I bought a $90 Rio CD/MP3 player some number of years ago which broke (I dropped it.) I had the service/replacement plan and wasn't sure how it would work since the problem with the player was clearly due to physical damage and not any kind of defect. What did Best Buy do? They gave me a brand new player. Actually, more than that--the model I had was discontinued so they gave me the current (better) model. I was a bit shocked as I expected to be turned down completely.
I turn down the service play on anything less than $100, but I usually get it on big purchases. Guess my experience doesn't help support your "damned ripoff service plan" argument. Sorry.
I thought that rigged "Pepsi challenge" was bad, but this type of hysteria is a new low. Shame on you, Pepsi, for trying to share our brave troops from drinking Coke!
I don't spend much time watching TV. I have a small set near my computer and I mainly use it for background when I'm surfing (like now.) More channels is always a good thing, provided it doesn't raise my cable bill too much. But no matter what's offered, I'll probably stick to my usual watching habits.
The History Channel - 90% of my TV time. Comedy Central - for Reno 911, Chappelle's Show, The Daily Show, etc. FX - I never miss The Shield. It's not an option:) Fox - I try to catch the Simpsons and That 70's Show.
I'm also interested in The Horror Channel. Maybe one day, my local provider will carry it.
You can't stand it, you know I planned it I'm gonna set it straight, this fair use debate You can't copy shit when I'm in here Because my new CD will stop all your file shares So while you sit back and wonder why Copy protection is installed inside That's not a real CD, it's a mirage I'm tellin' y'all you've been sabotaged
So listen up 'cause you can't copy nothin' I'll shut you down unless you use the shift button But I'm in and your MP3s are gone You'll never rip another one of my songs 'Cause what you hear you might not get And we got legal threats so don't you pirate yet You're copying a thing that's a mirage I'm trying to tell you now you've been sabotaged
You can't stand it, you know i planned it I'm gonna set it straight, the consumer rights fate You can't copy shit when my CD's in place And now you feel disgrace because I'm in your disc space But make no mistakes, I'll shutdown your scandal I'm Hilary Rosen when I fly off the handle No more fair use, it was all a mirage I'm scheming on your rights; you're sabotaged!
...an international group specialising in creating viruses which try to show "that no technology is reliable and safe from their attacks"
How can you make a claim like that when your most notable accomplishment is making a bunch of cell phones display an obscure word? Wipe clean my credit card debt or take out the IRS databases and then I'll agree with you on what l33t h4X0rs you are.
They argue that the proper technology is not yet in place
Unless I'm mistaken, we've had laser-guided missiles since the first gulf war which is all the technology we need to deal with spammers. It didn't take some Navy supercomputer to find Eric Head or Scott Richter and any half-assed napalm-delivery system would easily show them the error of their ways.
I worked for Cingular Customer Service for a year or so and I can safely say at least 75% of the employees in the call center with me were underqualified, undereducated, partially-trained (and rushed thru that), and had bad attitudes towards their work and their customers. These reps were notorious for giving inaccurate imformation. If you called 3 difference reps with the same question, you were going to get at least 2 different answers (the joke was "This is Cingular. We have no consistency here.")
They were mostly unfamiliar with Cingular service/plans/phones/etc because Cingular's training system is basically a webpage called 'The Learning Edge' that reps could just click thru without reading (the test at the end even gave you the answers if you knew how to cheat it.) The main tool for communicating was email which few reps read. There was also a problem with getting user accounts set up so a lot of reps didn't have access to all the tools and information they needed to do the job. And God help you if you needed a password reset.
Twice a month, a Quality Assurance rep will monitor a rep's call to make sure the rep says the right verbage ("Thank you for calling Cingular Wireless where our goal is blah blah blah...") and handles the call correctly. However, on every call, reps are scored by call stats which basically tell how quickly the rep gets the customer off the phone and moves on to the next caller. Giving accurate information and being courtesy to the customer seemed to take second priority to call handle time.
Managers weren't much better. Most of them don't want to be bothered with customer's calls and will keep sending the rep back to the customer until they hang up. Some managers were just lazy and rather than take the call, they would just tell the rep to give the customer want they wanted. Of course, this was fine for most customers, but after millions of dollars in unjustified credits were given, Cingular decided to implement 'protocol training' which basically says no more credits on customer's bills unless there's an unquestionable mistake on Cingular's part. Actually, this seemed somewhat fair because there are a lot of customers who call in and make up some bullshit story to get a late fee or some roaming charge taken off (one lazy guy I spoke with didn't even bother to make up a story. he just called and politely asked "I need a courtesy credit on my bill.")
