I have a new title!

[MMATM]

...Because I finally got a new job!

Unfortunately, I now get to deal with clients (we don't call them "customers" because we're not really selling anything) face-to-face, over the phone and via email! Oh joy!

My new title, by the way, is Software Support Consultant. Which translates to Tier 2 tech support for the University. Whatever the call center (Help Desk) can't fix over the phone, we get to fix in person. Oh joy.

Luckily, the first week of classes passed without serious incident. Only one disproportionately pissed-off email from a faculty member and lots of internet connection issues amongst the freshmen. And some viruses. And one operating system that nobody had ever heard of or seen before (guess who got that one), and a whole mess of phantom problems that ceased to exist the moment the clients walked into IT.

It's good to have an income again. Particularly since I'm now 21 and just recently visited the Old Sod™ and discovered my natural love of Guinness.

[Pedersen]

...Because I finally got a new job!

Congrats!

And one operating system that nobody had ever heard of or seen before (guess who got that one),

Oh, man, you can't make a statement like that and not tell us which one. Come on, which one was it? Minix? ReactOS? Something with the GNU/Hurd kernel? Inquiring geeks want to know!

and a whole mess of phantom problems that ceased to exist the moment the clients walked into IT.

I call it "Mechanic Syndrome". People call up begging for me to come over and fix their computers. I go over and ask them to show me the problem, and now it works properly, just like when you take a car in to the mechanic.

Personally, I attribute it to the fact that the computer knows I have a format CD and am not afraid to use it

[mattm04]

It can't be worse than the bastardized version of OS/2 running on underpowered hardware we use at my store.

[MMATM]

I hate to say it, but I don't even know what OS it was. Something that comes preinstalled on teeny little notebook PC's that look like glorified cell phones.

The computer was already booted up when she (the client) came in (glorified cell phone thing again, being on all the time) and just had four huge button icons to click, plus a couple smaller ones for settings and networks down the bottom of the screen, which I used to set up her network connection (it was as easy as clicking "set up new network" and connecting it to the campus ethernet, then letting it do all the work) and then advised her to look into getting Windows, Linux, or Mac since we don't offer full support for her OS and if she had any further issues we might not be able to help.

She didn't seem interested since I was able to fix her problem and she and her boyfriend (I guess?) just sorta gave me the nod and walked away.

10 to 1 she's a freshman. She's going to get into class one day and try to run one of the CD's that come with textbooks or something and oh I can smell the fail coming from a mile away.

Any idea what this random OS could be? I'm not as familiar with the various operating systems as I'd like, apart from Windows, Mac, and Ubuntu a little due to having to use it to get into clients' computers when they're well and truly hosed. I'm still the rookie of the department, along with one or two other guys, so haven't experienced the full meaning of what it is to be a SWS Consultant. So much of the pain has yet to come...

[KiaKat]

Hmm. I'm pretty sure Windows has a Mobile version - it's stripped down, and intended for those little pseudo-laptops. Still looks and acts like Windows, though.

[MMATM]

If this was Windows, I'm turning to the Light Side or even the Tuxedoed side. It looked like something you'd find on a cell phone.

[KiaKat]

What was the computer/mobile brand? It might have been a proprietary OS.

[MMATM]

I don't remember the brand. I was too busy gawking at the strangeness on the screen to take note. I remember it wasn't a brand I was particularly familiar with like HP, Compaq, Dell, Acer, Alienware or any of a dozen other brands I would've recognized right away. I think you're right Kia, it was probably some odd proprietary stuff. I'm still curious as to what she's going to do for schoolwork on it though.

[MrSmiley]

Hmm. I'm pretty sure Windows has a Mobile version - it's stripped down, and intended for those little pseudo-laptops. Still looks and acts like Windows, though.

WindowsCE (Compact Edition) and PalmOS are probably the most common OSes used on those handheld doohickeys... though there's nothing to prevent a company from developing their own made of a hash of java, assembler or anything else the company has the skillsets for. The more proprietary the device (which includes being able to, or rather NOT being able to hook up other accessories :P), the more control they have over the software that makes it go.

