GROUP BUY PARTICIPANTS, PLEASE READ - Group Buy Pricing

  • Thread starter Thread starter Zetajazz44
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dgatwood said:
My computer is synchronized to a network time server and displays the right time.... :)

The error is pretty much precisely off by the difference between GMT and EDT. If the cutoff 12 A.M. GMT, then the counter would be off by just a couple of minutes.

Ah. Found it. This appears to be a Safari-specific date parsing issue. The time zone you specified is probably not technically valid, so I'm a little surprised it works anywhere, but apparently IE and FireFox are... insanely forgiving.... *sigh*

If I specify the TargetDate value as either its actual zone name (EDT) or in the standard ARPA format (GMT-0400), it gives the correct result in Safari, too. I've added notes on this issue to WebKit bug #14176. :D

Also, technically Date() doesn't take an argument at all according to w3schools. Technically you should be using Date.parse(string). I'm guessing Safari implements this as some backwards-compatibility hack for an IE extension or something. Dunno. Not that this would make any difference in this case, AFAIK, just something you should probably tweak at some point.
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dgatwood, what I'm about to say, isn't towards you, but rather, just a friendly chat with someone, whom by the "tech stuff" in your posts, you'll know what I'm talking about and where I'm coming from with all my rants :D...not chewing on you...


Yeah, one day I might look into it further, but... It's javascript...and with everybody and his brother coming out with their own browsers and supporting different technologies, trying to be different..etc., I would never 'depend' on javascript to do "real work", meaning something like: remove the text deadline and solely depend on the countdown clock to inform everyone of the registration deadline... NOW, if this were running off a server-side script, ASP.NET with C# behind code, I'd have no problem with that whatsoever...but not using client-side script...never. Biggest reason: You can't depend on everyone to operate their computers correctly...in fact, some people aren't even qualified to own one. Some people would have JavaScript disabled, and complain about not being able to view the JAVASCRIPT countdown clock! :D ... and it would be the program's fault...

Man, I've got people emailing and sending me PM's, complaining, about the SIZE of some of the fonts I've used, the font type/family I'm using, the blue/white color/contrast hurts their eyes...want me to stop using pop-up windows because they don't want to allow an exeption in their popup blocker for that one site; User Console...There's the complaints of the pages having scrollbars at the bottom and they have to scroll side to side to see the entire page...All the while they have their resolution set to 640 x 480 @ 256 colors... One guy was mad, at me nonetheless, that he held down the [Ctrl] key, while scrolling his mouse wheel and he zoomed in on the page to at least 400% and now MY text and input boxes were rediculously LARGE...and said to me: "You need to stop testing your web work on one browser only. Why did you do that?" Then you have over 500 people that have sucessfully registered, and are managing their products through the User Console, successfully, but one "stragler" comes along, the would be 553rd person to register so far, and "can't get the darn thing to work..." and everytime, it will be the site/code/page's fault... All of those other 552 that successfully made it work, were just lucky... The list goes on and on...

Currently I test the User Console in the latest versions of IE, Firefox and Safari, all on a PC...at 800X600, I don't have a MAC, never owned one...(if someone wants to send me one, I'll test on it too...what time I'm not recording on it! :D) If those 3 browsers don't cover the bases well enough...well, I suppose they just won't get covered...at least not by me.

These are a lot of the reasons for the past 10 years I've chose to do all of my development on intranets for large corporations, who have chosen to go browser based instead of stand-alone desktop applications, NOT the internet. At least you know who is connected to the intranet, what platform/browser combination they're using, and who is and who is not "qualified" to operate a computer...so you know what to expect and most of it you can control. You can please some of the people some of the time, but never all of the people all of the time...or at least some of the time in most cases.

Whew... I feel better! :D Back to your regularly scheduled program...


Randy
 
Randy, sorry you have to put up with this junk. You will never please everyone. My computer is in perfect sync with the clock. And besides, if someone is waiting that late in the game to get registered and select a product, then maybe they need to wait until the next GB. This is crazy. If you are counting your pennies that close, don't buy. Also, you have worked hard to fix any bugs that may have been in the system. It's not your fault if people who are not computer savvy can't deal with it! You are a better person than I am. I can take a lot, but this is crazy. I'm glad you're letting us know what foolishness has been going on. We can pray for you more!!!;)

You have taken a very basic way of getting these GB's off the ground and made it so easy and organized. Both you and Chance deserve only thanks, not complaints.

Again, thanks for all you guys have done. I'm just glad I can participate.

Earl
 
earlwgreen said:
Randy, sorry you have to put up with this junk. You will never please everyone. My computer is in perfect sync with the clock. And besides, if someone is waiting that late in the game to get registered and select a product, then maybe they need to wait until the next GB. This is crazy. If you are counting your pennies that close, don't buy. Also, you have worked hard to fix any bugs that may have been in the system. It's not your fault if people who are not computer savvy can't deal with it! You are a better person than I am. I can take a lot, but this is crazy. I'm glad you're letting us know what foolishness has been going on. We can pray for you more!!!;)

You have taken a very basic way of getting these GB's off the ground and made it so easy and organized. Both you and Chance deserve only thanks, not complaints.

