Potshot goes console

Ok, not exactly. Its probably been 25 years since I’ve been seriously interested in a console.

To tell the truth, I’m still not particularly interested in console gaming systems.

Confused? So was I and then in a fleeting moment of clarity, it all came together: I needed to buy a Sony Playstation 3.

Two things led me to this conclusion: 1) Blu-ray Disc won the format wars and 2) I wanted to set up a media server so I could access music, video and photos from our home theater complex(tm). For us, that means the place where we watch TV and have a modest surround sound system hooked up. I’ve been jealous of a buddy of mine who archived all of his cd’s in FLAC and streams them all over his house using a SlimServer/Squeezebox on his home network. I wanted to do something similar. I also wanted to step up to Blu-ray since we love HD but are growing increasingly dissatisfied with anything on cable.

Two hardware purchases were not in the budget. So, after poking around a bit, the PS3 seemed like a pretty decent solution. They recently released a bluetooth “normal” remote so you can watch DVDs without having to do everything by game controller and a series of relatively recent firmware upgrades allows the PS3 to recognize DLNA compliant media servers. With a bit of wrangling, most internet radio is supported as well. In researching a bunch of this stuff, I’m now nearly cool having learned an entirely separate set of technology subculture jargon.

So in classic Potshot fashion, I went shopping for a DVD player and came home with a game system.

Sony seems to have a way of making neat things and then totally screwing up the support and marketing. PS3 today seems to be more of a media center/extender than a game system. Too bad they’re only just figuring this out. Something Microsoft seemed to figure out with Xbox earlier. Too bad they bet on HD-DVD. Oops.

I must say, hooking it up and getting it on our wireless network was pretty painless. Likewise, upgrading the firmware over the internet was one click simple. Downloading and setting up a media server on one of our other machines to share music, etc. was very easy. There are a number of decent free or low cost options out there (like TVersity). Enough that I probably downloaded and installed four or five and will continue to play with them to see which we prefer. Unfortunately, Squeezecenter (the new name for Slim Server) is not one of them. Its free and pretty slick, but its not DLNA compliant so the PS3 wont recognize it.

Overall, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself. One box, two solutions. So focused on the Blu-ray and media center aspects of the system, I didn’t even bother to buy any games for it before it arrived. So it occurred to me, maybe I should pick up a game or two to play. But which one?

Of course, all the usual blam blam blam games came to mind, but I thought I might want something that was, well, more Mrs. P friendly and that we could both play. Now anyone whos gone PvP with Mrs. P knows she’s not afraid of fragging yer ass or getting fragged, but lets say the CODs and Ultra-Mega Death Champion fighting games of the world are not her strong suit. She does have a weakness for cute though.

Only one solution for the inaugural console game then: Lego Star Wars: the Complete Saga. I’ve gotten lots of feedback from friends that they’ve really enjoyed the game despite playing it with their kids. To paraphrase much of what is written about it: peeps love Star Wars, peeps love Lego, what’s not to love?

We’ve only just taken the plunge, but so far its proving amusing and entertaining. I’m sure there’s more where this came from.

Not bad for a blu-ray media center.

RMA FTW!

I had nearly given up.  The story thus far:  after two RMA return rounds with my new-old-new monitor, Viewsonic finally decided to replace the beast instead of repairing it.  I sent it in and began wondering if I was starting all over again.  I’m not sure I could take it.

It had been a few weeks after I sent it back when I realized two things:  one, it had been several weeks since I had sent the beast in, so where was this so-called replacement? and two, I was leaving on a week-long trip the next morning.  Of course, why didn’t I think of it.  They would have to send it while I was out of town, then, when UPS left the brightly colored “steal me” box on my porch, they could claim it was delivered and it was my problem that I lived in a bad neighborhood.  Pure genius.

I left town and as expected, it showed up on my porch.  Fortunately, the crazy cat lady that comes over to feed and play with the kitties while we’re out of town takes in the mail and dragged the giant carton inside.  Kudos to Viewsonic, they sent this one back in a non-descript plain brown no-new-computer-monitor-in-here looking box.

