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I had an issue with a Sony MemoryStick Pro Duo recently, and Sony provided excellent non-service thru their website. I wish to express my non-gratitude by telling the world what a wonderful job they didn’t do, how they really went out of their way to be of no help at all. I wish I could say that online customer service of this caliber is rare, but unfortunately it is not.
Without further ado, I will let my email correspondence (which followed an equally frustrating online technical support chat with another, equally useless tech-bot) speak for itself. Notice how detailed my description of my issue is in comparison with how brief – and completely useless – the response I received was:
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My Description of the Issue:
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I purchased the PSP-3001XMS/98896 Limited Edition Ratchet and Clank Entertainment Pack, which comes with the MS-MT1G MemoryStick PRO Duo Mark2 memory stick from Sony. I promptly purchased an 8GB Memory Stick and used that instead of the MS-MT1G that came with the PSP-3001, leaving the original Memory Stick inside the PSP packaging because I did not need it at the time.
I have since taken it out and tried to use it in two Sony digital cameras I own, the DSC-W50 and the DSC-M2. Both of these gave me an error message: "C:13:01 memory stick error".
I then tried to put it into my PSP and hook it up to my laptop via USB, the PSP says "There is no Memory Stick inserted". When I insert it into the card readers on both of my HP Pavilion dv6000 laptops, it comes up on "My Computer" as drive F, and says it’s a "Memory Stick Pro", complete with the "MagicGate" symbol on it’s icon, but when I try to access the drive, it says "Please insert a disk into MemoryStick Pro (F:), and I cannot format the memory stick at all.
I would like to send this obviously defective MemoryStick PRO back to you and get a replacement. It has never been used, I purchased it less than 5 months ago at Best Buy (and they have since closed their doors and gone out of business), and it does not work, as far as I know it has NEVER worked (for me at least, not since I broke the seal on the PSP box). How can we work together to get this issue addressed?
I only want what I am entitled to: a working MemoryStick PRO Duo 1GB (MS-MT1G) memory stick which I was supposed to have when I bought my PSP-3001XMS/98896 Entertainment Pack. (Which I LOVE, by the way, I have used it every day since I purchased it, and I use it every night to listen to Audio Books while I fall asleep at night. GREAT product!)
Roger Marquis
707.313.5369 msg
707.363-XXXX cell
rogermarquis@sbcglobal.net
www.rogermarquis.com
www.winecountrywebs.com
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As you can see, I was very clear and detailed in regards to my issue.
This is the first automated response I got:
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Auto-Response
05/09/2009 09:35 PM
Thank you for contacting Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA).
You have received this auto-acknowledgement to confirm that we received your message. We will respond to your message within 24 - 48 hours. We appreciate your patience. We have also Included helpful service links and information that may be of immediate assistance to you.
Getting your system repaired/exchanged using the Internet
———————————————————————–
If you are experiencing the following issues with your product, you will most likely need to have it replaced or serviced:
- Not getting any power
- None of your games or movies load or play
- System freezes or locks up at the main menu or XMB screen
- Cracked or damaged LCD screen on PSP portable
You can fill out our Online Service Request form by visiting https://service1.us.playstation.com and process your own service request quickly and easily using a computer. [This service is currently open for U.S. residents ONLY. Other restrictions apply. Please see the Online Service Request page for additional details.]
Additional Troubleshooting
——————————–
We have also included links to our Knowledge Center Articles on some of our most commonly searched troubleshooting issues:
PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system
- How to Restore Default Settings:
http://playstation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/playstation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=278
- HDMI Picture & Sound Troubleshooting:
http://playstation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/playstation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=262
- Wireless Network Troubleshooting:
http://playstation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/playstation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=280
- Wired (Ethernet) Troubleshooting:
http://playstation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/playstation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=285
- Firewall & Port Numbers for Online Gaming:
http://playstation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/playstation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=241
PSP(R) portable entertainment system
- Setting up Infrastructure Mode:
http://playstation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/playstation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=460
- Transferring Files from PC to PSP:
http://playstation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/playstation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=474
- Updating System Software:
http://playstation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/playstation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=265
- Browsing the Internet:
http://playstation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/playstation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=80
PlayStation(R)Network
Recovering PlayStation Network Password:
http://playstation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/playstation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=492
Question Reference #090509-000847
Product Level 1:
PSP system
Category Level 1:
Photos
Date Created:
05/09/2009 09:35 PM
Updated:
05/10/2009 03:22 PM
Status:
Closed
First Name:
Roger
Last Name:
Marquis
==================================
Closed? They provided no help and the status is CLOSED? The information they provided via auto-response had nothing to do whatsoever with my issue. Ok, so what did I expect? It was an Auto-Response, after all. The NEXT email should contain some sort of intelligent and helpful response, right?
