Mac/Windows/Linux HDD Dead? Use Linux or Windows!

As most of my readers may know, I am not the biggest fan of Apple or its products. However, that does not mean I rigidly hate Apple or that I do not work with their products from time-to-time. The following is one of my experiences and how it may helps others out there in similar circumstances.

Windows/Linux Dead?, Linux Method, Windows Method

Background
I randomly got an invitation to visit my dad, which I willingly accepted. Upon my arrival one of my tasks was to see if I could find a way to fix his two iMacs. Apparently, they were on the fritz.

I took a look at both and tried what I could without ripping them open. Essentially, they both had faultering hard drives. The iMacs could turn on and get to the boot screen (apple logo), but then they would just hang. Unless we did a hard drive transplant, the iMacs would become all but useless, or so it seemed...

Different OS
In my searches I found two possible methods that could help keep the iMacs "alive" until they could get new hard drives. One involved using Linux, the other Windows. As for the Windows, I will explain more on that later since it is not a free OS.

As a side note, the steps I will be using will strictly involve a dying iMac. Yet, most of the steps described will be the same if trying to use a dying or dead Windows or Linux system. The only difference should be how to get to the respective boot managers of each OS. 

Linux
The Linux method involved downloading a Linux flavor ISO (I prefer Ubuntu or Mint, Mint of which I found to be the faster of the two through my tests), then making a Live CD or a bootable USB flash drive with the ISO. Sounded simple enough.

I first tried to see if I could partition any of the iMacs hard drives and install Linux on the partition. Of course, being that the hard drives were failing, this was not possible.

In short, it took me a bit of time and work, but I was able to find a way to make the iMacs run Linux without issue.

Note I: This should work for either a Mac or iMac.

Note II: If the (i)Mac you are attempting to use has full-disk encryption, this may cause problems for rEFInd, which we will need to use.

How To Install Demo Linux to USB/HDD/CD
The prerequisite for this method is to have at least two USB flash drives, or two external hard drives, or one of each (or just a blank CD and a USB flash drive or external hard drive). One needs to be at least 8GB, while the other should be much larger (20GB+) depending on how much stuff you want to save for later use.

So there is no confusion, an external SSD will work too, but I will be referring to an external HDD as that is what I used for this process.

Another major component is the use of a separate computer. Otherwise, there is no way to burn images to devices, unless your Mac still works and you are doing this for fun.

You will also need a program like Rufus to make a bootable USB flash drive or external drive from an ISO. There are plenty of other programs, but this is extremely small and fast (fastest according to its own description and my own experience). For this tutorial I will be using Rufus, if you are using a blank CD instead, use something like ImgBurn to the burn the ISO.

1. Download a Linux ISO (e.g. Ubuntu, Mint, etc.).
2. Insert a USB flash drive or external HDD to your computer.
3. Download Rufus (portable is fine).
4. Open Rufus.
5. Change "Device" to the USB flash drive or external HDD inserted earlier.
6. Click on the small CD/ROM icon.
7. Find and select your Linux ISO.
8. Press "Open". (Rufus will automatically select the necessary options according to the ISO.)
9. Change the "New volume label" (optional).
10. Press "Start".

Note: Rufus may ask if you wish to choose between "ISO" or "DD". It should recommend "ISO", if not, select it and continue. 

Once Rufus has finished, the first part is done.

Why Not Stop Here?
At this point, the Linux USB flash drive or an external HDD will just have a copy of Linux to test with, but not save to. Meaning, files can be saved but are not persistent on later boots (the files will disappear after shutdown).

In essence, one could use cloud services and save any files or items there. But the bigger problem is that programs (i.e. Skype, Chromium, etc.) need to be saved to the device being used. So every time a person booted into the Demo Linux, they would need to reinstall all of the applications they wish to use.

How to Install rEFInd
This step is important for later, and needs to be done. Unless there is an external USB CD/DVD drive at your disposal, I would suggest using a USB flash drive or an external HDD.

The following steps will use Rufus as well...

1. Download the USB flash drive image of rEFInd.
2. Insert a USB flash drive or external HDD to the computer.
3. Open Rufus.
4. Change "Device" to the USB flash drive or external HDD inserted earlier.
5. Click on the small CD/ROM icon.
6. Find and select your rEFInd image.
7. Press "Open". (Rufus will automatically select the necessary options according to the image.)
8. Press "Start".

Note: Rufus may ask if you wish to choose between "DD" or "ISO". It should recommend "DD", if not, select it and continue.

rEFInd originally started as rEFIt. It is a boot manager, and perfect for our purposes. I will explain why later.

How to Install Linux to USB/HDD
While a USB flash drive will work fine for this, I do recommend an external HDD since they are cheaper and carry much more storage space for equivalent prices.

One problem that may come about is if the USB flash drive or external HDD is using MBR instead of GPT. There are plenty of free programs that should be able to convert a drive from MBR to GPT, and Ubuntu and Mint both come with GParted, which should be able to do this. However, I received an error when attempting to convert from MBR to GPT. As an alternative, I used Windows' DiskPart.

If Windows is available to you, insert your USB flash drive or external HDD first [important!]. Open up a Command Prompt (WinKey + R, then type "cmd", push ENTER key), then type "diskpart" > "list disk" > "select disk #" > "clean" > "convert gpt". After each quoted term push enter. The disk list should show you the available devices and their corresponding sizes. This will help for which number to type in place of "#".

There should be no problems, and if there are, then you may have a faulty device. (Worst case scenario, download MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition and try formatting the device to NTFS or FAT32 to see if it becomes operational.) If successful, the drive should be clean. DO NOT FORMAT the drive if asked by Windows, Demo Linux will do that for us later on.