So there it was.  Literally the big brown box in the room that I walked around for more than a full week.  After a nice vacation, I just couldn’t see draining all the good emotional energy out of my body with another electronic disappointment.  So sit the box did.  And sit.  And sit.

I spent most of the weekend working on several work projects which were approaching a deadline.  Procrastination being what it is, I had already weedeatered the backyard, done laundry, moved a mountain of recyclables out for pickup and a few other odd jobs that had been stacking up.   Nothing remained between the box and me.  It was either hook up the monitor or actually hunker down and get some work done.  The choice was simple: hook it up.

After this many rounds, I’ve just left all the alternative cabling in place.  Hooking it up was simply a matter of fishing one monitor cable out of the abyss and connecting the power cord.  Voila!  Glorious monitor goodness.  I basked in its radiance.

It couldn’t be this simple.  It seemed fine.  No dead pixels.  It wont last, I thought.  Something will happen.  Well, 48 hours later now and still going strong.  I’ll give Viewsonic credit, they stuck at it and seemed to have made good on their warranty.  Seems like this time, so did I.

Now I’ve got to find something else to blog about, but at least I get to do it on my new shiny monitor!

RMA FTW!

RMA-geddon

Ah, the saga continues.  As you may recall, I’ve been wrestling with my inner and not-so-inner RMA demons regarding a nice ViewSonic monitor I purchased now a very long time ago.  Its been two times through the RMA cycle without resolution, though the kind folks at ViewSonic have been very helpful.

At last writing, I had begun to wonder what had happened to my wayward RMA.  Wilhelm2451, a former insider in the RMA world, was correct (as he usually is) that my cables/no cables paranoia was unfounded.  Literally the day after posted my frustration, the damned thing arrived at my doorstep.  It was like they were (ahem) monitor-ing me.  They waited until I committed, then they made their move.  Bastards.  They keep you on your heels.  That’s their game.

Well, I tore into the box and hooked it up.  Uh oh.  Same problem right out of the box.  I waited a few minutes, rebooted, arrayed some herbs and fruit, lit some incense.  Still no go.  Roll file footage of William Shatner shouting “KHAAAAAAAAN!”, camera pivots overhead and spins.

Talk about taking the wind out of your sails.  It was a full two days before I could even muster the courage to call them back.  I did and to their credit, ViewSonic was overly apologetic and decided to take this to the next level:  Replacement.

Of course, I wonder why we didn’t go there a while ago.  Seems like once through the loop and they’ve pretty much eaten up any profit they might have made on the item, but hey, maybe the CSRs are paid by volume.

So, off it went again to the Island of the Misfit Monitors on ViewSonic’s dime.  At least if the saga continues, we’ll have a new character in the guise of the new monitor.  The downside is that I’m starting to run out of clever RMA- titles…. Stay tuned.

RMA Me, Please…

More than a few years ago now, I finally got fed up with trying to figure out what the hell computer manufacturers were actually stuffing in the boxes they were selling and wondering whether something I had overlooked at the time of the initial purchase would become an upgrade path limitation in the far too near future. Sometimes its just hard to tell whether the SuperMegaLux XLT beige box is really going to cut the mustard in the long hall.

Long story short, a gaming buddy of mine and I realized that with all the time we were spending evaluating what was under the hood for the next prospective game rig purchase could be better spent on simply evaluating the components we’d want in a new computer and then just building the damned thing. So we took the plunge and have never looked back.

Building my own rig(s) has suited both my budget and personality. I like to tinker, I tend to be reductionist in thinking, and I’d rather order stuff online than deal with traffic, crowds and salespeople and with the hours I work, its sometimes hard to get to real stores during normal hours. That doesn’t mean I don’t head down to the local Humongous for the latest game release, but inevitably, if I go there looking for hardware, my analysis paralysis kicks in and I just simply can’t get enough information to pull the trigger.

Enter the wonderful world of online retailing. Very early on in my building career I found Newegg.com and continue to find their service just simply rocks. If I want to spend 59 cents on a single zip tie and want to spend $30 to have it fedexed to me the next morning, they can do it. Of course, I’m seldom that capricious, but I do inevitably find myself surfing their deals pages on Wednesdays for some reason which means if I come across something I want for a weekend project, I have to make the move and maybe throw down a bit extra to make sure I hit the weekend project window.

