As soon as Superfocus e-mails the return label, which was promised a couple of hours ago.
1. Ugly. Much more so than I anticipated.
2. Functionality was more limited than expected.
Combined those things made the decision easy for me. Superfocus may be OK for some but not for me.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Friday, June 8, 2012
Superfocus order shipped; fitting recommended.
The Superfocus e-mail contained this:
We know that you will be eager to try your Superfocus glasses once the package arrives. However, we strongly encourage you to take your Superfocus glasses to a local optometrist/optician for proper fitting. You can use the Fitting Certificate that has been included with your Superfocus glasses and we will pay the optometrist/optician for the fitting, directly. A custom fitting is the best way to enjoy maximum comfort while minimizing the risk of Superfocus damage due to improper adjustment.
This was not mentioned in the detailed comments made recently here by "villager".
I'll probably ask my optometrist (probably an optician will actually do it). It's a bit awkward since I ordered the glasses directly from Superfocus. In the fall of 2011 I stopped by and asked the opticians whether Superfocus was supported and they had never heard of it. Neither had my ophthalmologist retina specialist who examined my eyes a couple of weeks ago but who does not provide prescriptions.
We know that you will be eager to try your Superfocus glasses once the package arrives. However, we strongly encourage you to take your Superfocus glasses to a local optometrist/optician for proper fitting. You can use the Fitting Certificate that has been included with your Superfocus glasses and we will pay the optometrist/optician for the fitting, directly. A custom fitting is the best way to enjoy maximum comfort while minimizing the risk of Superfocus damage due to improper adjustment.
This was not mentioned in the detailed comments made recently here by "villager".
I'll probably ask my optometrist (probably an optician will actually do it). It's a bit awkward since I ordered the glasses directly from Superfocus. In the fall of 2011 I stopped by and asked the opticians whether Superfocus was supported and they had never heard of it. Neither had my ophthalmologist retina specialist who examined my eyes a couple of weeks ago but who does not provide prescriptions.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Superfocus: concerns
Villager posted two comments to my previous post with very detailed information about his negative experience with two pairs of Superfocus glasses, both of which he returned. He's still waiting for his refund. This is all too typical these days.
One of the primary reasons I ordered Superfocus was because it emphasized that the entire lens is usable. Villager contradicts this. That's something that I will determine as soon as my Superfocus glasses arrive.
All along I have had two concerns, both of which Villager addressed:
1. Looking up from something close to something far. The issue here is whether the benefit of Superfocus outweighs this known limitation. My current trifocal progressive lens accommodates this but with its intrinsic compromises: small reading area and some dead areas.
2. The nature of the slider to change focus. I wonder how easy it is to move with one hand and to quickly achieve a desired focus. I also wonder how that opening can remain clean and functional.
I often watch TV and read, often on my laptop or tablet or smart phone. Superfocus will probably not accommodate this habit. I could, of course, continue to use my progressive lens during this activity and use Superfocus at other times, especially outdoors when I seem to need to switch between distance only glasses and progressive, which I find disorienting during physical activity.
When the Superfocus glasses arrive I will post my views, hopefully each day during my evaluation period. I may create videos but have not decided.
One of the primary reasons I ordered Superfocus was because it emphasized that the entire lens is usable. Villager contradicts this. That's something that I will determine as soon as my Superfocus glasses arrive.
All along I have had two concerns, both of which Villager addressed:
1. Looking up from something close to something far. The issue here is whether the benefit of Superfocus outweighs this known limitation. My current trifocal progressive lens accommodates this but with its intrinsic compromises: small reading area and some dead areas.
2. The nature of the slider to change focus. I wonder how easy it is to move with one hand and to quickly achieve a desired focus. I also wonder how that opening can remain clean and functional.
I often watch TV and read, often on my laptop or tablet or smart phone. Superfocus will probably not accommodate this habit. I could, of course, continue to use my progressive lens during this activity and use Superfocus at other times, especially outdoors when I seem to need to switch between distance only glasses and progressive, which I find disorienting during physical activity.
When the Superfocus glasses arrive I will post my views, hopefully each day during my evaluation period. I may create videos but have not decided.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Superfocus: replies in writing.
I never got a phone call but Superfocus did send multiple conciliatory e-mail messages about the confusion over my order and the process has begun with delivery in 2-4 weeks.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Superfocus: Is anybody there? Does anybody care?
I'm not getting a warm fuzzy feeling about Superfocus.
I called Superfocus 24 hours ago. It rang about ten times before I got voice mail, which committed to a return call within 24 hours. I left a very clear message, repeating my name and number multiple times, asking for a call back to confirm that my prescription was OK. No call back.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Superfocus ordered: let the games begin!
Yesterday, Saturday, I finally bit the bullet and ordered my Superfocus eye glasses at the Superfocus website.
It's confusing because Superfocus requests your payment info before asking for your prescription. And providing the prescription is difficult. Mine may not be done yet.
The prescription options are:
- fax (no kidding, just like a pizza joint circa 1985)
- calling and reading it to them (closed on Saturday and Sunday)
- paper mail.
I had to speak to someone in the optometrist office Saturday to get my pupil distance (PD), which by then I knew was required by Superfocus.
One can also enter the data into a Superfocus form with drop down lists of values for seven variables, including PD. Unfortunately, my hand written prescription had only three numbers per eye. Argh! Did not want to call the optometrist office again.
I entered the data as best I could and completed the process, which fortunately asked for my optometrist contact information and permission to contact, which I granted.
When I received a Superfocus e-mail confirmation from a noreply sender (Don't you hate that?) I forwarded it to info@superfocus.com with a message: Not sure about prescription. Your form had more fields than I had data:
I then provided my prescription data as it appeared on the hand written prescription. I also attached an image of the hand written prescription. I wonder if there is a common Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) type form for eye glass prescriptions. You know, like we all had computers connected to a network and wanted a way to share information. The health care industry is a disgrace.
It's confusing because Superfocus requests your payment info before asking for your prescription. And providing the prescription is difficult. Mine may not be done yet.
The prescription options are:
- fax (no kidding, just like a pizza joint circa 1985)
- calling and reading it to them (closed on Saturday and Sunday)
- paper mail.
I had to speak to someone in the optometrist office Saturday to get my pupil distance (PD), which by then I knew was required by Superfocus.
One can also enter the data into a Superfocus form with drop down lists of values for seven variables, including PD. Unfortunately, my hand written prescription had only three numbers per eye. Argh! Did not want to call the optometrist office again.
I entered the data as best I could and completed the process, which fortunately asked for my optometrist contact information and permission to contact, which I granted.
When I received a Superfocus e-mail confirmation from a noreply sender (Don't you hate that?) I forwarded it to info@superfocus.com with a message: Not sure about prescription. Your form had more fields than I had data:
I then provided my prescription data as it appeared on the hand written prescription. I also attached an image of the hand written prescription. I wonder if there is a common Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) type form for eye glass prescriptions. You know, like we all had computers connected to a network and wanted a way to share information. The health care industry is a disgrace.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Superfocus
From the website superfocus.com:
two lenses ... The pocket between them holds a small quantity of crystal clear fluid ... It is quick and easy to snap off one set of front lenses and replace them with another.
1. So what happens to the fluid when you snap off a front lens?
2. Why is there a need for multiple lenses? Can't Superfocus have a transition lens that automatically adjusts to changing light?
3. After Superfocus got a lot of attention in 2010 why have no big time eyeglass providers adopted and promoted them? In Manhattan there is one small provider. In Westchester county, NY none.
4. What, if anything, will insurance cover?
This Superfocus document is pretty good:
http://www.superfocus.com/assets/files/presbyope.pdf
two lenses ... The pocket between them holds a small quantity of crystal clear fluid ... It is quick and easy to snap off one set of front lenses and replace them with another.
1. So what happens to the fluid when you snap off a front lens?
2. Why is there a need for multiple lenses? Can't Superfocus have a transition lens that automatically adjusts to changing light?
3. After Superfocus got a lot of attention in 2010 why have no big time eyeglass providers adopted and promoted them? In Manhattan there is one small provider. In Westchester county, NY none.
4. What, if anything, will insurance cover?
This Superfocus document is pretty good:
http://www.superfocus.com/assets/files/presbyope.pdf
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Verizon: bundle your three Internet services at a discount.
Message just sent to Verizon Wireless:
Verizon Jetpack™ 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi® 4620L
I already have Verizon FIOS and Verizon Wireless Internet services. Four years ago I also had the original hotspot service but dropped it because Verizon would not bundle its three Internet services at a discount.
Your policy has not changed. I'd subscribe to the latest 4G hotspot but I will not pay retail for each of three Verizon Internet services.
Verizon Jetpack™ 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot MiFi® 4620L
I already have Verizon FIOS and Verizon Wireless Internet services. Four years ago I also had the original hotspot service but dropped it because Verizon would not bundle its three Internet services at a discount.
