Richard A. Johnson

UPDATE: after just over 2 days, all of my whining may have paid off. I woke up 12/15 to find my GMail working again. I would like to think a Google employee who contacted me on Twitter got it fixed or at least escalated for me.

If you can’t read what that says, here it is:
Temporary Error(500)
We’re sorry, but your Gmail account is temporarily unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience and suggest trying again in a few minutes.

Well, 2 days later, not a few minutes, it is still dead. So I did what everyone else would do in a situation like this, I head to Tech Support. Yeah, like you, I couldn’t find a clear tech support channel either. I did find a bunch of documentation that didn’t pertain to the situation, and what documentation I did find, didn’t help the situation. Well, luckily I found a contact link, actually I found 2, maybe 3, different contact links, to report the issue. So I did, all 3 times. I waited with another email account, thanks Yahoo! for working! And I am still waiting, over 24 hours later. Next step, the amazing Google Forums, or whatever the hell they call that.

So I post my problem initially with a subject of Temporary Error(500) - Numeric Code: 93. This didn’t even draw in a response. So, I did something I can’t stand, I said screw bumping the thread, let me create one with a subject that shows a little panic. I added the info they asked for, I told them everything I have gone to from Google and GMail to rectify the situation, and none of it works. Wouldn’t you know, my subject draws someone in, and their first response is:

Did you check this link? Have you done this?

At this point I have steam coming out of my ears. How in the hell could you ask me that question if you read my initial post? How? I don’t get it? Supposedly this person is a ‘Level 4′, whatever the hell that means. I think they give you a level by the amount of posts you get. I did a little research on this person, and wouldn’t you know it, they are doing the same shit in every one of the other HELP ME! posts in the forums. Oh, this is part of the reason I can’t stand forums.

I have done everything. I hit Twitter, messaged people who work on GMail, everything, except fly to Mountain View and grab the first ass I saw riding some foldable bicycle coming out of one of their numerous gyms or campus hot spots there, and choking them until my GMail worked again. So now I have resorted to my blog, and I am hoping that just 1 of the 3 people who read my blog, knows someone who knows someone.

I am seriously at a standstill here. Everyone of my email addresses forward to my GMail account. It is kind of like my digital lifeline. I have a few major tasks, one including Christmas presents and lists, that I have to do like yesterday, but I can’t. I have an Android that is damn near useless to me right now, except for Angry Birds and Bubble Blast 2.

OK, so to my other point. What ever we all do with this wonderful world of free and open source software, lets never get this bad when it comes to getting some sort of support for a free product. Yes, we have docs, we have forums, we have IRC, and we have, well we have everything one needs to get something fixed. I don’t think in all of my years of working on Linux, Ubuntu/Kubuntu, KDE, you name it, I have had to wait a day, let alone 2 or more, to get something fixed. Well, get something fixed that is as important as your email. If you want to make sure you don’t fail with your product, just head over to GMail support, look it over, and promise not only yourself, but everyone of your users, that you will never be like that!

OK, my venting, or dribble, is done here. Everyone enjoy your day and the rest of your week!

NOTE: I have another GMail account for cycling stuff that works perfectly. I have tried no less than 6 other browsers, 2 other operating systems, cleared cache, history, cookies, and candy bars.

WHO
Ubuntu Chicago LoCo Team

WHAT
Maverick Release Party

WHEN
Today! Sunday, November 21, 2010 from 3PM until 6PM

WHERE
Pumping Station One
3354 N. Elston
Chicago, IL 60618

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Please stop by and say hi. We will have some snacks, some CDs, and a lot of fun! Hope to see you there!

My buddy Curtis is at it again with his awesome company, Bluecherry. For those of you who don’t know what Bluecherry is, a quick introduction. Bluecherry is a US based company out of the sticks in Missouri. They specialize in creating high quality Linux supported video capture cards as well as surveillance software. Those of you who work in a tight-security data center might be familiar with the Windows surveillance systems that out there, since more than likely you are hosting those servers as well. Well Bluecherry lightens the load by supplying the same type of equipment, just in a Linux environment.

Well Curtis hit me up on IRC this evening, and it seems my previous post where he was looking for a Qt dev worked out well for him. He asked me again to help out, and of course I am more than happy. Seems I am doing better at getting other people employed than I am with getting myself employed. Oh well.

