Brad Ideas - Technology - Comments

Nice, Brad

Dave — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:59:06 -0700

Those are some AWESOME ideas Brad, did you submit them to eBay? I really wish they'd take your advice.

-Dave

Actually, I think YOU're the idiot

SellerANDBuyer — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:57:46 -0700

Most people leave honest feedback, and there isn't much of a knee-jerk reaction if you did your job as a seller. Holding your feedback 'for ransom' isn't cool, and it isn't good business.
I can't understand why you'd support this type of a system unless you're one of those rip-off artists holding people's feedback for ransom and then leaving them negative feedback after you shipped them a 50Meg ripped MPEG of LotR when the item description was "NIB Lord of the Rings Trology DVD Collector's Set"
Go insult people who aren't 50 times smarter than you, or at least post something half-way intelligent, instead of pointing out to the entire world how stupid you are. If your parents read that post, it would probably make them cry.

More for desktops

brad — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:45:44 -0700

Yes, I think this is better for desktops than laptops. The power of standby mode is not an issue, but the loss of state in a power interruption is.

Now what I really want, which I will blog about later is a “sleepwalking” mode where the computer goes very low power, but still has a processor, memory, a few sensors and wired ethernet active (at least at the WoL level.) This could be a way of running your real processor at the lowest possible clock, or it could even justify having a super-low-power microcontroller on the bus.

Among the things sleepwalk mode could do is watch accelerometers and figure out when you have put the computer down for a while, and then wake up the real computer to perform the hibernate. And abort the hibernate if you pick the computer up.

I have a few other goals for sleepwalking mode that I will blog about later.

Another downside

Sterling — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:18:48 -0700

I use standby very frequently on my laptop, which I literally use on my lap quite often. And one reason I really like to see standby happen quickly is so that I know I can move the machine safely, without the chance of a disk head impacting a spinning platter.

So I wouldn't like the computer to automatically hibernate when I all I want is for it to suspend. As Scott says above, writing a couple of gig to disk takes a bit of time, and that's time when I can't be moving the laptop.

Again apple gets it right

brad — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:55:48 -0700

I guess I never tried that on one. However, only partly right. It should be extremely rare that you start something and you can’t stop it, just as you should always be able to undo except very special operations. Over time people will figure this out.

That's basically what OS X does

Scott Laird — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:42:56 -0700

Mac laptops work just like that. When you close the lid, they write everything out to disk and then go into standby mode. If you reopen the lid, they're ready to use in a second or so. If the power dies, then it'll restore from disk when the power comes back. They don't seem to do the checksum trick on preserved RAM; I suspect that Intel's RAM controllers don't support it.

The downside is that writing 2-4 GB of RAM out to disk takes time, and it's uninterruptable. So, if you close you lid and then realize that you forgot something, it'll be 20+ seconds before you can get access to your computer again, and possibly much longer.

sla batterys

Anonymous — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:01:31 -0700

only come in increments of 1.5 volts how ever the voulume to engey racial of sla is prety high and u can release it pretty quick take7.2 ah 12 volt and u can pull a 30 amp short a 200 ah 12 vilt sla will start a car and that is what u will find in a wheelchair

so i dont think souces of large amounts of power are a concern

or maybe a cripple could never be a terrorist

how ever it is possable to make a battery out of a bottle of diet rite and with out saying how it could be used as a bomb just by containing an internal short circuit and containing the resulting sodium build up from the high salt content but u could still take a bottle of diet rite on board just not a bottle of deit rite configured as a bomb

the amount of electrical power from a diet rite battery would be less than a aa battery

air port security is a tricky bussness ask why you cant have toe nail clippers but can have a pistol in your checked loggage

(nearly) Virtual machines do share memory

Pekka — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 03:33:46 -0700

Sun Solaris Zones virtualisation creates isolated execution environments for operating system instances within a single host. The instances appear separate to applications, but actually share a number of core resources. One of the side effects is that they also use a common virtual memory pool and necessarily only have single instances of shared objects (page 21 of Solaris Containers Technology Architecture Guide at http://www.sun.com/blueprints/0506/819-6186.pdf).

This software virtualisation permits sharing between instances with no performance impact, reduce the overall memory footprint and introduce economies of scale to the hosting companies. I'd doubt that they would pass this saving on to customers as there seems to be a major problem in accounting for the shared use of these resources by the standard tools.