Your policy has not changed. I'd subscribe to the latest 4G hotspot but I will not pay retail for each of three Verizon Internet services.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
NetZero capitulates!
I just received an e-mail indicating another credit from NetZero for $55, which added to the $65 already refunded. Yesterday I spoke to my bank, Bank of America, which offered to pay me the outrageous $35 re-stocking fee that NetZero had charged. I'd given up tying to recover the comparably outrageous $20 shipping charge, which precipitated my cancelling my order for the NetZero 4G hotspot device priced at $100. All numbers rounded.
Bank of America offered to pay me the $35 if it could not get NetZero to be reasonable. I declined.
NetZero not only ponied up the $35 for re-stocking but also the $20 for shipping. However, I do not give NetZero any credit.
1. I am still out the $11 I paid to UPS to return the unwanted item. How come it cost me $11 and NetZero wanted $20 for the same thing? And you'd thnk that NetZero would have a quantity discount with its shipper. This suggests that NetZero was pocketing most of that money.
2. I spent a lot of time for which I was not compensated.
3. My aggravation factor was off the charts. NetZero has bad business practices and capitulated only after extraordinary efforts. Too bad. NetZero once seemed a legitimate company, maybe even one trying to "do no evil". What happened?
Bank of America offered to pay me the $35 if it could not get NetZero to be reasonable. I declined.
NetZero not only ponied up the $35 for re-stocking but also the $20 for shipping. However, I do not give NetZero any credit.
1. I am still out the $11 I paid to UPS to return the unwanted item. How come it cost me $11 and NetZero wanted $20 for the same thing? And you'd thnk that NetZero would have a quantity discount with its shipper. This suggests that NetZero was pocketing most of that money.
2. I spent a lot of time for which I was not compensated.
3. My aggravation factor was off the charts. NetZero has bad business practices and capitulated only after extraordinary efforts. Too bad. NetZero once seemed a legitimate company, maybe even one trying to "do no evil". What happened?
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Netzero is charging $35 restocking fee!
You can't make up stuff like this.
from: billing@support.netzero.com
sender-time: Sent at 10:30 PM (GMT-04:00). Current time there: 11:18 PM. ✆
reply-to: billing@support.netzero.com
date: Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 10:30 PM
subject: Confirmation of your NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband device refund
: Important mainly because of the words in the message.
from: billing@support.netzero.com
sender-time: Sent at 10:30 PM (GMT-04:00). Current time there: 11:18 PM. ✆
reply-to: billing@support.netzero.com
date: Tue, Apr 24, 2012 at 10:30 PM
subject: Confirmation of your NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband device refund
: Important mainly because of the words in the message.
This email confirms we have received your returned NetZero 4G HotSpot.
We have refunded your account for the cost of the returned device, minus the
$35.00 restocking fee. Your total refund amount is $64.95.
_____________________________________
Read the posts on April 6, 2012. I called Netzero within minutes to cancel because it was charging $20 shipping on a $100 device (numbers rounded). Netzero claimed it was too late to stop the shipping and that I had to receive and return it. I called my lousy bank, Bank of America, to dispute the charge and it has been of zero help, including today when I tried yet again to dispute the outrageous $35 for Netzero to place the unopened item back on the shelf.
Bank of America had also told me to accept delivery. Big mistake.
And it cost me $11 to return it. Since Bank of America is not backing me it will cost me $46 to return a $100 that I did not want because Netzero charged me $20 for shipping. That's a total of $66 I've paid for nothing but aggravation.
Shame on Bank of America and Netzero.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
NetZero wants me to pay shipping to return their device!
Message just sent to NetZero:
You people are unbelievable. The reason I am returning your device is because of the outrageous $20 shipping charge. I did everything I could to get Netzero NOT to ship it. You shipped it anyway and now you expect me to pay shipping to return it?
I want NetZero to pay the shipping.
You people are unbelievable. The reason I am returning your device is because of the outrageous $20 shipping charge. I did everything I could to get Netzero NOT to ship it. You shipped it anyway and now you expect me to pay shipping to return it?
I want NetZero to pay the shipping.
Friday, April 6, 2012
NetZero: a manager calls.
Brad the manager called at 7:05PM. Nice enough guy. Basically he re-iterated what I had already been told. The order went out to a third party, blah, blah, blah. He will try to see when the process is engaged and intercede but that is unlikely he can prevent the shiping. Brad even offered to waive the shipping charge but I told him that I was so aggravated with NetZero that, no, I just wanted my money back.
I told Brad that I had already called my bank and he encouraged me to dispute the charge through the bank if the item is shipped.
Argh!
I told Brad that I had already called my bank and he encouraged me to dispute the charge through the bank if the item is shipped.
Argh!
NetZero: documentation they are crooks.
| from: | NetZero announcement@support.netzero.com via matinale.net | ||
| sender-time: | Sent at 5:59 PM (GMT-07:00). Current time there: 3:34 PM. ✆ | ||
| reply-to: | NetZero | ||
| to: | Kenneth Matinale | ||
| date: | Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 5:59 PM | ||
| subject: | Welcome to NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband! |
OK, you can see the time stamp. And I just hung up after wasting 25 minutes on the phone trying to get my money back. A supervisor is supposed to call me back. They say some Olympic athlete already shipped the item. I demanded written documentation that it had already shipped. Oh it's in the system and there is nothing they can do. Yeah, right.
NetZero crooks
I ordered the NetZero free 4G service with a $99.95 hot spot device. What I did not notice was the shipping charge of $19.95. Maybe it was the black background and tiny font.
When I noticed it in the e-mail from my bank I immediately called NetZero to cancel, maybe ten minutes after processing. I am now on indefinite hold waiting for a supervisor. They refuse to let me cancel. The best I can get is to accept delivery and ship it back, supposedly for another $19.95 shipping.
These tech companies make it as difficult as possible to return or cancel. They tell you the order is in the warehouse. I told them there is no way it has even been taken off the shelf. Stay tuned.
When I noticed it in the e-mail from my bank I immediately called NetZero to cancel, maybe ten minutes after processing. I am now on indefinite hold waiting for a supervisor. They refuse to let me cancel. The best I can get is to accept delivery and ship it back, supposedly for another $19.95 shipping.
These tech companies make it as difficult as possible to return or cancel. They tell you the order is in the warehouse. I told them there is no way it has even been taken off the shelf. Stay tuned.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Truconnect cancelled.
See previous post and
FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2011 Virgin Mobile cancelled!
I cancelled Truconnect a couple of days ago. A few hours after cancellation deep support called me back after two days finally ready to try to get me connected. I informed him that I had already cancelled. He obviously did not know.
That's two companies that front for Sprint with great pricing that failed to even connect me much less provide service.
Virgin Mobile seemed to be run by teenagers. Truconnect seemed to be run by people in their mid twenties. Neither had procedures that worked.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2011 Virgin Mobile cancelled!
I cancelled Truconnect a couple of days ago. A few hours after cancellation deep support called me back after two days finally ready to try to get me connected. I informed him that I had already cancelled. He obviously did not know.
That's two companies that front for Sprint with great pricing that failed to even connect me much less provide service.
Virgin Mobile seemed to be run by teenagers. Truconnect seemed to be run by people in their mid twenties. Neither had procedures that worked.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Truconnect sucks.
$5 per month fixed cost plus 4 cents per megabits usage for a MiFi mobile hotspot.
I had the Verizon Wireless version a few years ago for $40 per month but cancelled because Verizon did not have a plan, which gave a discount for bundling its Internet services. I was already subscribed to Verizon Wireless on my smart phone and Verizon FIOS at home with no discount so I could not see having three Internet services from one company, which ignored my requests and suggestions that it was good business to bundle its Internet services.
Truconnect sounded like a good deal, especially when New York Times David Pogue endorsed it. I ordered a MiFi device (Novatel 2200 3G) from Truconnect for about $80 in December 2011. The Truconnect website was so messed up that I could not activate my account. After three months of ignoring my mistake I decided in March 2012 to try again. The website problems persisted but so did I and my account was activated. The same could not be said for the MiFi device.
I wasted several hours over the last three days writing and speaking to at least three support people and my MiFi device is still not active. The deep support guy told me this afternoon that the device that his company had sold to me might not be in their data system and that might be the problem. Say what?
When I told him that the previous non-deep support people never knew that he said that they did not have access to the same data system that he did. I suggested that they all have such access. He wanted me to stay on hold while he continued to check. I said I had wasted enough hours today on Truconnect and please call me back when he had resolved it. No call back after seven hours.
I had the Verizon Wireless version a few years ago for $40 per month but cancelled because Verizon did not have a plan, which gave a discount for bundling its Internet services. I was already subscribed to Verizon Wireless on my smart phone and Verizon FIOS at home with no discount so I could not see having three Internet services from one company, which ignored my requests and suggestions that it was good business to bundle its Internet services.
