AT&T…. Idiots…

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I called AT&T to say I want to port my existing number to another carrier but I do not want to cancel my service — just want a new number assigned and keep everything else the same. Well, AT&T says I’d have to go add an additional line before I port the number because a port has to cancel that line of service. I said that’s ok, I just need a SIM card and no phone since I’m already using a phone — but she was still insistent this would extend my contract 2 years. So I said no thanks, I’ll just see about moving everything off 🙂

But here’s the problem: lots of people transfer their existing cell number to Google Voice and have their carrier reassign a phone number. So obviously this is being done all the time — I don’t think most people are cancelling their contracts and going in to sign new ones. AT&T is so set on forcing you back into a contract that they even told me that an old rate plan I had could not have text messaging added to it because it wasn’t supported. But text worked just fine — at 20 cents a message….

Concession Speeches

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Seeing the flurry of commentary, speeches, etc that has come out after the recent US election has gotten me thinking. Why is it we expect the loser in a race like this to come out and make some grand speech? Good sportsmanship? A sign of class? I mean, the guy just lost out on something he had been working towards for the last 12 to 18 months; I suspect he isn’t too thrilled with the outcome. I would love for one of these runner-ups (Romney for this example) to come out and say something like:

“Dammit, I thought we were going to win this one. Congratulations President Obama. We wish you all the best. You will be in our thoughts and prayers as you continue to represent and lead this great nation.”

Simple and to the point. Yes, it doesn’t have the same flowery appeal as what we normally hear, but I would find that quite refreshing. We all know you are tired and disappointed – let a little bit of it out! Now, I am not saying that the runner-up(s) should be not be gracious, or should be rude in some way. All I am saying is, you’re not a robot; don’t see much reason in acting like one.

Anyone else getting a bit tired of all of the canned responses we seem to get from the losers?

The Agile Politician

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So – if you are at all familiar with SW development, you know there is the classic waterfall development model, and then a bunch of new methods that “cut down on unnecessary clutter” to deliver “faster  and leaner” development.

The most pushed one of these is “Agile” development.

Well – I have been thinking about it and it sounds exactly like what politicians do…

  1. Say alot, maybe even promise some things, deliver nothing especially no documentation
  2. Talk alot, do nothing
  3. Have daily scrums
  4. When pressed on progress – both say that due to the transition of the process the current efficiency has been diminished.
  5. When pressed on why it took longer than before – both say that it’s because of the last guy working on this who screwed it up.
  6. Instead of collaborate – blame.

So – what do you say?  Are as SW Programmers politicians at heart?  Or just those that promote Agile Development?

Just installed Windows 8 — and it tells me about the new iPhone

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So I just got around to installing Windows 8 final, haven’t tried it since the first preview. And I login and look at what I see on the bottom row of tiles:

It makes me wonder why my new Windows 8 install is taunting me with a proper touch UI on a proper touch device. Maybe I should just give up on Windows 8, it puts in the Eastern timezone incorrectly yet shows weather for Mumbai? I think it is as lost as I am…..

Test Drive Unlimited 2: Title Update error

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Test Drive Unlimited 2 has been horribly buggy since the launch, and it seems each update adds more bugs!  If you are unlucky enough to get an error saying you need a Title Update to use your game save, here’s how I fixed the error.

Delete and re-download all the addons: mandatory updates, Explorer Pack, Casino, cars/bikes, etc.  Do NOT delete your game save files!  This cleared up the error for me.

Now the strange part is that this has nothing to do with a “Title Update”.  What seems to be the issue is DRM.  The license on the first 2 downloads were before my last xbox died, and I transferred to the new xbox.  However there was no problem until I downloaded the new update — so it seems the mix is a real problem. Re-downloading makes it happy, but it is sad TDU2 is so buggy it doesn’t work with the xbox license transfer…

One other suggestion, while watching that progress bar for all the downloads, go ahead and order Forza Horizon — the real fix for this buggy mess…

 

 

Apple isn’t “green” — and I’m glad

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So I was reading how Apple lost its “green” certification — and I started laughing. I truly enjoyed this — and not really because Apple products are largely about the brand/product image to some consumers. Basically a nerd like me sees it as a slap in Apple’s face for making an un-serviceable product. In this case, the “green” problem is you can’t recycle the products reliably because they can’t be disassembled and separated — but I don’t really care about that so much as it shortens the useful life of machines in many cases (which obviously would send them to the landfill even quicker).

If I’m buying a “premium” product like a new Macbook Pro or Macbook Air — why shouldn’t I be able to change the hard drive instead of tossing the whole machine should something go wrong? I’ve changed the hard drives on my last two Mac laptops — one due to failure and one because 80gig just got to where it wasn’t enough room for media — much less dual boot with bootcamp!

So since this is TheIdiots.net after all, I’d like to congratulate Apple on making an image over their competitors by doing things like being “green”, and then getting slapped around by it for making an un-servicable product. Nice one!