var json_comments = new Array("
\"user-pic\"
aparsons
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate | Flag for review

Verizon wireless used to only support IE, so they shut out all linux users AND all mac users. Wells Fargo... same thing.

Reply
10 replies
\"user-pic\"
davidc
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@aparsons: Firefox user here, no problems with Wells Fargo main site, pay bills monthly on it.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Persistence - Long viv revolisyon an konsomatè yo!
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@aparsons: I only use firefox and have had no problems with Wells Fargo. I also work in IT for a city hall. Their web site works with firefox and opera as well, and it's a small city. The IT director does the majority of his work on Suse Linux.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
aparsons
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Persistence: Let me clarify... Wells Fargo for 3rd Party Accounts. In particular, [ebpp3.wellsfargo.com]

Reply
\"user-pic\"
VagrantRadio
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@aparsons: That's what you get when you have developers that aren't up on current standards and write shit code and make their apps only works in IE.

Get with the times, you idiots.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
bravohotel01
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@VagrantRadio: I used to work in a bank (Charlotte, NC, natch), and I can say that their conservative culture might make the *government* seem like a loose and wild orgy.

Even though the \"web thing\" is still going strong for decades, they really don't understand how it works. When they get something cobbled together that works well enough, that's good enough for them.

Why be the VP of whatever and have your career ruined because you stuck your neck out (i.e., supporting real web browsers) and something bad happened? No way, Jose.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
MercuryPDX
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@VagrantRadio: Just an FYI, it's not always the developers that SET the standards as far as code goes.

Trust me... I'd love to ditch IE6 on the side of a mountain road somewhere, and will as soon as corporate/marketing says we're allowed to. I'm sure they have been very busy and just haven't gotten around to the \"Why supporting IE6 is holding us back and costing us money\" memos our department sends them every week.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
edman007
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@MercuryPDX: There is a difference between not supporting and blocking. It is not impossible to make a site usable with all major browsers, there is IE and the others, and it is fairly easy to design for one particular browser and make the IE drop a few minor problem elements. The bank sites mentioned here do not have a problem at all with linux, they are tested with the latest version of firefox which renders sites equally on linux and windows.

However for some reason the developer decided that they can tell exactly what your browser supports by the name and they went out of their way to tell people with an untested configuration that they can't use the site and it won't work. If it is an untested browser I would think the worst thing you could do is throw a message up on the screen that says it is untested. This is done by many sites out there and I don't think anyone has a problem with it.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
YouDidWhatNow?
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@aparsons:


I've been using Opera to manage my WF accounts for years.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
aparsons
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@YouDidWhatNow?: Good call. I didn't think of Opera, and they eventually came around and began supporting Firefox. I almost thought it was another ploy to try and get people to be late on their payments.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Sunshine1970
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@aparsons: I use Linux and have never had a problem using Firefox with my Wells Fargo account.

BoA and AX also I don't have any problems with Firefox or Linux either.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
AustinTXProgrammer
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Sunshine1970: I remember long ago having the problem with Wells Fargo, but that wasn't 2009.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
fredzorz
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Netflix. The actual site works, but I wish I could watch the online videos. DAMN YOU PLATFORM INCOMPATABILITY!

Reply
5 replies
\"user-pic\"
darkforcesjedi
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@fredzorz: What happens if you install IE in Linux using Wine? I used to get around similar issues in Linux the same way, but that was back when IE6 was the latest version.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Sunshine1970
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@darkforcesjedi: Nope. Doesn't work. It still screams it wants ActiveX. (Been a while since I experimented with it)

Netflix also needs Silverlight to work.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
lihtox
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Sunshine1970: Netflix makes some sense, as video with DRM is a rather complicated thing. But bank websites only have to serve up text: if you can't manage to serve up text to a web browser on Linux, then you are a really bad programmer.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Sunshine1970
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@fredzorz: Yeah. No Neflix & Linux.

It's getting closer, now, though. I've installed the newest version of Moonlight, and by masking Firefox to mimic IE, I can get to the page with the player on it, but it tells me I don't have ActiveX (I think) installed and need it to play a movie.

Some day, though. Some day.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
AustinTXProgrammer
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@fredzorz: Netflix has more to do with DRM, and that Linux isn't friendly with DRM (Because a system can't be open and have DRM...)

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I have to admit that I'm a little suprised by this. I wouldn't think that someone could be locked out simply because of an OS choice.


I guess he's getting the point across and raising the issue into the spotlight, but I think he's going to have a long wait if he expects Citibank to jump right on it.


@MostlyHarmless, is that your family up there?