Truconnect sounded like a good deal, especially when New York Times David Pogue endorsed it. I ordered a MiFi device (Novatel 2200 3G) from Truconnect for about $80 in December 2011. The Truconnect website was so messed up that I could not activate my account. After three months of ignoring my mistake I decided in March 2012 to try again. The website problems persisted but so did I and my account was activated. The same could not be said for the MiFi device.
I wasted several hours over the last three days writing and speaking to at least three support people and my MiFi device is still not active. The deep support guy told me this afternoon that the device that his company had sold to me might not be in their data system and that might be the problem. Say what?
When I told him that the previous non-deep support people never knew that he said that they did not have access to the same data system that he did. I suggested that they all have such access. He wanted me to stay on hold while he continued to check. I said I had wasted enough hours today on Truconnect and please call me back when he had resolved it. No call back after seven hours.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Khan Academy: phony or unprepared?
http://www.khanacademy.org/
This guy was profiled yesterday on 60 Minutes:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57394905/khan-academy-the-future-of-education/?tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel
I tried a few exercises a year ago and found the guy insufferable with his unsteady hand, sloppy handwriting and most of all his halting, do-over style, which suggested primarily that he was faking it to seem real or he was truly unprepared. Maybe kids aren't put off. I'll probably try again. Maybe the one about hitting a home run in Fenway Park (cannot find now), which I could not finish because it was so excruciatingly drawn out.
I like the idea of freeing people from the educational institutions and providing alternatives, especially for those who otherwise would not have access. I'm just not ready to say this is the best way. Maybe now that Khan has others working with him the product will get cleaned up.
This guy was profiled yesterday on 60 Minutes:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57394905/khan-academy-the-future-of-education/?tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel
I tried a few exercises a year ago and found the guy insufferable with his unsteady hand, sloppy handwriting and most of all his halting, do-over style, which suggested primarily that he was faking it to seem real or he was truly unprepared. Maybe kids aren't put off. I'll probably try again. Maybe the one about hitting a home run in Fenway Park (cannot find now), which I could not finish because it was so excruciatingly drawn out.
I like the idea of freeing people from the educational institutions and providing alternatives, especially for those who otherwise would not have access. I'm just not ready to say this is the best way. Maybe now that Khan has others working with him the product will get cleaned up.
Monday, January 16, 2012
housepad.com sucks!
Housepad requires you to update a pdf file to change your listing. No joke. Then, their primitive system cannot accept changes. The pdf file opens in my Google Chrome browser but stupid housepad gives an error message stating that it did not open in my browser. When I try it in IE it opens Adobe Acrobat.
Housepad wants me to print, sign and fax it back. No joke.
I changed the pdf on my PC and sent it to housepad as an attachment but housepad refused to accept that. I replied:
No printer. No fax. It's not 1985. Fix your system. I have the
latest versions of Windows, Chrome, Explorer and Acrobat.
You should be embarrassed.
Housepad wants me to print, sign and fax it back. No joke.
I changed the pdf on my PC and sent it to housepad as an attachment but housepad refused to accept that. I replied:
No printer. No fax. It's not 1985. Fix your system. I have the
latest versions of Windows, Chrome, Explorer and Acrobat.
You should be embarrassed.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Cannot login to Verizon website.
Message just sent to Verizon:
For two days repeatedly getting this message when I try to login: "Not Supported Method"
Fix your website and let me know when that's done. This is unacceptable.
For two days repeatedly getting this message when I try to login: "Not Supported Method"
Fix your website and let me know when that's done. This is unacceptable.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Amazon sucks!
Feedback to Amazon on my just completed phone conversation with Amazon:
Amazon invaded my home and deleted a book from my Kindle Fire without any notice. I will never buy from Amazon again and will post this on my blog.
If I borrow a paper book from a real library and it's overdue, the library does not come into my home and remove the book. Amazon did exactly that without any warning or notice. The Amazon person told me that even if I had its Prime service the free book from the Amazon lending library would have been removed from MY device without notice after one month. I guess I could get it back but good luck finding the last page read.
Am I the only one outraged about this unwarranted invasion of my privacy? I am not a big privacy person and think we need fewer secrets, not more, but I really resent Amazon thinking it has the right to remove something from MY property, especially without common sense, good business practice notice.
Jeff Bezos, wake the heck up!
Amazon invaded my home and deleted a book from my Kindle Fire without any notice. I will never buy from Amazon again and will post this on my blog.
If I borrow a paper book from a real library and it's overdue, the library does not come into my home and remove the book. Amazon did exactly that without any warning or notice. The Amazon person told me that even if I had its Prime service the free book from the Amazon lending library would have been removed from MY device without notice after one month. I guess I could get it back but good luck finding the last page read.
Am I the only one outraged about this unwarranted invasion of my privacy? I am not a big privacy person and think we need fewer secrets, not more, but I really resent Amazon thinking it has the right to remove something from MY property, especially without common sense, good business practice notice.
Jeff Bezos, wake the heck up!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Amazon Kindle Fire sucks!
It's as proprietary as Apple's stuff. It came with one month free Prime service, which includes borrowing books for free for the one month.
I had to call Amazon support to get my Roku box to work with Amazon.
I downloaded a free book and read about half. Why didn't I finish? Amazon removed the book from MY device in MY home! How did I find out? Read on.
I tried to order something on Amazon and was going to be charged for shipping, which is supposed to be free for Prime service members (actually I learned that's only if Amazon actually does the shipping). I stopped the order and asked Amazon some questions. That's how I learned that my Prime service had been cancelled. No e-mail follow-ups. No reminders. No final warning. Zippo.
Amazon cancelled my Prime service, I guess after one month. I received one e-mail message reminding me that my one month was coming due. What company sends just one such message? Only Amazon as far as I know.
I lost my book and my Roku setup. Amazon was completely clueless about my outrage and did nothing to placate me. It's two days before Christmas and I'm looking for a buyer. Failing that I will see if someone has posted actual instructions on how to install Android 4.0 ice cream including WiFi.
I will not order anything from Amazon again with or without the Kindke Fire.
I had to call Amazon support to get my Roku box to work with Amazon.
I downloaded a free book and read about half. Why didn't I finish? Amazon removed the book from MY device in MY home! How did I find out? Read on.
I tried to order something on Amazon and was going to be charged for shipping, which is supposed to be free for Prime service members (actually I learned that's only if Amazon actually does the shipping). I stopped the order and asked Amazon some questions. That's how I learned that my Prime service had been cancelled. No e-mail follow-ups. No reminders. No final warning. Zippo.
Amazon cancelled my Prime service, I guess after one month. I received one e-mail message reminding me that my one month was coming due. What company sends just one such message? Only Amazon as far as I know.
I lost my book and my Roku setup. Amazon was completely clueless about my outrage and did nothing to placate me. It's two days before Christmas and I'm looking for a buyer. Failing that I will see if someone has posted actual instructions on how to install Android 4.0 ice cream including WiFi.
I will not order anything from Amazon again with or without the Kindke Fire.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
HP makes returning a PC as difficult as possible
Hewlett and Packard, the founders, must be turning over in their graves. I sent six e-mail messages to HP requesting a Return Authorization Number and never received one. All I got was a run around. Finally I called and got one, which must be used within five days including weekends, holidays and natural disasters. The 21 day return policy applies only to requesting. I dropped it off at FedEx this morning. Let's see how long HP holds on to my money after receiving their PC.
One of the obfuscation responses that HP sent tired to pay me a $30 bribe to keep the PC, which I had tried to cancel before HP had shipped it. HP insisted that shipment could not be stopped and even expedited shipment in an attempt to placate me after I learned that HP has the very unusual policy of charging on the order date, not the ship date as other companies do.
Shame on HP. I'm very disappointed.
One of the obfuscation responses that HP sent tired to pay me a $30 bribe to keep the PC, which I had tried to cancel before HP had shipped it. HP insisted that shipment could not be stopped and even expedited shipment in an attempt to placate me after I learned that HP has the very unusual policy of charging on the order date, not the ship date as other companies do.
Shame on HP. I'm very disappointed.
Emery v. Acer
| from: | Ken Matinale | ||
| sender-time: | Sent at 9:57 AM (GMT-05:00). Current time there: 10:08 AM. ✆ | ||
| to: | Anita_Bock@cand.uscourts.gov, ECFHELPDESK@cand.uscourts.gov, Chris_Wolpert@cand.uscourts.gov, Lynn_Fuller@cand.uscourts.gov | ||
| date: | Sat, Nov 12, 2011 at 9:57 AM | ||
| subject: | Fwd: Notice of Class Action and Proposed Settlement | ||
| mailed-by: | gmail.com |
This means of dealing with the judgement is a joke.
1. The form requires both the serial number and proof of purchase, both of which the defendant, Acer, already had or I would not have received this e-mail message in the first place.
2. Paper response only is clearly used to minimize the number of successful responses. Who the heck still has paper receipts after all this time? I do, however, still have the e-mail confirmation from Acer, which is probably very unusual.
3. Note the very small font size in the e-mail message, also intended to reduce the number of successful responses.
Here is a link to my tech blog, which obviously indicates that I had the type of problem this case is attempting to remedy.
