Monday, January 12, 2009

Welcome to Provide Support Live Chat then gatlineducation.com

A log of a frustration that slowly works itself out. My chat to continuing education at CUNY got picked up by software support of the company providing the chat client.

Steve:
I need a computer system administration course. I am responsible for over 15 web sites on 5 servers scattered with different Internet Service Providers in the North East USA. I want to improve my casual practice to provide best quality service to my customers. Please recommend a course. Thanks, Steve
Call accepted by operator Irene. Currently in room: Irene.
Irene:
Hello Steve
Steve:
Hi
Irene:
You reached a wrong support line, sorry. We offer a live chat software for websites.
Steve:
The chat server for CUNY was being balky
Steve:
and kept giving me an error message ' Please fill all required fields ' when I had filled out all required * fields
Steve:
Irene, are you still there
Irene:
Sorry, which company are you trying to reach? We are a software development company, we offer a live chat software for websites, but we are not related to our customers who many be using the software on their websites
Steve:
http://www.gatlineducation.com/citytech.cuny/industrial.htm is using your software and doing a poor job of it. Why do you think that is????
Irene:
Sorry, we can't help. Please try contacting that company directly by e-mail or by phone, we are not related to them. We offer the live chat software software and we can only support our customers in questions related to our service.
Steve:
I am going to recommend that CUNY (City University of New York) discontinue doing business with your company because the software you have delivered them is flawed and I was seeking tech support from a live operator and although you are there you are unable to make the stretch to help me.
Irene:
Could you please provide some more details about the problem you have with our software?
Steve:
I know you are not related to CUNY but your company logo and link were on the bottom of the form on the page URL I just sent you. I presume there are no live operators at CUNY now because the school is on winter break. However, that is not the message that I receive from their site. I just get a confusing loop that resulted in you getting this first message that was intended for CUNY.
Irene:
I have just made a test call to them, everything is working fine. Please, make sure that you fill all the required fields: department, name, last name, question, e-mail and contry
Irene:
*country
Steve:
did all that...should I send you a screen grab of the properly filled out form
Irene:
Yes, you can use the "Send file" button below the header of your messenger to send the file directly in chat
Steve has sent a file. Click cuny-live-chat-NG-20090112.tiff (323 KB) to receive the file.
Irene:
This form is not related to our live chat. This is their form on the page, that gives you the "Please fill all required fields". Please, contact them directly
Steve:
If you notice on the bottom of the image that I have two button choices 'Register now' and 'Admissions chat' and the problem occurred when I choose Admissions chat. Therefore your live chat is associated with the form.
Steve:
Are you saying there is no connection....
Irene:
The button is just below the form, it is not related to it. I guess that the "Register" button is related to it, since it says "- Registration -" above. If you press the button, you will see the form that is related to our chat. If you fill the fields in the appeared messenger, everything should work fine
Steve:
I did. I filled out all the fields correctly. I think there is some cross talk between forms and submit and poor user interaction design. If try this again with them I feel certain that I shall loose my communication link to you as the session IDs and cookies are now intertwined...I imagine.
Irene:
Just try to press the button without filling the registration fields. To connect with their representative through our chat you will need just to fill the fields in our chat form, after you press the chat button
Steve:
Okay, I'll try it again and if we get disconnected...thank you. - s
Irene:
The messenger will open in a separate browser window, so the connection won't be lost. Please, let me know if the problem persists
Steve:
Okay here goes
Steve:
No good....I'm sending you another screen grab.
Steve has sent a file. Click cuny-live-chat-NG-20090112.2.tiff (178 KB) to receive the file.
Irene:
You need to select the department, it is also marked with a star
Steve:
You mean I need to select the Admissions Department, when there is only one department on the screen. Hmmmmmm.... I'll try that
Irene:
Yes, this is how it is specified in their messenger
Steve:
If there is only one department then your software should pre-select the button in my humble opinion
Irene:
Thank you for your call. Have a nice evening!
Irene has left the conversation. Currently in room: Steve.
.....
and finally the chat with "Our Help Desk" at http://www.gatlineducation.com
Steve:
I need a computer system administration course. I am responsible for over 15 web sites on 5 servers scattered with different Internet Service Providers in the North East USA. I want to improve my casual practice to provide best quality service to my customers. Please recommend a course. Thanks, Steve
...
Welcome Steve! Please wait for our admissions counselor to answer your call.
Call accepted by operator Philyssa. Currently in room: Philyssa, Steve.
Philyssa:
Hello!
Steve:
did you understand my message to start this chat
Philyssa:
If you click on this link you will see all of our course offerings in the IT field. http://www.gatlineducation.com/inttechdes.htm
Philyssa:
Under each course name you will see a brief description. If you see what you think will apply to you then just click on the courses name and it will send you to that courses website, where you can view all of the details that are available for that course.
Steve:
I already read the listing and there are several interesting courses but none that specifically address my needs to become a better system administrator.
Philyssa:
One moment...
Philyssa:
Microsoft Certified System Administrator Plus 2003 (MCSA+)
Steve:
CompTIA™ Linux+/LPI Level One Certification Training - GES 902 -- 300 hours is close but aimed at beginners. I am mostly self taught and perhaps beyond the beginner stage and I don't see a value to become a CompTIA Linux+ certified
Steve:
Hmmm...I would prefer Linux as I am running various brands of Linux is running on each of the servers.
Philyssa:
Ok, so our Linux course is what you're interested in today?
Steve:
How much is the cost of CompTIA™ Linux+/LPI Level One Certification Training - GES 902 course? And can I save money by getting it without the certification?
Philyssa:
May I have your zip code, please?
Steve:
10002
Steve:
Instructor Bio: Terry Ladouceur is a veteran of the Online Instructional Team at Academy Online.
Philyssa:
Borough of Manhattan Community College is our partner school that would offer this course online to you and issue the certificate of completion to you in the mail after you successfully complete this course with a grade of 70% or higher. Here is the link that you would need to click on to register online for this course, http://www.gatlineducation.com/bmcc/design.htm The cost of this course is $2195.00.
Steve:
Is it possible to telephone or email the instructor in advance
Philyssa:
I can forward your contact information to one of our admissions counselors and they can contact you back, but I cannot give the course instructors contact infomation out to a non registered student.
Steve:
Please forward the information. I just took the demo quiz and scored 80% which is a pass.
Steve:
Is there a book associated with the course?
Philyssa:
Good for you, maybe after you take this course you'll score a 100!
Steve:
How can I measure the value of the certificate? For example where are job postings that mention that they need this certificate. I need to rationalize this expense to my family, my partners.
Philyssa:
The materials included with this course are:
Linux Course book
Access to an online IT Library
Steve:
The Linux Course book is mailed to me?
Philyssa:
All materials are included. The cost of materials will be covered by your tuition. GES will ship all materials via UPS ground service upon registration.
Steve:
Okay on the course materials.
Philyssa:
The certificate of completion that you will receive for completing this course is issued from our accredited partner college. It does not state that the course was an online course.
Steve:
Understood....do you a link for me that shows job openings that request this certification in order to qualify to apply?
Steve:
I'm okay with online learning although I've never tried it.
Philyssa:
No, I do not have a link like that, but you can go to careerbuilder.com and check out what they have on their site about this career field.
Steve:
Okay. Thank you for your time this evening. - Steve
Philyssa:
You're very welcome! Thank you for using our live chat feature!

