Throughout my day, week and month, I constantly get phone calls and email from clients and there is usually an “I’m sorry!” somewhere in the conversation. Well, I’ll tell you right now, it isn’t needed.

This should sum up a response to nearly every “I’m sorry” I receive: No one is perfect, you really aren’t bugging me, and I enjoy helping people. Plain and simple, and it’s all true. I’ve answered the phone at 6am on Monday to hear it, I’ve been woke up at 3am to hear it and typically hear it three to four times during a normal business day.

I’ll give anyone else this advice too: If your technician gets annoyed at you for calling over “simple” questions, it’s time to find someone else.
Justin

News hit the Internet today that Best Buy is practicing some pretty nasty business practices. Unfortunately, Best Buy has found that they can offer laptops, that are on sale, for a higher-than-advertised price. While they do sell two versions of the same laptop, a non-optimized and pre-optimized, the non-optimized laptops sell out first (naturally) leaving most customers with an extra $39.99 to add to the bill.

That’s right, imagine going into Best Buy thinking that you’re going to get a $299 laptop that’s on sale in the paper. You get there and find that the laptop you want is actually being listed as $299 + 39.99. You speak to one of the reps and they tell you that “Optimized is better” and explain several pre-scripted paragraphs of technobabble as well as some untrue, self thought-up, comments. You hold your ground and say you want the $299 laptop and they reply “we’re sold out of those…”. What happens then? Depending on which store you visit, and how much of a stink you raise, you may

1. Pay nothing extra
2. Pay a minor fee
3. Pay the full price.

Imagine bringing that pre-optimized computer home to find that you’ve got an info sheet for a different model and manufacturer, and that you’re missing your power supply. It happened. Pre-optimized laptops are opened by associates in the store then manually configured with tweaks that you can do yourself.

While I dislike talking badly about competition, I honestly feel that bad business practices hurt everyone involved, to include customers, technicians as well as legitimate repair companies. These types of situations need to be brought to light. It seems that the Consumerist feels the same way, as they broke the story yesterday. If you’re thinking about buying any type of electronics from Best Buy, or have considered the Geek Squad as a business to fix your computer, I highly recommend that you read the article. You may also want to check on exactly who fixes your computer at the Geek Squad.
Justin

Goodness we’ve been busy recently – calls out to Portland proper, West Linn, Tigard, Beaverton and more! The Google stats for the website have been picking up, and so has business. On top of that, the office in Beaverton is just about done, so things have been more than hectic to say the least.

This week, I had a customer request something that I didn’t have, so that’ll be offered here shortly – in the next post, in fact. I also managed to do a little charity work on a computer as well.

Anyway – we haven’t gone anywhere, we’re just busy!

I get asked all the time how to hide what people are doing online. Some people want to download music without getting caught (Sorry, won’t help there), but a lot of people just want to be private on what they do. There isn’t a problem with that…

A common misconception that stands out is about IP addresses. Many people think, mostly due to TV shows and Hollywood, that IP addresses can be tracked instantly – all the way to your address. False. Unless you’re doing something illegal, there is no reason to worry about your IP address.

An IP address is the address given to your internet connection while you are connected to the internet. These days, typically your modem or router for your broadband has an IP address attached to it, then each type of computer on your internal network has another address, and so on. Anything connected to a network or the internet has an IP address. There are also two types of IP addresses. The old version: 235.135.191.100 or the new version: 2001:0db8:85a3:08d3:1319:8a2e:0370:7334

Another common misconception is that everything you do online is anonymous and can’t be tracked. Far from it… Everything you do online, unless you use special tools and have the know how, is tracked and kept in the history of your computer, your router/modem, your ISP and on any type of web or email server you “touch”. Think of it just like your fingerprint – when you go about your normal day, you leave your fingerprints all over the place.

Well, things just got worse. It seems that someone leaked that Yahoo had a virtual “menu” of what law enforcement could request from them, along with pricing, to get information on people’s email, account activity, etc. They provide pricing, a sample warrant so the police word the warrant correctly to receive information from them as well as exactly what information they need to find the account that law enforcement is interested in – oh, and how long they keep that information.  Unfortunately, this is not just an issue with Yahoo, but other companies as well. Verizon is being named in a Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) request for the same “price sheet”. Verizon, however, is not providing it as they would be ridiculed for the practice. If you’re interested in this topic, feel free to check out the Wired story here.
Justin

There has been talk about the “Black Screen of Death”(CNN is also covering it) affecting various installs of Windows 7 (note: this can also happen on all other Operating Systems). Typically, this screen causes minor issues, but can cause other major issues as well. Perhaps one of the things you need to make sure to have is a backup.

