vsbabu.org : vendors http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/categories/vendors/ Gluing passing thoughts to foregone conclusions en-us vsbabu@gmail.com Copyright 2008 2003-08-11T16:47:41+05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Incompetent vendors - How to screw up a journey http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/08/11/incompetent_vendors_how_to_screw_up_a_journey.html Featuring Amtrak, FedEx, Ravenwood Towers 864@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ I'm travelling by Amtrak this week. Last week, I reserved tickets on-line and paid for these to be delivered using FedEx Express delivery.

It was supposed to be overnight delivery. I waited for 5 days. Then I called Amtrak. They have a speech-recognition enabled 1-800 number - no wonder why it is running under loss. The customer service agent gave me TWO tracking numbers, and warned me one of them is wrong!

]]> vendors 2003-08-11T16:47:41+05:00 Incompetent vendors - How to loose a PDA in 3 weeks http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/08/11/incompetent_vendors_how_to_loose_a_pda_in_3_weeks.html Featuring Handspring, AirBorne Express, Ravenwood Towers and Mailboxes Etc. 863@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ Last month, my Treo-90 stopped powering on. I wrote to Handspring to send me a repair return box. They send it. I waited for two weeks and then called them. Apparently, they send it within a day - why couldn't they send me an e-mail with the tracking#, or update their site?

It was shipped through AirBorne Express. These guys didn't even bother to check if I was home (my wife was). They simply gave it to a lady in the rental office (Ravenwood Towers) and didn't put a note on my mailbox. They could've left a voice mail.

]]> vendors 2003-08-11T16:32:06+05:00 Coke & Pepsi join hands! http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/08/05/coke_pepsi_join_hands.html Can you believe these two hard-core competitors will join forces on anything? Apparently they can. 859@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ If it is their very existence at stake, they are all friends. A study conducted by Centre for Science and Environment, a non-governmental agency in India concluded that 12 major cold drink brands sold in Delhi and around contain a deadly cocktail of pesticide residues

Google and rediff.com coverage.

To counter the claims, Pepsi and Coke conducted a joint press conference.

]]> vendors 2003-08-05T18:19:31+05:00 bCentral screen shot http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2003/05/29/bcentral_screen_shot.html Instead of marketing spiel, I got something else. Definitely useful though! 803@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ I thought I'll look out for some information about Microsoft SharePoint portal server. I was specifically lookingfor information about any hosting providers that can deal with setting up the server, services etc. Apparently, Microsoft's own bCentral has relatively inexpensive SharePoint hosting.

Here's a screenshot of what I got when I went to bCentral. Why do I suddenly feel slightly discouraged to research this option more? :-)

]]> vendors 2003-05-29T19:30:19+05:00 Hotmail backend design http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2002/12/02/hotmail_backend_design.html Collection of Microsoft documents with pretty good information on running huge sites. 632@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ Sanjay: Another leaked MS document has hit the net describing the changeover of Hotmail from a Unix/FreeBSD system to a WinNT/W2K system. Putting the religious/political issues of Unix vs. W2K aside, the article is a good read for anyone who wants insight into the type of issues a very popular web service like Hotmail needs to deal with.

]]> vendors 2002-12-02T08:22:34+05:00 Hidden telephone charges http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2002/11/18/hidden_telephone_charges.html Telephone companies are equally bad when it comes to cheating the consumer. 620@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ Got my telephone bill today. I was down with flu and cough and the bill makes it worse :-(

Last month, I was away for a conference. Those were the days when DC area sniper was at large. So, I used to call (collect) my wife to inform that I've reached safely after the 40 minutes drive, filled up gas safely etc. Each call was less than a minute. How much does MCI charge? $6.20.

]]> vendors 2002-11-18T16:19:55+05:00 Where is Microsoft going? http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2002/11/14/where_is_microsoft_going.html This is not very nice if you value your privacy. 614@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ Windows XP shows the direction where Microsoft is going. I don't want any software to connect to vendor's computers, without me knowing it. Even for emergency situations that could possibly crash my PC, that will be my preference.

