THE TRAVELING TERABYTE PROJECT

LATEST NEWS

2010-01-22 - the newest TTB design

I've completed the first of what i hope will be many new TTBs. The new design that we're going with is the smallest version yet. It's simply staggering how much technology has progressed since we started this project. Have a look at more shots of the new case and drive in the photo galleries here and here.

- deviant

 

2009/12/07 - x-mas DVDs are all out

I have finished sending out TTB Holiday DVDs to everyone who was on my list of potential recipients. Some of my friends have taken batches of them for distribution at bases and USO locations local to them, but even with all of this having been completed i still have over a dozen remaining, all complete with media mailer envelopes and the included TTB x-mas card.

If you have a friend or loved one who is deployed either state-side or overseas and would like a TTB holiday gift DVD to make its way to them, please let me know and i'll get on that as soon as possible.

- deviant

 

2009/11/27 - supermediastore.com has Super Fail

I am so completely done with these people. ugh. In a fit of poor recollection, i failed to realize that supermediastore.com was the same establishment that last year caused an unacceptable delay in TTB X-Mas project disc production. Foolishly, i ordered again from them this year, only to have a similar result. Let me retell the whole story here briefly, in the hopes that no one ever makes the mistake of giving money to these people ever again.

Super Media Store, also known as Linkyo Corp (why do so many of these fly-by-night California warehouses have a bunch of names? is that part of their shady nature? or do they just have to change their identity so often due to bad customer service?) is one of a few outfits with decent pricing on ink for my Dymo Disc Painter which i use in creating the TTB Holiday DVDs. Since i was ordering ink from them last year, i also placed in a request for printable discs.

My original order of "Ritek" discs on October 24th of 2008 turned out to be fake (those who know how to use CD and DVD identifier tools know how common this practice is, sadly) and generated all sorts of burn and read errors.

On November 6th i was finally able to get Idera in their customer service dept to give me RMA information and swap the fake Riteks for Verbatim discs.

Nearly three weeks later, on November 24th i still hadn't received my replacement discs, despite sending back the bad ones ages ago. After numerous calls i was able to reach Priscilla in their service department who gave me tracking information for my package. It was due to arrive in two days. I suspect that they never sent it and just scrambled to get a box in the mail, then read off a UPS number.

Two days later, a package did indeed arrive. It was the wrong goddamn discs... more fake Riteks. I called back again (their phone system seemed to change at various times during this process, if i recall correctly) and eventually, after many mumbled and garbled voice menus, reached Rebecca. She confirmed that my desired product was available and that it could ship out right away. The shipping prices for a rush order (which was what i desperately needed at this point) were outrageous, and Super Media Store wouldn't give any special consideration to us after all we'd been through.

"Fuck that," i said, "just cancel my order." I was transferred to returns and managed eventually to send back the rest of the defective discs... long after i had acquired another source for them.

This year, for Christmas 2009, i was getting the process underway again. Like a fool, i did a simple product search for Dymo Disc Painter ink and just placed an order with the first outfit i could find. It was Super Media Store... they are really good at getting high rank in Google listings.

Tuesday the 24th, before Thanksgiving, i placed my order. Three-day saver shipping would reach me by Friday or at the latest Monday, given the holiday. It wasn't until some time on Wednesday that i saw an email from their system stating that because i had the audacity to place an order over $100 with expedited shipping and not use a phone number for contact (i handle all ordering through email so i have a record of everything) things would be on hold until i contacted them.

I called Super Media Store that day and reached only their automated system. I tried calling them on Thanksgiving, knowing full well that they wouldn't be open. Only now, Friday (when i had hoped to maybe have the discs) did i reach them. After much fumbling through broken phone menus again (the system would only play recorded messages and hang up on you... i had to eventually just keep pressing zero to reach a human) i spoke to Yvette.

When i asked about all the problems i had reaching anyone to respond to their "your order is on hold" email, she stated "Oh, right... they've been making a lot of changes with vendors and other resources and our phone system has been giving us a lot of grief." So possibly i could have reached a human back on Wednesday if i had resorted to pressing zero over and over back then.

Yvette said she had "two addresses on file" for us, then said that maybe they didn't when i pressed her for more details. I confirmed our location and asked when we could have the discs. "Tuesday or Wednesday" came the reply. When i indicated that wasn't fast enough, and we had wanted them by Monday, Yvette stated "well, we can cancel the order or change it to free ground shipping" which would take even longer.

"Uhm, maybe you're not understanding me," i clarified... "we need the products faster, hence our original expedited order." After another hold, Yvette came back saying that for a Monday delivery we could pay $23.90 in shipping. We had originally already paid $17.97. I asked, "With this being a $6 difference, would Super Media Store be willing to cover that part, in recognition of all that we've been through?"

