Dell Computers: Why Are They Still In Business?

I ordered a new laptop computer April 7th because my old Dell laptop is so slow it's getting to be only good for playing solitaire.

Dell had sent out a postcard with a laptop on sale that caught my fancy. I went online as I love to do and picked out what I wanted and didn't want on it.

I was getting Win XP with an option for Vista. I never intended to use that option as I'll wait for something better and I've heard nothing good about Vista unless one buys all new hardware and software, etc.

So I waited and checked the link Dell had provided in the same email that said my order was being processed and that my preferred financial account would happily allow payments. There was no charge for shipping, the only charge was for taxes. It was a good deal for a laptop equipped like I wanted.

Obviously it was too good of a deal. The next time I checked the link it said the one with THAT order numbered had been cancelled!

WTF?

There was another order number listed and it was for the exact same computer so I did a "phew" and then noticed that the new delivery date was for May 14th. The new ordered date was April 16. I was irritated, but at least it was going to be on its way THIS YEAR...

I checked a couple more times and everything seemed to be "in the works". I got no other emails. Nothing telling me the first one was canceled, no problems with my financing, and no problems with the SECOND ORDER that was ALSO canceled.

Surprise, surprise. Dell hell is now open for bizness.

I just spent the last 33 minutes talking to every Tom, Dick and Harriet in India. I finally demanded to speak to an English speaking supervisor and it became clear that they were going to keep me on hold until the sacred cows came home.

No mas. It would of been my FIFTH Dell computer purchase. Now I'm not buying another system from them and I'll urge everyone I know to do the same.

I do not know what's keeping them in business. They are soooo painfully polite. I finally told the last gal to stop apologizing because it was beginning to make me mad. The very first person I spoke too about the cancellation said "there was a problem with my financing" and an email was sent telling me to contact Dell Financial. I got nothing from them. The financial folks checked and said there was no problem with financing.

*I* think the problem was with Win XP. They didn't want to build what I wanted to buy. I was taking it pretty much straight up, not a lot of extras, no software, etc. It was supposed to be an Inspiron 1545, Intel Pentium Dual Core T4200, 2.0 GHz 800Mhz, 1M L2 Cache with "Genuine Windows Vista Business Bonus". It was supposed to have a 320GB Sata Hard Drive.

The 5th person I talked to was going to reorder the "exact same" computer, but she was in financial and couldn't do that so I'd have to go BACK to sales or customer service or whatever where, of course, they'd want all my information for the 6th time. She got rid of me by giving me a phone number that she said would get me where I needed to be and THEN I could ask for a supervisor.

Which leads me back around to the beginning of this saga.

Never again.

I have a Dell printer so I have to buy their ink, but that's it.

Dell Computer and Comcast must of been separated at birth because they are both I-don't-give-a-shit companies.

Must Have Prgm For .ORF Olympus RAW Files

I hate messing with RAW files, but I can see the benefits of shooting in RAW and so I went outside today and took some RAW pictures. When I got ready to convert them however the Olympus Master 2 software that came with my e500 camera is a can 'o crap.

I tried using Photoshop 7, but it won't work with .ORF files *OR* I don't know how to convert them with it. Same thing IMHO. I wasn't wanting to spend all afternoon putzing around trying to figure it out.

So after diligently searching for awhile I can up with a winner! It's called FastStone Image Viewer 3.5 and it is more than just an image viewer. It worked quickly and well to convert the RAW Olympus .ORF files into .jpg ones or pretty much whatever kind of file you need.

It's also absolutely FREE and contains no adware or spyware or underware! However I did send the asked for donation because I thought that highly of it and I'm blogging about it because I like to say so when I like something that works as advertised!

I've....uh...come a long way from my Commodore daze!

Here's one of the ones I took today and jazzed up with FastStone...

Goodbye, Earthlink! You're Gonna Miss Me.

I officially canceled my account with Earthlink yesterday and it will be final on March 5, 2008.

"Syd", the man I spoke to said he was sorry to see me go and acted like he really cared when I told him how woefully I was ignored by their "Level 3" tech folks. He said they *should* of made arrangements to send someone out to my house and see what was wrong. Should'a, could'a, would'a....so I move on.

He said for only $2.95 (or some such) a month I could retain 2 of my email addresses. I thought about it a few seconds and then said naaawww. THEN he said that since I'd just gotten the new equipment, they were going to charge me a $39.95 "cancellation fee".

