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November 26, 2010
November 14, 2010
British Telecom - Game over for A gamer.
Its about March this year about and I am looking at my xbox and feeling betrayed, once again I can hear everyone in the party and no one can hear me.
I speak to a xbox friend DHX who informs me its probably my ISP thats the issue, some fierce cursing and google searches reveal I am not alone in my torment.
The time has come to move on, until then I have been using my dad's internet connection who lives in my house, this no longer serves the purpose.
I use my broadband to do my websites work from home and most importantly my Xbox live, Xbox has been growing more and more important for a few reasons.
It is the place I go to relax, I am getting more and more involved and have been moving on - I am in the ambassador program (SWEET !) and am now more than ever involved in sharepoint and also the connect testing program for several microsoft products and test groups.
It cant be trusted, added to this the stuff I see on my dad's pc when I go to fix it is the kind of thing I dont want to and cant afford to be associated with on an ISP or IP basis.
NO REALLY its bad.
So I start looking for a broadband provider, "HEY" says 80's/90's Andy "BT have an awesome rep for internet and customer service pick them" I do HUGE MISTAKE.
I call them up and sort out my package questions are asked.
- No I dont download films.
- I write do email and game, I am a gamer safe to say I am online when I am not asleep or at work (this should have been a clue to them on my usage).
- I watch films online streaming on live and download demo's and games from Xbox live.
All done they reccomend the basic package, "Really" I say "I would worry I will go over the limits (very low)" !
They tell me in a calm voice that it doesnt matter as they never do anything and not to worry, the days of speaking to a UK call center are long gone by the way - we are in outsource town population (me) Gulp!
I am signed up and 1 week later the problems start, no phone arrives, outsource sally forgot to include my free net phone, outsource Frank wants me to pay for one - and so it begins, OH to add its a week and they are annoyed as I am over the low limit set and threaten to throttle me ! (sounds painfull).
By kicking up a huge stink we manage to get me my phone only when I manage to speak to someone from the @BTCare team on twitter who is from the same side of the planet.
It was no hassle for them and left me wondering what the issue was.
Issue 2.
I am being billed 3 times the amount quoted each month sets me back over 100 pounds as opposed to the 20-30 quoted, this takes 10+ phone calls to resolve, I am starting to know the outsource team on a first name basis.
So far 1 has swore at me and 2 have hung up, I later find out on my notes they have stated I am hanging up on them, at this point I am not suprised by this.
Issue 3.
My card is stolen, every other company change the Direct debit details and no issues.
I call the team again, hey its my pal outsource sally (JOY) - your ahead she tells me I dont need a payment now you in advance call me at the month end and I will set up a new DD for you.
Problem being before this happens a charming young man who sounds just like APU from the simpsons calls me up in the middle of the night to tell me he is about to cut off my broadband unless I pay the full amount right now, not the monthly payment the whole quarter.
My installation fee my quarter the whole kazoo, at this point I go mental - this leads to a supervisor speaking to me who agrees to call me on payday but wants it all, they promise not to restrict my line.
Something does not feel right so I contact @BTCare again, they promise to call me at a specific time on payday and take a partial amount of what she wanted. - they check my line ..... OUTSOURCE APU LIED, they have restricted me this would have seriously effected my ability to work.
Payday arrives, the call from BTCare doesnt come and the manager from the outsource center calls for the full amount they want or will cut me off, I am now caught I am trapped and being blackmailed by the outsourcer.
I ask for an hour to contact the uk people, she is annoyed I dont trust her but agrees, DESPERATE now I tweet and tweet to BTCare -...... nothing.
With no option and caught between being cut off and the outsource blackmail tactics I have to pay the whole amount in full in advance...
BTCare finally respond the next day, they are sorry that they didnt call, I want to cry ......................
Final issue.
Random drop outs - (The saga of liar liar pants on fire)
My broadband is randomly dropping out the hub lights go from healthy blue to orange, but AHAA I have learned from my outsource Woe and go straight to BTCare.
I tell them I am getting drop outs and disconnections I give specifics, they ask me how I connect.
My day job is its support so I answer.
I use ethernet to the hub I have tried 3 leads I have also used wireless to test and remove possibility of net ports.
I have refreshed my DNS and IP and reset the router I even did a rest to the default settings and reset it up from scratch.
A day goes by - It happens again, I ask btcare, they ask me ... they ask me.... "they ask me how I connect."
Aaaargh.
I go through the whole thing again and I am told this -
This goes on for a while with me insisting I drop out them insisting I dont, when someone tells you something is happening and you say "you have been fine for 2 days" if you think you are or not, basically your saying.
"LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE"
in the end I lost it and here is what happened. -
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November 13, 2010
Kinect + Super Secret Squirrel = Happy Hek
Hello my army of attack gnomes 
So first of all let me apologise to those of you who over the last 2 months have sent me a party invite or voice message and met static air or not been answered fully.
I have been testing Kinect for microsoft for some time now, part of this meant I had no voice or party unless you where in the program.
It has been a most Awesome experience and I am humbled by the trust by letting me do this, becasuse of this I felt honor bound to not say a smidge about it as per the NDA.
It has been such a trial to not speak out when seeing the misinformation all around the net and even on here at one point
All the above said lets get to business, Kinect is AWESOME ! no really it is world changing.
When microsoft do new tech it always changes the way the Tech world is and will be, this will be no exception – Think of the impact of DOS, Windows and Xbox live, these things really shaped parts of the world and Kinect is no exception.
Some of the videos out there at the time and even E3 did the brand no favors, the lag is non existant first of all, during all my play time I have only experienced an issue once and to be honest that may have been more (me/whiskey) based as an issue.
the first time you say – Xbox, kinect, Zune hub….. suggest a movie and it starts to pull suggestions up for you – “next, next… PLAY” or if that doesnt float your boat how about moving through the movie menu’s minorty report style.
One thing to mention as well is video kinect, one of the other people in the test with me was Fayko and man did we put this to the test
Let me paint you a picture -
Its saturday morning GMT, I am in my living room drinking some Jack & Coke, on the TV is Fayko, Half way around the world chilling with me, having a drink and jamming on the guitar while we shoot the breeze and just relax on a saturday morning – With zero lag and perfect sound.
We dont have headsets on, because well hell like the rest of it the Kinect is taking care of Business and doing its thing.
Change scene, Its a weekend My mom and stepdad are over this is cool my mom doesnt stay at the house enough.
She is the kind of Mom we all want, international lady of mystery sold her house and went to live off the land in a bulgarian village for 2 years growing her own food and learning the language.
Now she is living near to me for a bit in a mobile home on the seafront (Lethal Weapon 2 anyone).
So anyway back to scene mom is over, we are all having a drink and a blast, table tennis is the order of the day as my stepdad hands me my ass in many many rounds (volleyball too) mom steps up to bowl and bowls a 200+ game decimating us.
At the end of the evening mom turns to me and says, “We want to get an xbox tomorrow” … WE WANT TO GET AN XBOX, – BEST MOM EVER !!
suffice to say I rushed out the next day and hooked them up, what kind of an ambassador would I be to let that slide, HELL I would probably have had my geek card revoked by the king of geeks Wil Wheaton if I had not immediatley gone to the store at 9am with them.
As you can see, I more than hooked them up !
The games in the image are some of the ones he snagged for a five a pop from the pre-owned bin, well except Fifa 2011, I made sure he left with a handful of games from my shelf as well 
This to me shows one thing about Kinect that it did one thing Microsoft said, “It brings the family together to game” hell it makes them hungry for more.
10/10 MS , well done !
Want some more inspiration ! check out this link VERY moving and awesome article
Child with autism connects with Kinect
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40138734/?gt1=43001
To sumarise and I know I am sounding like some Raving fanatic here I cannot reccomend it enough, you owe it to yourself to at least try this in store.
Put your pre-judgments aside and go in to the store and just let your inner Geek/child/gamer peek over your shoulder, I am willing to bet She/He will want to “jump In”
October 10, 2010
Play Games, Heal Kids – Extra Life (Support XBox’s Own E)
I heard about this event and think its awesome so I have thrown a give away together over at
If you read the below taken from my article there and decide to donate please add a comment on that page (Not This One) so you get the chance to win the thank you prize.
article as below.
So over here at Xbox-Ambassadors.com we heard about a really cool event going on October the 16th.
E (Eric Neustadter Operations Manager for the Microsoft gaming network) Is doing an event we think is really cool.
What we would like to do here is ask all our readers to head over to this link -
And Make a donation to his target, Eric has set himself a target of 2500 however we would like to see that hit and even smashed before the event goes live so here is what we are going to do.
If you are one of our readers here and make a donation add a comment in reply to this post and let us know and if Eric hits his target before the 16th then on the 22nd October (to give the event time to play out and donations to complete).
We will pick on person at random who will win A nice big fat prize of nearly 3000 microsoft points as a thank you from us here at the site.
(Please Note all comments need to be approved so please dont panic if your comments dont show up right away).
