DVD Rewinder: need I say more?

Take a gander at this CNN/Money "Blockbuster dropping late fees as of Jan. 1" article. Blockbuster's latest scam, "no late fees", which embraces Best Buy tactics, is why I haven't had a Blockbuster membership in a very long time, and have only rented from Netflix or the local neighborhood store (20/20 or Movies and More).

From one of my favorite online review sites, Kevin Kelly -- Cool Tools, comes a great review of Costco, that perfectly encapsulates why I love shopping at Costco so much, and why Sam's Club has a long way to go before reaching Costco's status.

The ongoing Dell Saga:

Dell sent me a survey link, in response to my e-mail to Customer Service. At the end of the survey, this question was posed:

"15. What does Dell's e-mail support currently do well, and what can be improved?"

Here's my response:

The from: address should be more friendly, not "US_CAG_Dell". One of your e-mails actually got caught in a very good spam-filter (by very good meaning very few false positives). Next, the e-mails should be answered by English-speaking CSRs who are actually trained to deal with customer issues, not some third-world flaks who posess neither an understanding of the English language, nor the business acumen to understand the issues at hand.

The problem I am having is that I purchased a product that was listed as "Ships in 24 hours", both the day I bought it, and the next day. Then, I am told that the product will actually ship 2 weeks later, after which a CSR AND a manager both tell me that "ships in 24 hours" means "ships AFTER 24 hours of processing", and "ships a FEW days later", and "it takes some time to assemble the system". I BOUGHT A SINGLE ITEM, A SATA CONTROLLER, NOT A COMPUTER! MY ORDER IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES, YOU JUST LOOKED UP ALL OF MY INFORMATION!!!! Right before another pointless reply to an e-mail request for help, I got another "your product will ship 2 weeks after the previous ship estimate" e-mail.

If TO THIS DAY Dell can't build an accurate inventory system, but Amazon/Netflix/Buy.com/Overstock can, I don't particularly want to deal with Dell. I'd rather pay another vendor more, to get better service and a peace of mind.

As an avid gadget lover/early adopter/computer guy, I often get asked for advice with buying anything PC/audio/video related. Since I build my own computers, I have never bought a Dell (or any other brand), but dozens have bought Dell PCs, laptops, etc. base d on my recommendation. After having recommended Dell PCs since 1995, Dell DJs over iPods, Axims over IPAQs, and Dell LCD TVs over other brands, to all who ask for recommendations, I will no longer recommend Dell - even if you do have decent products at decent prices.

How could this sour and goodwill-destroying experience have been avoided? If just one of those Indian CSRs, whom Dell hired to save money and take jobs away from its own customers, told me "I apologize, we made a mistake, the website wasn't updated on time, allow us to upgrade your shipping to overnight" or even "I apologize, our vendor (Maxtor) delayed their shipment of the product you ordered, and we are working with them to make sure the product gets shipped ASAP." To add insult to the CSR's "we won't do anything for you" attitude, I now have to wait YET ANOTHER 2 WEEKS for delivery!

In conclusion:
*it will take a month to get a product that was listed as "ships in 24 hours" - the day of the purchase AND THE DAY AFTER
*you've lost one formerly loyal customer (myself)
*you've lost many customers: to each and every person that will ever ask me for a recommendation, I will go out of my way to discourage their purchase of any Dell products. Why do people come to me for PC advice? I'm: A+ certified; first line of tech support for friends and family and co-workers; a Database Admin; early adopter; gadget afficionado; an opinionated PC user who already got hurt by your choice of re-wired ATX power supplies.
*This all could have been avoided, if your CSRs actually put some thought into answering a request, and were taught to work WITH the customer, instead of reciting scripted drivel, and rewriting the English language.
Bye-bye!!!

Here's a book that I'll be picking up this for holiday break reading:
Mind Hacks. Check it out for yourself, let me know what you think (comments link below post).

