Posts by Fihart

Have you tried turning it off,,,,,,,,,,

If little green men can access a computer even when it's turned off, perhaps it hasn't actually been turned off.

Explosive experiences with Chinese made PC PSUs has taught me to turn off at the wall.

The last new Blackberry customer ?

Given a boxfresh Blackberry by a friend, what's not to like?

Tank-like construction, but the previous two 9800's my friend had packed up within contract. By the time EE replaced the latest, she had a new iPhone.The 9800 is a remarkable hybrid -- touchscreen and slider. Sadly, neither keyboard works well with my adult male fingers.

Initially, my friend and myself (LG and Nokia users) were puzzled by the small slot for entering messages. Larger grey area on screen above looks like where you'd text on any other phone. For 4 hours after inserting my SIM and paying for a data plan I was without data -- seemingly until I got a message from Blackberry confirming that my phone was registered. What's that all about? I don't wish to use so-called Blackberry Internet Service, I'm paying EE.

BB manual refers to wireless but means wireless telephony, not wifi. Confusion extends to the fact that actual wifi doesn't work unless mobile data is switched on. Oh, and BB maps don't work unless you have data plan. Nokia's excellent maps worked (slowly) on GPS alone -- which better when lost in wilderness ?

I want Google maps. BB app store wants money for a BB version. While Google site displays no sign of BB support, download app anyway as it's free -- and it works. Then I want the My EE app for tracking usage -- downloading via phone from BB store they say that (fake) email address I've given for BB ID will henceforth be my email address. No, I may want to add push email later.

Instead, download My EE via BB suite on a PC. But BB installs a new version of the ID software and a new desktop suite. When it finishes after about 15 minutes this permits me to download My EE. However, install rebooted the phone twice (3.5 minutes x2). I think I'll stay away from BB sites if poss.

How is the phone to use, aside from mad keyboard ? Actually, not bad -- setup screens are fairly logical (compared to Nokia) and comprehensive. Frequent reminders that inbuilt memory is full -- clearly too small for a system where stuff remain resident when you think you've finished with it. Touchscreen is overcrowded with duplicate icons. As a phone -- well my friend sometimes sounded like she was calling from under water when using the BB. I suspect noise cancelling isn't good. Battery is also too small -- normal user would charge every day. With similar use Nokia E71 with 3 year old battery lasted 2 to 3 days.

Now BB wants to sell a phone for £600. And I'm lukewarm about one that was free ?

What doesn't kill you.....

...only makes you stronger.

Is this their business plan ?

Military grade security = horrible to deal with ?

Having recently downgraded from a pre-Microsoft Nokia to a Blackberry my experience of updating the OS, my Blackberry ID, the desktop software and then downloading an app was so slow and elaborate I nearly aborted the process thinking it had locked-up.

Hope that the Winphones follow the more efficient and user-friendly Nokia tradition rather than Microsoft (or Blackberry) overbearing attitude to users.

Not that I know more than one person who's bought a Microsoft/Nokia (Mokia ?) -- all I see on my travels are iPhones, Samsungs and Blackberries.

BT increasingly aggressive

I normally pay my BT bill within a month of receipt so I was annoyed when after 14 days I got a robot phone call telling me to pay the bill or face (unspecified) consequences. Presumably this is cheaper than sending out a second printed bill but it is the opposite of good customer relations.

In fact the last time they called like this my phone line malfunctioned the next day and, when restored, my first call was to BT for an assurance that this was nothing to do with the threatening phone call.

I explained that my landline was of marginal use these days -- with public internet access and smartphones -- and had they cut off my service deliberately, I would be terminating the account unpaid on grounds of breach of contract. They assured me the disconnection was a coincidence, but as far as I am concerned, BT are on notice that their days of charging royally and adding a premium for not using direct debit are numbered in our household.

New lamps for old ?