Well as you can imagine that's when the stuff hit the rotors!!

I passed the shuttle in my own orbit!

I said I'd hire an attorney before they saw one thin red dime. I said that was an "absolutely free" modem according to the gal that I spoke to at the time who said it was free EXCEPT for the $19.95 S&H. I paid that I ain't paying no mo! Biggest crock of excrement I've ever heard of!

Then he started backpedaling a bit and said the final say was not heard from yet and perhaps they wouldn't charge me blah, blah, blah. My daughter says he was probably trying a last ditch effort to keep some of my money coming in each month with the email address offer and hoped I'd knuckle under and pay that to avoid the additional fee. I pointed out to him not only the "absolutely free" part, but that I didn't sign anything or agree to any binding contract...I've had a DSL line from them for SEVEN years and before that I was a dial-up customer for several years. I think I've satisfied any and all requirements.

The heck of it is I was their biggest fan. I never missed an opportunity to say how well my DSL worked and how reliable Earthlink was. NOW I say, don't let the door hit you in the modem, Earthlink, I'll urge people to stay away from your domain in droves!

I'm Baaacccckkkkk!

My router got sick or so I thought. Come to find out it was probably okay, but I bought a new, faster one so what the heck. What went South was my Earthlink DSL connection. I don't know why. THEY didn't know why either. They kept me on hold the LAST time I was ever on hold for Earthlink for THREE HOURS and FIFTEEN minutes. The man said he was going to check on my line. I figured he'd gone to lunch. After a couple of hours I thought maybe he was coming out to the house to check on the line!! Then I got mad. And I plotted my revenge.



The last thing I like is CHANGE. I HATE change. Even GOOD change makes for an adjustment and adjustments are not something I handle well. Although I CAN handle some change if I'm the one that instigates it. So I went shopping for a new ISP. Guess what? If you can't get online you can't shop for shit! (Pardon my language!)

So thanks to my pal "Paul" I was supplied with a list of possibilities via the DSLREPORTS.COM list for my area. I chose Oplink. So far I'm liking it a lot! Thanks so much to Richard for setting up my router so I can use my laptop online again! Yea! The worst part was having to get an AT&T phone line. I've been using Sage Telecom for several years now and really liked them, but you do what you gotta do.

The 2nd worse part is losing my genealogy pages via Earthlink. I may or may not set them up somewhere else. I'll announce if I do bring it all back online.

The 3rd worse part was having to get a new email address. I'm in the process of sending that out to family and friends. On the one hand I'll cut out some of the junk mail, but I don't want to miss any of the "good stuff" from folks that I don't hear from regularly. Sigh. See we're back to that whole CHANGE thing! Ack!

Well it's good to be back online. I feel free again!

It Was Love At First Byte

My friend Gowan sent me a link to a story about the Commodore 64 and it sparked my nostalgic memories. (It doesn't take much to spark those memories this time of the year!)

A couple of years ago I wrote about some of my Commodore daze with an article entitled What Is This BBS of Which You Speak.

I've still got a C-64 set-up boxed away for some reason known only to hoarders. I don't miss the speed of the dadgum thing, but I do miss my youthful love of the whole personal computer world.

Sorry to be so remiss in keeping up with this blog. I only really write when the spirit moves me and the spirit has been chasing its own tail a lot these days.

With me, no news is generally no news.

I also got myself a 42" Plasma TV and I'm actually watching it! HD makes even crap shows look better! haha...

I'm waiting for a couple more of my Christmas presents. I always give myself good stuff for Christmas! It's one of the perks of being spoiled rotten. Yea me. However this is turning into the Year Of The Backorder. Every day I wait for that elusive e-mail saying shipment has commenced and my item is on its way....more on WHAT the item(s) are when I actually get some hands-on time.

Take care...stay safe...

How-To For YouTube to iPod Files

Thanks to my daughter....AGAIN....my life has become so much simpler. I like some of the stuff I've seen on YouTube and wanted my own copies. You know the stuff. The stuff that might not be there next time you want to show it to someone!

So here comes my daughter riding on her white horse to my rescue because I knew how to convert the files to .flv, but I wanted something that would allow me to put those files on my iPod and she steered me to a 21 year old whiz kid from Sweden that this is what he's into...




And...



And...



It was easy as store bought apple pie to convert the .flv files into mp4 files and iPod love 'em!

