Posts by Rathernicelydone

The Duckworth Lewis Method

Great first album and their video for Meeting Mr Miandad is superb: https://youtu.be/t3JA-417V_M

I really enjoyed using DDG but the only issue I have with it is when searching for Shopping results. It only brings back resuts from Amazon and I actively try not to use Amazon if I can. Is there a way to make the Shopping results more varied in DDG?

Vodafone

As a user of the Vodafone broadband service I have to say it is rock solid - no outage so never had to call their support number. A solid 60Mb download and 19Mb upload and I get this at any time of the day or night with no download limits. I have just signed up to a new contract for 18 months of the Fibre 76 product for £30 a month including line rental which I consider quite the bargain.

However their router is utterly crap with poor wifi coverage - I have Ethernet cables running off it to the rest of the house and a range extender that has much better wifi coverage than the router. Factor investment into a better router/range extender as part of any decision to move to Vodafone.

There is also a London event taking place at the SwiftKey Offices this Friday between 4-6 pm so you can try the phone out. Register here: http://attending.io/events/oneplus2london

It seems Nokia's engineering is once again shining through and this can only be a good thing. Unfortunately as the author mentions you are investing in the eco system too and for £79 that may not be as much of a concern but for £500 it definitely would be. Having used WP I like the OS but if the apps I want are not available I wont invest in it.

Good move to make the licenses free particularly if they are targeting low cost handset makers as the growth is all in the emerging markets. Why it took them this long I have no idea.

I loved the fact they used designers from Shoreditch - it wouldn't surprise me someone from that area thought of something like this (and I work here). Time to break out the Nathan Barley DVD.

Not bad for an April fool's joke.

I find it completely extraordinary that HFC thought it prudent to let this matter go all the way to the supreme court for such a simple mistake. They will now have to pay their own and possibly the plaintiff's very high legal costs. I assume they were very badly advised by their lawyers and should not only fire them but sue them. If they didn't and this was due to their greed it serves them right.

Toothless regulator

If we didn't have such a toothless regulator we would see clearer and fairer pricing. Seems to apply to a lot of industries these days...

I don't watch a lot of TV but do watch a lot of TV programmes that I have downloaded on my tablet. My 40" 1080i screen from 5 years back seems perfectly adequate for TV broadcasts (most of which seem to be in 720p anyway) and also for Blu-Ray. The TV in our room is now for communal/social watching of films, sports events etc. It has become a special occasion device for me rather than an everyday device.

As with other people on here I doubt I will replace my TV any time soon. I haven't seen 4k in action and may consider upgrading in a couple of year's time but the difference would have to be substantial. I would rather spend the money on a nice speaker set-up instead (TV speakers seem to be absolute garbage).

I have noticed that hardware seems to have outstripped software substantially. My PC is around 3 years old (an overclocked i7) and the only things I have changed is adding an SSD and a new graphics card (along with new power supply to support it). I can now play any modern game and the load times for Windows 7 and programs are astonishingly quick. I cannot see me upgrading the PC (e.g. new board/chip etc) for at least another 3 years.

Likewise my HTC One that I bought over a year ago I wont change for another year at least as every app and Android itself runs perfectly.

I once thought the hardware refresh cycle would mean significant spend continuously to keep my gadgets bang up to date but I'm sure my wallet is grateful for not having to do that!

A bit of a hatchet job from Andrew Orlowski who's pieces I usually enjoy reading. To be honest the only thing I can recall Kroes working on is the whole mobile roaming issue and also harmonising the EU's telecoms regulation which I can't imagine is a bad thing.

I'm no expert on Net Neutrality but from the piece I gather Andrew is not happy that she didn't pursue this area more vigorously? In which case I suggest this is an area way outside her pay grade as its a global concern and her focus should be on EU wide issues.

I'm not defending Kroes but if you look at the uselessness of OFCOM than in comparison perhaps her impact isn't as useless as Andrew suggests.

I quite fancy a smart watch – don’t wear anything on my wrist at the moment. GPS and compatibility with RunKeeper is a must as I would like to use it for my runs - save me from having to wear an arm band and my phone.

I am still trying to figure out the point of the 5C...

I have a company phone which uses the EE network and at peak times at Paddington mobile Internet is completely unusable. Perhaps EE should focus on better peak time capacity management since it is pointless having fast Internet access if the local cell is completely saturated.

Mobile Phone Insurance

Mine is with my bank (Halifax Ultimate Rewards) and when my Samsung Galaxy S3 was stolen by pick pockets in Barcelona I got a payout within two weeks. OK it wasn't the full amount due to excess but I received 85% of the value so can go ahead and buy another handset. Some insurance does work.