Easygoing Eyebeast keira Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I absolutely hate buying things online. Plain and simple, it's a pain in the ass. I saved all the crap I've gotten from graduating and all the money from my job and put it in the bank. So I go to newegg and dink around there and get everything i had looked at in the shopping cart. Apply the promo codes they have, put in a gift card I got, etc. Then I have to enter address crap, and dear sweet god help me, cuz my bank sends crap to a PO box and they don't ship to PO boxes. Here, let me deal with adding a separate shipping address. That would seem to be something very simple to do. Oh wait, I'm on the damn Internet. Oh, Newegg, take me to Paypal. Aww, paypal doesn't let me add an address that is "unconfirmed". Let me try the thing in Newegg. Then back to paypal, oh dearie me it still won't take the shipping address. Well gosh why not just skip paypal and just put in my debit card on newegg. Oh wait, that had better be the exact same as on my bank! But hey it lets me use the shipping address, yay. Do the checkout. Newegg takes me to some random visa card authentication thing. New password between 8 and 10 characters? Are you kidding me? Oh, and with a number? Always a relief to know that my passwords are too secure for the giantass credit card company to handle. Make up a password that I will almost certainly forget. Hopefully firefox will remember. Oh hey, this is the fourth time I've entered the security code on the back. Go back to checking out. Oh hey, the gift card got taken off at some point. Back to square one to re-add it. Yes, I am aware that you don't ship to PO boxes. Yes. Yes. Shut up and take my damn money. Yay! It took it! Order is processing. Phone rings. Robot voice from bank says that someone spent $1000 on my card. Gee, I just did that. It's okay, bank, that's not fraud. Suddenly, email from newegg. Bank denied payment. Order on hold. I give up. This is retarded. Why the hell is online purchasing such a pain in the ass. I get that there's identity theft and stuff, but this is ridiculous. I just spent the last hour of my life trying to give them money. I still have not given them money. I could just fill out an order form, write a check, throw them in an envelope. Mail it. I'm done. Product arrives. Yay. But no, this is the 21st century. That is not how it works in the 21st century. I'm going to try again tomorrow, when I feel less desire to travel to Newegg/Paypal/Bank and commit several felonies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Lilith Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 i bank with a credit union and have pretty much never had any problems the only issue is that the online banking password must consist entirely of digits (because it goes through the same system as telephone banking) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Balladeer Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 You should be able to call the bank and verify the charge. ...when it's open anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt BMA Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I've never tried to purchase stuff online before, but booking a movie/railway ticket is relatively simpler, once I complete the one-time authentication to prove that I really am that guy who claims to be me I had my eye on a nice T-shirt in inkfruit.com, but they are asking for Paisapal payments. Hmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dintiradan Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Yeah, a tip for anyone with a credit card: banks (and credit unions) are becoming more and more vigilant about fraud and identity theft. If you're going to make an unusually large payment, it might be worth it to talk to your bank first. The other time you should contact your bank is if you're going out of the country, so they don't freeze your account once all these payments from foreign countries start showing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Cairo Jim Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I've never had a problem with it, mostly because I've only used eBay. Majority of the time the sellers let me give them a bank transfer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I spent some time last night trying to buy a DVD online only to have the order rejected because the website had an error so I couldn't enter payment information. So I started over at a different site after hours of price comparisons and deciding I didn't trust shipping from a China company that might not be legitimate. This morning I get woken up by my bank's automated fraud protection system to verify that purchase and another from a ISP that I had been using for over a year. Their system couldn't check with the previous month's bill. *sigh* This is why I prefer buying things face to face where I can vent my frustration to a real human. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Lilith Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Originally Posted By: Dintiradan Yeah, a tip for anyone with a credit card: banks (and credit unions) are becoming more and more vigilant about fraud and identity theft. If you're going to make an unusually large payment, it might be worth it to talk to your bank first. The other time you should contact your bank is if you're going out of the country, so they don't freeze your account once all these payments from foreign countries start showing up. Banks are on the lookout for unusually small payments, too: it's common for someone who's stolen a card to try and buy something like a pack of gum at a convenience store just to make sure it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast VCH Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I think it depends a lot on what you have used your card for in the past. I traveled down to California (from Canada) a few days ago and used my card here and there, but nobody at VISA called me. Unusual is the key word, I believe, not price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast The Mystic Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I've bought quite a few things online over the past year or so, and the number of problems has been, fortunately, precisely nil. I'm also a bit paranoid with my card number, so I asked my bank to change it about a month ago. Originally