Now I can watch my favorite TdashDub production of Attack Of The Killer Boxes anytime I want to, anywhere I happen to be!

Life is good.

One More Link I Like!

Joost!

Who doesn't like FREE online TV!

Online Intrusion Or How To Keep On Your Toes

I buy a LOT online. I belong to MyPoints.com (ask ME how YOU can join and *I* can benefit!) and I'm saving up the points for my trips to "the islands" next year.

When you go to order something you have to stay alert! I reckon you should stay alert everywhere online, but it's crucial in the order blank filling out game!

They like to run these checked boxes in on you and hope you won't notice that you've just given them permission to make your inbox a living hell.

They ALL want to send you exciting offers.

I get so excited.

It's not just when you buy something, of course.

Take MLB.com for instance. They like to get you to vote for this and that and they are notorious for their checked boxes and once they get you on their mailing list they don't EVER let you off. I vote for the All Stars candidates and they LET you vote a gazillion times before they say "enuff" and it's so darn easy...all you have to do is fill in the info once and then just keep hitting 'vote again' or some such. The rub comes in, again, with those dadgum filled in boxes. You uncheck and if you don't remember to uncheck each and every time, they get you!

Now I know that built into the software and it's as automatic as looking at chocolate and wishing it was in your mouth and starting to slobber (in a nice, ladylike way, of course). You can't help the chocolate thing and they can't help the checked box thing. But they could if they wanted to. They could just as easily write something into the code that said you had to check it for it to stick, but noooooo that would defeat the whole purpose of tricking you.

Phooey. Makes me irritated.

I think I need some chocolate.

Stayin' Busy and Out of Trouble!

Wow, it's been a long time since I wrote anything. Time flies when you're over the hill!

Let me catch you up with all my adventures!

First I bought a new computer and it's taking LOTS of my time and energy. It's a Dell XPS 710 that I call "Overkill" because it's far more computer than *I* need, but when has that ever stopped me? My roots are based in Commodore and consequently you can't insult me with too much RAM or harddrive space. This one has THREE harddrives internally and TWO externals! One of the externals is just until I'm sure I got everything off of it that I want and the other one is what I've been using as a backup drive for over a year now.

One of the internal harddrives is going to hold photos and graphic files and the other is for music. More about that later... I'm running Windows XP Media Edition and have only had one problem so far. I wanted to label some disks last night with the Roxio that I bought with this monster box and it crashed the program. That really irritates me because I had the older version that worked perfectly on my older computer. Now I'll be forced to play Dell Hell trying to figure out who can help me squash the bugs. It's always been my experience that 'A' will send you to 'B' and 'B' will say it's 'A's' fault and I ended up feeling like a ping pong ball.

I also bought a turntable that easily fits into the "Overkill" description. It's the AT-PL120 made by Audio-Technica and it drove me crazy trying to get it all tweaked, then like a bolt of lightening it all of the sudden found the correct combo it liked and the rest is all history now. I've got a least 50 LP records that have been well taken care of and I've always wanted to rip them into MP3's and be able to play them on my computer whenever I want. Of course it'll be great to put them on my iPod too.

I ended up using the great program that came with my SoundBlaster card called Creative Smart Recorder. After I've ripped the side I run it though Audicity to cut the individual tracks out of the larger file. Then I use MP3 Tag Tools to plug in all the info on the song so that iTunes won't show them as 'unknowns'. LOTS of work and very painstakingly slow, but it gives me a project and I'm lost without a project.

The purest among us would most likely turn up their noses at the quality of my rips, but I'm tickled pink and amazed with how good they sound. The Creative Smart Recorder even takes the hisses and pops out for me. The only problem so far was that my Mario Lanza record is horribly warped and it's just not going to work for me to get any good tracks off of it. I have a CD of his and that will have to suffice.

My tastes is music gravitate to music from the 40's probably because *I'M* also from the 40's! But I have, believe it for not, some rap to go along with the country and rock and rock 'n roll. I have some jazz which I don't normally care for, but like all music there are certain tracks that I like in small doses when the genre as a whole leaves me cold. I don't haunt the Blues section at the music store and yet I loved Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong and others like Etta James and Billie Holiday. I have a bunch of music videos too and love Carrie Underwood's Before He Cheats and pretty much anything by Toby Keith. I bought his newest CD Big Dog Daddy and just love Get My Drink On.

