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Originally published at RadDevon. You can comment here or there.

If you aren't interested in long, convoluted rants by a former customer who has the nerve to expect service on the $400 product he has recently purchase, you may want to pass this post up.

I ordered an HTC Mogul from Sprint a few days ago. I was really excited about having a smart phone. I believed it would make my life easier in a lot of ways. It did make it easier in some, and it was pretty cool. My Mogul however was cursed with a drinking problem. I charged the Mogul for a night then took him off the charger to go to work. After a 40 minute commute with a couple of short calls, his battery was drained to 80%. Throughout the eight-hour work day, he was charged for approximately three hours on the USB charger. By the end of the day, he was at only 70% battery remaining.

Knowing that I won't always have the luxury of topping him off for three hours every day, I figured it was time to give him up. I'm still able to do that since I'm only about two days into my initial 30 days. I browsed the Sprint website and decided to go with a simpler (and much cheaper) phone: the LG Muziq. I called to make the change. The first person I spoke with said I needed to be transferred to another department to handle the change. I was transferred to upgrade sales who told me I would have to pay full price for the phone since it would be considered an upgrade. The $99 phone I chose will cost $330 instead. I told her I would like to cancel figuring I could cancel this account and start a new one later to get the new customer price. I was transferred again to the retention department. A very kind young woman said she could fix this problem. She said I could bring the Mogul into a store and switch for the Muziq at the $99 price. I was very excited at this prospect.

I took a trip to the Sprint store with my Mogul in hand. The clerk at the store said there were notes on the account authorizing her to sell me the Muziq for $99, but she had no authorization to take back my return. I explained to her that the arrangement was for me to bring the old phone in to make the switch. She insisted she could not do so without the authorization. I opened up the Mogul box, took him out, and called customer service. After holding, I explained to the gentleman my situation. He gladly added the authorization to the account and stayed on the line while I insured his notes were all that would be necessary to make the return. The clerk said that was sufficient. I disconnected my call with customer service. I was somewhat perturbed at this point but relieved that I would be able to complete the transaction.

The clerk spent several minutes getting my new phone and typing into a computer. I waited patiently. She then said, "OK. That will be $109.24," the price of my new phone plus tax. I had assumed I would just take the new phone and the difference would be credited back to me either in cash at the store or applied back to the credit card with which I made the purchase. I asked the clerk how I would receive the refund. Her response: "I don't know." I am thinking to myself at this point, "So, I should leave a $400 phone with you not knowing if or how I will ever receive the money back. Then, I should pay you another $100 for a new phone?" I told her I couldn't really do that. She asked if I would like to call customer service again to find out how I would receive the refund. She offered to let me go home, call, and then come back. Thanks, but no thanks. I told her I wanted to have everything resolved when I left the store. She kindly made the call for me to a service line on which she did not have to hold. She asked how I would received credit back. She was told the credit would come back to me in the form of a credit to my Sprint account.

Like most people (I would think), I cannot really afford to make a $400 interest-free loan to Sprint. The total cost of the phone was $436.99 after taxes. My rate plan was $30 per month. This means I would have received my full refund for a phone which was either a lemon or defective by design in one year and three months. Totally beaten down, I left the store with my broken phone in hand. It was at this point I realized this was a mere glimpse of things to come. I was determined that I will give them no money.

I called Sprint customer service on the way back home--a 15 minute drive. I was on hold the entire time and for a few minutes at home. I was then back on the phone with the retention department. I asked the rep to cancel my account. He asked why. I recounted the entire shitty story to him. He canceled my account. He then asked, "Which is the phone you would like to buy?" I replied, "It's nothing personally against you, but, at this point, I don't think I even want to have Sprint service." I am now done with Sprint.

I am glad I had some problems on the front end of this relationship. It could have easily been very smooth for a few months into the two-year contract I was nearly suckered into. Then I would have been stuck in a labyrinthine customer service system for months and months--maybe the remainder of my contract. I am also currently a Nextel subscriber. My contract with Nextel will expire in December. I have had much better luck with their customer service, but I am now resolved to cancel that service when the contract expires. Sprint, in fucking me, you may also have ever-so-gently fucked yourselves.

Originally published at RadDevon. You can comment here or there.

Back from the dead! I've not been thinking much lately about the deep stuff, but I have been doing lots of web surfing. Here's some of the cool stuff I've found.