I finally got fed up with being one of the few reps who actually cared about the job and made a decent effort towards correcting customer's issues. I quit and moved on. I still use Cingular service because it's the best in my area, but I only call customer service when there's no other way around it. If I can, I go into company-owned store to make changes and such (though there are some things that stores don't have access to.) Here's some advice on calling in if you have to.
1. Always get the name, CUID (cingular user id), and call center location of the person you are speaking with. They are required to give this to you. Document this with the date and time and reason you are calling. Keep this information for the next two billing cycles (or whatever length of time applies to your situation.)
2. If you make any changes to your account, find out when the changes will go into effect and if any charges or service will be prorated.
3. Even if the call goes perfectly well, call back and verify everything the previous rep told you and make sure any requested changes have been done. This may sound unecessary, but I once changed a rate plan with a feature addition that took 3 calls to get it right. Yes, THREE calls!
4. Be polite to the rep. Attitude begats attitude. If you're nice, most of the reps will be nice to you. If you're an asshole, the rep will do nothing for you (and probably note your account so no one else will either.)
I'd be off if I could afford to switch to a Apple. I didn't really like Macs until OS X was released. Now, I'd love to be running a G5 or powerbook.
Increase Your Penis: A collection of prose.
on
Spam as Poetry
·
· Score: 4, Funny
Roses are red. Violets are blue. Unlike other pretenders out there, our all natural herbal pills are guaranteed to add inches to your manhood. Don't wait. Supplies are limited. Order now.
Raise the cost of rate plans. What was $39.99 with $5 or so dollars or "recovery fees" will now be $44.99 or more. Anytime you tell a company they can't charge customers for one thing, they just charge more for something else.
This bill will do nothing except shift the costs around.
I can sympathize. I own a Nokia 3300, Nokia 3595, and Motorola V400. After a signifant trial period with each, I now use the 3595, which though it has less features, is the best performing, most durable, and easiest to operate.
However, I do want a Nokia 6820 if they are ever available for Cingular GSM service.
Hard to find a phone WITHOUT a camera?
on
Camera Phone Tips
·
· Score: 1
It is getting hard to find a cell phone WITHOUT a camera in it...
I have Cingular service and out of the 15 current models they have, only 5 include an integrated camera. Which carrier has mostly camera phones? Sprint?
Don't forget the Simpsons
on
Robosaurus
·
· Score: 1
Jack Valenti is the Motion Picture Ass.? Is this the same relationship that Mr. Slave has with Mr. Garrison where Mr. Slave is the Teacher's Ass.?
Sounds like Lemmiwinks has a new home.
Re:$33 cd? It is going to decrease profit
on
RIAA's Nasty Easter Egg
·
· Score: 0, Flamebait
And if you could make an exact molecular copy of a can of Coke for next to nothing (and you soon will), would you feel bad that CocaCola (and WalMart, and the rest) are now being "ripped off"?
Not that I disagree with you, but I like to look at things from the other side of the argument as well.
What if I could make a perfect copy of your wife? Then, me and a hundred of my friends gangbang her all we want while distributing other copies of her to the rest of the world? Would you feel "ripped off" or would that constitute some type of fair use?
I realize this is an extreme example, but it shows the issue of "copying, not stealing" in a new light, does it not?
Slashdot Mirror
I bought a $90 Rio CD/MP3 player some number of years ago which broke (I dropped it.) I had the service/replacement plan and wasn't sure how it would work since the problem with the player was clearly due to physical damage and not any kind of defect. What did Best Buy do? They gave me a brand new player. Actually, more than that--the model I had was discontinued so they gave me the current (better) model. I was a bit shocked as I expected to be turned down completely.
I turn down the service play on anything less than $100, but I usually get it on big purchases. Guess my experience doesn't help support your "damned ripoff service plan" argument. Sorry.
I thought that rigged "Pepsi challenge" was bad, but this type of hysteria is a new low. Shame on you, Pepsi, for trying to share our brave troops from drinking Coke!
