Author: Stilgherrian

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At Town Hall station? You breathe this!

Photograph of filthy air vent at Town Hall station

This is the air vent in the elevator between platforms 1/2 and 4 at Sydney’s Town Hall station. Do you like that layer of black crap?

Town Hall station is already hot, humid, smelly and dangerously over-crowded. Add to these risks the fact that you’re breathing whatever it is that’s accumulating up there.

While taking this photo with my trusty but battered Nokia N80 the other day, I expected someone to question me — concerned that I was a terrorist or something. I reckon terrorists are the least of your worries here.

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Dell’s useless customer “service”

[Update: This problem has since been resolved. Please also read How Dell fixed my monitor order for the full story.]

Dell logo

Dell, I’m not happy with you. I’m not happy with you at all. Your incompetent customer service has screwed up the timelines for an important project for a new client, yet your blind, stupid corporate machine blunders on like a brain-damaged slug.

If you read my Twitter stream yesterday you can probably skip this post. However I will document this little disaster because I’m still waiting for Dell to provide the promised explanation and I’ll point their people in this direction. I have specific questions at the end.

In brief, though, it was a customer “service” disaster. I’ll continue to recommend Hewlett Packard’s well-engineered computers and excellent service to my clients.

Continue reading “Dell’s useless customer “service””

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Episode 28 on time, but chaotic

Screenshot from Stilgherrian Live episode 28

Stilgherrian Live episode 28, the Totally Natural Edition, is now online for your viewing pleasure.

The audio problems which had plagued us recently were gone, and we started on time. The talk flowed smoothly through the first part of the program, and it was maybe 15 minutes before we hit our first technical glitch. I must find a way to present images in Cam Twist that allows me to preview the picture that’s about to go to air!

For the second week running, the US Federal Reserve (pictured) was the clear winner of “Cnut of the Week”, beating nominees John McCain, Sydney Anglican archibishop Dr Peter Jensen and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

I failed to make contact with Nathanael Boehm to talk about the big day of geekery in Sydney, including the Web Directions South conference — I wasn’t watching my Twitter messages during the program — but First Dog on the Moon phoned in again and that filled an awkward gap when I completely forgot about “Stilgherrian’s Street View”. That’s a shame, because that would have triggered more of a rant. About clueless taxi drivers.

The after-show chat included some interesting thoughts about the nature of the program, and they’ll be reflected next week. Stay tuned.