This approach negates whatever good the court may have intended. Please refer this to the judge and plaintiff. Thanks.
Kenneth Matinale
___________________________________
Notice of Class Action and Proposed Settlement
You are receiving this notice because, according to our records, you purchased an Acer AOA110 computer, bearing serial number LUS030B0438482A2972536.
If you purchased an Acer computer in the United States between March 24, 2005 and May 1, 2011, read this notice.
You may be affected by a class action settlement. In the settlement, purchasers of Acer computers who file a claim form may receive free recovery utilities, computer equipment, repair services, or cash refunds. Class members also can choose to be excluded from the settlement, or object to it.
Am I included?
You are a class member if you purchased an Acer computer with Microsoft Windows between March 24, 2005 and May 1, 2011.
What's this about?
A lawsuit claims that Acer recovery disks do not provide access to all recovery utilities in the Microsoft Windows operating system. It argues that many Acer users will only be able to recover their computers to a "factory default" setting, losing their data and applications, or may not be able to recover at all. The lawsuit claims that Acer should have disclosed these limitations when it advertised that its computers included Microsoft Windows.
Acer denies the claims and contends that Plaintiff's assertions are factually incorrect. Acer contends that its computers have the complete version of Microsoft Windows, including all recovery features, identical to the version sold by Microsoft and by Acer's competitors. Acer also contends that Acer's marketing was not deficient and was consistent with Microsoft's marketing guidelines for Windows, which Acer was required to follow and which were applied across the computer industry.
The Court has not determined who is correct. To avoid the costs and risks of continued litigation, the parties have agreed to a settlement. The settlement releases all class membersʼ claims against Acer regarding inadequate system or recovery disks and missing features of Windows.
What can I receive?
Class members can choose make a claim in the settlement for benefits under Group A, B or C. Group A will receive a free CD-rom of Windows recovery utilities that can be used with their Acer computers.
Group A claimants also can get Acer to reinstall the Windows operating system on their hard drive, at no charge, if they previously (1) replaced their Acer computer's hard drive, (2) were unable to recover using Acer recovery disks, and (3) contacted the Acer service center for assistance on or before June 3, 2011.
Group B can choose to receive a free USB drive, optical mouse, or webcam if, on or before June 3, 2011, they contacted Acer, an Acer retailer, or a third-party repair technician about recovery problems on their Acer computer or about missing recovery utilities.
Group C will receive reimbursement of the amount they paid (up to $50) for service on their Acer computer related to a recovery issue, if they previously attempted to recover using Acer recovery disks but were not successful and contacted Acer customer service for assistance.
All claims require a valid Acer serial number. Certain claims require additional documentation, such as proof of purchase. For further details, visit the Settlement Website at: http://www.
How do I make a claim?
To make a claim, you must download the Claim Form from the Settlement Website, fill it out, and mail it with any required documentation to the address shown on the form. Claim Forms are due by March 14, 2012.
What are my other options?
You can exclude yourself from the class if you want to be able to sue Acer separately for the claims released by the settlement. If you exclude yourself, you cannot file a claim or object to the settlement.
Alternatively, you can object to the settlement by filing papers in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, California (Embry v Acer America Corp., N.D. Cal. 09-cv-01808-JW). If you object to the settlement, you also can ask to appear at the hearing or can hire your own attorney to appear.
You must submit your exclusion or objection by January 23, 2012 by following the instructions at the Settlement Website at:www.acerrecoverysettlement.com
The Court will hold a hearing on February 13, 2012 to consider whether to approve the settlement. If the settlement is approved, the attorneys for the class will ask the Court to award them $1,200,000.00 in fees and expenses, and to award $15,000.00 as an incentive to the Acer customer who started the lawsuit. These amounts would be paid by Acer separately from and in addition to the amounts paid for class membersʼ claims.
For more information, please visit the Settlement Website at http://www.
Please DO NOT RESPOND to this email because the mail box is unattended.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
HP is ready to ship my cancelled order.
Cancellation e-mail messages from HP describe this PC as custom. I ordered a default configuration, which could/should have been sitting on a shelf. There was nothing custom about it.
HP has yet to indicate whether it can control itself and simply cancel my order rather than continue a tense situation precipitated by HP's silly policy of charging a customer on order date, not ship date.
No resolution yet,
HP has yet to indicate whether it can control itself and simply cancel my order rather than continue a tense situation precipitated by HP's silly policy of charging a customer on order date, not ship date.
No resolution yet,
HP suddenly ready tp ship the PC ... 15 days early!
See previous post.
I received an e-mail message at 11:54PM last night: "ORDER READY TO SHIP".
It's clear that HP expedited the shipment of the PC I ordered on Oct. 27 and shipped it the same day that called their reps in the Philippines (I asked their location) in order to save the transaction.
So why did HP originally set the ship date for Nov. 17 and more importantly, why did HP charge me the day of the order rather than the day the PC shipped? Obviously, HP decided to expedite when it faced complete loss of the sale. As long as HP was holding my money there was no incentive to hurry.
I received an e-mail message at 11:54PM last night: "ORDER READY TO SHIP".
It's clear that HP expedited the shipment of the PC I ordered on Oct. 27 and shipped it the same day that called their reps in the Philippines (I asked their location) in order to save the transaction.
So why did HP originally set the ship date for Nov. 17 and more importantly, why did HP charge me the day of the order rather than the day the PC shipped? Obviously, HP decided to expedite when it faced complete loss of the sale. As long as HP was holding my money there was no incentive to hurry.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
HP charged me at order date, not shipping date. The nerve.
I asked a friend about his experience ordering PCs:
If it's going to be built first (like from Dell) then they bill at ship date. If it's from stock, then usually it is billed when ordered, but then shipped relatively soon after. That's what NewEgg and TigerDirect do.
HP billed me on order date, which only realized today, six days later.
I called and cancelled, which may or may not be in time. HP wanted
to finish building (I ordered a PC with no changes), ship and have me
ship it back, with both shippings paid by HP. I pointed out that
would cost HP more money than simply putting it in their inventory and
not shipping. HP does not know if it can do that, another thing that
does not inspire confidence. I may still receive the PC.
I cannot remember being charged other than on ship date. I was really
annoyed, which is why I cancelled the $399 all-in-one.
Ordered: Oct. 27
Due to ship: Nov. 17
HP wants to hold my money three weeks. The nerve.
If it's going to be built first (like from Dell) then they bill at ship date. If it's from stock, then usually it is billed when ordered, but then shipped relatively soon after. That's what NewEgg and TigerDirect do.
HP billed me on order date, which only realized today, six days later.
I called and cancelled, which may or may not be in time. HP wanted
to finish building (I ordered a PC with no changes), ship and have me
ship it back, with both shippings paid by HP. I pointed out that
would cost HP more money than simply putting it in their inventory and
not shipping. HP does not know if it can do that, another thing that
does not inspire confidence. I may still receive the PC.
I cannot remember being charged other than on ship date. I was really
annoyed, which is why I cancelled the $399 all-in-one.
Ordered: Oct. 27
Due to ship: Nov. 17
HP wants to hold my money three weeks. The nerve.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Access to Windows: a curious development.
I recently paid $139 ($150 with tax and tip) to use the latest version of Microsoft Access (2010). I had used Access for heavy baseball research for many years. My older version was copyright 1992-1999. I intentionally stopped using it about five years ago because I wanted to be free of any particular PC or OS. I tried to rely on http://www.baseball-reference.com/ and google docs spreadsheets, both of which are very good but nothing beats Access for a single user DBMS.
Now I'm re-committed to Windows and will probably upgrade my PC. Still running WinXP. My netbook is running Chromium OS. Check out my baseball blog:
http://radicalbaseball.blogspot.com/
Now I'm re-committed to Windows and will probably upgrade my PC. Still running WinXP. My netbook is running Chromium OS. Check out my baseball blog:
http://radicalbaseball.blogspot.com/
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Amazon Kindle Fire
I pre-ordered the Amazon Kindle Fire today. It should arrive in late November. There don't appear to be any hands on reviews but most of the comments seem to miss the boat.
Most of the whining is about techie junk that precludes some anal jerk from carrying around all the books he stupidly paid for. Just get me to the net!
I think the Amazon Kindle Fire during the Christmas season will beat the Apple iPad. Here is why: a family of five can either buy two iPads or five Amazon Kindle Fire tablets.
PRICE! It costs less than my new Motorola Droid Bionic smartphone. All the stupid Android tablets cost as much as the least expensive iPad.
Most of the whining is about techie junk that precludes some anal jerk from carrying around all the books he stupidly paid for. Just get me to the net!
I think the Amazon Kindle Fire during the Christmas season will beat the Apple iPad. Here is why: a family of five can either buy two iPads or five Amazon Kindle Fire tablets.
PRICE! It costs less than my new Motorola Droid Bionic smartphone. All the stupid Android tablets cost as much as the least expensive iPad.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Netflix problem: not what you think.
