Student's tips, observations, and more

anime studio 8 rendering wiggyness

working on an animation and the physics isn't working right

the editing mode shows the physics behaving properly. You can see that the image texture map is not rendered in this mode, as expected

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the rendered version is misbehaving, but as expected, the image texture map is visible

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Comcast prefers that I use ATT Uverse, #FAIL

Comcast-redacted-crop

I was contacted by Comcast to switch from ATT Uverse to Comcast Xfinity, and all I got was this lousy flyer.

While my ATT seems to work OK, I've heard that Comcast might be better. My main requirement is that I don't want to pay more than I do now, and I don't have a lot of time to be on the phone to be sold - w/o written documentation of what I'll get and how much I'll pay. I've been down that route before and while my complaint to the FCC was effective, it was still extra hassle. Instead, I've learned that I should get everything down in writing.

My only problem with the deal in the flyer? Comcast wouldn't tell me all the hidden costs that would jack up the price up and above the stated $14.95. I asked for the information in writing, but all they kept saying was call one of the local offices. Note - I gave them all of my contact info, they could have had the local office call me or even mail me the info I requested.

I think it's clear Comcast prefers that I keep my ATT Uverse.

Damaged goods on arrival

[update] Handhelditems came through and replaced the product. See my post about it here.

The product arrived as promised, but was damaged as shown in the pictures. I'm not sure if Handhelditems sent me a damaged shirt or if the shirt was damaged in shipping.

As you may guess, the damage results in a noticeable hole in message that you write on the shirt. It looks a like you're wearing a product reject since the damage is obvious.

Part of this test is to see if Handhelditems actually has the customer service process or social media skills to notice this post and do something about it. I'll also try linking to this from my review on their site.

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Acer will replace my laptop... psyche: just kidding... really?

My Acer laptop blog entries are getting a high number of view, so maybe people are starting to see how Acer support can miss the ball.

Here's a snippet from their latest communication, more context later:

(4/8/2010)
"I understand that you are trying to get the repair status of the Notebook.
I've checked the case notes and please be informed that the replacement Notebook that was originally offered is no longer available and our technicians are still working on this issue."

I had hoped that they were finally going to take care of me after taking 3X the normal repair time and not having replacement parts. Yes, While it normally takes 7 days to repair a laptop, it's approaching 30, and they have never taken initiative to update me on the status. This did reply to my requests for info saying that it was in repair, but that was it.

This Monday, I asked again about the status, and they admitted that they could not get parts to repair the laptop. On Tuesday they called and offered to replace the laptop, stating that they would ship on Wednesday and send shipment tracking info. Wednesday, there was no shipping info, so I asked, again. Today, Thursday, they responded to my inquiry with the quote above. Good of them to respond, but way to go - not only pull the laptop they said that they would ship, but do it without telling me, AND not even have a solution. All I can ask is "Would you want to be treated the same way?".

My Acer laptop still flickering, even after Acer support suggestions

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The two recommendations have not yielded any results. The laptop display is still flickering, as seen in this video after trying the support recommendations.

Recommendation 1: install an older version of the video driver
Recommendation 2: go to BIOS (they didn't actually tell me to do anything once I got there)

Take a look. I hope they finally RMA this unit since it's bad press for Acer to have defective products in the field.