Auto expire Subscribers (was) broke


Recommended Posts

Um. I bought a Tier 2 subscription update when it was launched; the subscription was to be valid until October 2010.

Just now I received the following email:

Mephistopheles,

You have been sent this email as your subscription payment has been completed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Details

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Today, 13:09

Package:

Cost:

Expires: --

This email is for your information only and no further action is required.

You can manage your subscriptions here: https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?s=0&app=subscriptions&

... while my subscription seems to have run out on the forum.

What's going on, folks?

I bought upgrade to Sub2, (27 March 2009), and sub1 (29 January 2009) on the promise that the sub2 would merely *extend* our time. Now it seems like I've been shafted from having my sub1 package... I know it's not alot of money and it's technically a donation etc, but I'm poor now and I liked having a yellow badge :(

Thanks alot, but I don't think I'll be subscribing again...

Yes, for some reason a bunch of subscriptions were set to TWO years, no-one was shafted here.

This probably is another glitch with the upgrade.

Sorry for the inconvenience but its not fair on other subscribers that some were getting two years when everyone else paid for one year.

Anyone that can email me proof that their sub is NOT actually expired please PM me, or email the subscription confirmation at neobond [at] neowin . net

Thanks.

What on earth is going on? First I get the email below making me think I've been auto-charged for something

TCLN Ryster, You have been sent this email as your subscription payment has been completed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Details

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Today, 13:09

Package:

Cost:

Expires: --

This email is for your information only and no further action is required.

You can manage your subscriptions here: http://www.neowin.ne...=subscriptions&

I paid for my upgrade to tier 2 in October 2009. It should not have expired already. Please fix this.

Dear Ryan Spooner,

Your payment for ?15.00 EUR to [email protected] has been sent.

It may take a few moments for this transaction to appear in the Recent Activitylist on your Account Overview.

Payment details

Amount: ?15.00 EUR

Transaction Date: 9 Oct. 2009

Transaction ID: 3GP05828NM727615Y

Subject: You've got funds.

Yours sincerely,

PayPal

Your monthly account statement is available anytime; just log in to your account at https://www.paypal.c...cr?cmd=_history.

To correct any errors, please contact us through our Help Centre at https://www.paypal.c...cmd=_contact_us.

Apologies TCLN Ryster yours has been fixed.

Same here, I paid 20 euro's Apr. 8, 2009.

12 July '08 it says.

Heres a history, you can see the last transaction for whatever reason was given two years instead of one.. So you haven't lost out at all really.

post-2-12697762819799.png

Steve, so the Tier 2 subbies were for one year only? (also, if it is, please put that in the subscription link)

Edit - didnt read the other page's post.

Resubbing now, please re-add my shiney gold tier2 badge :p

Apologies TCLN Ryster yours has been fixed.

12 July '08 it says.

Not quite. You've given me back Tier 1 when I should be on Tier 2. Your own screenshot shows I was on Tier 2.

EditL you beat me to it and fixed that while I was writing this. Thanks. :)

Neobond: According to that list mine still has until October left...

I tried explaining clearly already, you can see that for whatever reason the period was from 16 Oct 2008 until 16 Oct 2010.. TWO years, this is incorrect, it should be one.. and we are fixing these irregularities.

I tried explaining clearly already, you can see that for whatever reason the period was from 16 Oct 2008 until 16 Oct 2010.. TWO years, this is incorrect, it should be one.. and we are fixing these irregularities.

Um. I purchased a Tier 1 sub on Oct 16, 2008. Upgraded to Tier 2 with the promise of 'buy the upgrade now, get 1 year + the rest of your current sub.'

Um. I purchased a Tier 1 sub on Oct 16, 2008. Upgraded to Tier 2 with the promise of 'buy the upgrade now, get 1 year + the rest of your current sub.'

post-2-12697764662626.png

Are you sure because there is no record of that.. as you can see from the dates It seems you didn't upgrade at all or there would be a record of it..