I've also been lucky enough to see some outstanding Astros baseball games. I was there when Craig Biggio got his 3000th hit. It was magical. It was the finest baseball game I've ever been to and that's saying plenty because I've been going to ball games my whole life. I was there the next night too when there was yet another walk off homerun to win the game. That game was shaping up as the single most boring one I'd ever seen clear up until the cowhide hit the Crawford boxes.

So that pretty much explain my absence. The rub is not only am I not posting I'm doing very little responding and visiting. I got a tad burned out because one of the ones I read is going through some D-I-V-O-R-C-E pain and it's distressing to read at the best of times and so far this has just been horribly one sided and she could use either a boot to the butt or a couch to lie upon and some chill pills. She's surely not thinking of the welfare of the kid they both produced no matter how much she's convinced herself that she has. I always feel for the kids. Grown ups are supposed to be grown up, but kids don't get to BE kids much anymore especially when their security gets a boot to the head.

Oh well, it's times like those that make me hum Maurice Chevalier's song from Gigi...I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore!

Roger, McAfee, WL and me

ROGER
Did it come as a surprise to anyone that Roger wasn't coming back to Houston this year? The Astros didn't perform up to his expectations....end of story. He'd rather go with a contender and everyone knows the Yankees have won the World Series for the past 20 years, give or take a decade or so. No bigee, we can do it without him, or not. It's not the end of the world either way. Roger was fun to watch and probably the only player I'll ever see who has the fans convinced they are seeing his last game every time he pitches. Damn I saw TWO of his last games just last year! I was glad to see the tease act come to a end too. As with all hookers, the big boy had to either put up or shut up sooner or later. Good luck to him.

McAfee Security
I hate McAfee. I thought I hated Norton, but not the with unrelenting passion that I hate McAfee! Why are you even running it if you hate it you ask? Well, because I just bought myself a new computer and it was included for THREE years. I figure after putzing around with it for a couple of weeks now trying to get it to work like *I* want it and not like *it* wants to that in 3 years I'll be an even worse basket case than I am now! Hasta la vista, Mac! I'm going back to my tried and true that does what I want when I want. You can't even easily turn off Mc when you need to during an installation...it's a big deal to do anything and then it constantly nags you.

There's probably ways around all that. I probably haven't read enough or asked enough sources for help. God knows I haven't contacted the tech folks there and I won't. I'm not a total boob when it comes to these things and if I can't make it work, then I don't want it around. I've got a perfectly good AG program just languishing on my hard drive and it's fixing to get called into service. McAfee is not for me!

WLS Update
As of today I've lost 92 pounds. My surgery was 6 months ago. I've got 21 pounds more to go. I don't ever remember being this weight. The size 14 pants I'm wearing are getting loose. I still don't care for most tops that are "rated" for my size....I prefer the more comfortable looser styles if for no other reason than it hides the loose skin on my belly. A topic which I won't go into if I can help it. (Good Lord, I just used "loose" three times in one paragraph! That's a first for me too!)

So, bottom line.

We LOST Roger.

I'm LOSING McAfee.

And I've LOST a lot of weight in 11 months.

All's well in my world, I hope the same for you in yours!

Found On TechBlog: Official Seal Maker!

TechBlog: Introducing: The Official Seal of TechBlog

How much fun is this!!?? Way to go, D-light!

I had to convert it to a .jpg file to get it to work, but, hey what's a little work to get such a cool seal!

This then is the Official Seal of TexasGoodies Blog. (Doesn't that just give you goosebumps?) (I'd of put goosebumps in the design, but they didn't offer any!) .

Ed Bott's Windows Expertise » Heckuva job opening

Ed Bott's Windows Expertise » Heckuva job opening: "It has been nearly a year since Homeland Security Department Secretary Michael Chertoff announced the creation of a position for an assistant cyber security czar.

Chertoff made the announcement as part of a six-point agenda July 13, 2005, which identified elevating the position to an assistant Cabinet-level post as part of an overall strategy to “ensure that the department’s policies, operations, and structures are aligned in the best way to address the potential threats — both present and future.”

That position remains unfilled."

See post below for a possible reason why this position remains unfilled.
Hint: a) they aren't paying enough $d$o$u$g$h or b) the title of the project is lame

Ed Bott's Windows Expertise » Spam of the month

Ed Bott's Windows Expertise » Spam of the month: "Now, this takes some serious cojones"

Wow! It's bad enough that they use bank names and E-Bay (which is like 'God' in some circles), but to mess with the IRS!? Gimme a break! Can the FBI or the White House be far behind?

