RE COMPANIES WITH POOR APPROACHES TO DOING BUSINESS. (maybe we need a consumer revolt ?...lol.)
is it only me ? or do other pg users find its a hassle/frustrating often installing a tech product after purchase ?
example of poor biz practice (then i'll give an example of good practice.)
1..my wife got a new printer for her pc. now remember we are both pretty tech savvy. (but i'm thinking of the elderly purchasing a tech product.) 2..heres examples of bad biz practice. ..only seemed support was by email..couldnt find a support tel no anywhere on the web site. (i LAUD PG for having real people we can call and talk to.). when i worked in tech same as pg we had real people for a user to talk to. ..it took my wife 2 hours to figure out how to get the darn thing up n' running. why cant one just unpack the product , plug it in, blah blah easy driver install..done in 20 minutes no hassle. how the hey is an elderly person supposed to fig out a complex install ?
from now on i'm not buying products unless i can talk to a support person during install if its a complex install as this was. now lets compare with good biz practices.
1..when i got reaper first yonks ago i didnt need tel support cos the thing was such a doddle to install. literally i was up n' running in 2 secs flat , and recording songs. no install probs unlike the printer. (i think in all the years ive had reaps ive only needed 1 question answered , and it was answered via the forum rapidly. i must say when i first got powertraks yonks ago , same…up recording fast.) 2..heres a grrreat install experience viz ..my new ryzen mini pc i got recently. (i was a tad worried cos i had never dealt with the company before..but for the stupid low price and the fact i could return to amazon in 30 days i felt i couldnt complain.) WELL..gee whizz i was amazed. obviously this company had thought about things. literally i unboxed the little thing, plugged it in…it booted into win 11 in no time flat and i was off to the races installing my bb/rb/reaps programs. blazing fast no bloatware likkle pc. in summary i'm absolutely thrilled with it as it saved me buying an exotic 2k custom built pc for music production. but i dont know bout its longivity..but for the few hundred buks i paid i really cant complain. (i'm now full bore in on mini pc's n' m2 ssd's also.)
finally does this bug you too ??
all these companies selling to us consumers these days blah blah want us to follow all these instructions // net register // set up an account // its endless. what about if ones pc aint on the net ? so theres no possibility of getting hacked ?? even the darn financial institutions are trying to push everyone to use the net. its like all these companies want to exert some measure of control on their clients//users.
lol...dont even get me going about companies with a biz model to squeeze/get monthly fees out of us to pad their cash flow and control our lives. being a cockney lad i simply refuse to buy from any company with this biz model.
be interested in opinions.
happiness to all.
om
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 01/18/2306:00 AM.
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs (90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
I recently had the printer issue. Bought a brand-new HP from Amazon. Went through all the quick card steps to get it going, it was dead. This printer simply had a bad firmware on it which kept restarting the initial Hello World status. Since it was in that status, I couldn't connect it to the web to update that firmware. So I had a brick. Could I find any U.S. based live support? Nope. Returned it to Amazon's return junk pile and got my money back. Ticked me off so much I haven't bought another printer. Living without.
These companies made this mess, we're stuck with it. Profits are more important than quality and service. That's why everything is disposable, built in obsolescence.
we need to stop being treated like likkle sheep ready for the shearing. ps I LOVE M2 !! hows your set up going ??
respect.
om
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs (90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
It is going well. I installed the dual M2 2Tb sticks as a 4Tb C:\ OS drive. From your M2 post you will see with my set up it took a lot of pass/fail combinations to get it to work. In my case I had to set the drives as a RAID controller in BIOS.
Flat pack furniture is something that gets to me, takes a while to figure it out.
Companies who miss-advertise to sell something that they know is not true is another.
At the moment Youtube is full of ads for overpriced heaters that promise to heat your room at a fraction of the cost of conventional heating, all cashing in on cost of living crisis.
