Lack of Transparency

In the middle of November, my wife and I decided it was time to switch cell phone providers; we left AT&T and headed for Verizon. However, one of the main reasons we decided to make the switch is that through doing some due diligence, I realized we would be able to switch providers without any out-of-pocket expenses.
Prior to even receiving my first bill, ordering two iPhone 6s was an absolutely disaster. Over the course of two weeks, I had to run back-and-forth to Verizon three times because my order got so screwed up at the first store. In quantitative terms, I spent over 8 hours at the store with nearly none of that allocated to wait time but rather, talking through my issues with a sales associate. Those hours spent in the store don't even include the hours I spent on the phone with Verizon too. Finally after the tremendous adventure of ordering new phones, my order was correct. I figured things should be easy-breezy from here on out...
After my frustration over ordering the new iPhones subsided, I received my first bill which was >$400 -- for two phones!!! So I started digging through my bill and realized that I had been billed for one entire month, and then there were some pro-rated charges from the previous month -- which made sense. However, my discounts were not applied to the first month of service given that I started two days after the billing cycle had begun (i.e., my corporate discount and VerizonEdge discount were not applied). The most frustrating part was not the bill, but rather the surprise. As a customer, it's always important to feel that the company has emphathy towards your situation and is providing your with all the information necessary to make the best decision. Without question, I feel that Verizon failed to be transparent with me as the customer. I would have been more than willing to wait another month to start on the correct billing cycle, but I was not aware of the implications starting mid-cycle. In addition, I'm not too fond of paying pro-rated days when I had not received the phone. If it was actually correctly pro-rated, I would think that delivery time would not be included.
Overall, my start with Verizon has been an absolute unenjoyable adventure. My only hope is that the surprises I have encountered thus far are the last...
Austin

Thats never the case. Once you apply for the discount and its validated there not required to give you the discount because in the terms and conditions it states "we do ask that you please allow the one to two billing cycles for any eligible discount updates to appear on your monthy bill, and note the discout applies to eligible plans and features." the discounts not retro even calling employment validation they tell you its at the choice of customer care so if they say no thats its no way around it you have to just wait it out.

Similar Messages

Why does placed eps file containing a drop shadow lose transparent background?

When I place an eps file from adobe illustrator cs6, which has a drop shadow, into InDesign the file loses its transparent background and comes in with a solid white background. I'v selected the "Transparent" radial button in Illustrator while saving the file to eps but it doesn't work. Any ideas???

EPS means Encapsulated PostScript (it's really PostScript code wrapped up in a capsule that allows you to place it into other applications as an image), and the PostScript specification doesn't include transparency. That's why even though you have transparency in the Illustrator image, it's format won't translate that transparency data into usable transparency when you place it into InDesign. Lack of transparency support is one of the main reasons people recommend not using eps in a modern workflow.

Export with Transparent Background

I do realize this has been asked again and again. Just making a reality check. I created a lower third. Time and time again the import into Final Cut Pro was on a solid black background instead of a transparency.
I followed every post and followed the directions - with no success.
Finally I exported my Motion lower third as a Template. The effect appears as a Generator in Final Cut. When I use the created Generator in my timeline the lower third has a proper transparency and works properly.
Is that really the only way to import a Motion graphic with transparent background?? Yes, I did try creating a Movie in ProRes 4444, my project does have a transparent background selected, etc. I feel as if I am missing something.

Much appreciated :-)
I purchased the lower third from Videohive. It has the basic graphic but lacks titles. While I was watching Motion tuturials, I thought I would customize the lower third with a fancy text animation.
I tried a few experiments based on what you said. I see now.
So it appears that even though my proxy media lacks the alpha channel and does not display with a transparency, the moment I switch FCP to view Optimized/Original media, the transparency works correctly.
So I assume I can still use proxy media (if needed) and ignore the lack of transparency until my final render. As long as I am exporting from Motion using ProRes 4444 it should work correctly.
Does that reasoning make sense?
Looking at many posts across the internet, I think this is the very issue that has tripped up many people.
Thank you for your helpful comment. I was going nuts trying to figure it out.

Verizon representatives are committing fraud!

