OK - so I'm waiting for people to yell at me saying that this is completely old news, but I found a really cool (and useful) shortcut recently. Completely by accident.
Holding down the Apple key while clicking on an application in the Dock will reveal that application in the Finder. This is really useful - and guess what? It even works in spotlight! The only reason that I was keeping quicksilver around was so that I could quickly "reveal" items in the finder, but now, all that's needed is to activate spotlight, type in the item you want, and hold the apple key when pressing enter on the item.
I think it's cool, at least...that's all that matters, right?
Showing posts with label General. Show all posts
Showing posts with label General. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Microsoft/Yahoo
I was reading an article at Roughly Drafted today (http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/02/07/why-does-microsoft-really-want-yahoo/) - and one thing totally hit me that I hadn't thought about before. If Microsoft is actually successful in their bid to buy Yahoo!, then what *is* actually going to happen with all their duplicate services? Do we get Hotmail or Yahoo! mail? Who's search backend will actually be used to power both sites? Will they continue to maintain differently branded portals?
It seems to me like it's a horrible waste of resources to keep both systems going separately - however, at the same time, it would be a waste to discard the brand positioning of either company.
It seems to me like it's a horrible waste of resources to keep both systems going separately - however, at the same time, it would be a waste to discard the brand positioning of either company.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Telecommuting
I just read an article which talked about benefits of telecommuting - for the telecommuter...but not for the ones left behind.
I can't agree with this more. I have been telecommuting for nearly 2 years now, twice per day - and I can totally see the benefits. Many of the others in the office are also starting to telecommute (I am proud to say I was among the first in our office to do it, though!)
At first, I was afraid that it would be *me* who ended up being "left out" - but once more and more of us have been working at home, it has not been as bad as at first imagined.
One thing that is vital to being able to successfully telecommute is having everyone available at all reasonable times via some kind of instant messenger. This includes those who are in the office as well as out of the office. I can't count the number of times that I needed to get a hold of someone, and they weren't online. Email is just too slow!
Another thing is a reliable VPN connection and a fast Internet connection at home. On my mac, I have found that the best thing to do is to set up some ssh tunnels...and I have written a couple of scripts to automate that process. One day, when I'm feeling particularly ambitious, I might build it into a "real" application instead of a bunch of shell scripts. I have just found that the Cisco VPN doesn't quite work as advertised...and it messes up a bunch of other things when your network connection gets dropped. In the spirit of the "Mac way" of doing things, I expect things to "just work".
I can't agree with this more. I have been telecommuting for nearly 2 years now, twice per day - and I can totally see the benefits. Many of the others in the office are also starting to telecommute (I am proud to say I was among the first in our office to do it, though!)
At first, I was afraid that it would be *me* who ended up being "left out" - but once more and more of us have been working at home, it has not been as bad as at first imagined.
One thing that is vital to being able to successfully telecommute is having everyone available at all reasonable times via some kind of instant messenger. This includes those who are in the office as well as out of the office. I can't count the number of times that I needed to get a hold of someone, and they weren't online. Email is just too slow!
Another thing is a reliable VPN connection and a fast Internet connection at home. On my mac, I have found that the best thing to do is to set up some ssh tunnels...and I have written a couple of scripts to automate that process. One day, when I'm feeling particularly ambitious, I might build it into a "real" application instead of a bunch of shell scripts. I have just found that the Cisco VPN doesn't quite work as advertised...and it messes up a bunch of other things when your network connection gets dropped. In the spirit of the "Mac way" of doing things, I expect things to "just work".
Friday, April 20, 2007
Amana Refrigerator Rebate Woes
Last summer, my wife and were in the market for a new refrigerator. We didn't *want* to buy a refrigerator - our Maytag one went out after only 3 years of use . . . and repairing it would have cost more than getting a new one. We really weren't excited to buy yet another major appliance, as we had just replaced our 3-year-old Maytag washer just 2 months earlier. Coincidentally (or not), my parents' refrigerator (Maytag) died at about the same time, and just weeks before that, their dryer (care to guess which brand?) also bit the dust.
Needless to say - Maytag wasn't very high on our list of potential products.
After consulting with Consumer Reports, we decided to get an Amana. Now, yes - Amana *is* owned by Maytag - but all the reports that we had read mentioned that they were among the most reliable.
We purchased our new refrigerator on July 25, 2006. At the time, Amana was running a promotion - the "Amana BottomFeeder Freezer Summer Rebate Offer". With the purchase of our refrigerator, we would get a $100.00 rebate . . . at least, that was the idea. Although we sent in the rebate the day after the purchase, 3 months later, we still had not received confirmation. A quick call to the Parago Rebate Processing Center (the company which Amana contracted to handle the rebates) turned up that they "hadn't received our rebate information" - and basically, we were S.O.L.