1. Ensure the (i)Mac is turned off.
2. Insert the blank USB flash drive or external HDD into the (i)Mac.
3. Insert the Linux USB flash drive or external HDD into the (i)Mac.
4. Turn on the (i)Mac.
5. Hold the ALT/OPTION key as soon as the computer dings.
6. Let go of the ALT/OPTION key once the boot manager screen appears.
7. Select "EFI Boot", right of the (i)Mac HDD if nothing else is plugged in.
8. A screen with options for Linux will appear. Choose "Try Ubuntu without Install", or the respective option if using a different Linux flavor.
9. Once Linux boots, on a flavor like Ubuntu, there should be an icon on the desktop that states "Install Ubuntu...". Double-click on it.
10. The usual options of selecting a language, connecting to a network, etc. should occur. Pick the options that best suit your preference.* (Stop when you reach the "Installation type" page...)
11. At the "Installation type" page choose "Something else".
12. The next page will show a list of connected devices and their sizes. Double-click the check box for your USB flash drive or external HDD.** A small window will appear with options for partitioning the USB flash drive or external HDD.
13. Change "Type for the new partition:" to "Logical".
14. Change "Use as:" to "Ext4 journaling file system" if it is not already selected by default.
15. For "Mount point:", place just a "/", and nothing else.
16. Click "Install Now".

*If you want the fastest install possible, do not connect to a network. Connecting to a network allows Linux to download items through the install process. This can be done after the install, as Linux should prompt you when it needs additional packages.

**To discern which device is yours, check the size. It should also be sda#; # being the highest of the ones available is the safest bet, but not always correct depending on how many external storage devices are connected.

Note I: This can be done with a computer other than a (i)Mac. The steps to access the bootable media will be different, but all other steps will remain the same.


Note II: For step 13 "Primary" always gave me an error. I was only able to change it to "Primary" after first installing through "Logical", then going back through the process and choosing "Primary" and reinstalling. Making this change seems to add no benefit and is thus unnecessary.

Linux should now be installed on a USB flash drive or an external HDD.

The Reason For rEFInd
The reason we need to use rEFInd instead of the Mac boot manager is because the Mac boot manager is unable to see any drive with Linux already installed. It will recognize that the drive is available, but not that it should be bootable.

The same thing happens with Windows, however, it does not even recognize that the drive exists.

How To Boot Into Linux
This will show you how to boot into Linux and use it as a daily driver.

1. Ensure the (i)Mac is turned off.
2. Insert the CD/USB/HDD with the installed Linux OS into the (i)Mac.
3. Insert the USB/HDD with rEFInd into the (i)Mac.
4. Turn on the (i)Mac.
5. Hold the ALT/OPTION key as soon as the computer dings.
6. Let go of the ALT/OPTION key once the boot manager screen appears.
7. Select "EFI Boot", right of the (i)Mac HDD if nothing else is plugged in.
8. rEFInd will start. The far right option will show a Linux flavor icon with a smaller external HDD icon inside it. Click it. (Other options shown should have different smaller icons displayed, like an internal HDD.)

This will start Linux and anything downloaded or saved will persist on future startups. The only problem some might find is that the boot process can be long and tedious if having to constantly reboot for whatever reason.

Windows, Why Not?
If I had been given the choice between Linux or Windows, I would have installed a fresh copy of Windows 7. Unfortunately, iMacs from 2008 or before do not recognize Windows To Go drives. I believe one iMac I was working with is from 2008, and the other from a couple years before. Because of this, I could not use the Windows route as a possible solution for my situation. However, others can...

How To Install Windows 7/8/10
The prerequisites for using making a Windows To Go drive is to have a USB flash drive or an external hard drive with ample amount of space (8GB or more suggested).

An external HDD is the way to go here. Never mind that purchasing an external HDD can gain you massive amounts of storage space inexpensively. The issue here is that there are certified Windows To Go USB flash drives that make this process painless. However, a "normal" USB flash drive can take forever to install Windows on. An external HDD does not have this problem.

The other prerequisite is using WinToUSB. Microsoft has its own proprietary software to perform a Window To Go install. But there are two downsides to Microsoft's software: 1) The software is only available on Windows 8 or higher, and will also not allow a Windows 7 install. 2) WinToUSB is said to be faster in terms of the install procedure.

1. Download a Windows ISO from here.
2. Download the free version of WinToUSB.
3. Open WinToUSB.
4. Click the small folder icon on the upper-right corner.
5. Find and select your Windows ISO.
6. Click "Open".
7. Highlight the Windows version (that should now appear) by clicking it.
8. Click "Next".
9. Click the drop-down arrow in the upper-right corner.
10. Select the USB flash drive or external HDD to be used.*
11. In the next window there will be radio buttons to choose the system and boot partition. There should only be one option for each. Select both the radio buttons.
12. Select "Legacy" for an external HDD, and "VHD" for a USB flash drive. (Either should be the defaulted option depending on the storage device.)
13. Click "Next".

*If you chose a USB flash drive, it will ask if using a non-certified drive is desired. If so, click "OK". If not, click "Cancel". "OK" will format the drive and then bring up the next page.

The process will proceed showing a percentage until 100% is reached. Once done, the USB flash drive or external HDD will have Windows installed and ready for use.

First Time Windows Use
Before the Windows To Go drive is completely ready, you will need to boot it up. The process is just like installing any Windows OS. It will run through the choices and options and then begin setting up.

I had an interesting problem where (twice) the Windows setup would hang when finalizing the setup. What seemed to make it work was waiting about 15-20 minutes, just to be sure that everything was finalized, then rebooting the system. On reboot, Windows would boot up and work like a charm.

Finalizing Thoughts
This should work on other systems than an iMac, I just happened to go through it because of an iMac. Of course the steps may vary slightly, but not too much as to be difficult in performing.

Linux works quite well on the iMac. I found Mint a bit faster in reacting than Ubuntu, but not enough to matter greatly. I also found the Windows To Go drive (with Windows 7) a bit slow to startup on a MacBook Pro. However, once booted, it seemed to operate decently.

This is also a great way to bring an entire OS with you wherever you go. The benefits of this are portability and the ability to use programs others may not have available or be able to afford. In either case, at the very least, it is a great way to have a backup system waiting and ready to go.

Furthermore, if a multi-boot situation is out of the question, this may be of help. I have done some dual-boots in my time but stopped once a debilitating issue prevented me from getting into either OS. I now prefer virtualization, but that can be costly in terms of RAM usage.

Amazon: 5 Things They Should Take Responsibility For!

If you've perused my articles then you know how big of a fan I am of Amazon. I think they have fair deals, and their support is second-to-none. But every so often there is something I don't like that they do or don't do. It seems like the problems are too small for Amazon to take heed of, but I've come across them a few too many times where I think there could and should be easy fixes to solve them. This article will explain some of those issues.