In this, a non-rant post, I'd like to bring your attention to USA For UNHCR, where you can sign a Holiday Card for the volunteers of the UN Refugee Agency. Just a nice thing to do for those wonderful people who take on the duties we don't dare take.

A RANT ABOUT ORDERING A MAXTOR SATA CONTROLLER FROM DELL, or
an order placed on 11/19/04 , listed "ships in 24h", may only ship on 12/17/04, a month later.

Full story:
On November 19th, put in an order to buy a Maxtor SATA/133 PCI Controller card. Dell.com's Small Business division had it for $44 w/s&h, taxes, after coupons. The card was listed as "ships in 24 hours" the day of the order. It was also listed as "ships in 24 hours" the day after the order was placed. Several days later, I received an e-mail from Dell with the tracking information, stating that my order will ship on November 6th.

I called Dell on December 1st to find out why the order was listed as "Ships in 24 hours" even the day after my order. Talked to an Indian CSR who could barely hear me (VOIP is a great cost-cutting measure, isn't it?), and quoted me a definition of "ships in 24 hours" that was the complete opposite of what the website listed, and was no help whatsoever. The next day, another Indian CSR, this time claiming to be a manager, called me to find out why I called. I explained the situation, and without offering to help me in any way, or explaining the reasons for the delay, he just repeated the same backwards explanation for why the order did not go out, and that "ships in 24 hours" means "it takes Dell 24 hours just to get the order ready for shipping, and the item is shipped after that". Both CSR's gave me the same speech.

On Friday, 12/3, I e-mailed DELL support online. First message I got back: our systems are down for maintenance, wait a while for a response. The next message, received today, 12/6, titled "First Delay Notification", states that my order may ship after December 17th.

Here's the text of the next message, received today, 12/6:

Thank you for contacting Dell Online Support.
I understand that you purchased PCI card under order number xxx
which is advertised as "ships in 24 hours", I understand your frustration regarding the delay in the processing of this order.
I apologize for the extension of the estimated ship date of your order. An estimated shipping date is provided to you at the time of placing the order based on conditions at that time. Most of our orders are shipped to our customers within the time frame referenced at the point of sale. However, due to many factors involved with the production of orders, Dell is unable to guarantee any shipping or delivery date.

As all of our systems are custom-built to specification, we do occasionally run into unexpected delays in the manufacturing process. [I DID NOT BUY A SYSTEM - JUST A SINGLE ITEM]

I assure you that your situation is not indicative of the quality of service Dell is capable of providing. [YES IT IS]

We appreciate your taking the time to share your experience with us. Your comments are very important to us and will assist in making improvements where necessary. I have forwarded your message to the management and I assure you they will look into this issue and will work on making improvements based on your feedback. [Translation: BUT YOUR ORDER WILL NOT BENEFIT FROM ANY OF THESE IMPROVEMENTS, AND WE WILL DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO HELP YOU OUT WITH THIS ORDER]

Once again, I thank you for sharing your experience with us. Whether the feedback we receive is positive or negative, it remains a crucial tool for determining how we can best improve our products and services. [Translation: BUT WE WILL NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR SPECIFIC ORDER]

We truly regret any inconvenience or frustration this matter may have caused. We value you as our customer[NO YOU DON'T] and your satisfaction is very important to us [IT ISN'T].

If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. [HAD THREE CONTACTS, NEXT STEP IS CANCELLING ORDER] Thank you for giving me the opportunity to assist you [YOU DIDN'T ASSIST ME!].

I hope to have addressed all your concerns to your satisfaction. [YOU DIDN'T] Your case number for this interaction is XXX. Please keep this number for your records. This will help us keep track of this issue so we can better assist you if you have any further questions or concerns about the estimated shipdate for your order.

We appreciate your patience, and again apologize for any inconvenience. If you require anything further, please feel free to visit our website at: http://www.dellcustomercare.com

Thank you and have a good day.

