A little nerve wrecking, since it was live and I hadn’t really prepared very much. So much more that I should have said.

I spoke about Jawug, and Wug.za.net and the growing popularity of the Wireless User Groups.

Show recording is embedded after the jump…

When 5fm died, my passion for music died too.
I think it was more the way that 5fm died. It made me realise that the music industry has no interest in the art behind the music, or the musicians. It was made very clear that they were in it for the money, and to get that, the higher-ups at 5fm decided to go after a different target market.

Perhaps I had more of an attachment to the station than your average radio listener. Sitting in the studio during a live show made me realise that being a DJ was more than just a job. You don’t just talk between the songs, there’s a real passion behind it.

Until money gets involved. Then you end up with a station manager that gets rid of the best talent in South African radio, and replace them with a bunch of wannabe’s, fresh out of the celebrity factory.

They got rid of Barney Simon! And Alex Jay!

Thats when the music died for me.

5fm is nothing now. So far removed from the 5fm of the 90′s, that It feels wrong to call it 5fm. A talentless, money spinning, stream of crap that will make your ears bleed if you accidentally tune in.

Music “charts” have nothing to do with good music. Its all about how much money the labels can throw at PR and promotions. Just keep playing a new track to the masses, and they’ll “like” it. Don’t even get me started on the rampant abuse of Auto Tune.

But today, at the ungodly hour of 4am, I’m listening to a stream of endless new songs on thesixtyone. And it feels good, because I get to listen to the music that I like, and I get to share it with others. And I get to show my appreciation to the artists that put their hearts into creating the music.

From thesixtyone site:

On thesixtyone, artists sell their music directly to their fans. Unlike a record or distribution deal where they only make $1-2 per album (if they ever get paid, that is), artists on thesixtyone make at least $7 per album and are paid every 30 days — no wait for recoupment and no complex royalty schemes!

Giving the music back to the artists, I like it.

Every 2nd person who figures something out on their own, is writing up a HOWTO.
This isn’t a problem. Its the fact that they’re calling it a “Hack” thats getting on my nerves.

A Hack is where you take something, and make it do something it was never designed to do. Not using something that was designed to do something, to do something slightly similar. Thats not a hack, thats an adaptation.

Well, thats my rant for the day. If anyone wants to sponsor some real gadget hacking, let me know and I’m sure we can work something out

The stuff you cook with, bake with and spread on bread? Just simple butter.

I can get Low fat butter. Butter thats not really butter. Butter with added Omega’s. Low low fat butter. Half fat Butter.

Where’s the normal butter? In a tub. Just plain butter in a tub?

And Shampoo.

I don’t tint or dye my hair, its not permed, I don’t have dandruff, I don’t need extra volume.

I stood there for 5 minutes just staring at a wall of too much choice.

I just want shampoo, for hair, on my head.

*mumble*

And if you don’t, check out the About Google Wave page

I was quick to jump on it when Google first announced it, and I was lucky enough to get an invitation today. I’ve been waiting for months!

Its as awesome as I thought… but Its a lonely lonely place. You can only collaborate with people in your Wave Contact list. And my Wave Contact list is empty, because no-one else I know has a Wave account yet.

Its so lonely *sob*

I started off quite well earlier in the year. Almost a post a day.
Sadly, I started to run out of ideas, and then work took hold.

But now, I have stories. Many many stories. I just have to be careful how I put them down. I don’t want to piss off the guilty, or divulge too much detail.

So, coming up, I promise to post many more stories about work, many stories of the farce that I’ve been working on the past 6 months, and many stories of what I’ve been doing to keep myself focused on not going insane.

Starting, with this picture, of a poor pitiful creature.

Poor mutt

Izzy got spayed. And now she looks like a collie stuck in the horn of an old Gramophone.

I wasn’t even trying to do anything with a Cisco router, or switch, or any Cisco hardware at all. I was trying to upgrade the software on my Linksys SPA942.

But its a Linksys device you say? Well yes, but Cisco bought Linksys in 2003. Obviously, they saw a gap in their product offerings (specifically, the home and small office market), and decided to fill it, by buying a company that was already filling the gap. (As is the Cisco way…)

So here I am, with a Linksys SPA942 with some ancient software thats at least one version behind, and I’m trying to find the latest version. Version 6.1.3a is available on the Linksys website, but 6.1.5a is available on the Cisco.co website. If only I could get to it…

So I dig up my trusty old Cisco.com account, and login with it. Navigate through the Maze that is the Cisco download centre.

I’m greeted by a banner, in red, telling me that I must have an account with avalid address before I’m allowed to download software.

ERROR: Your profile information with us is incomplete.
Please take note, the Street Address, Country and Email ID are
required fields. Kindly update your profile at Cisco.com User Profile.
After successfully updating the profile, close the current browser
session and try to download the software in a new browser session

So I do the next logical thing, I go to edit my account.

