Vision2learn suck.

Yes, I am sorry. This is a rant.

Recently I was recommended a site Vision2learn.com and thought I would take a distance learning/online course to build up the CV and gain a useful qualification.

Their website says about how courses are for 16+ etc so thought, great a free course! Apply online, got a huge wad of paper work in the post, after spending almost an hour, reading over and filling in all the registration forms, I called the number to check if I had to fill in one of the forms… and was told the course was only available for 19+… and the call ended pretty quickly after that.

Now me being extremely irritated that not only was I unable to do a course, which according to their website, I see no reason as to why I shouldn’t be able to do, and to have spent my time filling out a ton of paper work, much of it filling in the same thing 40 different times.

And now, it’s 2 days after I emailed them and still no response… and yet they can send me promotional emails telling me to sign up for courses!!!

Bottom line, Vision2learn which is run in connection with Somerset College suck.

OVH Technical Support is bad and worthless.

I run a small web hosting company, and work with multiple data centres and software suppliers etc to deliver my products, one of which is OVH.

Been using a server with them for almost 4/5 months now and, while the server seems fine the technical support is terrible.

A month or so ago i added an extra 10GB network storage to the RPS which now found I don’t need, so hey why not save a few quid a month and ditch it right? … No…

I called them up to ask about getting it removed before i renewed the service and paid the last invoice, something I consider to be reasonable, expected a few minutes on the phone and it to be done, however apparently they can’t do downgrades…

And if i wanted to downgrade i should have done it within the first 7 days… and I agreed to it… sorry… what?!

For me to get an RPS server without the unneeded extra disk space I will have to order a NEW RPS and migrate everything over to the new one, now while I can move 1 of the 2 IPs on my current RPS over I would be unable to move the main one… the one I and my customers use for everything.

Now it is my understanding that the process of changing disk space allowance is simple, if i request a upgrade the system puts it through a tech sits there types in the commands to the network storage node and allows me more disk space. So logic dictates that the exact same system should work in reverse, they remove 10GB – end of.

I have now been forced to renew the service, and pay the extra few quid for unneeded, unwanted additional diskspace so as not to have to 1, loose an IP which is in use on multiple websites by many clients. 2, take a server which has been stable and online with NO issues for over 2 months offline disrupting many streams which support radio stations from bedroom operations to large commercial stations, dependant on them.

Not only did I find the outcome dis-satisfactory but also the technical support person on the phone was also, rude and unhelpful add on top of that he sounded like he was half asleep and mumbling does not equal good customer satisfaction.

When the person first answered, and I explained the issue, he mumbled about me emailing instead, to which I tend to think – Hell no, I’m paying for a service and you have phone support to get off your lazy arse and do it instead of trying to pass it off and delay me getting the information i need for another 12 hours – after I replied with “sorry? what.” he mumbles nevermind and spouts the spiel about how if i want a refund – which i don’t – it has to be done within 7 days of purchase. It appears OVH have no understanding that when your purchase addons etc you purchase them as a monthly product, as you do their servers, you pay for them on a monthly basis, and not as a buy and get locked in product, each item i pay for is monthly, and i should have the freedom to discontinue these monthly addons at will – WITHOUT having to completely reorder my server.

I can only conclude from my current experience with OVH is do not use them unless you are VERY experienced with servers, and require NO support with your products.

DO not use them if you are an end consumer, instead try a host which works with users – try XDnet Web Services

FAIL: YouTube Britains Got Talent Licensing.

I was checking out the shows on YouTube now to see if they had any others since i last looked, and i immediately see Britain’s got Talent…

I live in Britain. This is a British show. Shown on British TV. Why the F#!? isn’t it available on YouTube in Britain… I mean come on! Are you Sh!ttin’ me?!

And yes… I am submitting this to Fail Blog.

So much for me watching Susan Boyle again and again… guess will have to just watch all the clips uploaded without permission of the show eh… instead of the version which YouTube can put specially targeted high quality high return ads on.

Well done YouTube. Nice one.

Noob amuses me.

Now, my MSN address is plastered all over the Internet on God knows how many forums, websites blog you name it; and often i have some er “special” people who add me and then just randomly pop up… like this guy. Offering web hosting to a web host, a web host which i might add is better than him. but then again, i would say that ^^.

Noob: need host
Dan: Hello
Noob: need host
Dan: Okay, what do you need hosting.
Noob: so am i
Dan: Ok.
Dan: What is your website?
Noob: http://lime-host.co.uk/index.html [ Its okay... hes not online any more strangely.. ]
Dan: lol
Dan: i know your host.
Dan: I also know the guy he is in business with :l
Noob: who
Dan: ******host,
Dan: Sean
Noob: nope lol
Dan: yep
Noob: no
Dan: lol
Dan: go on then whos your host
Noob: jack
Noob: dual-host
Dan: really…
Noob: yh
Noob: y
Dan: so why is your name servers for lime-host with ******host
Dan: and the server IP is the server ip for *****hosts shared webserver
Noob: old we need change it
Noob: just uploaded old 1
Noob: lol
Dan: lol
Dan: so your still using ***** host servers then
Noob: unno
Noob: umm
Dan: rofl
Noob: g2g bubi

Okay, so just to be clear…

This is a person claims to be a web host who, doesn’t even know where his main business site is hosted, what server is on or who is running that server.