Fake Products
One of the biggest issues I have come across is misleading advertising. It happens. However, many of the ones I have seen are knowingly misleading.

A good example of this are Chinese clones or knockoffs smartphones. The fake iPhones are easy enough to spot, but Android smartphones are a lot harder to notice if you don't know the specs. I have come across several fake Galaxy clones or knockoffs that seem like the real deal. After I read the specifications only then do I realize that this is not a true Samsung Galaxy smartphone. One problem is most people don't realize "Clone" is not part of the Samsung nomenclature. And what's worse is that these phones are not clones, if they were, they would be identical in their specifications. So really this is just false advertising. Other listings don't even mention "Clone", they say something else much more subtle in an attempt to trick a buyer.

Unfortunately, it's just another tactic of how to make a buck off of unassuming foreigners. There may be other (domestic) sellers doing the same, but I have no recollection of coming across any.

Item's Out-of-Stock, No Notification
I hate when this is done, whether it's by Amazon or any other company. You purchase a product that gives no indication of low stock and then you wait days, possibly weeks, wondering what happened.

There was an occurrence like this where I had bought a small electronic device and was due to fly overseas less than a week later. I have Prime shipping, so it should've arrived with plenty of time to spare. The item never came. I called Amazon a couple days before I was going to leave and asked what the hold up was. They informed me that the item was a specialty item and had just been shipped. I explained how I was never notified of such and that it would need to be returned since I wouldn't be around to get or use it. In the end, the item never came, so I just requested a refund that I did receive.

Amazon, and all companies, should know that if something is up with their order, they need notify the purchaser quickly and immediately. Customers shouldn't be the ones having to call Amazon to find out if and what trouble there is.

Wrong Prices
This one isn't so bad, but it does aggravate me when prices are advertised lower than what is actually advertised. A lot of times I check the prices for what's used, refurbished, and new. Many times you will find items much cheaper than the Amazon price.

Lately I noticed that prices were off more than $100 for iPhone 6's, and some iPhone 5S cases were actually $10 higher than what was stated. It seems like Apple products are having some problems on Amazon... This does occur with many other products though.

What's even more alarming is that the wrong price is still shown as the lowest prices when checking all the offers, and there is clearly no item at that price! This is probably just a glitch in the system, but one they need to take seriously. People like me, who purchase a lot from Amazon, don't appreciate wasting our time because of incorrect pricing.

No Product AFTER Purchase
From what I can recall, this has happened to me only once. You purchase a product from Amazon and then the item is suddenly unavailable and a refund is automatically processed.

When this happened to me I had gone ahead and purchased a graphic card from a third-party through Amazon. I got a good deal, so I was satisfied. The next day I find out that the graphic card is no longer available and I was given a refund.

This is just bad business practice. I assume the company sells not only online, but in an actual store. If that's true, you really need to learn how to organize inventory for online and in-person sales. It's not that hard, you setup a database or whatnot that denotes when something is sold online or in-store. Or, you divvy up so much inventory for online and in-store to avoid these type of situations.

What if I desperately needed that graphic card for some scientific number-crunching (for example). But I was unable to do it causing a chain of events that got me into a lot of trouble??? Amazon should force third-parties to send all their products to them in order to avoid this, but that'll never happen.

Overseas (Return) Shipping
Amazon does ship overseas, but if you bought a product and it doesn't work or breaks within the 30-day refund period while in the US or UK (or wherever they're stationed), then it must be returned to the country of origin.

Understandably, if you get something while already overseas, then you take the risk of having to ship it back. There may be some recourse, but I doubt it. However, if you picked up an item while in that country, it worked for some time, you left, and then it broke, the rules still apply.

This is garbage in my eyes. If you bought a product from someone, it worked, and then you have to go on a long business trip, then the fault should lie with Amazon, as well as the delivery prices to return the item. In some countries you may be able to ship items fairly inexpensively, but there are more where that is just not an option.

I had a similar experience myself. My Samsung Galaxy S3 had been lost so I went ahead and ordered a Galaxy S4 to replace it. I made sure it was unlocked as I would be traveling a week or two later. The phone arrived and it worked without flaw. Once I was overseas the phone died after approximately one week. Needless to say, I was irate.

I called Amazon and explained the situation and how it was still under the 30 days, and of course they wanted me to pay for the shipping charges. Had I used the local mail it would've been rather cheap, but most people knew that trusting the local mail service was downright risky, not to mention I could not track the item internationally. My alternative was to use a courier like DHL, but even for such a small item, it would cost at least $100! So I spent an hour yelling at some outsourced support representative about how they sold me a product that broke and that was their problem, where I go after I purchase an item should not be a concern. Eventually I wore them down and got a supervisor to note and agree to reimbursing the shipping costs once the item was back with Amazon. I got lucky.

Most people who will go through this will never be so lucky. They will be forced to pay a huge shipping amount for something that may cost much less! Amazon, as big as they are, doesn't seem to have any type of deals in play for international couriers. You would think they would be smart enough to ensure that all places receive the same type of customer service.

Lost Time
As mentioned before, a lot of these troubles can cause time loss. Sometimes it's not a huge deal, but what about those times when it is? Amazon should be at the ready to give credits to those who have truly been screwed.

Sure, it wouldn't be easy to discern if someone truly got screwed because of lost time, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who would have no problem proving it in order to get a $5 credit.

People like me, who have Amazon Prime, really get pissed off because we pay for a premium shipping service and expect no time to be wasted. And while most items will come in a timely manner, the times they don't can and do affect us. This is not just about shipping times, but time wasted for the same reasons written above and more.

Oh, Amazon
I still love Amazon. I don't plan on stopping myself from buying from them unless they pull something really crazy. Even then, it may be hard to get away because they offer the cheapest prices on so many items. My hope is that even though they do very well in how they operate, they take time to evaluate what could be done better rather than trying to progress themselves before doing so.

Amazon: 5 Illegal Tricks of The Trade

Amazon is by far my favorite online store. It is my favorite store even compared to those I can find down the street. They are large and in charge, and have a great support system in place. They are always making advancements into newer markets, and their service is second-to-none. However, there are many of us out there taking advantage of Amazon. I would like to discuss those methods.