Ebay Selling/Buying

Carol — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:07:32 -0700

I am looking at this blog because I wanted to see what others have to say. I don't feel that Ebay really protects anyone. I have had problems as a buyer and a seller. Currently I have sold a brand new computer at auction and a brand new pair of golf shoes. Both buyers didn't pay. I have had to wait to file the unpaid item and after I have tried to contact the buyer several time. I even requested the buyers phone number only to find out that it was bogus. So now I have to wait for time to go by so I can get my listing and final valuation credit. Why can't ebay wait to get the final valuation fee until after the item is shipped or paid for by the buyer? Now I am out money and I can't relist until the credits hit my account or I won't be credited? So this is all wasting my time. I have already left deserved negative feedback for both of these buyers because using bogus info is a violation of ebay policy, and also I have tried for over a week to ask for payment or if they even wanted the item any longer. No contact. So that is deserved bad feedback. I always leave feedback for buyers after they pay. Sometimes I don't get feedback in return, sometimes I contact them after wards and ask if they are happy and remind them about leaving feedback.
As a buyer, I purchased an item from a seller in scotland. I paid and I never received the item. it took forever, I relized later that there was a time limit to file any complaints and I just got in under the wire, I never got any shipping number and I had bad non existant communication from the seller, I didn't get my money back until after ebay got involved and I did leave bad feedback for the seller and he left neg feedback for no reason. so the system is flawed. Everyone should just have a little respect. You win an auction you pay. not in 7 days, you pay right away, you are sitting there in front of your computer when the auction ends, pay now. Leave feedback. don't be rude. It would be a better place but aparently there a bunch of morons around signing up for ebay accounts just waiting to screw with you. If the buyer has a 0 after their user name, I just don't trust them and don't even want to accept bids from them. a few bad apples really do spoil the whole bunch!

Trouble with a Seller

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:34:47 -0700

I won an auction for a scooter recently. The seller had a number of ways to pay and I chose a certified check.
There were no stipulations other than full payment was expected in 7 days.

The seller provided his phone number and I called him to arrange for the pick up and payment of my item.

The seller kept pressing for cash at pick up, but because of the cost of the item, I did not want to carry that
kind of cash on a long trip. And I wanted a paper trail of a more official type, other than some hand written
receipt.

The seller did not want to accept the certified check and release the item at the same time. I told him I was not going to "give" anyone that kind of money and not take my item. He gave me some B.S. story about having a large certified check written to him and they even went to the bank of origin together and the bank would not cash the check because it was written within the same 24 hour period. (I later checked with this bank and they have no such policy)
I told him I wasn't going to leave the check with him. I reminded him that a certified check is the same as "cash".
He made another B.S. story about I might cancel the check....sheeeesh! A cashiers check cannot be cancelled by the issuer unless that same check is taken back to the bank of origin.
He finally agreed to the certified check and release of the item. He said I would have to provide my driver's license and social security number........ WHHHHHHAT?????? No one gets my social security number!!! This guy was just being a bully and seemed was not going to accept anything but cash. Then why make an auction with alternatives as he did?
I told him that was inappropriate information to ask for. I told him to forget the deal. He told me "fine" he was going to leave "appropriate" feedback. I told him "the great thing about ebay is, so can I!

So I hung up. A few days went by and I kept getting email about paying for the item. And all of this mail acted like he was clueless about the phone converesation. I believe it was his way of appearing innocent for the ebay support staff if trouble came. I told him to knock it off and to leave me alone. Any further email would be considered harrassment on his part.

A few more days go by and he writes me that he is putting my name on the vehicle title! What an idiot! I told him that I leaving appropriate feedback for him....and I did. I left feedback that stated "seller tried to solicit SS# for vehicle sale. Avoid this seller!"

Only a couple of hours later I get an ebay message that the seller has requested a mutual withdrawal of feedback.
So I did so. I should have checked what feedback he left for me first. He actually published my real name in the feedback!!!! OMG this seller is a real moron! So....what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
Even though the feedback is mutually withdrawn, that only reflects in your "rating" and each of us had 100% positive feedback. Well.....the real feedback still appears on your feedback record for all to see! I found the place where you can actually reply to feedback. I left a reply that stated "his name -is a liar. I offered driver's license for I.D. Seller is a troublemaker!" Yes I published his name after he did it to me. All the time I also was reporting his actions to ebay. Of course I got the complimentary form letter from them, but no one has addressed my problem.

I think this guy's account should be closed and ban him if possible. And if I get banned for publishing his name, then so be it.

People like him are just bullies and do not belong on ebay. And my wife's idea I like also. He is just a small individual who is trying to get in the last word and it cost him his reputation in the end. He had a score of 350 some transactions....I only have 22.....He has a lot more to lose by acting as he did.

power cord made to break

Rick — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:53:43 -0700

I have a compaq presario 2100. I am looking for an adapter for the power supply where it goes into the machine. Mine is long and hooks into the mother board. If it bends at all it bust the mother board and your screwed. I know because my last laptop busted in this way. I am looking for a flat adapter so this won't happen. Does anyone know of anyone making such a device? The place that sold me this machine told me the companies do this on purpose so the machines will break and you will have to buy a new one. In fact they have big signs everywhere that says "DO NOT TILT MACHINES OR YOU BUY IT!!!" Whatever, the design is stupid and could be corrected with a bent or angeled adapter so it does not stick out 2 inches. If you know of a fix for this problem please email me. Thanks.

The biggest problem...