Again, thanks for all you guys have done. I'm just glad I can participate.

Earl
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Ah, Earl,

Kinda sounded like I was complaining too, huh! :D

Nah, I don't complain too much, and wasn't here...just chatting back with dgatwood, since from his posts, it looks like he's done some development...and might have sympathy on me! :D

I really thought of staying awake a bit later tonight, it's 2:36am EDT, and write a server-side countdown clock just for kicks...but the more I think about it, the more it makes my brain hurt... You've got timezones out there that don't support DST, and writing exceptions for all that...well, my brain hurts!:D ...and my whole body hurts, I've been working on a farm tractor since about 8pm EDT... That commercial on TV ain't true: There are better things to lay on other than concrete and cardboard! :D

Randy
 
Zetajazz44 said:
Whew... I feel better! :D Back to your regularly scheduled program...
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Are you supporting lynx? :D


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[TopFillerWhite.gif] [TopRightCornerWhite.gif]

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[Countdown.gif]
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Registration End Date: 4/13/2008, 12:00 AM - EDT
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Please fill out the form below to register for the group buy that you
would like to participate in.
If you would like to participate in more than 1 group buy, you must
register for each group buy seperately.
Be certain that the email address that you register with is correct.
This email address will be used for all future communication to you
regarding this group buy.
-- press space for next page --
Arrow keys: Up and Down to move. Right to follow a link; Left to go back.
H)elp O)ptions P)rint G)o M)ain screen Q)uit /=search [delete]=history list


I have a website with a captcha system, with instructions to contact me if you can't see the image (generally intended for visually impaired folks) -- happens a few times a year, and I just go set up the account for them. A couple days ago, I got a message from someone with the problem, but here's his situation:

http://www.rawbw.com/~rem/NewPub/mySituation.html

I read this with an unusual combination of amusement and admiration :cool::D -- Makes me want to ditch my computers and go back to using my HP95LX palmtop (running MS DOS 3.0) and somehow hook it up to the internet

edit: except that the palmtop won't run Logic Express.
 
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Zetajazz44 said:
Man, I've got people emailing and sending me PM's, complaining,......
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Randy. Thank you very much for taking the time to put this together. Please ignore those among us who are rude or ungrateful. As they say in the South, "some people just got no fetchin' up". Most of us appreciate what you're doing!

Paul:D
 
P. Glaser said:
Randy. Thank you very much for taking the time to put this together. Please ignore those among us who are rude or ungrateful. As they say in the South, "some people just got no fetchin' up". Most of us appreciate what you're doing!

Paul:D
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Absolutely. Given what you guys are doing, I don't how someone could muster the nerve to complain about a color sheme or font size. I'm a web/media developer, and that pleasure is reserved for bosses & clients. I know folks are "paying customers" but Randy and Chance are not who you're paying! They're doing this 'cause they care.

So chill folks and let 'em do their thing. They're doing a great job, and we get the benefit.
 
antichef said:
A couple days ago, I got a message from someone with the problem, but here's his situation:
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:D:D:D:D YEAH, AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!


Funny story:

I'm a patient guy...really, I have the patience of Job in the Bible..but I do have my limits. :D

Many years ago, I was working as a software developer for a Point of Sale equipment company... Matter of fact, this was my first "real job working with computers", it was a rather small company, which meant that everyone had to wear different hats and fill different roles depending on the needs for a particular day... One day they made me work the phones in customer support, since a few people in that department had missed work that day...bad move on their part I suppose...I lasted less than 1 day in customer support, BTW...

I spent 3 hours and 1 minute trying to explain to a woman how to "PLUG A POWER STRIP INTO HER WALL POWER SOCKET (110 Volts) AND THEN PLUG HER POS SYSTEM POWER INTO THAT"... At one point she had the plug for the power strip plugged back into itself, and wandering why she couldn't get power on it? :D At 3 hours and 1 minute into it, I'd had enough... I told her to follow these following steps and I'd wait on the phone until she completed each step. The steps that I outlined was to have her box the POS system back up, tape it shut... print a shipping label for it, back to us...the last step was to get in her car and drive it to the nearest UPS pickup... By this step, she finally caught on to what I was having her do and asked, "Why are you having me send this system back to you, is it broken?" At which I replied, "Nope... You're just not qualified to own it."

And she sent it back.

