I called and got a rep on the phone.  I explained to him that my service was down for almost 4 weeks and that I would like a refund for the downtime since I paid for something I didn’t get.  He told me that Microsoft’s policy is not to give refunds, but they gave us a free download.  I told the rep that I didn’t download the game, nor did I want it, but I wanted to either get a refund or have my memberships extended for an additional month for the downtime.  Regardless of my argument,   the rep who sounded like a broken record kept saying unfortunately, there was nothing he could do.  I then asked to be transfered to his supervisor.  The first rep was courteous and professional, but couldn’t come to grips with the fact that I paid for a service I didn’t receive and felt I was owed something more than a game I didn’t want.

I then got a cockier version of the rep on the phone who claimed to be a supervisor named Tony.  From my experience with this support call, it appears that to be promoted to supervisor you have to have an attitude about you that you are being annoyed by having to take a phone call from one of those, what do you call em again, oh yeah….  Customers.  Tony, (If that was his real name) then proceeded to explain to me how Microsoft Terms of Use say that the service is provided as is and if the service doesn’t work, then you are just out.  I told him that I paid money to access XBox Live and that I was not able to access it and that I either wanted a refund for the time period or my service extended for an extra month.  He told me they didn’t have to do that because of their terms of use and that the policy was the policy.  I told Tony that I felt like money was stolen from me because I paid for something I didn’t get.  I questioned him point blank saying I paid for a service and you didn’t provide it to me and you are telling me that you will not give me my money back for the service you didn’t provide.  To quote Tony “That’s Right!”.  He said their policy is their policy and there is nothing he could do. I then asked him for the contact information for someone who could help me and he told me that there was no phone number in all of Microsoft that could help me.

The conversation went back and forth for quite sometime, but the end result was that I am just screwed because I was foolish enough to believe that if I paid Microsoft for something I would get the service I paid for.  SO, read your terms of use carefully cause in reality if you don’t get the service you paid for on XBox Live it is your problem not Microsoft’s.

Focus Areas

- AirPort

- Back To My Mac

- Bonjour

- DiskImages

- Disk Utility

- FileVault

- Finder

- Firewall

- Graphics & Games

- iCal

- Keychain Access

- Mail

- Networking

- QuickDraw

- Time Machine

- Windows File Sharing

• Office 2003 can no longer open or save certain file formats. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 938810.
• MAPI forms do not run in public folders and user folders. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 938816.
• Office 2003 can now be configured to allow or deny specific COM components. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 938815.
• Some COM components with unusual characteristics may not function as expected. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 938814.
• Changes have been made to the behavior of Microsoft Office Document Imaging. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 938813.
• Attachments with the .gadget extension can no longer be opened in Outlook. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 938811.
• Access add-ins can no longer be configured for use by all users. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 938809.
• The Fast Save setting in Microsoft Office Word has been removed. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 938808.
• Documents saved in certain formats no longer contain the version number of Office. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 938807.
• Certain macros in older Excel file formats have increased security. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 938806.

Thanks Apple for taking care of your customers!  You really are a step above.

Apple iPhone Rebate

The install went fine, but I got an error the first time I plugged in my iPhone. Also, the phone disappears out of iTunes after about 3 or 4 minutes. I kept having to pull my phone out of the dock and putting it back in to get it to show up in iTunes.  Still working on the ringtone thing and will update you on that shortly.

I checked to see if there was an update for the iPhone, but as of right now it says the latest version is still the 1.0.2

Clicking on any of the following under “Your Account” on the Apple Store: View your orders, Order status, Track packages, Cancel items, Return items, Print Invoice brings you to a message saying the store is down pending an announcement later in the day.

While I will miss my iTunes episodes of the Office and Heroes, I must say that I would rather sit on the sidelines with Apple on this one. It is just another example of a dinosaur media company fighting for their archaic system instead of embracing the future of media and entertainment.

Shame on you NBC

Thank you Apple

LINK TO APPLE PRESS RELEASE

Got an email this morning from the company that makes the V3HD Firewire Video Interface that it is finally shipping. This device allows you to connect all kinds of audio and video devices to your Mac or PC through a firewire interface. According to the company it works with Apple’s Final Cut or Adobe Permiere and can capture HD and SD click on the fly.

B & H Photo has it in stock for a price of $2,949.00

More info after the jump…

Video Interface include:

• 1 x HD-SDI in and out (4:2:2 10-bit) on independent BNC connectors
• 1 x SD-SDI in and out (4:2:2 10-bit) on independent BNC connectors
• 1 x extra HD-SDI output connector
• 1 x extra SD-SDI output connector
• 1 x HDMI output (4:2:2 10-bit, YCbCr or RGB)
• Support for DVI output with HDMI-to-DVI adapter (sold separately)
• 1 x HD component in and out (10-bit, YPbPr or RGB) on independent BNCs
• 1 x SD component in and out (10-bit, YPbPr or RGB) on independent BNCs
• 1 x composite in and out (10-bit)
• 1 x S-video in and out (10-bit)
• 1 x 400 Mbit (1394) FireWire A
• 2 x 800 Mbit (1394b) FireWire B

Audio Interfaces Include:

• 32 channels of simultaneous audio input and output
• 8 channels of analog in/out at all standard sample rates from 44.1 to 192kHz
• 4 x XLR analog in/out — 4-channel direct connection without a breakout cable
• 8 channels of AES/EBU digital in/out at sample rates up to 96kHz
• 2 x AES/EBU connectors — 4-channel direct connection without a breakout cable
• 8-channel HD-SDI and SD-SDI embedded audio in/out, 24-bit at 44.1 or 48kHz
• 8-channel HDMI embedded audio output, 24-bit at 44.1 or 48kHz
• 8-channel ADAT optical digital audio in/out — includes a second bank of optical connectors for 8-channel operation at sample rates up to 96kHz
• Front panel headphone jack with dedicated volume control
• CueMix DSP^TM built-in monitor mixer — 32-channel, 16-bus mixer for monitoring live inputs from cameras, mic preamps or other audio sources with no delay. Set up send/return loops to digital mixers and outboard audio processing.
• Multiple CueMix DSP mixes — create 16 separate stereo monitor mixes (8 stereo at 176.4 or 192kHz) for main outs, headphones, outboard gear send/return loops, etc.
• Audio delay compensation — both fully automated and programmable controls ensure that audio always remains perfectly in sync with picture
• Audio only mode — operates as a 32 channel cross-platform audio interface
• Stand-alone operation — mix and monitor with no computer connected

Below is a copy of the email I received from V3HD

Thank you for your interest in the V3HD video interface
(www.v3hd.com). It is now available through the following qualified
dealers and resellers.

4VideoEquipment.com
Fairfield, NJ
888.9VIDGUY (984.3489)
www.4videoequipment.com

AValive
Wilmington, NC (and other markets)
877-550-HDTV (4388)
www.avalive.com

B&H Photo/Video
New York, NY
800.952.1815
www.bhphotovideo.com

Cutting Edge Audio & Video Group
San Francisco, CA
415.487.2323
www.ceag.com

ProMax Systems
Irvine, CA
800.977.6629
www.promax.com

Safe Harbor
Waukesha, WI
800.544.6599
www.sharbor.com

Sweetwater
Ft. Wayne, IN
800.222.4700
www.sweetwater.com

Tekserve
New York, NY
212.929.3645
www.tekserve.com

VideoGuys.com
Glen Cove, NY
800.323.2325
www.videoguys.com