Dell Computer News Aggregation - Whoopsie

 

A few days ago I re-posted John Huntington's intriguing post about the persistent bad audio grounding issues on the Dell computers - specifically Laptops. 

It would appear that Dell has a blog and news aggregator site which is very interesting.  Unfortunately the site does not seem to have a very good content filter.  As you can see at the bottom of this screen capture my post showed up in its feed.  

Now if Dell contacts me, or better yet the real authority and the original author of the article, John, that would be something. 

Hey Dell, are you listening or simply regurgitating?  

(Do not even get me started on how irked my Dell XPS makes me... the computer has sucked wind from the day I got it).  

You can find the RSS feed here

Dell Computer - Serious Audio Grounding Issue

My friend John Huntington of Controlgeek.net  just posted a video of Dell computer's serious, and I mean serious, audio grounding issue.  

 

Yet another Dell Laptop Audio Grounding Problem from John Huntington on Vime

 

See John's post at Controlgeek.net for more info.  And by the way, if you are not reading John's Blog on a regualr basis you are sorely missing out.   Go now and subscribe to him.

 

Ha!  it appears that Dell Computer's news aggregation tool added my post to their site!  

 

Updated: 1/28/12

I just found out that the above post was in preparation for a more expansive article on whether the vinyl graphics (which many live show now use to hide speakers and advertise for the sponsor) have any adverse effect on the sound.

You can see that post here: http://www.controlgeek.net/blog/2012/1/27/do-graphic-vinyl-banners-affect-sound-transmission.html

 

 

 

I Say A Dirty Word

DIY is Your Friend   -(originally published on Ravepubs.com)

 

Now that the noise and overstimulating barrage of products, specifications, digital signage and  the after effects of copious  adult beverages has diminished- I  want to propose what may seem a counter intuitive idea. Blasphemy even. 

 

The DIY home control fan is your best bet for future client growth. Yes I said that out loud. 

 

A few weeks ago AV nations’ podcast AVweekdiscussed how the retrofit market has grown by 23%  over the last year. This is pure economic necessity where new build homes  are becoming rarer than a Javan Rhinoceros, with less new build work coming in you need to find jobs to keep the trucks rolling. In an economy that has flirted with death spirals it is the enthusiasts who will shell out hard cash for such toys.

 

Admittedly, many of us in the install world have viewed DIY’ers  with the same forced tolerance we give a girlfriends yipping little dog. (yeah, I wouldn't allow the damn thing into the bedroom if I could help it either). 

 

For years the press has been abuzz declaring the industry is on the precipice of mass market acceptance, proclaiming that now is the time where integrated home control will be viewed as necessary as indoor plumbing. Perhaps my home sits in an aberration of the space time continuum because it is not happening here. Maybe where you live?  Thought not.

 

Who will drive the push to demand a touch panel in every kitchen? The DIY revolutionists. This push is similar to the early days of radio. When broadcast radio started in the early part of the 20th century most radio receivers were built by hobbyists from purchased plans or kits- it was not until the mid 1920’s that ready built receivers were sold in stores. Who, I dare ask you, started the home computer market?  Some us are old enough to remember being able to buy a home computer only via a build it yourself kit, through the mail only. 

 

The custom install business once was based on a top down supply chain - Manufacturers heard from dealers about a need for a product and added it to an already existing eco-system, usually proprietary and partnered with other proprietary third party manufactures. The standard consumer or ‘pro-sumer’ products lived in their own world and ‘never the twain’ met’. 

 

Now clients are bringing off the shelf products to dealers and asking them to incorporate it into a larger system.  Arguments about audio quality, durability and multi purpose use are pushed aside.  In effect the high and ‘low’ end products are meeting in the middle.  Case in point  the iPod.  Many manufactures of high end products resisted integrating the device arguing that their level of clientele wanted, nay, demanded a higher quality sound source.  Can you name an integration company that does not offer an iPod / mp3 interface?  Where again are the product decisions being made from now? 

