Iarfhlaith Kelly - Code agus Craic

I’m thinking of buying an iPhone. One of the new 3GS’s with video recording, improved battery life and all those lovely bells and whistles…

Now I know I’m a little late to the party on this, and everyone in the tech industry already has theirs, but the truth is, I’ve been waiting for an iPhone with a better camera before I dove in and signed myself up for an 18 month contract with O2.

One thing has been bugging me a little over the decision to buy. Something holding me back, and I haven’t been able to put my finger on it - until now. So here goes.

Staying Ahead

The thing is, I love being ahead of the posé and I love having something different. I always want to be the one that has the gadget no one else has. The coolest TV or the fastest broadband. Whatever it is, if I haven’t got the best one, I’d often prefer not to have one at all.

It’s pretty shameful I know, but I’ve always been like this. Recently I’ve been thinking about why I crave it. And I think the answer is that I want to be seen as a leader and not a follower. That’s not so strange right? I mean who doesn’t? But what I’m coming around to now is that it’s not about being different or special. That’s not important. It’s about being yourself. So whether that’s wacky and unusual, or completely mainstream, the key is being honest with yourself.

Mainstream versus Alternative

I’m coming around to the idea that if I want to be alternative and quirky, then that’s what I should do. Similarly, if I fancy going mainstream and moving with the crowd then that’s what I should do too. So long as in both cases, I’m being true to myself and not making decisions on what other people think.

So, if I want to buy an iPhone, I shouldn’t have a problem that everyone else already has one. I should recognise that Apple have made a killer device that’s head and shoulders above the rest. So despite the fact that it may be cool and different to buy a Pre or a Hero, I should embrace the iPhone because it’s the best phone in the world. Who cares if everyone else agrees with that!

The Little Voice

But it’s not that easy, because there’s this little voice inside my head saying “Hold out for the Hero, it’ll be awesome”. - That’s just me sitting on the fence again. I really wish that voice would disappear and let me get on with purchasing that iPhone I want so badly.

The point here is that regardless of whether you want to do something amazing, buy something outrageous or be something totally different, or whether you want to follow the crowd, fit in, and play it safe it’s all absolutely fine. So long as you do it for your own reasons. Being different is great, it gets you recognised. But if that means having an inferior phone (or whatever else you’re considering), then maybe it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

Now watch me buy that iPhone.

With good design, the user instinctively knows what to do next. Everything from a web app to a door handle. Pretty much everything we use. For example, when you see a tap you already know how to turn it on. All it needs is a twist.

If we use the conventions that have gone before, people will know what to do. It’s simple right?

Well, not quite.

For instance, what about innovation? Where does that fit in? How can we move forward if we rely on the rules that already exist? It’s a really difficult question but one way to answer it is to show you what not to do. Sometimes, in an attempt to break convention, to create something new, the designer gets it wrong. So wrong in fact that an action that used to be simple actually becomes more confusing then before. Regression in it’s truest sense.

Unwanted Innovation

Recently I was in a hotel bathroom and noticed this message above the sink.

If a tap needs instructions so people know how to use it, then that’s a FAIL in my book. The tap problem was solved way back in the late 19th century. The original tap design works. People know how to use it. They don’t need instructions to figure it out.

Designing a tap that looks like a miniature hair dryer just confuses people.

Lets not over engineer things to the point of confusion. If the problem is solved, leave it alone. There are plenty of other problems out there just begging for our attention.

I firmly believe that great customer service is the key to success for online businesses. And the great thing about it is that when you’re a startup, it’s easy to give your customers the time and attention it takes to deliver it.

This week I experienced great customer service. And the company who provided it was Sxoop Technologies. These are the guys behind Twitter Mosaic, the Twitter app that lets you order custom clothing and accessories with a mosaic of your Twitter friends printed onto it.

As some of you may already know, last week I received my order from Twitter Mosaic only to find that they sent me the wrong product. A simple mistake to make but after waiting almost 3 weeks for it to be delivered I was massively disappointed to find I’d received someone else’s order and not the Twitter mug I’d expected.