I currently have my line with a smartphone and two other lines both with basic phones, my mom's and my grandmas. Both basic phones will never need a smartphone due to the complexity. I have been a Verizon Wireless customer since my first cell phone and one of the biggest reasons I have always stayed with them was the customer support. However anymore there is no customer support, the customer is no longer important. After Verizon decided they were no longer going to allow the unlimited data plan on their phones they still allowed you to be grandfathered in to a new phone if you were to upgrade someone else's line and then switch the phone to your unlimited data line. I have done this for years and it has allowed me to keep my unlimited data by utilizing a family members upgrade under my account. When I went in to a local verizon store to upgrade to the new iPhone 6 I was informed that I would still be able to upgrade another line and then switch the phone over to my account with the unlimited data. However I was instructed to call customer service and have them take off the data that was required to be put on the upgraded line temporarily. I was assured there would be no issue removing the data and everything would be how it has always been. That however was not the case at all. When I first contacted verizon's customer service they told me that it would be no problem and they would take the data off the line that was upgraded, but no longer needing the data because it was a basic phone and no longer had the iPhone associated with that line. After a week or so I decided to check to ensure everything was done and saw that it was not. I then called customer service again and they informed me that there were new rules that were implemented to prevent customers from upgrading to smartphone and then moving the upgrade to another line and removing the data plan from the original upgraded line. WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED OF THIS IN THE BEGINNING?!!!!! They told me that they are now offering customers with unlimited data a special package of 6 gigs for 29.99 when they upgraded and they were no longer allowing customers to be grandfathered in by switching upgrades. Okay I understand this, but why was I not informed by the verizon store rep or the first customer service rep I spoke to??? Being frustrated i ended up calling back again and was told again I would be able to remove the data from the upgraded line because it was a basic phone and I would be able to keep the unlimited data on the line that now has the iPhone 6. When I called again to make sure, another rep told me it could not be done. I called multiple times after that with mixed answers and the reps telling me it could not be done blaming me. HOW IS THIS MY FAULT WHEN I WAS MISINFORMED BY VERIZON REPS BOTH IN THE STORE AND ON CUSTOMER SERVICE. How am I suppose to know all the new rules when clearly your own employees don't know the new rules. I am not nor was every trying to screw anyone over. If I would have known this in the first place, I would have upgraded my line and accepted the now 6 gig of data. But now they are telling me I have to keep a $30 data plan on a basic phone that will never use data because that was the line that was upgraded. I tried to come back to all the representatives with many fair solutions due to the negligence of their employees. 1) Fix the issue by upgrading my line like it should have been and give me the 6 gig of data for 29.99 that you are offering unlimited data users who upgrade. 2) Give me a credit to counteract the $30 fee that is now being charged for a data plan that shouldn't be there 3) let me return the phone and then redo the whole process correctly. Verizon is saying none of those are valid options. How are they not valid options when their company misinformed me numerous times. All my calls are recorded under there side and on mine stating that I can remove the data. There is proof that the customer service is misinforming customers leading them to make decisions they cannot back out of. I am now left to cancel the basic line of service for $360 and either stay with verizon, which would be ludicrous, or go to one of their competitors. I will not back down from their lies. I don't care what I have to do or who I have to contact, I will not be taken advantage of because of their lack of transparency and false information!!!

Customer service is not the sales department or retention department.
The loop hole was closed that makes no difference if the representative knew about it or not.
Not all information is available as to when something changed or not.
We are responsible to check out what we want and how much it will cost. I don't take the word of any sales people.
Yeah you use another line to keep your unlimited data on your line. OK so its retained.
However because customers were doing this, Verizon decided if you purchased a smart phone on that line (basic) it changed to a data line. You have to have it on the basic line first before you swap it to your unlimited line.
So you swapped. However the loophole is closed. The basic line went to a data line and now you have 2 years of paying for data on that line.
Even if you were lied to, it was something you could have changed back within 14 days on that worry free guarantee.
Like I said it is a lesson learned. This loop hole being closed is readily available on the net and if the customer service people knew about it I am sure it would have been mentioned.
http://stopthecap.com/2014/08/14/verizon-wireless-closing-unlimited-data-plan-upgrade-loopholes-the-latest-party-ends-82…
Verizon may be about to close a loophole for its remaining unlimited data users | Android Central
And there are many more.

