Tech – Page 12 – Not Content to Crawl

Suck it, Newegg.com

Posted onJune 16, 20082 Comments

As you know, I ordered the Canon 40D kit from Newegg.com last week. On Friday, I got an e-mail saying they couldn’t fulfill my order because my billing and shipping addresses didn’t match. They said I needed to add my shipping address (which is my employer) to my Discover account. I did just that and tried to resubmit my order but it wouldn’t work. So I canceled the order and placed a new one thinking they’d call Discover, verify my shipping address, and that would be that.

I was wrong. Yesterday I got a voicemail from them saying they still didn’t have enough information to verify my order was legit and I had to call them back Mon-Fri. I was also told that my order would be canceled three days from the order date if I didn’t contact them in time. Well, considering I ordered on Friday but wasn’t able to contact anyone until Monday, that means they’d possibly cancel my order before I could set things straight.

At this point it was becoming too much of a hassle to deal with these people. I get that they want to protect themselves against fraud but come on already. I did what you told me to do and still it’s not good enough? How do you think that address got added to my Discovercard account if it wasn’t me? They ask you for three pieces of identifying information you know. So whatever.

I canceled my order last night and found the camera at Buydig.com for $10 cheaper plus a free 2GB compact flash card. So nah-nah, Newegg.com. You just lost a sale because you’re a big pain in my ass. I would have ordered from Buydig from the very beginning but the camera wasn’t on their site last week. I’m so glad I was able to get it from them, though, because it shipped out today from New Jersey and will likely arrive before Friday. That means Joe and I will be going on a photo excursion or two this weekend.

Cameras

Posted onJune 11, 2008June 14, 2022

My new camera was delivered this afternoon only 45 minutes before I left work so I didn’t get a chance to charge the battery until I got home. It just finished a bit ago so I quickly configured the settings and took a few test shots.

I’ll post an in-depth review in about a week but here are my first impressions –

Small and light, just like I wanted.
The screen takes up much of the back of the camera, therefore I am getting fingerprints all over it! I see that I will need to buy a screen protector.
The door to the battery and SD card seems a little flimsy but then again so do they all and I’ve yet to break one (knock on wood).
Nice clear indoor shots with the image stabilization.

This baby will be going everywhere I go once I get a case for it.

And don’t hate me, but I ordered another camera today – the Canon EOS 40D. I got the kit with the 28-135mm IS lens from NewEgg for $1,130 (no tax or shipping, whee!). I’ve been tossing around the idea of upgrading for awhile now. I’m happy with my 20D but Joe isn’t happy with my old Nikon 5700 that he’s been using. Not only is it inferior to a digital SLR, the batteries – and we have several – are all shot and barely hold a charge so he’s constantly having to swap them. Instead of buying new batteries, we decided he’d get my 20D and we could pretend we’re serious photographers. I also ordered a 50mm lens so we’ll have a few to rotate between us.

I’m pretty excited because lately Joe hasn’t been too interested in going on any photo excursions and it’s not as fun if he’s standing around bored while I’m trying to get shots. He really enjoyed using my 20D last year when we were in Indianapolis so I know he’ll be more motivated with a new (to him) camera.

Now I have two cameras to sell – a Nikon 885 and a Nikon 5700. I wonder how much I can get on Craigslist for them. I might end up selling the 885 to my brother since he says my dad wants a digital camera. Otherwise he was going to buy him some suckass p.o.s. from Aldi’s. Please. Even my 7 year old camera is going to be better than that no-name junk.

Quick bites

Posted onMay 14, 20082 Comments

No time to elaborate for now, but…

I really need to book our hotel for next week’s little getaway. Yeesh, talk about procrastination!

I am hearing really good things about The Cure shows so far from not just fans but newspapers too. Apparently they are playing for a full three hours after the opening act. That is 35-40 songs. Sweeeet!

Uva-Ursi is an awesome herbal remedy for bladder infections, and I know this because unfortunately I have one. :(

Have you seen the new Bank of America ATMs? They recently bought our bank, LaSalle and upgraded the ATMs. They take your check without the envelope, scan it, display it on the screen with the amount for you to verify, and then print a small version of the check on the receipt. Talk about high-tech. Maybe they can make me some breakfast too.

FIL #15

Posted onMarch 29, 20082 Comments

A day late, but that’s par for the course with me.

This is the cutest bunny I have ever seen! The more I see these little guys online, the more I think about getting one of my own. Either that or a ferret. Joe knows someone at work who has one and she said they don’t smell nearly as musky as they do in the pet store. They are cute and playful and they can live in a condo-like three-story cage when you’re not home. Perfect pet (other than a cat).

The world’s greatest elevator rides – not for those with acrophobia! The only elevator I’ve been on in this list is the one in the St. Louis Arch. I can safely say I’d be fine never going on that one again because holy crap is it claustrophobic! Plus if you need to use the bathroom once you get to the top, you’re shit out of luck (pun intended) because they don’t have one. It’s too small up there.

I am looking for an ultra-thin camera to carry around in my purse at all times and while I’d prefer a Canon, their cameras in the price range I’m shopping ($100-$200) are just too ugly and bulky. Right now I can’t decide between this Nikon or this Olympus because there aren’t enough reviews to get a good idea of their true performance. I need to compare features more. Right now I just like the idea of getting a blue camera since I’ve always owned silver or black and I also like that both cameras have image stabilization.