I’ve mentioned that you should always have a backup. My personal computers all backup automatically inside the house, the Server at the new office backs locally and remotely in case something happens locally. I’ve also got a smaller home server to handle odds and ends at home since I test products at home as well. That home server backs up to the work server. My backup solution is sort of like the Family Circus when you lay it out on paper, but after 20 years, I have yet to lose ANY data.

Symptoms of the Black Screen Of Death are that there is no desktop after logging in, task bar, system tray or sidebar. Instead you are left with a totally black screen and a single My Computer Explorer window or two.

Fixing it can be a bit of a pain though. Some installs can be fixed quickly, other installs will be much harder to figure out since there are several different scenerios that can cause this type of a problem. If you should fall victim to this type of situation, it’s best to either restore from a backup or schedule a drop off with us.

As always, a best offense is a good defense: backups.
Justin

Perhaps one of the most common questions I’ve been asked recently is “What’s the hardest thing for your business to do?”

Well, oddly enough, “Search for an office” is at the absolute top of the list right now.

While I’ve maintained a home office, it’s time to move up and out. Unfortunately, there is currently a misconception on how much many “for lease” spaces are worth right now. On top of this, many of the real estate agents and management companies listing these buildings just don’t want to do any leg work. In one example, I watched an office get listed over and over again on Craiglist. I finally drove by and pretty much liked it, but wasn’t sure about some things, so I decided to email the agent that listed it as I see email as a great way to judge the quality of a business – especially someone that might be a landlord. In saying that, most companies contacted via email don’t reply, they just flat out ignore you or you get to wait in line with 100 other people for weeks before they get back to you.

I find it interesting that you can leave a message via email or phone and some companies don’t bother calling you back. You pretty much have to hound some companies to just call you back… What’s the point of being in the business?

Protocol16 has been taking the office search slow, looking here and there over the last 2 or so months. While we could move all the way across town to get more space for less money, I would really like to keep Protocol16 here in the Beaverton community. It’s where I live and it’s near my main customer base.

While taking all that into account, finding the right office proved to be a challenge, and a big one.  We require 24/7 access to any building we’re in, security systems with lasers and flesh-eating hamsters (ok, so lasers are optional), and enough power to light up your typical neighborhood due to all the computers we fix.

With all that said, WE FOUND ONE! Protocol16 has signed a lease for an office on Farmington Road in Beaverton! We’re very excited in our expansion and even more excited to be able to have the option of staying right here in Beaverton. I’ve been crawling the web for all the old addresses since the new one is: 14025 SW Farmington Road, Suite 165, Beaverton. We’re on the bottom floor, to the right.

While the office is smaller than I would ultimately like, I think it’s good that Protocol16 stays frugal, especially in this economy. Sure, there is a larger space in the same building that we could occupy, but packing ourselves into a smaller office achieves the same result – helping customers.

Now, for the phone system, internet setup, furniture buildout (yep, we’re BUILDING our own shop benches!) and all the other “neat” and “fun” things to do when moving. Don’t worry, we’ll still be here for you all!
Justin

I’ve personally been asked a few times to mod xBox’s and this is one of several reasons I don’t. Protocol16 does not service the xBox platform, even though we get an occasional call about them.

If you haven’t heard, Microsoft is cracking down on xBox modifications and may cancel your online account due to modifications. This is especially true if you decide to download pirated games that have just been released.

While there are many people and a few PC repair shops that wil “mod” an xBox, using a mod chip violates the terms of service of using the xBox.
Justin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Beaverton, OR —Nov. 6, 2009— Protocol16, a computer company focusing on on-site computer repair, has formed a partnership agreement with DriveSavers to provide the best data recovery solution for customers.

Protocol16 currently attempts “simple” drive recovery for customer computers. DriveSavers will be used in extreme situations, like fire, water and crush damage for laptops, desktops and servers. DriveSavers will also be utilized during RAID recovery for servers.