Reply
9 replies
\"user-pic\"
That's Consumer007 to you
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Kimaroo - Fortified with Kittydus Purrularis: This happened to me too, but as a tech geek I keep one of every browser opened at all times. Site works in Firefox on a Wind-blows pc, but not in Linux, correct.

I pay for reference 9 different bills, one of them being Sh1tty-financial loans on the linux pc, so Sh1tty-crank is wrong on this on two counts - 1. Their competitors don't have this problem and 2. other business units in their own company don't do this.

Sounds like someone needs to walk over to the programmer department and bitch-slap the ivory tower prima donna code moron who thinks his code sh1t don't stink and could care less whether it actually works well, and further dock the cost of lost business out of his too-large paycheck. Not to mention any \"QA\" department that \"tests\" the website. FAIL!

I know that sounds bitter and stereotypical but TRUST me - after 12 years in tech support, programmers are always like this - they want to just play around in code all day and can't be bothered with the real world and making sure it works. Ever notice how hardware issues need to be fixed IMMEDIATELY, but code issues with apps or websites get the \"release\" and \"hotfix\" and \"update\" system, with months or years until things are fixed?

I used to collect web complaints for one company and meet with programmers to review, and one day one of the worst ones says \"I could CARE LESS about web errors - so what if the END USER has a problem? That is NONE of my concern.\"

Programmers at other companies are the same way - dishing attitude because their screen has one teeny pixel out, or their displays aren't just-so orientation and resolution, or their chair isn't ergonomic enough. And believe me they are THE biggest target for IT support staff on the dark side. Deservingly so.

Any programmers reading who take exception - bring it on!

Reply
\"user-pic\"
msquier
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Areyouagoodlittleconsumer: I guess my husband is the exception then. His aim is to make the best possible end product in the most user friendly way. He also doesn't rant and rave to the IT guy at his company if his setup needs to be adjusted; he fixes it himself. Maybe its because he spent 3 years after high school working as a mechanic in various forms including lube guy, school bus mechanic and finally before he went to college: factory maintenance mechanic on the graveyard shift. Basically at heart he's just a can do blue collar guy.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
katstermonster
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@msquier: I am pretty convinced that I'm going to end up with a blue collar guy, or at least a blue collar turned white collar guy. My most recent ex went the same route - worked as a mechanic for 2 years after high school, then went on to get is BS and MS in engineering. I was absolutely blown away by his work ethic and ability to just get stuff done. The guy I dated before him had everything going for him - great upper-middle class family, good education, really smart - and his worth ethic was nonexistent. Not that every blue collar guy is a hard worker and every white collar guy isn't, but there's generally something different that's easy to recognize.

The point of my blathering: blue collar is HOT.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
thezone
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Areyouagoodlittleconsumer: You're right. You do sound bitter. I've worked on both ends of the house. You're right that hardware problems need to be fixed immediately. Honestly, the issue today is hardware tends to be easier to diagnose and replace (most of the time). Most of the programmers I know do care about what works and what doesn't. But it can be much more difficult to get something to work with multiple browsers with multiple revisions and multiple patches and multiple OS's. I'm sorry you feel so much rage against programmers.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
SabreDC
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Areyouagoodlittleconsumer: Thanks for the tip, but I'm pretty sure I know the difference between booting up a virtual machine and booting up a physical PC.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
MostlyHarmless
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: yeah, just because we are penguins, we are all related.

Though, yeah, thats my dad's side of the family. You can tell by the fact that everyone is looking in different directions.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Xerloq
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: CitiBank must flag Firefox and Linux OSes as not meeting their security standards.

Have you tried modifying your user agent to report IE and Windows instead of FF and Linux?

Reply
\"user-pic\"
SabreDC
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Xerloq, we are all made of stars.: Citibank works just fine with FF on Windows. I doubt they are looking at the browser user agent at all.

@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: He isn't being locked out, he can still walk into any Citi branch and manage his account. He just can't use their online component unless he is using a supported platform. I can't connect my PS3 to XBox Live!... should I bitch to Microsoft to support me because I'm only using a gaming platform of my choice. I shouldn't be locked out for it.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
SabreDC
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Xerloq, we are all made of stars: Also, I just booted into Ubuntu 9.04 with Firefox and it worked fine for me, so I'm not sure what the OP means.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
MostlyHarmless
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I vehemently object to this blatant case of speciesm.

I promise you Citibank, you guys will be the first ones against the wall when the Penguin Revolution comes.

And I swear this over the trace dump of my rollbacked transtaction.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
MostlyHarmless
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Also, @ConsumerChris, nice choice of pic. We need more pics of adorable penguins on this site.