3 Droid Turbos in 4 Days, A true story of potential Verizon Employee Fraud and Insulting Service

If you want to hear a worst case scenario with verizon employees and new hardware defects, here you go. Kudos if you read the whole thing, I don't expect most people to...unless you're one of those people with a faulty battery/camera flash/screen/speaker. Then, enjoy and beware. What follows is a true story. Thursday 10/30/2014 12pm – Purchase Droid Turbo #1
– Went to Verizon Store and worked with sales associate John to purchase my new droid turbo. I traded in my OG droid razr maxx for $100 rebate, and then John tried to “sell” me a wireless charger for the device by saying he could waive my upgrade fee to apply towards the product. Having already read about the promotion for waived upgrade fees, and knowing it is not only applicable towards products in store (as John was insinuating) I declined, feeling decidedly like John was trying to take advantage of me and the lack of knowledge I may have about current Verizon promotions. Friday 10/31/2014 –Full Day with Droid Turbo #1
Used Turbo Unit 1 for 24 hrs, after charging to full. My battery drained unusually fast, so that I was getting less than 20 hours on the battery. I took screenshots of my battery reports during two full discharges to demonstrate to reps that the battery was in fact underperforming, knowing that evidence would be useful because it is hard to just look at a phone and tell it has a battery issues. Saturday 11/1/2014 – Return Turbo #1 for Turbo #2
11am- Returned to Verizon store. I worked with sales associate “Ross” and brought my concerns to his attention. He also frequently made furtive trips to have whispered discussions with Andre, who I assume is his manager, throughout our conversation about my wanting a replacement unit. They did a “test” on my phone in which they just opened up a call and let it sit for 15 minutes, then said “oh it looks like it drained normally.” As if they know, on a phone that is literally 2 days old. I could tell they were (removed)me, they had no interest in looking at the battery data I had saved on the phone demonstrating the VERY fast discharge, and when I expressed my displeasure, Ross again went and had another whispered conversation with Andre, and he came back and said “we want to help you out….” He proceeded to tell me that they would replace the unit for me. He then went into the back and came out with a box in one hand and another Droid Turbo unit in his other hand—I never saw him take it out of the box. He switched my sim card into the unit he brought from the back, and said I had to keep my current box/etc and did not give me the matching box with the unit. Here is the first time I have a unit that doesn’t match my box/IMEI number information. This is despite me requesting the box to keep the serial numbers consistent. Saturday 11/1/2014 – Later that Day with Turbo #2
When I get Droid Turbo #2 home and start using it that evening in low light conditions, I see that there is a noticeable change in color from the top left to the bottom right of the screen. It was evident in multiple apps, and although subtle, is very apparent when you utilize a graphic designed to test color and brightness consistency on a display. (I used Display Test app, “viewing angle graphic” which demonstrated clearly the screen was not uniform.) I make plans to go in on Sunday and have it exchanged for a unit with consistent color reproduction.
Sunday 11/2/2014 – 11am. – Returning Turbo #2 for Turbo #3
I return to Verizon for the 3rd time in 4 days. At this point, I am feeling decidedly emotionally raw from my previous experiences in which I felt that employees had ZERO interest in what I had to say or show them. I explain that I’m here to have my device replaced because the screen color is not uniform. They immediately get General manager Steven S. to deal with me, and after taking a cursory glance at my unit underneath glaring overhead can lights at the front desk (where you can hardly see the screen anyways) tells me “He doesn’t see a problem.” I am detecting barely contained hostility at this point—I feel that the employees have labeled me as a “problem” to be dealt with. Another employee, Matthew, hovers nearby the entire time I’m dealing with Steven, making me feel even more ganged up on and adding non-helpful comments from time to time. At this point they have made no effort to get any information from me. I needed to tell them that the flaw is visible in dim light, when the screen brightness is turned down lower, and how you can see it in certain apps, etc, but they took a defensive posture from the beginning as though they had already decided I was wrong. After nearly 90 minutes standing at the counter arguing in front of MANY CUSTOMERS IN THE STORE, that there was a flaw that CAN BE PERCEIVED, I plead for them to just LOOK more closely at what I’m trying to show them. I am at my wit’s end at this point, ready to cancel my contract. Steven S. finally goes to get a magnifying instrument resembling a jeweler’s loupe, and looks at the test graphic that clearly shows the non-uniform screen through it. HE AGREES THAT HE CAN SEE THAT THERE IS A NON-UNIFORMITY IN THE COLOR REPRODUCTION ON THE SCREEN!!! This is an important point, because later on I am told that “there was no defect found on the units I returned” by Solutions manager Jeff. Steve S. agrees to replace the unit as defective and tells me Matthew will get my replacement. Matthew then goes into the back and does not emerge for nearly ten minutes. Just to get my unit from the shelf? When he comes out of the back, again, he is holding another turbo unit in one hand, and the box it may or may not have come out of in the other. Like Ross did for my last replacement, Matthew swaps my sim card into the other unit, but does not give me the new box despite my asking to exchange, again, to keep serial numbers consistent. At this point they could have given me back the unit I had returned the day before and I would not be any wiser. I’m feeling more and more uncomfortable about the lack of transparency in this process, and the way employees at this store are handling my complaints and concerns in general. I leave the store, vowing never to return and completely emotionally traumatized and exhausted from the process. When I get home that evening……and start to use my Droid Turbo #3….the flash starts to malfunction. At first it just misses timing on a photo every third or so, making photos oddly red and dark. Then, it’s giving an odd “half flash” instead of a fully bright flash occasionally. Solutions Manager Jeff G, sent me text message following up on my customer experience. I responded:
(Mon, 11:31 AM) “the camera flash has been wonky on two occasions, like it isn’t timed right with the shutter..I’ll wait and see how it works out.” He does not respond. Sunday 11/3 and Monday 11/4 – Turbo #3 Flash Not working at all, periodically. As I’m testing the camera over Sunday night and Monday morning, the flash stops working completely on three different occasions. Even when set to “always on” the flash has just stopped turning on. It gives a weak “half flash” the first time you try after it’s been sitting a while, then just never turns on again. This happens on and off as I test the camera in various lighting situations. Clearly a malfunction, by any definition. Again, I text Solutions manager Jeff G:
(Mon 6:49pm) “Hahah crud. My flash no longer works at all. Apparently it wasn’t going to be ok.”
Jeff G responds:
(Mon 7:06pm) “At this point, any manufacture defects needs to go through Motorola directly. We have exchanged 2 devices already for this line we will not be able to exchange out a 3rd device for the same model. If you are still unhappy with this device we can exchange it for a different model phone and we will waive the $35 restocking fee, however, if you feel this is just a manufacture defect you can reach out to Motorola at 800.734.5870 or motorola . com So according to the Solutions manager , there is a 3 unit limit per customer on models of the same device, despite experiencing manufacturers defects that employees admitted were in fact manufacturer defects? I respond:
(Mon 7:06pm) “ I didn’t realize there was a limit on manufacturer defects! What would you recommend? Is a non working flash on a phone that has taken less than 50 pictures a manufacturer defect or a feature of the droid turbo? Because I’d love to have your answer on record.” Jeff G responds:
(Mon 7:13pm) “After reviewing the devices exchanged the manufacture defects that were reported are not currently listed as defects by Motorola as a result the devices exchanged were done as a courtesy as a Verizon customer. Future defects should be reported to Motorola. Again if you are unhappy with this phone we are willing to make a final exception to waive the restocking fee to exchange the device for a different model.” So, at this point I am insulted and offended. First of all, the devices I returned were not exchanged as a “courtesy”—I had demonstrated and provided evidence, BEYOND WHAT SHOULD EVER HAVE BEEN NECESSARY OF A CUSTOMER YOU WANT TO BE COURTIOUS TO, that each of the devices I exchanged were not performing as advertised. Secondly, he is flat our refusing to honor Motorola’s manufacturer’s warranty, despite the fact that I have had the unit for less than 24 hours and it is in PRISTINE condition.
Can a Verizon employee (Jeff) arbitrarily and retroactively change the terms of your exchange of a defective device? Verizon is contractually obligated to provide you with a device that functions as described, but instead Jeff is saying “basically, we took care of you because you whined about it hard enough.” This is despite the verbal attestation of multiple employees at the location that the defects were indeed noted at my time of exchange. Tuesdsay, 11/4/2014 – I call Motorola. (Case # XXX-XXXXX) I take Jeff’s advice and call Motorola- I still want a functioning Droid Turbo. Talk to Tech support about flash issue, they agree to send a replacement unit no problem. They ask me for the IMEI number. This is where the problems created by the employees at the Verizon Store Maple Village come to the surface.
I give Motorola my IMEI on the box (XXXXXXXXXXXXX) —but it doesn’t match my device info in their computers. (Remember how they would not give me the matching boxes with my exchanged devices?)
So we investigate further. Motorola tech has me dial a number that gives me Droid Turbo #3’s internal number. (IMEI: XXXXXXXXXXXXX) I get put on hold…and apparently escalated to Tier 2 tech support because the number I gave them isn’t matching the numbers they should have in their system. Fraud alarm bells have gone off, something about what he saw in the info attached to the IMEE# of my device.
Motorola tells me that the Verizon employees have done something wrong, and perhaps even illegal, in processing my exchanges. He says that I need to return to the store and request a replacement unit, with the matching box, serial numbers, parts, etc. This effects my warranty, and apparently could be related to illegal practices behind the scenes at this particular Verizon store? He’s vague about the details, but says they need to escalate it. He gives me a case number and says I’ll be contacted within 48 hours during the investigation. In Summary:
I don’t know what to say at this point. I demand as many replacement Droid Turbo models as is necessary until I receive a unit that functions as designed and advertised, without defect or flaw, and not as a “courtesy as a Verizon customer,” but as a “fulfilment of the contractual obligation Verizon has to its customers.” This does not seem to be an unreasonable request, given that I am paying for a product and service.
Update at time of publishing: My camera flash has not malfunctioned in 24 hrs, I don't know if it was just working out the kinks, was software related, or new battery, who knows. I don't. What I do know is I have 0% expectation that I will get a replacement unit, so I'm probably just dropping the turbo instead of risking having an unwarranty-able device with no Verizon support and a potential faulty flash.
>> Edited to comply with the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service <<
Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

