I was thinking of something to do the other day and while taking some pictures decided to do a quick YouTube video. I took my wife's Honda Aero80 for a ride down the street and did a quick one minute video of it. I converted the video using Pinnacle Studios 12 Ultimate with flash video as the file format.
I learned a couple things using this format and quality size.
1. The look and sound of the video are pretty choppy but acceptable.
2. I found out the limits of YouTube video so I could have done a much higher quality upload. I read you can have up to 1gb files and 10 minutes. If I had knowing this I would of created a much higher quality video instead of the 12 meg converted video. I have a minidv camcorder, Canon PowerShot S3, and also a Sony 12.1 megapixel camera. These each take very good video and when not compressed they look amazing!
3. Next time I will make sure to upload higher quality video and make it more interesting then just driving down the street!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Long Live the Netopia Cayman 3546-002
The Internet is back up and running thanks to Netopia! The untimely death of my SpeadStream 536o left me staring at my computer without Internet access for the last couple days. I was able to get a Netopia 3546-002 and configure it in bridge mode to connect to my 3com router. The back of the Netopia has 1 dsl port and 4 Ethernet ports.
I tried setting up the Netopia to be the main hub of the house and use my 3com router for wireless access. This turned out problematic as the pinhole settings on the Netopia didn't work as good as the port forwarding on my 3com. I played around with the settings for about an hour and decided it was best to just configure the Netopia to bridge mode and use the full power of my 3com. The Netopia basically gets the dsl signal and lets my 3com log on using the PPPoE configuration for dsl.
The Netopia does have some diagnostics it can do to test my Internet signal and also tells me the speed that it is connected at. Currently it is saying downstream 6016 and upstream 768. These are the specs that I am paying for and after some signal tests it looks like my Internet is back in action.
Hopefully the Netopia will last until I can get my Uverse installed and bump my Internet up to 1000.
I tried setting up the Netopia to be the main hub of the house and use my 3com router for wireless access. This turned out problematic as the pinhole settings on the Netopia didn't work as good as the port forwarding on my 3com. I played around with the settings for about an hour and decided it was best to just configure the Netopia to bridge mode and use the full power of my 3com. The Netopia basically gets the dsl signal and lets my 3com log on using the PPPoE configuration for dsl.
The Netopia does have some diagnostics it can do to test my Internet signal and also tells me the speed that it is connected at. Currently it is saying downstream 6016 and upstream 768. These are the specs that I am paying for and after some signal tests it looks like my Internet is back in action.
Hopefully the Netopia will last until I can get my Uverse installed and bump my Internet up to 1000.
Monday, July 14, 2008
The Day my SpeadStream 5360 DIED
RIP 2000-2008
Looking over at my Speadstream 5630 a couple days ago I wondered how much Internet data had traversed its circuits over the years. I have been the proud owner of this dsl modem for at least 8 years and pushed it to its limits. I moved up through every speed package available at Ameritech and At&t. I can only image that many terabytes of information passed through the Cat 3 cables in to the unit and out the cat 6 cables to my router. I have purchased 5 different routers over the last 8 years but my trusty Speadstream never failed me, that is until a few days ago.
I started to notice my internet connection was dropping something that had not occurred for years. The connection would be fine all day when I was using it but when I awoke the next morning I would find it looking for a dsl signal. This went on for about a week and after upwards of 10 reboots it would reconnect to the world wide web.
Today was the day my SpeadStream died. I awoke to see flashing lights on all the leds and after 20 reboots and 1 hour with tech support, I pronounced it dead around 12:30am eastern time. Its a sad day in the Conroy home office. Work came to a screeching halt as I tried to revive the modem for my morning vpn into work. I had to resort to using my blackberry on the Sprint EVO network to get back up and running. The SpeadStream might have not been as flashy as my routers, pc's, or video game consoles that it sat next to, but it was one of the most used tech products in the house.