To show my dissatisfaction, I uploaded a photograph of the wrong mug and tweeted about it. Most people thought it was hilarious, and to be honest I can’t blame them! It was pretty funny. But at the same time I was very disappointed too.

Just a few minutes after I posted up the photograph, Sxoop man, Walter Higgins, got in touch with me and apologised for the mistake, despite the fact that it actually wasn’t his fault, but the fulfilment company he uses behind the scenes. Nevertheless, he stressed how sorry he was and reassured me that he would take care of the situation.

Another few minutes later I received a voucher from him worth £25 (which was more then the cost of the mug) and was reassured that my original order had been found and would be sent out to me immediately via express delivery.

Just 3 working days later, I received my actual order. Hurray! The mug looks great, so now I’m very very happy.

Walter and his team have succeeded in turning around a bad customer experience into a great customer experience. And have made a once unhappy customer into one of their biggest fans, all through timely customer service that exceeded expectations.

If you run an online business, then this post is for you. Great customer service is the difference between mediocrity and success. And if you’re a small company, it’ll be a lot easier for you to provide it then it is for large businesses. That should be your differentiator, that should be why people should choose you over the others.

It’s a piece of low hanging fruit, so take it. Great customer service is always appreciated. So to Sxoop and Twitter Mosaic, a big thank you for turning this around. You guys rock.

Niels Bohr once famously said that an expert is “a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field”. Baring this in mind, it’s fair to say that in the last week I’ve become an ‘expert’ in HP laptop repairs.

Here’s what happened:

Monday morning, back from holidays. Within five minutes of turning my laptop on for the first time in two weeks, it suddenly shut down. There was no life out of it whatsoever. No lights, no noise, no laptop. Panic hadn’t yet set in but it was on its way. After about 10 minutes of frantically hitting the ‘on’ button the internal fan kicked in and a couple of LCD lights started to flash. I thought I was getting somewhere. I figured maybe it was just a temporary problem that had managed to fix itself somehow.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Thirty seconds after the fan kicked in, a puff of black smoke came out the side air vent followed by the dreaded smell of burning silicon. It was toast. My treasured laptop had become nothing more then an expensive paper weight in the space of about 15 seconds. At this point, panic had properly set in and I was seriously worried.

Out of Warranty

The first thing I thought of doing was ringing HP. I’ve used their support in the past and they’ve been really helpful. But after a quick check, they told me my laptop was out of warranty (only just) and that it would cost €90 to assess the laptop so they could give me a quote for the repair. I didn’t need to spend €90 to know that my motherboard was toast, the smell was all over the office. So I had a decision to make. Would I fork out the money and let HP fix it for me or would I try doing it myself, save some money and learn something new in the process? For me, that’s a no brainer. I would try it myself.

Dismantling the Laptop

Before ordering a new motherboard, I wanted to take apart the laptop to make sure that’s what the problem was.

Have you ever taken apart a laptop? It’s not as easy as you might think. At first I tried it without a guide. I managed to take out over 20 screws but I still couldn’t open it up. I decided I needed some help, so after a little Googling I discovered that all HP laptops have their own service manual which explains step by step how to replace any component, and the order in which they need to be replaced.

Here’s the document I used as a guide: HP nx7300 Service Document (PDF - 4.2Mb). Without this I had no chance.

Turns out that before the motherboard can be removed, you also have to remove:

• Hard Drive
• Optical Drive
• Bluetooth Module
• Keyboard
• Thermal Plate
• Fan
• Heat Sink
• RTC Battery
• Switch Cover
• Display Assembly
• Top Cover

Over the next two hours I slowly worked my way through the guide, dismantling the laptop piece by piece. There were over 70 screws (15 different types) and 25 components that needed to be removed before I could get the motherboard out. It was painstakingly slow. Here’s a quick photo of what it looked like fully dismantled:

Finding the Damaged Chip

Once the motherboard had been removed it was pretty easy to see what had happened. One of the microchips on the board had been completely destroyed. I could even see where the flame had scorched the casing on the pc card slot. Have a quick look at this image to see what happened:

At first, I considered trying to replace just the chip rather then the entire motherboard. I mean, it seemed a shame to have to replace the entire board when only a tiny portion of it was damaged. But after some more thought I decided it would probably be best the replace the whole thing. I didn’t know what else had been damaged and my skills with a soldering iron are clunky at best.