Me? I wouldn't want a device with that many problems and would take the offer to change with a waived restock fee. Who wants to deal with that?
My phone advertises a 17 days standby time but I have never gotten that. When I use it for things like Facebook, texting, call, web browsing or anything else it drains the battery. Happens to all mobile devices.
Was this purchase made at a corporate store? They should have scanned the new ESN onto your account and not just switch the SIM. They would only give you the new box if you had the old box with you.
In either case, if they're still willing to waive the restocking fee, I would switch devices to a different model. It is not up to VZW to make sure that your device is not defective. That is up to the manufacturer of the device.

IPhone 5 refuses to sync most of my music for no apparent reason

iPhone 5 running the latest version of iOS 7, trying to sync to the latest version of iTunes for Windows. Syncs about a third to half of my music (700-1200 songs out of 3000) before saying "finishing sync" and displaying nothing more than the Apple logo at the top. Bar at the bottom displays the 20 gigs of music that would be, but upon looking at my phone I have access to maybe a handful of tracks, ranging from 50-100. Have tried a system restore, have tried unchecking all music and rechecking it. Most of this music is in high-bitrate MP3 format, some is on .aac, none of it is "protected" or purchased from the iTunes store. This music is on an external hard drive along with my library file; going to try to move them to my internal later today, as I fear my hard drive might be dying and this might be causing the problem. If there are any utilities that give me more feedback than what iTunes is currently giving me, I would appreciate links to them. This is by far the most frustrating issue I have ever encountered as a tech user and the lack of transparency as to what is actually occurring when I plug my iPhone in contributes much to that.

If the hard drive that crashed is the one that stored the itunes library, be sure to restore the library from Time Machine (mac) or whatever backup you use on windows. That will get back your music. I suspect that the replacement drive has an empty itunes library and thus, perhaps, the itunes match used that to sync to its servers.
Try posting in the iTunes Match forum, you'll probably find more knowledgeable folks there.
https://discussions.apple.com/community/itunes/itunes_match

The last of us.

So here we are. Approximately two weeks before the end of the year and confirmation hits that AT&T is rolling out 4.3 to their Note 2 customers while "the best" hasn't even given an idea of when (or even if) we will get it. Not only has the customer service been EXTREMELY upsetting at the lack of any kind of communication, but as a loyal Verizon Wireless customer for almost 10 years I feel completely disappointed to continue to send my very hard earned money to a company that doesn't have the decency to address the comments and concerns of the very people that bring it profit and business. Don't get me wrong, my phone works fine, and I still love it, but the ENTIRE reason I spent $300 on the Gear was that the Note 2 showed as compatible at Best Buy. It isn't though is it? And any discussion of alternate methods of getting 4.3 on the forums is met with a strict moderation team that won't take the time to answer our questions but is all too willing to take the time to moderate and remove posts.
Here's an idea: maybe help us instead of making Verizon look any more one sided than it already does. Maybe at the very least point us in the right direction to find information ourselves. It is clear Verizon did a splash test of 4.3, because if they didn't then hackers would not have made it available already (which is extremely sad that unpaid hackers work faster than a multi billion dollar company.
I know it won't get us anywhere, but I am filing a report with the BBB about the poor customer service from Verizon as well as the lack of clarity when it came to compatibility with the Gear. This lack of transparency borderlines on false advertising.
For Verizon to even think it is the best is appalling and sad. You are the last to roll out an update; behind US Cellular, Sprint, AT&T, and even hackers. This blinding speed we are seeing has made me decide to not pursue my business lines with Verizon, nor shall my home be getting FiOS for Christmas as originally planned. At the end of my contract date I will not be renewing my contract. I have had it with the disservice and lies from Verizon.

Well for starters all carriers got the 4.3 updates in july 2013, they (Samsung) released the SIII recently with the current Vs of android. it's a new fone like the Note 3, thing is if they would simply release the 4.3 to the note 2, it is very capable of doing the same thing as the note 3 without having to buy a new fone to use with the Gear. ohhh and Android has now released the 4.4 and the 5.0 will be out end of Jan to early Feb. the issue is everyone else has been updated yet Verizon is way way behind. I for one am willing to pay verizon's higher price BUT I expect to have the latest technology available to me in a timelt manner so for a multi billion dollar company to lag 6 month in releasing a simple update is a good question
As for you not needing or wanting an update for your phone thats your business you might not be into new things or technology but some of us do and we do pay for the services thus we have every right to make issue. these updates are given to the carriers well in advance of a new phone or gadgets (at least 6 months prior) are designed by the Manufacturers to make the fones work better and add some new programs. i do agree the only way to make a real impact is to go to a carrier that does meet our needs and demands I for one am doing so and i would gladly pay the early disconnect fee to get what i want..