Like I said, that was my last day in customer service...
:D:D

What's even more amazing, is that most of the people that fit into the category of the woman above, usually have money! Yeah, they're usually business owners with assets... Kinda makes you wander how they got it... First thought to my mind is: Inheritence. :D

Since that experience, I ALWAYS discuss with my employers, up-front before hiring me, that I WILL NOT WORK IN ANY ASPECT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE, PERIOD. If they are looking for a developer that can also work in CS, they'd better keep looking, cause' I ain't that guy!

I also want to say this while I'm running my mouth again:
I've not had ONE SINGLE COMPLAINT from anyone on this board...zero, zilch... Thanks!

One more thing:
I'm not the best software developer in the world...really, I'm not. I know I'm not...don't claim to be... BUT, I AM THE BEST in the world, in my price-range! :D


Randy
Zetajazz44
Click HERE to Register for the Musician's Workshop Group Buy
Click HERE to See Another One of My Hobbies
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"I'm not the best software developer in the world...really, I'm not. I know I'm not...don't claim to be... BUT, I AM THE BEST in the world, in my price-range!"

LOL Randy!!!! You've done great and wonderful things, I appreciate it as do 99.8% of the rest of us.The other .2% don't matter because they would even complain about a good piece of a$$. You n Chance deserve many kudo's for your organization, patience and good humor!!!!

The "charge once, charge again if necessary" is the best idea I've seen or can come up with. If I cant afford another Paypal fee I probably shouldn't be in on this in the first place. Make it as easy as possible on Chance. Some people seem to forget he has a job, this is a sideline and we get great benefit from it.

BTW I have been researching Mic's on the net and as best I can tell what we are paying compared to what the re-badgers are charging is a significant savings. My 4 Mic's are costing me about 35-40% of what it would cost me, even on Ebay, according to the re-badged prices. If anyone has a complaint, please visit Ebay, their snazzy graphics may enhance your shopping experience!!!

Those .2% we talked about earlier must be forgetting, this so I bold-ed it for their viewing pleasure:-) LOLOL Man I KILL me some days!!!!!

Whew, I need a nap.....................Steve

Thanks tons guys and lets give these guys a break
 
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Zetajazz44 said:
just chatting back with dgatwood, since from his posts, it looks like he's done some development...and might have sympathy on me! :D
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My worst one was writing a mostly client-side message board for my website. I pointed someone at it and in IE, they got nothing. No text, no errors, zilch. Turns out IE uses a single hash table for CSS styles, HTML entities, JavaScript variables, etc. all in a single namespace---massively noncompliant.... Any time you have, for example, a JS variable with the same name as a div, IE goes ape....

Zetajazz44 said:
I really thought of staying awake a bit later tonight, it's 2:36am EDT, and write a server-side countdown clock just for kicks...but the more I think about it, the more it makes my brain hurt... You've got timezones out there that don't support DST, and writing exceptions for all that...well, my brain hurts!:D ...and my whole body hurts, I've been working on a farm tractor since about 8pm EDT... That commercial on TV ain't true: There are better things to lay on other than concrete and cardboard! :D

Randy
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Dates are the bane of every programmer's existence, I'm afraid....
 
dgatwood said:
My worst one was writing a mostly client-side message board for my website. I pointed someone at it and in IE, they got nothing. No text, no errors, zilch. Turns out IE uses a single hash table for CSS styles, HTML entities, JavaScript variables, etc. all in a single namespace---massively noncompliant.... Any time you have, for example, a JS variable with the same name as a div, IE goes ape....
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Yep, and here's something else that I've been dealing with in C# and even classic ASP: "sometimes" you can't reset a variable using the same variable name... Yeah, "sometimes"... I've not really found out why it's that way, but "sometimes" it just won't work!

For instance in ASP/VBA:
<code>
MyString = "123456"
MyString = Replace(MyString,"6","9")
</code>

"Sometimes" you have to do it like this:
<code>
MyString = "123456"
MyString2 = Replace(MyString,"6","9")
</code>

You have to create a new variable name... Go figure.


dgatwood said:
Dates are the bane of every programmer's existence, I'm afraid....
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Yeah, I hate messing with dates... Even the long legged blonde kind! They cause just as much headache too! :D

Here's one that I learned a while back that I thought was interesting:
When using MS CDO to send emails, you can only send 1 email per instance of the CDO object... SO, if you want to send emails while looping through a DB return, you have to set, open, [send mail], close, unset that object for each send... At first I thought that it was a bug... but MSDN informed me that indeed it wasn't a bug, but rather a feature! :D CDO was supposed to be a step up from CDONTS too! :D

Ah, if software development didn't have it's challenges, everybody would be doing it and there'd be no demand for us... Man... I miss the good ol' dot com boom days when you could just write your own job decription and salary and be hired instantly! :D

Randy
Zetajazz44
Click HERE to Register for the Musician's Workshop Group Buy
Click HERE to See Another One of My Hobbies
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This is really good!! I've added the page to my favorites so I can find it fast and watch it grow.

Thanks Randy!!

Charlie
 
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