Well, 100 bucks is enough to get you motivated - so we called the store where we made the purchase. The Amana rep at the store called the rebate processing company and "magically" our rebate showed up the following day. We started tracking it at http://www.rebatetrack.com/promocenter/parago/trackdetails.html?track_number=209141794
It was received 10/27/2006 - nearly 7 months ago . . . and 3 months after the initial purchase. However, we were hopeful because the tracking site said that the rebate is "valid and scheduled for final processing."
Come the end of February, we realized we still didn't have our rebate. A quick call on February 22nd turned up an apology, and we were promised to receive a check within the next 15 business days - by March 15th. Well, still nothing by the 19th of March, we called again, and were told that they were "unsure of why the delay was happening." Our rebate was "expedited" for a second time - "Please allow 7 business days to receive your check."
March 30th - Spoke to the supervisor, and were told that they were going to expedite it one more time . . . and they gave us another 14-day window.
OK - a summary for those who are keeping score:
April 20, 2007 -
Today we called again - this time we wanted a real answer. We were sick of being "expedited" - and wanted to know what was going on. This time, we asked to be routed directly to a supervisor. Our first supervisor was Jeff. He told us that there had been "overwhelming response to the rebate" and they were "aware of the problem" - but they were unable to give us a timetable for the receipt of our money. Now - isn't that a step *backwards*???
We asked to be escalated to *his* supervisor - and ended up speaking with Oscar at Parago, who reiterated the "overwhelming response" line. He also refused to give an expected date for when we would get our check. He also promised to forward our information to *his* supervisor . . . moving on up the chain.
Now, we hold no fault with Parago - they are merely the fulfillment company for Amana - so we asked Oscar for any contact information for someone at Amana. He informed us that he did not have that information. Feeling that we had hit a dead end, we tried to push for more information. He indicated that "per company policy" he was not allowed to verbalize the reason for the delay himself. So my wife (who is wonderful and has spent hours of time trying to track down this issue) tried to "guess" at the reason. What follows is more-or-less how it went down:
Brenda: "Is your company a contractor for Amana?"
Oscar: "Yes"
B: "So your company acts as a contractor for Amana - is it the fault of your company for failing to fulfill your obligations to your customer, or is it the fault of Amana for not providing sufficient funds to satisfy the rebates?"
O: "As a matter of company policy, I am not allowed to verbalize to you the exact nature of the problem, but I can tell you that you are on the right track."
B: "So you're telling me that Amana has not provided the money to send to their customers."
O: "You've guessed correctly."
WHAT?????!!!! Amana doesn't have the money to pay their obligations? That is ridiculous! I don't know what is going on - but that is not right. I wonder if Whirlpool knew about this situation when they were merging with Maytag/Amana. I wonder if Whirlpool is the *cause* of all this. Has anyone else had a similar problem with Amana/Maytag/Whirlpool? Is there anyone out there who might be able to shed a little light on what might be going on? Please post a comment and fill us in . . .
All told, we still don't have our money. Ironically, we received in the mail an invitation to extend our warranty with Amana . . . since we are nearing the 1 YEAR MARK of owning our refrigerator.
I wonder if I should send it in . . .
Needless to say - Maytag wasn't very high on our list of potential products.
After consulting with Consumer Reports, we decided to get an Amana. Now, yes - Amana *is* owned by Maytag - but all the reports that we had read mentioned that they were among the most reliable.
We purchased our new refrigerator on July 25, 2006. At the time, Amana was running a promotion - the "Amana Bottom
Well, 100 bucks is enough to get you motivated - so we called the store where we made the purchase. The Amana rep at the store called the rebate processing company and "magically" our rebate showed up the following day. We started tracking it at http://www.rebatetrack.com/promocenter/parago/trackdetails.html?track_number=209141794
It was received 10/27/2006 - nearly 7 months ago . . . and 3 months after the initial purchase. However, we were hopeful because the tracking site said that the rebate is "valid and scheduled for final processing."
Come the end of February, we realized we still didn't have our rebate. A quick call on February 22nd turned up an apology, and we were promised to receive a check within the next 15 business days - by March 15th. Well, still nothing by the 19th of March, we called again, and were told that they were "unsure of why the delay was happening." Our rebate was "expedited" for a second time - "Please allow 7 business days to receive your check."
March 30th - Spoke to the supervisor, and were told that they were going to expedite it one more time . . . and they gave us another 14-day window.
OK - a summary for those who are keeping score:
- July 25, 2006 - Purchased refrigerator
- July 26, 2006 - Sent in rebate (expecting standard 90-day turnaround)
- October 26, 2006 - Called rebate fulfillment company to find that our rebate "never arrived"
- October 27, 2006 - Rebate "magically" shows up on fulfillment tracking website - marked as "valid"
- February 22, 2007 - Told that we would be "expedited" and would get rebate in 14 business days
- March 15, 2007 - Told that we would be "expedited" and would get rebate in 7 business days
- March 20, 2007 - Told that we would be "expedited" and would get rebate in 14 business days
April 20, 2007 -
Today we called again - this time we wanted a real answer. We were sick of being "expedited" - and wanted to know what was going on. This time, we asked to be routed directly to a supervisor. Our first supervisor was Jeff. He told us that there had been "overwhelming response to the rebate" and they were "aware of the problem" - but they were unable to give us a timetable for the receipt of our money. Now - isn't that a step *backwards*???