Netflix increased its price.
Netflix split in two.
The real problem is that after jerking around with mailing stupid DVDs, which never appealed to me, Netflix finally distributed movies via the Internet. At that point I bought a Roku box and subscribed for $8 per month. I cancelled after two months for the most basic of reasons: the Netflix selection of streaming movies was substantially different from the movies available on DVD, which did not directly compete with service providers like cable and phone companies who had long standing arrangements with content providers. Netflix was messing with the primal forces as mentioned in the 1975 movie Network.
The joke description of Netflix streaming movies was that the recognizable ones were made during the Carter administration. Anything newer was junk.
Too bad. The concept is good but those primal forces were too much.
Netflix split in two.
The real problem is that after jerking around with mailing stupid DVDs, which never appealed to me, Netflix finally distributed movies via the Internet. At that point I bought a Roku box and subscribed for $8 per month. I cancelled after two months for the most basic of reasons: the Netflix selection of streaming movies was substantially different from the movies available on DVD, which did not directly compete with service providers like cable and phone companies who had long standing arrangements with content providers. Netflix was messing with the primal forces as mentioned in the 1975 movie Network.
The joke description of Netflix streaming movies was that the recognizable ones were made during the Carter administration. Anything newer was junk.
Too bad. The concept is good but those primal forces were too much.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Droid Bionic: thank you Motorola and Verizon Wireless.
I ordered is as soon as it was available and it arrived the next day. There was a problem with activation (Verizon Wireless had a disconnect between my account and its registry) but that was resolved fairly quickly.
Google Android OS brought my data onto the new smart phone immediately and has kept that data in sync with the google servers as it had done previously with the original Droid. Why anyone would jerk around with the mess that Apple imposes on its sucker customers is beyond me.
I have not tried some of the enhancements yet, such as HD quality video, but the comparable functions to the original Droid work at least as well.
I like the fact that Motorola did not clutter it with a proprietary shell but left the native Android interface with which I was already familiar. That was a factor that contributed to my buying the Bionic.
Great screen. I like this device and will keep it.
Google Android OS brought my data onto the new smart phone immediately and has kept that data in sync with the google servers as it had done previously with the original Droid. Why anyone would jerk around with the mess that Apple imposes on its sucker customers is beyond me.
I have not tried some of the enhancements yet, such as HD quality video, but the comparable functions to the original Droid work at least as well.
I like the fact that Motorola did not clutter it with a proprietary shell but left the native Android interface with which I was already familiar. That was a factor that contributed to my buying the Bionic.
Great screen. I like this device and will keep it.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
How big a deal was Steve Jobs?
Not nearly as big as some media knuckleheads are saying immediately after Jobs retired for health reasons.
David Pogue mentions these products:
- iMac: What's its market share?
- iPod: Was it really that different from a Sony of my owny?
- iPhone: smartphone; so what?
- iPad: big iPhone without the phone.
Pogue also mentions these industries:
- music: I'll give you that one.
- TV: what? Apple TV? Is this a joke?
- movies: Pixar Animation - OK a little
- software: Safari?
- cellphones: Did Jobs invent them? I didn't think so.
- cloud computing: late, old fashioned and not free; so far only MobileMe; See Google Docs.
Jim Kramer said Jobs may have been the greatest industrialist in history. Say What? How about Bell or whomever you want to credit with inventing the telephone? How about Henry Ford or your favorite fill in the blank for starting the auto industry? Blah, blah, blah.
Jobs created hula hoops for people with too much disposable income who flattered themselves for making him filthy rich by overpaying in the extreme.
Plus, what process is at Apple Computers for continuing its recent success without Jobs instinct and his personal cult following?
Closed proprietary systems are dead. Long live open systems. Apple will sink on its next failure. Power to the people! Down with the tyrants of industry ... like Jobs!
David Pogue mentions these products:
- iMac: What's its market share?
- iPod: Was it really that different from a Sony of my owny?
- iPhone: smartphone; so what?
- iPad: big iPhone without the phone.
Pogue also mentions these industries:
- music: I'll give you that one.
- TV: what? Apple TV? Is this a joke?
- movies: Pixar Animation - OK a little
- software: Safari?
- cellphones: Did Jobs invent them? I didn't think so.
- cloud computing: late, old fashioned and not free; so far only MobileMe; See Google Docs.
Jim Kramer said Jobs may have been the greatest industrialist in history. Say What? How about Bell or whomever you want to credit with inventing the telephone? How about Henry Ford or your favorite fill in the blank for starting the auto industry? Blah, blah, blah.
Jobs created hula hoops for people with too much disposable income who flattered themselves for making him filthy rich by overpaying in the extreme.
Plus, what process is at Apple Computers for continuing its recent success without Jobs instinct and his personal cult following?
Closed proprietary systems are dead. Long live open systems. Apple will sink on its next failure. Power to the people! Down with the tyrants of industry ... like Jobs!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Verizon, Motorola, Google: please improve my mobility.
- Verizon workers are on strike.
- Google is buying Motorola Mobility.
- Can these three companies improve my personal mobile computing?
Verizon workers are striking primarily because Verizon appears to have blundered in spending gazillions of dollars on fiber optic infrastructure to millions of homes for its FIOS, which is not generating enough revenue to justify the capital investment. Verizon Wireless is now subsidizing the Verizon land line business, rather than the other way around, and Verizon is seeking givebacks from its land line workers. Verizon should have let the land line business wither away and migrated to wireless.
I hope Verizon gets this worked out. I have Verizon FIOS at home for video and Internet and Verizon Wireless for voice service.
I have the original Motorola Droid running the Google Android OS.
Now that my brief and massively disappointing flirtation with Virgin Mobile crashed, I had started to again lament the disappointing aspects of good old Verizon Wireless:
- high monthly service charges
- unimaginative billing options
- unimaginative smart phones.
I have received e-mail messages from Sprint and ATT Wireless offering newer Motorola smart phones: Photon 4G and Atrix 4G. My two year commitment to Verizon Wireless expires in November 2011 and I can upgrade now but there's no Motorola smart phone offered by Verizon Wireless that I want, just newer versions of the original Droids.
Maybe the Google acquisition of Motorola's smart phone division will help. My initial reaction was to approve but the more I think about it I wonder how Google can leverage this into an advantage. Tight integration between the Android OS and Motorola would be great but Google must at least pretend that it will keep Motorola at arms length so as not to alienate Google's other business partners such as HTC, LG and Samsung. This arms length thing does not seem to work. See Palm, Inc. Or Microsoft with Office and Windows.
Tight integration between hardware and software is Apple's biggest advantage. That and customers who are mesmerized into buying outrageously overpriced products that have made Apple more flush with cash than the federal government. Instead of finally being outraged Apple customers just admire Apple all the more. What saps.
Google won't take over Motorola smart phones until early 2012 so it's unlikely any big announcements will be made at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Argh!
- Google is buying Motorola Mobility.
- Can these three companies improve my personal mobile computing?
Verizon workers are striking primarily because Verizon appears to have blundered in spending gazillions of dollars on fiber optic infrastructure to millions of homes for its FIOS, which is not generating enough revenue to justify the capital investment. Verizon Wireless is now subsidizing the Verizon land line business, rather than the other way around, and Verizon is seeking givebacks from its land line workers. Verizon should have let the land line business wither away and migrated to wireless.
I hope Verizon gets this worked out. I have Verizon FIOS at home for video and Internet and Verizon Wireless for voice service.
I have the original Motorola Droid running the Google Android OS.
Now that my brief and massively disappointing flirtation with Virgin Mobile crashed, I had started to again lament the disappointing aspects of good old Verizon Wireless:
- high monthly service charges
- unimaginative billing options
- unimaginative smart phones.
I have received e-mail messages from Sprint and ATT Wireless offering newer Motorola smart phones: Photon 4G and Atrix 4G. My two year commitment to Verizon Wireless expires in November 2011 and I can upgrade now but there's no Motorola smart phone offered by Verizon Wireless that I want, just newer versions of the original Droids.
Maybe the Google acquisition of Motorola's smart phone division will help. My initial reaction was to approve but the more I think about it I wonder how Google can leverage this into an advantage. Tight integration between the Android OS and Motorola would be great but Google must at least pretend that it will keep Motorola at arms length so as not to alienate Google's other business partners such as HTC, LG and Samsung. This arms length thing does not seem to work. See Palm, Inc. Or Microsoft with Office and Windows.
Tight integration between hardware and software is Apple's biggest advantage. That and customers who are mesmerized into buying outrageously overpriced products that have made Apple more flush with cash than the federal government. Instead of finally being outraged Apple customers just admire Apple all the more. What saps.
Google won't take over Motorola smart phones until early 2012 so it's unlikely any big announcements will be made at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Argh!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Virgin Mobile cancelled!
And its Motorola Triumph Android smartphone returned.