Zoho Creator

Sure, Zoho has an entire office suite. I'm embarrassed to say I haven't even looked at their other applications, but I am in love with this slick database application. It allows you to easily create online databases. It also includes an easy (albeit somewhat limited) scripting language called Deluge which allows for the creation of more robust applications. I currently have a database of movies I own which also keeps track of movies I have loaned out. I am also using it at work to track retired computer equipment and automatically e-mail the appropriate inventory clerk. I'm sure you could find hundreds of practical uses, though.

Clipperz

Clipperz is an online password management utility.  It sounds a little scary, I know. I was scared, too. So, for a few months, I used an offline password management program called KeePass. It's cool and works great, but I found it was a real pain to whip out my thumb drive and load the software every time I wanted to store a password. Clipperz gives me an easy way to manage the passwords from any location. They are encrypted before they are sent to the server which gives a greater degree of security. It also has a direct login feature which will, in many cases, allow you to click a single link from your Clipperz page to automatically login to one of your password-protected web sites.

MapMyRide

Map your bicycle routes with this Google Maps mashup. Keep track of your training. This tool shows the mileage of your ride. It's not quite as universal as the other tools profiled here, but it is certainly as ubiquitous for those of you who are into bike riding and want to track your training.

Originally published at RadDevon. You can comment here or there.

Just a few years ago before my life got a lot more complex, I loved discovering new musicians. I loved the feeling of finding a new artist. It almost feels as though they are your own when you discover them. I've not discovered much new music in the last three years. I used to find out about cool bands from Punk Planet (which is no longer published), 75 minutes (which is also gone), and Delusions of Adequacy (which is still cool but not perfect). If Delusions of Adequacy would allow me to view a list of all their reviews sorted chronologically rather than alphabetically it might be all I would need. Alas, it does not. Where online to people find new music? It is important to me that the music is recorded outside the confines of a major label. (See previous post.) I'm checking out Last.fm again, but I'm concerned about the link to a major media conglomerate (CBS?). Anyone have any suggestions?

Originally published at RadDevon. You can comment here or there.

Finally, Google Reader has added a search feature! I can now waste away my days and nights much more efficiently.

Originally published at RadDevon. You can comment here or there.

You may not realize it, but your USB flash drive is really much more than a high-capacity floppy disk. Why? Because you can run applications from it! A great way to get started is the Portable Apps Suite which comes with a great set of programs and a cool menu for your flash drive. There are, however, lots of applications available that can be run portably. These are the cream of the crop.

1. Firefox. This one is absolutely essential. Take all your bookmarks and extensions everywhere you go! The site has information about getting plugins (Flash, Shockwave, etc.) up and running on your portable browser.


2. Notepad++. A cool text editor for coders.


3. GIMP. Powerful photo-editing.


4. Filezilla. The best FTP client around.


5. Pidgin. If you're into IM.


6. VLC. Multi-format audio/video player.


7. OpenOffice. Take an entire office suite with you! Yes, it will open MS documents.


8. 7zip. Supports almost every file compression format.


9. HydraIRC. Fully-featured IRC client. Be sure to download the zip distribution rather than the executable installer.


10. KeePass. Store all your passwords in a portable password safe.

There are tons more portable applications. If you have a need not met by the programs above, it doesn't mean the program isn't out there. Wikipedia has a large list of portable software. The Portable Freeware Collection also keeps a very up-to-date list. Gamers shouldn't feel left out either. Add your own programs or resources in the comments!

Originally published at RadDevon. You can comment here or there.

I'm setting up a copy of Firefox on my USB flash drive. As a result, I'm having to re-evaluate the extensions I will be running. I think I run a pretty good set of extensions right now. I get quite a bit of use out of everything I run. Many of them are indispensable! I'm not as minimalist as some. I try a lot of extensions, but I periodically try to purge the extensions which aren't getting much use. Here's a list of those I'm currently running:

Can't do without

1. Adblock Plus. This extension makes the web a completely different place! The filters are automatically updated to insure ad providers won't be able to work around it. The web is so much nicer without all the banner ads! Recently, a site was launched which encourages site owners to block Firefox users viewing a site because they may be using this extension to block ads. I don't care to visit sites which are so heavily dependent on ad revenue anyway, but the story is entertaining nonetheless. Workarounds exist if you need to access such a site.