 

But then again you and me are DIY’ers, are we not?  I would aim to guess that most of you reading this got your start by installing an off the shelf product then tinkering with it to make it work ‘right’.  

 

Lutron has been selling to the DIY client for over a decade with products available at the Home Depot, Lowe’s and other electronic box stores.  This campaign of using the main company brand has not diminished its commercial  or custom residential market-share. At this years CEDIA the company introduced a a battery powered shade that is available as a consumer installed and CE model that can connect to a larger home automation system.  The units, beyond a bit of extra hardware are exactly the same.  

 

There are issues in reaching out to the DIY community and some  in the group will be unwilling to listen and some will react as if attacked, but if handled properly it can reap the great reward of lifelong clients. To engage the community one has to check their professional ego at the door and remember that you are sharing knowledge not teaching. 

 

How do you find the people who could be come potential clients in this community? 

 

Think about the guy who designs, builds and programs synchronized Christmas lights for their home. I am sure you must have a ton of them in your area, go ahead and reach out to them.  I know, this can seem like the joke about the dog who chases cars - what are you going to do once you catch it?  The Idea is to get them into your shop and into the idea that ‘pro’ gear is something that they want and can afford as well.   

 

How do you entice and work with this community without it interfering and congesting your showroom during business hours?  

 

How about some seminars on the essentials of control with classes such as How Serial works or expanded programming techniques ( what is an variable array, how Boolean logic works) and wiring techniques for proper outdoor use (like how and what to use for an outdoor splice). how about loaning out some work space to the class members for building and checking  their holiday systems?

 

When the conversation comes to  the home I have had success in with discussing these topics:

 

Reliability - especially when connecting to security / fire systems

 

Partner comfort - we all know that at least one partner in the home is a technophobe or has become frustrated with using  a constantly updated DIY system. Why not sell the one system to the non tech in the house that will rarely change or go down. (thereby giving the DIY guy more time to tweak his other projects in peace)

 

Insuring that the system allows for some changes or add-ons to be accomplished by homeowner. Having the ability to change presets, some macros and backgrounds fills the need to feel ‘in control’ for many. Yes, this means some more programming, but I am at loss as to why you would not have this available already.  Do you really make any profit by sending a tech over to a client's home to change one preset channel? ( I used to have a default settings stored in the program, just in case the client managed to get themselves into a corner). 

 

Service contracts -  Yup, I will save your butt when you muck something up for a small fee each month. 

 

Now before you get yourselves in as froth, I am not saying you should teach these folks how to take your job. No sir.  I am suggesting a grass roots community building by teaching and supporting a safer and more educated client base. These folks can be drawn into your shop during non business hours, once a month, where you can show off some of the solutions your company provides. 

 

Tsunamis are more often than not deceptive in the appearance - not appearing as 20-foot tall waves but a powerful and sudden rush. Are you ready to ride the wave?

 

Witness Baby! Witness!

AV Evangalism  - Witness Baby! Witness!

 

My fellow RavePubs blogger and all around dynamo Dawn Meade (aka AV Dawn) just published a great call to arms in evangelism for the AV industry.

Read it here

Evangelism contains within it a need for the delft skill of engaging those who want to learn, resisting the desire to teach those who do not care and, most difficult of all, leading the misinformed to see the folly of their own premises.

AV is a grand wide pleasure dome from the DIY to the toys of a Sultan. You can preach to me the lifelong benefits of a Plasma but if this is not my budget no amount of preaching will help. Now, tell me how to make the best of what I can and I will see that the work to do so, in the end is equal to a step or two up. I may need to go though the process but in the end it is gentle evangelicalism that will ring in my ears.

Can I get a Witness!?

*Originally posted on my Tumblr Blog 

A Preponderance of Presentations - Infocomm 11 as seen from the Mobius Curve

Walking the floor at ICIA's Infocomm 11 trade show

 “Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”

Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Infocomm is huge this year. From the entire show floor to the second level of classes and demos and breakout rooms throughout  it just seems to never end.