“I am extremely excited to be able to offer this service for our customers.” said Justin Royce, owner of Protocol16. “DriveSavers is at the absolute top of the list when it comes to drive recovery. DriveSavers has the clean room technology to take a scorched and almost unrecognizable hard drive, then get data out of it. In the end, it comes down to saving our customers money while offering the best solution for the customer. Due to the partnership, Protocol16 is able to offer our customers a 10% discount.”

About Protocol16
Protocol16 was started in 2007 in response to a growing demand for technical services in the military communities of Germany. Since starting, Protocol16 has relocated to Oregon and launched a website and mobile computer repair business in the Portland Metro region. Headquartered in Beaverton, Protocol16 is quickly becoming a leader in mobile repair for businesses and consumers. Protocol16 maintains that customer satisfaction is the absolute primary goal of the business.

# # #

An interesting thought came to me while I cracked open a 221 page security checklist for Server 2008 yesterday evening. It was nearly midnight, I had to be up by 6:30 the next morning, yet I just sat down to read a security guide that would make any normal person’s head spin. My wife describes these things as “worse than VCR and Stereo setup directions”, and perhaps, she’s right. It’s amazing how halfway through most of these guides, you find conflicting advice and information: “Open port X” then 30 pages later: “Close Port X” – which is it? These security guides can literally make you go cross eyed after about 100 pages.

I guess my point is, most technicians that pour their life into their business, even as an employee, and never really go home and relax. I have never been one to leave work at work and I’m certainly not going to stop now. If I can find something online late at night, that will either make my life easier or can save a customer some time and money, I’m going to take the time to study it.

On the note of always working. I was driving around Beaverton in the Protocol16 mobile computer repair truck and my wife and I pulled into a grocery store parking lot. I got all kinds of crazy looks… My guess was that it seems crazy that a repair truck would roll up to that grocery store, but that’s my mentality. If I’m out of the office and we get a call, I need to be prepared to go to that customer’s location to fix their problem. Why should my customer wait for me to drive back to the home office, grab the truck then head out to their office or home? In heavy traffic, that could be an extra 40 minutes or more. Unless they’re on the other side of the city, I would nearly be there by that time.

I guess that last paragraph says something as well. We are not a business that likes to schedule people into time slots. If we can do it right then and there, we’ll tell our customer that. I don’t know how many times I’ve been met with utter shock when I can tell a business that we’ll be there in a half hour. Your computers are important, why would you need to wait a day or two? I’ve personally been told that no one would be able to look at a computer for a week because one shop was “so busy”. My thoughts: hire more people… Perhaps I’m too deadset on providing quality to my customers instead of worrying about my profit margins.
Justin

It’s been a very busy day. Protocol16 had several computer repair calls in Beaverton today making it one of our busier days of the week – it’s always the end of the week.

It seems that people are so thrifty these days that, again, they are choosing to repair a computer instead of replace it. I’m all for repairing a computer as long as it’s worth it for the customer. If we get a call to repair a computer and the repair itself is going to cost more than an actual new computer, Protocol16 will always recommend replacing instead of repairing. In certain cases, specific parts can be hugely expensive on older machines.

Anyway – later on in the day, my wife and I were in Tigard to check on a few retail fronts to possibly expand our computer repair business here in the Portland area and my complaint about traffic just about caught up with me. While driving down Pacific Highway, a driver decided to all-out run a red light, cross 2 lanes of traffic, the center dividing lane and end up in my lane, right in front of my truck. Thank goodness my wife saw him since she was looking at some locations on my left and was able to get me to slam on the brakes (read: screaming “STOP!!!!”) in time otherwise that would have been a nasty accident. It’s amazing what your peripheral vision misses at times. Luckily no one was hurt.

In a double stroke of good luck, the Tigard police happen to be right behind the Protocol16 tuck. Within seconds of this driver pulling this stunt, they were pulled over and getting a ticket. While I know the police were just doing their job, it’s nice to see a blatant traffic violation that could have hurt many people get taken care of so quickly. In saying that, I’d like to remind everyone that Protocol16 offers an Emergency Responder discount for computer repair in Portland…
Justin