VM activated my Motorola Triumph thinking it had finally charged my credit card after four days even though my bank had that transaction pending. Unfortunately, only voice service worked, no Internet. I called last night and got the usual treatment: give me your secret password so that I can access your account. I said, just make the phone work. VM never could so I cancelled.
What a joke. Good old Verizon Wireless never looked so good.
VM activated my Motorola Triumph thinking it had finally charged my credit card after four days even though my bank had that transaction pending. Unfortunately, only voice service worked, no Internet. I called last night and got the usual treatment: give me your secret password so that I can access your account. I said, just make the phone work. VM never could so I cancelled.
What a joke. Good old Verizon Wireless never looked so good.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Virgin Mobile finally figured out how to charge a credit card,
I guess VM has been dealing for too long with old ladies and criminals, topping up their accounts with cash cards.
My Virgin Mobile Motorola Triumph Android smart phone is charging so I have not been able to activate it. It won't let me use it during the charging operation, which is different from my Motorola Droid. I'm also a bit concerned that the battery had drained even though I have hardly used it for days.
If Virgin Mobile through the Sprint network functions well, I'll make the switch from Verizon Wireless. VW to VM. Could be cool. I hope so.
My Virgin Mobile Motorola Triumph Android smart phone is charging so I have not been able to activate it. It won't let me use it during the charging operation, which is different from my Motorola Droid. I'm also a bit concerned that the battery had drained even though I have hardly used it for days.
If Virgin Mobile through the Sprint network functions well, I'll make the switch from Verizon Wireless. VW to VM. Could be cool. I hope so.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Returning Dell laptop
I'm on hold waiting for RMA for a Dell 17 inch Inspiron laptop 64 bit Windows7 PC.
Dell tried to bribe into keeping it. The guy in India offered $35. When I turned it down he offered $40. I rejected that. Then he offered $45. I was incredulous. I insisted that I wanted to return it.
Dell is charging me 15% restocking fee. The PC cost $750, so it will come to about $112 but Dell pays for shipping. I asked why it was a percentage because the $500 version of this PC won't cause Dell to do any more work than reloading the image of the $750 PC. The guy didn't know.
He then told me that there's also a 15% restocking fee for returning my extra the battery, which shipped separately. I asked why since the battery is dead and merely needs to be placed back on the shelf. He didn't know.
The PC arrived unable to connect via WiFi. I spent over an hour on the phone the other day with Dell support getting it to work. I did not get paid for that. The next day Windows7, a huge mess, needed to add 32 updates. In other words I'm returning the PC in better shape than I received it.
Dell also adds tons of its own mess to the Win7 mess. Next time I'll check Acer, Asus, etc. At least they won't load up unneeded software.
I'm very disappointed in Dell, although it doesn't compare to the ongoing nonsense with Virgin Mobile.
25 minutes: still waiting for the guy to come back from break. Maybe these companies hope that the customer will give up. At the Dell web site I filled out a form to return. I thought: hey, pretty easy. A couple of hours later I received e-mail stating that I that I would get another e-mail. The second e-mail stated that I had to call to return the laptop. Companies cannot be that incompetent. It must be a way to get the customer to give up. I had to provide the order number three times.
I'm still on hold. It's 30 minutes.
35 minutes: the guy came back to ask for the order number for the extra battery. Can't he see all that on my account? I'm back on hold. I'm not getting paid for this time.
50 minutes: he came back. I mentioned that dell.com states that the customer should accept the delivery even if he intends to return it because not accepting would delay. The Dell guy said that dell would charge me a 15% restocking penalty either way. I expressed my displeasure and he said he would note that. I told him to tell Dell to read my blog as I was documenting these events.
55 minutes. The call is over. That's about two hours of my time dealing with Dell after receiving the PC.
Dell tried to bribe into keeping it. The guy in India offered $35. When I turned it down he offered $40. I rejected that. Then he offered $45. I was incredulous. I insisted that I wanted to return it.
Dell is charging me 15% restocking fee. The PC cost $750, so it will come to about $112 but Dell pays for shipping. I asked why it was a percentage because the $500 version of this PC won't cause Dell to do any more work than reloading the image of the $750 PC. The guy didn't know.
He then told me that there's also a 15% restocking fee for returning my extra the battery, which shipped separately. I asked why since the battery is dead and merely needs to be placed back on the shelf. He didn't know.
The PC arrived unable to connect via WiFi. I spent over an hour on the phone the other day with Dell support getting it to work. I did not get paid for that. The next day Windows7, a huge mess, needed to add 32 updates. In other words I'm returning the PC in better shape than I received it.
Dell also adds tons of its own mess to the Win7 mess. Next time I'll check Acer, Asus, etc. At least they won't load up unneeded software.
I'm very disappointed in Dell, although it doesn't compare to the ongoing nonsense with Virgin Mobile.
25 minutes: still waiting for the guy to come back from break. Maybe these companies hope that the customer will give up. At the Dell web site I filled out a form to return. I thought: hey, pretty easy. A couple of hours later I received e-mail stating that I that I would get another e-mail. The second e-mail stated that I had to call to return the laptop. Companies cannot be that incompetent. It must be a way to get the customer to give up. I had to provide the order number three times.
I'm still on hold. It's 30 minutes.
35 minutes: the guy came back to ask for the order number for the extra battery. Can't he see all that on my account? I'm back on hold. I'm not getting paid for this time.
50 minutes: he came back. I mentioned that dell.com states that the customer should accept the delivery even if he intends to return it because not accepting would delay. The Dell guy said that dell would charge me a 15% restocking penalty either way. I expressed my displeasure and he said he would note that. I told him to tell Dell to read my blog as I was documenting these events.
55 minutes. The call is over. That's about two hours of my time dealing with Dell after receiving the PC.
Virgin Mobile is run by clowns and/or 15 year olds.
I tried the Virgin Mobile Motorola Triumph Android smart phone using WiFi. I had read about 5 reviews, two of which stated that the screen was sometimes not responsive. I have noticed the same thing. My Verizon Wireless Motorola Droid Android smart phone also has that problem and the right side of the portrait touch keypad has become unusable. Maybe Mobile has a problem. Maybe all phones do.
Even though both my Motorola Android phones are running the same version of the Android operating system with no extra shell the settings are only about 80% the same. This came as a surprise.
I finally decided to try the Sprint network via Virgin Mobile. The Motorola Triumph has an app to activate service. I tried it several times and it could not connect to the network.
I went to the Virgin Mobile web site and filled in all the info to activate, including credit card to make monthly payments. I was assigned a phone number and instructed to turn on the phone to complete activation. Again it failed to connect to the network.
I called Virgin Mobile and managed to plow through its awful call prompting system. I was told that Virgin Mobile could only access my account with my secret PIN. I refused to provide it. I then said just cancel my account. My PIN was required to access my account in order to cancel it. I asked to speak to a supervisor who told me all this same nonsense.
The supervisor said that the problem was that my credit card did not "top off" my Virgin Mobile account. This is further confirmation that Virgin Mobile has a corporate culture geared to old ladies and criminals who do not want to pay a fixed monthly fee.
The supervisor asked for my permission to again attempt to charge my credit card. I agreed just to see what would happen. The supervisor said it failed again and that she would refer it to another group that would take 24-72 hours to resolve the matter. She provided a reference number which I was required to write down because Virgin Mobile would not send it by e-mail. She told me to call Virgin Mobile in a couple of days to find out what happened.
Maybe Virgin Mobile was designed by high school kids who saw how their parents did stuff like this but never really did it themselves and only got it partly right. What a joke.
Apparently Sprint does not give Virgin Mobile direct access to its billing system. That's probably why Virgin Mobile needs a customer's individual PIN to access the customer's account. Virgin Mobile is accessing it as though Virgin Mobile was the customer. Obviously this is a huge security breach.
Even though both my Motorola Android phones are running the same version of the Android operating system with no extra shell the settings are only about 80% the same. This came as a surprise.
I finally decided to try the Sprint network via Virgin Mobile. The Motorola Triumph has an app to activate service. I tried it several times and it could not connect to the network.
I went to the Virgin Mobile web site and filled in all the info to activate, including credit card to make monthly payments. I was assigned a phone number and instructed to turn on the phone to complete activation. Again it failed to connect to the network.
I called Virgin Mobile and managed to plow through its awful call prompting system. I was told that Virgin Mobile could only access my account with my secret PIN. I refused to provide it. I then said just cancel my account. My PIN was required to access my account in order to cancel it. I asked to speak to a supervisor who told me all this same nonsense.
The supervisor said that the problem was that my credit card did not "top off" my Virgin Mobile account. This is further confirmation that Virgin Mobile has a corporate culture geared to old ladies and criminals who do not want to pay a fixed monthly fee.
The supervisor asked for my permission to again attempt to charge my credit card. I agreed just to see what would happen. The supervisor said it failed again and that she would refer it to another group that would take 24-72 hours to resolve the matter. She provided a reference number which I was required to write down because Virgin Mobile would not send it by e-mail. She told me to call Virgin Mobile in a couple of days to find out what happened.
