Month: August 2009

I Was Trying to Reason With Software (or “How JustHost Does Bait and Switch”)

The past month, I’ve been on the hunt for a new Web host for a few personal domains. I have an account with 1&1, but they have a limitation on how long CNAME entries can be, so I need to look elsewhere. I signed up with BlueHost, only to discover their horribly limited control panel software didn’t do what I needed, so after three days I cancelled my account. Next I tried WestHost, quizzing their pre-sales people on exactly what I needed before signing up. They said they could do what I needed, so I signed up. Again, they had horrible control panel software that didn’t do what I needed it to do – the pre-sales people either didn’t understand my questions, or they weren’t being honest with me. So I cancelled my account with WestHost. It’s frustrating to waste time with this, but I’m thankful that both BlueHost and WestHost have simple cancellation policies and I got a full refund.

So I went on the hunt for other Web hosts, this time for ones that had better control panels. I’m not looking for “cheap” – I’d happily pay $10 to $15 a month for the account – but what I need is something powerful and flexible and based around the concept of multiple domains. I was looking at JustHost.com, and decided to sign up with them because they use Cpanel, which I’ve used on my own server before. I was going through the sign-up process, and on the second phase it asked me about adding upgrades to the account. One of them for for SPAM Assassin. I was a bit confused, because SPAM Assassin is free software that virtually every Web host out there uses. And JustHost wanted to charge me $19.95 for it:

spam-assassin2

In another browser tab I looked at the list of features, and sure enough, SPAM Assassin was listed:

spam-assassin

So which was it? When I was clicking around the JustHost site a chat window popped up, so I thought I might as well ask them about this. Here’s the transcript of that chat:

* * * * * * * *

Connecting to Agent…

You have been connected to Amber

Amber Says:Hey Wait! We would hate to see you go without seeing what’s made us Award Winning Web Hosts. So just this once I can give you a 20% discount on our unlimited hosting. That’s a $24 saving! To take advantage of this one-time offer just CLICK HERE

Amber Says:When you are ready just say “Hi” and we can get started….

You:Hi there, I have a question

Amber Says:Hi my name is Amber thanks for visiting Just Host today!

Amber Says:Is there anything I can help you with? Or if you would like to check out our last minute 20% discount, please CLICK HERE!

You:I’m in the midst of signing up now, and I’m confused about something….

Amber Says:Signing up for hosting with Justhost couldn’t be easier! If you want to sign up now just CLICK HERE and complete our simple 1 page order form!

You:on the Features page, it lists Spam Assassin and there’s a check mark next to it, seeming to indicate that it’s included in the package

Amber Says:Unfortunately we cannot accept checks or money orders. We only accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Paypal

You:Yet as part of my sign up package I’m being offered Spam Assassin for $19.95/year….

Amber Says:You get a free domain for life, free instant setup and you can host unlimited domains, plus, much much more.

Amber Says:Today only I can offer you this special 20% discount so you can sign up for just $3.95 month. Just CLICK HERE to get this today only offer!

You:are you reading what I’m writing? I’m asking you a question

Amber Says:Please repeat your question

You:You don’t have a scroll bar?

Amber Says:Would you like to sign up for our most popular hosting plan for just $3.95 / month?

You:No, I’m asking a question. Let me repeat it…

Amber Says:Ok Great!! To sign up for the $3.95 a month offer CLICK HERE

You:http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/subclass.asp?logon=&langid=EN&catid=24930

You:sorry, ignore that

You:on the Features page, it lists Spam Assasin and there’s a check mark next to it, seeming to indicate that it’s included in the package

Amber Says:Unfortunately we cannot accept checks or money orders. We only accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Paypal

You:Yet as part of my sign up package I’m being offered Spam Assassin for $19.95/year….

Amber Says:You may not have noticed but I am actually just a virtual agent, so I dont fully understand your question.

Amber Says:You can try asking me again and re-phrase your question, or why not contact our freindly phone support team toll-free at: 1-(888)-755-7585 they should be able to assist you further

You:A virtual agent. I’m talking to software. I assumed I was talking to someone who might as well have been software.

Amber Says:A virtual agent, basically means i’m not real,,, BUT that doesnt have to be a bad thing

You:Trust me, it’s a bad thing.

Amber Says:Sorry I can’t understand your question. Please can you repeat it for me?

[chat disconnected]

* * * * * * * *

And that’s how I started off my day today: trying to have a discussion with software. 🙂

Object Collection: Blank Generic Parking Ticket

small-Generic-Parking-Ticket

Blank generic parking ticket.
[Download high-res version, transparent PNG]

Be sure to check out the whole Object Collection category to find more scanned objects. These objects are free for personal use, but commercial use is prohibited without permission. Please see my Creative Commons License for further usage details.