Respectfully,
Nhoireekit

Here's the text of the delivery delay message:

We have reviewed your order. Although we had anticipated being able to ship your order sooner, we are experiencing an unexpected delay with your order and will not be able to ship this order and any associated orders until on or before 12-17-2004.  No action is required to proceed with the new date, however, if you do not wish to wait, you may cancel your order.  If you wish to cancel your order or if you have any questions, please go to www.support.dell.com  or contact us at 1-800-624-9897, extension (66966).  Please include your order number or customer number with any correspondence.  We apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause.    Thank you,  Dell Inc. Notification Team 

This was only my second Dell order, first one also being for parts. So was the order delayed because I spoke up? Or is this yet another retailer adopting the BestBuy ANGELS/DEVILS strategy? Is the new trend to ignore the vocal customers who do use the discounts, and only take care of those customers that place large orders, and don't take advantage of the discounts?
It's bad enough that Dell rewired power supply connectors on their ATX motherboards, so that upgrades without correct wiring would blow up the Dell motherboards - now Dell is rewriting the definition of the word "ships". I am upset for three reasons: 1) Dell still had the item listed as "ships in 24 hours"after the order was placed, when in fact it will take 1 month to ship, 2) Dell's definition of "ships in 24 hours" is not the English language definition of "ships in 24 hours", and 3) Dell failed to: (a) timely warn me that there's a delay; (b) provide me a reason for the delay; (c) even bother pacifying me, by offering free upgraded shipping, or coupons, or discounts. I won't even bother ranting about the fact that I have to explain my problems to people that don't understand what my problems are. The language barrier is acceptable at the grocery store, liquor store, or a gas station - but not from a billion-dollar technology retailer. Good bye, Dell!
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A Picture Share!

It's bad enough having to deal with brides...

This one is self explanatory, but in case it's unclear: 

Edwards as a woman... 

Dubya as a woman... 

Cheney as a woman...

What the Pres and the VP candidates would look like if they were women... 

To be a bona-fide geek/car enthusiast, one really can't have a good car without an in-car PC. Gizmodo has an excellent writeup on Car-Bound PCs. Now, I just need to collect some parts from around the house, and get to building me a Carputer.

From the kooky designers at NEC Japan -http://www.nec-design.co.jp/showcase/ - come some amazing, beautiful, and wonderous exercizes in future gadgets. For example, these pens are from a collection of five pens that all work together, communicate in a PAN, and then use a PAN connection to a cellular to connect to the internet. One pan works as a keyboard, the other as a projector, yet another pen writes, and converts hand writing into text, stored on board, and finally there's a small camera. If only these designs could be sold today. 

No More Bush

No More Bush
Originally uploaded by LAArt.

Just came back from Hustler Hollywood. This place is quickly becoming one of my favorite coffee shops. The crew is pretty friendly, there are always available seats, parking is plentiful and not timed - all in all, it's a good place to hang out, even on Saturday nights. Sometimes, they even hold events in the book section downstairs, and today was no exception. I've learned that the trick to observing the festivities is to grab the table just outside the window behind the velvet couch. Two weeks ago, it was an adult film promotion, this weekend it was a political event. Yes, ladies and gentlement, even the porn industry is rallying together to stop the re-election of the Shrub. The "No More Bush" girls had their tongue planted firmly in cheek when they threw together a poster-signing/rally at Hustler's Hollywood store. Not even the pouring rain could stop the throngs of well-hung (with camera equipment) Kerry supporters/amateur photographers. This is the shot of the poster they were signing, at $15 a pop. Apparently, supporting Kerry can cost you - in more ways than one.
My only disappointment - not seeing my favorite reporter, Xeni Jardin of BoingBoing/NPR, covering the event. That space flight must have really had an effect on you, Xeni - no more covering the eclectic beat around town?