Thursday, January 08, 2009

How to code in WRT for Nokia E71
Location of device

I am writing this for myself to keep track of the steps I took to learn "How to code in WRT for Nokia E71" and the outside reader may discover something useful too.

Task: Within WRT application discover the location of the Nokia E71 device (at NYC:Cutlass studio for example) and send that information as GET request to http://touchtonetours.com/hollywood-usa/delta.php?lat=40.716500&lon=-73.989000 to display the page you see on the cell phone micro-browser.

Story:

1. The AccuWidget example is useful to see how you can local weather information via an RSS feed from line 91 of accuwidget.js [var url = "http://rss.accuweather.com/rss/liveweather_rss.asp?metric=1&locCode=" + locationCode;] however the device user must supply the location code from either a menu or special knowledge. I found the interface clunky but that is often expected with example scripts.

2. Check out http://code.google.com/p/prototypewrt/ for some very useful and good looking examples that help me understand the javascript better. In particular, load accordionDemo.wgz [http://prototypewrt.googlecode.com/files/accordionDemo.wgz] on your Nokia E71 or whatever device and see an elegant tab solution. Sadly, no device lat/lon help here.
(Forum.Nokia.2008 Code Example Challenge = Web Runtime (WRT): Dou Yongwang (Dougcn) from China is awarded the prize for a series of well-documented examples on how to use the Prototype JavaScript library to create nice widgets, using, e.g. accordion.)

Mac OSX Trick 1.1: Download http://prototypewrt.googlecode.com/files/accordionDemo.wgz onto your desktop. Bluetooth > Send file... to your Nokia E71.

Mac OSX Trick 1.2: By right mouse click duplicate the file http://prototypewrt.googlecode.com/files/accordionDemo.wgz that you have just downloaded. Now the file reads 'accordionDemo.wgz copy' so double click the file. The file un-zips and there is a folder with all the components of the WRT (.wgz). Open the folder and launch index.html and see the same micro-browser functionality on your Mac OSX browser. Investigate the code.

3. If I wanted to solve my task by J2ME + Google use link J2ME Google Maps API for useful future exploration. Java ME Location API without Google map.

4. Eclipse + WRT plugin, someday I'll be friends with Eclipse.

5. Arghhh, read entry #7, "...you cannot use location and other system functions through WRT in S60 3rd Edition devices." from Accessing GPS location using WRT - Developer Discussion Boards -- I will solve this tonight!!! Time for Plan B!

6. Wait CS001161 - Obtaining location information WRT on S60 5th Edition may have the beginnings to a solution.

7. Okay, time to bring closure to this. Useful description of Web Developer's Library 1.3 > Guide to Web Developer's Library > Library contents to return to later. Good Location Acquisition API: API description.

8. Check out example Location Service API example from library.forum.nokia.com Web Developer's Library 1.3 > Web Runtime API reference > JavaScript Service API reference > JavaScript Location Service API. I built the WRT and it did not produce location results on my Nokia E71. My conclusion: this is reference document and not a practical example for January 9, 2009.

9. My solution to finish this submission to NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge Americas due today is http://touchtonetours.com/hollywood-usa/delta.php that looks nice on the Nokia E71.

delta.php

References:
NAVTEQ Global Challenge
forum.NOKIA.com
Map24

Plan B:
The user writes his/her address into my E71 micro browser form. By some PHP script my server looks up some service like geocoder.us: a free US address geocoder (find the latitude & longitude of any US address - for free ... Free lookups are throttled by your IP address to one request every 15 seconds.) that returns the address as latitude and longitude. I drag take the lat/lon through more PHP and finish the task. I have used a variation of Plan B in 2006 for LBS game Hot-n-Cold, semi-finalist in NAVTEQ Challenge.