Should optimize animation "actively" do anything?

i was just wondering, in an animated gif, should the optimize animation settings in cs5 (both bounding box and redundant pixel removal) "actively" do anything? by "active" i mean affect or alter the frames in any way after clicking "Okay" and prior to saving.
i was just asking because i saw this gif on tumblr and all the layers but the first have a lot of transparent pixels, which i feel is what photoshop should be doing with my gifs if i'm correctly understanding what the optimize animation settings do. all the animated gifs i've made thus far always lack any transparency even though some of the pixels are exactly the same.
here is the tumblr gif i was talking about:
and yeah i know it's pokemon, whatever, don't judge me

Thanks for you prompt response, Steve
Sorry, i should have made it clearer in my posting.
I am creating these animations externally (from another tool) such that they can be viewed using Acrobat.
I know it can be done with U3D because the format supports animation. I can create the u3d info from my application, and store it in a PDF container.
I was wondering if the same can be done for PRC - does the format itself support the concept of animated entities - i.e. parts moving (and perhaps other properties changing) over time?
-dr

N97 and iSync

Another exmaple of a problem with lack of transparency and communication from Nokia: What is the status of iSync for the N97. Is there a general problem preventing the N97 from being connected with iSYnc on the MAC? Or was there a problem which is now fixed in V20? Is Nokia working on this feature or not? Can we expect anything to happen, or should we just forget about it?
This is for some a very important issue, and the total non-communication is hard to understand.
Do anyone on this forum know anything about this? Or have found some way to do this?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Yay! Support for iSync has arrived. It do say that you need V20 on your N97, so I guess that sortof implies that there was some problem before, and it has been fixed now.
Wonderful! Now, if only the Swedish Nokia site would have said this, I wouldn't have posted, but looking at iSync from there, the N97 is still not listed as supported by iSync.
But I guess Nokia is not going to tell us anything, so this forum is really the only way of finding out important information, even when you would think that Nokia would be the natural place to go to get information.
Nokia really have an information problem, and they seem to be totally unaware of how bad they are at communicaiton (which is funny, considering that they are a company that works with communication).

Over a Month of waiting... still no resolution dat...

Well after an initial activation date of 20th March and many hours spent on hold I still have no broadband. I have a £15 phone bill from my initial chase, and since finally getting my phone connected earlier this month, I still have no broadband which is all I joined BT for.
Utterly dissatisfied and if I have no further information this week I will be cancelling my subscription and joining the masses of people who warn future customers away from BT. I have had several slow and unhelpful reactions to my regular calls and queries. Each time I get a new "Account Manager" who's going to deal with my query personally and call me back in 48 hours. 72 hours later after having patiently waited I have to chase again, from scratch and explaining my issue from the ground up. Then I get a new name in India, who "understands my frustration" and will be updating me... I never hear back.
All I wanted was a date for when I will be connected, if it was close I'd have been prepared to wait.. if it was far out I'd have gone elsewhere. Something tells me BT knew that it would be a slow process hence their lack of transparency. I'm unable to work from home without an internet connection and I'm fully understanding why the BT consistently hit the bottom of the Which.co.uk independent polls! Can someone in the UK provide me with some detail?
I've invested enough time chasing, perhaps someone could offer me some help? If not I'll go elsewhere.

Provided that you are not running a business on a residential line, which is not allowed, I will ask for help.
I have asked a moderator to provide assistance, they will post an invite on this thread.
They are the only BT employees on this forum, and are a UK based team of people, who take personal ownership of your problem.
Once you get a reply, make sure that you are logged into the forum, then click on their name, you will see a screen like this. Click on the link as shown below.
Please do not send them a personal message, as they cannot deal with service issues that way.
For your own security, do not post any personal details, on this forum. That includes any tracking number you are give.
They will respond either by phone or e-mail, when its your turn in the queue.
Please use the tracked e-mail, to reply, not via the forum. Thanks
This is the form you should see when you click on the link. If you do not see this form, then you have selected the wrong link.
When you submit the form, you will receive an enquiry number, so please keep a note of it
There are some useful help pages here, for BT Broadband customers only, on my personal website.
BT Broadband customers - help with broadband, WiFi, networking, e-mail and phones.