This time around they are looking for someone who can hack on drivers and the kernel for their equipment, as well as a little bit more. I know the salary is competitive, the atmosphere is great, and if it is warm, you can wear shorts. My type of job, except for the fact I couldn’t hack myself out of a wet paper bag when it comes to creating drivers. Here is a quick breakdown on what they are looking for:

• Prior experience in Linux based software design / implementation including design
• Extensive knowledge of Ubuntu, including building / maintaining Debian packages
• Extensive knowledge of the Video4Linux2 and ALSA sound API
• Prior experience with gstreamer and RTSP
• Prior experience with SQLite, Postgres and Mysql
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Linux operating system development (device and kernel level) recommended
• Strong knowledge of C, PHP, Javascript required. Knowledge of Perl and Python suggested
• Strong knowledge of Apache2 and prior experience in writing PHP modules
• Played a leading role in the design and develop of previous client / server based applications
• Previous work with and understanding of working with video / audio formatting / codecs including MPEG4 and H.264
• Internet and operating system security fundamentals
• Sharp analytical abilities and proven design skills
• Strong sense of ownership, urgency, and drive
• Demonstrated ability to achieve goals in a highly innovative and fast paced environment

Sound like your type of job? If so, head on over to the Monster page for the position, Linux video surveillance software developer. In the past Curtis was looking for someone in the US to fill this position. And just so you know, you don’t have to live in Missouri, but if you happen to live in any of the US time zones, then you would be a groovy candidate. I do happen to know they are using Qt as well as Ubuntu (cough, someone get him on Kubuntu fast!) so I am sure knowing a little of that wouldn’t be to bad either, but I am sure it isn’t necessary.

There are great perks, so hurry up while it lasts!

Hey there my Ubuntu and KDE people! I am still around. I have my daughter for most of the month of August so I am currently AFK. I will be back in a couple of weeks full-time again. In the mean time if you need to get in touch with me, hit me up on Twitter @nixternal, or if you have my phone number you can call me there.

When I come back, I have a great review in the pipeline of a new ZaReason laptop that runs Kubuntu out of the box!

My daughter and I have been having a blast these past couple of weeks. We have enjoyed the weather, watched a lot of bike racing, and she got groovy with Ubuntu. She likes Kubuntu’s look better, but I hooked her up with some Ubuntu to play around with. She wasn’t down with the default look, so we found some themes, colors, and fonts, that she likes, and thus far she has been happy. I need more than an SSH backdoor, so if you have any ideas let me know. I would like to know when she logs on and gets online, but I would really like to know is her IP address automagically so I can connect and do updates and what not for her. I can probably do most of this with a little bit of scripting, but I am sure that 100% of the time she will be behind a firewall that doesn’t have ports for SSH open, so if there is something out there that you know I might be looking for, let me know. Oh, I need to figure out a way to prevent her pesky mom or grandparents from installing Windows on this machine, any ideas on that as well?

Oh, and Elizabeth, she one-upped you. She has pink braces :p

Bluecherry, a company that specializes in Linux (Ubuntu-based) surveillance equipment and applications, is currently looking for a full-time cross-platform Qt software developer. If you are a Qt developer who lives in the United States and is looking for a job, let me tell you, this could very well be it! It is a great opportunity to design and develop a new version of their interface and you get to work along side somebody like Ben Collins. Curtis Hall is the founder and owner of Bluecherry and is a really groovy dude. If you live around Fulton, MO, you can work in the office, and if not, you can work from home.

Here is just a brief introduction to the job posting Curtis has posted on Monster:

Bluecherry is seeking a well qualified applicant for cross platform Qt user interface software development. The position will also assist with training and support. The ideal candidate should have excellent communication skills and a strong background developing software applications under Linux. The candidate should also have extensive knowledge of Ubuntu. The position is full-time and is based in our Fulton, MO office however consideration will be given to telecommuter positions within the United States.

If you are interested in the position, I highly recommend you take a look at the job posting on Monster and apply through there, or send Curtis an email with your resume or CV to jobs (AT) bluecherry (DOT) net. Curtis would also like you have the following:

Applicants should provide, a resume including past work history, a cover letter with a brief introduction, two personal and two technical references.

Applicants should have prior work history available for us to review, specifically examples of Qt design and development.

Curtis also told me the following in an email:

We are trying to fill this position ASAP, so if someone might be interested I would highly recommend they apply quickly.

The Ubuntu Chicago LoCo Team is hosting its first ever group ride this Sunday, July 18. The ride will kick off from the Geneva, IL Metra Train Station at 12PM. If you are in Chicago and would like to come out, hop on the 10:47AM train on the Union Pacific/West line out of the Ogilvie Transportation Center. The train will arrive in Geneva at around 11:50AM. Once everyone is there we will take off and cruise either south or north on the Fox River Trail for a few hours. We will make stops for some ice cream, food, or cold beverages, and the speed will be as fast as the slowest person. This is a cruising ride for the team to come together and hang out on a great summer day in the Chicagoland area. We can either ride until 4PM so people can get back to the train station to head back downtown or 6PM. We can play this by ear and see how long people want to hang out for, but I am guessing 4PM will probably be more than enough on many people’s rear ends.

If you are interested, RSVP here in the comments, on our mailing list, or hop into our IRC channel on freenode in #ubuntu-chicago. Hope to see you there!