.

2) Disable .Mac calendar Syncing - You should not use both BusySync and .Mac to sync calendars between the same Macs. This will end up causing you to have duplicate calendars.

3) Turn off Spanning Sync. Make one last sync with Spanning Sync then go into System Preferences > Spanning Sync and uncheck the “Sync with Google Calendar” box.

4) Decided where you want to “host” your calendars. This is where most of the work is done. Spanning Sync requires you to create parallel calendars in iCal and Google Calendar and map them to each other. BusySync uses a Publish and Subscribe model where one side is the host and the other side is the client. We will need to delete any calendars that are not the host. In my example, I had 2 calendars in iCal, one called Home and Work. Google Calendar had 2 calendars called Alec Peden (default calendar that you cannot delete) and Work. I mapped Home > Alec Peden and Work > Work. To BusySync, that would be 4 different calendars. We only need 2. Since you cannot delete the default calendar in Google Calendar, we will want to delete the calendar in iCal that you had mapped to it. In my case, it would be the Home calendar. All the other calendars you have, you just need to decide where you want the host calendar to be and delete the corresponding calendar. Since I use Time Machine to back up iCal, I decided on using iCal’s calendars as the host. It honestly does not matter which one you decide.

3) Install BusySync 2.0.

4) Setup which calendars to sync by going to the System Preferences > BusySync and click the Google tab. Place a check mark next to the calendars you want to sync. Keep in mind you can have host calendars in both iCal and Google Calendar. To read more about which calendar is the client and host, visit BusySync.

5) Sync. Everything should be setup and ready to sync. Your first sync may take a few minutes but you should start to see the calendars you checked show up in both iCal and Google Calendar. If everything worked out the way you want it, go ahead and uninstall Spanning Sync by Ctrl+Clicking the icon in System Preferences and choose “Remove”.

Note: If you run into any problems. Delete the problem calendar(s), recreate a new blank calendar in either iCal or Google Calendar, check the box to sync it in BusySync and once its sync, import the ICS backup you made in step 1 into iCal.

Wordpress 2.5 was released last night which I promptly upgraded using the awesome Wordpress Automatic Upgrade plugin. Upgrade went great with no issues so far. I had been testing the RC’s on a test account for about a week so I was prepared for what was coming. I did have some minor issues with my theme, which makes no sense, but thanks to Rob, he fixed most of the issues. There still is one issue that I think I know what’s causing it but no idea how to fix it. Its small enough that you probably won’t notice it even tho you’re seeing it as you read this. I haven’t decided if I’ll just let it be or remove the CSS code totally. Time will tell.

I’ve also moved from my web host from Dreamhost to Media temple. I did this last week and it went very smoothly mostly due to learning from my last move. I got a lot of questions on why I decided to switch because I never had any issues with Dreamhost. Mostly was because media temple contacted me after a previous post and send me a t-shirt and note thanking me for mentioning them. That is the kinda company I want to give my money too. I’m also a sucker for any company with an iPhone interface. So far I’ve been very happy with the change and my blog does seem a little more snappy when loading.

To segue into the next thing, I was driving to work when I had a awesome idea for a domain name. I broke out the iPhone and loaded up media temple to buy a domain name. Of course, the site was already taken by a cybersquatter. This is the 2nd domain I want that is rotting away due to these cockgobblers. Dammit!

Since I was told Tuesday I was leaving this weekend, I haven’t really had the time to make any plans for while I’m in CA. While I’m sure most of my weekdays will be filled with studying, I do plan on going out on the weekends. I’ll have a rental car but its shared between 5 of us. My first order of business will be to get into San Francisco next weekend for WonderCon and hopefully headed to one of the iFanboy party’s at night. Other than that, I really have no plans but I’m sure I’ll figure something out.