Across the top of my account details, is another banner:

Please provide your business address to gain access to download software.

so I attempt to add a Business Address to my details.

This fails, repeatedly. No matter how many different ways I try to put my address in, it doesn’t work. I even made up an area code that should have passed all syntax checks (Since there are no postal codes in Ireland), and it still wont work.

I give up, and come back 2 days later to try (Cisco.com is… buggy, to say the least, so this kind of thing usually gets fixed after a while), still giving me the same errors. So I decide to email Cisco support to ask them why my address is failing. And I include a screenshot just to prove it.

They reply, asking for my username. I thought they’d be able to look that up, based on my email address and name, my bad for expecting some effort on their behalf. I reply, with my username.

They reply, asking for the address information that I want updated, because they can’t see my screenshot. Surely they should have noticed this the first time? I reply with my address.

I get a different support person this time, Trevor,  who says that the address I’ve provided is already in my Home address details. Very observant. Then he asks why I’d want to have it added as my Business address too. I reply saying that I’m only doing what the website told me to do. I’m not comfortable putting my Office address on my account, since what I’m doing has nothing to do with Work. So I tell him I work from home. Seems reasonable?

This is where the pain starts.

Hello Kieran,
The message that is posted on the download site is just a reminder to all users to make sure their information is updated.  Having an address listed will not entitle you to downloads.
In order to be granted access to the online tools and downloads you will need to have an active Service Contract with such access privilege associated with your User ID.
If you have a contract number with such privilege, please go to: http://tools.cisco.com/RPF/profile/additional_csm_contracts.do.
Under the heading "Additional Access", select "Edit This Information" and then select "Obtain Access to Additional Service Contracts".  For complete instructions on adding contacts to your profile and other Cisco user access issues, please see http://www.cisco.com/en/US/support/tsd_help_access.html.
If you do not have a service contract and want to purchase one, you may contact your Cisco service sales representative or the Cisco partner or reseller where you purchased the product. Cisco certified partners can be located at http://tools.cisco.com/WWChannels/LOCATR/openBasicSearch.do
Since you mentioned that your device is a Linksys SPA, you may also contact the Linksys S-TAC group directly for any assistance at: +1-866-606-1866
Best regards,
Trevor W.
Customer Interaction Network
Business Hours: 8am-5pm Sun-Thurs EST

This doesn’t make sense. Anyone would know that Linksys had a completely open policy for firmware downloads. Surely Cisco didn’t just buy them up, and cut every Linksys customer in the world off from updates?

So I reply back, stating that I don’t believe this to be the case, and I include the exact text of the error that I was getting when I tried to download the software, and I repeat my request to just have my Business address updated.

Trevor replies, saying again that I already have a valid address in my Personal address field. I get pissed off, and decide to leave it for another day.

So the next morning, after having calmed down, I send another request (hoping that Trevor’s shift is over and I’ll get another support agent). I asked nicely for someone to just address my original problem, and  just update my business address.

Trevor (Clearly he never sleeps…) replies, still not getting the point.

Hello Kieran,
Since you are needing support on a Linksys device you will need to contact that team directly at: +1-866-606-1866 and they can also assist with any other profile issues you are having as the address provided is already on your profile.
Best Regards,
Trevor W.

Hoping that I got everything right, and that I made my request as clear as possible, addressing any possible comebacks that Trevor “Not my Job” W might have, I reply.

Hi Trevor,
Please can you update my Business Address, as stated in my original
Email for this ticket.
I know its in as my Personal address, but I want it as my Business Address =
too.
I cannot change it myself for some reason.
Regards,
Kieran.

Eventually, Trevor replies, having done what I initially asked.

Hello Kieran,
The address has been updated accordingly.
Best Regards,
Trevor W.
Customer Interaction Network
Business Hours: 8am-5pm Sun-Thurs EST

And to my surprise (*gasp*), I can now download the firmware updates for Linksys devices.

Thanks Trevor,
Now the Linksys downloads work.
Fancy that.
Regards,
Kieran.

Was it really that hard, Trevor?
Did I have to fork over huge amounts of money for a Cisco Service Contract? No. Did I have to contact the Linksys support team, even though its a Cisco.com problem? No.

The Cisco.com site was right, its error messages were relevant. Once they were out of the way, things worked. Amazing.
Its still a little annoying that I wasn’t able to enter my own Business address, and I doubt Trevor bothered to escalate this little problem to the guys who run the site, but at least there is a way to “fix” it.

(Top gear style closing)

So… Moral of the story, everyone, just do what I tell you to do.

My parents were here for a while, we got to do a bit of touring/visiting. Got us out of the house!

Sunshine, is always a good thing. Its even better when its warmer in Ireland than it is in South Africa. I really needed some extra sunlight. It has an incredible affect on my mood. I don’t think I’d have been able to handle all the recent work stress if it wasn’t for the sunshine.

And thats why I haven’t posted in a while… So much work :/
But, it keeps me busy and keeps my brain active