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
In 2023, where every business on the planet conforms to a business model where customers don't matter because they have too many already, it will get worse rather than better. The gods of the bottom line say to employ as few people as absolutely necessary, to not publish a phone number (and since there are no quality tech people there anyway, what does it matter?) and hide behind Amazon so their identity is as close to invisible as possible. You have people buying palates of returns and reselling then through their Amazon store, selling untested merchandise with the attitude of "Sue me if you want to. It will cost you way more to sue me than the cost of the item I hooked you on."
And that is customer service v2023 in a nutshell. That handful of people that DO care, PG among them, are stellar, but they are the 1% of the sellers out there. Reselling mass produced made in China merchandise rather than get a real job. Often because they are uneducated and not capable of doing anything else but scamming people. I have been VERY fortunate that every bad buying experience was resolved in my favor.
@steve - Don't you have stores where you live where you can go buy a printer, thus having a place to return it if it flops? I mean, I KNOW where you live and I probably passed 5 places between the motel and your house. My last printer, an HP laser came from Staples, JUST so I could return it if I had to.
@steve - Don't you have stores where you live where you can go buy a printer, thus having a place to return it if it flops?
Yes I do, sir. The whole Amazon thing didn't cost me a cent either. They automatically provide return labels on gear purchases like that. The printer I picked was one of their "Best Seller" HP printers so they probably DGAF if they get an occasional return.
I have an HP Laser Jet M203dw that has never failed me in 4-ish years. I print very little so toner lasts me forever. I like to do the NY Times crossword so I print one every morning. $169 at Amazon right now, and fulfillment is actually by HP rather than "Printin' Pete's Printer Palace". Which I assume operates out of a van parked in a Walmart in Enid Oklahoma so it can steal wifi...
do the following also bug other people as they do me ?
1..car oil changes every few thousand miles. every car one looks at has this 'ya gotta pay feature' lol. we can send people to space but we cant design a car that has longer times tween oil changes ? really ?? from talking to people ive known in the car industry , they tell me its another little 'cash flow earner'. what about 'car delivery charges' ? it seems even if a buyer was to live right near the car manufacturing plant…still they would pay a big delivery charge.
2..our houses. do we ever really own a house if a third party can impose fees//taxes on it ? bearing in mind people scrimp all their lives to pay off a mortgage. seems to me we are just leasers. is there a better alternative to fund services that doesnt hit people that often cant afford it due to changed job//financial circumstances ? heres also a bit of 'hilarity'...not….. our water bill has a fixed charge each month which isnt peanuts…so..lol…even if i never take a bath or shower to try n' save water costs …yep still gonna pay the fixed monthly charge. same game with other utilities. all this stuff hits the poor as always. aint there a better way ??
3..usb dongles. one reason i got into powertraks (superb low cost product PG…!!) n' reaper (also superb…)...yonks ago for music production was not only their depth of features but i had seen other people dealing with usb dongles. no dongles with pg products and same for reaps thankfully. this is how to do good business imho. thus i was happy to pay just over a hundred buks for reaps n' powertraks.
4..the 'gogglebox tv'. there is a new over the air standard coming. from our tests already with a cheapo antenna we can get a load of channels…so we are thinking of 'cutting the cord' cos what bugs wife n' i is every year the tv service seems to go thru' an increase…sigh…these increasesc bug me.
feel free to state your 'bugs'.
happiness to all.
om
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 01/19/2303:28 AM.
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs (90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
Hey om, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed today
1-oil - IF your car is out of warranty AND you are using 100% synthetic oil then you can change your oil only when it is dirty. The same is true of all your machinery that uses synthetic oil. If your car is under warranty then you should change the oil as they dictate if you want to keep your warranty.
2-our houses- Here we only pay for what we use. PS please don't stop taking showers
3-dongles-Yep they are a pain but even Waves and i-Lock have computer storage options. But I have to admit those wireless mouse and keyboard dongles are really nice
4-TV-I have little choice when it comes to TV. It is cable, dish, or local antenna. The local antenna is useless where I live.
