johnfromberkeley's dashboard

johnfromberkeley asked a question in Flock on May 14, 2009 17:49:

Why won't my twitter sync?

I can log into twitter on my "people" toolbar, but it is not updating tweets. I already tried clicking "force service update"

johnfromberkeley replied on February 19, 2009 00:31 to the question "Why is Hulu blocking boxee users from watching Hulu video on boxee" in hulu:

i'll just watch other stuff on boxee. sorry, hulu!

johnfromberkeley reported a problem in Seventh Generation on February 17, 2009 12:47:

Baby wipes container is frustratingly bad design

I love Seventh Generation products, but the baby wipes container they make is frustratingly bad design. The wipes are supposed to come out one-by-one, like a box of kleenex. Instead, they often get stuck back inside the box. The only ways to get in there is to open both parts of the double lid, and attempt to thread the wipes back through the top, or to reach down through the opening. But to reach through the opening, you have to squeeze your fingers through some tabs that cut at your fingers. I finally ended up bending the tabs back just so I could squeeze my fingers in there.

Why not just have a single hinged lid like the old days? It's not helpful to have a poo explosion, and not be able to get at your baby wipes!

johnfromberkeley reported a problem in Virgin Atlantic on February 13, 2009 00:15:

7kg carry-on weight limit is prohibitively low

i flew virgin atlantic a few weeks ago, and the flight was great, but they have a 7kg limit on carry on bags! that is ~really~ light. not only that, but the flight had plenty of room in the bins, ~and~ my other "personal bag", which i was allowed to carry on, probably weighed more than 7 kg because of the laptop and electronics, etc.

my suitcase (about 3.5 kg) was not very full. i had one change of clothes, a LIGHT rain jacket and a medium weight blazer, and that was 10kg. and it's size was actually tiny, it was only loosely packed so it would have totally fit in the bins.

i was told i had 3 choices:

1. "remove items from the suitcase." and what, throw them away?!
2. i could remove items and try putting them on my body and in my carry on.
3. i could check the bag. but my bag is a totally acceptably small carry-on.

i ended up checking it, and waiting an extra 20 min to pick it up at baggage claim. i ~hate~ checking my bags. i don't want to them to get lost, and i don't want to waste the time.

this limit is ridiculous. virgin should consider increasing it to maybe 12kg (my bag was 10kg). or better, yet, just go by size like other airlines.

johnfromberkeley gave praise in BBP Bags on January 23, 2009 18:00:

Very responsive in replacing spare part!

I don't know how it happened, but the female belt buckle broke on my bag. I emailed BBP customer service, and within 24 hours, they responded that they could send a replacement part.

I love my BBP bag, and I am happy to discover that their customer service is fantastic also. Now I can recommend not only the bag, but the company as well.

johnfromberkeley replied on November 19, 2008 17:21 to the problem "Twitterank posted to my Twitter account without my permission." in Twitterank:

"conceputal permission" hehe

johnfromberkeley reported a problem in Barack Obama on November 15, 2008 01:16:

Obama's intelligence chief supports torture and spying

John Brennan, Obama's intelligence chief supports torture, expanding FISA, and expanding the Patriot Act.

One of the biggest stains left by the Bush administration is the violation of human and civil rights. John Brennan supports the C.I.A.’s interrogation and detention program. He also believes in giving telcoms immunity for illegal spying on Americans. The Wall Street Journal reported that "President-elect Barack Obama is unlikely to radically overhaul controversial Bush administration intelligence policies, advisers say, an approach that is almost certain to create tension within the Democratic Party."