Lost, Broken Media, Swap, NIB, Financing

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way responsible for how this information is used. The following information is only for educational purposes.

The Lost Trick
One of the easiest tricks to pull on Amazon is having a "lost" item. What this entails is ordering something from Amazon, receiving the item, then contacting Amazon support and claiming that the item never arrived.

This is an easy trick, and if done right, can be done multiple times. However, someone who has--or almost always has--items lost will likely be caught. It becomes much harder when it is spaced out with legitimate purchases. In the same fashion, inexpensive items are easier to steal than items that cost hundreds of dollars.

How This Hurts Us
While many of us might think that Amazon is a huge company so a few hits here and there isn't going to affect them, the problem becomes how often and how many people pull this trick. If hundreds of people start doing it, they'll likely clamp down on delivery service one way or the other, making it much harder to receive a package than it is now.

In addition, for those of us who actually do lose an item, it could become a big hassle to get a refund if Amazon suspects everyone of trying to swindle them.

The Broken Media Trick
Another trick which is quite effective is ordering a piece of software or movie that comes on DVD or Blu-ray. After the DVD or Blu-ray is received, you quickly make a copy of it and then crack or break the DVD/Blu-ray.

This is a much harder trick for Amazon to battle against unless it opened each item and checked beforehand, making it a "used" product during the process. Think of it like driving a new car off the lot, once it's off the lot the price automatically drops. Amazon will give you a refund and never be-the-wiser of what really happened.

How This Hurts Us
I would have to honestly say this has little effect on Amazon's general base of customers. Not unless the person committing this crime does this repeatedly, forcing Amazon to create new rules and guidelines on how such matters are handled and preempted.

In either case, this is just dishonest. I like owning my actual movies or software. I always make backups in case they do get ruined, but the point of me buying them are to support the companies producing these products. This in turn could affect how those movies or software programs are priced in the future...

The Swap Trick
This trick involves swapping out items and is a bit more devious in my mind. This can be done with most any item of a decent size, and with a little communication, you can end up having a new item free.

An example of this would be if you already had a phone, like a Samsung Galaxy S5. You personally purchased it from Verizon without insurance, and now it has a cracked screen that renders it nearly inoperable. On Amazon someone is selling the exact same model and color, second-hand. You order the phone and wait for it to arrive. After ensuring that it works you contact Amazon and claim that the phone arrived but has a crack on the screen which was never detailed in the listing. Amazon has you return the phone and refunds your money, leaving you with a brand "new" Samsung Galaxy S5 to continue using.

I should note that items do not have to be used, but likely if the item isn't in perfect condition crooks have a better chance of getting away with the dirty deed.

How This Hurts Us
This truly hurts the sellers of Amazon, and by hurting them, that hurts us. If too many people were to perform this trick sellers may be wary and prefer to sell their items elsewhere, somewhere we don't want to buy from.

And if Amazon were to catch on to what was happening, they may go ahead and introduce new policies for used items to ensure (as much as possible) that whatever was sold worked and appeared as detailed. This could be good for us in reality, but it could also cause higher delivery prices, or introduce a new tax to make these new policies possible.

The Still NIB Trick
This still NIB (New-In-Box) trick has been used for a long time. A product is bought that comes in some sort of box and shrink wrapped. You open the box and use the product, then either put it back or keep it, followed by shrink-wrapping the box and sending it back. In the case of Amazon, you contact their support and tell them you no longer want the product and need a refund.

This is definitely riskier than the other tricks on the list, but can still be done. Boxes that have taped edges will be extremely hard to remove and put back as that would be a surefire way to know if someone tampered with the box. And keeping the product is even riskier than sending it back. I would imagine criminals would choose a product sold on through a third-party on Amazon since they would likely not have as much recourse as Amazon itself.

How This Hurts Us
Again, this really hurts the sellers. Which can push sellers to other online shops for selling. I don't think it would be as much of a threat to Amazon's customers as it would be difficult to determine what was done, and I doubt it happens very often, if at all. But there is a chance Amazon would decide to check all boxes first, then re-shrink wrap them to ensure no funny business occurs on either end on the transaction.

The Financing Trick (Update!)
This trick isn't as bad as the others, but it's still immoral nonetheless. Amazon offers a store card, which is much like a credit card, but it can only be used for Amazon purchases. You receive a credit line and make payments for items you either can't afford immediately, or wish to pay off slowly.

The financing is $149 for 6-months with no interest payments, $599 for 12-months with no interest payments, and 2 years on select items (like TV's). If you are unable to pay the full amount within the specified time, the full interest amount will be added to your remaining payments.

This trick is used when you want to get financing, but are just under the amount needed to apply for it. For example, I have $500 worth of items, but would like 12-months of no interest payments instead of six. I then find another item worth at least $99. I agree to the 12-months of no interest payments and wait for my items to arrive. Once they have been delivered, I contact Amazon and tell them I would like to send back my $99 item--and/or any others. They deduct the amount from my payment and allow me to still keep the 12-months of financing.

I have since been told this trick does not actually work. I had an incident where I was trying to buy a new phone along with phone accessories and some other items to get the 12 months of no interest financing. The third-party seller did not send the item, so I had to return the accessories. I called the bank to find out if I would still get the special financing, but they stated no (I believe it would become 6 months of no interest if I had kept the items and they met the $199 price point).


How This Hurts Us
This can come in handy when you genuinely no longer need an item you just ordered, or if done by accident. However, if people use it just to get the special financing and keep sending items back, Amazon will eventually decide not to allow people to return anything unless it's broken in some way. Those who would no longer need a product would then be stuck with it regardless, and still end up making payments for it.

Tricks I've Used
I've never used these tricks for personal gain. That being said, I have had a Blu-ray movie lost in the mail. I contacted Amazon after a month to report it to them and I was immediately given a refund. Another time I did do special financing where I no longer needed one of my items I had purchased. They gave me a shipping label, but I ended up keeping the item.

Don't Hurt Us
The big reason for this article is to not just inform, but to let people know that even if they don't believe these tricks to be immoral, they can affect all Amazon customers. No one wants to pay for other people's "mistakes", and no ones wants procedures to get difficult because of it. If you ever think about doing any of these things, think twice, there is always risk involved and inevitably you end up hurting yourself as well as others.

