moreHawes Through Time
Since I have been working on updating this site recently I thought I would delve into the history books (not really that far back) and look at the previous versions of my website.
Although slightly pointless, I have spent a fair bit of time making these so it’s nice to remember.
Version 1
Between around 2004 – 2005, I made this site before I even knew what programming really was, but that didn’t stop me wanting to be a web designer!
The site consisted of a simple 5-page site with a few fancy animated graphics. Still now I like how this site looks.
Version 2
Around 2005 – 2007. I knew a bit of PHP by now and decided that a new site was in order! Re-inventing the wheel slightly I write some scripts for comments, a basic forum and a few other twiddly bits.
Version 3
Around 2007 – 2008. Enter Drupal! I quickly realised the potential of using a content management system, though at this stage I was using it pretty much out of the box.
Version 4
2009 – 2010! Still using Drupal but heavily customised with my own theme. I have organised my content in more of a blog style with all sorts of fancy witchcraft working behind the scenes.
Version 5
2010 – present. Hello Wordpress! A complete re-write, re-design and migration to Wordpress. Since starting to use Wordpress it quickly because my CMS of choice with it’s long features list and great community support. It’s a tool that really makes publishing on the web a hassle-free task.
Tags: Internet • Me • Wordpress
Nochex Steal Your Money
For a client recently I had to test osCommerce was accepting Nochex payments. Having never used it before I went through the lengthy and painful process of signing up for a Nochex account.
Well now I know why no one used Nochex. It’s rubbish. It’s the only thing that would make me recommend Paypal (and I hate Paypal) to anyone but at least their service does what it is supposed to with minimum fuss.
OsCommerce was working fine and accepted my Nochex account but Nochex wouldn’t accept my address, so I was unable to put a card straight through (as a user without an existing Nochex account might). So I gave up on that as the client offers their own credit card gateway.
So I thought that was that – but when you add a credit/debit card to Nochex they debit a ’small’ amount from your card to help with their verification process. They didn’t go out of their way to tell you this when you register and they certainly don’t make it clear enough that this is non-refundable!
So there I was waiting for my couple of quid to get refunded only to discover it has been stolen. And for what? … other one for ‘the list’
Tags: 1 • Boycotts • Dislikes • Me • Search Engine Stuff • e-commerce • osCommerce
Tesco Boycott
Since Tesco opened a third store all within a ten minute walk of each other where I live in Cardiff I decided enough was enough and didn’t shop there any more. Though occasionally I admit I did pop in for milk or if Walkers Sensations are on offer for 72p!
This was until I saw for myself number 4… FOUR! Thats 4 stores within one mile walk of each other.
Never again will I step foot inside a Tesco’s store. Never.
Tags: Boycotts • Dislikes • Me
eBay Ads Gone Mad!
I usually surf the web with my trusty Adblock Plus Firefox extension turned on, but after turning it off recently (I have been working on my works affiliate programme… it actually took me a few seconds to work out why things weren’t appearing that should have been!) I got a bit of a shock when I went on to eBay. My usual eBay experience looks like this:
However to my disgust with adblock plus disabled I was confronted with the following:
I think eBay should be ashamed of themselves. They have completely compromised their site by selling out to ads and lets face it – it’s not exactly like they are short of money! I knew eBay had ads but this is getting silly.
I Hate Virgin Media
I have recently signed up with Virgin Media broadband. I have previously been a customer of theirs and vowed NEVER AGAIN! However as I live in the city there really isn’t much choice – so begrudgingly I signed up.
What a mistake.
My blood boils (and my money evaporates) ever time I have to contact them… which is a lot. There are lots of reasons to hate Virgin Media, but here are my top 5:
- Installation – I paid £30 for installation, which consisted of a ‘technician’ turning up to my house and plugging a modem in. I tried to get a web page up which didn’t work and when I turned around he wasn’t there any more. I caught him in his van and got him back, but I soon realised that he had no idea what he was doing. He also refused to call technical support because ‘it would end up costing HIM money’.
- Pricing – It’s not cheap, add on to that that they have a hidden £1 charge because they send you paper bills. Signing up for ‘e-billing’ is the solution – but they don’t tell you about this and be dammed if I know how to get on it from day one, so I ended up paying £1 for the first month.
- ‘Contact Us’ – Not only do you have to contact them all the time to sort out your service, but the only number is a premium rate one! To get signed up on e-billing I paid £5 in phone bills sorting this out, because after all no-one knows what they’re doing. Even the numbers listed on www.saynoto0870.com are all blocked.
- Overcharging – the one thing companies should be able to do right is bill their customers the correct amount. Not Virgin Media! They charged me my first bill (£51) twice! I gave up contacting them and went straight to the bank and got them to reverse the charge.
- The service – their service really is appalling. Ask anyone who is with them and they will tell you they are not getting the speeds they are paying for. And don’t get me started on the fact that their ‘Unlimited’ packages that actually are limited.
Add to this a confusing web site which never actually does anything (you need to phone about 10 different people to sort it out) and you’ve got yourself a near heart attack.
My advice – Virgin Media, really really really really don’t bother.