If I correctly misremember the Arabian Nights tale, the exchange wasn't such a good deal. In fact the genie's out of the bottle -- the Surface is a Turkey.

bloody minded intrusiveness

Hotmail: words to the effect that "we need your phone number in case you lose your password and you have 7 days to comply" Not bloody likely, mate. Yahoo tried this some months ago and gave up, presumably because most people smelled a rat and refused..

Blackberry: words to effect that "If you want to download from our app store via your phone you must give your Blackberry ID. The email address you gave for your ID (in my case fake) will be regarded as your email address for your phone" So, no good if I want to set up push email.

Instead, downloaded via PC and router which did not seem to impose this but did insist on downloading fresh install software and fresh ID software to phone, rebooting the phone (very slowly) twice. It all took an age and has totally put me off using the Blackberry app store. Similar truculence at every point in dealing with Blackberry. No wonder they are headed for the boneyard.

Anyone buys iPods anymore ?

Good player, stupid iTunes. Last week had to restore iPod which had been corrupted, taken to Apple Store who reformatted it -- to Mac, not Windows which it had been used with.

Tried to restore via oldish existing iTunes installation but this (for some reason) insisted on getting an update, but could not connect to Apple's server (presumably address changed.

So downloaded new version of iTunes, which insisted on Service Pack 2 being added to WinXP (not previously updated because this PC is virtually unused). Whole operation took a morning.

Now compare with Sony MP3 player -- works unmodified with Windows or Mac, add music files without installing any software on PC, just drag and drop files.

Why would anyone buy an iPod ?

Fuckwits.

Never mind the logo Yahooooo!!!, try listening to your remaining customers. Given recent reliability, performance, spam and account hijack problems with Mail, you certainly won't be getting any new customers.

Am I missing something here ?

Correct me, but does this mean that Win 8.1 users won't be able to choose what software they run on their computers unless it has been approved by or supplied via Microsoft ?

If so we're talking Anti-Trust. And, anyway, who with any computer know-how would choose an operating system which reduces choice to that extent. Well, I don't count Apple users.

If I'm half right, MS are worse than I thought -- and are gambling with their future.

Self defeating Disc Tax

"Audio CD-R" discs are hard to find and retail for much more than data CD-R which became a cheap commodity while Audio version remained a tiny niche market. In reality the only difference between the Audio CD-R and a regular data CD-R is some code on the Audio disc which the recorder recognises.

The idea of the "tax" (actually a small amount before the above market factors came into play) was to compensate record companies (and musicians ?) for anticipated losses due to pirating of albums using such machines. But the recorders were expensive and unreliable. And they didn't sell because it's quicker to rip CD albums and copy them on a computer.

So the main buyers of CD recorders were musicians recording their own work. Thus, the Audio CD-R price premium penalised only those it was supposed to protect -- but that's tax for you !

I have Philips CD and Sony recorders which I use for transcribing vinyl to CD. I use Audio CD-Rs bought very cheap in flea markets or occasional end-of-line offers at stores. It's possible to use data CD-Rs on a recorder, with a little ingenuity. Involves leaving the recorder's case open and some deft swapping of discs once the Audio CD-R has been recognised. Simpler method is to use Audio CD-RW disc in the recorder but then copy the RW onto regular data discs on a computer. A quick wipe and the Audio CD-RW can be reused ad infinitum. So, as usual, tax avoidance or evasion wins.

Not listening, na, na, na

"We deeply value how much you, our users, care about Yahoo! "

Like f*ck they do.

Exactly the same happened with Yahoo Mail. Everyone was happy with it (despite a few limitations) but they tried to shift us to a ugly newer version. Most people had a look and reverted. Recently they made the change compulsory.

Having wasted a weekend restoring broken iPod I am fed up with software nazis like iTunes. Yahoo who had my goodwill are beginning to lose it.

Dai Woo

The famous Welsh Korean (though his cars now seem to be Chevrolets ?) actually makes rather good microwaves.

