The Computer Next Door

Who's Ready for All Online News, All the Time? (Not I)

One hears pretty dire things these days about the decline of the newspaper industry.  Time Magazine recently listed The 10 Most Endangered Newspapers in America. The list includes some major rags from major cities across the nation.  The financial facts are harsh.  The Boston Globe is losing $1 million/week.  The San Francisco Chronicle lost $70 million in 2008.  Obviously, they can't stay afloat forever.

I have to say, though, that it seems perfectly absurd to imagine the demise of ALL NEWSPAPERS.  Is this really possible? Will a day dawn that doesn't have a single newspaper in it?  It's sad and shocking, if so.  I just have a hard time believing it.  Part of me doesn't want to, and part of me thinks the public won't put up with getting ALL their news online.

For one thing, I don't think that reading news online is anything like the same experience as reading a paper newspaper.

I consume (er, "read") both kinds of news - online and offline.  In the morning, over coffee, after a quick glance at my e-mail inbox, I browse the stories aggragated on my iGoogle Home Page - from all four corners of the globe.  At lunch, I like to leaf through the New York Times.  And there's really no comparison.  The online news is straight to the point, but hardly a pleasurable experience.  The paper version of the New York Times, on the other hand, is a delightful, physical browsing experience.  I open sections up, I stretch them this way and that, I look at ads for things I can't afford, and I find little bits of news I would NEVER HAVE FOUND ONLINE.  That's the key, in my opinion.

By specifying "top news stories" in my iGoogle Home Page, I have put a filter on the news that the physical paper removes.  There is always a surprise waiting for me in the physical paper - not so much online.

So, although I have long been an advocate of doing things digitally for the sake of efficiency and speed, this is just one area where I have my fingers crossed for the old, traditional way of getting information.  I suppose I want to have my digital cake and eat it, too. Hang in there, publishers.

How to Contact Amazon When Things Go Wrong

We all get used to our vendors and suppliers, whether online or in-person. And we get used to a certain level of customer service, and come to expect it.

This is why I was shocked when Amazon.com fell down on their expected task of zipping my book order to me.  Don't get me wrong - they did get it to me in record time (I am an Amazon Prime customer, and am thus am entitled to free 2-day shipping.)  What they got wrong was the book itself.  This had never happened to me with any online order, and I simply didn't expect it from Amazon.

I had ordered Alexander McCall Smith's "The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency" as part of a "4-for-3" promotion (buy 4  paperbacks for the price of 3 paperbacks) which seemed like an attractive deal. When the box of box arrived from Amazon, "Ladies' Detective Agency" was simply not there, replaced by  "Across the Dark Islands: The War in the Pacific."  It was as if someone in Customer Service had decided I needed to change my reading habits.

So, I contacted Customer Service.  First, I tried to find the information about how to return a book that was incorrect, but the directions in both the "Help" and the "My Account" section were circuitous and unhelpful, and I was unable to find a service resolution, so I decided to call them instead. 

Now, in case you haven't noticed, IT IS NOT EASY TO FIND THE AMAZON CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER ON THE AMAZON.COM WEBSITE. They seem to live and breathe "automation," and really discourage phone calls (probably a cost issue).

Fortunately, I had the number on file a previous bout with Customer Service, and so was able to locate it.  For those who remain frustrated about contacting Amazon by phone, here it is:

Amazon.com Customer Service: 1-800-201-7575

When I reached Customer Service, I got a profuse apology by phone, and a promise to ship the "Ladies' Detective Agency" immediately.  I then printed a free shipping label for the wrong book, and waited another 2 days.  Friday came, and I got a package.  WRONG BOOK AGAIN!  I couldn't believe it.  Once again I called Customer Service to inquire about the mishap.

This time, they didn't even try to ship me the correct book. They agreed to give me a refund on the book when it came back, so I will probably never know what happens in Alexander McCall Smith's mystery.  It shall remain a mystery - as much a mystery as  Amazons' Customer Service phone number is for many Amazon customers.

More thoughts on Google the Great

Following all my troubles with the iGoogle application, ("Groaning Over Google Improvements"), I was pleasantly surprised one day to find...the problem simply resolved itself.  Was it something Google did?  I will never know.

But now, my iGoogle application is behaving again.  I can update my To-Do list!  Finally.

My iGoogle "To-Do List" updates again - at long last

About the same time this happened, as I was thinking warm and fuzzy thoughts again about my favorite Search Engine Giant, a very weird thing happened that was well-documented in the technical blogosphere (my to-do list issue was not, incidentally)...Google made a teeny tiny little (human, they think) error, and the result was that EVERY search result for EVERY keyword search was flagged as a site that "could harm your computer." 

Great Scott!  I was horrified.  Why would the Brooklyn Museum of Art (not known for their nefarious technical activity), and the other museum shops I was researching want to harm my computer?  It made NO SENSE.

Rather than deal with the bad consequences of clicking through to a nasty malware sige, I shut my laptop down, not sure what was happening.  It was Saturday morning, and I didn't really NEED to do any more searches. By the next day, of course, all was well, and I read the press about the search glitch on the technical news sites, such as PC Mag.com.

It just goes to show that you can't put all your trust in your technical tools.  So even though they do a lot of things very, very well, let us all remember (and repeat the following phrase if you dare): "Google is Not God. Google is Not God..."