I will temporarily be using my sisters dsl modem until I can finalize my Uverse installation. The SpeadStream days were numbered before its untimely passing, as Uverse went online here in Dayton today. Maybe it was fate that the old modem saw its time was coming and decided to move on the same day I placed my order for the new highspeed service. I will continue to put the SpeadStream to good use as a paper weight on one of my office desks. This seems to be a fitting tribute instead of pitching it in the trash.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
General Electric Experiences
I started at General Electric in early 2005 as a Telecom Manager / Systems Analyst. My daily tasks involve working tickets in the Cadre ticket system for telecom related issues. This is the support aspect of my job function and I regularly work as the lead systems resource for Ge telecom projects. I work on all aspects except physically placing telephones on users desks. This includes programming the call management system, add stations, coverage paths, ip addresses for all components, Ars and Ana dialplan analysis, 800 number routing to vdn level, and creating all mailboxes. I am in charge of pretty much all programming aspects of call center acd equipment.
My previous job trained me to be an expert installer and trouble shooter of all Avaya pbx components. My current position has taught me how to do all the software translation using this equipment. Knowing how all the components talk to each other helped me learn quickly what needs to be programmed to make them function properly. I enjoy working on the Avaya Call Management System (CMS). This system keeps track of vdns that are monitored, call center agent data, and skill traffic. I usually add dictionary items for qdw naming, copy and create custom reports, and add new CMS supervisor ids and provide that appropriate access for them. This also includes resetting supervisor id passwords. I work with various sites around the country scheduling backups and making sure they run properly. The CMS is a key component in a call center and understanding how it works is very important for gathering metrics about agents.
On the pbx side I program all aspects of Avaya Communication manager. This includes copying and recording announcements for Val boards and TN750 boards. I routinely manual record announcements from sites that are not using val boards and convert them to the proper val board format. Many of my colleagues ask me for assistance in transferring these files. I am currently in charge of making sure all the sites pbx time is within acceptable parameters, and if not update them after hours. Since I oversee about 20 sites, I depend on my site contacts to give me updates. I have used every version of Communication manager, and while at Avaya worked on pre Communication Manager software versions. Most sites I work on are Avaya 8700's to 8720's and require me to keep documents specific to their current versions. Avaya likes to change Linux commands occasional so I really look at the change docs. When I call Avaya for support I usually ask for the latest cheat sheets on command line commands to continue to keep my information as up to date as possible. If something is customer changeable on Avaya systems, I have probably done it.
I have worked all over America in the past three years. I have been to Montreal, New York, Atlanta, and even Albuquerque. These experiences have helped me learn a new level of professionalism. I have become key components in projects, and the work that I accomplish is required for success. I am the main point of contact for Avaya, Nice systems, Combest, and other third party companies when working on projects. I need to provide our third party contacts the appropriate information by the required dates to make project deadlines. This pressure has helped me learn how to prioritize my time, and work in virtual teams.
I work mostly from home in my current position since all my programming is done remotely. I often work late hours because of maintenance windows but I don't mind because my home office is large and I can kiss my wife goodnight. My home office rivals that of executives with a 37 inch LCD screen to work on, 2 desktop pc's, 3 laptops, 1 Proliant server, 2 laser printers, and a fax machine. A wireless N router with gigabit lan ports provide access to the internet using DSL Elite from At&t. I have file cabinets and a large closet to keep papers for projects I am currently working on. I usually go to the office to get mail, talk with co-workers, and get supplies. When I am traveling my Blackberry 8830 world edition keeps me connected to emails and instant messages. I really enjoy my job and work with many great co-workers. There is a culture at GE that is great and diverse. I am proud to call many of the people I work with friends, including ones that I may never meet who live thousands of miles away in India.
My previous job trained me to be an expert installer and trouble shooter of all Avaya pbx components. My current position has taught me how to do all the software translation using this equipment. Knowing how all the components talk to each other helped me learn quickly what needs to be programmed to make them function properly. I enjoy working on the Avaya Call Management System (CMS). This system keeps track of vdns that are monitored, call center agent data, and skill traffic. I usually add dictionary items for qdw naming, copy and create custom reports, and add new CMS supervisor ids and provide that appropriate access for them. This also includes resetting supervisor id passwords. I work with various sites around the country scheduling backups and making sure they run properly. The CMS is a key component in a call center and understanding how it works is very important for gathering metrics about agents.