]]> vendors 2002-11-14T13:14:42+05:00 Laptop by Porsche http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2002/10/25/laptop_by_porsche.html Plus sales by Best Buy = Good design gone waste. 590@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ C-Net : Retailer Best Buy is aiming to take a bite out of Apple Computer with the release of a new, wide-screen notebook designed by Porsche. The VPR Matrix 200A5 is the third notebook Best Buy has created, and it's the best. It's also the first Windows notebook with a wide-aspect, 15.2-inch LCD with a 1,280x854 native resolution and a remarkable, high-fidelity digital audio system. The $2,399 system also includes a 2GHz Pentium 4- M, 512MB of DDR SDRAM, a 40GB hard drive, a combo CD-RW/DVD drive, and integrated 802.11b wireless networking. It all comes in an eye-catching, silver-magnesium case that weighs 6.4 pounds and measures 13.9 inches wide, 10 inches deep, and 1.2 inches thick.

I think it is going to flop.

]]> vendors 2002-10-25T18:08:32+05:00 XP and choice! http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2002/10/09/xp_and_choice.html What is the point of this dialog box? 563@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ I got a new laptop and tried to install XP service pack 1. It ground the disk drive for 15 minutes - which by the way was just 2 minutes more than the time it took to install entire Mandrake 8.2 distro and then gave me this choice.

]]> vendors 2002-10-09T18:20:00+05:00 Dell server for $239 http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2002/09/20/dell_server_for_239.html I think this is a great deal. 517@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ I'm looking for a new machine - have not yet decided completely on whether I should go for a laptop or a server. I want to have a laptop since I can use it without being restricted to one desk - I like moving around and working.

Today I came across a deal for a Dell server for $239. Free shipping, no Factory installed OS, no keyboard, no monitor, 1Yr support etc.

]]> vendors 2002-09-20T13:02:40+05:00 Best Buy sucks! http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2002/08/28/best_buy_sucks.html The title says it all. Which training school do their sales people go to? 459@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ I have had bad experience at Best Buy before. Last weekend, I was in the market for a PDA. My budget was $300. I had pretty much decided on Handspring Treo 90 or Sony Clie T615c. Best Buy had $25 mail in rebate for all PDA's, so even with my dislike for shopping there, decided to try it.

]]> vendors 2002-08-28T20:37:22+05:00 Webtrends Sucks! http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2002/08/24/webtrends_sucks.html Really bad experience with these guys. 451@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ I periodically check my site logs using webtrendslive.com*. This morning, I went to the site to see my logs and absolutely no reports were there. Apparently all of my data except my personal information has been wiped out too. I was asked to setup new site profiles - I was using their personal edition - and the only choices available were enterprise edition and small business. If they want to make money, inform the non-paying customers before yanking things out. * - I'm so annoyed with them that I didn't want to link :-)

I'm also a corporate customer for them and for a week, have been trying to see why there is a almost a 120% mismatch in their "live" reports and enterprise version of software that analyze web server logs. That annoyance, coupled with this kind of customer service, doesn't help my trust with them.

]]> vendors 2002-08-24T10:38:07+05:00 What if Honda made software? http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2002/08/22/what_if_honda_made_software.html Honda's principles are very simple and sensible. Perhaps these should be used in software development. 449@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ I was reading about the 2003 version of Honda Accord and that lead to some more reading about Honda, the company. I really liked The Honda Three Reality Principle which states that:

  1. Go to the actual place.
  2. Know the actual situation.
  3. Be realistic

This made me think a little bit how this could be used in software (or web) development. If you really want a fantastic piece of satire when it comes to what if ___ made ___?, check out Dave Barry's musings about bottled water wars.

]]> computing 2002-08-22T07:09:46+05:00 Verisign's blackmails? http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2002/08/05/verisigns_blackmails.html Another monopoly trying to threaten customers? 429@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ Kuro5hin.org: VeriSign apparently has a campaign going on to illegally threaten their former customers who have long moved their domains to one of the many alternate registrars that they would quickly lose their existing domains (often essential for business) if they didn't "renew" them with VeriSign by clicking on a link provided in an email.

I've heard several stories of frustration, even if you want to do business with Verisign.

]]> vendors 2002-08-05T05:59:46+05:00 Analyzing Palladium http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2002/06/27/analyzing_palladium.html Slashdot is running a story on Palladium, which, in my opinion, has absolutely zero value to customers. It is in... 407@http://vsbabu.org/mt/ Slashdot is running a story on Palladium, which, in my opinion, has absolutely zero value to customers. It is in fact very much against the spirit of competition and innovation. It doesn't solve any problem for me, if I pay to buy a PC equipped with it. It in fact takes out my right to do as I please with the equipment I bought, even if I don't have any harmful intentions to others.

I see it as just a ploy to apply tight squeeze on monopolies and even kill licenses like GPL and volunteer innovation.

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