The spam that driving me crazy is variations on the following:
Entitled: never seen resources mobilized so quickly and
Body of Slime:

"Dont spend so much on your med,s
you can save up to 48%
Get Your Prescription Filled Fast!

http://jgqi.cedarcabin.info/?18338635

front have been consistent through the generations. While standing in the In its Friday editions, the Daily News Plot a 'real threat'carried by horseback to the nearest trading post in Under an agreement with prosecutors, she faces at least seven years "'Don't tell mom' is one of the common phrases dramatically. In short, care was being given more parents agreed with the plea deal.the southernmost link between New Jersey and Manhattan -- London bombings. Four suicide bombers killed 52 people he was pummeled with rocket fire and weapons, transportation system or anywhere else in the U.S.," That way, as soon as someone is wounded, he or "A significant development in this investigation parents agreed with the plea deal.his morale was low, and he wrote his dad a long letter.reported that the FBI had revealed a plot to bomb New York's The ways that wars are fought and even how troops"

Cleverly designed to twart any intelligent keyword blocking and yet irritating enough to extract the living piss outta me because I'm getting dozens everyday.

Ihatethemhatethemhatethem. So there. I'm exercising my formidable powers and cursing them and something horrible will happen to them all soon. I'm not kidding, I can do it. I don't know how or why, but I've put the juju on others and they've all come to a bad end. Don't Mess With A Texas Ms.

UPDATE - If the quoted text above is too small to read, as it was for me, try using the wheel on your mouse plus the CTRL key to make it larger! Or you can go to VIEW/text size on your browser or plain vanilla CTRL++ and do the same thing, but it's not nearly as kewl!

Techdirt: Your Sarcasm Filter Sucks

Techdirt: Your Sarcasm Filter Sucks: "Your Sarcasm Filter Sucks"

I think I mentioned once before that I've been online for a hundred years and I've seen a lot of changes, but one thing that never changes is people. Some people "get it" and some don't. E-mail and blog writing and all the other forms of written online communications are best taken with a box of salt...a grain isn't nearly enough.

I found this bit on sarcasm interesing reading and the comments a hoot for the most part.

Oh, one more thing, the BEST part about all this is that since people can't see you they don't judge you summarily by how you look, how old or young you are, etc. That's cool and the first lesson I learned was how one could effectively communicate with young and old and we're all the same behind the serif!

Firefox fanatics making money by punishing users

Ed Bott's Windows Expertise » Firefox fanatics decide to make money by punishing users

I'm a big fan of Firefox (and Thunderbird for e-mail) and I find this article distressing and hope that these are isolated incidents and not a glimpse into Firefox's future. The whole reason for using Firefox over IE was for safety and the fact that it wasn't obnoxious like Internet Explorer!

And speaking of obnoxious, the popup ads that can be closed almost immediately, but can't be blocked entirely, that are showing up when one goes to KHOU's online news service and several others is crap. I make it a point to NEVER buy or support anything that is shoved down my throat, so to speak, and all forms of spam are at the top of the food chain when it comes to sleaze.

My ignoring the obnoxious won't have any impact at all when one considers those that will buy and do click on e-mailed crap. These are the same zipperheads (thanks, Don E, for the perfect phrase!) that buy from door-to-door and telebothers.

What Is This BBS Of Which You Speak?

I got some mail the other day that blew me away. I was asked if I was the same person who used to run the BIO BBS years ago. I told him "guilty as charged"! Only I'd called it BIO Feedback BBS and I was at the helm for 10 long years. I also called myself "Momma Bear"..... because my late husband called me "Teddy Bear" and I wanted to make it absolutely clear to my "users" that I was a mom and a married lady and not some pimply, horny 13-year-old boy posing as a hot babe. You laugh, but lots of kids did that very same thing back then! You got better "access" if you were female (even old like me!) because there just weren't that many gals online. I had a ball too. I ate all that attention up with a spoon and asked for more. I "met" a lot of great guys and some of them I'm still in touch with. Heck, one of them, ("Osprey"), even became my son-in-law!

Jay Lee's Patented Spyware Removal System!

Jay Lee's Patented Spyware Removal System!


A comprehensive "how to" based on the experiences of Jay Lee, host of Technology Bytes Radio, is an excellent place to go when you suspect spyware has made your computer life a living hell.