Monthly Archives: November 2012

Google Play’s Customer Support Is Pathetically Low Tech

I’ve found Google Play’s Customer Support and general experience frustrating and sub-par since the moment I ordered my Nexus 7 – my initial order had my billing address (a PO Box) as the shipping address – a physical impossibility – yet refused to let me cancel the order, claiming that seconds later was already too late to cancel.  I got it sorted eventually, but was left with a bad taste in my mouth before I’d even received my device.  Now I’ve discovered that the device is faulty – I was already concerned that it was starting to suffer from the infamous screen lifting issue, but recently tried to use the 3.5mm stereo jack only to discover that the resultant audio was mono – and that swapping to a different cable, or even headphones, made no difference.  I had a great experience returning a faulty mSD card to Amazon recently and hoped Google might offer something similar – but instead was presented with no option but to give them a call – something I would find shocking from even a small online retailer, let alone a global technology leader like Google. (゚Д ゚ )

 

 

U.S. Grand Prix – Live On-Board Cams!

This weekend marks the return of Formula One to U.S. soil at the newly-constructed Circuit Of The Americas in Austin, TX.  My F1 Twitter List has been overflowing with pictures of various goings-on in the days leading up the the event, and now that practice is underway, SPEED is offering live on-board video during all three Practices, Quali, and the Race – should make for a very exciting weekend!!! (^o^)=b

[Update: I may have overdone it slightly with the on-board cams: Read More…

Fake Blood – Cells

Fake Blood - CellsAt long last, Fake Blood‘s debut full-length album, Cells, was released today!  The new LP contains nothing from his prior singles except End of Days and the titular Yes / No from his most recent.  While primarily consisting of the expected dark beats, there are some lighter moments, including appearances from fellow Black Ghost Simon Lord, and even a fairly obvious Giorgio Moroder/Donna Summer reference in Sideshow!  Be sure to check out the Fake Blood Facebook page for some interesting tidbits on the concepts behind some of the tracks!  d^_^b

Review: Values, Units, and Colors: Foundational CSS3 Components

Values, Units, and Colors is the third installment of Eric Meyer‘s partwork-style fourth edition of CSS: The Definitive Guide, previous editions of which are considered biblical by many.  O’Reilly seems to be trending towards shorter publications lately – emphasizing timeliness, as technology continues to evolve at an ever-increasing pace – over more definitive tomes like the 1100 page beast I picked up last year (though it is excellent!).  In addition to shorter, more specific publications, many are offered as Early Release eBooks, which give readers access to fragments of books as the author writes them – an effort which I appreciate, yet often curse when I discover for example that the introductory chapters are not yet complete, or that the specific topic that I desperately need information on has not yet been touched on.  The approach taken here is somewhat[1] novel: Meyer is offering final chapters (again, as opposed to Early Release’s often incomplete, buggy, or missing content) in inexpensive installments, with a discount on the final, complete book.  I’ve been a big fan of Eric Meyer since On CSS and More…, so was ecstatic to learn that The Definitive Guide would be receiving a much-needed update to its 2006 Third Edition.  That seems like an awfully long Read More…

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