Tag Archives: Amazon

fixed : how to link AliExpress Standard Shipping to a generic track&trace-app

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Question :
I use AfterShip.app for tracking & tracing all the packages that are being send to me (or by me). Now I have ordered something from AliExpress that is being shipped to me through AliExpress Standard Shipping. But in AfterShip.app there is no Carrier named AliExpress or something alike…

Can I still track&trace AliExpress Standard Shipping ?


Answer :
Yes you can.
‘AliExpress Standard Shipping’ is a shipping service executed by Cainiao (formerly China Smart Logistics). So just put Cainiao as the Carrier and your shipment will be trace-able.

Thet’s it !
enjoy πŸ˜‰

NOTE :
Amazon’s own shipping in Europe is a shipping service executed by Swiship, so if your track&trace-app doesn’t have Amazon Shipping listed (or when choosing Amazon Shipping it turns out that your track&trace code isn’t recognised), try Swiship as the Carrier.

fixed : share EPUB (with digital watermark) accross Books.app on iPhone, iPad and Mac

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Question :
I want to purchase an eBook that is not available in Apple Books. I have found it is available on the website of a bookstore in EPUB (with digital watermark) version. It seems like I should be able to download it after purchase and then read it in Books.app on my iPad or iPhone, but is it also possible to read it in the Books.app on my Mac ?

How do I do that ?


Answer :

Yes, you can buy an EPUB (with digital watermark) [ a.k.a. EPUB with social DRM ] and then read it on Apple’s Books.app on either iPhone, iPad or Mac. To do that, do this :

NOTE : if you buy an eBook on Amazon, it will only be available in the Kindle.app (that will automatically sync across your devices also), but getting a Kindle eBook into Apple’s Books.app is problematic… so if you prefer to read all your eBooks in Books.app, avoid buying eBooks on Amazon.

  • first, make sure that you are logged into your iCloud account on your iPhone, your iPad and your Mac (with the same iCloud account)
  • on your iPhone (or iPad) go to the online bookstore that sells the eBook in EPUB (with or without personal watermark or Social DRM)
  • purchase the eBook
  • when the download link appear, click on it
  • now the eBook will be downloaded to the Files.app on your iPhone (or iPad), which means it will be visible on the Desktop of your Mac also (which is automatically synced in iCloud)
  • now, on your iPhone (or iPad), click on the eBook in the Files.app and choose “open in Books”
  • now, the eBook will open in Books.app and is ready for reading
  • it will stay in the Library of your Books.app
  • if you have iCloud syncing switched on (most of us have) the eBook will now be available for reading in Books.app on your iPhone, your iPad and your Mac
  • if the eBook is not showing up on all devices, recheck in Settings.app if iCloud-syncing is switched on for Books.app
  • if you want to manually add the eBook to your iPhone or iPad, do this :
    • – open the Files.app and find the eBook
    • – click on the eBook and choose “Open in Books”
    • – then wait for the eBook to open in Books.app
    • if you want to manually add the eBook to your Mac, do this :
    • – on your Mac, find the eBook on your Desktop (or in the Desktop folder)
    • – Option-click (right-click) on the eBook icon
    • – from the pulldown menu that appears, choose Open With > Books
    • – now wait for the eBook to open in Books.app

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : best iPhone-app for DHL, UPS and PostNL track-and-trace in The Netherlands

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Question :

I live in The Netherlands and on my iPhone, I want to trace packages that will be delivered to me shortly.

The PostNL.app works perfectly, but it’s for PostNL shipments only…

The UPS.app works perfectly too (despite the privacy agreement is a littleΒ awkward), but it’s for UPS shipments only…

There are various apps in the Apps Store for DHL shipments, but none of them work for The Netherlands…

I’ve tried the iPhone-apps byΒ Deliveries, ParcelTrack and 17track, but even thoughΒ they are advertised as ‘perfect solutions’ in most countries, they fail for at least one of the main delivery services in The Netherlands…

Isn’t there any iOS-app that can track all mayor post & parcel delivery services like PostNL, UPS, DHL, GLS and TNT in The Netherlands ?

