to: publicrelations@netflix.com
cc: lkilgore@netflix.com
cc: reed.hastings@netflix.com
subject: Netflix profiles feature

To whom it may concern:

As a direct result of the email I received from Netflix last night regarding the elimination of the profiles feature, I have just placed my Netflix account On Hold.

For us, profiles are the most important feature differentiating Netflix from its competitors like Blockbuster Online. Profiles are integral to our Netflix experience. We are not interested in trying to merge queues or manage reviews and recommendations for three different people on a single profile/account.

My subscription is currently set to resume on 07 September 2008, but rest assured that if profiles disappear on 01 September I will instead cancel my subscription outright.

Posted by ra in rants at 01:04 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

What a lovely evening.

First of all, around midnight tonight some fucker rings our doorbell and runs off.
Great. So now I get to wonder whether it was just punk kids, or someone checking to see if anybody was home so they could rob the place. I might not be as concerned if someone hadn't rang the bell earlier today as well. I didn't answer it then because I was busy and I wasn't expecting anyone. But I can't help but wonder if someone was canvassing the neighborhood looking for unoccupied houses to return to at night.

Then, when I come back inside I'm greeted by an email from Netflix that says they are removing profiles. WTF. Their profiles are in my opinion one of their best features. We have three profiles on our account. Their email tells me they are eliminating profiles to "help [them] continue to improve" their site. If this is a taste of "improvements" to come then I guess it's about time to "upgrade" my Netflix account... to the ZERO discs plan. I'm canning their asses to let them know what I think.

GRRRRR. FUCK. THAT IS ALL.

Posted by ra in rants at 02:33 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

YES, everyone knows verizon sucks, but this is JUST SAD. I am dying listening to this shit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp0HyxQv97Q&eurl=

More details/background here:

http://verizonmath.blogspot.com/

Posted by ra in rants at 03:28 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

I've occasionally noticed that my "new" computer (now 1.5 yrs old) is somewhat quirky about playing sound. I use the onboard sound chip, which actually sounds fine. It is a Realtek ALC850 and it uses a connector module that is insulated from the motherboard which reduces interference.

The problem is that I could only play one sound at a time. This would get really frustrating because something would have the audio device locked and then I would try to play a song or a movie and I just wouldn't get any sound. I finally got sick of bumping into this problem so I did some research to figure out what the heck was going on.

The conclusion? Simple! This POS does not have a hardware sound mixer! In windows, I assume the mixing for this thing is done in software by default once you install the driver, so one might not ever realize there is no hw mixer. I could setup software mixing in linux, but why would I want to increase the load on my cpu for that? Especially when I have several old SoundBlaster Live!'s sitting around.

So I grabbed an SBLive and stuck it in, disabled the onboard sound and rebooted. Voila. I had had the foresight to include the emu10k1 modules when I setup my system-- just in case-- so once the system came back up I instantly had sound that worked with multiple streams playing at once.

I'm really happy to have easily solved that problem, but damn is this pathetic! I had avoided onboard sound modules for years, but I figured by now they would be pretty decent. Nope, even on a higher-end motherboard cost-cutting has taken precedence over performance and quality. The SBLive that I purchased EIGHT years ago handily outperforms the onboard sound of my still newish computer. I've read that the nvidia nforce 1 and 2 actually included a nice sound chip, with hw mixer, but it was axed starting with nforce 3 to cut costs.

No wonder new computers often don't feel as fast as they should. The manufacturers assume that because you have a faster cpu they can eliminate chips designed/optimized for a certain task and simply offload that work to the cpu in software.

Posted by ra in rants, tech at 00:26 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Another month, another verizon v710.

Sure enough my most recent replacement phone started acting up just like the two before it. Each one has gradually become resistant to charging until finally it refuses to charge at all. I get a new phone (using the same old battery) and the charging problems are gone... for a while... until they slowly return... and I won't be able to charge the phone anymore.

The other day I took possesion of v710 number four. This is insane. I love Motorola phones, but I have to say their CDMA phones are shit. I love my Motorola GSM, but I never want to own another CDMA phone again.

Verizon was as helpful as ever... they tried to charge me $75 for the replacement v710 or $150 for a different model. I ended up getting the new 710 at no charge; but seriously, what a bunch of wankers!

Posted by ra in rants, tech at 22:28 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

Today I am going to spout off about foreign currency transaction surcharges imposed by credit card issuers, because this practice PISSES ME OFF.

First let me explain how things used to be.
When you used your Visa or Mastercard overseas for a purchase in a foreign currency, Visa and Mastercard converted the amount to your own currency in order to bill you, and gave you a favorable exchange rate. They also charged you a small fee, amounting to 1% of the purchase amount, for providing this service. That was reasonable, and it still got you nearly the best exchange rate possible.

What credit card issuers are doing now:
At some point, at least six years ago, the credit card companies began tacking on their own foreign currency transactions surcharges, on top of the 1% levied by Visa and Mastercard. The credit card issuers do not provide any services to justify the additional 1% to 3% surcharge (varies by card issuer). The currency exchange is handled by Mastercard/Visa. Mastercard and Visa provide toll free phone numbers in foreign countries in case you have a problem with your card, whereas most card issuers do not.

Posted by ra in rants at 23:31 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Here ye, I offer further proof that SBC sucks, as evidenced by the stupid-beyond-all-reason remarks of the head moron in charge over there.

Umkay... Google and Vonage do not seek out my computer and make connections to it. No. I seek THEM out and I make connections to them.

And why is this OK? Oh yeah, because I pay for MY "pipe"!!!

Posted by ra in rants at 18:22 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)