Warranty: Follow Up: Bollocks.

After weeks of waiting to receive this mouse receiver from logitech 3 things have happened this week. Firstly, they contact me on Monday saying that they have closed the support case, which annoyed me, because at that time I hadn't received the part yet. Secondly, they send me a feedback survey on their service, which again annoyed me, as I had yet to receive the part and I was mightily tempted to give them a roasting in said survey. Thirdly, when the part finally turned up in my letter box, I discovered upon opening it, they'd actually sent me the wrong part!

I know it's the wrong part because it looks nothing like the one I had previously and it would never work and even if I tried it, I would be opening the packaging, nullifying any chance of actually getting the right part when and if I send this impostor back and get the real spare part.

So what to do? Logitech have closed the support case already so I now have to start a new case, and how on earth do they actually send the wrong part? With all the model numbers and serial numbers they get you to send them when you lodge a support request, how is it possible to mistakenly send the wrong thing out?

To start with I took the feedback survey, and scored them very low indeed on everything and then had a damn good vent in the final feedback box called "Further Comments", secondly I logged into their customer feedback site and firstly tried to open the closed case but also opened a new case. Now I'm having another good vent.... F. U. Logitech.

Now I know why people dont bother with trying to get warranty on electrical goods, because the companies involved just lube up a broom handle and then ram it as far up your arse as they possibly can. Sadistic mo fos.

Pay Attention: Google Slams the Great Firewall of Australia

I know it seems like I've become a real Google Fan boi of late but its only cause they keep doing things and releasing software and gadgets that are so interesting, unlike Microsoft (Windows 7...It wasn't my idea) and Apple (Steve Jobs, Skeletal Control Freak).

Like this week, Google Australia's Official Blog posted a great slam to Stephen Conroys pet project, the National Broadband Filter.... Yes that piece of shit legislation crept through whilst we were all up in arms about something apparently more newsworthy.

Anyway they nail it within the first paragraph

Our primary concern is that the scope of content to be filtered is too wide.

And again later

Exposing politically controversial topics for public debate is vital for democracy. Homosexuality was a crime in Australia until 1976 in ACT, NSW in 1984 and 1997 in Tasmania. Political and social norms change over time and benefit from intense public scrutiny and debate. The openness of the Internet makes this all the more possible and should be protected.

I wrote a letter to both Stephen Conroy and Lindsay Tanner, my local member, regarding this issue late last year and in both cases got a bullshit form reply from both parties. In fact, I was part of a letter writing campaign for www.nocleanfeed.org which essentially I think did not that much, because the bill passed the senate unchallenged.

Google Suggests that everyone make their feelings known, but there's a way to do it which ensures that your letter gets read, and replied to, rather than unceremoniously chucked in the bin or in the shredder, destined for landfill or no name brand kitty litter. Read the following article written by ex ministerial staff member Bernard Keane and learn the secret to ensuring that not only your letter gets read, it also takes the maximum time and effort to be responded to.

...if you can’t have any impact on policy, you can have an impact on the level of resources used to answer your letter. And that resource is the time of bureaucrats - the same bureaucrats who advise Conroy on policy, and implement his decisions. In most Departments, ministerial replies have to be approved by SES Band 1officers before being sent to the Minister’s office, which means many replies consume the precious time both of senior bureaucrats and ministerial advisers. Many Departments also have formal agreements with Ministers that a certain proportion of correspondence will be answered within a certain period of time. If they’re not, more people have to be put into answering correspondence.

 Regardless of its effectiveness for changing policy, this inspires a bit of challenge. Just how many topics can be spuriously linked to the National Broadband filter so I can ensure that my letters take up the maximum time for answering?

Ideas anyone?

Official Google Australia Blog: Our views on Mandatory ISP Filtering

Official Google Australia Blog: Our views on Mandatory ISP Filtering

Free Apps you must download now: LINK

You know what, with 90,000 or so Apps in the iPhone Apps store its too hard to keep track of the good ones and the new ones, and the free ones.

If you relied on the Top Apps links in the actual store you would be limited to the most popular, and they're not necessarily the best. Every time I go looking for something very rarely do I find what I need, or anything that comes close, so I've all but given up trying out new apps because the annoyance factor is so high when you try something out only to find it's really not that good, or the free version is so hampered down with ads its almost unusable.

 

Thankfully my fiancé K. is the sharing type and sends me lots of lovely links to App galleries and stories about new cool apps which someone else has already tested and found to be good or not... taking all the annoyance work out for me.... Hooray.

 

So I share this link from Gizmodo: Free Apps you must download now. Admittedly I haven't downloaded anything as yet. But I plan to.... seeing as reading that article made me realise that there were apps that I didn't now that I needed, but reading the article made me think "Hell yeah, I could use that ALL the time, why didn't I think of that?"..... possibly because I've spent the last week using my iPhone to make Farting noises and then giggling...the other half of the time I've been between face book and twitterific and my email.

 

..really, its a wonder I get any work done at all sometimes.

 

Newsflash. Google to release Phone

Years ago I wrote a letter, a rather cynical letter, to Alan Kohler, an Australian Economist and Economic reporter for the ABC, criticising an article he wrote. It said that Microsoft and Google would soon release competitors to Apples iPod (the phone at that time was just a rumour, if that), and I wrote to him saying that Apple's foothold in the consumer electronics market was then so strong that Microsoft and Google would not dare do such a thing as the iPod had just about reached Saturation. He took it very very well, and merely responded that he was sorry I didn't agree with him.

