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December 18, 2024

Asurion Warranty and Cloud Backup The Good and Bad

TLDR = Asurion warranty returned my $415 purchase price, and all my data was saved on Msft OneDrive.

My beloved Beelink $415 computer died a month and a half ago. Wouldn't power on. I had purchased the Asurion warranty via Amazon. I'm a sucker for warranties. In this case, it worked with caveats.

I loved this small form factor, Intel NUC style computer. I had upgraded the ram and the nvme. Great price/performance. Alas, a year and a half later, it died - wouldn't power on.

I created an Asurion claim but didn't want to wait for the repair as I had work to do. So I bought a second "identical" Beelink delivered the next day. I took the upgraded ram and nmve, put the originals back in and shipped off the original for repair under warranty.

I put the old nvme into the new computer and -- booted right back up! I was back in business with thoughts that I'd get the original repaired in time for me to send back the second one. I never worried about my data as I have all my data on OneDrive. My "My Documents" and other directories are linked to OneDrive so I don't worry about my data. I also have periodic local backups but would have been screwed if that had been my only data recourse this time.

Asurion held onto my machine for 2 weeks with occasional information free status updates. "We are working on your computer". They have NOBODY to call and talk to. The AI chatbot was no help. And it wouldn't respond to "I want to talk to a human".

I resorted to x/twitter where I got a response and DM's that escalated the effort until, two more days later, they refunded my original purchase.

My second version of Beelink that was the same as the first had dropped $80 in price, so I made money on this deal.

Ultimately the Asurion paid for my computer after 1.5 years of use. So I'm glad I bought it. But I am not thrilled with their lack of human support.

I'm glad that OneDrive among its other uses, automatically backs my data up to the cloud.

I still think the Beelink's are decent computers for the money. I'll withhold final judgment with this second one.

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Be sure to subscribe here at Lunduke.Locals.com to get all shows & articles (including interviews with other amazing nerds).

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@Lunduke do you think the crew here would be interested in switching to MattChat for the Discord server? It runs on modest hardware. Super easy to setup, etc. No pressure, just curious.

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Last call for Emacs & Vim Walls!

The “Emacs” & “Vim” Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriber Walls are on track to be full some time tomorrow (Monday) afternoon!

If you want to get your name on one of these, chop chop!

 

As soon as these Walls are full, I will update Lunduke.com (check the bottom) and send out the final result.

Will “Emacs” or “Vim” be the first to fill up?

I’ll let you in on a secret: It’s going to be very close.

  • So if you already have a Lifetime Subscription (and are not on any other Lifetime Wall), email me (bryan at lunduke.com) and let me know which Wall you want to be listed on.

  • Or grab a new Lifetime Subscription (scroll down, the details are below). They’re mega discounted and it takes 60 seconds.

Either way. You’ve gotta move quick to get on one of those two Walls.

How to Grab a Discounted Lifetime Subscription:

Through the end of July, Lifetime Subscriptions are only $125 (regularly $300).

And you only pay once. For life. Which means that every month, the “cost per month” gets lower and lower. Save money, and show your support for The Lunduke Journal at the same time. Win-win.

There are 3 different ways to pick up a Lunduke Journal Lifetime sub (Substack, Locals, & Bitcoin). All of them work great and are listed below. Choose whichever is easiest for you!

Get a Lifetime Subscription via Locals:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Locals.com/support.

  2. Select “Give Once“.

  3. Enter “125“ into the amount field.

  4. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

Get a Lifetime Subscription via Substack:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Substack.com/subscribe.

  2. Select the “Lifetime Subscription” option.

  3. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

If you would also like full, Lifetime access to Lunduke.Locals.com (which is included):

  1. Make a free account on Lunduke.Locals.com.

  2. Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the email address you use on both Substack and Locals (can be different email addresses).

  3. Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status on Locals.

Get a Lifetime Subscription with Bitcoin:

Bonus: Save an extra $10 with the Bitcoin option, as Bitcoin processing has fewer fees associated with it.

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  • Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the following information: What time you made the transaction, how much was sent (in Bitcoin), and the email address you use (or plan to use) on Locals.com or Substack.com.

-Lunduke

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Emacs & Vim Walls almost full!

Quick update on The Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriber Walls:

These bad boys are filling up fast. If you don’t have a Lifetime Subscription yet, you can snag one at a mega-ultra-discount right now and get your name on one of these sweet, sweet Walls… show the world your support for The Lunduke Journal!

  1. The Emacs” and “Vim” Lifetime Subscriber Walls are almost full! Which one will be completed first? I expect to announce the victor some time this weekend! If you want to be sure your name gets onto either “Emacs” or “Vim”, let me know very quickly. Like… today.

 
  1. The “Desqview/X” Wall (aka “Wall 17”) launched a few days ago and is off to an awesome start. The first request to add a name to “Desqview/X” arrived literally 2 minutes after I posted it. I can’t blame him. This Wall makes me smile! But there’s still over half of the space left, so you’ve got at least a few days to get your name on this one.

 
  1. The “BeOS R5” Wall has just one spot left. ONE. First come, first served.

Thank you to everyone for the massive outpouring of support for The Lunduke Journal.

If you don’t have your Lifetime Sub yet, get one while they’re discounted!

You make all of this possible!

-Lunduke

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Ubuntu 4.10 Wall Full, New Desqview/X Wall, Emacs & Vim update

Hey, all you amazing nerds!

Some quick updates on the Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriber Walls (which are just ridiculously fun):

  1. The Emacs” and “Vim” Lifetime Subscriber Walls are filling up fast! If you want get your name on one of these (and push one towards victory over the other), I recommend letting me know pretty gosh darned quickly.

 
  1. The discount for Lifetime Subscriptions has been extended through the end of July… because filling up these Lifetime Walls is fun! This discount makes it easier (and cheaper) for everyone to take part while supporting The Lunduke Journal. If you haven’t grabbed yours yet, pick a Wall (check the bottom of Lunduke.com) and grab a discounted subscription!

  2. The “Ubuntu 4.10” Wall is now full! Check that bad boy out in all it’s super brown glory!

 
  1. We’ve added Wall number 17! The “Desqview/X” Wall! I love this one. Might need to put my own name on it (I can do that, right?)…

 
  1. The “BeOS R5” Wall has enough space left for just a few more names. Maybe 2 or 3. Will be closing that one down soon!

Thank you to everyone for the massive outpouring of support for The Lunduke Journal. You make all of this possible!

-Lunduke

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