You were also on staff for a while, are you sure you're not confusing the groups here?

Tier 1 - blah blah blah

Tier 2 - Enhanced Service, Blog & Ad free!

Aside from supporting Neowin with the annual running costs you get:

Your own hosted blog.

Unlimited edit time for your topic titles & posts.

Boosts PM storage to 200 messages, allows PM attachments and up to 10 participants per conversation.

Removes flood control.

Raises the upload limit for attachments to 4mb (per post).

Allows you to give out 20 rep points daily.

Includes a private & support forum.

Sneak peaks and testing of new features being added to Neowin.

Choose from 5 Neowin domain related email accounts (instead of 2).

All advertising removed professionally by Neowin.

Plus your online member name status is updated to orange with a shiny badge!

Please note: these subscriptions are for 1 year only. After that, you can either support us by allowing the advertising or resubscribe!

*points to bold and underline*

please add to clear up any future confusion :)

I think Mephistopheles is right.

For example - I subscribed on the 8th June 2008 which would have expired on the 8th June 2009 but on the 26th March 2009 I paid 20 euros to upgrade to Tier 2.

Therefore the promise was to compensate those that upgraded mid-subscription you would extend their tier 2 subscription by the difference of the date of the manual upgrade and the old subscribtion expiry date. Therefore my Tier 2 should expire on the 8th June 2010 (74 days after 26 March 2010) which is what your records show.

post-2-12697764662626.png

Are you sure because there is no record of that.. as you can see from the dates It seems you didn't upgrade at all or there would be a record of it..

You were also on staff for a while, are you sure you're not confusing the groups here?

