A rant...about support!
Last week one of my computers hard drives crashed so I took the one in this computer out and moved it to the number 2 computer. Started by wiping it clean then reinstalling the software on it.
Mean while I go over my budget and miss paying for a bill so I can buy a new hard drive for this computer. Had gotten a free copy from Microsoft of Windows Vista Ulimate, I do some beta testing for them so get free software from time to time from them. So I install Vista on this machine, mistake! Vista wipes out the drivers for my NIC cards and leaves me with no way to get on the internet until I can get computer number 2 up and running.
Number 2 is up and running so I go to Linksys to download new drivers for the NIC cards. I find that they are not supporting the NIC cards I have installed with drivers for Vista. Then while downloading new upgrades for XP on number 2 I lose access to anything and everything on it because of some glitch. All I have is a desktop image no way to get to anything since Windows Explorer is messed up and no time to fix it.
So I uninstall Vista and reinstall XP on this computer. Reinstalling software I find that Adobe CS install disk number one is not readable by the CD drive. Change it to the DVD drive, same thing. It is not there in the drive or at least the drives are not seeing it. Take it out. Look at it. No scratches do I see on the CD. Go through the same process again. Still the drives are not seeing the CD.
Take the CD out again and look at it and while looking notice when I hold it at an angle I see what appear to be extra tracks or deeper tracks on the deep layer of the CD. So some how some where over the last four years it has been over written. Or who knows what or how that happened.
I go to the Adobe.com site. Ever try to find anything on one of those sites or get information? Is like they set it up so you get confused looking for what should be just a simple task. How to get a replacement install one disk for my copy of CS, but no it isn't simple. After serveral hours, well, it seemed like hours, of digging and searching I come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to do the dreaded thing....CALL! Call and try to talk with a service representative. But hey, you can't call until they are in the office in California the next morning.
I call and after going through setting up a customer account, my old one had been wiped from their records or some such. I finally tell the woman who spoke better English than I probably speak her native language my problems. Yes, I had to repeat it several times before she and I both understood each other. Or at least I think she understood me. I don't really think either of us were on the same wave band.
She says could you please hold for a minute or two while I (don't know exactly what she said, my hearing and her accent didn't help), so I hold listening to some inane music. After a what seemed like short time she comes back on to tell me, "We don't support CS any longer. You will have to upgrade to CS3." After another time of us not understanding each other I get across to her I'm a poor slob who exists on S.S. and don't have the $500 to upgrade or the $200 for just Photoshop alone. She says sorry but that is the only solution we have to your problem.
So now I sit here with a set of disks which when new cost $999 before any taxes or shipping etc. Now those same disks are just so much worthless junk. I don't have the money for an upgrade even though I would upgrade in a heartbeat if I could. Heck, this next month with the heat wave we have been experiencing here my power bill will be off the charts.
I have several thousand photos I just downloaded to my hard drive from this last weekend. About a thousand from a shoot on Saturday for a project my chruch was helping with cleaning up this old cemetary, about the same from my granddaughter's birthday party Sunday and over a thousand from stopping on my way home at the Georgia State Botanical Gardens on monday. I'm supposed to write an article to go with the cemetary clean up for my church to post on the web and possibly printing in the local news paper along with the photos. But I need to resize and work on the photos before submitting them.
Now I sit here looking at four disks with so much information stored on three of them unable to open the three, while the first disk is virtually destroyed. It is just a hunk of plastic with no information available on it. $999 at one time, worthless now pieces of plastic just sitting there useless to anyone.
What hurts the most is Adobe doesn't support its own programs beyond four years, actually less than four years. It is four years old and abandoned. Well, it isn't four yet, on the disk it says 9/03 as the date. So will not be four years old until next month. I've been using Photoshop since version 5.0 so going to some other program will be a while before I could be as proficient with it. I have to find my old version 7 disk to install it so I can at least work on the photos for the article.
In a way you can understand Adobe abandoning its old programs and not supporting them so people will buy their newer products. As a company they need new money coming in to pay the bills and their employees who develope the newer versions of their software. But not all of us have the money to go out and buy expensive software just whenever. Most don't buy Photoshop because it is so expensive a program and has such a high learning curve just to edit photos. That isn't all I do with it, just one of the things I do with PS.
You learn to adapt, use what you have and not cry over what you can't afford to buy. It just hurts I had something which helped with working on photos and now I can't use it any longer, because Adobe decided to stop supporting it and not sell replacement CDs for it any longer. Not that I have the money to even buy a replacement CD and yes, I know there are places I can buy CS for very little money. Problem is I have less than very little money...
Such is life. It goes on whether or not we want it to, we are just along for the ride...
:o)
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 13
Remember when companies were more concerned with innovation and quality than the bottom line?
Yes, Jack I remember when innovation and quality were what was first. It seems every time a company gets too big for the ones who started it to run the pencil pushers come in and take over. Look at what happened to Radio Shack when the accountants took over. It went from being a place where you could go in find just about any electronic part you needed to build what you were trying to build to a toy shop.
The person or persons who start up these or started up these software companies built them up then the MBAs come in and take over then the quality goes down the tubes. The service to the public goes down the tubes. Why, because they buy up the smaller companies who are competing with them or run them out of business. That leaves just their huge company to sell what they want and not worry about some small guy coming along and taking away one or two of their dollars. Don't know where the service person was sitting but my guess she was in India not here, her accent said India. She gave an Americanized sounding first name but what you want to bet it wasn't her real first name. Nothing against her, she was only following like you said what her bosses or the script said she should say.
It doesn't make it any easier to look down and see those four disks which are useless pieces of plastic and know I could be working on my photos right now and not writing this...
Ann I know what you mean about WordPerfect I used to use it when I first started with computers. Now it is of course the one which comes with Microsoft Office Pro. Another freebie for beta testing. Is the only way I can have something like that other wise would probably still be using WordPerfect myself. Or Open Office product which is free.
:o)