Archives for January 2010

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Office Depot Deceptive Advertising

Posted on January 29, 2010 ·

For being a netbook-fan I admit I am in the market for a super-slim lightweight laptop.  The market has evolved, the current slimbooks are only slightly more expensive than netbooks, and I find the 13.3” screen size an ideal compromise between portability and straining my eyes with the tiny screens.  So I was quite happy to see what I consider a good deal: a HP DM3 for $449 @ Office Depot.

office depot dm3

I found it on DealNews a few days ago, but it became impossible to purchase almost immediately. I tried it for a few days, most recently just minutes ago, but am always getting the same response: no inventory.

insuff stock

The other SKU is available though, for $150 more. It appears the be the same configuration, without the discount.  I tried to tweet up @OfficeDepot, but I guess they are busy handing out cookies.  Finally I had an online chat with Customer Service, which basically conformed my suspicion: the SKU that’s available is the same physical unit, just without the discount.  So here’s the beef (not cookie):

  • Office Depot is advertising a computer at $449
  • The price is listed as effective through Jan 30th, without mentioning any restriction on how many they are selling at this price
  • They do have available inventory
  • They refuse to sell it at the listed price

If this is not false advertising, I don’t know what is.

Finally, see the script of my Customer Service chat:

Office Depot Online Help

Chat Dialog

CSR Gary has entered the session.
Zoli: looking at item# 328626 – says no inventory. The same config available for $150 more under different SKU. But this one says price valid till Jan 30 – so how can I buy it?
CSR Gary: Thank you for contacting Office Depot , Please give me a moment, while I check that for you.
Zoli: thanks
CSR Gary: You are welcome
CSR Gary: Thank you for being on hold
CSR Gary: I am sorry item “328626” is no longer available for purchase
Zoli: Isn’t 808119 the same?
CSR Gary: yes it is the same
CSR Gary: may i have your zip code
Zoli: 94566
CSR Gary: item 808119 is available for purchase
CSR Gary: please do call our customer care
department @ 1-800-463-3768 and they will help you in
placing this order
Zoli: I see the availability online. but it is the identical product for $150 more then the other price, which claims to be valid till 1/30
CSR Gary: Yes
CSR Gary: We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused.
CSR Gary: Is there anything else I may assist you with?
Zoli: It’s not a matter of inconvenience. If your website claims it is avail for $449, and you do have inventory, then you should be sellign it for that price, not $599
Zoli: Otherwise this feels like deceptive advertising
CSR Gary: I am sorry the item is available until stocks last
CSR Gary: I will escalate this issue to the concerned department to remove the out of stock item from the website
Zoli: OK. Thanks.
Zoli: I’m blogging this as a case of deceptive advertising

Update – I guess I should not be surprised:  Office Depot Associates Routinely Lie about Notebook Stock – reported Laptop Magazine almost a year ago.

Update #2:  Did Office Depot really need this:

(Cross-posted @ CloudAve )

Filed Under: Marketing / PR · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
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Time for Device Independent Data Plans

Posted on January 27, 2010 ·

The Apple iPad event is still on, and the Internet is crumbling… Twitter barely crawls, CoveritLive isn’t exactly live, the major sites providing blog coverage are barely accessible… this is iKill – the day Apple Killed The Net. 🙁

But I want to talk about something more important:

iPad data plan

It’s a screenshot from Engadget’s coverage.  Yes, reasonable data plan prices. Except… how many of them do you need?  An iPhone data plan, too?   A data plan for your USB stick for the times you do need a “regular” notebook to work on?

Remember this?

rotaryphone

Yes, phones looked like that.  And there was a time when phone companies (Ma Bell) charged extra when you had more then one outlet in your home….

Remember the early days of cable TV?   You had to ( well, were supposed to) pay extra for each additional cable outlet.

How about the early days of the Internet, before wireless became pervasive?  Yes, ISPs expected us to pay extra for each outlet.

These anachronistic charges are all gone – we pay for the service, no matter what device we use to access it.

So why would wireless access be any different?  We will soon have an increasing number of devices, but the underlying service is the same.  In fact chances are when I use my iPad (which I don’t have), I will not be using my Netbook / Notebook, or browse the Net on iPhone, Google Nexus One … as a consumer I may own a variety of devices, but chances are I will only use them one at a time.

It’s time wireless providers wake up to the 21st century and charge for consumption on a per account (person) basis, not per device.

(Cross-posted @ CloudAve )

Filed Under: Technology · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
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Time for Device Independent Data Plans

Posted on January 27, 2010 ·

Now that everybody talks about the iPad, let’s talk about something just as important as the new device:

iPad data plan

It’s a screenshot from Engadget’s coverage.  Yes, reasonable data plan prices. Except… how many of them do you need?  An iPhone data plan, too?   A data plan for your USB stick for the times you do need a “regular” notebook to work on?

Remember this?

rotaryphone

Yes, phones looked like that.  And there was a time when phone companies (Ma Bell) charged extra when you had more then one outlet in your home….

Remember the early days of cable TV?   You had to ( well, were supposed to) pay extra for each additional cable outlet.

How about the early days of the Internet, before wireless became pervasive?  Yes, ISPs expected us to pay extra for each outlet.

These anachronistic charges are all gone – we pay for the service, no matter what device we use to access it.

So why would wireless access be any different?  We will soon have an increasing number of devices, but the underlying service is the same.  In fact chances are when I use my iPad (which I don’t have), I will not be using my Netbook / Notebook, or browse the Net on iPhone, Google Nexus One … as a consumer I may own a variety of devices, but chances are I will only use them one at a time.

It’s time wireless providers wake up to the 21st century and charge for consumption on a per account (person) basis, not per device.

