Trials and Tribulations of a Techno-Dummy
I’m the type of guy who talks to his computer … not just anytime … I’m not crazy … I mean when it crashes. You know. The kind of person who says things like *!!@ or &#@5!! or ?*$@!Xii-oo and when that doesn’t work pleads with it – and, of course, when that doesn’t work, sighs, gives up and picks up the phone to call the Geek Squad for help.
Sometimes, if you’re lucky and you follow that exact sequence in the order shown, without changing any of the characters or actions, including the expletives, it sometimes works … and only costs you two or three hours out of your day … but sometimes it still doesn’t work.
When you reach the Geek Squad, they ask you lots of questions which you conscientiously attempt to answer, including typing in what you were doing and how many times it happened. (This is because it undoubtedly happened several times, since you probably thought the machine might have figured it out and fixed itself.)
You also dutifully provide them with the exact error codes that popped up on your computer screen when it crashed, such as a Blue Screen that says something like:
www.windows.com/stopcode
Stop Code: System Service Exception
Mailinois.sys
You tell them you looked it up and there were five pages of instructions that Windows Help provided, and that even though Windows said, “Though the steps on this page might look complicated at first glance, just follow them in order, step by step, and we’ll try to get you back on track,” you still feel that you’re a tech-dummy and don’t feel you can handle it.
Once you’ve answered the initial Geek Squad questions, you get bounced upstairs to an advanced tech consultant where again you describe the problem including the info about the Blue Screen, but there’s silence on the other end of the line. But, finally, he says, “Well, what we can do is a complete ‘tune-up’ of your computer.”
You turn remote control over to the technician and wait. They say you don’t need to stay by your computer, but really you can’t leave because they generally have questions.
A few hours later, the “tune up” is complete, control is released back to you and you get back to work … until the next crash, which occurs in about a half hour.
I now have a well-tuned computer that continues to crash on me whenever it seems to want to. So, what did I learn from all this? I re-learned to save whatever I’m working on constantly.
Then I went back to work on my advanced industrial water remediation project, teaching a client how to clean the water and then turn waste from those waters into viable products. (I didn’t say I was a total dummy … just one in relation to this one-eyed – or in my case, three-eyed – monster on my desk that I call my computer.) Later that night, I got back to a report on an advanced alternative-currency that I needed to write up, all the while hoping that my computer would hang in there.
Then I heard about ExoTech. An associate told me about it and I read an article by Neil Clark entitled:
DOES YOUR COMPUTER MAKE YOU FEEL STUPID?
Timely … or what?
It turns out that Neil works with a brilliant man by the name of Peter Warren who is in the process of revolutionizing computer software.
Peter believed, worked on, deciphered and then patented ways for humans and computers to easily communicate with one another. When I read a bit about it, I thought that I was looking at something like “HAL,” the sentient computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey … but it turned out to be much more than that, because, believe it or not, “HAL” was limited and the new “ExoBrain” is not.
Neal explains it much better than I could, and you should read his article, but here are a couple of plain English excerpts from some computer professional testimonials on the ExoTech website:
Jeff Buhrt, Former IBM Program Manager, currently owns Rocket Logic Inc., Achievement Focused Technologies
(AFT, Inc.) and Health Care Systems Corp:
“ExoBrain database, an unusual database, different from standard databases. It has unusual properties; it stores and operates on meanings of words and not just on words themselves … Comprehensively controlling computers with everyday language in any manner at all is a holy grail of computing, and it is my considered view that this technology is capable of achieving that.”
Rolf Heinrich, Senior Software Product Manager at Fujitsu-Siemens. He reviewed the demonstration of the first prototype for ExoTech. Before the review, he stated:
“I have to tell you I am very skeptical and disbelieving. Microsoft and others like IBM have spent millions – even billions of dollars – to solve this and have not solved it, so I do not believe that it is possible that you could have solved it.”
After seeing the prototype perform, he stated:
“Congratulations. You have done the most amazing work. It is not believable, but now I see that what you say is true. So. Now, let us talk business together. When will the product be ready? When can we have it to test?”
John S. Welch, Former owner of CornerStone Software and VP of Development for American Data Resources and for Deluxe Data Resources:
“Peter Warren started ExoTech some time ago and has been expanding its technical prowess ever since. I got a full briefing about ExoTech and his ExoBrains over live video. I duplicated the enormity of Peter’s achievement to bring human thinking to a computer. His tech is light years beyond what Google, et al., are doing with AI.”
Dr. Karl Denninghoff, Ph.D, Computer Scientist. Inventor of the first VoIP technology to work reliably across the open Internet:
“I have so far spent over 100 hours of my own time studying ExoTech … market testing results showed that a general user experience can engage a large portion of those who habitually avoid the use of computer technology.”
Wayne C. McCray, President & CEO, Axiom Consulting LLC:
“I have seen no other single product that provides the functionally of ExoBrain. I was able to CREATE an application, push it to two other systems, do remote finds and push/pull data to/from both systems and then push application enhancements to the other systems in less than 8 hours after installing the beta.”
So, it turns out that talking to your computer is not so stupid after all, and that is a BIG deal.
Now, if you’re anything like me, or if you’re a computer pro like the guys above, or you’re simply someone who likes to know what’s on the cutting edge and the many ways you might benefit from it, I suggest you check out the website, and if you hear the tumblers in your mind moving and then click into place, I suggest you find out how you might be able to take part in one of the Confidential Technical Briefings that are offered.
Christopher C. Davis is a seasoned marketing executive with international experience who is pleased to be working with ExoTech in a consultant capacity. He also spends his time as a primary consultant for the CloudCoin Consortium in the USA in addition to consulting a limited number of other occasional clients. He was largely responsible for the early success for the Macintosh computer big business applications. He has experience in international trade, is a published author, and has built and run several large marketing companies including the largest circular and sample distribution company in Southern California, servicing over a million single-family-homes each month.