Tales of a Glass Explorer: 2 Weeks with Glass

http://www.techxaminer.com/2013/07/tales-of-google-glass-explorer-two.html

Check out my blog post at TechXaminer on 2 weeks with Google Glass!

Google Glass Pick up

http://www.techxaminer.com/2013/06/tales-of-glass-explorer-pickup.html

Check out my experience over at the TechXaminer site!
Will

Shame on you Google/LG- Put your warranty where your mouth is!- RESOLVED!

Quick Outline:

1. Purchase Google Nexus 4

2. 6 Weeks later hairline fracture presents itself in upper right front glass right by front camera. Without any abuse to phone (Drops or smash). Phone is used normally and even less since its not my main phone nor is it provisioned for voice.

3. Camera and touch screen are unresponsive

4. Calls Google Play and told it is LGE who will provide out of warranty service.

5. Calls LGE and told it is out of warranty service and to send it in first i will find out costs later.

6. Calls back Google play and told glass is not covered by the Nexus 4's Limited Warranty.

7. I send email picking apart warranty and Google/LGEs possible violations of Consumer Warranty Act.
8. Filed in Small Claims Court against LG.
9. Court date scheduled for 07/19
10. Case Settled.

Full Story:

I should be getting my Google Glass purchase invite any day now and being a gadget junkie I purchased a Nexus 4 from Google Play store for $300 to experience the full Glass as my daily phone is an iPhone5 on Verizon. I have been both an IT executive and Tech Hobbyist for over 15 years. I own tons of devices and have never experienced a phantom crack in glass. Sure Ive dropped devices before, some have taken the hit and some may have cracked. Hey I have 4 kids, Ive had ipod touches, LeapPads, laptops and DS' take abuse and get cracked screens. I usually have either purchased replacements or performed the repairs myself.

In the case of my Nexus 4, Heres the story. I am in the middle of activating a prepaid sim on a great Tmobile pre paid plan to swap out my AT&T sim. I take off the Ringke case and notice a hairline crack in the upper right hand corner of the Front Screen right by the front camera. I proceed to check the camera and it doesn't work, I stay on the phone with Tmobile to activate my plan and figure I will call Google right after for warranty service. 

After activating the SIM card I try some testing of the Tmobile plan including sending some test text messages. (AT&T sims plan was data only, Tmobile is data/text and voice). I cant send the text messages as the touch screen is unresponsive at the exact screen part to send the text. At this point this is very weird and i perform further testing. So my phone and the hairline crack apparently affects the touchscreen at a certain touch point (middle right of screen) where it doesn't register touch. I proceed to call Google for warranty service.

I explain my story to the Google Play rep who while very very nice, tells me I have to contact LGE and gives me their number. 

I contact LGE and as soon as I speak about the front glass she dives into a long process that I need to follow. I try to get some questions in but she rambles on. Finally I ask her are there any other options besides the one she mentions, which was: that i would have to send the Nexus 4 in, they would assess the repair costs and contact me at which point I can approve or decline the repair. I told her that this was not my fault but a defect with the material workmanship. She reiterates that that if purchased through the Google Play store that was my only option.

I try calling back Google Play and explain to the rep the first two calls and the fact that I am not trying to get over and at this point its not an issue with cost, as I could easily purchase another Nexus for $300. I could also probably sell this phone on ebay/craigslist for ~$200 as is (im sure someone can fix the front glass pretty cheap). She proceeds to tell me the same story about screens not being covered under the "Limited Warranty". Google play recaps their stance in the email sent to me below:

Below is my final response to Google Play:

Google Play,

Let me correct a couple of items here and explain my situation. I do have a Ringke fusion case on my Nexus device http://www.rearthusa.com/google-nexus-4-hybrid-fusion-case  because of hearing all of the horror stories with the rear glass breaking very easily on this device.

I had already contacted Google once and was told to contact LG who in turn treated me like the issue was automatically my fault. 

My issue is that I received a hairline fracture on my device through no fault of my own and that the material workmanship on the phone is defective. 

In searching the Google Play site I found this link about the nexus 4 warranty https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2851637?hl=en which says to contact google play support if the nexus was purchased from google play. In fact I have contacted them twice, both times told that glass damage is not covered by the limited warranty. I have read through the Nexus 4 warranty which can be found on LGs site here: http://www.lg.com/us/support/products/documents/Nexus4_SafetyAndWarranty_USG_Print_V1%200_121008-1.pdf and don't see that listed. If someone can maybe reference that in the actual warranty it would be helpful.

In looking through the warranty I would like to make some points relevant to my issue. Section 1: What this Warranty covers

Subsection 1: The warranty is 12 months in length beginning on the purchase date, which I am well within those 12 Months as my purchase was made on 04/18/13 and my incident is on 06/07/13.

