Laura

Got ahold of Carbonite finally (see previous entry for backstory, if you missed it earlier). I had the brilliant idea to file a stripped-down "help request" in case some character or something in the earlier one broke the response page, removing the button I needed. I called it brilliant because it did in fact get me the button. I was finally able to get thru to the chat program with a customer service representative.

Who assures me that my card will in fact be billed correctly. But who is otherwise not much more helpful than the rest of their system.

Things that need to change:
1) There needs to be some way to get to chat with a CS rep without going through the damned search form in case it is BROKEN.

2) The CS rep should see what you put in the search form if you came in via that route (and, if they already do, be trained to actually read it first).

3) The form should be fixed so whatever about my earlier request broke it doesn't.

4) CS reps should have basic ability to read and understand English and respond to the actual problem. I am pretty sure I was not talking to an Eliza program, but I don't think I was talking to the most attentive person ever, either. And when they didn't understand or care about my final question, apparently, they just disconnected!

5) I hope their technical staff is better at preserving my data than their CS folks are at responding to my inquiries.

( My entire conversation with them )

I am really, REALLY annoyed at Carbonite. Understand, I've used them for backup for a while - even had to restore once when a hard drive died - and while I don't consider them perfect I have been very pleased. Best of all I don't have to think about it, so it actually gets done.

However. I am having a billing problem at the moment. With most companies, "billing problem" means I have been charged and did not want to be. With this company it means they are threatening NOT to charge me. They are saying the subscription for one computer, when it auto-renews, will fail because the credit card on file will have expired by then. However...it renews August 7. The card expires at the end of DECEMBER. And it clearly shows on their web site the right card and expiration date. This makes it impossible to update my billing info to fix it since my billing info IS FREAKING FINE.

So I called them. The guy told me I misread the email, and then I got disconnected. I was on my cell phone so I am hoping it was a dropped line, but I still don't feel like calling back and being told I can't read again. So I used the help form on the site, which takes you to a search for your terms (which, since I am writing a letter, finds nothing). According to the instructions on the form, you then click the "Continue Submitting" button to send your question to them.

A small hint: IT'S HARD TO CLICK A BUTTON THAT IS NOT FREAKING THERE.

I'm off to do something useful with my day. If the auto-renewal fails, I will take that as a sign to find a different online backup service (even though I really hate the initial backup, which takes a while). Anyone have any to recommend, if I hit that eventuality?

...also, I'm gonna link their twitter guy to this. Maybe that way I can actually contact them (though then I'll be out for a while, but such is life). So the (slightly edited) text of the letter is ( Below the cut )

Okay, not quite, but really. We went to Fry's for a new computer...and kept going. Oof. All the newer ones are crammed with media options (which I don't need) leaving them short of space for extra hard drive space (which I arguably do need, and definitely want).

I have wanted a new computer chair for my desk for some time. I've been using folding chairs which, besides less-than-ideal height and form factors, are not easy to get in/out of (the desk is in a corner) or to switch between the desktop and laptop (which are on different parts of the desk). I needed something taller, better padding, no arms, swivels. And now I have it and so far it is very, very comfy. It came in a box not much larger than a full-size tower computer, and it was on sale (which I hadn't realized when I picked it: it was just the only one that was comfy and armless). I am very happy.

I also have a new computer, or rather, I will have. I paid for them to deal with the hardware and OS upgrades, so 1-5 days from now they'll tell me it's ready. I ended up buying it at Best Buy, because that was the first place we got to that had hardware that could adapt to my needs (short of buying all the parts at Fry's and doing a ground-up build-your-own, which I am so not up for). It's actually a very nice desktop, way more than I need right now. I'm thrilled, because wow toy. It is, unfortunately, running Vista. No one was selling pre-installed with XP. That would have required either build-your-own or mail order, and given that the build-out for mail order usually lets you pick only one hard drive and I definitely wanted at least 1.5 terabytes of disk, too much for a single hard drive option, that was not a happy idea since I'd have to figure out (from entirely inadequate data, usually) whether there was room for another drive. At least in a store you can pester them to open the case and see!

I actually ended up with a Dell, quad-core. "Only" 3 GB of memory but it can go higher later (considerably higher: got the OS upgrade to Vista premium because it was on sale for an unholy-low price). 2.5 terabytes of disk. *meek* It came with 500 gig, I was only going to add a single 1 T drive, that was all I needed...but they were also on sale, and I gave in to geek greed. I probably should not have, as I don't need it, but I did, and I'm still thrilled with it despite the fact that it is arguably pointless at this time. It's still cool. And my consumer side was bouncing too happily by that point.

Scott's comment, on the way home, when I thanked him for being helpful and patient and all (and before I even suckered him into assembling my new chair!) was "I think I leveled up." Hee!

Jon drove down today. We chatted and he met the cats (who are doing enough better that they were actually out and said hi to him, though Babe was very shy and spent most of her time in her cupboard corner, and Basta eventually headed into the cupboard as well to take a nap). He also got to meet Scott (who, I'm happy to report, did not then proceed to hide in the cupboard). It was a good conversation. And 'twas very good to see him again, if a little strange - since we grew up and went to college, I have related to him mostly through Dad's occasional report on what was up in his life, and the reverse is true as well. So I still had a mental image of him looking like he did when we were young - and those are so often false. (Though, except for the glasses, I think I still look similar to when I was in middle and high school - not identical, but just similar hair, build, etc.)

We headed out to my parents' house where he helped me with the various Linux/Unix boxes (my knowledge of Unix being fairly rusty, and my knowledge of Linux being limited to what I can derive from Unix or from the gui). Made great progress there and figured out some stuff I'd been wondering about, so that was good. I put food out for the barn cats. Need to get more cat food to take out there next time I'm out.

Apparently "suss out" for "figure out" is a Davidson-ism. Who knew? (Okay, I know, not literally. But a very us thing to say, apparently. I didn't realize that phrase was something I picked up from family, though I know "fair to middling" as an answer for how you are doing was.)

On the way back, picked up a copy of the Newberg Graphic, which has my parents' obituaries in it (the Saturday edition). I had just been going to run Dad's, but the funeral home said they might run the picture I wanted (a picture with both my parents in it) with the obituary if I made it a double, if Mom hadn't been in the Graphic already. (She hadn't, she was in the Oregonian originally.) So I submitted that way. I had some errors in my first draft, so sent in a second. The Graphic assured me when I called that they were going to use that picture, and use the second draft. They used head-shots cropped from that picture, used the first draft with my errors in, and chopped the double-person writeup into two separate sections, repeating some things and otherwise tweaking. I...find myself less than impressed. If somewhat amused, and embarrassed that my errors made it into print. (Here, if you're curious what it said in print, though the photos aren't online.)

On the other hand, the purpose of the obituary in the Graphic was largely to let any local folks who knew my parents and might want to know of their passing, but weren't friends / close in any way that led to them being listed in Dad's address book, know what had happened. None of the errors (such as incorrect information on where Dad got his bachelor's degree) is going to harm that. I'd have chosen a different picture of Mom if I'd known they were going to split it straight off, though.

I plan to post the writeup, edited a bit, tomorrow (it is too late tonight, considering I am quite tired). I will include the picture as I originally intended it to be used, as well as a couple other pictures I had that were secondary possibilities.

Came home, grabbed a late snack, fed the cats, decided to post what my day was like. Have now decided the last was an insane idea and am going to bed. (Jon, meanwhile, is off to stay with and visit with another friend of his in the area - combined-purpose trip. Which is nice.)