Friend has had his fancypants one in stainless steel for about ten years. My more modest model was rescued from behind a bankrupt Kosovan cafe in N. London bearing the scars of heat from the industrial toaster previously parked below it in the caff. Still going strong some years later in daily use.

No explanation necessary.

" Sinofsky left Microsoft abruptly and without explanation midway through the launch of his own big products, Windows 8 and the Surface tablet PC.....".

Getting as far away as pos

Okay, so your ex is dating the boss. Time for a new "career chapter" -- the opposite side of the planet.

appease in our time

There doesn't seem to be any good reason for this product to be brought into existence, except to appease their masters at Microsoft.

Nothing to fear unless you have something to hide....

Fortunately for the rest of the world the Germans have a lot of commercial data to secure against US industrial espionage.

Germany and (hopefully Europe) will call foul on this and threaten Microsoft's business in Government and Commerce IT.

The very idea that an OS company can dictate hardware design in a manner which potentially damages users should have anti-trust implications, as well.

Every day in every way Microsoft is coming closer to its own destruction.

Dell's downfall ?

Well, would you buy a second time from a company which behaved like that ?

As for nuisance sales calls, I listen to the stupid message (that's entirely irrelevant to me) and always press 5 or whatever "to speak to one of our agents". Then walk away from phone and maybe put on the radio in the background so the salesman who finally picks up the call is, hopefully, nonplussed. Sometimes they call back later in person -- the result is you have wasted even more of their time than they have of yours.

I don't know where the idea that businesses have some right to randomly call people's homes gained traction, but as children we called that "knock down ginger" (running down a street randomly ringing doorbells and running away).

the money is part of the problem

When basically uncultured people like Ballmer luck out and get rich they assume it's due to their own brilliance and become autocrats. Were the same people reasonably comfortably off they would perhaps remain in touch with reality.

Microsoft's conduct towards customers, other businesses and government shows that it has believed itself untouchable. Fortunately, they haven't been so lucky with their monopoly marketing approach once faced with serious competition from Sony, Apple, Google, Amazon. As they can't buy up and destroy those rivals Microsoft will have to change. From what I've read from ex-employees, the company culture is both destructive of initiative and unwieldy so it will take a radical change of leadership style to slowly turn the company from its seemingly disastrous course.

And I thought Lenovo were a safe choice.

But obviously the same sort of idiots slugging their computers with crapware.

If they had any balls they'd call Redmond and tell them to sort out W8 or let them continue installing W7.

They wouldn't be the first to make that call, apparently.

Couldn't happen to a nicer firm.

(as above)

Who is this Doctor Dre ?

Is it some popular beat combo ?

Have Sennheiser PX100 -- gift because feckless owner couldn't untangle the cable.

Sennheisers good but a bit bass heavy (as is the current taste ?), so prefer Sony MDR40 bought in 1986 and rewired several times since.

Like with Unlike.

Apple may just be demonstrating Windows under the Mac OS to show how goddamned ugly Windows is by comparison (and weird if you count Win8).

Having said that, I would not buy Apple stuff unless I won the lottery -- and I don't play the lottery.

The warning signs were there....

Just wait 'til investors realise what a mess Windows8 has turned out to be.

MS had plenty of warnings from users of beta version of 8. Investors could have seen the same warning signs had they read comments on tech sites.

As for Surface and varients, MS has a bad record on me-too products like Zune. As soon as Surface prices were revealed (and the mindless, empty, ads) perceptive shareholders would have jumped ship.

Look at Patch and you'll see the problem.

Patch attempts to create "local" news sites with attendant advertising.

The flaw in the business model is that successful local sites grow from the grassroots, rather than being parachuted in from a large corporation headquartered elsewhere.

Just looking at one of them (and there may be better ones) I could almost hear the tumbleweeds bowling through.

The desperate tone of the CEO is evident in the clip, and no wonder !