Subsection 2: I am the original purchaser as can be seen in my order number - TAKEN OUT FOR BLOG POST

Subsection 3: I am the original purchaser and a resident of NJ and the incident and warranty claim occurred in NJ.

Subsection 4: My Warranty claim is not about the external housing nor cosmetic parts

Subsection 5: I can and have provided my information to accurately prove the purchase date.

Section 2: What This Warranty does not cover

Subsection 1: I have only used the Nexus phone in the intended manner.

Subsection 2: I have not done any of these items to lead to the hairline crack in the upper right corner of the front glass by the front camera at which I am attempting a warranty claim based on a defect in workmanship.

Subsection 3: My claim has nothing to do with the antenna

Subsection 4: I did notify customer service at LG and they told me to send the phone for out of warranty service with a fee merely because i mentioned it was the front glass.

Subsection 5: serial number is intact and was not removed

Subsection 6: understood

Subsection 7: I did not damage the phone with any accessories nor is this Warranty claim based on anything with accessories. Its based of a defect in the workmanship for my particular Nexus 4 Phone.

Subsection 8: Nothing on the phone was damaged or scratched due to normal use. The damage was caused by a defect in the workmanship of my particular Nexus 4 phone.

Subsection 9:  Product was not operated outside of published ratings.

Subsection 10: Product was not used in a rental program

Subsection 11: Claim is not about any consumables.

Section 3: State law rights

Section 4: How to get warranty service -

http://us.lgservice.com is currently down with the following error: GCSC is impossible to access the external network.

GSFS system or SCS system use.

Section 5: LG Service Site-

Which again is currently down with the above error

On page 46 Section 7.11- The following laws govern warranties that arise in retail sales of customer goods:

The federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Federal Trade

Commission Improvement Act [15 USC §§2301 et seq; 16 CFR

Parts 701– 703]. A typical Magnuson-Moss Act warranty is a

written promise that the product is free of defects or a written

promise to refund, repair, or replace defective goods. [See 15

USC §2301(6).] Remedies include damages for failing to honor

a written warranty or service contract or for violating disclosure

provisions. [See 15 USC §2310(d).] Except for some labeling

and disclosure requirements, the federal Act does not preempt

state law. [See 15 USC §2311.]

The Consumer Warranty Act does not affect the rights and

obligations of parties under the state Uniform Commercial Code,

except the provisions of the Act prevail over provisions of the

Commercial Code when they confl ict. [CC §1790.3.]

For purposes of small claims actions, this course will focus on

rights and duties under the state laws.

In Closing as can be seen and has been outlined. I see no where that it makes mention that glass is not covered under the warranty. As a matter of fact the Magnuson- Moss act makes mention that the warranty is a written promise that the product, in this case the Nexus 4 phone purchased at Google Play manafactured by LGE, is free of defects or a written promise to refund, repair or replace defective goods. Of which remedies include damages for failing to honor a written warranty or service contract or for violating disclosure provisions.

As a remedy to my warranty claim of a defect due to poor workmanship which led to a crack in the front glass of my nexus 4 phone, i am requesting a replacement phone be sent to me at no charge from Google Play as I purchased the product from you on 04/18/13. 

Thank you in advance.

Wilfredo Lassalle

973-968-4804

Update 06/08/13 Received a reply from Google as below:

So Google passes the buck off to LG. I will reach out to LG on Monday again to see what is said.

In the meantime I think I will just go ahead and purchase another unlocked android device outside of the Google Play Store and Not LG. 

Very disappointed in Google this week... More to come. 

Update 06/09/13:

I speak to LG and more of the same that it is not covered by the limited warranty. Again i reiterate this is not about trying to get a free replacement but about the fact that this is an obvious defect in the material workmanship of this particular device. I have tried a last ditch attempt to get LG to honor their warranty by reaching out to LG on twitter. If not I will just take it to small claims court on principal and purchase an unlocked android phone from a different manufacturer this week in anticipation of getting my Google Glass purchase invite anyday now.

Update 06/12/13:

In a last ditch attempt to get this taken care of I reached out and spoke to @LGUS on twitter via DM. Pretty much the same message/stance that physical damage is not covered under the warranty. I have all the paper work done to submit the small claims court. Now I am on a crusade to prove LG/Google wrong, that there is a defect in the build process on these Nexus 4's, which lead to "Gorilla Glass 2" to cracks/shatters under "NORMAL" use not ABUSE. I will keep you all updated.

Update 06/14/13:  Officially filed in Small Claims Court against the Manufacturer for not honoring a written contract (The Warranty). I will keep updating this post on how things turn out!