We love events like this that really show what gamers are all about things like this and Childs Play are awesome events and deserve our full support, nice one E.
Details of Eric’s Goal are below.
Hi I’m Eric Neustadter and this year I’m raising money and awareness for my local Children’s Miracle Network hospital, Seattle Children’s Hospital.
On October 16th, 2010 I’ll attempt to play video games for 24-hours straight, and I’ve asked you to come by in hopes that you’ll support me by giving just $1.00 per hour ($24 total).
Your donation is tax-deductible and 100% of your gift goes to help heal sick kids, here in Seattle, WA.
This Fall, my fellow Extra Life gamers are going to make miracles happen for kids. I can’t do that without your support. My goal is to raise $2,500.00.
On October 16th you’ll be able to follow the fun on twitter – where I’m @thevowel – and on my blog (http://www.thevowel.com). We’ll be playing lots of Xbox 360 games, as well as some great offline games like Munchkin and Risk. Maybe we’ll even give the
Dreamcast, the Jaguar, and some other classics some love.
I’ll be doing my best to involve my partners in crime at work, including @majornelson, @lauralollipop, @stepto, and as many others from the Xbox team as I can.
Thank you for your time, support, and participation.
September 24, 2010
August 17, 2010
August 03, 2010
Xbox.com | Events - Community Playdate: 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit Clan
Published July 14, 2010
via www.xbox.com
Community Playdate: 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit Clan
Published July 14, 2010
Ooh-rah! Members of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit Clan will visit Xbox LIVE® and play Gold members in a Community Playdate on August 4.
Hit the battlefield with the 13th MEU August 4.
The 13th MEU will be online Wednesday, August 4, starting at 8:00 P.M. ET (5:00 P.M. PT) playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2™. If you're a Gold Member (if not, upgrade now!), send a friend request or invite to these gamertags:
- fun with explos
- Axx Bytehoven
- Svendor
- TacticalJoTACO
- Camel Hallux
- primalFury97
- Reliox
- BlazingSun
- NarcoticDragoon
- CrazyBagaDonits
- Goldblade911
- victuals
The 13th MEU is a global community with over 686 members in Europe, the United States, and Canada. The mission of the 13th MEU includes the three core values of the United States Marine Corps: "Honor, Courage, Commitment". Members of the 13th MEU train and practice together in a team environment. The MEU always helps fellow gamers when in need while creating and developing sound battlefield tactics.
The clan currently has active members playing several games that include: Battlefield Heroes, Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2, Battlefield 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2™, and all the Halo games (Halo® 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo:Reach).
If you get a chance to play with members of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit Clan, we want to hear all about it! We'll be posting recaps from gamers all across the country. Send us an email at xlmail@microsoft.com with the subject: "Community Playdate – 13th MEU." Be sure to include your gamertag and home town!
July 29, 2010
EverQuest II jumps on the F2P bandwagon - Massively
Breaking news FeedExclusive: EQII F2P interview with Dave GeorgesonEverQuest II jumps on the F2P bandwagonBioWare Mythic says "Never!" to Real IDSpace combat has been confirmed for SWTOR! [Updated]Age of Conan goes F2P in Korea, Morrison talks NA conversion
EverQuest II jumps on the F2P bandwagon
by Jef Reahard 
Jul 27th 2010 at 2:05PM
Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Business models, MMO industry, News items
213diggsdigg Despite assurances as recently as last month that EverQuest II wouldn't be going free-to-play, Sony Online Entertainment today announced that the game is doing just that... sort of. EverQuest II Extended is slated for a beta launch on August 17th, and features a separate server set providing all of the game's original content via the insanely popular F2P business model."The very nature of an MMO is change, and the decision to create Extended was fueled by evolution of the industry landscape," says EQII lead producer Dave Georgeson. "By offering two services side by side we have given the power to our players to determine the program that best fits their game play style."
Extended will allow access to all zones through The Shadow Odyssey, sans subscription, credit card info, or software purchases. Players will be able to purchase additional perks (such as races, levels 80 - 90, statistical gear, and potions) through the marketplace. Existing EQII subscribers will also be able to transfer their characters to the F2P servers, albeit without their gold. Bags, no-trade items, and attuned items will be transferred. Extended also offers a yearly subscription priced at $200 USD, which equals out to $16.66 per month. SOE is chipping in 60 Station Cash to make up the difference.
Check out the membership matrix for all the details on the new service, and stay with Massively for our interview with Dave Georgeson later today.
[Update: That interview can be found here.]