Hustler hollywood is having a 'No more (B)bush' rally-in both senses of the phrase

Right on the heels of Google SMS (google lookups by text messaging GOOGL), comes Google Desktop Search. Neat idea:
# Find your email, files, web history and chats instantly
# View web pages you've seen, even when you're not online
# Search as easily as you do on Google
Google Desktop Search finds:
Outlook / Outlook Express
Word
AOL Instant Messenger
Excel
Powerpoint
Internet Explorer
Text

Take a look at the G.W. & Crew - Flip Flop "catalog".
Very funny take on consumerism and Dubya's own "flip-flops".

YellowPages.com: Verizon loves me, Verizon loves me not, Sprint loves me...

VerizonOrSprint
Originally uploaded by LAArt.

I went to Yellowpages.com to look up a phone number, and saw an ad for their WAP site. Considering how much I pay for directory assistance on my cell ($1.25 per call), and how much WAP access I have ($10 for unlimited use), I figured what the hell - might as well check it out, even if lookups do take longer via browser. Take a look at the screen shot attached for what came. So who is Yellow pages partnering with? If you notice, the text is for Verizon, but the logo is Sprint. The two pages that lead to this screen also list Sprint prominently. So what happened? Who goofed?
The funniest part is the "WE NEED A NEW CELL PHONE GRAPHIC !!!" at the bottom right of the screen. Great example of releasing webpages without getting approval.

While we are on a Russian theme here, take a look at one of Gawker's three new testosterone blogs, Screenhead. Well, not the whole blog, but this entry in particular, which will then link you to a fun Finnish LADA site, where you can experience the Ladaraider movie.

What's a Lada, you ask? The Canadian readers in the audience may be familiar with the very inexpensive Lada NIVA SUV, which is no longer sold in Canada, but others may know Lada sedans as Fiat Brava, or as a Datsun 510 circa 1970 - except not as reliable, attractive, or sporty.

There's a Russian saying - a turd won't drown in shit. While Lada was the russian Chevrolet, in terms of its mass appeal and ranking in the Russian car culture, it had much better shit-fjording abilities.

I had a chance to drive around in one last year, and it brought back not-so-fond memories of my old 79 Datsun 510 wagon, the one where my 6'1" frame could barely clear the post between the doors. There was nothing like getting back into my properly-sized Japanese vehicle back home.

I got my first Boing Boing mention today! Woo-hoo! Alright, it's just an update to the Cheburashka story, and the description didn't come out the way I intended it, but I'm still proud to have a contribution.
Long live the Boing!
In case you missed it, here's the link: http://www.boingboing.net/2004/10/04/cheburashka_adorable.html
Here's my Cheburashka post:
http://artb.blogspot.com/2004/09/little-post-olympic-humor.html

Cingular and T-Mobile went tits up this evening. Calls are going to wrong people, to messaging servers, or nowhere at all. Cingular and T-Mobile share towers, but have mixed equipment at the towers themselves. This is just like the crossed lines of old times, and so far I can't reach any of my friends on either of those networks. Thankfully, I've given the last seven years of my life to Sprint, and am thus out of the fun loop.

Do you feel about Bush like most of us do?

Do you want to proudly show off your support for the no-more-Bu$h movement ? Then this Remixed Anti-War Propaganda Posters | CafePress store is perfect for that activist side you never knew you had.

Have an old computer case lying around?

Then take a look at Reverse Case mod - and impress your friends by turning an old case into a new bookshelf. How much longer before these show up on ThinkGeek? Ok, just your computer geek friends. Ok, just your environmentalist computer geek friends.

Cellphone carrier horror stories from one of my favorite tech blogs, Engadget.

Another fun "is-it-true or b.s." blog:
I Found Some Of Your Life:
"I Found Some Of Your Life
You are unknown to me.
Your camera's memory card was in a taxi; I have it now.
I am going to post one of your pictures each day.
I will also narrate as if I were you.
Maybe you will come here and reclaim this piece of your life."