It has been twelve years since I last had the chance to see the show as an attendee and not a booth  builder slash floor barker and perhaps this has altered my perception of space at the show.   When you work the booth for a major manufacture there is little chance to wander from your post and explore -  one eats sleeps and yes poops the product(s) with little chance of getting beyond the immediate parcel of show floor .  The universe is indeed a very defined area during these days.

As attendee, well, it is like being transformed from Sisyphus into David Bowman , complete with wide eyed expression and a multitude of lights reflecting in them.

 
Being here at the show is a must, having a physical relationship with the products and people cannot be recreated by reading press releases or wandering the halls of  a ‘Virtual Tradeshow’.  Only when you can touch a device, turn it over in your hands and look into the -proverbial- eyes  and look directly into the - real- eyes of the company employee does one get  a connection with the possibilities.

This is not to argue against virtual connections. In addition to seeing the gadgets, gear and goodies in action I am excited to finally meet, face to face and beer mug to wine glass, the fine folks of #Avtweeps.  We are a group of  Audio Visual folks who have gathered a tribe on social media, more specifically Twitter.  The daily and sometimes hourly conversations are extremely constructive  and I could hardly imagine a day without ‘hearing’ from the group at least once a day.   

Truth is that I have sought out the company booths of the folks who regularly chat, chide and console each other via the avtweeps association because I trust them. And in turn I am more likely to trust the products - or at least give them the benefit of doubt.

As I head out to dive into day two of the show, my feet still ache and my knees feel as if someone put them on backwards I am determined to see as many demos and presentations as possible.  

Coming from the cloistered world of working for one major manufacture has me learning anew and re-submerging myself into an industry I had taken a short sabbatical from.

See you on the show floor, say hi and join me for a coffee and nosh at the Infocomm Lounge.

 

 

 

From my Tumblr Blog - Tucker's Tertiary

 

Five Year Olds Musical Mashup Breaks the Law of Conversation of Mass and Energy

We have played music, specifically John Coltrane’s Black Peals –(Hackensack, 1958. Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder – Most likely on a band saw machine)- for my oldest from in utero to the present day. Rooster seems to have an innate sense of musical structure and is drawn to instruments as well as humming song fragments when he is concentrating.

We have introduced a variety of formats and musical genres to him such as Jonny Cash country, bluegrass, rock, pop and a little bit of Classical/ Opera. Some of his new favorites are Etta James and Kidz Bop 12.

Yesterday I happen to catch him half humming, half sing song combining the Black Pearl intro with Sunday Lover. When I asked him what he was singing he returned with a question –‘Dadu’ –(what my kids call me) – ‘do you think Kidz Bop can sing Etta James songs?’ I said I was not sure but we could email them and ask.

I write about this story not to coquettishly point out my son as a prodigy or musical genius but at the power of music, however glancing, can have on everyone but especially a child. Rooster –(my name for my oldest)- hums Coltrane music to his school friends and adults, telling them with a joy only a child can produce who it is and that ‘Trane rocks’. This does not happen every day but enough for me to note it.

It only takes one innocent and joyful person to spread the virus of culture – the joy of learning. So many doors of thought are opened up for me from my children’s honest combining of ideas. Concepts we as adults reject outright because we know that they should not go together are freely combined by children – creating new forms if only transitory in its existence. Perhaps I am simply channeling Art Linkletter in my own way but I am learning so much from watching my children process what we offer them, in return gifting us with fantastical creations we are the better for being exposed to.

A child’s imagination frequently and fragrantly breaks the law of conservation of mass and matter. Much like Arthur dent learning to fly we adults have to relearn that by flying simply as a result of not hitting the ground means that you can. How many interviews with innovative business people have you heard say, if we knew what we were doing – we would not have done it.

The laws of physics be dammed, create your own rules, make your own universes