We asked to be escalated to *his* supervisor - and ended up speaking with Oscar at Parago, who reiterated the "overwhelming response" line. He also refused to give an expected date for when we would get our check. He also promised to forward our information to *his* supervisor . . . moving on up the chain.
Now, we hold no fault with Parago - they are merely the fulfillment company for Amana - so we asked Oscar for any contact information for someone at Amana. He informed us that he did not have that information. Feeling that we had hit a dead end, we tried to push for more information. He indicated that "per company policy" he was not allowed to verbalize the reason for the delay himself. So my wife (who is wonderful and has spent hours of time trying to track down this issue) tried to "guess" at the reason. What follows is more-or-less how it went down:
Brenda: "Is your company a contractor for Amana?"
Oscar: "Yes"
B: "So your company acts as a contractor for Amana - is it the fault of your company for failing to fulfill your obligations to your customer, or is it the fault of Amana for not providing sufficient funds to satisfy the rebates?"
O: "As a matter of company policy, I am not allowed to verbalize to you the exact nature of the problem, but I can tell you that you are on the right track."
B: "So you're telling me that Amana has not provided the money to send to their customers."
O: "You've guessed correctly."
WHAT?????!!!! Amana doesn't have the money to pay their obligations? That is ridiculous! I don't know what is going on - but that is not right. I wonder if Whirlpool knew about this situation when they were merging with Maytag/Amana. I wonder if Whirlpool is the *cause* of all this. Has anyone else had a similar problem with Amana/Maytag/Whirlpool? Is there anyone out there who might be able to shed a little light on what might be going on? Please post a comment and fill us in . . .
All told, we still don't have our money. Ironically, we received in the mail an invitation to extend our warranty with Amana . . . since we are nearing the 1 YEAR MARK of owning our refrigerator.
I wonder if I should send it in . . .
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Email Posting It Is!
It appears that Google has gone and broken their dashboard widget.
BAD Google! I expected better of you.
One would think that they would be able to make sure that the blogger
dashboard widget that they use works with the blogger site that they
run - but since they upgraded the site, the widget doesn't work anymore.
And I'm sad.
So I think that I am going to try and do email postings from now on
instead - I'm getting tired of having the blogging software that I'm
using keep going belly-up.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
It's been a while...
I haven't written in a while - because dashblog hasn't been working for me, and I haven't had time to try and get it going.
I haven't done much anyway, except for edit the page at http://toonetown.blogspot.com/2006/07/java-readline-on-mac-os-x-update.html.
People are coming to the blog and asking questions, though - so maybe that will inspire me to keep it a bit more up-to-date...
I haven't done much anyway, except for edit the page at http://toonetown.blogspot.com/2006/07/java-readline-on-mac-os-x-update.html.
People are coming to the blog and asking questions, though - so maybe that will inspire me to keep it a bit more up-to-date...
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Mac Java = Messed up computer :(
My java got corrupted - so I had to reinstall my mac... :(
One thing I found - expat is already installed with X11 - so installing XML::RSS just requires running these two commands previous:
Pretty nice.
One thing I found - expat is already installed with X11 - so installing XML::RSS just requires running these two commands previous:
cpan> o conf makepl_arg 'EXPATLIBPATH=/usr/X11R6/lib EXPATINCPATH=/usr/X11R6/include'
cpan> o conf commitPretty nice.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
CougarFan - Finally
Yesterday, I finally had some time to work on the CougarFan.com website.
I didn't get to do too much, but I was able to get the DB schema in place and ready to go. We'll see how much more time I can find in the next few days...
I didn't get to do too much, but I was able to get the DB schema in place and ready to go. We'll see how much more time I can find in the next few days...
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
So much to do...
In my last post, I talked about some things that I'd want to do if I had the time - I thought I'd detail a bit more all of the things I'd like to do if I only had the time:
- Create my own desktop blogging client, like BlogWorkz
- Port K9 Web Protection to Mac OS
- Do CougarFan.com work
- Make Toonetown.com more "pretty"
- Convert OpenOffice help files into Apple Help files for NeoOffice
- Translate pages from the NeoWiki into Spanish
- Reconfigure my mail servers at home so that not just one machine does all the work
- Create native mac (non-X11) versions of The Gimp, Inkscape, Ethereal, and Dia
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Rain!
Trying to do yardwork today - but it's raining. :(
Oh well - nothing I can do about it, I guess.
Oh well - nothing I can do about it, I guess.
Friday, May 26, 2006
I guess we'll try this one out
OK - so my last attempts at blogging didn't really work out - so I'm going to try it out on a "real" blogging site.
We'll have to see how this all works out. I might actually do better at this now.
We'll have to see how this all works out. I might actually do better at this now.
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