I don't spend much time watching TV. I have a small set near my computer and I mainly use it for background when I'm surfing (like now.) More channels is always a good thing, provided it doesn't raise my cable bill too much. But no matter what's offered, I'll probably stick to my usual watching habits.
:)
The History Channel - 90% of my TV time.
Comedy Central - for Reno 911, Chappelle's Show, The Daily Show, etc.
FX - I never miss The Shield. It's not an option
Fox - I try to catch the Simpsons and That 70's Show.
I'm also interested in The Horror Channel. Maybe one day, my local provider will carry it.
"I say to you that Dan Glickman is to Jack Valenti as the Boston strangler is to...that other Boston strangler."
How about $1 for each printed piece of spam you can shove up Scott Richer's...mailbox.
"...hybrid sender-pays anti-spam system."
I'm waiting for the sender-bursts-into-flames system.
Sabotaged
You can't stand it, you know I planned it
I'm gonna set it straight, this fair use debate
You can't copy shit when I'm in here
Because my new CD will stop all your file shares
So while you sit back and wonder why
Copy protection is installed inside
That's not a real CD, it's a mirage
I'm tellin' y'all you've been sabotaged
So listen up 'cause you can't copy nothin'
I'll shut you down unless you use the shift button
But I'm in and your MP3s are gone
You'll never rip another one of my songs
'Cause what you hear you might not get
And we got legal threats so don't you pirate yet
You're copying a thing that's a mirage
I'm trying to tell you now you've been sabotaged
You can't stand it, you know i planned it
I'm gonna set it straight, the consumer rights fate
You can't copy shit when my CD's in place
And now you feel disgrace because I'm in your disc space
But make no mistakes, I'll shutdown your scandal
I'm Hilary Rosen when I fly off the handle
No more fair use, it was all a mirage
I'm scheming on your rights; you're sabotaged!
Sometime in the near future...
Satan: "Welcome to Hell. Do you like Pineapples? I have one for every dollar you accepted from the RIAA/MPAA groups."
Senator-for-sale Hatch: "Uh, no thanks. I never had a taste for them."
Satan: "Oh, you won't be tasting them. I'm going to need you to grab your ankles for the next few millenia."
A nice alternative to the truly awful Notepad
I know notepad is very basic, but what's awful about it? I can say that's the one MS program I've used that has never crashed and I use it a lot.
...an international group specialising in creating viruses which try to show "that no technology is reliable and safe from their attacks"
How can you make a claim like that when your most notable accomplishment is making a bunch of cell phones display an obscure word? Wipe clean my credit card debt or take out the IRS databases and then I'll agree with you on what l33t h4X0rs you are.
They argue that the proper technology is not yet in place
Unless I'm mistaken, we've had laser-guided missiles since the first gulf war which is all the technology we need to deal with spammers. It didn't take some Navy supercomputer to find Eric Head or Scott Richter and any half-assed napalm-delivery system would easily show them the error of their ways.
Registration is a slight pain in the ass, but I don't mind filling their spam database with garbage like this.
:) )
First Name: First
Last Name: Last
DOB: 1/1/1900
Email: nottelling@almostspamless.com
Password: 12345 (same as my luggage
Would you like to receive our newsletter: Sure!
The number of supported formats is extensive, ranging from MP3 through WMA, ASF, Ogg Vorbis, JPEG, BMP, AVI, MP4, DivX 3.x, 4.x, 5.x, XviD, MPEG4 SP, Advanced SP and, finally, MPEG1.
:)
What is MP3 through WMA? Is this to imply that when you copy MP3s to it, it converts them to WMA?
Or am I asking where the any key is?
I worked for Cingular Customer Service for a year or so and I can safely say at least 75% of the employees in the call center with me were underqualified, undereducated, partially-trained (and rushed thru that), and had bad attitudes towards their work and their customers. These reps were notorious for giving inaccurate imformation. If you called 3 difference reps with the same question, you were going to get at least 2 different answers (the joke was "This is Cingular. We have no consistency here.")
They were mostly unfamiliar with Cingular service/plans/phones/etc because Cingular's training system is basically a webpage called 'The Learning Edge' that reps could just click thru without reading (the test at the end even gave you the answers if you knew how to cheat it.) The main tool for communicating was email which few reps read. There was also a problem with getting user accounts set up so a lot of reps didn't have access to all the tools and information they needed to do the job. And God help you if you needed a password reset.