(Cross-posted @ CloudAve )

Filed Under: Technology · Tagged: , , , , , ,
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Forget the State of the Union: President has Jury Duty

Posted on January 26, 2010 ·
With his family by his side, Barack Obama is s...

Image via Wikipedia

Fellow Americans, you just received the unexpected gift of a few free hours: don’t have to sit glued to your TV sets watching President Obama deliver his State of the Union address.  He’s got more important things to do: Jury Duty back at home, Chicago.

Or not … the Court relieved him of duty when notified by the White House that he’d be quite busy for the next few years.

Summoning a sitting President is not that unusual: former Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton were all summoned, but relieved of duty.  Which is all right. We’re electing Presidents to run the country. Everyone gets this – except one blogger at The US News and World Report, who happens to be a former White House speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush (surprise?): she thinks President Obama should serve. She speaks out of experience:

When I was a spokesman at the Department of Justice in the early 1990s, I was called for jury duty. Because I was promoting the attorney general’s pro-victim, anti-crime positions daily, I figured the judge would take one look at me and I’d be let off. No such thing. He asked if any potential jurors knew the prosecutor or the defense lawyer personally, and hearing no affirmative answers, started the trial. I couldn’t believe I was kept on the jury, but I have to say, it was an eye-opening experience. I learned a heck of a lot about our criminal justice system–good and bad–and I now think everyone should serve on a jury, whether they’re the president or not.

Sour grapes?  She was not let off, so the President shouldn’t either.  Gotta love her perspective thought, comparing the DOJ spokesman (shouldn’t it be spokesperson?) position to that of the President.  Lady, get a life!

Filed Under: Politics · Tagged: , , , , , ,
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Steve Ballmer Signs a Macbook – How About the Apple Tablet?

Posted on January 25, 2010 ·

Legend says Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer got really angry last year at an internal Microsoft event, when he saw an employee taking his pic with an iPhone- he grabbed it, pretended to stomp it and made fun of the employee (is he still an employee?) .

Well apparently he is more tolerant with outsiders, in fact may even have developed a sense of humor… watch this video showing Steve Ballmer as he signs a student’s Macbook:


Now that he warmed up to it, I wonder if he’ll go on stage and sign the Apple Tablet Steve Jobs is about to unveil?

(Cross-posted @ CloudAve )

Filed Under: Humor · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
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Disconnect – the Generation Gap

Posted on January 19, 2010 ·

This cartoon by Agent X feels appropriate before the next post by Chirag

(Cross-posted @ CloudAve )

Filed Under: Humor · Tagged: , , , , ,
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Malware Attack on Skype

Posted on January 18, 2010 ·

I’m used to Skype Spam, but not a malvare-attack.  Here’s what just popped up on my Skype screen:

Registry Online: URGENT SYSTEM SCAN NOTIFICATION ! PLEASE READ CAREFULLY !!

http://www.updategt.org/

For the link to become active, please click on ‘Add to contacts’ skype button or type it in manually into your web browser !

FULL DETAILS OF SCAN RESULT BELOW
****************************************

WINDOWS REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ATTENTION

ATTENTION ! Security Center has detected
malware on your computer !

Affected Software:

Microsoft Windows Vista
Microsoft Windows XP
Microsoft Windows 2000
Microsoft Windows Server 2003

Impact of Vulnerability: Remote Code Execution / Virus Infection /
Unexpected shutdowns

Recommendation: Users running vulnerable version should install a repair utility immediately

Your system IS affected, download the patch from the address below !
Failure to do so may result in severe computer malfunction.

http://www.updategt.org/

For the link to become active, please click on ‘Add to contacts’ skype button or type it in manually into your web browser!

Now, I don’t ever click on suspicious links (I bet this is a rogue one) from unknown sources, but I’m afraid people might fall for it.  Also, how come Skype allows strande IM’s through when my security setting is “Contacts only” ?   And of course if you’re not careful enough and follow the request to add the scammer as a contact, then they will get through even easier next time.   Beware: don’t click, Block and Report the sender!

(Cross-posted @ CloudAve )

Filed Under: Software · Tagged: , , , , ,
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The Perfect Out-of-Office Email Response

Posted on January 13, 2010 ·

Normally I hate auto-responders, but this made me laugh:

Hi – thank you for emailing me.

When your email arrived, I was doing one of the following: celebrating
Christmas with my family, bringing in the New Year with friends,
getting married to my favourite person in the world, flying across the
planet, navigating the Indian transport system, riding a camel around
the Arabian desert or looking for jaguars in the Belizean jungle.

Needless to say, I won’t be able to reply to your email. My apologies.

Come think of it, all the above activities can be fun  – with one exception.  Which one?

Filed Under: Misc · Tagged: , , , , ,
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NSFW. Or Is It? Koala Sex.

Posted on January 10, 2010 ·

Filed Under: Misc · Tagged: ,
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Look Who’s Talking: ASUS, the Designer Brand

Posted on January 5, 2010 ·

asusnx90 Brand vs. Quality. Which Would You Pay For? – I asked recently, making the case that “trusted old brands” like HP are producing inferior quality, while formerly “no-name cheapo” component maker ASUS is becoming a household name.  They are basically doing what Honda, Toyota (and now the Koreans)  did to the car business.

Sure, ASUS rode a good wave becoming the leading netbook-maker, but they are not stopping there. First it was price, then performance, reliability – now it’s design.

“We are looking forward to leading the PC industry into a new era of thought behind computer design,” said ASUS chairman Jonney Shih, after unveiling four new computers at the event. At one point, Shih seemed to allude to Apple as a role model, saying that an overriding focus on design has been the domain of one company in the industry.   (Source: TechFlash)

Now, who’s “the Brand”?

(Cross-posted @ CloudAve )

Filed Under: Marketing / PR, Misc, Technology · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
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