Posted By: Lilith i bank with a credit union and have pretty much never had any problems Same here, and the account is almost as old as I am. Fortunately for me, all my issues, except for maybe one, turned out to be an error on my part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Rowen Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Originally Posted By: Homage Yay! It took it! Order is processing. Phone rings. Robot voice from bank says that someone spent $1000 on my card. Gee, I just did that. It's okay, bank, that's not fraud. Suddenly, email from newegg. Bank denied payment. Order on hold. Would you rather the bank just let an online transaction go without question? It happens to me all the time when buying something from online, especially if I haven't bought something online in the last 3 months. I would rather have them delay my order and make sure I placed it then find out later that my CC was used online by someone other then me. Is it a hassle? Yes. Is it a hassle that makes sure you are spending your money. Yes. Better the hassle than someone else using your CC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 My bank once boasted in its ads how safe you were because of its picture id cards being required to cash checks. Then I watched a senior citizen complaining to bank manager that a young man was cashing checks all over town on his elderly wife's account. I left before hearing whether the bank was going to reimburse the account for all the fraudulent checks and their costs in dealing with the bank's lax work in protecting against fraud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Trenton. Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 How 'bout this. I buy the games for you, sell you my computer for twice the price of it, [The computer] and you can avoid buying the stuff online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dantius Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 It's also because most of the time, purchased made on a debit card aren't evaluated against the balance of the account, but on some hidden limit in the card itself. For instance, I'm pretty sure that I have a "credit limit" or whatever it's called of around $15,000 on my debit card, even though I have more than that in my account. Of course, if you need to charge more than $15k, you are probably either a.) rich enough to have an Amex that lets you do that stuff, or b.) using a check. Another trip up is location. I've had my credit card frozen before on vacation, because suddenly these charges are appearing a thousand miles away from where I live, which is why it's a good idea to tell you bank or credit union where you're going and that they shouldn't cancel your card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Gas stations freeze more than the purchase amount when you use debit cards at the pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast keira Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Originally Posted By: Newegg Your payment has been successfully processed and has passed Order Verification. yay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast The Mystic Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Originally Posted By: Homage Edit Reason: Now with my luck the UPS truck that will carry my crap will probably explode or something. I highly doubt it. Be thankful you don't have my luck. I once ordered some Norton software directly from their site; the package was shipped to Missouri, Minnesota, Maine, and Montana before finally arriving at my door in Michigan--almost a month after its scheduled arrival date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I've received packages at my doorstep that belong a street over and I live next to a street sign. Never doubt GPS navigation as it sends you into a river. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Tyranicus Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Dantius, your avatar is full of win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dantius Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Originally Posted By: Tyranicus Dantius, your avatar is full of win. It fits better with the sig, too. I was very happy at how it turned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast The Mystic Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Originally Posted By: Randomizer I've received packages at my doorstep that belong a street over and I live next to a street sign. Never doubt GPS navigation as it sends you into a river. In my neighborhood, there are two houses with identical street numbers (they're on different streets, fortunately); I live in one of them. Every now and again, we get each other's mail. As for GPS, I never had one, and don't want one. I don't trust them, especially since the time my friend's GPS him to the end of a dead-end street, recalculated the route, and told him to drive down a nearby boat ramp and into a lake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast keira Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Update: 8-core bulldozer CPU, GTX 570, 32 GiB RAM, 2 TiB HDD, 80 plus gold PSU. I will post my laughable attempt at cable management shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dintiradan Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: The Mystic In my neighborhood, there are two houses with identical street numbers (they're on different streets, fortunately); I live in one of them. Every now and again, we get each other's mail. I would imagine a lot of neighbourhoods have a lot of houses with the same numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 @Homage - Now you find you are missing a cable or it doesn't work. My Mac Mini and monitor didn't have a compatible cable in either box. So it was back to the store because the packages didn't mention it when I got them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Cairo Jim Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: Randomizer So it was back to the store because the packages didn't mention it when I got them. Thats like the story of my life whenever I buy anything electronic. I'd imagine the same for many, many others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast keira Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: Randomizer @Homage - Now you find you are missing a cable or it doesn't