Even if your life depended on it, I hope you are smart enough that you would still not resort to using 1&1 Internet - partly because their service is of insanely poor quality, also because they have no consumer relations department, and lastly because their tech support team doesn’t even know how their own service works.

You might recall how, several months ago, some of my sites went down for quite some time when I changed their domains. This was due to 1&1 Internet failing miserably at providing their services. Not only were there several problems in the process, but it also conveniently takes 1&1 an eternity and a half to change DNS addresses, sometimes taking almost a week before my domains were finally functional again.

I also had tons of problems trying to get my email functioning with a third-party service. While trying to figure out how to set this up, I ended up calling 1&1 tech support. Of course, they had no idea what they were talking about when they attempted to advise me on what to do. It was obvious to me that the service representatives I spoke with had little understanding of how domains and DNS work.

Lastly, I received an invoice from 1&1 via email a few days ago. I observed that I was being charged for renewal of a domain which I had cancelled several months ago. Not to mention, when I tried to do this, I had to hunt for quite some time to locate the cancellation site. So, like any other upset customer, I called to speak with the billing department. And, like any other upset customer would, I became angry when the representative refused to help me and attempted to blame me for the situation.

She claimed that I did not click a confirmation link sent to me in an email after I cancelled the domain. Furthermore, she refused to help me over the phone and said that I had to go back to the well-hidden cancellation site and repeat the process I had already done several months ago.

I called because I wanted two things. I wanted the domain cancelled, and the amount I was being charged for this domain refunded. Since neither were accomplished, I called back, this time looking for a consumer relations specialist. I discovered instead that 1&1 does not have a consumer relations department.

So, based on all this, I would never go with 1&1 Internet for any more services again, and hope you would not either. If you’re considering using 1&1, stop and rethink…it could be the worst decision you could make.

I’m sure many of you are wondering how things are going with my Macbook. Unfortunately, things have been only getting worse. This open letter to Steve Jobs should help fill you in on the new developments.

Dear Steve,

Well buddy, it looks like you no longer care to value your loyal customer and ardent Mac enthusiast any longer, and now wish to stab me in the back. I find this unfortunate because I was actually starting to think your company was better than the others, and even went as far as introducing many people to your products. However, now that I actually need something from you, not just advice on buying a new product, I see what I’m really worth to you.

Let me share with you my dilemma. Back in the summertime, I brought my Macbook in for service and diagnostics since there were a few issues, including a bluetooth malfunction in particular. The Apple store cheerfully accepted my computer for service and called to notify me that it was being sent off for repair. Even though they said the repair might take up to 5-7 days, the computer arrived at my doorstep only three days later, even despite the Fourth of July holiday. I was very pleased to get my computer back so quickly. In fact, I had only one problem with the service…the bluetooth still didn’t work!

So, a few weeks later, my computer ended up back in the Apple store, and again went out for service. This time, however, there seemed to be proof that the problem would be fixed. The repair records showed that Apple repair replaced a bunch of bluetooth-related parts, including the module and antenna. So, satisfied that they surely had gotten it right this time, I returned home that August day with my computer and began using it. It seemed to be working fine, and seemed to hold up just fine for a couple months.

But, not too long after, the bluetooth started croaking on me again. First, I just noticed it had gone out once, and came back when I rebooted. I shrugged and thought that hopefully it was just a little glitch. A few weeks later, though, it did it again, and over time, these instances happened more and more often. Before I brought my Macbook back to the Apple store for a third time for this issue alone (it had been there for other things as well), the problem was so bad that my bluetooth would show up for like 20 minutes, and then go out for several hours before returning again, constantly throughout the day. You may not think this is a big deal, but it actually rendered my computer half useless to me. See, I do a lot of graphics design and things that require a lot of workspace, so I have a huge external LCD display that I hook up to my Macbook, and then use an Apple bluetooth keyboard and mouse. So, when I’m in the middle of airbrushing something in Photoshop and my keyboard and mouse die, it’s a fairly big deal.

