I went about testing almost every earbud that has been rated highly across the Internet, during the months of Oct-Nov, 2020. Here is the test criteria I used.
Dell XPS 13 (9343) Review
Bought a Dell XPS 13 (9343), and loaded the laptop with Ubuntu 15.04 (and later, upgraded to Ubuntu 15.10). The 4.10 kernel (shipped with Ubuntu 15.10), has support for I2S mode. This should have supposedly helped, but it did not.
Bruce’s Cheap Working Cars – F&M
I wanted a cheap car that could roll me to places nearby,. Non-fancy and no frills.
Bruce helped me out find one. The best part was (and this is after I read an earlier review), he hands over the keys to me so that I can take it to a mechanic and checked up. I got two cars checked; for the first one. Bruce said “If you’re going to take it to a mechanic, you’ll not buy it.” – and he was right. The forthcoming honesty was what struck me.
The second car needed some repairs per the mechanic, but was driveable. Took it back to Bruce and struck a deal. It’s been about two months now, and things are looking good. I’d recommend Bruce & Bruce. :)
Things Remembered
I had a pretty bad experience with an order I made at the store located in Westfield Valley Fair Mall, Santa Clara, CA.
First, the order was incomplete on the day we tried getting it + it was broken. So we could never get it the same day. I had to finally call off the whole event.
Second, when I went there later, the store keepers just kept telling me to come back on Monday because they didn’t have the form and receipt for the order. So they would not refund the amount of something they never delivered and can’t make a new one without making me pay.
I have never had such a headache with pricey things. I’m paying $$$ to get a service which isn’t reliable, and then the store keeper rolls their eyes at you and says, “Guys, you are not going to get this.” Excellent.
Finally, I make them call up their managers – talk to two different people, they agreed on re-making the order, broke it again and ultimately refunded me the whole amount. I wasted close to 5 hours doing this whole thing.
Never go to this store (or even this chain).
Sunnyvale Ford
I was new to the country back in summer of 2010 (and I do see a couple of reviews very similar to mine from back then). I wanted to lease a Ford Fusion somewhere else, but before I really did, I wanted to test drive it. I call up the nearest Ford dealership – Sunnyvale Ford, and they call me in.
I get a greeting from a “new guy” there and then they start showing around. I tell them what I’m looking for specifically and they take us on a test drive. Driving on I-280, I could feel the bumps being hit, but I was told it “was normal”.
Back in the showroom, they start to “sell”. I told them that I’m getting this car leased. When I tell them the numbers, they almost call me a “liar”. An unimaginable amount of pressure was being put on me by “a very tall guy” there (I really don’t remember names). “Help me out here,” says he. Running back and forth between a high-rise room, I’m being super pressured into buying. They brought their numbers to a low of what I could have afforded (another mistake I made). They hit a ‘gong’ and say congratulations even before I’ve said yes. The worst was yet to come.
They call in an insurance agent, who hurriedly does it for me. Their finance guy then starts putting more numbers into my bill. 2500 for an extra warranty + 2500 for ford care. When I say no, he says my financing rate will go up – since I’m new to the country without credit history. I was extremely naive to keep on falling into those traps – it was my fault too (..and I paid for it).
That night, I was unable to sleep. Somebody just slapped a $30,000 liability on me and I’ve no way of getting out. The next morning, I woke up early and went back to the dealership and told them how unhappy I was. Pressure tactics again – this time I was going to fight back. I said I’ll get my financing elsewhere, just cut the whole $5000 from my bill. Panic gripped them and they told me to wait. Magically, a person without any credit history in this country, was offered a low rate of 3.9% – the only condition was to buy the extra warranty+care. I was very very upset and completely lost it. I urged them to drop the warranty and bought only the Ford care plan (still an extra $2500 on my car).
I have always been thinking of writing to Ford or someone about this, but have never been able to. I signed up on Yelp to review another business – but this frankly is my worst experience ever – and I learned some very hard lessons. The only thing that has kept me happy so far is Fusion itself. It’s not such a bad car after all (despite people jesting me, this car is very comfortable has been great so far). Service (although it’s covered in Ford care) at Sunnyvale Ford has been “ok” – nothing that I would cherish.
Folks at Sunnyvale Ford sure know how to get you – and if you have never bought a car, please don’t go there.
DC Ducks
This is the best thing ever. If you go to DC, you’ve got to do this tour. The best reason to be on this tour is because you get to ride in an awesome vehicle and get to see things close up (without having to walk!).
Our Captain was very friendly and incredibly knowledgeable. I did a few fact checks on a few things he answered to folks – and they very pretty accurate.
This is some real fun – try not to miss it.