Here's a neat idea for cell phones:
(click on pic for larger image)

I've had a cellphone since 1995. Always used cases, but a friend showed a neat trick to keep the screen clear and scratch-free - shipping tape. I just put some good quality tape, like 3M, on the screen, and used a sharp knife or blade to cut around the screen. Worked like a charm, especially on the Nokia 6185 that had a screen that stuck out.
Now that I have my Toshiba, the first thing I did was scour ebay for a data cable and case. Instead of a case, I found something better - phone skins. These are just pieces of vinyl cut to fit the shape of the phone, but what a great idea! Unfortunately, the manufacturer and seller, Vision Vinyl, in a rare reversal of trend, carries mostly Sprint and Verizon phone skins, but does have some GSM phone skins.

Happy Rosh Hashanah, everybody!

Here's some RH humor for y'all, courtesy of ShaBot 6000, by Ben Baruch:



If you don't get it, may your children smell garlic for the rest of their lives. Oy, vay!

See where it snapped open?

Pics of the busted Toshiba holster:

This is the hinge that broke

2-week old Sprint Toshiba VM4050 holster

History channel's Tactical to Practical had a Top Ten show, a while ago.
Here's what I managed to write down:

10.
9.
8.
7.
6. Garmin Rino FRS/GMRS/GPS
5. Air commander
hovercraft
4. Ago ful face mask with underwater communication system
3. MB SL55 AMG
2. Rotorway Exec 162F personal kit helicopter
1. Chenowth beam car dune buggy

Other notables: Suunto compass watch, Jeep Rubicon 2x2 bycicle.
Can anyone fill me in on the rest of the items?

Here's what's bugging me today:
Bought a Sprint Toshiba VM4050/Audiovox 9900 phone two weeks ago.
Good deal (Costco - $249, including holster/car charger/headset).
Today, the damn belt clip on the holster breaks off. I'll have some pics in the next post.
Otherwise, the phone is great, except for the average battery life of about 1 day per charge.
Oh, and the voice guidance system - more annoying than useful.
Any questions about this phone - feel free to comment.

Polish Stereotype Comes True
Here's a great example of Polish stereotypes coming true: Own goal hands England win over Poland.
It's bad enough to have so many jokes about your ineptitude - proving those jokes true is truly a feat.

It's all about practicing some love:

From the "Yet-another-Bush-slip-up" dept:

"President Bush offered an unexpected reason on Monday for cracking down on
frivolous medical lawsuits: "Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their
love with women all across this country."

Yahoo! News - Bush: OB-GYNs Kept from 'Practicing Their Love'.

a little post-olympic humor

drutten
Originally uploaded by Johnny Söderberg.

Making fun of the Russian Olympic team, courtesy of the most lovable Russian cartoon character Cheburashka.
Here's what it says:

"Why didn't we win the olympic games?"

"We just had no luck"

So where is Crocodile Gena?

commercial artistry

A Picture Share!
Originally uploaded by Artourb.

Moblogged this one at the Burbank Media Center. Life size chess game was watched by quite a crowd from the level above.