2. CustomizeGoogle. Complete the ad-free browsing experience by getting rid of ads in Google search results and Gmail. You can also force your Google Apps connections to https which will encrypt your otherwise easy to intercept data.


3. Download Statusbar. Firefox's native download manager leaves something to be desired. I don't really like having a window pop up to show my download status. This extension puts all the necessary information above the statusbar inside your browser window. It's very nice and unobtrusive. As a bonus, the extension's developer shares my first name! It almost makes me wish I had made something... anything!


4. Tab Mix Plus. Tabs beat the hell out of having 10 different browser windows open. Most of the functionality I want is built into Firefox. Tab Mix adds a few minor things I need. I can now break a single tab off into a new window or duplicate a tab already open. I can also have rows of tabs when I have too many to display on a single line rather than scrolling left and right.

Nice to have

1. del.icio.us Bookmarks. I use this in tandem with the Firefox bookmarks. The extension tries to become your bookmarks, but I find it works better alongside them to give easy access to everything. I use folders in my Firefox bookmarks toolbar to provide quick access to my most used sites. I use del.icio.us to store everything I use occasionally or think I may use later. The extension gives me easy access to my del.icio.us locally.


2. Firebug. A great web development tool with too many features to list here. This really helps in finding where styles on a particular element are coming from.


3. Foxmarks. I maintain three different copies of Firefox. This extension allows me to keep the same set of bookmarks across all three easily.


4. Gmail Manager. I can't imagine accessing Gmail without this extension. Easily check and access all your Gmail accounts.


5. Speak It. I'm embarrassed to say that I often skip long articles just because I don't want to bother reading the whole thing. This extension will read them for me! The usefulness of this extension is contingent upon your tolerance for text-to-speech engines.


6. Stop-or-Reload Button. Save some space on the toolbar. When do you ever need access to both?


7. StumbleUpon. Channel-surf the web. This is a fantastic time-sink. I recommend hiding the toolbar and using the button to show it when you want to use it. This will keep your interface cleaner.


8. VideoDownloader. Makes downloading from YouTube and others a cakewalk.

Go trick out your Firefox and enjoy!

Originally published at RadDevon. You can comment here or there.

So goes the sage advice of one of my coworkers. This adage was put into practice on me today.

I took a trip to the library then to Market Square to get some food. I was asked for money by a bum. I told him I would buy him food instead. He told me he wasn't allowed into any of the restaurants. I told him I would bring it out to him. I go to the restaurant, order food, and sit down to wait. I get up and look out the door once to see that he is still there. He is still outside, but has moved to a different part of the square. I sit down again and continue to wait for my food. My food arrives, and I take his food outside before even starting on mine. He is gone. I eat my food, exit the restaurant, and spend a few minutes looking for him, but he is nowhere to be found.

I feel that, whenever I get burned like this, I must take something with me to prevent it from happening again. It seems to me that the only way is to refuse any handouts to any bums. I want to be nice, but what can I do when my philanthropic efforts are thwarted?

What do people do who live in bigger cities where this is a more pervasive part of everyday life? I have heard that panhandlers in NYC make $50,000 per year. Is it good to give only to organized charities and always refuse bums?

What a conundrum.

Today I’ve been thinking about different ways to reduce my impact on the environment. I can’t put a finger on exactly what inspired me. There’s something in me which forces me to continually evaluate almost every minute aspect of my life for possible revision. I think it was the act of giving up TV which made me realize how easy it is to make these changes even though they seem like they will be unbearable until you are actually living the new way. This highlights how insignificant our lifestyles really are. There is a foundation of things which are important. We start piling extras on top of that: TV, fast food, magazines, celebrity gossip, gambling—any of a number of things extraneous to a true sense of satisfaction and happiness. Those things are glue together with all the things which are really important and become somehow indistinguishable from them. It takes something groundbreaking to realize how easy it is to discard them.

After having already decided this was something I wanted to do, I stumbled upon the No Impact Man, and I certainly draw lots of inspiration from him. Today I looked at some bidets. It seems like a really cool idea. I think toilet paper is really a drag. Most of what I’ve read seems to suggest using the bidet in addition to toilet paper, but I think they can also be used in loo (punny!) of it. I’ve never really had experience with one. I wonder what kind I should look at. I would probably want one that attaches to an American toilet or is otherwise integrated as a single fixture. Where does one get reviews for a product like this which has very little appeal here?