Why GeekBuying Sucks and BangGood Doesn't

Most people in the US, and other first-world countries, think (and are usually correctly) that if you buy a Chinese-made product, you're taking a risk. I want to review two Chinese websites gaining popularity that are geared towards countries like the US and other English-speaking countries who are looking for cheap products.

Quality Control
When most of us buy a brand name we expect a certain amount of good support as well as a well-functioning product that won't deteriorate after a few month's use. When it comes to items coming from China, most of us know that it is a risk. It could work great, then die after a few months. It could work for one intended purpose flawlessly but not work at all for another. Or it may just not work period!

I am not trying to bad-mouth China. Instead, I want to explain why people think like this about their products. The main reason is quality control.

Let me first start off with an example of how China can create quality products. It's my most overused example, but one of the best nonetheless. Apple creates its iPhone and other products in China. If they were to produce duds a good portion of the time, they would not be the most profitable company in the world. What is done to curb that (as no product line can get away without a few defective devices), is implement regulations and policies that must be adhered to in order to have high quality control. This ensures that its consumers rarely get defective products and that Apple still makes a killing not only on their over-inflated retail prices, but from their cheap Chinese labor.

That is what you want when you buy a Chinese-made item. However, most of the items being pumped out of China seldom have this approach. There are big brand names from China like Xiaomi or TP-Link that do make good products, and for the most part, seem to have good quality control enforced. But the majority of Chinese products first-world consumers are willing to buy are usually cheap knockoffs of something else.

You can find these in major online shopping outlets, and a vast majority is now made up of electronic devices ranging from WiFi adapters to USB flash drives. Many of which break down just after enough time has passed where you cannot return it to the store you bought it from. What's worse is that many of these products do not have any warranties, so there is no recourse whatsoever.

One reason I try to avoid Chinese products when possible is that they often don't even follow guidelines for safety measures. There are plenty of people, in China as well, who have bought charging adapters for their phones to be shocked later on. Most survive, but a mutual friend of mine has a child that was shocked and killed because of such shoddy workmanship.

Customer Support
The next biggest problem is customer support. If your Chinese item does have customer support, it can be a nightmare just trying to get it replaced. You normally have to speak to someone who doesn't have a good enough grip of the English language to understand what's going on. And even if they comprehend what's happening, they may not be able to provide any type of support.

The only time this may not be true is usually of larger companies who have opened up a company in your country, where you can deal with people who you can talk to easily. I have had to do this with LG, and while it was definitely out-of-my-way in terms of location, I had a smartphone replaced free-of-charge. Then again, LG is a Korean company. And if thinking of Apple, it's already a first-world country business that is well-known for their support. They just happen to make their products in China.

What lack of or minimal customer support does to a consumer is not so much having them contemplate whether they can rely on customer support to handle issues; but instead questioning whether a person is willing to spend so much money (that they will never get back) if the product never works, stops working, or can't be fixed.

Quality control and customer support are the two major hurdles Chinese companies need to address if they ever want to rival companies like Apple, Samsung, etc.

Chinese Goods Websites
Chinese goods websites have been around for a long time now, and the majority of them are just scams. I come across numerous ones that offer ridiculous prices for professional cameras and branded laptops. The only way to know that they are on the up-and-up is to check how purchases are made.

On many of these nefarious websites purchases can only be made by bank wire transfer or a service similar to Western Union. These sites are scams. There could be a few legitimate ones, but I've never come across any.

Another decent method to know if these sites are legitimate is by checking their domain name information. While where the domain name is registered does not always help, the length of time the site has been around may help. A site that has been around years may actually be real, however, if they only offer the same purchase options as stated above, you can rest assured that you are not missing the deal of a lifetime.

These sites scam people out of money that people will never get back, and continue doing so until they are shut down. They usually just spring up under another domain name days later.

If the companies offer credit card payments or something like PayPal, then normally you are on a legitimate site. And even if not, and they do happen to try to bilk you out of your money, you can use your bank or PayPal to start a claim and get your money back. Just as a note, banks normally give two months to start a claim, while PayPal gives three.

Preface
I first heard of GeekBuying from an article on an Android smartphone (THL 5000). The author mentioned the site since it was the only place they could find that sold the phone. I checked them out and they seemed good enough to give a try when I had a need to do so.

GeekBuying is in English, and good English at that. It defaults to USD for prices, which can be changed to a variety of other currencies. There is a chat button, but it reminds me too much of the Chinese flag, indicating to me that having a short chat will turn into an hour long ordeal. They even have email newsletters in (good) English. They seem to always be having a sale or discounts, and advertise coupons for many of their products. It is a simple layout with easy navigation.

BangGood is virtually the same as GeekBuying but with an unarguably stupid name. They offer much of the same stuff. The reason I had used them was my niece needed something from them that GeekBuying did not have.

Smarter Chinese companies are now making well-made English websites to entice foreign shoppers. They must be hiring English speakers to type up their website and newsletters. It's a smart move, but that doesn't mean much since really anyone can do that.

Most of their products are reasonably priced, and you can purchase a lot of items that aren't available in the US or other first-world countries. Additionally good is that they offer PayPal as a form of payment, as well as credit card payments.

My Experience - GeekBuying
I had wanted to use GeekBuying for some time, but I really had no need. A niece of mine was looking for a new GoPro and I recommended the Xiaomi Yi Action Camera since it was 1/3 the price. The quality of this camera is quite exceptional from reviews and comparisons I have seen. The only lacking aspect is 4K, but that's only a minor issue for myself. On top of this, Xiaomi is a world-renowned Chinese smartphone company, so it should be made of excellent quality.

I persuaded my niece to buy one along with a waterproof case from GeekBuying. She agreed and I purchased it immediately (around the 20-21st) with the fastest shipping available from DHL. I got confirmation emails of my purchase and read that there was some small processing time. Of course no mention of actually how long was defined. The next day I made the exact same order for my niece's friend.

After about a week, I emailed asking what the hold up was? Where was my tracking numbers?

