======================================================================== THE GRIPE LINE: ED FOSTER http://www.infoworld.com ======================================================================== Tuesday, August 17, 2004
LATEST WEBLOG ENTRIES ======================================================================== * Dealing With Symantec * Spam and SMS Text Messaging * A Fair Software Warranty ADVERTISEMENT -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Free IDC White Paper: Oracle Grid Computing Find out how organizations can delpoy Grid Computing as a foundation for business-oriented transactions, content management, and business intelligence applications. Register to download now! http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=827172:2B910B2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- DEALING WITH SYMANTEC ======================================================================== Posted August 17, 12:12 AM Pacific Time Rebates, copy protection, support ... the subjects vary considerably, but the stream of gripes about Symantec just keep coming. The one common thread seems to be that, when dealing with Symantec, it's hard to be sure just what deal you have. One reader wasn't sure whether he was more upset about an extra charge Symantec added to his Live Update subscription for Norton AntiVirus or his inability to get an explanation from the company. "I renewed my subscription for Norton Antivirus updates last night for $19.95," the reader wrote. "Today, on reviewing my order, I found that a special fee of $10 had been added, a fee I never noticed in ordering the renewal." With some difficulty, he figured out how to e-mail Symantec about the problem and finally got a response. "It looks like it came from an actual service rep, but that the rep's responsibility is so narrowly defined that all she can do with a dissatisfied customer is instruct him to jump through another set of hoops to reach another low-level service drone. It isn't worth any more of my time, so I told them to cancel my order." Readers keep finding news ways in which Symantec's product activation can bite them. "First they cheat the company of paid-for service if you have to reformat for any reason," wrote another reader. "I had prepaid for two years of updates by mistake, and asked for a refund, which they refused to give me. Two re-formattings later, I lost most of that second year's worth of subscription. I was told I could not recover the lost time already paid for." And Symantec continues to lead the pack when it comes to gripes about deadbeat rebates ( http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=827169:2B910B2 ). But their fulfillment center's excuses sometimes have their amusing side, as shown by a gripe I just received. "This is all triggered by a recent postcard I received from what must be Symantec's current fulfillment center," wrote one reader. "At Best Buy I had purchased and received authentic receipt duplicates and instructions for submitting my rebate request for Norton Antivirus Professional 2004. The postcard I received claims I did not include the requested information and gives a bogus 800 number for the rebate center. It also states that: '...we could not honor your request due to the following reason(s) : "Norton AntiVirus Pro (NAV Pro) - MissingPurchase Date, Invalid receipt required.' Please note the corrupted syntax in the latter item/reason -- does it mean they require an invalid receipt?" Well, maybe. With Symantec, you just don't know for sure what the deal is. Speaking of which, in case you missed it, those of you looking for a different deal should check out the final results ( http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=82716A:2B910B2 ) of what readers had to say when I polled them on which antivirus products they think are the best alternatives to McAfee and Symantec. Read and post comments about this story ... For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=82716D:2B910B2 SPAM AND SMS TEXT MESSAGING ======================================================================== Posted August 15, 11:21 PM Pacific Time SMS (Short Message Service) text messaging is yet to catch on as big here in the U.S. as it is elsewhere. And, if one reader's recent experience with SMS spam proves typical, it isn't likely to do so. "I get a dozen or so spam SMS messages a day on my cell phone from a San Diego company called Sms.ac," the reader wrote. "It is annoying as hell. I imagine they are supposed to whet my interest in the Sms.ac service. Instead, it is raising my blood pressure at the thought of paying for all those SMS messages, not to mention that each one also makes my phone ring." The reader sent me samples of the messages he'd received from Sms.ac, and annoying is a mild way of describing them. Even if they didn't cost the recipient a few pennies apiece, having your day interrupted by such a stream of crude jokes, bizarre factoids, and come-ons for the company's chat and dating services could drive anybody crazy. The reader was all the more frustrated when he went to www.sms.ac (in case you're wondering, .ac is the TLD for Ascension Island - consult your atlas) to find a way to turn off the unwanted ... For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=82716E:2B910B2 A FAIR SOFTWARE WARRANTY ======================================================================== Posted August 15, 10:51 AM Pacific Time Now that readers have identified last week's "mystery license" ( http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=82716C:2B910B2 ) as the EULA for Autodesk's AutoCad 2005, it's time to take a closer look at it. But we're not going to examine its many grossly unfair terms - that comes later. Instead, this week I want to consider one section of the AutoCad license that might actually help us define what a fair software warranty should say. As I mentioned last week, one somewhat redeeming feature of the AutoCad license is its limited warranty. It reads: "Limited Warranty. Autodesk warrants that, as of the date on which the Software is delivered by Autodesk and for ninety (90) days thereafter, the Software will provide the features and functions generally described in the User Documentation and that the media on which the Software is furnished, if any, will be free from defects in materials and workmanship. Autodesk's entire liability and Your exclusive remedy under the limited warranty provided in this Section 5.1 will be, at Autodesk's option, to attempt to correct or work around errors, to replace the defective media on which the Software is furnished, if any, or to refund the license fees and terminate this Agreement."No, it's not the ... For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=82716B:2B910B2 Contact Ed Foster at [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Ed Foster's "Reader Advocate" column, http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=82716F:2B910B2 , can be read exclusively at his GripeLog Web site: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=827173:2B910B2 ======================================================================== Says Who? InfoWorld's editors, columnists, and Test Center, that's who. Every week in CTO Source, they keep you up to date on the product news and reviews, business trends, and management issues that can mean grief or relief to the technology chief. CTO Source. In brief, it's just what you need to know to do your job, e-mailed to you every Tuesday. 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