We need to speak out that we will not tolerate this abuse any longer!

johnfromberkeley shared an idea in Vans on May 22, 2008 03:50:

enable mac users to give vans money!

currently, the vans website doesn't work on macs; it requires ie for windows. it does not support firefox or safari on the mac.

this was a problem for me when trying to order a few pairs of shoes for my daughter. after the address screen, the website froze, and i was not able to continue with my transaction. fortunately, when i called their corporate offices, their service was incredible. they allowed me a courtesy order, and took all my information over the phone.

however, that doesn't solve the problem. vans are cool. leaving mac users in the dust is not cool. i really love vans. i've been wearing them since before my daughter was born, and now she's growing up in them, too. i want vans to sell lots of great shoes, and i want to be buying some of them!

there are a few other ways i noticed that vans could improve, but this would be a great start!

johnfromberkeley started following the problem "Why does LinkedIn think it's OK to trick me into spamming my entire Gmail address book?" in LinkedIn.

johnfromberkeley replied on May 21, 2008 03:00 to the problem "Why does LinkedIn think it's OK to trick me into spamming my entire Gmail address book?" in LinkedIn:

yeah, i have to echo lane's sentiment. why does it feel like every time i use linkedin, it's a game of cat-and-mouse to protect my friends from getting spammed?

also, now linkedin has stored my whole address book (by function of the pending invites). that invades my privacy.

johnfromberkeley reported a problem in Thrifty Car Rental on March 05, 2008 02:39:

Thrifty won't help customers with their vehicles

Thrifty wouldn't show me how to operate a fundamental feature of a car I rented. When I rented a Jeep Wrangler, it was impossible to get them to teach me how to operate the convertible top.

As a result, I had to drive around during my entire vacation with the top up, even though I paid extra for a convertible.

For more, info, check out my blog post:

http://www.johnfromberkeley.com/2008/...

johnfromberkeley reported a problem in Etymotic Research on January 17, 2008 23:03:

Lots of static with EtyBlu Bluetooth Headset

Hey, I just bought and EtyBlu at MacWorld, and I hear a huge amount of static. My callers say I sound fine. I loved my ETY.COM corded headset, but it broke. I thought I would take the opportunity to upgrade to Bluetooth, but now I wish I had stuck with the cord.

Can you help?

johnfromberkeley replied on December 17, 2007 02:22 to the problem "T-Mobile Shuts Down Twitter Service for Good?" in T-Mobile:

~twitter~ is working for me in santa cruz. however, t-mobile's customer service still isn't working for me.

if i want to be hated by my cell provider, i can get an iphone from at&t.

johnfromberkeley replied on December 16, 2007 18:45 to the problem "T-Mobile Shuts Down Twitter Service for Good?" in T-Mobile:

absolutely. i'm on vacation, so can't go into a lot of detail.

but, yesterday, i spent 30 min on the phone with a very polite, very circumloquitious and very clueless rep from the CEO's office.

he kept insisting that t-mobile had the right to shut-down twitter, and was using a b.s. smokescreen argument that it was for customer's own good. right.

i agree. this left a bitter taste in my mouth. (see emoticon below)

johnfromberkeley replied on December 15, 2007 18:48 to the problem "T-Mobile Shuts Down Twitter Service for Good?" in T-Mobile:

we can't post or receive twits

johnfromberkeley replied on December 15, 2007 18:16 to the problem "T-Mobile Shuts Down Twitter Service for Good?" in T-Mobile:

damn, straight! iphone here i come!

johnfromberkeley replied on December 15, 2007 17:54 to the problem "T-Mobile Shuts Down Twitter Service for Good?" in T-Mobile:

I just sent the CEO an email, and I posted the letter on my blog.

johnfromberkeley replied on December 15, 2007 17:26 to the problem "T-Mobile Shuts Down Twitter Service for Good?" in T-Mobile:

i called t-mobile last night. they said it was twitter's problem and to contact them. obviously not the case.

the message i am getting from my sidekick says:

"Service temporarily down. Please, try again later."

how can we escalate this when we call customer service?

johnfromberkeley started following the problem "T-Mobile Shuts Down Twitter Service for Good?" in T-Mobile.

johnfromberkeley replied on December 13, 2007 16:20 to the question "facebook account disabled" in Facebook:

can i tag along just for the ride?