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:26:40 -0700

The biggest problem is people like you come along, they see someone with great feedback, they trust it and then when an issue arises, all hell breaks loose and you find the need to find someone or someone to blame and heads are going to roll, etc. Let me point out several mistakes you made that I read conclusively in your rant:
1. The guy said he tried to email you and you automatically concluded he was a liar. I can tell you now that not ALL EMAILS get to their destination. With spam blockers and all kinds of software now being used, it is very likely he emailed you and some attempts to go directly to your email were sent to bulk or deleted completely. He may have then emailed you via eBay's email forwarding system and I can tell you that I've checked that also and found some that never made it to my email's inbox. Calling someone a liar and putting up that wall of distrust starts the primary line being drawn there.
2. I read what you wrote about the incident and it sounded confusing to ME, so I'm sure it was to your seller also. It was like, this happened and there was confusion with UPS and they picked up and sent it back, etc, etc...you weren't even clear telling exactly what happened with this thing. It doesn't sound like the guy is being fraudlent more than it does confused as I was when I read this. You say UPS picked it up without any inspection and sent it back to the guy? I can tell you now that having worked for UPS in the past, the item is taken to UPS and inspected, NOT sent back to the sender, so that all honestly doesn't come off making you sound good. I'm not saying you're lying, but your version of the events seems tapered to you.
3. You went right for the feedback threat and then you assumed it was that feedback threat that made him finally email you. Sometimes people do not understand cause and effect interacting with logic...could it BE a coincidence? I'm pretty sure it could have been.
4. You jump on that dreaded feedback snowball deal where you use the fact that a seller has ANY OTHER negative feedbacks during that time and somehow correlate them with the fact that he MUST be wrong and cheated other people. Those other feedbacks I'm sure have NOTHING to do with your issue other than someone might have felt vindicated to leave them in what's known as the snowball effect for feedbacks - one person leaves one and then someone else sees it and right or wrong, if there is issue, they leave one to because in their mind and you had the SAME THOUGHT - if enough people bash this guy, we'll get him kicked off eBay. Suddenly getting this guy kicked off eBay becomes the focus and you lose focus of the actual issue...when did the original issue not become focus?
5. You're outright blaming eBay and the feedback system for this issue and it seems to me this is unfortunate since the guy had great feedback and so did you and it seems this is more of an isolated circumstance - not him running some kind of campaign to fraud people. If he was doing that, his feedback NEVER would get to 99.4% - more people than just you would be leaving negative feedback.
6. The bottom line is this belongs in a court of law to determine the outcome if Paypal was unable to resolve the issue. It would seem to me that if the item was sent back to him, and you did the follow-up properly with PayPal, PayPal would have reimbursed you already - why wouldn't they? THis seems to be something you should be taking up with PayPal instead of focusing anger and agression in getting this guy kicked off eBay. If you failed to file the claim in time, then that is your own fault for not following through...reading back to the issues you had with UPS picking up the item and not inspecting it and all that, it seems there is a lot you did wrong that you aren't taking any responsibility for. That's not to say this guy is right for keeping your money AND getting back the item, but it seems there was a lot more you could have done and now since you failed to do so, you're on here blaming it on everyone else and not taking any mature responsibility for your own actions or lack thereof.

Syl is an idiot

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:04:09 -0700

Syl, you are a complete idiot and one of the primary reasons eBay is engaging in this illogical act of suicide with its new policy. Whiny idiots like you who come up with these stupid comments are simply a hoot...so your ONLY obligation is to pay for an item and that's it? So if you have to return it and send back an empty box or something that OBVIOUSLY isn't what you purchased to scam the seller, then that is OK because at that point, you'd have received your positive feedback right? What a dunce, lol.

Ironic statement...

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:54:15 -0700

Is it any wonder why 25% of the power sellers left Ebay for other sales channels in the last two quarters?

It's ironic that you would ask that while bashing eBay for other things among them 'feedback retaliation' The reason most quoted for those leaving eBay over that time period and the reason I am personally leaving eBay (Silver Power Seller) mostly relates to their new feedback policy that PREVENTS retaliatory feedback. The fact is, retaliatory feedback works both ways and now you'll only see it working one way and sellers aren't staying around to enjoy that mess.

Was the product OK?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:48:32 -0700

I have to ask a few questions about this...
1. When you got what you paid for, was the product OK?
2. I realize getting it that late is an issue, but honestly, buy the emails, the guy had been telling you he was sick and unable to leave the house - we can't verify that and can only assume different - I didn't really look into it, but he seems to otherwise have great feedback...I just wondered what you had to actually gain leaving a poor feedback?
The reason I ask is that I get people who take 3 or 4 weeks to pay, some nearly a month after NPB was filed and everything...and I NEVER leave them negative feedback. Retaliatory feedback works both ways.
3. I wanted to point out that it seemed more of an effort on your part to create an entire web page and talk about it on here than it was to deal with the problem...I guess if I had the same problem, I'd simply have filed a PayPal claim and moved on after 3 weeks...I don't really find the need to leave those types of feedbacks. They never resolve anything.
4. What if you had never emailed and asked about the item and 4 days later after payment left a negative? WOuld that be fair? Happened to me. Just making a point that it goes both ways...I honestly don't think this guy should have left you a negative though.