services

PayPal responds to clients’ anger

Internet News, Marketing 236 Responses »

Sep 132012

PayPal still coming up short for conferences and design publications

PayPal continues to irk those in the web design industry, but the payment giant insists change is on the way. The latest anti-PayPal rumble arrived off the back of the company blocking access to the account designer and author Elliot Jay Stocks used for 8 Faces, and an account owned by Andy McMillan of The Manual.

Stocks ranted online last week about the service, railing against “numerous horror stories about what happens when PayPal’s staff blindly follow their draconian rules without applying common sense”. Stocks had suffered multiple account freezes owing to payment spikes PayPal had been pre-warned about, and was baffled by demands for postal delivery receipts for PDFs as a means to unlock the account. Prior to the latest freeze, Stocks had transferred his balance to a bank account; McMillan wasn’t so lucky.

MORE: PayPal responds to clients’ anger | News | .net magazine.

Burned by PayPal

Internet News, Marketing 293 Responses »

Sep 132012

PayPal stands accused of ‘burning’ web conferences and negatively impacting the web industry. We talk to those affected and ask how the payment provider could improve its service

“Using PayPal to receive funds for your business seems to be a game of Russian roulette,” argues UX designer Aral Balkan. He’s one of an increasing number of web conference organisers who claim to have been ‘burned’ by the payment giant.

The main sticking point seems to be the way the payment company can lock accounts for significant periods of time, freezing a business’s funds – often when it most needs them.

This can cause big problems for organisers of web conferences. In Balkan’s case, a month before his Brighton event, Update 2011, a three-month freeze was placed on the conference’s accounts. “What business can survive without cash flow for three months?” he protests.

MORE: Burned by PayPal | Feature | .net magazine.

Google to Shut Down iGoogle

Internet News 271 Responses »

Jul 062012

Google has a long history of unceremoniously killing off its less-used services, having previously axed once-high-profile efforts like Wave, Buzz, Knol and Gears, among others.

The most notable Google service on the chopping block this time is iGoogle, the company’s customizable homepage. Similar to Netvibes, MyYahoo or the now defunct PageFlakes, iGoogle was a dashboard for the web, allowing users to embed gadgets like weather, email and news.

When iGoogle first launched in 2005 it was something of a me-too effort, duplicating features found in other services, but adding numerous Google-centric gadgets. Eventually iGoogle’s gadget selection grew to encompass everything from feed readers to web-based games.

Citing the growth of mobile and web apps that “put personalized, real-time information at your fingertips,” Google says “the need for iGoogle has eroded over time.”

Fans of iGoogle don’t need to panic just yet, Google doesn’t plan to completely shut the service down until November 1, 2013.

MORE: Google to Shut Down iGoogle | Webmonkey | Wired.com.