This repair experience with the Apple store was by far the worst I’ve ever had, and in fact was downright unpleasant. The folks at the Apple store that Friday told me they’d get the computer in for diagnostics that night and call me on Saturday. On Sunday, still not having heard from them, I called them to find out they were just getting to running diagnostics on it (or in other words, they had forgotten about it and rushed to actually do something with it while I was on hold for a combined, oh, 40 minutes). They called me back on Tuesday to inform me that my computer would be sent in for remote repair, and it would be another 7-10 days before I could expect it.

Well, today I got another call from Apple, telling me my repair had been put on hold because I upgraded my hard drive last month. Apparently, since hard drives have so much to do with the bluetooth (yes, sarcasm), they felt they could use it as an excuse to not fix my computer. Apparently, talking to them makes no difference either, because after over an hour and a half of debating with four different Apple repair employees, they still tell me the same thing. My third-party hard drive is bad, and because of it they can’t fix the bluetooth. No, it’s not causing the bluetooth problem (at least they could handle figuring that one out). The bluetooth is definitely bad. They just refuse to fix it with a “bad” third party hard drive in there. Of course, they refuse to tell me why it is bad, or even if it really is bad. Apple tech “James” himself even admitted that there’s nothing requiring them to back up their statement that it’s “bad” and therefore, they theoretically could just be lying about it. Of course, since I couldn’t get a straight answer from them on whether or not it was “bad” or not, there’s no official response to determine whether or not it’s a lie.

Oh, and when did you resign from Apple? Because James claimed that he was “the highest person I could speak with here [at Apple]” when I asked him several times to transfer me to someone. Apparently you have a repair tech in charge of your company now. I’ve got to admit, Steve, that’s pretty cool.

Anyways, as I tried to ask those boneheads for almost two hours today, is there anything you can do to just fix your defective product(s) in my computer without blaming my hard drive? Fax me a waiver; I’ll sign it.

Thanks, Steve. It’d be nice to prove all these thoughts of how you don’t care about your customers wrong. Do you care about me after all?

Regards,

Chris DeMarco
(ex-loyal Apple enthusiast)

…in an estimated 7-10 business days.

Or at least that’s what Apple tells me. My bluetooth hardware on my MacBook has been malfunctioning for, oh, the third time now. Now, you might be saying, “Well, Chris, that’s no big deal, who cares about that?” However, you would be gravely mistaken, my friend.

See, bluetooth malfunction is a bit more obnoxious when you typically hook up your computer to an external monitor, clamshell it, and only have a bluetooth mouse and keyboard. So, when I’m in the middle of typing a paper, or making a logo in photoshop, or writing a blog entry, and suddenly my keyboard and mouse die, I am not happy.

Really, though, I don’t care what the problem is, because I bought a computer so that I could expect it to work. In fact, I bought an Apple for that very reason - it’s supposed to just work, and this is just unacceptable. This is the third time it’s been in with this problem. The first time, they didn’t do anything about it, the second, they replaced every single bluetooth-related part in there, and now, this time, they’re sending it off for another 7-10 business days as of yesterday. This is actually the seventh day so far since I’ve brought it in, so according to them, it will have been a minimum of like 13 days before I might get it back.

Never mind that I’m taking 8 classes right now and all my class work is (was?) on there, or that I have web/graphics design work to do and no computer to do it on, or that I can’t do any recording.

At any rate, they better be 100% positive it’s fixed this time, even if that means giving me a new one, because if I get it back and it’s still not working right, I will be one unhappy boot camper.

I happened to come across this news article on news.com the other day - apparently a New York senator wants to ban the use of electronic devices while crossing the street. He doesn’t just want to ban iPods while crossing the street, which actually makes some sense since you can’t hear sirens or traffic if you have headphones on, though it’s still stupid. He actually wants to ban any electronic device, including cell phones, portable video game systems, and video players. I don’t know if he plans on forbidding people from crossing the street while on bluetooth headsets too, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.

Now, I’ll be the first to say that when I’m blasting music into my ears with my iPod, I’m completely oblivious to outside noises. So, I acknowledge that there is perhaps some degree of danger in crossing the street if you don’t know that there’s an ambulance speeding down the road before it hits you. In fact, I’ll even agree that a bill to prohibit blind people from crossing the road while listening to their iPods would be just dandy. Normally, however, sirens conveniently come from some sort of physical, visible thing that any semi-intelligent living thing (that can see) would be easily aware of. If you can’t handle crossing a road without being able to hear, you just might need to get run over a few times so you can learn how to.

