Comments for Life...as it relates to Technology.

Comment on VB Nested Loop Algorithm Problem by scott

scott — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:00:29 +0000

I miss those days!

Nothing like wiping out a couple hundred users by dropping a file on the public drive.

I wonder what ever happened to Jordan Block?

Comment on VB Nested Loop Algorithm Problem by Tim Probst

Tim Probst — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:06:27 +0000

Dude, did you start on this yesterday? Maybe you need a middle tier. Sorry guys; inside joke from some good times many years ago.

You know, things were so much easier when we knew we could use VBA to conquer pretty much any problem. Now we have VSTO and managed code, blah, blah, blah.

What happened to the good ol’ days when we could whip up a macro and drop it into production on the fly? I miss those days.

Comment on ebay is failing, ebay going down, ebay falling apart…… by scott

scott — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:09:47 +0000

Ah - you bring such a good point with the “Marcus” story. There is now an entire subculture preying on sellers with good feedback. It’s no secret that having near perfect feedback is very important. It’s easy for unscrupulous people to buy at a higher price knowing they will chisel away the price after the fact via the threat of negative feedback. Unfortunately, there is nothing the sellers can do to combat this problem.

Comment on ebay is failing, ebay going down, ebay falling apart…… by Jason Kent

Jason Kent — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 06:29:49 +0000

The observations expressed above are right on the mark. The feedback honor system eBay was built on: a “thanks for a thanks”, or “an eye for an eye” (as odd as that sounds), has taken a major downward turn for its Seller based users. No longer is there a ‘fairness’ within the playing field. Ebay’s policy (as well as the sister company, PayPal) is being re-written to protect the buyer, not the Seller. Don’t forget, the Sellers are the paying customer. Ebay and PayPal takes its fees from the Seller, not the buyer. There is no longer a sense of loyalty towards its paying customer, from either company.

This new feedback practice seriously undermines its credo, and has been crippling the company since it’s adoption in June of 2008. Apparently, my concerns have yielded me a spot on Ebay’s discriminatory ‘hotline’ telephone caller list. Yes, I can call and talk to a real person, but I had to be “invited”– they will only take my call based on a note attached to my account. Here’s the number, give it a try — you’ll get nowhere: 1.800.717.3229 Sorry fellow sellers…you’re stuck with the corporate email run-around, or the limited scope of “Live Help.”

Second, and most importantly, PayPal and Ebay dispute resolutions have created a series of loopholes whereas Buyer fraud has become rampant. Just yesterday, I received a email threat from a man named D. Marcus, of California asking for me to compensate him 50 percent of the winning bid due to a ’scratch’ he saw on his purchase, or as he put, he’ll leave negative feedback to my account.

His threat of negative is worth whatever he can squeeze out of the other party. Under eBay’s new policy, the Seller can no longer leave the Buyer negative feedback, thus making Sellers– ones naturally concerned with their eBay image, easy prey as they get caught up in the hype that they must keep their rating as close to perfect (100% rating) as humanly possible. People like Marcus can, at any whim, discredit the reputations of a Seller. Personally, I said ‘go scratch’ to Marcus and received the negative feedback. Oh well.

So, Marcus takes his next step (the feedback threat did not work) and files a PayPal claim (for which PayPal favors the Buyer 88.6 percent of the time). So basically, a plan to extort turns into a red-tape ‘dispute’ affair which costs more in the long run. In the dispute, Marcus requests a partial refund from me– it seems Marcus wont give up. A $25 refund on a $50 sale.

How to solve the problem for the Sellers? (And the problem is not Marcus, it is PayPal and Ebay– ironically, their corporate policy, and its loopholes, promotes fraud.) Simply put, quit using Paypal. Go back to check, USPS MO, and smail mail. You’ll eliminate the liability of having to deal with the growing trend of Buyer Fraud, while saving hours of time in producing the correspondence necessary to complete the dispute.

It will give YOU full control over your business practice, too. Don’t forget (or if you did not know), as a PayPal subscriber, you make the agreement that the terms specified in your eBay listing take second seat to PayPal’s dispute policy. Yes, this means that if you state “as is” for secondary market items, then think again. PayPal doesn’t agree, and will, within their dispute process, override this, and other policies which are stated in your auction text. I was mostly shocked when the PayPal representative stated to me that they side with the buyer knowing that I’ll receive back the item and can ‘resell’ it again– the rep. said “there’s no ‘real’ loss on your [my] part”. Ok, what about the shipping monies lost, and the time, fees, etc. If you push hard enough, PayPal will split the cost of the initial charge of shipping– they did for me, after I informed them that I wished to close my account.

All in all, eBay, and eBay’s joint venture with PayPal is failing fast.

Head’s up for those of you who rely on eBay for your primary income: Be sure to leave yourself an out…never be fully dependant on eBay. Look to other venues.

Comment on iPhone SDK Forums! by Hebrink

Hebrink — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:43:52 +0000

Thanks for the info, I really need the forum.

Comment on GoTo Statements, Air Conditioning by gypeviavy

gypeviavy — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 11:44:55 +0000

subj
?

Comment on Sabayon Linux on Laptop Review by SUSE 10 Linux on Laptop Review | Life...As it Relates to Technology

SUSE 10 Linux on Laptop Review | Life...As it Relates to Technology — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:35:57 +0000

[...] on in my quest to get Linux installed on my newly acquired laptop with wireless networking. My first attempt, using Sabayon Linux, was unsuccessful. My next attempt is to use an old Suse 10 disk I’ve had laying around from a previous desktop [...]

Comment on FLOW (and a dude’s name you can’t pronounce) by Consumption vs. Creation | Life...As it Relates to Technology

Consumption vs. Creation | Life...As it Relates to Technology — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:25:19 +0000

[...] shrew like attention span makes me especially susceptible to lackafocus. For instance, I’m two hours into developing [...]

Comment on Sony Mylo - WTF? by JDM1

JDM1 — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 19:21:35 +0000

yeah I agree its a bit half-baked product, but then again there are quite plenty who use Mylo… perhaps they just like it that way and have 2 or more devices at hand (e.g. mylo for IM, phone for calls, etc.)

Comment on Sony Mylo - WTF? by Tim Probst

Tim Probst — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 04:28:25 +0000

OK, I have been meaning to comment on your post for a few days now. I watched the video, and I don’t get it either. What is the point of this device? I think there’s a good reason that I have never heard of this thing.

The Mylo is kind of like an iPod touch, but it’s no where near as cool. Based on the video, it also looks like it is really difficult to use. Apple clearly learned a lot from Sony when they came out with the original iPod. Sony was the king of digital music players (CD Walkman) back in the day, but it seems they have lost their way. They’re in too many markets, and they need to get back to what they do best: top quality, innovative audio and video products. It’s time for Sony to learn from Apple and get their groove back.