Reply
4 replies
\"user-pic\"
katstermonster
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@MostlyHarmless: Oh my god, I can't believe you just did an @ reply outside of Twitter. Weirdo.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@MostlyHarmless: I notice that you did not notice the end of my comment above yours..


...Or you're ignoring me.. Either way. lol.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
NICU
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

For a long time HSBC did not work with Firefox or any other browser in Linux. They told me I had to own a Windows PC or a Mac and I asked them for the $300 for a Windows license... it didn't work out. Today they do work with Firefox on Windows and Linux.

Netflix still will not work on Linux, very upsetting while trying to put together a HTPC.

Reply
2 replies
\"user-pic\"
crymson777
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@NICU: Just run windows under vmware in Linux if you want to watch movies from Netflix...then it works and you only have to deal with it when you want to...

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Sunshine1970
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@crymson777: I've done that myself, but it's kind of choppy when one still is using a Pentium IV 2.2Ghz machine--and just not worth it IMHO. (Don't have the money at the moment to buy anything new, so I have to make what I have last for a few more years...)

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
shepd
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Weird, I've logged into my Citi card account on my linux box before. I haven't done much more than check my balance and transactions, but there you go.

Perhaps they have a different site for Canadians?

Reply
4 replies
\"user-pic\"
tungstencoil
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@shepd:
Linux + Firefox == no problems here either.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
eelmonger
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@shepd: Count me in, I just logged into my Citicards account from Linux using Firefox.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
wildfun
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@shepd: That's what I was thinking. I've never had a problem with the Canadian Citi site and I use a lot of different distributions on various computers. The Rogers website on the other hand... Grrr.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Fuzzy_duffel_bag
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@shepd: I haven't had problems with Linux and my Citi stuff in the US. I have a mortgage and student loans through them, and it's always worked fine.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
voogru
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Theres a Firefox mod that changes the browsers User-Agent string. It will make it appear as if Firefox is IE. Just google user-agent switcher firefox.


This may break some compatibility if they are doing anything really stupid, but I wouldn't be surprised if they force IE only because some HTML elements don't show up properly in Firefox or other browsers.


It's much quicker and easier than going through the customer support and getting them to change their ways.

Reply
5 replies
\"user-pic\"
Skaperen
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@voogru: All the standard elements work find in Firefox and a few other open browsers. Web developers can just use web standard one version old and it should be fine in IE and everywhere else.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
LatinoGeek
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@voogru:

To any one reading voogru's comment above, *don't* do this. Yes, it works, sometimes, but websites specifically coded for a specific browser will exhibit very strange behavior when you tell your browser to lie. A banking website where your money is kept is not a good place to fart around like this. The best thing to do email the webmaster and ask them to make the website more standards compliant or not use these sites if they don't work in your browser.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Corporate_guy
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@LatinoGeek: Standards compliant has nothing to do with working in IE or firefox. Neither browser is standards compliant. Assuming you are claiming that w3c arbitrarily has the power to set standards.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
jokono
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Corporate_guy:

Assuming you are claiming that w3c arbitrarily has the power to set standards.

Well, the w3d is lead by Tim Berners-Lee, so I don't know that I'd call it arbitrary.
Most who deny w3c's legitimacy have only Microsoft's interests at heart.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
CheritaChen
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@voogru: No, no, no, no, NO! That's not even remotely acceptable. They have no excuse for not supporting all modern major OSs and major browsers. Tricking their system into thinking you bow to their ridiculous restrictions is fine as long as it you do it in addition to insisting they get their lame act together, not instead of. Silence implies agreement.

Also, any public-facing online company that still requires ActiveX or even just discriminates against non-IE browsers for the sake of layout compatibility deserves to go down in flames. At least Citi's site seems to work for some readers here via multiple OSs and browsers. I don't know why there is a problem in other cases for Linux and Firefox, but if it is something on Citibank's end, they should fix it.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Cant_stop_the_rock
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@CheritaChen:

It is absolutely acceptable, because online banking is not a service they are required to provide. They choose not to support a niche platform because it is expensive to spend time testing for more platforms. It is their right to choose to operate this way.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
voogru
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@CheritaChen:
I didn't intend for nobody to complain. The thing is, if they do something this stupid, there is going to be plenty of people complaining.


But let's be honest here, I bet you any customer service person you get isn't even going to know what Linux is.


The chances of you getting a hold of the right person is pretty much zero.


I'm sorry but I don't have the time to sit and wait on hold for 2 hours only to be able to be sent from CSR to CSR that has absolutely no idea what I am talking about. My time is significantly more valuable than that to me.