Honestly, if crossing a busy road, I would probably pause the song I was listening to, and turn it back on when I got to the other side. I just like to be able to hear when I’m trying to concentrate. However, if this became a law, I would apparently have to completely take the headphones off, and put them back on when I got to the other side, to avoid the risk of being slapped with a $100 fine on top of court costs.

And, if I can handle talking on the phone while writing a paper, eating a bowl of soup, and watching a James Bond movie, I can certainly manage talking on the phone while crossing a road, especially on a bluetooth headset. In fact, I do it all the time. If somebody seriously thinks he can tell me that I can’t handle talking on the phone while walking, then we have a serious problem, and unfortunately for him, it does not lie with me.

Lastly, if someone is stupid enough to watch a movie on a portable DVD player while crossing the road, then they pretty much deserve whatever outcome results.

I guess you just have to become a senator before you can reach the level of stupidity required for this idea to make sense.

This is the first of a two-part series.

Or at least it seems so. Last month, a thirteen-year old Middle School student from Illinois received two detentions for hugging her friends while saying goodbye for the weekend. Sam McGowen, the school district’s superintendent, was addressed regarding the issue. He contended that the punishment was in fact fair, referring to the school’s student handbook. So, referring to the handbook, one will find the following clause:

“Displays of affection should not occur on the school campus at any time. It is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment, and brings discredit to the school and to the persons involved.”

This is simply appalling. Affection, apparently, is now considered “poor taste,” and “poor judgement.” This handbook does not seem to say that is it bad to show affection only at the school, but appears instead to state that this is true of affection in general. So, remember as you hug your son or daughter before they go to bed tonight, the next time you see your boy/girlfriend, or the next time you see grandma, don’t show affection! Be American and give them a good, cold and impersonal American greeting.

Perhaps this seems outrageous to many, who still believe in the importance of affection, interaction, and human embrace. Unfortunately, however, it truly does reflect changes that are taking place in American society as a whole. Compared to many other countries, the physical interaction between Americans is quite cold. It is not customary in American society for people to embrace each other, show their affection for one another, or even communicate sufficiently with one another. This, not coincidentally, reflects many of the widespread problems that plague American society. Without live communication, affection, and other personal interaction among people, it is simply impossible for a society to exist.

The definition of society simply requires that. Virtually all the definitions I found of society demanded “interaction,” and “similar interest.” My favorite, however, came from a Bioethics dictionary:

1. an enduring and co-operating social group whose members have developed organized patterns of relationships through interaction with one another. 2. a community or broad grouping of people having common tradition, institutions and collective activities and interests;

Society implies community. You simply cannot have society without community. A group of people living in the same spot under the same government may be part of the definition of society, but it is not complete. Unfortunately, it seems that America is losing the sense of what community is. This can be demonstrated in basically all aspects of American society, particularly the family - the most basic unit of society.

In a society where we communicate less and less, are so busy that we have less and less time to spend with people, and are discouraged from showing affection to one another, it should be no surprise to us that the divorce rate continues to rise at an alarming rate, that crime and murder rates are rising, that kids are bringing guns and other weapons to schools, that domestic abuse is rampant, that we are running out of space in prisons, and that more and more people are walking the streets at night, homeless and hungry.

How can we expect people to spend the rest of their lives together happily when they simply cannot communicate, and have little time to spend together?

How can we expect children to get along peacefully when their socialization comes more from movies, video games, and television shows filled with violence, conflict, and poor taste more than it comes from us teaching them to love and embrace? Should we really be surprised when they show up at school with guns? I mean, it’s not like they spend more time texting and talking with people on IM than they do in real person. After all, we were too busy to teach them the right way anyways, right?

And of course, how could we possibly address the needs of those around us when we’re clearly so busy? Besides, we can’t possibly afford to give away any of our money, possessions, or resources. We need those for ourselves!

So, in the end, should we really be surprised when we look around at all the problems that face us and our so called “society” or whatever it has become now?

Continue with Part 2: Taking Our Society Back.

Apparently, many iPhone users are still really having a hard time with the price drop…writing letters to Steve Jobs, writing angry and distasteful blog entries, protesting, inciting riots, burning people at the stake, etc. etc.