The second response I got, the one that was not supposed to be automated:
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From: PlayStation Consumer Services
Sent: Sunday, May 10, 2009 3:22 PM
To: rogermarquis@sbcglobal.net
Subject: I purchased the PSP-3001XMS/98896 Limited Edition Ratchet and Clank Entertain… [Incident: 090509-000847]
Discussion Thread
Response (Julio B.)
05/10/2009 03:22 PM
Hello Roger,
We apologize for any inconvenience you are experiencing with the Memory card.
The following Knowledge Center articles may help resolve your problem:
Article Title: Troubleshooting Memory Stick Duo
Article Link: http://playstation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/playstation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1128&p_created=1216329993
Article Title: Compatible Memory Sticks
Article Link: http://playstation.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/playstation.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=834&p_created=1199317222
For further assistance with your memory card please contact our support line at 1-800-222-7669 for all other Sony products.
Regards,
Julio B.
==================================
Now, I’m not sure who Julio B. is, but I’m pretty sure that he’s a Bot, and I’m also pretty sure he didn’t bother to read my email at all.
The first article he sent me dealt with troubleshooting issues with my PSP not reading any memory cards, not the Sony-branded memory card I was having an issue with. It did not address the fact that 2 Sony cameras, 2 HP Pavilion laptops AND my PSP could not read the card at all. It wanted me to send my PSP in for service, when I clearly stated that the issue was not with my PSP but with the defective MemoryStick that was included WITH the PSP.
The second article deals with problems using memory cards OTHER than ‘Official Sony’ memory cards, and their compatibility with the PSP, and does NOT address the clearly stated fact that the card I was having problems with WAS an ‘Official Sony’ branded card, came in an ‘Official Sony’ branded PSP bundle, and was therefore manufactured and distributed by Sony, and should be compatible with ANY electronic device that takes that style of card, especially two Sony cameras and a Sony PSP!
I have ranted and raved about the issue of crappy customer service provided online before, in an earlier article entitled Is ATT Listening? This is an issue that permeates the entire online ‘technical support’ and ‘customer service’ culture, and is all too often found in the telephone ‘technical support’ and ‘customer service’ culture as well.
I am now about to get on my phone and see if I can get some help from Sony, wish me luck.
Just did some research on the new Star Trek movie, turns out the new movie is actually set in an alternative universe, but just in terms of a few minor details, and it isn’t the first time it’s been done… there have been times in the original series, and particularly in the Next Generation and Voyager series, that this has been touched upon, mostly as a result of time travel and its effects. The new film does indeed feature a time-traveling Romulan from the future, and this does alter the Star Trek past a little bit, but the movie still seems to hold true to The Original Series and does not seem to alter the nature of the original characters or the Star Trek Universe itself.
The props, sets, uniforms and ship designs are indeed different, but chalk that up to the fact that the original series, while cutting-edge in many ways, was also steeped in the culture of the sixties and its own distinctive style. In return, Star Trek has since had a tremendous impact on our own subsequent cultural history and technological development, and we are constantly surrounded by the influences that Star Trek has had on our everyday lives, from the flip-style cell phone (beam me up, Scotty) and Bluetooth earpieces (hailing frequencies, Lieutenant Uhura) to a myriad of modern medical devices that would have been right at home in McCoy’s examination room.
If Kirk had whipped out an old-style communicator, or if McCoy had used the traditional huge, old boxy tricorder, both of those instruments would look sadly archaic and out-dated by today’s standards, never mind in a world that is supposed to take place a couple of hundred years or so into our own future. You have but to pull your iPhone out of your pocket as you sit in front of your flat-screen LCD monitor to see the truth to that. Science has always chased fiction, since the days of Jules Verne to Star Trek and beyond, on into a future that is still being foretold and, yes, changed even further by those who are doing the foretelling itself. The resemblance of the history of science fiction to our own modern times is no mistake; much of modern science is inspired by the fiction of the past, the scientists themselves having grown up as avid fans and dreaming of being the first to make the fiction of the past into the reality of tomorrow.
Truth be told, I want something a bit new, I don’t want to watch some young punk… try… to… talk like… Shatner… or see the same old ship designs and boxy interiors. Roddenberry himself said "some young thing" would come along and do Star Trek bigger and better than he himself had done it, and to tell the truth, each incarnation of Trek – on TV and in the movies – has technically been better and more sophisticated than the one that came before, from the special effects to the acting and plot development.
I’ve been drooling over this movie since I heard about it a few years ago and can’t wait to see it, and frankly, if I went in to the movies and simply saw an extended TV episode that was trying to imitate the original series in every way, much like the 1998 version of Psycho was made as an exact copy of the 1960’sclassic, line for line, scene for scene and shot for shot, I would have been mildly entertained, but it would have been little more than a novelty, and would ultimately be a flop. We wouldn’t see any more Star Trek movies after that, because it would have ultimately been a bad movie. Think about it.