Arstechnica: Creative lies on missing DTS/Dolby Decoding feature

Creative Says : "these functions are not supported at driver level in Windows Vista." This isn't true. When two of the driver files from a standard X-Fi card are replaced with two driver files drawn from a Dell-specific driver available at the company's support [url="http://support.us.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&releaseid=R44728&for matcnt=&libid=0&fileid=9372">web site[/url], DTS and DD decoding immediately reappear as options and function correctly."
"Creative might be able to get away with saying that DTS and DD decoding aren't enabled at the driver level for X-Fi and Audigy cards, but the functionality is clearly baked into the driver and is thus supported."
[url="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/2008033-creative-irate-after-modder-spruces-up-vista-x-fi-drivers.html">Arstechnica story on the Dolby & DTS Decoding scandal
[/url]
Below is my open letter to Creative about this situation ....
To Creative Executi'ves ,
I am a core customer, someone who has been purchasing your cards for years. Hear me out.
What you may not realize is this whole backlash about your drivers is not new, it has been building up slowly for months and has just now come to a head. With both my Audigy and more recently my X-fi Fatality card on XP, I have always used my Creative card as the center of sound on both my computer and my entertainment system. I took it for granted that after spending so much money on the ultimate sound card, that I could just plug in my cable box or dvd player into x-fi and my Klipsch speakers would hum. After spending so much money on computer speakers that would also double as my TV center speakers I was not about to buy another external decoder to do something I expect my sound card to do.
At first after moving to Vista I thought that this feature was eventually coming, that you were working diligently to get my x-fi's decoding capabilities back. Then month after month my expectations dwindled. Imagine my anger when I come to realize that this feature was purposely removed at the software level. That by simply adding two files from a x-fi dell driver that the feature came back. Then on top of it you pour salt into the wound by never fully explaining the reason why you removed these important features. Your explanation was simply that it was not supported and that PowerDVD would now handle all Dolby/DTS decoding. After months of waiting your explanation was far from sufficient. Imagine how annoyed i was trying to figure out how to get PowerDVD to actually decode something from an outside source , which it does not. In my case, and many others on this forum your explanation was lacking. Im going to take a leap and assume that something about Vista's DRM has prevented you from decoding Dolby & DTS. If that is the case why not come out and just explain it to your customers as such. Your lack of transparency on this issue has just been plain bad and now because of it you are angering your customer base.
Let me be clear, in my eyes, this situation has severely hurt your companies reputation and brand. The sad thing about this is that in the end this is not a story about lacking features. It's a story about a company with good products that just did not know how to effecti'vely communicate with it's customers. Will I ever buy another creative product again, I dunno. But I do know that this whole fiasco has decreased the chances that I will. If I do , it will most definitely not be one of your upper end products as I have always purchased in the past.
Im done with this rant, im going to play some Battlefield 2 with Ultra High EAX settings. Hey, at least they did not take away all my features like they did with those poor Audigy users
Message Edited by soundfire on 04-05-2008 09:4 PMMessage Edited by soundfire on 04-05-2008 09:45 PM

PawPaw, I feel your pain ! I currently own both an Audigy Platinum and a Creative X-fi Fatality. The main reason I purchased the upgrade cards which included breakout boxes is for the optical/digital in feature. As I say in my letter, I have, for years hooked up my DVD and cable box to provide my theater entertainment though my computer speakers. The setup worked great?
Creative in essence has retroacti'vely removed the feature that was the motivating factor in my purchase of their upper model cards. By making the decision not to add this "expected" feature on Vista (The default OS)? Creative, as I see it has in actuality removed a defining functionality from it's product line. It has made the front box with all it's special hook ups, pointless. Angering your enthusiast base is just not a good way to bring your company back into the green. If Creative had at least explained the reason for the feature removals, that's one thing. It would at least be a start towards improving customer communication.
It's sad to see such a staple in the tech industry go down hill so fast. While the company executi'ves in singapore are huddling around planning their company comeback.... Which is no doubt the next greatest thing high fidelity MP3 players . They ought to take some time out to think about the customer again because a company li'ves and dies on it's customers, not it's technology.
My first sound blaster card : Sound Blaster 6 - 993
Possibly my Last? : Creative x-fi fatalty - 2007

Where can I find out how much a Skype Number costs...

So, I get an email on Skype numbers. I click because I am interested and all I get in a bunch of fluff about how great it is. There is nothing that I can find about cost, anywhere. Is it under prices? No, or at least I did not that I see after clicking on every single option.
What is Skype hiding? The information should be there after I click from the email or at the very least after one additiona click. I shouldn't have had to go here to the community board to find out, and yet the only search that generated the information was the one here on the Community Board.
Enough of this manipulative crap. Skype needs to honest. Because of Skype's lack of transparency -- that i cannot be sure what I am buying -- my opinion of Skype is the lowest possible.