Logan Dunn…One of Many

logandunn

I decided to do a search for Logan Dunn in Google to see where his name ranked, and sure enough, this blog is the #1 result for those two terms. But there are a lot of other Logan Dunns out there – including that cool Lex Luthor-looking dude above. I wonder if it’s even possible to name your kid something unique? I guess Trogdor Dunn would be unique enough to qualify… 😉

The Canadian National Do Not Call List: A Farce

Like many Canadians, when the National Do Not Call List was implemented, I went and registered my two home phone numbers, my one fax number, and both cell phone numbers in my family. I think I saw a drop in the number of telemarketers calling me, but it’s hard to say. This morning I as informed, by my mother of all people (I’m usually the one informing her of things like this), that this list isn’t quite what it appears to be. I’ll quote from the Wikipedia entry:

“In November 2008, it was reported that the CRTC had received thousands of complaints from Canadians about the implementation of the Do Not Call List. People reported that they had actually experienced a notable increase in the number of calls since registering for the list, and were starting to get calls at cellular phone numbers that had never received telemarketing calls before. In January 2009, numerous media and consumer advocacy organizations reported that anyone can use false information pretending to be a telemarketer and download the list for a $50 fee. It only took their reporter ten minutes to do so. The list is likely being downloaded and used as a telemarketing list overseas, where there’s little that can be done as the CRTC has no jurisdiction outside of Canada. On February 2, 2009, A Toronto Star headline labelled the CRTC’s do-not-call list a “disaster”, and the article recommended Parliament return to the original version of Bill C-37 by eliminating all exemptions. It further recommended cross-border cooperation to resolve jurisdictional issues and immediate tough enforcement to send a strong signal to violators.”

I had assumed there was some sort of “blind protocol” set in place here where the telemarketers would be required to do a database comparison with the Do Not Call List database, and numbers on that list would be purged from the telemarketers database. That’s the only system that would make any sense – yet it seems the system the government implemented was to bundle up all our phone numbers, hand it to the telemarketers, and say “Hey, don’t call these people, m’kay?”. Talk about naive! These telemarketers can then take that list of phone numbers and sell it on the international markets, or even pass it to their US branches to use as a calling list. Worst of all, they’ll get access to phone numbers that have never been put into the hands of telemarketers, such as cell phone numbers. What a mess.

Asus P6T Deluxe V2 4 GB RAM Mystery

Just a quick note for anyone that might run into the same problem as I did today: if you have an Asus P6T Deluxe V2 motherboard with the latest BIOS, and you’ve installed 6 GB (or more) of RAM in the system, and you’re only seeing 4 GB at the BIOS level, here’s what you need to do. First, take out half the sticks of RAM, leaving three sticks of RAM in, one in each of the orange RAM slots. Then power up the computer and go int the BIOS – it should see 3096 MB of RAM in the System Information section of the BIOS (it’s at the bottom of the first BIOS screen).

Now, power down the computer, unplug the power cable, and install the next three sticks of RAM, this time in the three black slots. Power up the computer, and go into the System Information section to verify that you have 6136 MB of RAM. That’s it, you’re done! I don’t know what idiot at Asus thought this was acceptable to ship a product where you can’t install all the RAM at once, but there you have it.

Remember too that you’ll see to be running 64-bit Vista or Windows 7 in order to access more than 3.5 GB of RAM.

When Marketers Make Up Words

When I was watching Tin Man (a pretty cool show I might add) I saw a commercial for So You Think You Can Dance Canada, and because I’m a sucker for those types of commercials, I didn’t skip past it. I raised an eyebrow when they said “It’s gonna’ be bucc Canada” – I’ve never heard the word “bucc” in my life. I decided to look at up Urban Dictionary, and got a laugh when I saw the top definition:

bucc

Logan Dunn’s Birth Announcement

logan-announcement-small

We’ve emailed this out to a bunch of friends and family, but if we missed anyone, here’s the original full-resolution image ready for printing (4×6 inch size).

A Second Letter from Vincenzo De Palma’s Lawyer Claiming Libel

vincenzo-de-palma-second-libel-letter

Above is a screen shot of the PDF file I was sent via email today by one Becky Mansour, Jeff Bone’s legal assistant. In order to “govern myself accordingly”, I’ve contacted the firm of BURNET, DUCKWORTH & PALMER LLP to advise me on this matter. I find it puzzling that Mr. De Palma’s lawyers think that simply writing the name of their client on this site is libellous. In my understanding of libel law, writing someone’s name online cannot be considered libel. At any rate, I have the weekend to consider my options and the advice of counsel.