Were that email a piece of paper I would now have to eat it twice over, as not only did Microsoft soon after that announce then release the ill fated Zune (Which I completely trashed), but now Google have begun producing Android, an OS for Phones, on other smart phones. There have also been confirmations of a rumour that Google are set to release the Nexus, what they think a Phone should be. Gizmodo have published an article with pictures ( left, from theUnlockr.com) which confirms the following points.

• Google confirmed they handed out "a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe."

• A bunch of Google employees tweeted stuff like the phone is "like an iPhone on beautifying steroids."

• It's supposedly an unlocked GSM phone running Android 2.1, powered by the crazyfast Snapdragon processor, with an OLED touchscreen (no keyboard), dual mics (for killing background noise), and enhanced voice-to-text powers. It's gonna be alllll Google branding. And it's probably coming out in January. Which jives with what our source saw a couple weeks ago, a huge screen running a brand new version of Android unlike anything out there..

Oh yeah, and if you want to follow the twitter posts... simple search for #googlephone

Really though, does the world need another phone? New Gadgets will always generate interest, but will this one be the iPhone killer? I do love my iPhone, but it doesn't do everything spot on, but it damn near gets close, I'll say that, and I'm getting to the stage where I cant live without it! If this were to trump that, it would need to do a bit more, and for instance, not come with the control freakery of Apple.... ie,

• If I put music on it, I should be able to get it off in the event my computer melts down or is stolen! 
• I should be able to sync every little piece of data on the phone with Cloud like storage, so if the phone is stolen, I dont lose all my precious data! 
• Last but not least, I should not be tied to one app to add and remove applications from the phone, like iTunes! WTF... if I want to use Songbird, I should be able to, damn it.

Friday Funny

Where is the Dog Shit From?

According to “Waste Cleaning Act”, dog-owners with get NT $1,200 to $6,000 fine if they let their dogs sh*t anywhere.

Remember to bring tools to clean dog-sh*ts while walking dogs

This Speaks for itself really. Funny Shit

How to Clean your Filthy Gadgets

Gizmodo have run a very in-depth and well written story on cleaning all your household gadgets properly, not just wiping them with your sleeve. With so many gadgets gracing our lives its a fairly timely one too, how many gadgets do you have lying around your house with hair, skin, grit, grime caking them... ever opened a smokers computer? Blergh..... I'll spare you the details, suffice to say that fan was working unnaturally hard and circuit boards and nicotene dont mix.

I'll give you the briefest of brief summaries though:

TV's - Microfibre cloth.... a Damp One

Remote Controls and Consol Controllers - A Damp Cloth, a microfibre one, with some rubbing alcohol.... because lets face it your hands are filthy

Camera's - If you've got an upscale DLSR or similar you need an air pump or canned air

Laptops - Microfibre Cloth and Canned Air - for the yucky stains on the Macbooks... nail polish remover

Computers - Microfibre Cloth and Canned Air

So there you have it. A Can of Air and a microfibre cloth is about the best set of cleaning tools you can have for cleaning your gadgets.

Easy. Really, you have no excuse. Dirty...... dirty........ dirty.........

(Image Courtesy of The Black Books Cleaner Appreciation Group on Bebo)

Google release Chrome for Mac

This morning when I logged into my email I had a nice email from Google telling me I could download the official version of Google Chrome for Mac. That I've been using it for months seems neither here nor there now, because I have it Officially.

It's finally here: Google Chrome for Mac. Available today in beta!

Hi there,
Thanks for signing up to hear from us regarding Google Chrome for Mac! We're excited to let you know that Google Chrome is now available in beta for Mac OS X.
Here are a few fun facts from us on the Google Chrome for Mac team:

• 73,804 lines of Mac-specific code written
• 29 developer builds
• 1,177 Mac-specific bugs fixed
• 12 external committers and bug editors to the Google Chrome for Mac code base, 48 external code contributors
• 64 Mac Minis doing continuous builds and tests
• 8,760 cups of soft drinks and coffee consumed
• 4,380 frosted mini-wheats eaten

 So if you want to get this new Browser and see what all the fuss has been about download it here and start having a go.

Also check out the "View Page Source tools" Particularly nice looking

Google Chrome Dev Team in Lego: Image courtesy of Google Chrome

Google Celebrates Popeye's creator

Today is or was (if you're in Australia) the 115th Anniversary of E.C.Segar's Birthday, if you dont know who E.C.Segar is, well look no further than www.google.com and see the Doodle of the Day, Popeye! Yes, E.C.Segar is the creator of Popeye, that spinach eating sailor everyone remembers from their youth. Along with Olive, Baby, Wimpy and that Bluto who always steals Olive away from Popeye.

Image Courtesy of the Guardian.co.uk, who have run a great story today about the creation of Popeye as part of Thimble Theatre.

I dont know about you, but I always loved Popeye as a child, even though no amount of watching Popeye could ever get me to eat Spinach in anything other than Spinach, Cheese and Potato pie. Olives were a different story.

If you're interested in Celebrating E.C.Segars birthday by looking at some Popeye and Olive Oyl sites a great start is the E.C.Segar's Online Gallery or ED Blacks Cartoon Flashback.