work. Close, actually. I didn't get an optical drive because I had three. Completely forgot that new motherboards don't have IDE ribbon cable things. Whoops. But I had an external USB dvd-drive laying around and yay it can boot. Now I'm dealing with driver hell because I got an OEM copy of Win7. It's still better than removing all the crap manufacturers put on new machines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast The Mystic Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: Homage 8-core bulldozer CPU, GTX 570, 32 GiB RAM, 2 TiB HDD, 80 plus gold PSU. I will post my laughable attempt at cable management shortly. Nice pile of goodies you got there, and good luck with the build. Don't fret over what your cable management may or may not look like when you're done; you can always rearrange it later. I did a build back in October 2010, and have since added to it; before fixing it, my cable management could be best described as a near-atrocity. Originally Posted By: Randomizer My Mac Mini and monitor didn't have a compatible cable in either box. So it was back to the store because the packages didn't mention it when I got them. And computers are supposed to make our lives easier... But yeah, I can sympathize. I hope it was just a quick trip. When I need any cable that's not one of the standard in-box varieties, it means driving 30 minutes one way, finding the part I need, and another 30 minutes to drive home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast The Mystic Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: Homage I didn't get an optical drive because I had three. Completely forgot that new motherboards don't have IDE ribbon cable things. Whoops. But I had an external USB dvd-drive laying around and yay it can boot. Then I guess I must've gotten one of the last motherboards that has an IDE slot--and that slot sits empty. This is a good thing, because IMHO the IDE's master/slave architecture was needlessly complicated. If you want to use your IDE drives, you still can; you just need to buy IDE-to-SATA adapter cables (both for data transfer and, depending on your power supply, power). Originally Posted By: Homage Now I'm dealing with driver hell because I got an OEM copy of Win7. It's still better than removing all the crap manufacturers put on new machines Yeah, installing all those driver CDs can be a pain. It's a bit of a tradeoff: Do you want to spend an hour or two installing drivers, or removing 10GB of bloat and crapware? Considering that the OEM license doesn't necessarily die with the computer (I'd have to re-read it to be sure), I'll wrestle with the drivers any day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast The Mystic Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 EDIT: NVM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast keira Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: The Mystic Originally Posted By: Homage Now I'm dealing with driver hell because I got an OEM copy of Win7. It's still better than removing all the crap manufacturers put on new machines Yeah, installing all those driver CDs can be a pain. It's a bit of a tradeoff: Do you want to spend an hour or two installing drivers, or removing 10GB of bloat and crapware? Considering that the OEM license doesn't necessarily die with the computer (I'd have to re-read it to be sure), I'll wrestle with the drivers any day. Same. It's so nice to just have a clean install. Windows without crap on it actually is kinda fast. Of course, that could also be the ludicrous amounts of ram and processor power. Speaking of, I DLed boinc and got it set up, with eight cores and the GPU it's taking five minutes to run a DDM workunit. also imma just link this. Too bad SSDs are crazy expensive still Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Lilith Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: Homage also imma just link this. Too bad SSDs are crazy expensive still what's a pindex and why is it having sex with a window Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Student of Trinity Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 You misread that. It's just another pindex voyeur. To us it may seem creepy but for pindices its natural, because they never actually do anything themselves — just refer to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dintiradan Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: Lilith Originally Posted By: Homage also imma just link this. Too bad SSDs are crazy expensive still what's a pindex and why is it having sex with a window Heh. There's a reason why there's a dash in the Experts Exchange URL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Cairo Jim Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 You know, with all this technical crap floating around here makes me really happy about the house I just moved into. I now have window to throw my computer through and then walk across the road to start fishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fledgling Fyora aldrichnick Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I'll suggest, you can call to the bank and verify the charges you can also ask to every deduction. Also, LOL I R A SPAMMER! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt BMA Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Welcome to Spiderweb Software aldrichnick. You have the distinction of having your first post in the General forum. Be sure to give the turtles an extra helping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Cairo Jim Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 The turtles eat your sanity and replace it with SWAM. (SpidWeb's brand of Spam). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk nikki. Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: Homage Originally Posted By: Randomizer @Homage - Now you find you are missing a cable or it doesn't work. Close, actually. I didn't get an optical drive because I had three. Completely forgot that new motherboards don't have IDE ribbon cable things. Whoops. But I had an external USB dvd-drive laying around and yay it can boot. Now I'm dealing with driver hell because I got an OEM copy of Win7. It's still better than removing all the crap manufacturers put on new machines Haha, when i built my computer a couple months ago I forgot that too, at first. Luckily I remembered in time to order an optical drive, only to forget to buy a VGA cable when I got my new monitor a couple weeks later. Also, I was pretty lucky with drivers - my motherboard came with a DVD that included drivers for everything but my graphics card. The real pain was setting it up to dual boot Lion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Dikiyoba Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: BMA Welcome to Spiderweb Software aldrichnick. Don't get too excited. That's a spammer, or Dikiyoba will eat Dikiyoba's hat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast The Mystic Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: Homage It's so nice to just have a clean install. Windows without crap on it actually is kinda fast. Of course, that could also be the ludicrous amounts of ram and processor power. Yes, clean installs are wonderful; plus, I've found that an OEM-license OS is usually a little bit cheaper than one with a standard license. As for speed, yeah, you went a little overboard, so your system will run a bit faster, although Win7 is pretty fast to begin with; and you can make it a little quicker still by disabling a lot of the "make my system look pretty" features (mostly Aero). Originally Posted By: Homage also imma just link this. Nice.Here's what I have: Click to reveal.. my desktop: Processor: 7.4 RAM: 5.9 Graphics: 4.6 Gaming graphics: 5.5 Primary hard disk: 5.9 my laptop: Processor: 4.2 RAM: 4.4 Graphics: 2.5 Gaming graphics: 3.1 Primary hard disk: 3.9 Not exactly on par with your system, but they meet my needs. The laptop could use something of an upgrade, but it's already maxed out. Originally Posted By: Homage Too bad SSDs are crazy expensive still That's the main reason I don't have one yet. I'm waiting for the price to go down, preferably to just a bit more than that of a standard hard drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall A less presumptuous name. Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: SereNikki The real pain was setting it up to dual boot Lion. Why Lion? Yeah, it's got a bunch of cool new features, but it also cuts down on the ability of the user to do stuff other than what Apple intended. I've gotten used to it now, but when I first got it, I would have preferred to downgrade to Snow Leopard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice ex post slarto Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 What does it restrict? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall A less presumptuous name. Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 For starters, [user]/library is hidden by default. Really, though, I suppose it's not that bad. I think my bigger issue was not being able to downgrade the OS if I chose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Tyranicus Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: Master1 For starters, [user]/library is hidden by default. Really, though, I suppose it's not that bad. I think my bigger issue was not being able to downgrade the OS if I chose. It's hidden, but its easy to access for anyone who actually wants to do anything in the library. At the end of the day, the average Mac user neither knows nor cares about the library. Windows has been hiding system files for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk SamSniped Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: Cairo Jim Originally Posted By: Randomizer So it was back to the store because the packages didn't mention it when I got them. Thats like the story of my life whenever I buy anything electronic. I'd imagine the same for many, many others. For me, almost all electronics have what they need, it's the games that screw up the electronics (Black Ops to name one). Post #IV of the challenge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast The Mystic Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: Tyranicus Windows has been hiding system files for years. More like decades, actually. IIRC, they've been hiding system files at least since Windows 95 came out; I know for a fact it's been at least since Win98. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice ex post slarto Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Was that really it? You made it sound like a lot more. Anyway, Macs have been "hiding" a few files for years, too. I know System 7 did it, and I'm pretty sure System 6 did as well. But Tyranicus has the key point here. Also, on previous Mac systems it was easy to turn the "invisible" flag off, so even for developers who want regular access to that stuff, it's a non-issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk nikki. Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Yeah, to be fair, I use Windows usually, and considering all I use OSX for (recently, anyway) is playing SW games, Lion works just fine. My intention was, at some point over the summer, to migrate everything across to OSX completely, but it just hasn't happened. I think I'm kind of okay with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast The Mystic Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Originally Posted By: HOUSE of S Was that really it? You made it sound like a lot more. Anyway, Macs have been "hiding" a few files for years, too. I know System 7 did it, and I'm pretty sure System 6 did as well. Well, I was still a computing newbie during Win95's heyday, and I didn't play around with it too much, except for what I absolutely had to do for class. Windows 3.1 might have hidden files, but I never really saw anything of it beyond a few games, mainly Solitaire and Minesweeper. And you might as well say decades, since Win95 came out in, well, 1995, so almost 20 years ago now. Originally Posted By: HOUSE of S But Tyranicus has the key point here. Also, on previous Mac systems it was easy to turn the "invisible" flag off, so even for developers who want regular access to that stuff, it's a non-issue. Same is true for us Windows users. And I wasn't disagreeing with Tyranicus; quite the opposite, in fact. If you want to show hidden files, it's easy to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice ex post slarto Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 FWIW, Mystic, my entire post was not addressed to you personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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