On the pbx side I program all aspects of Avaya Communication manager. This includes copying and recording announcements for Val boards and TN750 boards. I routinely manual record announcements from sites that are not using val boards and convert them to the proper val board format. Many of my colleagues ask me for assistance in transferring these files. I am currently in charge of making sure all the sites pbx time is within acceptable parameters, and if not update them after hours. Since I oversee about 20 sites, I depend on my site contacts to give me updates. I have used every version of Communication manager, and while at Avaya worked on pre Communication Manager software versions. Most sites I work on are Avaya 8700's to 8720's and require me to keep documents specific to their current versions. Avaya likes to change Linux commands occasional so I really look at the change docs. When I call Avaya for support I usually ask for the latest cheat sheets on command line commands to continue to keep my information as up to date as possible. If something is customer changeable on Avaya systems, I have probably done it.
I have worked all over America in the past three years. I have been to Montreal, New York, Atlanta, and even Albuquerque. These experiences have helped me learn a new level of professionalism. I have become key components in projects, and the work that I accomplish is required for success. I am the main point of contact for Avaya, Nice systems, Combest, and other third party companies when working on projects. I need to provide our third party contacts the appropriate information by the required dates to make project deadlines. This pressure has helped me learn how to prioritize my time, and work in virtual teams.
I work mostly from home in my current position since all my programming is done remotely. I often work late hours because of maintenance windows but I don't mind because my home office is large and I can kiss my wife goodnight. My home office rivals that of executives with a 37 inch LCD screen to work on, 2 desktop pc's, 3 laptops, 1 Proliant server, 2 laser printers, and a fax machine. A wireless N router with gigabit lan ports provide access to the internet using DSL Elite from At&t. I have file cabinets and a large closet to keep papers for projects I am currently working on. I usually go to the office to get mail, talk with co-workers, and get supplies. When I am traveling my Blackberry 8830 world edition keeps me connected to emails and instant messages. I really enjoy my job and work with many great co-workers. There is a culture at GE that is great and diverse. I am proud to call many of the people I work with friends, including ones that I may never meet who live thousands of miles away in India.
Experiences at Lucent and Avaya
I worked for Lucent and Avaya for almost 7 years and enjoyed every minute of it. I started as a dsic technician installing wire for large business projects. Six months later I passed my Avaya engineers test and become a Customer Systems Engineer.
The first product lines that I regularly worked on were the Avaya Partner, Merlin Legend, and Spirit communication systems. My favorite was the Partner ACS, and working in the small businesses offices that purchased them. The Merlin Legend usually had to be programmed by software specialists, and I preferred to let them complete the programming. The Partner system was very user friendly and I enjoyed programming all aspects of the system.
About a year after I was hired, I was moved to the dsic crew again. This time I was shadowing lead installers and learning how to install the large business systems. Within about three months I was installing systems on my own. These projects would sometime takes a couple weeks to complete and involved installing over 3000 phone stations for some projects. I installed Definity Prologix, Avaya 8700's, Sun CMS, Intuity Audix, Intuity LX (Intuities that use Linux as an operating system),Sun Netra servers, and Polycom video conferencing products. I worked and installed systems at many large corporations including NCR, Reynolds and Reynolds, Fifth Third Bank, Key Bank, Provident Bank, Meryl Lynch, Victoria Secret, General Electric, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, The Federal Reserve, TRW, Microsoft, Home Depot, Best Buy, and many more large businesses.
My project experience continued to grow for many years at Avaya and I learned a great deal training all over the United States. I attended training in Chicago, Dallas, Concord Massachusetts, Denver, Orlando, Markham Ontario, White Planes, and took over 100 online classes at the Avaya University. Training was important at Avaya and keeping up on the latest system was key to the success of my job.
I logged many overtime hours while working at Avaya including work 3 days straight resolving issues at a major outage. I would traveled all over Ohio, and assist in other cities when they needed help. Gas was not as expensive when I worked at Avaya but I would regularly spend over $100 a week filling up two or three times.
I eventually became a Senior Technician and was forced to leave the company about three years ago do the layoffs. The unionized Avaya requires the last hired employees to be the first to go. This was a sad time for me, as I was very fond of my job and the accomplishments I had made while working at Avaya. I can't imagine life today if I had not had the experiences I did while working at Avaya. I was given tremendous responsibility and trained to be the best in my field. I did not have to much trouble finding a new job since I had worked at so many different businesses in the area. Many of the customer contacts I had would ask me if I was looking for a job. This network of colleagues was extremely important when my unexpected layoff occurred.