For those who consider themselves Trekkie purists, the film does indeed hold true to all that is Trek, but it also incorporates some of the themes and ideas from novels written in the Star Trek Universe, but previously not considered as “cannon”, or ‘official’, as they take place outside of anything that has been put on TV or the Big Screen. Also, the sheer number of Star Trek novels out there, and the abundance of writers behind those novels, makes it difficult to keep continuity amongst the creative Star Trek community. In fact there are many glaring inconsistencies within the TV shows and movies themselves, so in large part, this voyage into non-‘cannon’ material can be forgiven.
When you stop to think about it, time travel has been used so many times in the Star Trek films themselves that any inconsistencies can be explained and excused just because of that; many scientific theorists believe that, if one were to travel back in time and change ANYTHING, you automatically create an alternative universe practically identical to our own but indeed different. Some even believe that process takes place every time we make a decision, any decision at all, and we make thousands of decisions every day, big and small, that could change the course of our lives forever. So the idea that the Star Trek we will see is different in some ways from the Star Trek we grew up with is OK when seen within this context. They didn’t “mess it up”, it’s always going to be there in my 3-season boxed DVD set on my shelf, right next to the original ‘Star Trek – The Animated Series’ (NBC, 1973), for me to enjoy whenever I want it.
Roddenberry himself always wanted to do a ‘prequel’, and his wife reprised her role as the voice of the enterprise computer for this new movie before her own death in 2008. Nimoy also plays a major role in the movie as the older, original Spock who also time-travels to join in the fun, and also in terms of and being an integral part of the whole process of creating, maintaining and presenting the Star Trek Universe, he would not have participated in the new movie if he didn’t like the script, and the script itself would have been rewritten had he NOT approved. They were also flirting with the idea of bringing back Kirk as well, but decided against it because it would just seem cheap, no matter how they did it. Kirk had indeed died in an earlier movie, and Shatner was being too pushy and demanding, so they scrapped any plans they might have had and left Shatner completely out of the new picture. Shatner himself is quite cheap and cheesy, so I’m glad they did. Let Kirk rest in peace.
So, overall, I think the new movie will be a worthy intro to – hopefully – a whole new set of movies that we can all get into all over again. Of course, some day they will remake the original Star Wars, and technically do it better, but I’ll be the first one to balk at the idea; I grew up with the original Star Wars, my Dad, Ron, took me to see it when it first came out. Until then, and even afterwards I’ll wager, the original will always be special to me, just as I still love to watch the original Star Trek when it comes on TV. I’m sure Star Trek will “live long and prosper” no matter who is at the helm.
Watching the “Liberal Media” go apeshit over Miss California and how she is being ‘attacked’ for sharing her views on gay marriage is really getting to be tiresome. We all know she was brave for standing up and saying what she believes; the oddly conservative “Liberal Media” has been pounding us with it since it occurred. I will agree that it takes balls to look a gay man in the eyes and tell him you don’t believe he should be treated equal under the laws of the United States. It takes much more balls than it took a hundred years ago to look a black man in the eyes and tell them the same thing, but essentially, it does boil down to the exact same thing.
In America, we all have the right to believe what we want to believe. So if you want to believe that niggers and faggots are subhuman and deserve no rights, or at the very least a separate-but-equal set of rights, you are completely free to believe that. The problem is, if you express a belief that is contrary to the beliefs of a large number of people, you just might piss someone off, and THEY have the right to speak up too! If it’s ok for Miss America to speak up, it’s ok for the rest of us to speak up too!
And while I’m on the subject, why is the media praising Miss California for speaking out against gay rights? We all know they would be tearing her a new one if she said she didn’t believe that Blacks and Whites should get married.
It all boils down to this: you have every right to believe that niggers and faggots have no place in America. The problem is, they are Americans too, and therefore entitled to equal treatment under the law. If you want to have your own private club with it’s own private rules and it’s own version of the constitution, go for it. As for the rest of us, we are governed by the law of the land, and the law of the land says we’re ALL created equal, and must be treated as such.
I understand that we’re working against deep-seated traditional and religious beliefs here, but as I have pointed out before, we don’t all share those traditional and religious beliefs, so we should not all be governed by those beliefs, but by a set of Constitutional Laws designed to govern a nation full of many different people from many different countries who hold many different traditional and religious beliefs.
We should not work to keep people like Miss California quiet. We should be happy that they open their mouths and let us all see what’s inside their hearts and minds. It’s the only way we have to find out who we should hold as our role models and who we should simply hold as a poor example to our children.