Update 07/05/13: Just received post card in mail for Small Claims Court date against LG for 07/19/13. LG has been notified as well.

Update 07/19/13: Situation Resolved to my satisfaction.

Talent Acquisition

Human Infrastructure, Talent, Human Capital, Resources, Labor are just some of the names used to describe employees of a company. Most organizations have a way of obtaining talent or Talent Acquisition as it is called in most circles. I feel the process of Talent Acquisition for many organizations is broken and here is why.

Too many recruiters are trying to match a job description with someone that has done the exact job before. Hey look I can understand how that sounds like it makes sense. If I am hiring for a windows XP migration project, I would like someone that has done it before, right? Well I'm here to challenge that thought process and here is why. 

Shouldn't it be the best person to do the job? Shouldn't it be more than just a person who has done the exact job before? A google search or a plethora of IT Consultancies could outline how you would migrate off of XP. Wouldn't it make more sense to give the project manager position to someone that has a pedigree for delivering projects successfully rather than one that is pigeonholed into Windows XP migration projects? 

PAST PERFORMANCE DOES NOT GUARANTEE FUTURE RESULTS.

This is why I like to hire staff based off of aptitude and ability to learn things quickly. In the example I have been using for a Windows XP migration project, I would probably hire a Project Manager that has a history of delivering different projects successfully. That during the interview process, the Project Manager showed he/she has the ability to pick up the intricacies of the organization and our processes/procedures. Even if the PM didn't manage an XP migration project or a similar project as long as I can determine that the PM has the ability to deliver projects successfully and integrate with our organizational culture I would hire that PM.

In future blog posts I will write about Talent Development & Talent Retention and tie them back to this blog post.

Let me know in the comments what your or your organizations hiring/talent acquisition style is.

Upgrade Your Windows XPerience

"If you're a #cio still without an XP migration plan you shouldn't be a CIO!"- Will Lassalle

The above is a quote from me last week during the Microsoft CIO Summit. I mean every word of it. Matter of fact I would go so far as to tell the CFO or CEO that the CIO reports to, to take a chance and hire me at least I am not leaving your organization at tremendous risk. 

On April 8, 2014 - 51 Weeks away from now- Microsoft will terminate extended support for the wonderful Operating System Windows XP. That will mean big problems for PC users and bigger problems for organizations that still rely on Windows XP.

Windows XP still maintains close to a 39% hold on the desktop operating system market. Think about that for a minute. With less than a year to go on extended support (which means no more security updates) 39% of the worlds desktops still run an operating system from 2001. I dont know if that is a testament to Windows XP or another kick to the dead horse known as Windows Vista. What I do know is that CIOs and IT departments have a problem.

I follow the iPhone JB scene and for the most part exploits in iOS are searched for and when found kept secret in a classic cat and mouse game being played by Apple and Jailbreakers. Jailbreakers find an exploit and wait for a new software update from Apple so as to not burn the exploit. Apple plugs the exploit in a future revision. Rinse and Repeat.

Now imagine malicious hackers chomping at the bit to expand their bot-nets realizing they have MILLIONS of machines that will be exposed to whatever exploit(s) they find that are not patched and more than likely will not be patched after April 8, 2014. 

I guess some IT directors and CIOs are hoping/suspecting that Microsoft will be the good guy here and extend Windows XP support....AGAIN. 

C'MON MAN!!

Enough is enough. Sure Windows 8 has its detractors but Windows 7 has been given glowing marks and ~45% of the desktops in the world are already on it. I have worked on two successful XP to Windows 7 migrations and 1 failed XP to Windows Vista migration. Migrations are very time consuming with the biggest time consumer being application testing/remediation.

There are so many tools available now, including application virtualization that should make migrating easier than ever. Whats the excuse for not having a plan or already having migrated off of Windows XP? Budgets? Please! Go ahead be "Penny Wise Pound Foolish". 

I put the blame squarely on IT leadership at these organizations. Sell the upgrade and the risks of not doing it to your CFO, CEO and/or Board of Directors. Do your job! Putting your organization at security risk is one thing but also not taking advantage of the productivity increases is another (and a topic for a future blog post). 

I know of an organization that was just infected with a 5 year old virus outbreak, mainly because of lack of IT leadership. The organization still runs Windows XP as the main OS. Needless to say they havent even started thinking about migrating off of Windows XP and surely will not get it done by April, 2014. They are so lazy they actually have virtualized Windows 95 to avoid rewriting an old DOS app!

So clueless CIOs and IT go ahead and focus on the whole BYOD, BIG DATA, and Business Intelligence craze. They will work great on a crippled and infected Windows XP network.