Another example, American Express doesn't allow you to use a secure password. I complained quite a bit about this, but you still can't use a secure password. You can't have a password longer than 8 characters and you can't have anything except letters and numbers. I stopped complaining and just worked around it.


I am probably wrong about this, but the limit of 8 characters and no special characters really seems like they want to protect it against some sort of SQL injection exploit.


@LatinoGeek:


This just in, a security exploit at a major bank was discovered this morning when a user switched the user-agent of his browser to say Internet Explorer instead of Firefox.


The banks backend database was displayed and all of the money appears to have been sent to Nigeria.


An online bank that has a security flaw if Firefox is used in place of Internet Explorer is a failure of epic proportions. Any website programmer worth his salt will target all major browsers with their website.


I would consider switching banks if such a move was pulled on me. If they can't get their website right, chances are my money isn't very safe there either.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
CheritaChen
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Cant_stop_the_rock: What I said was not acceptable was the suggested action (work around and shut up about it), not the decision not to support Linux. I said that (not supporting Linux) was inexcusable. There's a difference. My comment was in reference to the attitude of just accepting terrible business practices simply because it's easier or because complaining is unlikely to work.

Online banking may not be something they are required to provide, but they have chosen to provide it, and yet they have done so in some convoluted fashion that is somehow platform- and/or client-dependent. It's lazy and stupid, and their own customers, whose money they hold and profit from, have every right to request that they fix it.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
ClutchDude
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Just logged in on a virtual 9.10 Ubuntu box for CC. Maybe it's certain portions of the site?

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
TCama
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I'd say screw it and close your account, but you already said it's a credit card, so that'd be a lot of hassle. Then again, unless you just realized this problem, the card is probably relatively new, so closing it wouldn't be that much of a credit dent, right?

Have you tried other browsers?

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Quake 'n' Shake
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I've been using Quicken with my bank for over 9 years now. I'm surprised that they continue to support online banking with it, but I'm not complaining. I really like it.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
jcongdon
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Download the Firefox extension \"User Agent Switcher.\" Then, once the Citibank website has loaded, go to Tools and you should see an option (maybe hidden under one more sub-menu) to switch your user agent to Internet Explorer. Refresh the page and everything will work fine.

Not how it should be, but it works.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Agent19488
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I'm glad I don't have a Citi account then, I disagree with this on principle. These kind of shenanigans are a big reason why I didn't fully convert to Linux years ago - although I do have 2 Ubuntu servers in the house, everything else is running some form of Windows, anywhere from 98 on up to 7.

Surprisingly (or not), the few clients our Geek Squad precinct have done Linux installs for never come back with any issues... and we're not exactly talking the most tech-savvy here ;)

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
DjDynasty
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

PetSmart.com won't let anyone apply for a job unless it's from Windows XP or Vista (no 2000 or Windows 7) using Internet Explorer 6 or 7 (Even though 8 was just released a couple months ago)

Reply
1 replies
\"user-pic\"
Radi0logy
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@DjDynasty: The amazing thing is that they except their potential employees to be smart enough to use a computer. Have you ever been in that place? It reminds me of that \"special\" room in high school where they closed off all the half-wits.

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
ExtraCelestial
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I've never had Linux because it's completely over my head, but I definitely had a lot of issues when I first switched to Mac a little over 10 years ago. Now they're a lot more mainstream and companies are buckling.


Linux, grab your market share!

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
ztoop
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I always bypass their main site and go directly to [www.accountonline.com] . What pisses me off the most with citibank, however, is that they use multiple servers and email addresses, none of which are 'citibank.com'. Gmail commonly flags their legitimate email as phishing attempts because of this.

Reply
1 replies
\"user-pic\"
ztoop
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@ztoop: Also, there was a point where when you logged in, you weren't on an https webpage! The login credentials were sent over https, but you had no way to know the whole page wasn't spoofed. Their security sucks.

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
gStein_*|bringing starpipe back|*
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

i'm not sure what to say to this... he OP hasn't contacted CITI regarding the problem, because he expects a bs answer. please, CONTACT them, hopefully they'll make a note fo it, and if enough people complain they'll fix it.
or, they might direct you to a special linux portal (unlikely, i know, but it's worth calling them.)

Also, does site work in Firefox over windows? OS X platforms?

and did OP try an EECB, or some sort of ITECB (IT carpet bomb)?