The Replacement Motherboard

I used the HP parts website to price a new board which cost €266 plus VAT and included all taxes and delivery charges. They had the board in stock and said delivery would take 3-4 days.

So, 3-4 days later I received a shiny new motherboard in the post, ready to replace the damaged one.

Here’s a couple of shots taken while I unboxed it:

Fitting the New Board

To fit the new motherboard, I just reversed the steps taken to dismantle the laptop. Each part went in, one after the other. It was a little harder putting it all back together because I had to make sure I was using the right screws each time (there were more then 15 different types), and that I left nothing out. Having to fit it all together is pretty tricky, but by following the service guide I managed to get it all back in without too many issues.

During the reassembly, I had a second laptop (same model) which I used to read through the different steps and make sure I got it all right. Here’s a few shots of the reassembly. If you look closely you should be able to see the corresponding manual page on the screen at the right side of each photo.

The Components Explained

While working on something like this, you really get an appreciation for just how well designed these things are. Everything has been thought of. All the components fit perfectly together. It’s like a jigsaw, only much more elegant.

Here’s a quick top down view of the different components in the laptop:

The Final Test

After the last screw was tightened and the last component was clicked in, I finally had the laptop back in one piece. All I needed to do now, was turn it on.

So, I held my breath and clicked the ‘on’ button.

The fan kicked in, the screen flashed on, and I could hear the wonderful sound of a hard disk being accessed.

It had worked.

My laptop was whirring quietly away as if nothing had ever happened.

I was thrilled. My gamble had paid off, and I’d learned a lot along the way.

The Benefit of Hindsight

I think the cause of the problem was dust and overheating. Not surprisingly, the damaged chip was located very close to the main processor, which generates a huge amount of heat. It was also very close to the fan and heat sink, where dust can build up.

I have a habit of using my laptop in bed, and surrounding the laptop’s air vents in a duvet. This, I now know, leads to overheating and ultimately, component damage.

To extend the life of my laptop and the new motherboard I’m going to do two things:

1. Clean it regularly using compressed air (this stuff is awesome and you can get in Maplins).
2. Stop using it in bed.

I think these two small changes should keep my laptop in good shape for a good few years to come.

Just got my new Asus Eee PC from Damson (thanks Fin). Now I am truly mobile.

It’s so small it even fits in the glove compartment of my car. Is it all it’s cracked up to be? Here’s what I think of it:

It Just Works

Originally designed for kids, this little gem has also captured the minds of the corporate guys too (and everyone in between from what I can tell). Almost everyone I’ve shown it to so far, wants one! The custom UNIX distribution looks great and is a cinch to use. Boot time is less then 10 seconds and the tabbed style navigation feels more like a webpage then an OS frontend.

Mobile Broadband: No Software Required

I’ve been using Three’s mobile broadband dongle for a couple of months now and I love it. But I was keen to see how it would work with the Eee PC seeing as how there is no official software for the UNIX platform. But I was delighted to find that there’s support for all HSDPA devices built in. The Eee PC treats it as just another network connection, so there was no need to go searching for drivers or software, it really was just plug and play.

No Hard Disk, No Problem

Like the new Apple Air notebook, the Asus Eee PC has no hard disk. And with most of my productivity tools now online, that’s really not a problem. I’ll keep my data safely up in the cloud and off my local hard disk where it’s at risk from all sorts of things, like theft. (Attention BOI IT Manager).

All Round Happiness

Being able to read my email or catch up on some work while I’m out is great, I’ve been able to do that on my N95 for almost a year now, but with the EeePC and it’s 7 inch screen makes it so much easier. (The N95 has a 2.5 inch screen).

If you can get your hands on one of these little gems, then buy one. Buy three if you can because you can be sure that whoever you show it too will probably want one as well.

Damson are selling a limited number of them until they run out. Get’m while they’re hot.