Terms of Service

Welcome to Geeks Informed. The following Terms of Service govern your use of all services on this Blog. All users of Geeks Informed must also abide by our Community Guidelines. If at any time you are not willing to be bound by all of these Terms of Service, then you must not use Geeks Informed. Geeks Informed has complete discretion to update and change these Terms of Service when needed.


1. Your Account
a. If you are age 16 or older, you may utilize Geeks Informed. However, until you reach 18 years old (or the legal age to form a binding contract in the place where you live, if that age is not 18), then your use of Geeks Informed must be under the supervision of your parent or guardian who has agreed to the Terms of Service. If you do not qualify in one of these ways, you may not use the Service.

b. Geeks Informed can refuse registration of, or cancel an account in its discretion, at any time.


2. Content and Intellectual Property
a. If you post on Geeks Informed, that content still belongs to you, and you can use it in any other way without restriction. Content posted by another person or company belongs to the poster, and you can only use that Content in the ways described in these Terms of Service.

b. In order to operate the Geeks Informed, the site needs the right to make certain uses of your publicly posted content. Therefore, when you post content on Geeks Informed, you agree to grant Geeks Informed an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, fully sublicenseable, non-exclusive license to copy, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform and make derivative works of your Content on Geeks Informed service. If you post content to Geeks Informed, then you hereby represent and warrant that you have the right to post that content and to grant the above rights to Geeks Informed.

c. Geeks Informed owns the site as a whole, including all computer code, graphics, user interfaces and audiovisual content used to provide Geeks Informed, and the combination of all the elements on the site. Geeks Informed as a whole, the computer code of the Geeks Informed, the user interface and graphic elements are all copyrighted works of Geeks Informed. Various other aspects of Geeks Informed service may be protected by intellectual property laws including copyright, trademark, patent and trade secrets.


3. Code of Conduct
a. Geeks Informed has the right, but not the obligation, to remove content that we determine in our sole discretion to be unlawful, offensive, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene or otherwise objectionable, that violates any party's intellectual property, or that is detrimental to the quality or intended spirit of the Geeks Informed Service. Geeks Informed also has the right, but not the obligation, to limit or revoke the use privileges of the account of anyone who posts such content.

b. Geeks Informed will use common sense and business sense regarding allowable Content on the Geeks Informed Service. Examples of unacceptable content or behavior on the Geeks Informed Service include:

• abuse, harassment, threats, or intimidation of any person or organization

• engaging in or contributing to any illegal activity or activity that violates others' rights

• use of derogatory, discriminatory or excessively graphic language

• providing information that is false, misleading or inaccurate

• hacking or modifying the Geeks Informed Service or another Web site to falsely imply an association with Geeks Informed

• implying or pretending to be affiliated with a company or organization with which you are not affiliated, or misrepresenting the extent of your affiliation or role with an affiliated company or organization

• transmitting worms, viruses or harmful software

• sending unwanted messages to other users (Spam)

• disclosing personal or proprietary information of another person or organization

c. Geeks Informed cannot and need not control all content posted by third parties to the Geeks Informed Service, and does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such content. You understand that by using the Geeks Informed Service you may be exposed to content that you may find offensive, indecent, incorrect or objectionable, and you agree that under no circumstances will Geeks Informed be liable in any way for any content, including any errors or omissions in any content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of your use of any content. You understand that you must evaluate and bear all risks associated with the use of any content, including any reliance on the content, integrity, and accuracy of such content. If you would like to report objectionable materials, you may email us directly at league.of.nuns@gmail.com.

d. Except where expressly permitted, you do not have the right to use, copy, transmit, modify or repurpose any content that does not belong to you, other than viewing of the content on the Geeks Informed Service and use of the content through such APIs as Geeks Informed may make available.

e. You do not have any rights to the Geeks Informed Service that have not been granted to you expressly. By way of example only, you do not have the right to modify, adapt, translate, or reverse engineer any portion of the Geeks Informed Service.

f. Geeks Informed respects the intellectual property of others. It may, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, disable and/or terminate the accounts of users who repeatedly infringe others' rights. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, please provide the following information to Geeks Informed:

• an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest;

• a description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;

• a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the site;

• your address, telephone number, and email address;

• a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;

• a statement by you made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or are authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner's behalf.