Performance vs. Quality in a Help Desk Environment

The very word help in the phrase ‘help desk’ implies a demand for immediate attention. Given the emphasis on immediacy, you might expect that the better the help desk, the faster the response. Speed alone, however, is not enough for a first-rate help desk. The quality of the response counts, too. And it takes the right combination of people, training and technology to maximize the speed and quality of help desk response. Traditional help desks concentrate on performing two well circumscribed functions - handle high volume traffic and ensure “mission critical” performance. Most assessments seem to think these two qualities are linear to each other. For instance, when speed is emphasized, typically shortcuts are taken in the processes and communication that otherwise would have led to quality or lasting value to the customer. On the other hand, emphasizing quality could easily cause too much time on communication and processes that hinder reaching a timely resolution. At best, we can provide an equilibrium of the two.

Since performance is easily defined and measured, let’s look at quality. Quality is defined as the “value to some person”. What this means is the same answer does not satisfy the same people. A technician needs to be able to identify this problem on a daily basis and adjust. As I see it, to an extent, performance provides quality. When dealing with a client on the phone, we are not trained to take into account of the third party that is also involved, the customer. In the fast-paced 21st century of one-click online shopping and credit cards, customers expect more than to have to wait while a simple purchase at a retail store turns into a 5-10 minute affair. When a client calls the help desk, they expect me to have the answer to their problem so they can fix it and get the customer on there way. They do not want to know how the weather is in Connecticut nor do they care about the rash I have. They just want the customer to be taken care of in the quickest way possible. In this type of situation, performance equals quality. It is up to the technician to make the determination when this is appropriate and not. While in the previous situation performance provides quality, in others it does not.

Its been said that there is no good technicians and no bad technicians in our line of work. The reality of the situation is there are. What makes a technician “good” in comparison to “bad” is their ability to take accuracy and client satisfaction and apply it to speed and volume. The balance between performance and quality starts and ends with the technician. The technician needs to be success oriented to help take everything that is provided for him to do his job and use them to their benefit. This continual improvement is what takes his personal need to develop and turns him into a business oriented asset to the company. Most help desk’s first requirement is to hit high percentage targets then look at the first call resolution metrics. While numbers don’t lie, metrics can only show the performance side of a technician. There is no metric to show client satisfaction or just a simple desire to want to better one-self.

How do you promote a healthy balance between quality and speed? The biggest factor holding help desks back when trying to promote quality over performance is throughput. Performance must take a back seat when quality is given a priority. In the case of Ann Taylor’s help desk, the small size of the department will never fully allow quality to take priority over performance. Also in our environment, performance is penalized in the form of the faster you are, the more work you do. Our ACD is setup in such a way that whoever is ready will receive the next call in queue. So someone who is twice as fast as another will take twice as many phone calls, making twice as many tickets and fix twice as many issues. There is no incentive to finish up calls efficiently. Emphasis is taken off of performance when trying to provide quality service so there is no reason not to stay on the phone with a client for as long as it takes. While that would be ideal, in the case of a small help desk throughput drops which in turn cause longer hold times. The amount of time the client is on the phone, both in hold times and actually talk times, is in direct relation to the amount of quality they perceive. We are the gateway to any and all problems regardless of the severity of the issue. Taking a 6 minute phone call to answer a procedural question takes away from time that could be spent dealing with an actual problem of another client. There is no way of knowing when a call comes in or what it will entail. To provide a quality answer that the client is going to get off the phone satisfied, there is no set time limit.

In conclusion, performance and quality are not mutually exclusive. There is no fundamental reason why a technician cannot provide a quality answer in a timely manner. Unfortunately these skills are more learned than taught. Following the points I have made here, it seems the key to a first-rate help desk is neither performance nor quality but a technician that can understand the urgency of both. Adversely, the heart of most help desks seems to be metrics, and while this is understandable, it should not be, by any means, a measure of value. In an example of metrics being flawed, a technician who receives calls and answers them at a high volume rate will leave the client feeling rushed and confused. The technician gets off the call in a timely matter but the client has not been taken care of. First call resolution is based on what the technician feels is resolved and not the client. In another example, a technician could take his time with the client making sure everything is resolved and that there is no further issues to deal with. When checking against the metric, they will show this person as being a poor performer. While numbers don’t lie, they also do not show the human aspect of a call. In those two examples, I have shown how metrics can be misleading, but the real point is that they are both missing key qualities. A technician should have a complete understanding of the issue, the state the client is in and the resolution path that must be taken for each individual call. With this knowledge in hand, accuracy and speed can come together leaving the client pleased with the experience.