I believe in everything happens for a reason, and know that my time at Lucent and Avaya was a gift and I am glad I took advantage of it.
The first product lines that I regularly worked on were the Avaya Partner, Merlin Legend, and Spirit communication systems. My favorite was the Partner ACS, and working in the small businesses offices that purchased them. The Merlin Legend usually had to be programmed by software specialists, and I preferred to let them complete the programming. The Partner system was very user friendly and I enjoyed programming all aspects of the system.
About a year after I was hired, I was moved to the dsic crew again. This time I was shadowing lead installers and learning how to install the large business systems. Within about three months I was installing systems on my own. These projects would sometime takes a couple weeks to complete and involved installing over 3000 phone stations for some projects. I installed Definity Prologix, Avaya 8700's, Sun CMS, Intuity Audix, Intuity LX (Intuities that use Linux as an operating system),Sun Netra servers, and Polycom video conferencing products. I worked and installed systems at many large corporations including NCR, Reynolds and Reynolds, Fifth Third Bank, Key Bank, Provident Bank, Meryl Lynch, Victoria Secret, General Electric, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, The Federal Reserve, TRW, Microsoft, Home Depot, Best Buy, and many more large businesses.
My project experience continued to grow for many years at Avaya and I learned a great deal training all over the United States. I attended training in Chicago, Dallas, Concord Massachusetts, Denver, Orlando, Markham Ontario, White Planes, and took over 100 online classes at the Avaya University. Training was important at Avaya and keeping up on the latest system was key to the success of my job.
I logged many overtime hours while working at Avaya including work 3 days straight resolving issues at a major outage. I would traveled all over Ohio, and assist in other cities when they needed help. Gas was not as expensive when I worked at Avaya but I would regularly spend over $100 a week filling up two or three times.
I eventually became a Senior Technician and was forced to leave the company about three years ago do the layoffs. The unionized Avaya requires the last hired employees to be the first to go. This was a sad time for me, as I was very fond of my job and the accomplishments I had made while working at Avaya. I can't imagine life today if I had not had the experiences I did while working at Avaya. I was given tremendous responsibility and trained to be the best in my field. I did not have to much trouble finding a new job since I had worked at so many different businesses in the area. Many of the customer contacts I had would ask me if I was looking for a job. This network of colleagues was extremely important when my unexpected layoff occurred.
I believe in everything happens for a reason, and know that my time at Lucent and Avaya was a gift and I am glad I took advantage of it.
Resume
BRIAN P. CONROY
neobrian25@yahoo.com
SENIOR NETWORK/PBX ADMINISTRATOR
Network Installation, Programming & Troubleshooting / Telephony Systems / Voicemail Service
CERTIFICATIONS / SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE
·1 A+, N+ & CCNA Certifications
·2 Windows (All Versions)
·3 Avaya Certified Associate, Networking
·4 Microsoft Office
·5 Avaya Certified Specialist Implementation, Design
·6 MSExchange Mail Servers
·7 Linux / UNIX
·8 Adobe Photoshop & Acrobat
·9 Premiere
·10 Macromedia
·11 Dreamweaver
·12 Sun OS
·13 LAN/WAN
·14 Nortel & Novell Networks
·15 VOIP Installation & programming
·16 Firewall Security
·17 Cisco Routers, Cabling, Bridges, Hubs & Gateways
·18 Avaya 87XX Line of Products
·19 Avaya g3r, IVR, CMS & Intuity
·20 PBX Programming in G3r, CMS & Intuity including all other Avaya Environments
E-Marketing Training:
Skills developed in Internet & Mobile Marketing to include: Advertising
(Search Engine Marketing and Optimization, Banners, Tower Ads,Affiliate Programs); Analytics and Metrcis (ROI; CPM, Stickiness, Eyeballs,
Impressions, Opt-ins, Conversion Rate); Pesonalization; Permission
Marketing; Driving Traffic to a Site; Increasing Conversion Rate;
Weblogs and Blogvertising; RSS Feeds; Podcasts; and Mobile Marketing.Job
Information, Contacts, Former Students
Objective:
Networking and learning about new opportunities that allow me to grow my career.