//My Dad's Magellan brand GPS is powered by WindowsCE underneath all the "easy user buttons"... there's a hack so you can access the underlying OS and install your own applications, shame I haven't actually found anything he'd want.

[Pedersen]

Did it look like the screenshot here?

If so, congratulations. It was Xandros Linux. Had it on my EEE 901 for a bit, before it got too annoying and I reformatted to Ubuntu.

Especially if this was some variety of netbook (typical: 9" screen or less), itt was most likely some Linux distribution.

[MMATM]

Nope, that's not it. I'll see if I can find a screenshot of the OS (and likely the OS name along with it).

EDIT: Turns out it was an Acer Aspire One, apparently loaded with Linpus Linux Lite, which is supposedly Fedora-based. Explains why I didn't recognize it, anyway. Very much a netbook, but apparently somewhat functional and not too strange for the average user. Seems weird that nobody in the office would've seen it before, but these things have only been around since July, so I guess they're not too common yet. And I don't see them getting that way either.

[Pedersen]

Ah, never seen Linpus yet. Wouldn't have even recognized it from a screenshot.

BTW, as to how common the netbooks are getting? ASUS introduced a whole new market. As of right now, there's around 10 different models of netbook with another half dozen either announced or rumored. The current top three are the Asus EEE 901, the Dell Mini9, and ... the Acer Aspire One. All three of them support Windows XP and Linux, and some of the other netbooks even support Vista.

Sales of these little devices are growing, and rapidly. You're likely to see more of them than you think.

[MMATM]

I do expect to see netbooks, that's not what I meant. I want one myself, purely for the convenience of being able to carry around something smaller than my current laptop (HP Compaq nx6325) to take notes on. I just don't expect to see too many people waiting for the Ubuntu version of the Mini 9 or using Linpus on their netbooks when XP or Vista are available. I personally want to wait until the Ubuntu version of the Mini 9 comes out, or else take a look at Intel's MID (also uses Ubuntu). With prices as low as they are for netbooks, I might even end up getting one.

Also for the record, the netbook in question wasn't powered up when the client came in. It just has a 15-second boot time with the Linpus OS. Which about corresponds to the Windows XP wake-up-from-screensaver time, hence the confusion.

[Pedersen]

See, I personally went for the Asus EEE 901. I also ditched Xandros. Asus got the hardware right IMHO, better than Dell, but they completely borked the Linux install. Super short version: If you're a Linux person, familiar with Debian, you cannot successfully do a full "apt-get upgrade" in Xandros. Doesn't work. You will run out of drive space. Bunch of other bits, too.

I like the EEE 901 over the Mini9 for two reasons: Storage space and battery life. I get 16G for my data drive. I also get a noticeably longer lasting battery. Right now, real world use, I'm seeing at least four hours continuous, and that's without using any of the power saving tricks I can do. The Mini9 marketing speak claims to provide up to four hours, which means more like two to three.

The Mini9 hardware support might be better out of the box, I'll admit, but the EEE didn't take a lot more work to get Ubuntu fully functional. And, to me, it was worth it.

Also, the Mini9 is cheaper in the low end configuration. When you get to the maxed out version of the Mini9, it's $100 less than the EEE 901, but still is short on drive space and battery life.

Just something to think about before committing to any given netbook one way or the other.

[MMATM]

Oh, I won't be committing until after I've been able to play with Ubuntu Mini and have seen the Mini 9 in action. I agree the "4 hour battery life" is likely closer to 2, maybe 3 tops. Announced battery lives mostly indicate how long you can leave the computer on doing nothing (maybe even with the screen off, as in no screensaver running) before the battery will quit. If you're using any kind of power for anything, even internet or email, or the screen is covered in white pixels as per normal, your battery is never going to make it that long.

At the very least, I couldn't commit one way or the other now anyway, as I haven't got the funds to pay for a netbook unless I totally break my budget. ($300-$500 isn't that much for a computer, but on a student budget that's my food for the next two months I'm giving up for the sake of playing around with a funky gadget... not usually going to happen... usually.)