Tag Archive: macintosh


I’m a regular user of EA’s online game site. Pogo

This evening I received an error message. So I wrote a VERY long post to their support division. And internally… I really don’t think I’m going to let this one lie… especially if I get crapped on by some outsourced tech support pre-fashioned script.

I invite you to read the rather biting letter. But I really don’t think most of my readers are that interested.

This is a cross post to a review I made on MacNN the Macintosh news source.

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From MacNN article:
Briefly: Online gambling; FCP users group
http://www.macnn.com/articles/05/12/08/online.gambling.fcp.group/

In brief: macpacificpoker.com is bringing online gambling to Mac and Linux users, offering games such as Texas Holdem, Blackjack, Craps, Slots, and more….

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My response to Macnn

I went to Mac Pacific Poker’s site. The mac page auto loaded. Initially I thought this was a good thing.

I went to the registration page. I typed in my information and then got to “Terms and conditions.” Call me crazy but I actually hit the link to try to look at the terms and conditions.

Safari generated a new page which…auto forwarded to the Mac front page. It would seem that all the pages were set to auto forward to a “we don’t serve mac” page. So to simplify, the new Mac entry page was put there.

As a result, the registration screen will not get you to terms, help, or anything else. So I turned to calling tech support. As online Poker players know… most of this is overseas.

After two failed calls (Yes, the calls actually ‘failed’ insofar as they rand and went dead mid-ring) I got a tech-support grunt. He explained to me any combination of answers that included, “We don’t support mac”, “The Mac page takes you to the mac page that doesn’t have all the features” and my personal favourite, “We don’t work on the mac because our pages are made for Normal Computers.”

I was told that I’d be sent a link that would take me to the correct mac page. (I’m assuming he means the same front page that suddenly makes them “Mac Compatible.”) So far I have received no email.

To me making your PC application Mac compatible doesn’t stop when the application compiles for the Mac. There is tech suppor education, legal documents, and support pages.

At this time I would VEHEMENTLY reccommend that you DO NOT invest time or especially MONEY into MacPacificPoker.

-Andrei

MacTel? A good idea?

Recently, on of all places a poker forum for mac users, the question was asked if this whole Mac on Intel thing is a good idea. So I responded:

Apple is now at a point where they can afford to jump on the Intel bandwagon. And it’s not because of the chip or the speed. It’s because they are positioned to fend off two possible problems with the move. 1) a drying up of hardware sales during the conversion. 2) MIcrosoft strong-arming Intel to make decisions that are not beneficial or even harmful to Apple.

Does the change really matter? The Apple OS is clearly superior to the Microsoft OS. And one doesn’t have to be a pundit to see that. The OS will run just as well on Intel as it does on the IBM series.

The consumer on the other hand (relatively uneducated) will hear “Intel” and believe that now, Apple is playing in Microsoft’s world so there’s more reason to switch. The truth is that the applications will be little changed. Sure, any application that is trying to do cross microchip emulation will be great. This consists primarily of Virtual PC.

The most important issue will be lost. Apple has an OS that can run on any microchip. They can change that out almost as easily as they can swap out the video card. The real question becomes…. once this change occurs… what happens if Microsoft decides they can move to IBM’s PPC series?