Reply
4 replies
\"user-pic\"
eelmonger
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@gStein_has joined the star bandwagon: I really have to agree, why post this when the person who sent it in hasn't even taken the basic step of contacting the company with his complaint. Several other commenters, including myself, have been able to log in to our Citibank accounts from Linux, so perhaps it's just a simple issue that could be resolved by talking to them. Regardless, they won't fix an issue if you don't tell them about it.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Sunshine1970
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@gStein_has joined the star bandwagon: I've seen the OP's same complaint over on the Ubuntu forums. When CS is emailed, it never works. Usually just a form letter letting them know they're not gonna change anything since Linux has such a small marketshare (True, but with more & more Netbooks out there having some form of Linux installed on them there are more people using Linux.)

Reply
\"user-pic\"
MercuryPDX
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Sunshine1970: In addition to my comment above, that's what drives corporate/marketing. They look at what Google Analytics says and tell us \"Well, 14% of our site visitors are using IE6 so we still want to support it. REQUEST DENIED!\"

Reply
\"user-pic\"
quail
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Sunshine1970: Let us not forget about the increasing use of Smartphones. What do these institutions think about the non-Windows smartphone operating systems out there?

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Chris Walters
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@quail: Actually, Citi has been fairly solid on the smartphone access. At least I know that they have working Symbian and iPhone mobile apps. Those are for regular banking accounts, not credit cards, at least in my experience. But Citi does offer them at any rate.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Sunshine1970
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@quail: Oo! yep. I totally forgot about Smartphones, Google Android 2.0 or even Google's OS which would be coming out at some point.

(I'm drooling over the new Motorola Droid. I'm hoping it'll come to T-Mobile at some point--which is my provider)

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
Meddygon
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

After my c-section I was confined to a single floor of the house, and my desktop PC was in the basement. I was forced to use my netbook for everything, and I discovered while doing the bills that I couldn't connect to citicards. There was no warning about why not, it just blocked out my ability to enter any information. It was an inconvenience, but I hated it nonetheless.

I guess normal law abiding citizens don't use linux!!

Reply
3 replies
\"user-pic\"
floraposte
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Meddygon: I think it's more like there aren't enough for Citibank to spend the money to support it.

For a long time, I used the text-only browser lynx. It was kind of fun to figure out the workarounds to operate sites that insisted they didn't support it (or even know what it was).

Reply
\"user-pic\"
NeverLetMeDown
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@floraposte:


Lynx was for wusses who couldn't handle gopher. ;)

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Dover
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Coupons.com doesn't allow Linux users to print coupons.

Reply
2 replies
\"user-pic\"
Sunshine1970
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@doveroftke: Yeah. That really p*sses me off. I'd so use the site if I could print the *(*&#($()# out. I've tried the user-agent-switch on Firefox, tried installing it through WINE, still won't *(*#$ work.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Velifer
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Sunshine1970: You're a Linux user. I thought you'd just roll your own.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Sunshine1970
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Velifer: lol

I can use Linux, manipulate some files to make it do what I want it to do, but writing a program is waaay over my head (so is compiling something). I've tried, and usually give up after letting out a huge scream of frustration.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
gethenian
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

My question is, if you don't want to mess with inventive workarounds, what are you doing using Linux? ;)

Reply
5 replies
\"user-pic\"
drizzt380
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@gethenian:
Maybe, just maybe, Linux has become a little more accepted than you think and he's not as tech savvy as a Linux user a decade ago.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
gethenian
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@drizzt380: I know. I was kidding. I'm a geek, but I don't always feel like bothering with weird workarounds myself. It's nice when things work right without having to bother with that sort of thing, and a large corporation not supporting Linux on their site is pretty lame.

That said, such workarounds often are still necessary for various things when you use Linux, unfortunately. That was the point of my comment, really.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
mike
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@gethenian: +1


I've used Firefox on Mac and Windows with no problems. Not sure what OP's problem is but it sounds like something that an BrowserAgent hack can fix.


I do this all the time when companies FORCE me to use IE. I just switch the browser agent and it works.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Skaperen
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@gethenian: Depends ... sometimes the inventive workaround is to hack into the bank's server and tweak their code. If I can do that, then I worry who else might.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
voogru
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Skaperen: You can't really get into their code unless you find some exploit that allows you to pump arbitrary code over to the server to be executed on the server. This really has little to do about the browser.


The scary thing about this kind of exploit anybody that is smart enough to find and use such an exploit is smart enough not to make it utterly blatant that something is wrong, and if a white hat hacker finds it it's going to be a huge uphill battle for him to alert the bank, when he can just switch banks.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
wickdchameleon
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I dont agree with the OP here. I have often used ubuntu and firefox to log on to my citi credit card account and never had any isues. May be its not linux and ff but something entirely else.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
G.O.B.: Come on!
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

[addons.mozilla.org]

Just spoof your user-agent ID in the meantime. It's not really an \"inventive workaround\"; it's really basic. Taking issue with workarounds is ironic considering his OS of choice.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Hongfiately
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Wow, this is still going on? When I'd access the login page using FF in Ubuntu the screen would perpetually refresh. Citibank's solution was \"use a Windows computer.\" My solution was \"use another credit card\".