 

Answer :

Yes there is… but there’s only one : AfterShip.app [click to download]

…and it’s not perfect yet, it still needs a little more do-it-yourself than advertised :

  • the Auto Detect function doesn’t always select the proper deliveryΒ service, nor does it always include the proper delivery service in it’s short list of options, so (especially for DHL deliveries) you must always double-check the exact delivery service from your shipment confirmation eMail
  • there’s only one Title (or Description) field you can add to your Shipment-entry, so if you want to include both Sender and Content description (as you can in most other Track&Trace apps) you will have to combine those into only one line of info
  • the Edit option only allows you to edit the Title (a.k.a. Description) of your Shipment-entry, so… if you’ve erratically chosen (or guessed) the wrong delivery service, you will not be able to edit or correct it… you will have to delete the entire Shipment-entry and create/add a new, corrected one entirely…

But apart from that… it’s FREE and once you have picked the delivery services correctly, it works as expectedΒ ! (and that’s far better than any other Track&Trace app)

There are a few things to know :

  • TNT-shipments from Amazon UK and Amazon DE to The Netherlands : if your online Amazon account info lists TNT (or “TNT (Netherlands)”) as the delivery service, the actual shipment will be done by PostNL, so you’ll need to choose “PostNL Domestic” as the delivery service ;Β if in the “Verzendbevestiging” you have received through eMail, the fine print says “Je items worden verzondenΒ door Post NL Pakketten.” the actual shipment will expedited be by PostNL Domestic, even if your online Amazon-shipment-info says something else !
  • DHL-shipments from Amazon DE to The Netherlands :Β if your online Amazon DE account info lists DHL (or “DHLNL”) or DHL_CONNECT as the delivery service, this willΒ NOT be DHL Express or DHL Benelux (the ones suggested by AfterShip.app), this will usually be shipped using DHL Parcel NL ; in the “Verzendbevestiging” you have received though eMail, the fine print says “Je items worden verzondenΒ door DHL NL Pakketten.” the actual shipment will be expedited by DHL Parcel NL, even if your online Amazon-shipment-info says something else !
  • DHL-shipments from Dutch resellersΒ to addresses within The Netherlands will be usually expedited by “DHL Benelux” (and NOT by “DHL Express” or any other DHL branch)

enjoy !

fixed : get UK/NL/FR/ES/DE-PAL special edition Wii-U LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens with Finn minifig

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Question :

My children have a Wii-U game console, but they want to get their hands on the special FN-2187 (a.k.a. Finn First Order Stormtrooper) LEGO minifigure that comes with the Special Edition version for Playstation and Xbox.

Is there any English (or Dutch) Wii-U version that includes it ?

 

Answer :

Yes there is, and you can get it here :

LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens Limited Edition for Wii-U incl. FN-2187 (Finn) minifig

Please note : This is theΒ European PAL-version of the Wii-U game. This Special Edition that includes the LEGO 30605 polybagΒ (FN-2187/Finn) minfig was specially issued for Amazon.de only, and is therefore called “Das Erwachen der Macht” soΒ the packaging and Quick Guide paper manual are in German only… but the game itself is exactly the same as the one sold in the UK, so the software and electronic manual are in English (EN), German (DE), French (FR), Spanish (ES), Italian (IT), Dutch (NL) and Danish (DA).

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fixed : can’t remove floating promo-video from sight on Amazon

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Question :

Every time I am browsing Amazon, whenever I look at a product page that has a product’s promo-video on it, the video will open automatically in a separate ‘floating’ window and start playing. However, there’s no button to close the window, and even though I am able to drag the video window, I can’t move it outside of the visible part of my browser (Safari).Β As a consequence, I’m not able to have a useful look at the product page, as the video-window is blocking off a huge part of the screen…

This is getting extremely irritating. What can I do ?

 

Answer :

This is a problem that occurs when using Safari with the AlterVideo plugin enabled when visiting video-featuring pages on the Amazon website, but it might also occur in other cases with different browsers, different video-plugins and different websites.

The way to fix this is rather simple :

– in Safari, click onΒ “Safari” in the top menu bar

– in the drop down-menu that opens, click on “Preferences…”

– in the Preferences window that opens, click on the ‘blue puzzle piece’ tab entitled “Extensions”

– there, click on “AlterVideo” in the list on the left

– then, make sure there is NO check-mark in front of both “AutoPlay (Only for First Video on Page)” and the “Aggressive Detection (You mayΒ see a ‘floating’ video player)”

– after that, just close the Preferences-window by clicking on the red bullet top left

…now, try visiting Amazon again and everything should work properly

That’s it !

enjoy !

πŸ˜‰

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