"No," was her instant, cold reply. Ok, how about splitting that cost with us? I explained about the TTB Project, our gifts to men and women in uniform overseas, etc. "Super Media Store will not cover that, sir," came the response. I was shocked. They wouldn't even go in for $3 to help out a charitable organization after delaying the order by days? I expressed sympathy over the fact that she may not have the power to do anything about this and if that was the case, i told her, i didn't want to take up more of her time... "Is there anyone else i can talk to about this?" i then asked.

"Yes. Hold on," she snipped. I was on hold for a moment, then i was speaking to a dial tone. Apparently that is the only party to whom Super Media Store refers you when you ask for any help or consideration of your difficulties. Yvette had taken my phone number down earlier in the conversation... but no one made an attempt to call us back.

I'm so fucking done with these people. I will not be so forgetful next year. Mere seconds after this all happened, i was on amazon.com and had found exactly what i needed. With a few bucks extra, i was able to have Saturday delivery and can start work on the discs tomorrow.

While Super Media Store may have some rock-bottom prices, they come at a cost. Next time, i'm willing to pay the extra $30 to $35 and go with a reputable supplier. Everyone awaiting TTB X-Mas DVDs this year, sit tight... i'll be cranking them out very soon now.

Happy Holidays,

- Deviant

 

2009/11/22 - Holiday Project Happening Again

I'll be the first to admit that I absolutely hate the "holiday creep" that seems to get worse every year due to malls and other retailers trying to get people whipped up into a feeding frenzy of commerce. As the amazing comedian Lewis Black once said, "Remember when Halloween was Halloween, and Santa wasn't poking his fat ass backwards into it? And when Thanksgiving was a time for family... not Christmas, part one." So then given my distaste for any holly and garland that appears before the turkey and mashed potatoes are cleared away from the dinner table, what am I doing talking about the winter holidays so soon?

Well, as anyone with friends or loved ones in the service knows, sending packages to deployed personell can take quite a bit of time. Therefore, the Traveling Terabyte's latest project -- a Christmas gift special push -- will have to start its holiday planning even earlier than Wall-Mart, Sears, Macy's, and the rest of the unscroupulous retail world does.

This year, we'd like to try to bring cheer to as many people as possible. Consequently, we have selected the best holiday themed selections from our media library and are loading them on to DVD discs which we will produce en-masse and attempt to send to anyone with friends and family stationed away from home this holiday season.

DVDs of Christmas Cheer - If you have a friend or loved one who will be serving overseas, send us an email telling us who they are and a word or two about their unit. We will happily send them the DVD package of christmas videos and music... or, alternately, we'll happily send it to you here in the States and allow you to forward it along, as this will (if my math is correct) save us a little bit on postage.

"So, wait," you're asking, "this is all totally FREE?!?" Yes, as long as we have the resources to keep buying discs and dropping them in the mail, we will churn them out to every single service family who requests one.

More info about this whole endeavor can be found on this page.

- Deviant

 

2009/11/09 - An Interesting Technological Companion

dosman recently showed me something rather unique. He has an associate who works with the Polar Grid project... much of their operation involves the ferrying of huge loads of data to and from Greenland and Antarctica. The method they use for this sort of operation is strikingly similar to our configuration for the TTB project. Have a look...

 

2009/07/06 - A New Harware Configuration

The time has come to make a change to the TTBs, i've decided. While the original "Pelican 1400 case with paired 500 GB drives" served us well in the past, times are changing, prices are dropping, and new technologies are replacing old ones. We're moving to a new system where the TTBs will be based around a single 1 TB SATA drive housed in a Pelican 1200 case. These TTBs will be lighter and smaller than our original design, but still able to bring just as much great content to men and women overseas. Check out the photos of the first such TTB that i have recently built.

- Deviant

 

2009/01/30 - Major Re-Supply Underway

I have been undertaking a major overhaul and refit of the terabytes, their content, and the servers in order to kick off the new year. I've been acquiring new episodes, movies, and music to fill out the archives, updating the contents of the drives, and maintaining the servers. Speaking of the servers, Thorn has done a great job of getting vBulletin set up and we hope to have that up and running very soon for members of the public to login and post their thoughts, comments, and suggestions regarding the Traveling Terabyte Project.

I'll be seeking new destinations for the TTBs to rotate to on their next tour, which i'm tentatively going to say is likely to kick off in mid to late February. So please don't hestitate to send me an email if you or someone you care about could use some morale from the homefront sent out to the field.

- Deviant

Older News Archived Here