I'm positive that I upgraded. Check your email - I forwarded you the confirmation of the Tier 1 sub I purchased in 2008 and the upgrade I purchased in March 2009.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Google reportedly set to lose two key Gemini and DeepMind researchers to Anthropic by Karthik Mudaliar Google is reportedly preparing to lose two more prominent artificial intelligence researchers, with Gemini contributors Jonas Adler and Alexander Pritzel planning to join rival AI developer Anthropic. According to a report from Bloomberg, both researchers are viewed internally as important contributors to Google’s flagship Gemini model family. Adler worked on Google’s AI coding efforts, while Pritzel was involved in the process used to train AI systems. Neither company has publicly confirmed the moves. The report also does not say when the researchers will formally leave Google or what positions they will hold at Anthropic. Training a large AI model requires decisions covering its architecture, data preparation, distributed computing infrastructure, and post-training methods that shape how the finished system behaves. Researchers with experience operating at the scale of Gemini are consequently difficult to replace quickly. Both Adler and Pritzel have previously contributed to Google DeepMind’s scientific research as well. They are listed among the authors of the company’s work on expanding AlphaFold protein-structure predictions across entire proteomes, alongside AlphaFold researchers including John Jumper. The reported departures arrive shortly after another important change within Google’s Gemini organization. Gemini co-lead Noam Shazeer is leaving Google for OpenAI, after returning to the search company in 2024 through its deal with Character.AI. Shazeer is particularly well known as one of the authors of the Transformer paper, whose architecture became the foundation for most modern large language models. Anthropic, meanwhile, has been recruiting recognizable figures from other leading laboratories. OpenAI co-founder and former Tesla AI director Andrej Karpathy joined Anthropic’s pre-training team in May. His move, followed by the reported recruitment of several Google researchers, suggests Anthropic is strengthening the research teams responsible for the core capabilities of future Claude models rather than concentrating solely on product and enterprise sales. The competition is complicated by the companies’ extensive commercial relationships. Anthropic competes directly with Google’s Gemini models, but it also relies on Google as an infrastructure partner. In April, Anthropic announced an expanded agreement with Google and Broadcom covering multiple gigawatts of next-generation Tensor Processing Unit capacity. TPUs are Google-designed accelerators used to train and run large AI models. via Bloomberg
    • This article makes my head hurt. Lots of confusing words
    • Google adds built-in computer control to Gemini 3.5 flash by Karthik Mudaliar Google has added Computer Use as a built-in tool in Gemini 3.5 Flash, giving developers a single model that can reason about a task and operate graphical interfaces across browsers, mobile devices, and desktop environments. The feature is available through the Gemini API and Google’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, although it remains a preview feature for now. Computer Use enables an AI agent to examine screenshots and return actions such as mouse clicks, scrolling, and keyboard input. A developer’s application must execute those actions, capture the resulting screen, and send it back to Gemini, creating a continuous loop until the task is completed. Google says the integration can be used for activities including repetitive form filling, application testing, research across multiple websites, and longer enterprise workflows. Gemini 3.5 Flash can work with browser, mobile, and desktop environments, whereas Google’s earlier standalone Computer Use model was primarily positioned around browser interaction. The main change is consolidation. Computer control was previously offered through the separate Gemini 2.5 Computer Use preview model. As Neowin reported when that model was introduced, it was designed to interpret a visual interface and generate actions without requiring a website-specific API. Google later brought Computer Use to preview versions of Gemini 3 Pro and Gemini 3 Flash in January 2026. The latest release now incorporates the tool into the stable Gemini 3.5 Flash model rather than requiring developers to select a specialized model solely for interface automation. Gemini 3.5 Flash itself was announced in May as Google’s latest fast model for coding and multi-step agent workflows. It supports a one-million-token input context window and up to 65,000 output tokens, along with adjustable thinking levels that let developers trade additional reasoning for lower latency and cost. Google also added that Gemini 3.5 Flash received targeted adversarial training for computer-use scenarios. The company is also offering safeguards that can require user confirmation before sensitive or irreversible actions and automatically stop a workflow when suspected prompt injection is detected. Its developer documentation describes configurable protections for areas such as financial transactions and changes to sensitive records. Google isn't the first to bring Computer Use to its platform. Anthropic has made computer control available through Claude, while OpenAI has continued improving computer-use performance in its recent models. Microsoft has also applied the concept to business workflows, including a Computer Use capability for the Researcher agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot.
    • After I installed KB5095093, the volume on my ARM laptop won't go above 20%. It's stuck on the hearing protection level, which is pretty much useless if you want to listen to anything. I rolled back.
    • Amazon Prime Day slashes Samsung's newest Galaxy Watch Ultra by 45 percent by Karthik Mudaliar Samsung’s flagship Android smartwatch has received one of its steepest Prime Day cuts. Amazon has dropped the 2025 Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra in Titanium Blue to $357.24, saving buyers around $292 from its $649.99 list price. That's a 45 percent discount (purchase link below). The 47mm Galaxy Watch Ultra uses a titanium casing and a 1.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 480 x 480 and peak brightness of 3,000 nits. It includes LTE connectivity, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, NFC, and dual-frequency L1+L5 GPS for more accurate outdoor route tracking. The 2025 model has 64GB of storage, a 590mAh battery, sapphire crystal glass, 10ATM water resistance, IP68 protection, and MIL-STD-810H durability testing. Its health and fitness tools include heart rate monitoring, sleep coaching, Energy Score, Running Coach, body composition analysis, temperature sensing, and ECG support, where available. This model is best suited to Android users who regularly run, hike, cycle, or train outdoors and want cellular access without carrying a phone. The larger battery, rugged construction, bright display, and dedicated Quick Button also make it a stronger option than Samsung’s regular Galaxy Watch models for extended workouts and demanding environments. Grab the Titanium Blue Galaxy Watch Ultra before the Prime Day price resets: Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra (2025) [Sold and Shipped by Amazon] Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Dedicated
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • First Post
      Tom Schmidt earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Month Later
      D0nn13 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Rookie
      +ChiefOfNeo went up a rank
      Rookie
    • One Year In
      Tom Schmidt earned a badge
      One Year In
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      463
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      177
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      124
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      79
    5. 5
      Xenon
      76
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!