Remotely assisted, re-roomba’d
Remote assistance is a feature that has been around since Windows XP hit the scene some 5 or 6 years ago. What it does is allow someone to request help from someone else. They send an email with a small attachment to the person, the remote person opens it and then through the magic of remote control, the two people are connected. I knew about the feature but never have used it, until yesterday.
My brother’s 6 year old laptop was giving him problems so he went to Best Buy and got another one. He had the Geek Squad there pull his old files off and put them on the new laptop. However there were two problems. All they did was grab the files off the C drive and dump them in a folder on the desktop called OLDHDD. So most users aren’t going to know where to put the stuff on the new system so it appears at the same place. The second problem was the majority of his files actually were on the D drive, which they didn’t even touch.
So as I had him on the phone, I quickly looked up the procedures for establishing a remote assistance connection. After a few minutes I successfully was remote controlled into his Windows Vista laptop. I was able to do most tweaks just like I was sitting there. The only time I was handcuffed was if one of those incredibly annoying Vista “are you sure you want to do this?” dialogue boxes came up. Todd had to click that box, I was unable to. Anyway after a lot of screwing around we got the basic stuff working that he needs for his business. Anyway, it’s a cool feature.
The new Roomba arrived today. It is a nice deep maroon color. I had Ali take it out and charge it while I was still at work so it would be ready to go when I got home. I fired it up and let it do a quick run. It seems quieter than my Discovery model. It did a fine job. I also tried out the new cleaning tool for the brushes. It is awesome. It makes the job of cleaning the hair off the brushes much, much easier. Once my ebay auctions close out I will be snagging a Dirt Dog next.
So I may be attempting Roomba surgery shortly, combining two Roombas with different problems into one that is 100% functional.
I took the van to work yesterday and it performed just fine, no shakes, AC blew cold, and the brakes worked well. When I got back home last night I decided to go and touch the wheels to see how hot they were. The passenger side rear wheel was hot! Not as hot as it has been in the past but when I touched the driver side rear wheel it was only a little warm. I called the garage again this morning and they owner said I should drop by and they can check it. It’s a major pain in the ass logistically getting the van there nowadays since Ali and I don’t drive to work together anymore. I have pretty much decided this is the end of the road with repairs with this garage. I like the owner but the reality is every single repair I have had them do (except the replacement of the starter in the Toyota) has required multiple visit follow ups, which is extremely annoying. The joys of owning a 14 year old vehicle….