The one downside to this approach is returns, aka the dreaded RMA or Return Material Authorization. Simply put, some kind of authorization number to stick on the widget you send back so the retailer or manufacturer knows your not sending them a thank you gift for their exemplary service but rather requesting a replacement or warranty service. For some reason, I don’t seem to do RMAs.

Being conflict averse and tending not to suffer fools gladly, I usually avoid customer service interactions to the maximum extent possible. I can usually feel my soul and precious minutes of my life being sucked out of my body throughout the transaction. So, in the natural course of building, rebuilding and continually upgrading the computers around the house inevitably I encounter the occasional but dreaded defective widget I’ve ordered.

All progress grinds to a halt and procrastination sets in. I’ll figure out how to RMA that defective widget tomorrow. I just don’t have the stamina today. Its under warranty. I just bought it. I’ll just box it back up, get an RMA and… oh, the RMA. I may have to call someone to get an authorization… and on and on.

I’m horrible about it. I really am. Its pathological. Some sort of defective-retentive disorder I’m sure. Most of the time its totally unjustified too. The vast majority of these returns is clockwork which is what makes vendors like Newegg a joy to work with. Log in, you can find your old order, click RMA, give some info and voila. Now drop it in the mail or parcel post. If Newegg were a deli, you could even send soup back.

Still I manage to create my own fiascos for some reason. The latest is a saga that’s embarrasing to tell. A while ago (quite a while ago now– like 11 months) I bought a new Viewsonic LCD monitor through Newegg. Per usual, it arrived in tact and on time. I plugged in my new beauty and went off to see what I could see. No dead pixels. I must be blessed.

Well, it turns out a few days later, I start noticing a weird effect kicking in from time to time, sort of like all the pixels of a certain color displaying as white. After running through a thorough battery of tests and swapping lots of bits between machines I come to the conclusion that its simply busted. I got a bum one. Oh well, back to my old reliable for the time being.

Ok, at least I still have all the packing, but a monitor box is going to require a special trip to UPS. I’ll do that tomorrow. Well tomorrow turned into about 10 months with my wife asking “I thought you were going to send that back?” “Its complicated” I reply and it is. She looks confused and wisely changes the subject. Every so often I’d plug it back in to see if it had cured itself through the miracle of benign neglect and bed rest. No go. I guess I better just RMA the thing, but its been quite a while.

Oh No. Faithful Newegg can’t help me now out of my prison of neglect. Now I need to RMA through the manufacturer. No easy web form. I have to call someone. Another month passes before I can steel myself to engage with a call center. Finally, I get fed up and call Viewsonic. 5 minutes later I have my damned RMA and complete instructions for the return. The bastards must be lulling me into a false sense of security. It can’t be this easy.

Reinvigorated by my experience, I actually follow through and send the damned thing in this time. About 2 weeks and I’ll finally have the new monitor I thought I bought last year online. A new spring in my step appears, but alas, it was not to last.

Just as I was beginning to think, “hey, I wonder how long ago I sent that monitor back?” it arrived. Amazingly no more than about a week round trip. Nice job Viewsonic. Woot. Finally my new functioning monitor!

Except that after about an hour, the same thing started up again. Erf. RMA 2.0. I just don’t know if I have another one in me. How do I explain this one to them if they didn’t get it right last time? Two weeks pass of hopelessness, inertia and anxiety, then I call.

Just send it back they say, oh, and here, shipping is on us this time. “Just send it back.” Smug bastards. If they only new the torment their mocking words visited upon me. Its got to be another set up designed to crush my will. I’ll play their little game though. I sent the monitor and now I’m anxiously waiting for their next move in this little shadow play.

Of course, the only thing that’s really defective in this whole process is me. How hard can it be? I’ve known people who’ve had no problem sending back a meal they’ve half eaten and gotten a refund. Fortunately, my wife doesn’t mind that I’m defective, but even so, I think I’m still safely outside of the warranty service period.