4. General Terms
a. These Terms of Service will remain in full force and effect while you use the Geeks Informed Service. Those terms that can continue to operate after you stop using the Geeks Informed Service (including without limitation your content license to Geeks Informed and the General Terms in this Section), will survive after you stop using the Geeks Informed Service.

b. You agree to indemnify and hold Geeks Informed, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers and employees, harmless, including costs and attorneys' fees, from any claim or demand made by any third party due to or arising out of (i) your actions in using the Geeks Informed Service, (ii) a claim that you, or any third party using your credentials, infringed any intellectual property or other right of any person or organization using the Geeks Informed Service, or (iii) the violation of these Terms of Service by you, or any third party using your credentials.

c. GEEKS INFORMED SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITH NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, STATUTORY OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE OPERATION OF THE GEEKS INFORMED SERVICE, OR THE INFORMATION, CONTENT, MATERIALS, OR PRODUCTS INCLUDED ON THE GEEKS INFORMED SERVICE. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, GEEKS INFORMED DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, STATUTORY, OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. FURTHER, GEEKS INFORMED DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE INFORMATION, TEXT, GRAPHICS, LINKS OR OTHER INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE GEEKS INFORMED SERVICE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. GEEKS INFORMED DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE GEEKS INFORMED SERVICE WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ANY TIME OR FROM ANY PARTICULAR LOCATION, WILL BE SECURE OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE GEEKS INFORMED SERVICE IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER POTENTIALLY HARMFUL COMPONENTS. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED FROM THE GEEKS INFORMED SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THESE TERMS OF SERVICE.

d. GEEKS INFORMED AND ITS AFFILIATES WILL NOT BE LIABLE UNDER ANY THEORY OF LAW, FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, AND/OR LOSS OF INFORMATION OR DATA. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, GEEKS INFORMED’S MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CAUSES WHATSOEVER, AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION, WILL AT ALL TIMES BE LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (I) THE AMOUNT PAID, IF ANY, BY YOU TO GEEKS INFORMED FOR THE GEEKS INFORMED SERVICE IN THE 12 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACTION GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY OR (II) ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100.00).

e. These Terms of Use (including the Privacy Policy) are the entire agreement between Geeks Informed and you regarding the Geeks Informed Service. Any dispute arising from or related to these Terms of Use will be governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to conflict of law principles. Exclusive venue of any such dispute will be the state or federal courts located in San Francisco, California, and you agree to the personal jurisdiction of those courts for such purposes. The failure of Geeks Informed to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of these Terms of Service is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that these Terms of Service shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and be enforceable.

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Who Is Geek Choice?

Geek Choice (GeekChoice.com) was founded in 1996 and began franchising in 2007. They provice IT service nationwide. Geek Choice is headquartered in Boston. Their trademark is the Toyota Scion XB vehicles that the technicians utilize.


Geek Choice had some bad publicity as the result of a contractor stealing equipment from a customer, and as a result of their response to the incident.

Geek Choice has earned the Geeks Informed Smell Test rating of Somewhat Stinky.

Corportate Address:

Geek Choice
35A Myrtle
Boston, MA 02114
(61) 778-2302

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Who Is Gurus2Go?

Gurus2Go (gurus2go.com) was founded in 2001 in Dallas and was later acquired by Signature Technology Group of Phoenix, Arizona (2006). The company provides IT services to public, business, education, and government customers. Gurus2Go has a national network of more than 6,000 technologists.

Gurus2Go has earned the Geeks Informed Smell Test rating of Smells OK.

Corporate Address:

Gurus2Go
2424 West Desert Cove Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85029-4713
(866) 487-8724

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Who Is Geeks On Time?

Geeks On Time (geeksontime.com, sometimes called GOT) is a service organization, once based in Phoenix, but now relocated to White Plains, New York.

GOT operates in all 50 states and maintain a network of more than 1200 contractor-technicians. Geeks on Time has a customer base, including YMCA, Michaels, Rennert Bilingual, Smart Analyst, and Brienza Academic Advantage. The slowing economy is having a disproportionate effect on the National Service Organization (NSO) industry. It is not unlike the Madoff Ponzi scheme.