Personal & Professional Strengths
6-plus years of experience. Self motivated. Proven ability to lead technical teams. Creative thinker, tenacious problem solver and decisive decision maker. Interact well with internal and external, multicultural personnel. Learn quickly. Explain complex terminology in language easily understood by non-technical people. Well organized, detail-focused and consistently meet extremely tight schedules. Open to unlimited travel, relocation and extended work hours.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
GE Consumer Finance, Dayton, OH 2005 to Present
Entered the company as a Systems Analyst and telecom Manager. Manage multiple projects and oversee support for over 30 sites nationwide. Provide expert programming of Avaya call center solutions.
Avaya Communications, Dayton, OH 2000 to 2005
Promoted to Senior Technician in 2002 after serving as Customer Systems Engineer for 2 years. Manage key projects for primary customers and lead teams of approximately 20 technicians.
Lucent Technologies, Dayton, OH 1998 to 2000
Promoted to Customer Systems Engineer after serving as Distribution Technician for 1 year.
EDUCATION /
University of Dayton, Dayton OH
Bachelors of Communication, Leadership/Management
Expected Graduation: Winter 2008
Sinclair Community College, Dayton, OH
Associate of Science, Network Engineering (Cisco Academy)
GPA: 3.7/4.0
Expected Graduation: Summer 2009
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP
Dayton Area Network Professionals Phi Theta Kappa Honors Fraternity
neobrian25@yahoo.com
SENIOR NETWORK/PBX ADMINISTRATOR
Network Installation, Programming & Troubleshooting / Telephony Systems / Voicemail Service
CERTIFICATIONS / SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE
·1 A+, N+ & CCNA Certifications
·2 Windows (All Versions)
·3 Avaya Certified Associate, Networking
·4 Microsoft Office
·5 Avaya Certified Specialist Implementation, Design
·6 MSExchange Mail Servers
·7 Linux / UNIX
·8 Adobe Photoshop & Acrobat
·9 Premiere
·10 Macromedia
·11 Dreamweaver
·12 Sun OS
·13 LAN/WAN
·14 Nortel & Novell Networks
·15 VOIP Installation & programming
·16 Firewall Security
·17 Cisco Routers, Cabling, Bridges, Hubs & Gateways
·18 Avaya 87XX Line of Products
·19 Avaya g3r, IVR, CMS & Intuity
·20 PBX Programming in G3r, CMS & Intuity including all other Avaya Environments
E-Marketing Training:
Skills developed in Internet & Mobile Marketing to include: Advertising
(Search Engine Marketing and Optimization, Banners, Tower Ads,Affiliate Programs); Analytics and Metrcis (ROI; CPM, Stickiness, Eyeballs,
Impressions, Opt-ins, Conversion Rate); Pesonalization; Permission
Marketing; Driving Traffic to a Site; Increasing Conversion Rate;
Weblogs and Blogvertising; RSS Feeds; Podcasts; and Mobile Marketing.Job
Information, Contacts, Former Students
Objective:
Networking and learning about new opportunities that allow me to grow my career.
Personal & Professional Strengths
6-plus years of experience. Self motivated. Proven ability to lead technical teams. Creative thinker, tenacious problem solver and decisive decision maker. Interact well with internal and external, multicultural personnel. Learn quickly. Explain complex terminology in language easily understood by non-technical people. Well organized, detail-focused and consistently meet extremely tight schedules. Open to unlimited travel, relocation and extended work hours.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
GE Consumer Finance, Dayton, OH 2005 to Present
Entered the company as a Systems Analyst and telecom Manager. Manage multiple projects and oversee support for over 30 sites nationwide. Provide expert programming of Avaya call center solutions.
Avaya Communications, Dayton, OH 2000 to 2005
Promoted to Senior Technician in 2002 after serving as Customer Systems Engineer for 2 years. Manage key projects for primary customers and lead teams of approximately 20 technicians.
Lucent Technologies, Dayton, OH 1998 to 2000
Promoted to Customer Systems Engineer after serving as Distribution Technician for 1 year.
EDUCATION /
University of Dayton, Dayton OH
Bachelors of Communication, Leadership/Management
Expected Graduation: Winter 2008
Sinclair Community College, Dayton, OH
Associate of Science, Network Engineering (Cisco Academy)
GPA: 3.7/4.0
Expected Graduation: Summer 2009
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP
Dayton Area Network Professionals Phi Theta Kappa Honors Fraternity
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