I first got a reply saying it was still processing the order. Now, in my lifetime, I have never had to go through such a long process order for items like this. The money was already withdrawn from my bank account, and since I used PayPal, I had a record of it there as well.

I responded explaining that the money was already gone so I know it wasn't a processing problem. Not only that, I had purchased an item from BangGood the same day which had already arrived...

I was then sent an email explaining that the camera (notice no plural) was ready to be shipped by DHL. And that the waterproof case was a "presale" item and would not be able to be shipped until the end of the month. I checked the website and the picture for the waterproof case had been slightly altered to add a small ribbon in the corner to say "Pre-Sale".

This was something that was not stated on the site during my purchase, not only that, I would not have made the purchase otherwise. My niece was going on a trip on the second of the next month and wanted to use it while diving.

Beyond this, they also stated that they could send the camera by DHL, and that they would then send the waterproof case by registered airmail. Of course I wanted the camera ASAP, considering that the point of paying for fast shipping is to send the items quickly, but I shouldn't be paying as much if they're just going to ship my second item through local (cheaper) services, ones that cannot be tracked.

I again responded but stated my demands. I expected both of my camera orders to be sent by DHL immediately, as they offered. But that I would not accept any type of other shipping since I paid for DHL and I wanted tracking.

They ended up shipping one camera, the one from my second order. It took a little over a week to arrive.

I also explained in great detail that if I did not receive email replies within two days addressing these issues and acknowledging what I wanted (and paid for), I would initiate partial (and whole if necessary) refunds from PayPal. I reiterated that point again and again as I told them no reply would result in the same consequence.

It took them days to respond and asked if I would like the other camera shipped. In capital letters I told them to send it immediately and provide me a tracking number. It took them another few days before it was finally sent...

The second camera arrived, but I had not received any emails about the current status of waterproof cases. By this point I had one email telling me they would be available by the end of the month, and another at the beginning of the next month.

Suffice to say I was furious at such as crappy company and identical service. I made some idle threats, which I wanted to follow up on, but since it was not my money nor my products, I had to sit back and wait. I did state that I would wait until the 10th of the month, since that would be the ending of the beginning of the month if you were to divide it into three sections.

Finally, on the 12th (of the next month), the first package with the waterproof case was sent. It stated it was sent by Hong Kong post, and that it would take 15-30 days to arrive! Had I been in the US at the time, I would understand the tardiness of the package, but I was only hours away by airplane, so this was just plain stupidity on their part. That's not even going back over how I paid for fast shipping through DHL.

On the next day I received an email that the second package was sent. Mind you, the only thing they seemed to do right was send my first order first instead of the other way around like with the cameras. What was odd was that a courier named NHLPost was carrying the second package... Why would you need different carriers? Generally, a company chooses a courier and they stick with it. I chalk this up to them either not having a proper scheduled time of when to ship packages, or that they are genuinely a company so lacking in infrastructure that they can't even decide upon the most basic of things. If it matters, the arrival time was also between 15-30 days.

What might be of interest to some is that before the waterproof cases were sent, I decided to check the website once more for them. There was the waterproof cases I bought, but now there was another case available about $4-$5 cheaper, that looks exactly the same...

The first waterproof case arrived, followed by the second, about two weeks later. This is despite having been shipped the day after the first one... The ONLY good news from this was that my ordeal was over and everything seemed to work.

Another interesting note about the waterproof cases was that the packaging they came in stated that if no sender could be reached to return the package to somewhere in the Netherlands. I don't even know what this could mean. Maybe it's actually a product of the Netherlands, but other than that, I have no idea why a foreign country would bother spending time and money sending a return package to anywhere other than its original destination.

My Experience - BangGood
My niece also wanted a special wrist wrap to use the camera while hang gliding, as did her friend. Since GeekBuying did not have anything like that, I turned to BangGood.

It was practically the same setup, except they have some random tracking site for their items. There didn't seem to be a recognizable option as far as third-party couriers go, so I couldn't verify anything about the shipments.

The good news is that the "processing time" was incredibly short for the first order and it arrived in just over a week's time. The bad news is the second order didn't seem to have the same timeline despite being made the day after.

Their tracking for the order was not working and I kept getting an error on their contact form that stated the order didn't even exist. I eventually wrote to them and explained the situation asking why it was taking so long and that no reply would result in a refund through PayPal.

I got a reply that gave me a working tracking number to their tracking site and showed it in transit. I was told that it had been out-of-stock and it was just now being shipped, but that I may have to wait 7-25 days!

Again, these orders all had the fastest shipping rates paid for, so 7-25 days is way too long, especially considering the wait time that has already passed. I responded that I was happy to wait if they would refund the shipping, otherwise, it needed to be here by the next week or I would start a refund regardless.

They sent me another email apologizing for the confusion thinking I had chose free shipping. A week later the second wrist wrap arrived.

The Good
Both companies offer a variety of products that are either hard to get at cheap prices in first-world countries, or that are simply not available in them. The prices are inexpensive, and they offer free shipping on everything.

It also helps a lot that it caters towards English-speakers, making it easy to find what you want and order it. In addition, proper payment methods such as credit cards and PayPal help make customers from first-world countries feel secure since they have a way to file claims if they are somehow screwed out of their money.

The products from these sites can be of excellent quality. Yet, they still offer plenty of products I would say are a risk to take since they are not brand names, or even stamped with a name at all. Despite that, if you're willing to take the risk, you can get some of those no-name items fairly cheap.

The Bad
There are quite a few bad items, none to be taken lightly if spending a decent amount--which I would never recommend for a first-time customer.

The first is the customer support. While they can afford to send newsletters and make a pretty website with acceptable English, they can't afford to hire a staff that doesn't speak broken English. They use phrases that piss you off more than help, like "be at ease", that conjures up feelings that you are being scammed.

Another grand issue is selling something that is not ready to be sold. It's great that you correct your mistake after-the-fact, but what about people like me who already bought it because it is rightly expected to be ready to ship?

Furthermore, if you offer fast shipping, but you pretend that processing times takes days upon days, then you are misleading people into believing products will be delivered in a timely manner.