Noob web hosts annoy me, they give people like me who genuinely have a clue a bad name.

Tags: chat log, msn, noob, web host

YouTube ads which cover video thumbs?!

I really am blogging too much about YouTube… noticed this earlier where on the “Spotlight” (that’s the feature page for any one who understands logic) and they have a “promoted” video which was covering up half the thumb nails!!

Now obviously this is because they changed the ad format size and added the box bit below the video, but surely this should have been noticed?

Yet more proof that YouTube don’t properly check their site before making changes, which while this is all good for smaller even medium to large size sites YouTube which is one of the largest sites in the world, a site which uses MORE bandwidth than the WHOLE of the Internet used in 2000. This is a BIG site owned by one of the largest companies i history and yet they can do basic things to provide a professional looking website…

YouTube: Intrusive Ads are NOT the way

So literally only a few minutes ago a massive advert appeared on the YouTube homepage. Couple this with the country/language localisation selection box which seems to be stuck to the page no matter what I do this massive add now means i have to scroll a full page to view homepage content.

Now I am by no means a small minded ranter, i know Google has been in desperate need of a way to raise revenue from YouTube as it eats money like no bodies business – Its estimated YouTube sends a whopping 1 terabyte of data every single second, that’s around 858993459200 bits/second now consider this a high end server might have a 1Gbit card (google might have got high capacity transfer rate cards on there specialised custom web servers which they developed); so if we assume they are using a 1Gbit card on each server that still means they would need 858,993,460 servers! Naturally since Google own YouTube LLC they will share DCs but bottom line YouTube – Millions of USD pouring out in every possible direction with millions spent on bandwidth, power, engineers every hour you can see why its important to get some serious monetization out of the site, and i would guess Sony are lining Googles pockets very nicely for this very large very bold advert on their homepage, but i have to question, is this going to be beneficial in the long run?

Partners can have ads on their videos yet i am not in the habit to immediately click the X instantly, and they are little more than a annoyance.

And for me the same goes for the new big bad ad on their homepage, which just delays me getting to their most valuable asset. The Content.

So what do you think? Should YouTube start sticking large ads on the pages, or should they try more subtle routes of raising funds, maybe extending the buy functionality on music videos, such as adding more vendors other than iTunes! – Amazon maybe? Of course they could always try the possibility of opening up more features to normal users instead of just partners, if every video had adverts they could make a lot more money from the clicks…

Or maybe selling “bug” space on their video player, like on some TV stations where you have “BBC” in the corner of the screen; this is a perfectly workable model which YouTube could introduce where for example Nike’s tick logo shows in the corner of every video for a few days, massive advertising for Nike which would increase brand awareness and yet discrete advertising which doesn’t get in the way of what the user wants, the content, videos, users community.

Comments and thoughts appreciated, comment below send me a message anything you like always good to talk to people.

Tags: adverts, bad, videos, youtube

YouTube, Localisation… What’s the time?

I was supposed to write and post this a few days ago when it was more relevant but, its still at thing which bugged me and will come up again when YouTube next have maintenance time.

So when YouTube put up their maintenance notice (shown below) in the evening on the 31st preparing to go into “maintenance” to (presumably) sort out their April fools prank of flipping things upside down, and fixing something to do with video ratings, at least that’s what i think as all ratings were disabled before the maintenance which isn’t usually done unless they have the tool kit and are having a play with things.

I noticed something which bugged me a little because its something which always frustrates me when sites and in particular sites like YouTube which i use a lot obviously put a lot of effort (or claim to) in localising the content to its users – not the annoying box asking me which country settings i want for the 4 millionth time – and yet for some reason YouTube have neglected to add a very simple line if that of code to show the time of maintenance in MY local time. I simply ask, why? I am in the UK so i work of BST (British Summer Time) / GMT but the time gets displayed as PDT which means for me to know what time YouTube is opening their tool kit i need to then waste 5 minutes trying to find out what “7:00 pm PDT” is in my local time, when YouTube themselves can do this without a second thought.

So YouTube. Why? Why not make things simple and easy for your users?

Tags: Add new tag, BST, GMT, localisation, PDT, time, youtube

Google… WTF?! You’re Censoring me now?

Okay, I’m not happy.

I was. Now I’m not.

Google has removed ALL traces of my last post from their results, which is rather annoying as it was ranking nice and high for some good words, i was on the first page for the phrase “YouTube turn down the lights feature”, second page for “YouTube turn down the lights” and on both the 3rd result was a forum which was linking and discussing my post.

And now. Nothing.

Google why have you censored me?

Can anyone provide any kind of explanation as to why a page would be in google one day and totally removed the next? Even when i search dansgalaxy.co.uk for the term YouTube it shows every page with a faint mention but not a page i say YouTube about 30 times.

Have they really stooped as low as removing pages which state the facts about the  poor quality features which YouTube (their child company) is churning out?

Tags: censor, google, youtube