Readers offer their best tips for cancelling accounts on annoying web services, getting tricked by Amazon, and editing comments on Lifehacker.
Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons?maybe they're a bit too niche, maybe we couldn't find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn't fit it in?the tip didn't make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favorites for your buffet-style consumption. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments, email it to tips at lifehacker.com, or share it on our tips and expert pages.
Cancel Un-Cancellable Accounts By Posting Offensive Content
Thierry figures out a clever way to cancel online accounts:
As per Lifehacker's recommendations, I recently started cleaning up my online presence, only to notice that a lot of online services don't offer the option to delete your account or unsubscribe from their mailings. Here's my solution:
- Log into the web site
- Change your nickname and all of your information to content that could be offensive to the owners of the website (like "Eat S**t," without the censoring)
- Change your email address to an address generated with a "temporary inbox" service
- Confirm the adress change from that temporary inbox
Now, the culprit is stuck with a useless account with garbage information and your account will probably get banned, thus letting you free.
Obviously you don't want to get too offensive and actually offend people, because that just isn't nice. But this is pretty clever?read the terms of service of that account to see what kind of stuff will get you banned permanently, then go for it (you could even report your own account to move the process along).
Beware Amazon Prime Offers That Fudge Past Shipping Costs
Tmurph135 gets fibbed to by Amazon:
When checking out on Amazon today, I saw a note saying, "We noticed you have spent more than $80 on shipping in the past year. Stop paying for shipping and get your items faster with Amazon Prime." I've been thinking of signing up for Amazon Prime for a long time, and thought, "Well, if I'm spending $80+ on shipping anyway, I should sign up for Prime and at least get free two-day shipping."
But when I investigated to see how much I'd actually spent on shipping, it was WAY below $80. The only way to get to $80+ on my account is by using shipping totals before the discount that comes with 5-8 day Super Saver Shipping.
In other words, if shipping is normally $6.68 and I opt for free Super Saver Shipping, a -$6.68 shows up on my invoice. But Amazon still counts that $6.68 as money I've "spent" on shipping in the past year to convince me to buy a Prime subscription.
They're giving you BS number to make you think you're spending more on shipping than you actually are, just so you'll buy Prime subscription.
I called Amazon and spoke with someone there who was unaware of how my supposed $80 figure was reached. Even the woman I spoke with thought Amazon could be including the pre-Super Saver shipping charge.
Keep Small USB Dongles In Your Computer and Never Lose Them Again
Jim doesn't mess with tiny USB dongles:
I have a Logitech mouse that I occasionally use with my laptop when I travel, and its receiver is very very small?sticking out only a few mm from my laptop. This is great when I have it plugged in, but it's very easy to lose! So, I just keep it in my laptop all the time. If I have to unplug it to free up a port, I'll put it in my pocket, but otherwise it stays plugged in all the time, whether I'm using the mouse or not. It still fits in my laptop sleeve just fine, and I'm much less likely to lose it!
Photo by MiNe.
Master Your Interviews By Noting What You Want to Portray
Ronan always remembers what he wants to show off in a job interview:
Keep the end game in mind. Before phone and in-person interviews, I like to use this trick: Think of three characteristics you would like to portray during the interview (creative, analytical, polished, intelligent, interested, whatever!). Write those three attributes at the top of your notes, and as you glance down at them during the interview, you'll have a great reminder of how you want to present yourself.
Photo by Ted Murphy.
Summer Solstice 2012 Waldo Canyon fire nba finals K Michelle roger clemens multiple sclerosis falling skies
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.