As Warren Buffet said,

"You only learn who has been swimming naked when the tide goes out."

The slowing economy is the tide going out.

Geeks on Time likes to boast about awards that have been received. And indeed the company did receive awards, but all of the awards are now looking a bit dated. The company last received a significant award in 2005, and during that same year, the company had a significant amount of positive press. The awards and positive press have been absent for the last 5 years.

Customers have complained about incompetent maintenance that led to the computers being unusable, and about the company failing to take responsibility for the problems caused. But unlike some of the competing companies in the NSO industry, there are few reports of fraudulent practices such as the charging of credit card accounts for services not performed. To be fair, any company in the technical services field will have performance issues, and the problems reports for Geeks on Time seem in line with a technically competent organization.

However, with the business problems of the last few years, many technicians will no longer take calls because they are owed a significant amount of back-pay, or they know of GOT by reputation. Remember that the technician is not only out the time, but the technician is supplying his own parts.

As Geeks on Time's reputation has gotten worse, the company has been getting desperate for contractor-technicians who don't know about their operating procedure. This problem has gotten so bad, that Geeks on Time has resorted to telemarketing techniques, calling long lists of technicians, trying to find anyone who will take the call. This has obviously led to a reduction in the competency of the workforce.

Telemarketing has become the method of choice for many NSO companies to find contractor-technicians.

In December 2008, "Media Awareness International", a Nevada corporation, acquired Geeks On Time. Very little is known about Media Awareness International, but the CEO and Chairman of Media Awareness International is Venus McNabb, who held the same positions with Geeks on Time.

There are opportunities for the NSO that survives this period of transition. Computers are going to need service. As the computer systems get more complex, and they do every year, the need for technical expertise increases.

"Consumers have been very consistent in expressing both their frustration with the complexity of today's digital home products and services and their willingness to seek professional assistance to solve these issues," said Kurt Scherf, Parks Associates Vice President. "We view the customer service and support area as not just a critical challenge for retailers, manufacturers, and service providers to overcome, but also a significant revenue generating opportunity for forward-thinking companies."

Parks Associates projects that the annual IT NSO revenue will grow from less than $500 million in 2007 to almost $1 billion in 2011.

With all of the NSO problems, a vacuum has being created. Who will fill this need? The challenge will be credibility, and the NSO industry has been tainted by these operations. Companies like Geeks on Time will have difficulty avoiding their past.

Geeks On Time has earned the Geeks Informed Smell Test rating of Very Stinky.

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Recent Article Series

This is a list of articles published concerning the National Service Organizations.







As consumers become savvier about the problems with NSO companies, two trends are occurring:

Consumers are recognizing the benefits of hiring locally, and avoiding the participation in this type of activity.

Responsible companies are monitoring the NSO companies with whom they do business, and avoiding the ones with questionable reputations.

Responsible companies realize that they will ultimately be held accountable for the NSO behavior.


Who is Geeks on Time? : In December 2008, "Media Awareness International", a Nevada corporation, acquired Geeks On Time. Very little is known about Media Awareness International, but the CEO and Chairman of Media Awareness International is Venus McNabb, who held the same positions with Geeks on Time.



Who is Prism Pointe Technologies? : The story of Prism Pointe Technologies problems is closely related to failure of a business partner, MPC Computers in Nampa, Idaho (formerly Micron Computers). You may be more familiar with Gateway Computers. In 2007, Gateway Computers sold its government and industrial division to MPC Computers.

MPC Computers is currently in bankruptcy liquidation, and was sued by Prism Pointe in August of last year. MPC Computers owes Prism Pointe more than $730,000. Coincidentally, Prism Pointe stopped paying their bills last spring.



Recession Plus Corruption Spells Doom for National Service Organizations : Unfortunately, the series is not comprehensive. Other corrupt service organizations are out there. As companies become more responsible, hopefully the need for this type of campaign will diminish.

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Purpose of this Blog

The technical services industry has more coruption problems than any other industry that I have encountered. It is not only the small, "fly-by-night" companies that are to blame, though they are common. I believe the industry is prone to this kind of corruption because the industry is so fragmented. Most everyone on the worker-bee side is a freelancer.

I believe the first step to address the fragmentation is communication. That is the purpose of this blog:

keeping Geeks Informed.

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