So, since I’ve just about had it with hearing about this, I thought I would set things straight once and for all.

When you go buy technology, or anything, really, you can be positive that not too long after the product comes out, the price will drop significantly. Either a newer product will come out at the same price of the previous one, or, after a few months, the company will just drop the price since the product has been out a while, or one of about a zillion other reasons for this will cause this. This is standard marketing technique, and is in some way part of nearly every company’s sales marketing strategy. People who want your product right away buy it at a high original price right when it comes out. People who are interested but don’t want to fork out the money right away are willing to wait for a price drop. Once you lower the price into their price range, for whichever reason you do it, these people then buy your product. In some cases they buy previous model if you lowered its price with the release of a newer model; in other cases they buy the latest, which you have simply lowered the price for after being on the market a while. All that matters is that both audiences have now purchased whatever it is that you’re selling. This is quite an elementary concept, really, and I see no need to elaborate further.

Technology companies provide one of the best examples of this marketing strategy. Apple, in particular, has traditionally demonstrated it across its entire product line across the years. It is extremely evident with the iPod. Apple is constantly coming out with newer iPods and lowering the prices of the previous models. Apple also has reduced the prices of iPods without the release of a newer model. This is consistent with nearly every product Apple releases.

For example, I chose to not immediately purchase an iPod when Apple released the second generation iPod Nano. At their release, Apple was selling them for approximately $250. A few months later, Apple reduced this price to approximately $200, and at this point I went ahead and bought myself an iPod Nano, saving about $50 just by waiting a few months after its initial release. Because I observed the pricing trend on Apple’s previous iPods and other products, and because I was aware of this very common marketing strategy which Apple uses, I was able to predict that the price would be lowered and not purchase my iPod until I could do so at the lower price.

It is basically common sense that Apple would lower the prices of the iPhone models shortly after their initial release. Apple did not force anybody to go buy an iPhone when they first came out. If you did, then that was your choice and you need to take responsibility for what you did. You still got an outstanding product, and you even get a refund because you and others like you have whined so much about it. So, if you feel you’ve been taken advantage of or “cheated” or “insulted” or some other word you found in a thesaurus, I don’t want to hear about it any more, because I’ve clearly demonstrated right here that you haven’t.

If I hear another word about the iPhone and the price drop and how allegedly “unfair” it is, I’m going to slap someone. You lose, give it up. K Thx Bai.

Yeah, you, the one who thought you were so smart posting a comment on my blog.

Way to go! You conveniently submitted your blog comment from the school’s IP address, which makes it extremely easy to trace. You probably thought you were so badass, saying hateful and insulting things toward a well-respected and popular blogger.

I just thought I would inform you that I have submitted your comment, along with it’s technical information, back to the administrators at the school, who have easy access to which computer in the building accessed my blog at the particular time your comment was submitted, as well as what user account was logged in on that computer. So, basically, in accordance with the acceptable use policy you signed at the beginning of this school year, you are subject to applicable punishment if the administration and director of discipline so wish to enforce the policy. I sincerely hope that they do.

Regardless, I’ll assume your comment is an indication of how jealous you are of me and my blog and take it as a compliment. Thanks and have a wonderful day!

I am really struggling lately with how messed up society is with our relationships with each other. This is partially based on how people interact with each other, but more importantly because of all the politics and stigmas associated with them.

Our society places so much “risk,” for various reasons, on even just being with people, that it almost prevents us from doing so. It greatly hinders our relationships with others and is slowly making us a people more and more separated from one another. Read the rest of this entry »

I hope everybody enjoyed themselves on Fat Tuesday. I’ve been thinking about Lent coming up, and am not really looking forward to it. First off, I don’t eat any red meat, so out of only being able to eat chicken and fish normally, now I can only eat fish. I guess at least it’s a good thing I like fish. Plus, every time someone irritated me today I got all mad and started saying stuff in my head, but then a few seconds later I stopped and went, “Man, there’s no way I’m going to survive Lent!” As if forty days of not being able to sing Alleluia is not bad enough, I have to actually be nice to people? It’s going to be a looooooooooooong forty days, I’ll tell you that much! Oh boy…
Read the rest of this entry »