Maybe Virgin Mobile was designed by high school kids who saw how their parents did stuff like this but never really did it themselves and only got it partly right. What a joke.
Apparently Sprint does not give Virgin Mobile direct access to its billing system. That's probably why Virgin Mobile needs a customer's individual PIN to access the customer's account. Virgin Mobile is accessing it as though Virgin Mobile was the customer. Obviously this is a huge security breach.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Ordered Motorola Triumph from Virgin Mobile.
From the Virgin Mobile web site:
How it works:
First, buy the phone you want.
Then, relax for a few days (or obsessively check the tracking info), while your phone is shipped to you.
When your phone arrives, hug the mailman, bust open the packaging and run through the streets cheering. After that, you should come back here to activate your phone, add money to your account, and at that point you'll set-up your customized talk/text/mobile web plan.
____________________
Virgin Mobile is still in the mode of dealing with old folks and criminals even with it's first real entry into mainstream smartphone competition. At least I didn't have to jeopardize my current Verizon Wireless phone number and I can check out the Motorola Triumph Android phone. It should be able to connect to the web via WiFi.
Cool.
How it works:
First, buy the phone you want.
Then, relax for a few days (or obsessively check the tracking info), while your phone is shipped to you.
When your phone arrives, hug the mailman, bust open the packaging and run through the streets cheering. After that, you should come back here to activate your phone, add money to your account, and at that point you'll set-up your customized talk/text/mobile web plan.
____________________
Virgin Mobile is still in the mode of dealing with old folks and criminals even with it's first real entry into mainstream smartphone competition. At least I didn't have to jeopardize my current Verizon Wireless phone number and I can check out the Motorola Triumph Android phone. It should be able to connect to the web via WiFi.
Cool.
Chromium OS on Acer netbook: no sound and no phone.
Overall I'm very pleased with Chromium OS on Acer netbook, which had been a brick due to several failed attempts to install stupid Ubuntu Linux.
However, Chromium OS on Acer netbook does not play sound. I have not figured out how to check the camera but I'm guessing that it will not work either.
Google Talk and/or Phone: I installed it from the Google Chromium OS Web Store but it does not integrate into my address book as it does in WindowsXP. I had to enter the phone number myself and dial (connect). The call went through but I heard nothing.
However, Chromium OS on Acer netbook does not play sound. I have not figured out how to check the camera but I'm guessing that it will not work either.
Google Talk and/or Phone: I installed it from the Google Chromium OS Web Store but it does not integrate into my address book as it does in WindowsXP. I had to enter the phone number myself and dial (connect). The call went through but I heard nothing.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Thinking the unthinkable: switching from Verizon Wireless to Virgin Mobile!
Wow! The Virgin Mobile prices are amazing.
For unlimited data and unlimited voice:
Verizon Wireless: $30 + $70 = $100
Virgin Mobile: $55 no contract, no penalty on the Sprint 3G network.
Save $45 per month!
I would need to payoff about $70 remaining on my two year penalty to Verizon Wireless for early termination. That's out of $175. I learned that if I got a new Verizon Wireless Android phone with a two year commitment the penalty would double to $350. Verizon Wireless has gotten carried away.
I could payoff the $70 in two months of savings.
I would have to buy a new Android phone, the Motorola Triumph for $300, which is at least as good as my Motorola Droid, which has developed some screen anomalies.
I'd be about even in about in about 8 months ... with a new better phone.
The only drawback is that Virgin Mobile is limited to Sprint's 3G; no 4G.
I'd like to buy the Motorola Triumph with an option to return and cancel to try it in parallel for a couple of weeks. Then if I like it, switch my Verizon phone number to
Virgin Mobile and cancel Verizon.
I sent an e-mail to Virgin Mobile asking about this. Let's see how its customer service responds, if at all.
For unlimited data and unlimited voice:
Verizon Wireless: $30 + $70 = $100
Virgin Mobile: $55 no contract, no penalty on the Sprint 3G network.
Save $45 per month!
I would need to payoff about $70 remaining on my two year penalty to Verizon Wireless for early termination. That's out of $175. I learned that if I got a new Verizon Wireless Android phone with a two year commitment the penalty would double to $350. Verizon Wireless has gotten carried away.
I could payoff the $70 in two months of savings.
I would have to buy a new Android phone, the Motorola Triumph for $300, which is at least as good as my Motorola Droid, which has developed some screen anomalies.
I'd be about even in about in about 8 months ... with a new better phone.
The only drawback is that Virgin Mobile is limited to Sprint's 3G; no 4G.
I'd like to buy the Motorola Triumph with an option to return and cancel to try it in parallel for a couple of weeks. Then if I like it, switch my Verizon phone number to
Virgin Mobile and cancel Verizon.
I sent an e-mail to Virgin Mobile asking about this. Let's see how its customer service responds, if at all.
Chromium installed!
Success!
Where stupid Ubuntu failed, Chromium succeeded. Yesterday I installed Chromium on my dead Acer notebook. It's working well. I followed the lifehacker instructions, which were bizarre not difficult.
Instead of wasting that $500 I spent on the Samsung Chromebook (refunded) I have basically the same thing for free.
Cool.
Where stupid Ubuntu failed, Chromium succeeded. Yesterday I installed Chromium on my dead Acer notebook. It's working well. I followed the lifehacker instructions, which were bizarre not difficult.
Instead of wasting that $500 I spent on the Samsung Chromebook (refunded) I have basically the same thing for free.
Cool.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Chromium OS running on my dead Acer netbook.
I had cooked the Acer netbook trying to load stupid Ubuntu Linux.
I just got Chromium OS to run on the Acer netbook. It does not appear to be installed but runs from the thumb drive.
I followed instructions on lifehacker.com and downloaded a vanilla build from Hexxah. I have no idea what I'm talking about.
This included running Image Writer for Windows. This utility supposedly writes the unzipped image of the vanilla build onto a thumb drive. Unfortunately, it gives the impression that it has killed the thumb drive, which does a very convincing job of playing dead by making Windows think it needs to be formatted.
As you can imagine I repeated these steps many times with several different types of failures before I finally decided with no real expectation for success to simply put the dead thumb drive into the Acer and turn it on. To my amazement Chromium OS came alive. However, it gave no indication that I could choose to install it.
This is further than I got with stupid Ubuntu.
I just got Chromium OS to run on the Acer netbook. It does not appear to be installed but runs from the thumb drive.
I followed instructions on lifehacker.com and downloaded a vanilla build from Hexxah. I have no idea what I'm talking about.
This included running Image Writer for Windows. This utility supposedly writes the unzipped image of the vanilla build onto a thumb drive. Unfortunately, it gives the impression that it has killed the thumb drive, which does a very convincing job of playing dead by making Windows think it needs to be formatted.
As you can imagine I repeated these steps many times with several different types of failures before I finally decided with no real expectation for success to simply put the dead thumb drive into the Acer and turn it on. To my amazement Chromium OS came alive. However, it gave no indication that I could choose to install it.
This is further than I got with stupid Ubuntu.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Samsung Chromebook returned.
I'm really disappointed in google. How difficult can it be for a world class techie company to create a stripped down operating system (OS)? All the damn thing had to do was connect to the Internet efficiently.
Instead it took longer and longer to fetch e-mail: 2-3 minutes.
Interrupted itself with of all colors a blue background and that adolescent pseudo techie language that tells you nothing except the pizza boxes and soda cans must be piling up in googleland creating massive cases of acid reflux in the miscreants who failed on the ChromeOS project.
The irony is that google's mobile OS, Android, works well and does 100 times more stuff.
All google had to was create a simple OS. It failed. I felt more and more foolish hoping that I could keep my Samsung Chromebook. I couldn't. Too bad. It was a nice piece of hardware but the OS sucked.
Instead it took longer and longer to fetch e-mail: 2-3 minutes.
Interrupted itself with of all colors a blue background and that adolescent pseudo techie language that tells you nothing except the pizza boxes and soda cans must be piling up in googleland creating massive cases of acid reflux in the miscreants who failed on the ChromeOS project.
The irony is that google's mobile OS, Android, works well and does 100 times more stuff.
All google had to was create a simple OS. It failed. I felt more and more foolish hoping that I could keep my Samsung Chromebook. I couldn't. Too bad. It was a nice piece of hardware but the OS sucked.
Chromebook crashes ... often.
Maybe crash is a bit extreme but many times I get:
He's dead, Jim.
Either Chrome ran out of memory or the process for the webpage was terminated for some other reason ...
It's happening repeatedly while I write this.
He's dead, Jim.
Either Chrome ran out of memory or the process for the webpage was terminated for some other reason ...
It's happening repeatedly while I write this.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Samsung Chromebook is often SLOW!
Speed is the primary benefit according to a video by google.
If my Samsung Chromebook has its lid down and I open it and click refresh in gmail it can take two minutes to finish "loading". This happens often but is not the only time when my Samsung Chromebook is slow.
