Holy Smokes!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Never Underestimate the power of Google

Ok, I guess we’ve all been there before.  Need to know something?  Where should I look?

Where should I ask… where else?  Google of course!

This actually has nothing to do with programming, though maybe a programming subculture.

I have a Wii, wanted to play the Wii, and crap, i was denied the service.  Couldn’t understand it.  The burger just wouldn't turn on.  Not power LED, no nothing.

As a professional analyst, I naturally went through the best diagnostic checklist I could come up with after 5 or so beers.

  • plugged in?
  • outlet giving juice?
  • too drunk to turn it on?

Nope, it’s messed.

So.. naturally, I considered my resolution options.

  • Tech Support.
  • Warranty
  • Attempt to return it at Walmart (even though it was bought elsewhere)

None of these options left me with dignity.  I had only one course of action, my old friend Google.

Turns out, you must unplug power source from outlet AND unit for 90 seconds.  Such an act causes an internal breaker to reset, its a safety mechanism.

This leaves me with a few ideas on a new thesis.

  • DRM (Drunk operation Retention Management)
  • maybe I shouldn’t plug the unit into an outlet controlled by a light switch?
  • this is obviously the type of user interaction I need to implement in my own products

Sorry for the rant.  I’m actually happy I didn’t have to resort to any of the above.  I just thought this bit of info would either be enjoyable to you, or possibly helpful should you ever find yourself 5 beers in, and wanting to play Mario Kart or something.

Night.

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