Calm down and have a nice day
I'm in a fitness protection program. I'm been hiding from exercise.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
1… re woke up on bad side of bed…HA HA HA !! LMAO. love your comedy and your sigs..just showed the wife your latest sig… we roared with laughter. nah …we are both 'happy go lucky' people. just occasionally i get a bill that bugs me with stoopid stuff. (lol..maybe i'm a tad sad cos my uk soccer team the hammers (whufc).. is in the relegation zone in the uk premier league.)
2…your latest song gobsmacked me mate. ya gotta find a way to get these amazing soundscapes you create to tv n' film production houses/companies.
respect n' have a wonderful happy 2023.
om.
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs (90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
do the following also bug other people as they do me ?
1..car oil changes every few thousand miles.
I've used synthetic oil for years and always have it changed within the service interval. With my turbocharged car, the garage used to laugh at me for that, but did it anyway (I had to supply the oil). Only after it had passed the "the turbo usally fails after..." by several 10s of thousands of miles did they take me seriously. It takes avoiding only one big repair bill to make it worth it.
Originally Posted By: justanoldmuso
3..usb dongles.
Yep, I hate them. They always get broken.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11 BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software. Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts .
Gordon, I can't even remember the last time I broke a USB drive, but it was before I stopped buying the kind that is 3 inches long and switched to stubbies. Sometimes though when I wanted a lot of storage I had to buy the bigger size. But my keyboard, mouse and a 256gb thumb drive are all this type.
As to the original rant, as long as your car has an engine with metal parts that rub against each other, you will need oil, and that oil will get dirty, and it needs to be changed. That's physics and there's not a lot to do about it. You are welcome to live without water, electricity, natural gas, home and fire insurance, any of the many options for TV viewing, even food if you like. That will leave just your mortgage. For me, I want fairly fast internet, so I pay $80 a month for it. My internet provider is also my TV provider and I pay $57 a month for that. As much time as I spend on the internet and as much as I watch TV I am glad to pay it.
Note that my particular view of money is unique. I care nothing about saving money. I don't even have a savings account. I bring money in, I send money out. I buy my toys, I buy food, I pay utilities. I budget so I have a certain amount of "walkin' around money" left over. I do use my credit cards from everything but I only use 5% of my available credit. I don't remember the last time I had actual money in my pocket. If I die in debt, so be it. Are they going to hold my ashes hostage until somebody pays my debts? I have watched too many people who wanted to be the richest corpse in the graveyard and lived really dull lives where they deny themselves what others (me) consider basic needs. I have nobody to leave anything to when I die, which I anticipate is 5-6 or so years away.
This right here is a specific consideration that I am fortunate to have available. I have had people tell me they work well beyond retirement because they are concerned about a major medical event. I don't have to worry about that. In exchange for 3 years of my young life the nice people at the VA have clinics and hospitals that will treat me for free, so I have no concern about that. I am blessed and fortunate to have that available to me, or I would have had to work until I die.
Life is good as long as you are on the green side of the sod, man. There are people in the world who love being miserable and choose to live in a world where it rains every day. Don't go out looking for rain! If you try, you'll find it.
Gordon, I can't even remember the last time I broke a USB drive, but it was before I stopped buying the kind that is 3 inches long and switched to stubbies.
The problem for me with dongles is that they're present and sticking out all of the time. I don't use memory sticks like that ... I use them, I demount them, I stick them back in the draw.
A have a dongle for vArranger, which dongle is only around 1 1/4 inches long, but it had to stick out of the side of my notebad PC. It was damaged withing three weeks, though I can't now remember how. It's taped up with insulating tape and does still work.
I've had dongles in the past at work and sooner of later someone catches them as they walk past or leans on them or kicks them if they're in a floor-standing tower or puts a book or box on them or whatever. I avoid them when I can.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11 BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software. Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts .
I have a Bluetooth stick that size and it's just fine. Dongles that size should also be OK.
My other nuisance in this case, though, is that I then want at least a licence dongle, the Bluetooth dongle, my Focusrite and my keyboard all plugged in at the same time, and my notepad has only three USB ports, so I also need a hub. Sigh.
So much stuff is now on USB that my desktop PC has two 7-port hubs attached and in both are use :-(
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11 BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software. Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts .
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We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
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