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
StuckinLansing
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Recently I obtained an Expedia credit card that is citibank. First payment,I obtained online confirmation number page and number copied.


Payment not posted and I'm no longer able to log in and I have Windows XP.


Apparently th eonline confirmation number is useless and the guy from India was only interested in my password.


I'm closing the account and eating the no payment fee if I can ever get them to accept a payment.


What a crock. Expedia, you are losing a customer too but I don't expect citibank or expedia to give a hoot.
It's not my regular card but they offered me a deal.


That will teach me.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Riff Raff
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

While there are valid (not good, just valid) reasons why a business chooses not to support an OS platform (cost, compatibility, userbase, etc), I'm still trying to figure out why anyone banks with Shittybank.

Besides Chase and BoA, I guarantee Shitty has more complaints on Consumerist than any other bank. It seems like every week there's another story about Shitty's epic fail at basic customer service. It would take a no-choice situation, an epic rewards program, or uber epic interest rate to get me to do business with ShittyBank.

Reply
","","","","","","","
\"user-pic\"
Sunshine1970
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I have trouble with Yahoo mail's new format through Linux. I can read, delete emails, but I cannot send one. I've tried, tried UAS, tried Opera, Midori, Chromium, and I cannot get it to work. I have to switch to Yahoo Classic mail (which I prefer, anyway, but I'm sure at some point that's going to go away and the new mail will be here to stay, then I'm gonna have a problem)

Anyone else have problems with Yahoo Mail's new look & sending mail in Linux...? If not, what solutions have you tried?

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
quail
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Lots of banks and other financial institutions are stuck in the stone age of computing. Their systems only want to deal with IE and the use of their active x controls. Total junk. Not even Opera spoofing itself as IE will work in that situation.

Best bet is to complain to the offending company and move your accounts to a financial institution that's got it's Internet act together.

Reply
1 replies
\"user-pic\"
morlo
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@quail: B&M businesses just don't try. One of my local supermarkets got a new checkout system with software that looks like it was written in the 80s

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
pippenz
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Isnt a solution to use Wine and fool the damn website?

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
amuro98
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Firefox just released an update for 3.5 to 3.5.0.4

First National's stupid website doesn't recognize 3.5.0.4 as being \"Firefox 1.x or better\" and throws a security exception when you try to make a payment through their website. Instead I had to fire up IE7 and use that.

I'm closing the account so I really don't want to waste my time trying to debug their website for them.

Can anyone tell me why bank's websites are among the WORST on the web? I remember trying to apply for a job at Wells Fargo but couldn't because of a bug in the website. No problem, I thought, they're showing up at a job fair tomorrow. I waited in line for 40 minutes to talk to them, only to be told \"thanks for stopping by, but we only accept resumes through the web.\" I explained this made no sense, and that their website was broken so no one could apply anyways. The HR droid looked at my resume and agreed I'd be a great match for the position but said I had to submit the resume through the web.

The position? Web application QA engineer!

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Sathallrin
November 13, 2009 4:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I only use Linux and I've never had a problem with any of my Citibank accounts. They work just fine.

Reply
","","","","","","","
\"user-pic\"
rpm773
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Does the OP have a copy of Windows XP floating around? Install VirtualBox on Linux and then install Windows inside of the VirtualBox VM. That's what I use when I run afoul Linux compatibility issues.

Reply
","","","","","","
\"user-pic\"
EBounding
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Weird. I use an Ubuntu Live CD/USB to do my online banking and I've never had a problem with the Citibank website.

Reply
","","","","","","
\"user-pic\"
dwasifar
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

AT&T's website occasionally breaks when viewed in Firefox under Linux. For instance, if you try to view the pre-sales information for business DSL, that page won't display. A friend reports that one of the Facebook farming games - Farmville, I think - recently shut out Linux users.

I have the Windows version of Firefox installed under Wine in Ubuntu for things like this, and that usually works to get around the odd compatibility issue. The AT&T page displays correctly that way. So does the Facebook game. But it's really rare that I need to use it. Almost everywhere I go is fine.

Usually with things like the OP's complaint, it's not really a compatibility issue. It would probably work just fine if Citibank wasn't consciously locking out that browser and OS combination. More often than not it's done for support policy reasons; they'd rather lock out Linux than have to answer Linux questions their Bangalore support staff doesn't have a script for.

