As you probably know I do provide free tech support services here on this website.

I get lots of requests for help with various issues ranging from installing web applications and using various web services… to fixing computers and other tech tech stuff. I even occasionally receive requests for help with non-technical issues like study abroad programs, scholarship search, information about Ghana, etc.

While I’m always glad to help whenever I can, it’s pretty annoying answering the same questions over and over again. I’ve contemplated running a forum or a proper help desk software but, being the lazy person that I am, I haven’t gotten to doing it yet.

So I was trilled to find that Google’s Gmail service now has a brand new feature designed just to ease my pain… called “Canned Responses”. I jumped right in since the announcement to create a couple of canned messages, and already it’s saving me a whole lot of time!

New Gmail Canned Responses feature

Cannned Responses also work with Gmail’s filters, so you can use the combo as a smart autoresponse tool to automatically reply to incoming messages based on the various criteria supported by Gmail’s filters.

Gmail Filters With Canned Responses

Canned Responses is currently a Gmail Labs feature, so to use it you have to manually turn it on. Click on the green test tube at the upper-right corner of your Gmail screen, scroll through the list for “Canned Responses” and enable it. Don’t forget to save the changes afterwards

MediaMax, the online storage company that just recently relaunched as The LinkUp (and which I recently bashed for screwing free users during the transition) is finally throwing in towel and closing up for good.

While I’ve STILL not gotten over losing my data, I’m in no way rejoicing over their demise. Being an entrepreneur myself (at least I like to make-believe so), I’m all too familiar with the ups and downs that go into running a business.

And I always have so much respect for the people who decide to take this route, even if, like me, they fail so many times on the way. My heart to the founders, and wish them good luck in the next venture.

Here’s a copy of the closure mail they passed along to all users on the 10th of July:

MediaMax / The Linkup is closing

We regret to inform you that we will be closing The Linkup service on Friday, August 8 at 5:00 pm PDT.

Please login to your account and download any files that you wish to keep before Friday, August 8 at 5:00 pm PDT.

The Linkup is no longer accepting any uploads or new accounts, and no further charges will be made to your credit card. After August 8, your account will not be accessible, all your personal information will be deleted (username, billing information, history, etc), and your files will be deleted.

It was not possible to satisfactorily complete the move of files from MediaMax to The Linkup as we had expected, and as a result cannot offer a service that meets your expectations and our business requirements. This is a very disappointing outcome for us, and we know it has been a frustrating experience for many of our customers. We are very sorry that we have not been able to continue our service as we had envisioned.

Sincerely,
The Linkup Team

When my sister was returning to her books and husband (in that order ) in the United States after coming down home to pass a kid down the factory line (don’t tell her I said that!), she left a PC here with lots of her personal data on it.

After promising and procrastinating for well over a year, I decided, today, to upload her stuff to an online storage account for her — so she could download them to her computer (I know she’s not the “hang all your panties online” sort of person.)

So I went over to Mediamax (which I must confess, I’ve not used for quite some time), pulled out my account details from Gmail … and see what I found (all emphasis mine):

So I clicked over to The Linkup, and of course, I couldn’t log in. The password retrieval tool even told me my email address is not in their system.

Sure, my account was a free account. And there maybe a clause buried somewhere in their TOS that says that all free users who don’t log into their account after x number of days would be kicked out (which like you, I never bothered to read).

Who knows? That’s why I really want to give them the benefit of my doubt — and just make believe that the issue with my account may be a random one… some bug or something that occurred during the transition.

But with statements like what’s above, I’m left with no choice but to conclude that they kicked out all free users during the transition from Mediamax to The Screwup Linkup.

Have I contacted them? Nope. And I’m not going to. I really didn’t have anything I couldn’t afford to lose in there. So no back-and-forth communication is worth my while. And oh, I do multiple backups with different online services.

I’m still waiting for GDrive to arrive, if it ever will. For now I’ve created a new Mozy account that I’m using to backup the girl’s data so she can grab them.

I just installed Picasa on a machine. But I’m in a hurry… I just want to add a few quick touches to just one photo. Don’t want to scan the the computer. Not now. But I can’t find the “Scan Nothing” or “Skip This” radio button. Where is this hidden?