Slightly Suspicious...
on
Disconnecting
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· Score: 1
I'm not sure if the author was exaggerating, but this tale seem a little incredulous to me.
I have never been subscribed to either Earthlink or AOL, but nevertheless, I went on the hunt for their cancellation numbers, just to see how long it actually takes.
On the AOL site (aol.com) I scrolled to the bottom of the front page, clicked "Help", and then on the next page, clicked "AOL Phone Numbers". In that long list of numbers is one labelled "Cancellation" (presumably this is the correct number). That took all of 10 seconds.
On the Earthlink (earthlink.com) site, clicking "Contact Us" brings up a list of all their numbers. Presumably it's the Customer Service number. In which case, it does state:
"Please be ready to provide the following information:
* Your email address * The invoice number (if you're referencing a billing question) * The secret word or PIN number for your account * The credit card number and expiration date (if you're making a payment)"
So really the author should have had his password ready before phoning, and not having this is his own fault, not Earthlink's. He also seems to think that verifying his identity is time-wasting. I'm pretty sure most account changes require an identity verification of some sort (as is the case with my ISP).
He also makes the mistake of talking to much... "I did that thing where you recount your sorry travails in Tech Support Hell". Wouldn't a simple, "Hi, I'd like to cancel my account" do the trick? No matter how many times he is transferred to other departments, a story is never required, and will only anger the operator on the other end of the line.
All in all, I would of course believe that Customer Service is slow and a real pain at times, but it does sound like a lot of this story is exaggeration.
The switch is only to digital terrestrial, and the target for 2010 is that all TVs have digital capability, so that analogue terrestrial services can be turned off. There is no obligation to subscribe to a digital service such as ntl, Sky or ITV Digital.
Digital terrestrial includes many new non-analogue including BBC3 and BBC4.
And as others have pointed out, ITV Digital's service is very poor. Microsoft will face a challenge bringing it up to scratch. Having said that, if any company can transform ITV Digital, it's Microsoft.
...on Big Brother 3. At least we'd get rid of him for a few months.
You'd already be connected to the Net....
on
XP, Phone Home
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· Score: 1
If you were doing a search on the Internet you would be connecting to your ISP anyway, and seeing as data is only sent when performing an Internet search, this point is redundant.
Has been in their Privacy Statement for months....
on
XP, Phone Home
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· Score: 2, Insightful
The interesting thing about this story is that it highlights the fact that nobody actually reads the MS EULA or Privacy Statements. Instead we need to wait for a journalist to make the "shock discovery" months later.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm not sure if the author was exaggerating, but this tale seem a little incredulous to me.
I have never been subscribed to either Earthlink or AOL, but nevertheless, I went on the hunt for their cancellation numbers, just to see how long it actually takes.
On the AOL site (aol.com) I scrolled to the bottom of the front page, clicked "Help", and then on the next page, clicked "AOL Phone Numbers". In that long list of numbers is one labelled "Cancellation" (presumably this is the correct number). That took all of 10 seconds.
On the Earthlink (earthlink.com) site, clicking "Contact Us" brings up a list of all their numbers. Presumably it's the Customer Service number. In which case, it does state:
"Please be ready to provide the following information:
* Your email address
* The invoice number (if you're referencing a billing question)
* The secret word or PIN number for your account
* The credit card number and expiration date (if you're making a payment)"
So really the author should have had his password ready before phoning, and not having this is his own fault, not Earthlink's. He also seems to think that verifying his identity is time-wasting. I'm pretty sure most account changes require an identity verification of some sort (as is the case with my ISP).
He also makes the mistake of talking to much... "I did that thing where you recount your sorry travails in Tech Support Hell". Wouldn't a simple, "Hi, I'd like to cancel my account" do the trick? No matter how many times he is transferred to other departments, a story is never required, and will only anger the operator on the other end of the line.
All in all, I would of course believe that Customer Service is slow and a real pain at times, but it does sound like a lot of this story is exaggeration.
The switch is only to digital terrestrial, and the target for 2010 is that all TVs have digital capability, so that analogue terrestrial services can be turned off. There is no obligation to subscribe to a digital service such as ntl, Sky or ITV Digital.
Digital terrestrial includes many new non-analogue including BBC3 and BBC4.
And as others have pointed out, ITV Digital's service is very poor. Microsoft will face a challenge bringing it up to scratch. Having said that, if any company can transform ITV Digital, it's Microsoft.
...on Big Brother 3. At least we'd get rid of him for a few months.
If you were doing a search on the Internet you would be connecting to your ISP anyway, and seeing as data is only sent when performing an Internet search, this point is redundant.
...which you can read here.
The interesting thing about this story is that it highlights the fact that nobody actually reads the MS EULA or Privacy Statements. Instead we need to wait for a journalist to make the "shock discovery" months later.
April's Fools is dead and gone
You're the fool for carrying on
Three potatoes in the pot,
You're the fool and I am not.