Reply
","","","","
\"user-pic\"
justsomeotherguy
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

The solution to this is to do what every other linux gamers does... If after failing to get something to work either boot windows in a vm or boot into your wintendo partition.

Asking banks to not screw you over is hard enough. You really want them wasting resources on less than 1% of the market share?

You will be waiting a long time for someone to give a rats ass about linux.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
StanTheManDean
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

No support Linux and Firefox?


Awe shucks, you are what, less than 0.5% of all of the OS/Browser combinations used in the USA?


(0.45% per Google Analytics on my website if you want the exact #)

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
LatinoGeek
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Under FF running on ubuntu, I've gotten a warning page about using a supported browser, but I click though and I can login and use the site. I've had no issues accessing and using the online banking site for years now. I wonder what the submitter is seeing.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
JohnKnoy
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Interestingly enough, around tax time last year I sent in a personal account of trying to use Firefox running on Linux to file my taxes using Turbotax Online. Turbotax blocks Linux Firefox users from accessing their site, but doesn't block Windows Firefox users. I still can't think of why a company would care what OS you are using to access their site.

I had to use a work-around to be able to file my taxes from my computer. What a pain.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
marsneedsrabbits
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

OP:
I am using Linux Mint and Firefox 3.0.1.4 with no problem on the Citi site.
Is it possible you have Flash or something else disabled under Firefox?
In what way does it not work?
Doesn't load?
Can't enter information?
Crashes?
Which version of which distro are you using? Do you need to update anything?

I'm curious, are there other Linux users out there who are frustrated with a company for not providing an online service that works on Linux?

Not really. I don't dual-boot on either computer.

It's Linux or nothing. I haven't had a problem on any website EXCEPT Microsoft's home page for the longest time. I can't say even that it frustrates me about M$... that list is too long for it to be any sort of factor.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
crugg
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

This happened to me, and I would have to boot up my Windows computer just to make payments and look at my accounts. I went back to paper copies because of this problem.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Rachacha
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

It may simply be a numbers thing. I provide digital content for an organization (Audio and Video files), and as 99.5% of their site visitors used Windows and IE. They were doing something very unique and we had 2 options, utilize a free program that Microsoft developed to accomplish the task (the user had to have IE on their computer), or pay several thousands of dollars to purchase a program that published the finished product in Flash. For the 5 people that were not using IE as their browser, they could not justify the cost or time to move to a different platform.


While the total numbers may be larger for Citi, I suspect that Linux/Firefox users represent at most 1% of their customers.

Reply
1 replies
\"user-pic\"
StanTheManDean
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Rachacha:


0.45% according to Google Analytics on my website.


More than 100,000 visitors/month so the site is not huge, but the % of Linux/Firefox viewers should be representative of the population.

Reply
","","","","","","","
\"user-pic\"
SacraBos
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I've used Linux as a desktop for years, and have had very few problems. My Credit Union's web site is perfectly accessible with no problem, as has been all the other banks/cards I've needed to access.

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
That's Consumer007 to you
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

One answer for the OP, although the extra effort shouldn't be necessary - is to run a virtual windows in VirtualBox on top of linux - free, and the fricking one website written by cretins will work. he can simply close the window when payment is made.

Reply
","","","","","","","
\"user-pic\"
knightracer
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I'm using Ubuntu 9.10 and can access Citibank with Chrome, but Firefox doesn't work.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
tz
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I've been using the account on line to check and pay and set up the accounts (including when the card number was changed, need to change something, etc) with Firefox under linux for several years without a single problem.

It might help if he would point to what is not working.

You might need to throttle ad/popup/script blocking (I'm using flashblock, noscript, noredirect, adblockplus and a dozen others).

Reply
","","","","
\"user-pic\"
sototallycarl
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

PNC Bank used to have errors specific to Linux with their Flex app. I emailed and they fixed it and sent me an email a week later saying so.

Other than that you just suck it up and change your user agent and what not or how about this... Call and be a pain in the ass non stop for a few weeks, close your account and get a new bank. PNC is mostly a north eastern bank but since I moved out west I have been trying to make it work with no ATMs and no local branches because their customer service and online banking are amazing. Find shared deposit Plus or Star ATMs, bank by mail, direct deposit and cash back on normal purchases you can pretty much use any bank anywhere.