Hi, JohnB47,
Please permit me to clarify:
JohnB47 wrote:
So, my understanding is that all I would pay is the ongoing subscription for the phone number,
Correct! A Skype Number subscription is not bundled with other subscriptions or features. However, if you purchase a subscription first, a Skype Number is offered at a discounted price.
JohnB47 wrote: plus the call charges -
Correct! You will need either to Buy Skype credit or a Skype subscription in order to cover the costs of calls placed to fixed lines or mobile numbers from Skype.
JohnB47 wrote: i.e. there are no other recurring costs?
As long as outgoing call costs can be covered by the call subscription you purchase, there should be no additional costs. If you do attempt to place a call which falls outside what the call subscription covers, you will see a pop-up message indicating you would need to purchase credit to cover those charges.
To gain a clearer understanding of Skype subscriptions, I recommend a read through this FAQ article: https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA10414/how-do-subscriptions-work
Here is a link to the library of FAQ articles dedicated to Skype Numbers (formerly known as an "online number:" https://support.skype.com/en/category/ONLINE_NUMBER_SKYPEIN/
Kind regards,
Elaine
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Effecient Rotating of Images

In my experience, rotating images has always been a pain. I've come across a variety of methods for rotating, but I am not sure which one to use.
In my last game, I used the following:
public void rotate(){
if(alpha){
    myImage = new BufferedImage(width,height,BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_ARGB);
    Graphics2D g2d = myImage.createGraphics();
    if(!alpha){
    g2d.setColor(Color.black);
    g2d.fillRect(0,0,width,height);
    g2d.rotate(-rotation,width/2,height/2);
    g2d.drawImage(original,0,0,width,height,null);
}With this method, if alpha was true, the image was rotated and background transparency was preserved, but a new bufferedimage had to be created. If alpha is false, it is much faster but when two units move near/ontop of each other, you can see the squares around them b/c of the lack of transparency.
The Java Developer's Almanac says to use AffineTransform and AffineTransformOp to do the job. http://www.exampledepot.com/egs/java.awt.image/CreateTxImage.html
Recently while experimenting, I tried just rotating the original graphics:
g.rotate(-rotation,x+width/2,y+height/2);
    g.drawImage(i,getX(),getY(),null);
     g.rotate(rotation,x+width/2,y+height/2);So what is the best way (it may not even be one of the ones above). By best I mean fastest, where hundreds of partially transparent units are rotating on the screen at the same time.
One thing that annoyed me is that I have to use the negative of my rotation amount in order for it to work. I thought that theta is measured in a counter-clock-wise direction??
Thanks for helping

[url http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/2d/advanced/transforming.html]Transforming Shapes, Text and Images.

IPhoto hangs "closing the library"

Every time I close iPhoto on my iMac it endlessly displays "Closing the library." But it never closes unless force quit the program. Suggestions?

Well, that's a handy bit of information.
It didn't do it the first time it converted it.
Goes to my issue with the lack of transparency with some Apple products.
Too much gets hidden from the user.
Huh? You installed beta software? You know, nothing is hidden from the user who is prepared to learn and take the time to do it. It's a bit like a car in that way. Some folks never open the hood and look at the engine, some folks enjoy dismantling and re-assembling them. If you're not the person who enjoys that puzzle then don;t get involved with beta testing. Things go wrong. That's what the process is all about.
And I think you'll find that every software manufacturer on every OS might have a better help file.

Im having problems using NBA GAMETIME - League Pass streaming on WIFi

It works on 3G but not on WiFi! Please help! its says it can't locate my location but i have it to ALLOW MY LOCATION on the settings...

I'm glad I read this...I was just about to jet to my nearby bestbuy to pick up an ATV2 for nba league pass broadband.
Not surprised at all. I have subscribed to NBA LP Broadband for the past two years and have always been disappointed in its poor implementation of delivering its content. The worst is to check into a game right after it's live feed has ended, and to be greeted by the "this game will be available for replay soon" message. This lack of "transparency" in the way content is delivered runs across the board in their poorly conceived UI interface, the cludgy log-in process (through a series of webpages), and the poor poor customer support.
They really don't care. There are no competitors, there is no pressure to improve it. Content-delivery for NBA games, and probably all professional sports, is seriously seriously broken. The only reason to own cable/satellite for me, is to watch the NBA, but it's such a waste. And if you just decide to go with the NBA LP Broadband, you miss out on all the marquee games only available on ESPN and TNT (and now NBA TV) throughout the season. And then when the playoffs roll around, you're screwed, because you can only watch the playoffs on cable/satellite.
The only moment of grace, is to watch over-the-air HD feeds of the NBA Finals, which is FREE.
I'm curious to see if Apple and the NBA can get NBA LPB working on the ATV2, but I wouldn't hold your breath. The fault probably most likely falls on the NBA's end, not Apple's, past subscribers of NBA LPB, like me, know.

Lack of Transparency

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