Anyone that follows this blog or my Twitter account knows I’ve been looking for a new job lately. My current job with Ann Taylor as a Help Desk Specialist is being outsourced in a few short months and I decided to get the hell out of dodge while I could. After 3 interviews, a tech screening, and some anxiety I’m happy to say I was offered a position at Apple as a Mac Genius in their Danbury, CT store last week. I happened to be on vacation last week so I didn’t put my notice in at work until this Monday. My last day at Ann Taylor was today. I’m going to miss the people I work with but I couldn’t wait to get away from that job. I hope to start with Apple next Monday and I’m very excited. I took a small pay cut but I’m going to be a million times more happy at Apple on my worst day than the best day at Ann Taylor. I should know some more details in the next few days but sometimes next month, I get to go to the Mothership (Cupertino, CA) for training.

Here are some unpacking photos of my new Timbuk2 Commute bag. I’ve been using it for about a month now and I actually love it more than my Blogger.

I recently got an invite to Paul Stamatiou’s new startup service Skribit. Skribit in its basic form is a widget that allows blog readers to make suggestions or vote on what topics they would like to see covered. One of my new year’s resolutions was to blog more but I usually only write about stuff that catches my interest. I’ve installed the widget in the sidebar and have added some idea’s I’ve had floating around. My readers, thats you guys, can either vote on what you would like to see or even better, make your own suggestions. I have a decent readership but I’m not sure its big enough for Skribit to work for me. I’m going to leave the widget up for a few months and see how it works out.

With Macworld 2008 wrapping up, I thought I’d touch on some of the announcements made this year. I took the week off hoping to go to Macworld again this year but no such luck. Somethings came up, good stuff which I’ll touch base with in a future post, so I couldn’t make it this year. So like millions of other geeks, I loaded up my browser tabs with as much coverage as I could. Which didn’t go as well as planned. Iphonealley’s Ustream didn’t work out, Twitter buckled under the pressure and even Engadget had its share of hiccups. Macrumors was once again the winner with up to the minute coverage.

Macbook Air

Lets start with the biggest announcement, the Macbook Air. New ultra-portable laptop that falls in between a Macbook and a Macbook Pro. Well, first off, I’m sure it’s a gorgeous piece of hardware (I haven’t seen one up close yet) but I’m just not the target market for this product. If maybe I had a Mac Pro or even an iMac as my main computer, the MBA would be a nice on the go laptop but thats not the case. So I’m going to pass on this one.

Time Capsule

Now something that is right up my alley is the new Time Capsule. Since upgrading to Leopard I haven’t had a backup. Superduper isn’t compatible with Leopard yet and my only external drive is a 120GB WD Passport that’s too small for Time Machine to work. I’ve wanted an Apple Airport Extreme for sometime now but never made a move due to have a rev 1 Macbook which didn’t include 802.11n. I’ll probably opt for the 500GB one as I only have my Macbook to back up and 500GB should be plenty. As soon as they are available, I’ll be picking one up.

Apple TV and Movie Rentals

While iTunes movie rentals is no big surprise, the fact they have all major studios on board and HD movies was. I’m all for renting movies and I think Apple will do fairly well. Unfortunately I think only the people with AppleTV’s will really use this. Watching a movie on my iPhone or iPod just doesn’t appeal to me. When I had my AppleTV i loved it. The only reason I sold it was my HDTV died and I wasn’t planning on getting another one right away. I think once I get another HDTV, I’ll pick up a AppleTV again. The software update was nice and the ability to run without the need for a computer is epic.

All the rest

It seemed to be very quiet otherwise at Macworld this year. The iPhone update nice but expected. I would have liked to see something about the iPhone SDK that’s being released next month. Eye-Fi announced iPhoto support. Too bad my camera uses XD cards. Office 2008 was released which is finally a Universal Binary. I installed it this morning and its a nice upgrade to 2004. Other than that, I didn’t hear anything else that really caught my attention, well except a rumor than Panic is working on blogging software!