I have until July 14 to return the Samsung Chromebook.
The lack of speed and quirks with the Apple-like touch pad are issues.
Is there a home key or equivalent?
If my Samsung Chromebook has its lid down and I open it and click refresh in gmail it can take two minutes to finish "loading". This happens often but is not the only time when my Samsung Chromebook is slow.
I have until July 14 to return the Samsung Chromebook.
The lack of speed and quirks with the Apple-like touch pad are issues.
Is there a home key or equivalent?
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Chromebook connected to Verizon Wireless!
After several more aggravating conversations with Samsung I decided to simply try to register my Samsung Chromebook with Verizon Wireless. It worked!
Samsung had no clue what the heck was going on.
OK, now let's see how this thing performs.
Samsung had no clue what the heck was going on.
OK, now let's see how this thing performs.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
I just wrote to google.
| hide details 9:03 AM (0 minutes ago) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thank you for writing in to tell us your story. While we can't guarantee that we'll respond to each and every message, we do read every note and really appreciate your taking the time to share your experience with us. If we're interested in exploring your story further, we'll get in touch.
If you're looking for help, need an answer to a question, or would like to send us feedback, please visit Google Help at http://www.google.com/support/
Regards,
The Google Team
---
Google product your story is about:: Other
If "Other" is selected above, please enter the name of the product your story is about:: Chromebook
Please tell us your story about this product:: http://techthoughtsmatinale.
You might want to read my blog about the problems with my Samsung Chromebook.
What do you like best about this product?: The idea. However, Google has work to do. I have used google docs exclusively for years. If you lose me, your Chromebook efforts are doomed. I'm google's biggest fan.
Name:: Kenneth Matinale
Email address:: ken@matinale.net
Can we ask you a few more questions about yourself?: Yes
Phone number:: XXXXXXXXXX
City:: White Plains
State:: NY
Country:: USA
Age:: 63
Job title:: retired
If you're looking for help, need an answer to a question, or would like to send us feedback, please visit Google Help at http://www.google.com/support/
Regards,
The Google Team
---
Google product your story is about:: Other
If "Other" is selected above, please enter the name of the product your story is about:: Chromebook
Please tell us your story about this product:: http://techthoughtsmatinale.
You might want to read my blog about the problems with my Samsung Chromebook.
What do you like best about this product?: The idea. However, Google has work to do. I have used google docs exclusively for years. If you lose me, your Chromebook efforts are doomed. I'm google's biggest fan.
Name:: Kenneth Matinale
Email address:: ken@matinale.net
Can we ask you a few more questions about yourself?: Yes
Phone number:: XXXXXXXXXX
City:: White Plains
State:: NY
Country:: USA
Age:: 63
Job title:: retired
Talking to Samsung about Chromebook.
Samsung never heard about the 3G problem but has an open ticket because I called July 1 because my PC arrived with no OS. Samsung did nothing about that and it's been two days.
A Samsung supervisor is being consulted ... I'm waiting ...
I'm using Google Phone to make this call on my Samsung Chromebook while I write this post. Cool.
The rep came back and said I had to talk to a Samsung cell phone person because it's a carrier (Verizon) issue. The transfer resulted in a voice message stating that they are closed and that I should use live chat online. I had already checked that ... it's closed, too.
I had also tried to send a-mail through a Samsung online form but the drop down for the model is frozen: nothing drops down even though I had selected the preceding info.
You can't make up stuff like this.
Samsung apparently never got the word from Verizon. I spoke to Verizon last night but Verizon only communicated with Google.
From the play 1776:
Is anybody there?
Does anybody care?
A Samsung supervisor is being consulted ... I'm waiting ...
I'm using Google Phone to make this call on my Samsung Chromebook while I write this post. Cool.
The rep came back and said I had to talk to a Samsung cell phone person because it's a carrier (Verizon) issue. The transfer resulted in a voice message stating that they are closed and that I should use live chat online. I had already checked that ... it's closed, too.
I had also tried to send a-mail through a Samsung online form but the drop down for the model is frozen: nothing drops down even though I had selected the preceding info.
You can't make up stuff like this.
Samsung apparently never got the word from Verizon. I spoke to Verizon last night but Verizon only communicated with Google.
From the play 1776:
Is anybody there?
Does anybody care?
Samsung shipped an unregistered Chromebook to me.
That explains why:
1. there was no OS
2. Verizon Wireless did not have my Chromebook in its database for free 3G service.
I hope Verizon Wireless, Samsung and Google get this straightened out. I'm starting to like my Chromebook.
1. there was no OS
2. Verizon Wireless did not have my Chromebook in its database for free 3G service.
I hope Verizon Wireless, Samsung and Google get this straightened out. I'm starting to like my Chromebook.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Chromebook probably going back.
Verizon FIOS support got my wireless router working. Good job.
However, I could not get the 3G account. I called Verizon Wireless again and this guy did as much as could be expected. Result: my Samsung Chromebook is not in a database. That's why I could not get the 3G service.
MASSIVE disconnect among Google, Samsung and Verizon Wireless. The Verizon Wireless guy sent messages on my behalf to Google and even included the fact that I had to load the OS. The Verizon Wireless guy will monitor but advised me that unless my Samsung Chromebook gets into that database I will not get the 3G service and that I should return the Samsung Chromebook.
Amazing! You can't make this up.
However, I could not get the 3G account. I called Verizon Wireless again and this guy did as much as could be expected. Result: my Samsung Chromebook is not in a database. That's why I could not get the 3G service.
MASSIVE disconnect among Google, Samsung and Verizon Wireless. The Verizon Wireless guy sent messages on my behalf to Google and even included the fact that I had to load the OS. The Verizon Wireless guy will monitor but advised me that unless my Samsung Chromebook gets into that database I will not get the 3G service and that I should return the Samsung Chromebook.
Amazing! You can't make this up.
Chromebook unchained.
My Samsung Chromebook won't connect to my Verizon FIOS wireless router, which works fine with both my Dell WindowsXP laptop and my Motorola Droid. Another reason that it should have an Ethernet port. How much can that cost? Samsung could not have excluded it for weight considerations. Considering it's dimensions the damn thing must be made of lead. It's heavy.
A friend loaned me a Verizon Wireless MiFi hotspot device. I connected the Samsung Chromebook to it via WiFi and then to the Internet. It worked well. However, I did not want to use up too much of my friend's transmission bytes.
I breached Chromebook security and found the Settings under the menu and found an application for the two years of free 100M per month Verizon Wireless 3G service. The only way you can get the free service is to open an account and supply a credit card so that Verizon Wireless can charge for exceeding the limit. Verizon Wireless does not even have the sense to ask if you are an existing customer. You must open another account.
I filled out the application and submitted it It was rejected without reason and I was told to call Verizon Wireless, which I did. I switched off my friend's MiFi hotspot device. The Verizon guy who finally answered told me to fill out the form again. I explained that I did not have an Internet connection and that was why I wanted the 3G service. He insisted. The guy wouldn't open the account by phone. You can't make up stuff like this.
In fact the real problem that media reviewers miss is that the Chromebook requires an Internet connection to do ANYTHING, not just work. I cannot find help on the Chromebook itself. There are no definitions for options in Settings. What the heck are some of those things?
If my Chromebook won't work with my Verizon FIOS wireless router it's going back. After having to load the OS myself I should send a bill to both Google and Samsung.
Those snotty reviewers who wrote that the Chromebook is something for their mothers should actually try that. Give a Chromebook to your mother and see if she can do what Google says in its insert: "Plug in the power. Open the lid. And you're all set." Good luck with that.
A friend loaned me a Verizon Wireless MiFi hotspot device. I connected the Samsung Chromebook to it via WiFi and then to the Internet. It worked well. However, I did not want to use up too much of my friend's transmission bytes.
I breached Chromebook security and found the Settings under the menu and found an application for the two years of free 100M per month Verizon Wireless 3G service. The only way you can get the free service is to open an account and supply a credit card so that Verizon Wireless can charge for exceeding the limit. Verizon Wireless does not even have the sense to ask if you are an existing customer. You must open another account.
I filled out the application and submitted it It was rejected without reason and I was told to call Verizon Wireless, which I did. I switched off my friend's MiFi hotspot device. The Verizon guy who finally answered told me to fill out the form again. I explained that I did not have an Internet connection and that was why I wanted the 3G service. He insisted. The guy wouldn't open the account by phone. You can't make up stuff like this.
In fact the real problem that media reviewers miss is that the Chromebook requires an Internet connection to do ANYTHING, not just work. I cannot find help on the Chromebook itself. There are no definitions for options in Settings. What the heck are some of those things?
If my Chromebook won't work with my Verizon FIOS wireless router it's going back. After having to load the OS myself I should send a bill to both Google and Samsung.
Those snotty reviewers who wrote that the Chromebook is something for their mothers should actually try that. Give a Chromebook to your mother and see if she can do what Google says in its insert: "Plug in the power. Open the lid. And you're all set." Good luck with that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)