Twice a month, a Quality Assurance rep will monitor a rep's call to make sure the rep says the right verbage ("Thank you for calling Cingular Wireless where our goal is blah blah blah...") and handles the call correctly. However, on every call, reps are scored by call stats which basically tell how quickly the rep gets the customer off the phone and moves on to the next caller. Giving accurate information and being courtesy to the customer seemed to take second priority to call handle time.
Managers weren't much better. Most of them don't want to be bothered with customer's calls and will keep sending the rep back to the customer until they hang up. Some managers were just lazy and rather than take the call, they would just tell the rep to give the customer want they wanted. Of course, this was fine for most customers, but after millions of dollars in unjustified credits were given, Cingular decided to implement 'protocol training' which basically says no more credits on customer's bills unless there's an unquestionable mistake on Cingular's part. Actually, this seemed somewhat fair because there are a lot of customers who call in and make up some bullshit story to get a late fee or some roaming charge taken off (one lazy guy I spoke with didn't even bother to make up a story. he just called and politely asked "I need a courtesy credit on my bill.")
I finally got fed up with being one of the few reps who actually cared about the job and made a decent effort towards correcting customer's issues. I quit and moved on. I still use Cingular service because it's the best in my area, but I only call customer service when there's no other way around it. If I can, I go into company-owned store to make changes and such (though there are some things that stores don't have access to.) Here's some advice on calling in if you have to.
1. Always get the name, CUID (cingular user id), and call center location of the person you are speaking with. They are required to give this to you. Document this with the date and time and reason you are calling. Keep this information for the next two billing cycles (or whatever length of time applies to your situation.)
2. If you make any changes to your account, find out when the changes will go into effect and if any charges or service will be prorated.
3. Even if the call goes perfectly well, call back and verify everything the previous rep told you and make sure any requested changes have been done. This may sound unecessary, but I once changed a rate plan with a feature addition that took 3 calls to get it right. Yes, THREE calls!
4. Be polite to the rep. Attitude begats attitude. If you're nice, most of the reps will be nice to you. If you're an asshole, the rep will do nothing for you (and probably note your account so no one else will either.)
Hope this helps.
I'd be off if I could afford to switch to a Apple. I didn't really like Macs until OS X was released. Now, I'd love to be running a G5 or powerbook.
Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
Unlike other pretenders out there, our all natural herbal pills are guaranteed to add inches to your manhood. Don't wait. Supplies are limited. Order now.
Raise the cost of rate plans. What was $39.99 with $5 or so dollars or "recovery fees" will now be $44.99 or more. Anytime you tell a company they can't charge customers for one thing, they just charge more for something else.
This bill will do nothing except shift the costs around.
Now he can get some hands-on experience helping men enlarge their penises.
I can sympathize. I own a Nokia 3300, Nokia 3595, and Motorola V400. After a signifant trial period with each, I now use the 3595, which though it has less features, is the best performing, most durable, and easiest to operate.
However, I do want a Nokia 6820 if they are ever available for Cingular GSM service.
It is getting hard to find a cell phone WITHOUT a camera in it...
I have Cingular service and out of the 15 current models they have, only 5 include an integrated camera. Which carrier has mostly camera phones? Sprint?
Truckasaurus!
I wonder how many of those same geeks claim "jedi" as their religion of choice?
Not that I'm being critical of them. No harm in a little fairly tale indulgence, I suppose.
Jack Valenti is the Motion Picture Ass.? Is this the same relationship that Mr. Slave has with Mr. Garrison where Mr. Slave is the Teacher's Ass.?
Sounds like Lemmiwinks has a new home.
And if you could make an exact molecular copy of a can of Coke for next to nothing (and you soon will), would you feel bad that CocaCola (and WalMart, and the rest) are now being "ripped off"?
Not that I disagree with you, but I like to look at things from the other side of the argument as well.
What if I could make a perfect copy of your wife? Then, me and a hundred of my friends gangbang her all we want while distributing other copies of her to the rest of the world? Would you feel "ripped off" or would that constitute some type of fair use?
I realize this is an extreme example, but it shows the issue of "copying, not stealing" in a new light, does it not?
One that auto-inserts naughty clips into movies.
You and the Mrs are watching Armageddon and boom! Liv Tyler boobies.