So Perez Hilton asked Miss California what she thought about same-sex marriage, and the gay community (including, apparently, the Miss America Pageant Board of Directors) is all upset over her answer. While I don’t personally agree with her answer, I agree with her right to believe what she believes, and I respect her for being honest. She could have easily lied and – probably – won the title of Miss America, but she told the truth, even if it did cost her the title.
I am of the belief that we can’t really address this issue unless we talk about it. The facts are that we are almost split on this issue. Prop 8 passed by an extremely narrow margin, 5% to be exact, and the truth is that the percentage of people who support same-sex marriage has steadily increased over time. There is no reason to believe this trend won’t continue. Young people 18-29 years old represent the fastest growing portion of the voting population, and statistics show that 68% of them support same-sex marriage.
The truth is, you can believe what you want, and be brave enough to say it out loud, but that doesn’t mean your opinion is any more or less important than the rest of us. You can believe that niggers and faggots are sub-human, and therefore don’t deserve the same rights as the rest of us, but that doesn’t make it so. History has shown that, over time, human rights take precedence over human bigotry in America, and that’s how it should be. Let people like Miss America, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly spout off at the mouth; it lets the rest of us know what we’re up against and helps us to better prepare our own arguments on the subject.
And really, when it comes down to it, who cares what Miss Anyone thinks about anything?
www.opelusurfmaui.com
This is a website I did for a surfing school down in Maui, Hawaii for my company, WineCountryWebs. I decided to go with an aquatic motif, mostly because it was a surfing school, and I love the ocean. I tried to replicate the appearance of ocean waves, and I added the sound of the ocean as well. While I’m happy with it, I ran into issues with a Flash animation I built for the site; it worked fine in Firefox but when I looked at it in Explorer, it was reduced in size and out of place. I’m sure I can figure out what the issue is, but I won’t tackle that until I have more time.
Anyway, the customer loves it, everyone who has looked at it loves it, and that makes me happy.
If you need to learn how to surf, and you’re going to be in Maui, look him up.
Often, in discussions I have had with otherwise intelligent individuals vehemently opposed to same-sex marriage, when they are asked to explain how blatant discrimination based on homosexuality is somehow permissible and “OK” without falling back on traditional and religious beliefs - both of which are deeply personal and should have no bearing on laws meant [...]
I finally got to watch this movie, and I must say I was generally disappointed. I felt that it followed the original in many respects, but it felt unfinished, and did not really indicate that Humanity had gone thru any sort of change at all. There was no address to the United Nations, there was [...]
Ok, so two idiots, including a science teacher, decide to teach us all a lesson for believing in UFOs. What do they do? They tie 3 road flares to balloons and set them free, thus somehow proving that all UFO sightings are false.
Only problem is, just because you can make something that looks like something [...]
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It’s about midnight and I was sitting here, my wife snoring beside me and my newborn baby girl cooing and gurgling in her bed, and I was thinking to myself… I never would have imagined in a million years that this is where I would be at this point in my [...]
(Originally Posted on Yahoo360, 01.07.07)
I don’t get it. Some deaf, dumb and blind 20-year-old (descriptive text, not meant as an insult) gets on a bus and hides behind a seat in the back. Six hours later, she is found, unharmed. What does mom do? Instead of jumping for joy and shouting ‘hallelujah’, she wants blood. [...]
(Originally Posted on Yahoo360, 01.12.07)
David Chu, the Pentagon’s Chief of Personnel, said in an interview that the fact that some with previous Iraq experience will end up spending more than 24 months on active duty is “no big deal.”
I would personally like to see this dude spend 2-3 years in active duty in Iraq and [...]
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I just watched a news blurb about comments made by Senator Biden during an interview being posted on the web. The comments were about Obama, and it went something like “he’s clean, he’s bright, he’s intelligent, and he’s articulate”.
Somehow, this has been taken as an insult. Why? It’s because Obama [...]
I must say I do not watch Celebrity Apprentice much, but this season Tom Green was on it, and I just had to watch. I happen to like Tom, although I really don’t agree with some of the things he does, and I thought it would be fun to see how he did.
He never got [...]
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Once again, what the heck is wrong with this country?!?!?
Police have claimed that devices recently found all over Boston “look like IEDs”, or Improvised Explosive Devices. Bullshit!
Have you seen a picture of these “devices”? What terrorist in their “right” mind (if there is such a thing) would place a device that [...]
www.buffship.com
This is the second paying customer I ever had for my web design business, WineCountryWebs.com. Buff Bredehoft is the owner of Buffalo Shipping Post in Napa. I went into his shop and looked around, trying to get a feel for how I wanted his site to look based on how he decorated his shop, and [...]
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