a l e x f a l k e n b e r g

Wordpress has updated, and this site with it. Let us know if you encounter any bugs or other problems.

This post is also a quickie test of the blogging client Drivel…which really isn’t impressing me so far. More about using it under Ubuntu here. It doesn’t support Wordpress directly, and in virtually NO way does it even begin to compare to Windows Live Writer, which is arguably the current gold-standard of offsite blogging editors/clients.

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From everyone here, we hope you had a great year in 2007,
and we wish you all the best in 2008!

Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Office 2007 has finally gone live. Download it here: http://www.microsoft.com/office/

If you use Microsoft Update, you should see it your list if updates soon if you haven’t already.

You’ll also find links there for MS Visio 2007 Service Pack 1 and MS Project 2007 Service Pack 1, if you’ve not done those already.

Details on what SP1 addresses and fixes, and any other related issues, are here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936982

I give up.

They’re either completely stupid, or they’re trying to game me somehow, I don’t know. And I don’t care.

I’ll be taking my business elsewhere, right away. There are plenty of providers out there, and it’s not a problem for me to find a new one. Some are even eager to help their customers!

Maybe they’re hoping they’ll get me to call in so they can hit me up with some “must-have, can’t miss!” offers. Seems more likely at this point that they’re actually just really, really dumb. How hard IS it, Citibank, to plug my current balance(s), however you calculate them, into my soon-to-be new terms, and come up with an estimated payment amount?

Anyway, forget it, Citibank. And, umm, shove it. No one should have to ask ANY company a half-dozen times or more to answer what should be a very simple question.

Worst. Customer. Service. Ever.

So I send Citibank another request (now the 4th time asking the same question) for the straight, simple answer to my simple question.

All I want is for them to give me a ballpark figure on my new payment amount. A simple number. I’ve been repeatedly outright ignored and given one math puzzle so far. Our exchanges via their website have been going on since Nov. 24th.

This time Citibank replies with:

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

We appreciate your feedback. Our goal is to provide you and all our customers with the highest standard of service in the industry.

To better assist you regarding the minimum due amount on your account, please contact us at 1-800-950-5114. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Outside the U.S., call collect at 605-335-2222.

My reply:

Citibank, I WILL NOT CALL YOU for this information.

I’ve asked repeatedly, and continue to only get the runaround, over and over and over again. Completely unacceptable.

I’m VERY angry about how I’m being treated. Do not expect my business relationship with you to last much longer. I may also consider making a formal complaint to the Wisconsin Attorney General and Consumer Protection offices.

Never, EVER, have I been treated so poorly before. And please, stop apologizing, because clearly, VERY CLEARLY, you guys really don’t care at ALL.

So hey, answer the question…or don’t. At this point, the damage is already done.

Citibank is clearly and completely failing at their goal of “the highest standard of service in the industry”.

I’ve got a credit line with Citibank that has an introductory period that’s expiring right now in December. I can’t seem to get a straight answer from these buffoons.

I’ve now asked them 4 different times what my new monthly minimum payment will be once the intro period is over and the regular APRs kick in. Should be a simple-enough question, right?

The latest I got from them was this:

The calculation begins with any amount that is past due plus any amount in excess of your credit line. Then the greater of the following is also added:
- The new statement balance if it is less than $20; or
- $20 of the new balance if it is at least $20; or
- 1% of the new balance plus the amount of billed finance charges plus any applicable late fees or
- 1% of the new balance plus the amount of billed finance charges or
- 1.5% of the new outstanding balance, rounded down to the nearest dollar.

Gee, Citibank. Really? That is your answer?

After practically begging you for an actual ‘ballpark-is-fine’ dollar amount, you sent…THAT? What am I supposed to do with that? More specifically, why should I have to do anything with that?

I really do think it’s time to take my money and business elsewhere. I can’t imagine what their motivation even is for not answering what has to be a common question among their customers who sign up for intro-period agreements. It strikes me as unethical in some way; I can’t quite put my finger on it. At the very least, it’s not helpful, and certainly feels dishonest and slimy to me…which is more than enough to get me to walk away from them as a customer. I don’t need this kind of hassle, and transferring my account away from them isn’t even remotely difficult to do.

Citibank, being the mega-corporation that it is, will learn nothing from this, despite my repeated attempts to ‘enlighten’ them about my dissatisfaction with their customer service, with each support email I send. What’s one customer, eh, Citibank? Bzzzzzzzzzt.

Hope your holiday season is going well so far!

We’ve been rather busy here, and this site has been an unfortunate casualty. Apologies. Hope to get back on the horse soon. Bear with us…

Ubuntu 7.10, also known as “Gutsy Gibbon”, has been officially released this morning. Take a tour of what’s new in this latest release here (lots of new and interesting features and eye candy).

It is free software, and there are several ways to get it. Ubuntu is also available in a variety of flavors, from the educational Edubuntu version, to the KDE-enabled Kubuntu version, to Xubuntu for those that like a sparser looking/feeling desktop interface, to their very popular Ubuntu Server Edition (which is really great for LAMP installs, among other things).

The normal image download of Ubuntu is also a LiveCD, which allows you to boot off of the CD and give Ubuntu a try, without worrying about damaging or altering your existing OS/setup. It does run a bit slower in this mode, since it’s not actually installed but instead running directly off the CD in RAM only, but it should otherwise be a working version of Ubuntu you can kick the tires on and try out before you commit to it. Pretty powerful stuff.

You can also download an “alternate desktop CD” version; it does not include the Live CD functionality, instead it uses a text-based installer, and is a slightly smaller download. I recommend you skip this version, unless you know you specifically need it.

Who should try Ubuntu? Well, the LiveCD will allow anyone to simply pop in a disc and try it out, so I think everyone should, at least once. You’ve got nothing to lose but a some time downloading and burning it to CD, and again, it’s totally free.

And yes, it’s probably a bit different from what you may be used to, but it’s really the same in most of the ways that matter to a typical PC user. Will Windows users love it? That depends on how stuck you are on the familiarity of Windows. Most of the things the average person does with Windows can be easily accomplished for free using a Linux distro like Ubuntu, which already includes–out of the ‘box’–Firefox, OpenOffice.org’s office suite, and tons of other useful “everyday” software most people want and need. We use it here, daily–both the Desktop and Server editions–and love it.

If you have questions or want to get even more into it, feel free to contact us to set up a demo, give a presentation, or arrange some training. Ubuntu offers both free and paid support and paid training as well.

Ubuntu 7.10 “Gutsy Gibbon” can be downloaded here, or from a large number of download mirror sites. Enjoy!

(Image from Ubuntu.com)