To add to that point, if I pay for multiple items, all to be shipped via a specified courier so that they can be expedited, all items should be shipped via that courier regardless if sent sooner or later. It's not the fault of the customer if you do not factor these types of situations into your overhead expenses during checkout, and they should not be the ones having to pay for it when they're doing that company the courtesy of shopping there. All this does, just as in my case, is ensure that I will never use or recommend that company to anyone else, and go so far as to utilize my time to find alternatives for friends or family who are about to make the mistake of using said company.

One final issue I have is the need for the customer to contact the company when something goes wrong. The customer should only need to pay and wait for their products to arrive. In fact, they are oblivious to any mishaps unless notified (or someone who keeps an eye on these dealings as closely as I do). It is not their responsibility to reach out and ask why nothing has happened. It is the company's sole responsibility to reach out and communicate if anything is amiss. Again, simple things like this ensure customers like me never want to use their service again. If something takes too long, the fear of not being able to get a refund also becomes a reality, which prods people like me to initiate a refund regardless of what support is given.

While not an issue, I would think that mistakes like these should be handled with discount coupons or vouchers. Even if I don't use them, I still feel better that at least I got them. Anything at all that resembles a willingness to admit fault and wish to fix it is a plus that these companies seem oblivious to.

The Verdict
So, in light of all the predicaments I had with (mainly) GeekBuying, I think it is quite obvious as to who takes the cake here: BangGood

I believe the only difference (besides support) I noticed was shipping costs and how shipping was tracked. If you weighed only those differences, GeekBuying may seem to be the more appealing of the two companies. However, once you include support, I think BangGood lunges ahead by miles.

This doesn't mean that one or the other will always be better or worse. In a few years the tables could change and I could be writing about the fall of BangGood and the rise of GeekBuying (even if unlikely since I have no intention of going back to GeekBuying unless there is no viable alternative). As for now though, I recommend using BangGood if possible.

FREE Custom Domain Email

When you're creating a website you may be faced with creating emails for the domain name that you--or your client--purchase. It's not a difficult thing to do, and many domain name resellers will even offer you this service at an additional price. If you are not part of a huge business, or just need some custom domain name emails for a business card, you can't go wrong with free! Today I want to explain a way to do just that.

Zoho Mail

Google Domains
Google Domains used to be a great free service for setting up custom domain emails. You initially received 25 emails, along with other free services like a catch-all feature and aliases. They later downsized the amount of emails to 10. Eventually, they decided to cash in on this service and force people to use Google Apps for Work. Anyone who was already using the free service still retained their free email accounts (although even that has since changed), and now everyone else must pay.

Outlook.com
Outlook.com had its own custom domain email setup that was similar to Google Domains. It too was free and started with 50 free email accounts. When I last used this service (2013) I believe it was limited to 10 free email accounts. They have since forced people to migrate to their own Office 365 subscription service in order to continue using Microsoft as their custom domain name email provider.

Zoho Mail
Since then I have turned to Zoho Mail as my free custom domain name email provider. The setup is as simple if not simpler than either Google or Microsoft. The differences are that you can only have up to 5 free accounts, and each comes with a maximum of 5GB of storage.

The Zoho Mail interface is quite clean and simple. There seems to be a few additional features that I did not recall seeing from Google or Microsoft. You can restrict POP3/IMAP access for any account, limit how much inbound and outbound traffic an email account has daily, and privileges that can be given to users to create groups.

In Google and Microsoft the admins were left deciding when to create groups and who had access. What I thought was very interesting was that groups in Zoho Mail have different group levels. Each group is essentially a mail forwarding service sent to the designated users ranging from all email accounts to only those chosen. On top of that, Zoho Mail made it much simpler to do all of this if need be.

Zoho's big "selling" point is that the service is ad-free. I never saw any ads when I used either Google or Microsoft, but I can imagine how annoying they would've been if so.

The Setup
Setup is simple and can be quick if you have access to your domain name's DNS records:

1. Select the free option from Zoho's site.
2. You will be asked if you have an existing domain name or wish to purchase a new one. Assuming you already have one, type in your domain name and proceed.
3. You will then need to enter a CNAME, followed by a MX record for verification. Along the way you will be asked to create user accounts and groups, which can be done at a later point.

It's a fairly simple setup to get through. I spent a total of maybe 10 minutes to verify everything and add user email accounts.

Mobile Setup
If you have a device with Android or iOS, retrieving your email will be a cinch. Just look in the Google Play Store or iTunes Store and search for the Zoho Mail app. Once downloaded, login with your credentials and you will then have access to your email.

If you happen to be on a Windows or Blackberry device, you will need to go the POP3/IMAP route. You can follow the instructions here for setting those devices up. A word of warning, if you do use IMAP to sync, retrieve and send email, you will first need to enable the IMAP setting for the account(s) in Zoho Mail.

Voila!
I was a big fan of Google Apps and was disheartened to see it go. Likewise, I enjoyed Outlook.com's service until they decided to make it only subscription-based.

Zoho seems like a good service, I have not found anything to suggest otherwise. They claim it will also have this free service forever, and I hope they do. I guess it will really depend on if they stay in business and if they never go back on their word. Only time will tell.

Torrent Cloud Services (UploadHero Requiem)

In a previous article entitled, "Torrents: The Smart Way to NOT Get Caught. Or, Why You Shouldn't Use a VPN Anymore.", I explained what would be a great way to not only have unlimited storage but download torrents without having to use your IP address. Unfortunately, the service in question has since disappeared. I apologize to those who did use it beforehand, which I assume was not many if at all, but I do have several alternatives to choose from.

Boxopus, Bitport.io, Hive, Put.io, & Filestream.me

Update
I wanted to post a quick update to the former post that is a jumping point for this article. A couple weeks ago I noticed a maintenance sign popping up instead of UploadHero's normal self-promoting layout. It stated there was "maintenance" being done, and sorry for any inconvenience.

Thinking nothing of it, I checked again a few days later. I continued checking for about two weeks before a 502 error page began to show in place of the "maintenance" page. Using Google, nothing really came up in terms of the website or its services. That was to be expected since most of my results are filtered for English and the US region.

I decided to use Google France and give UploadHero a search. The first site was not so much about UploadHero but about a service that was hosting a forum through them. While explaining its own predicament it did give valuable information on UploadHero's status. 