Reply
","","","","","","
\"user-pic\"
coffee412
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

There is no finer operating system available than linux. Ive used it exclusively since Redhat 4.01 came out. Im now running Fedora 11 and still loving it. While windows7 looks to be a big step back for MS again, Linux is moving forward in leaps and bounds! I now run a TB server, A Mythtv box, 2 surfing boxes for the net and a laptop with linux.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
stormbird
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Yahoo mail sometimes tells me Linux isn't compatible with their newer email and I should use 'classic email'. I ignore the warning and everything works fine. Sometimes flash videos don't play but other times there's no problem.

I dumped Vista for the beta of Win 7 and tried Linux at the same time. The beta license for 7 ran out and I've been using Linux exclusively for a few months. If you can install a program in Windows, you can search for the thousands of available programs (Applications --> Add/Remove). It is honestly easier to use than Vista. /fanboy rant

Reply
","","","","
\"user-pic\"
tech10171968
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

This problem, which can still be seen on quite a few corporate websites, can probably be described in one word: inertia. A lot of corporate systems, both internal and outward-facing, were built a long time ago with components which relied on proprietary technologies (ActiveX is a perfect example of this). I've always thought that the FOSS world (as most of us know it) moves just a little too quickly for most corporate behemoths. Their executives are of the opinion that \"it if isn't broken, don't fix it\". I can respect this stance, and even mostly agree with it; the IT budgets for most of these entities are far too large to make potentially disruptive changes on a whim.


But what happens when something is \"broken\" (due to obsolescence or being inadequate)? That's where the problems start: IT is still largely seen as a drain on profits (though still a \"necessary evil\"). If the IT department even does so much as breathes funny they will have to really justify the change. I'm guessing that this is why so many websites of this nature are have remained so \"IE-centric\" for so long; it's hard to stand before the CIO/CEO and justify taking a site down to accomodate such a small percentage of alternative OS users. On a personal note, I've found it maddening to be excluded from using a website due to having the \"wrong\" OS and/or browser, end up having to do something silly like change my browser's UI string, and then find out the site works perfectly (or near perfectly) anyhow; this signifies (to me)

that there was no good reason for the discrimination in the first place, and that the dev(s) didn't even try.



Of course, this may change in the future, given the increased use of netbooks and other devices (e.g. smartphones) in which something other than Windows is the embedded OS.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
1369ic
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Don't see it. I've been using Firefox on Linux to manage my Citibank account for several years now. No tricks, no work-arounds. I just did two fresh installs of Slackware 13 (new hand-me-down computer, then upgraded the HD) and it logged in flawlessly the whole while. I read on Distrowatch that Slackware doesn't report its identity. Maybe that's it?

Anyway, I was on Citibank this morning. Shiny.

See ya,

joe f.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
ZhannTk
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I'm Korea. All Korea websites whether it be government, education or business require IE.

Ugh.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
meehawl
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

\"I haven't tried to contact them\"

You lost me right there. What is the point of whining about a megabank's corporate policy on a blog without contacting them directly? Citibank is so dysfunctional it can barely figure out what is going on with its own employees using its own internal comm channels... how on earth can anyone with any pull there be expected to monitor random bloggings?

In cases like this I usually pull a corporation's 10-K filings, etc, find the *real* corporate address, and write directly to the office of the President and/or CEO at that address. You'd be amazed at how often you get a reply from an \"assistant\"-to-the-whatever, often with a coupon/voucher thrown in.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
TheFu
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

So, with the Washington Post suggesting that online banking be performed with a Live Linux Distro, [voices.washingtonpost.com] I wonder how Citi will handle that?

OTOH, my bank works with Firefox/Linux, but requires an insecure config (3rd party cookies enabled). I stopped using the normal website and use only the mobile version now. It does what I need, so I'm reasonably happy. Also, it is REALLY FAST without all the javascript crap.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
knorby
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I used to have a problem using linux with them, but I was able to get around it with user-agent spoofing. They did a site update a while ago, and I haven't had a problem since.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
kaleberg
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Citibank has always been terrible at basic banking. Back in the 70s I opened an account at a branch in Manhattan with two checks I wanted to deposit. A month later, they sent me a statement for my new account with a zero dollar balance. Luckily, I had my deposit slip, and even they admitted that they wouldn't have opened the account with no money in it. They made an adjustment, but I closed the account shortly after.

The problem isn't computers, Linux, Firefox or anything else. The problem is Citibank.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
watchout5
November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I haven't found a site that doesn't work, and if you ever did it only means that site is still acting like it's the 90's. Some people never want to upgrade their shit.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
karlthepagan
November 13, 2009 4:35 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

They have no good reason to discriminate against Linux users in this way. Perhaps they're worried that the \"hackers\" will expose their security flaws.

Reply
");