I saw this Boing Boing%3A Earthlink%27s crazy-talking support staff post, and it reminded me of a similar experience one of my IT clients had with Earthlink. This small office made the mistake of using xxx@earthlink.net as their e-mail address, instead of getting their own domain. That address was on their business cards and in everyone's Rolodex (people still use those!). When I finally convinced them to switch to DSL, Earthlink's $49.95 DSL was the only option because they didn't want to switch e-mail addresses. Meanwhile, SBC is $26.95/month, and they've gotten DSL installs down to a painless process. So we order DSL for this office, and the nightmare begins. First of all, there's no service on the turn-on date. Several reps named "Sam" and "Vivian" in an Indian call center have no clue, and have me go through these steps:
1. Turn off the modem
2. Wait
3. Restart the modem
Meanwhile, I have no DSL light, and I've done enough of these installations to know that the idiots on the other end have no clue about what they are doing, and I need a tech. Finally, after I yell a bit and demand a manager, they send a tech out to the COVAD DSL cage at the local telco. Turns out - "a card burnt out". ok, no problem - but the genius COVAD techs manage to not only forget to replace the card, they manage to kill the voice line.
In the end, a month later, after putting up with some of the dumbest customer service agents I ever had, I got fed up, and wrote a letter to Earthlink's CEO. I don't have the address, but if you pressure the CSR managers enough, they'll give it up. In the letter, with very stern language, I encouraged the CEO to take care of the problems we'd been having, or we'd start putting out press releases. Lo and behold, three days later I got a call from the CEO's office, and one of the vice presidents personally took responsibility, and coordinated the effort. The issue was finally resolved when the laziest and rudest COVAD tech I've ever met, and an SBC phone tech who I called out to rule out SBC's fault, fixed the connection from COVAD's cage all the way to the building, and then all the way to the modem. But the process was full of "it's SBC's fault", "it's Covad's fault", "it's Eartlink's fault", and just endless incompetence and passing the buck. After being an excellent service back in the middle 90s, Earthlink has slid past AOL in the "terrible experience" department. I haven't recommended Earthlink to anyone since 1999, because they got too big and unfriendly, and because I don't like my money going to the Scientology creeps.
end of rant

If you enjoyed the previous link, take a look at Harmon Leon

This has a collection of some great undercover work, by a very funny Sacramento writer - Harman Leon. One of my favorites: How to find a Russian bride (named Boris)
Need I add any more to the title? Hilarious write-up of the Russian mail-order bride phenomenon.

Here's another interesting sign from the LA Zoo. Now is it me, or does the sign for the aviary suggest one of two things: either people are getting clubbed over their heads, or there's a saluting nazi in the audience. Not sure which one is worse... 

Went to the Los Angeles Zoo today. Among the various animals suffering in the 90-degree heat, saw this curious sign. Apparently, money is a little tight, and apparently Target is a sponsor of at least one exhibit. Ladies and gentlemen, we proudly present - the Target Leopard! Coming to your local store, in a lovely bedding ensemble... 

When you need just one more tent... 

What Would Charlie Manson Do (if he was ever released)? 

Lou Ferrigno at Six Flags 

Magazine cover for the Leykis crowd 

War On Pornography? Come on, now! How about declaring a war on:
>bad drivers
>stale coffee
>drivers not using turn signals
>bling-bling
>the Simpson sisters (and their equally airheaded mother)
>Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie (that dumb, pudgy, good-for-nothing, Napoleon-looking bitch)
>stupid pop celebrities
>Ashton Kutcher

Here's another entry in the "Phones I'd love to own":
Nokia - Nokia 7200 - Phone Models - Phones - the Nokia flip phone

I'm starting a "Cell phones I'd love to own".

Here's the first entry:

Nokia - Nokia 7650 Phone

Got a call from Survival Insurance Survival's Hollywood Office - note the phone #. What caught my attention was that I heard Spanish through the answering machine. Caller ID showed Unknown Name and 323-957-1049. Picked up the phone, and the following exchange took place:
Why are you calling me?
(startled) To let you know about Survival Insurance's great rates...
How did you get me name?
We are just dialing people from the directory.
You mean you are going through the yellow pages, and dialing people at random?
Yes....
You didn't buy a list of leads?
No...
Pretty bad marketing, if I may say so. Why did you speak Spanish?
Leon is a spanish name, so I assumed...
Bad assumption. Besides, Survival has some of the worst rates. CLICK!

Go to Survival website, see this little gem of a link on the "Contact Us" page:
http://www.thepathwaytohappiness.com/
It seems Survival Insurance are giving away L. Ron Hubbard (Scientology) books.
Bad Survival!!!! Let's see: blatantly violating Do-Not Call Act (federal law), by both hiding Caller ID, and calling numbers on the list; being part of an evil cult; and assuming that all people in Los Angeles are Latinos. I have no problem with Latinos (used to date one myself), but three strikes, and you are out.

Next time you get a call from a company: National Do Not Call Registry