OT: Amazon can't build a decent website

Ah they've fixed it! So Mr Mohammed did indeed report it to the technical department. When I last looked, the drop down on the top right did not exist until I'd selected a category.

Piano? Is that something like an electric keyboard? In the decades before television and the internet, many homes had a piano. It was a form of entertainment.

My only regret in life is not learning to play when I was a kid. I don't need a Fazioli or Steinway, just be able to bang the keys enough to entertain myself. Tried some years ago but did not do so good.

rbowman wrote

Because it's a lot cheaper to employ Philippinos etc instead.

We have the bizarre situation where quite a few of the govt call centers employ immigrants from Ireland etc whose 'english' leaves quite a bit to be desired.

That changed well over a year ago now.

I lack the coordination to pay piano. And I have short pinkies.

And two heads and a microdick.

iirc the college bookstore had a similar plan. It was rather a racket where a professor would produce a book that was then required for his course. Back in the '60s that meant you were dropping $100 for the books per semester and that's when a McDonald's burger went for 19 cents.

I think Amazon has some sort of textbook rental scheme now.

We had an upright that I never did anything with. A church was going out of business and a minister I knew went over to load up some of the odds and ends. I saw an old piano and he said if I wanted it there was room in the U-Haul. We got to my place and two guys pushed it off the end of the truck. I was standing there alone holding it up but I'd be damned if I'd drop it.

There are some in town here and there on the sidewalk for people to noodle around with but I've never tried. Most of the stuff where I know the written music is for the Irish flute and is in G or D so I'd have to figure out which of the black keys are F# and C#.

Can I say two things about the current Amazon sites. 1. They are at least accessible to the blind, however

Works fine in Chrome - always has.

But not until you have selected a 'department'.

What does that mean?

I type in 'mens underpants' and it list them by price.

Irrespective of 'department'. Whatever that may mean?

And all the other browsers.

Nope, Amazon changed that relatively recently.

Nope, no need to select a department anymore.

Do what he said, it works fine.

And working for me too now. I guess it was just a glitch. I assumed it was a permanent fault, as they've always had a dodgy website.

It remains to be seen if they're competitive with Ebay though. In the past I've found 90% of things cost less on Ebay, and there's about 4 times more choice. Probably due to Amazon's extortionate (well they were when I tried to sell computers on there 5 years ago) fees.

Agreed, most websites are far too complicated. I can't imagine how much worse that would be for someone who's blind.

There used to be "exchange bookshops" (not talking about universities) where they gave you back half what you paid for the book. Then it was resold for slightly less than the cover price, dropping when the book became tatty. The store stamped their name inside the cover to identify it as theirs - unless you asked them not to.

And I still have a number of those books purchased from such a shop in Bedminster, Bristol in the early 70s, complete with the stamp.