Evidently, someone from UploadHero's staff mentioned they would be closing down a few weeks back. They then described the messages that I have been getting, and that it is now down for good. There was no mention of why they had to go, but it seems fairly obvious...

No email notification was ever sent regarding why UploadHero closed or why they pretended maintenance was being done.

Apologies
For those that did join UploadHero, I hope it was not for the lifetime membership like myself. I got my money's worth, so I'm not overly upset, but anyone else who purchased a lifetime membership after my article may not have.

Alternatives
I didn't want to leave any readers out of options if they were planning on using a service like UploadHero. The focal point of my previous article was to show you a better way to do torrents. UploadHero offered unlimited storage and had other capabilities, which I had thought would be the best service since you could get a lot more for less...

As such, I wanted to produce a quick list of some of the other torrent cloud services that are available and explain a bit about each.

Explanation
Torrent cloud services allow people to avoid the "hassle" of setting up a torrent client and downloading the files they find themselves. This seems like a great alternative, save the fact that most are not free. Most offer subscription-based payments.

One downside that should be mentioned is that they likely have no anonymity clauses in the sense that if the government wants to know who's downloading what, they are going to give it to them. Some preach anonymity, but don't make mention of any log files being kept or what they do if the government comes knocking. In the big picture against piracy this is probably a good thing, but sometimes it won't be. 

Boxopus
This is a torrent cloud service that seemed to have a big impact on the torrent community probably because you could attach your Dropbox account and have files downloaded to it. Unfortunately, Dropbox decided to disallow this feature and has revoked Boxopus' API.

Boxopus offers 30GB of storage space. You can pay $1.49 for 7 days, $14.49 for 3 months, and $49.99 for a year. They boast unlimited download speed and file amounts in addition to SSL encryption.

They do offer a traffic recharge feature which apparently increases your storage back to 30GB even if you have files downloaded. The file life before automatic deletion is 5 days.

Bitport.io
Is a little different in that it also allows you to stream media without having to download. Sounds a bit risky on their part, but a cool feature nonetheless.

Bitport.io offers a free "trial" (no mention of if there is an actual time limit) that comes with 2GB of cloud storage, no SSL or antivirus scans, only one download at-a-time at 100MB/hr., with their streaming feature for mobile devices and PC's. All the other paid offers have SSL and antivirus scans, unlimited download speeds, as well as the streaming feature. The tiers are $5/mo. for 30GB of storage with up to 5 downloads, $10/mo. for 100GB of storage with up to 10 downloads, and $15/mo. for 250GB of storage with up to 20 downloads.

They too have SSL encryption with the added bonus of anitvirus software that will check your torrents to ensure they are clean. This is likely a good idea for the company as it will probably claim illegal software has trojans since many of the hacks packaged are seen as such (despite not being so).

Hive
Another popular torrent cloud service is Hive. They seem to offer a bit more bang-for-your-buck! It is pitched as a way to share files with friends, not that it sounds believable.

Hive offers a completely free plan with unlimited storage, unlimited SD media streaming on all devices, but with limited download speeds, no ability to download media, and the inclusion of advertisements. The premium plan is $8/mo. for HD streaming, "fast" download speeds, offline media syncing, and no ads. The annual plan is $88/mo. which saves you a month off the regular price and gives you 3 one-year coupons to give to friends or family.

They have apps for both iOS and Android devices, and even have a Chrome browser extension available. There is no mention of any type of encryption used...

Put.io
I like the company's website as they try to modernize itself for a younger audience. They are also fairly direct about how Put.io can be used with their preview slide of some shows being downloaded. That alone gives them some credit in my book for honesty.

Put.io offers a 99¢ 1-day trial that includes their first tier of options available. Unlike most torrent cloud services, they offer four different options with no mention of download speeds. Option A is 100GB of storage with 10 slots of simultaneous downloads at $9.99/mo. ($99/yr.). Option B is 500GB of storage with 20 slots of downloads at $19.99/mo. ($199/yr.). Option C is 1TB of storage with 50 slots of downloads at $29.990/mo. ($299/yr.). And option D is 2TB of storage with 100 slots of downloads at $49.99/mo. ($499/yr.).

What's interesting is they mention their seed ratios, which goes from 2.0 for option A to 20.0 for all other options. The file life is also mentioned, which is 2 days for options A to 10 days for all other options. One other aspect I liked is that unlike any of the other sites, they immediately ask if you want automated renewal on or off.

Filestream.me
This site is used by many because of its free capabilities. It is limited in download speed, and promotes itself as though it is focused on uploading your own files as opposed to being used solely for torrents.

Filestream.me offers their free service with only 1 download at-a-time of up to 1GB in size, with advertisements. The bronze service is up to 5 downloads of up to 10GB in size for $5/mo. The silver service is up to 7 downloads of up to 25GB in size for $7/mo. The gold service is up to 10 downloads of up to 100GB in size for $10/mo. Each paid service has discounts for 3 months (10%), 6 months (15%), and 12 months (20%).

They have a lot of interesting features like the ability to download from certain cloud file hosting services (ranging from none for free accounts to several for the gold service). They offer SSL encryption and acknowledge hiding your IP address. 

Other Alternatives?
There are still a lot out there worth looking through to see what they offer. Here is a list from AlternativeTo and here is one from Quora.

Thoughts?
There are some really good deals here, and some worth looking into and trying. There's no best as far as I can see since it depends on what you need which can vary from person-to-person.

Will this protect you if you're infringing on copyrighted material? Doubtful. It seems like a lot of these are setup in first-world countries, where they can likely grab logs and IP addresses to target you specifically. You may have a better chance with a foreign company, it should be a bit harder for the long arms of the law to catch you, but not impossible.

I wanted to include FilesLoop.com in the list as they have a lot of popular cloud files services to download from as a great additional feature, but after trying their 1-download trial, my experience made me think twice. I found a file from RapidGator.net and had FilesLoop.com download it for me. It took a minute but a download then popped up for me through my download manager. It lasted all of 1% before losing connection and being unable to restart, wasting my trial.

DL Safely!
These are some of the most common torrent cloud services at the moment. I'm sure more will come soon and that should weed out the best from the wannabees. I think it's a very innovative idea and has great advantages, as long as you're using it properly.