Dollars for my Sony Reader

I wrote a few weeks ago that now that I have an iPad, my seldom used Sony Reader PRS-500 had no use to me. On the MacBreak Weekly podcast, I heard about
gazelle.com where you can sell old gadgets and get money. I didn't have high hopes as I usually keep gadgets to the point that they have very little value.

A few days after I received my iPad, I went to the site, setup an account, and received an offer for the Reader. It was more than I expected and with a code from MacBreak Weekly, I got a bonus and then by selecting an Amazon Gift Card, I got another 5% bonus. Gazelle.com was easy to use, they sent me a pre-paid shipping label and within a week after they received it, I got a gift card for $116! They actually upped the value when they received it because I misinterpreted a checkbox; it said "rechargeable battery", I said no because I thought it meant a separate one.

Not a bad little deal for me to clean off my desk and get a few bucks for a device that I no longer use.

Wasting money in the App Store

I just purchased an app called Time Master for my iPad for doing time tracking as I'm working on a number of projects. Unfortunately the developer doesn't understand user interface and added every feature in the book. The application is unwieldily and it took me 15 minutes to setup 4 projects. In addition, when you add projects and other things, you get a warning to backup your data before editing/adding information. Wow, I sure can't trust this program if the developer doesn't even trust the database. The response I got from the developer is that there is no backup for the data. Well, warning the users every time they enter the setup is a very bad idea.

I had high hopes for this application, but wasted $10 on it and can't find a way to get my money back. I used the "report a problem" link in iTunes and after writing my problem, I got a message that said to contact the developer. OK, fine. I wrote the developer and he claimed that the issues are things he can't do anything about as his app works just like Contacts. He can believe whatever he wants to believe, but his application needs a user interface overhaul.

Here are some screenshots of the app. The configuration is far too complicated for a time tracking app.

New Hosting Provider

My subscription to my hosting provider, VPS Link is up for renewal and the cost to renew for what I have is $35/month or $360/year. So, it was time to find a new provider that offered similar specs. After a lot of research, I found VPS NOC that has a very similar offering (at least for my needs) for $13/month.

As I like to manage my own VPS, I chose an unmanaged plan. I moved everything over today and we'll give it a try. There weren't many reviews I could find on it, so at most I'll lose $13 (they do have a 7 day money back guarantee, but I'm not sure I can fully evaluate during that time) and some time.

Sony Reader RIP

A few months ago, I received email from Sony saying that they needed to upgrade the firmware in my Sony Reader PRS-500 to support the ePub format as Sony was moving away from their own format. Sony paid for shipping in both directions and returned the unit to me fairly quickly. While I think it was great that Sony did this, it was a bit short sighted on Sony's part to require me to send in the device to do an upgrade when other company's like Apple do firmware updates right through iTunes.

Then a few or two ago, I received another email from Sony saying that the last firmware upgrade caused shortened battery life and they needed to do another firmware upgrade. The same day, a large empty box with lots of bubble wrap (far too much to protect the Reader) came for me to ship the Reader back. Again, a failure on Sony's part to not allow end user firmware updates.

My Reader arrived back yesterday, the day before my iPad was set to arrive. The timing made me laugh as I need to find a new home for my Reader that I likely will never touch again. It's amazing how far Sony has fallen from grace. This example shows Sony's poor planning and poor quality control which cost them a lot of money in shipping and repairs to bring my Reader up-to-date (all the shipping was 2nd day UPS).

Anyone want to buy a Sony Reader PRS-500?