Posts by Bert 1

Use the courts, Jeff: Amazon to contest Microsoft scooping $10bn JEDI contract

I think they've used the wrong picture...

... that is NOT Babylon 5!

Baffled by bogus charges on your Amazon account? It may be the work of a crook's phantom gadget

Re: ecards

Also, getting a temporary Prime Membership can be cheaper.

I've often been offered 1 week of prime for 99p, which is cheaper than the (typical) £2.99 P&P being offered if there is no free shipping (small order say.)

If I cancel straight away, I then get offered up to an 89p refund!

I count this as a win...

Re: It is hard to find

Eek!

I just checked this on my account, where I don't have Prime at the moment...

Accounts & Lists - Your Apps and Devices lists (to parpaphrase a bit by taking off my name)

Fire TV stick

2nd Android Device

our prime -> prime video -> menu -> settings -> your devices gives:

Fire TV Stick

Hudl2

2nd Android Device

Android Device

Accounts & Lists -> Manage your content and Devices -> Devices gives:

Fire TV Stick (Fire TV Stik)

Kindle (Kindle Papaerwhite0

2nd Android Device (Kindle for android)

2nd Android Device (Amazon shopping App)

2nd Android Device (MP3)

Android Device (Amazon Shopping App)

Android Device (Kindle for Android)

Kindle Cloud Reader (Kindle Cloud Reader)

Hudl2 (Amazon shopping App)

Hudl2 (Kindle for Android)

Android Device (Amazon Music)

Android (Kindle for Android)

They all have my name at the start, and they have all been mine over the years, but that is frankly ridiculous that they have different lists. Maybe there are longer lists in other places!

Delayed, over-budget smart meters will be helpful – when Blighty enters 'Star Trek phase'

They have their own "release team" which they can call in when they need to leave.

Ikea hopes to spare shoppers the one-way Helvete of its stores with ÅR app overhaul

Re: I no longer use Ikea ...

I tried...

I had every intention of buying a shelving unit, so having picked up trolley in the car park, I ventured storewards.

First there was the barrier to lift the trolley over. Level completed!

Then there was a revolving door to negotiate. That was interesting, but ultimately defeated. There *may* have been a queue. Level completed!

I gave up at the staircase though, and went home, abandoning the trolley in the foyer.

I no longer use Ikea ...

... after an unfortunate incident involving a shopping trolley, a barrier, a revolving door and a staricase...

Complex automation won't make fleshbags obsolete, not when the end result is this dumb

Re: Timzones

What, and spoil the fun!

:-)

Timzones

Google calendar automatically adjusts for timezones by default.

So when I enter a ferry time for Calais in local time (as stated on my booking), google helpfully adds an hour to it as I am currenty running on BST.

I have nearly missed ferry crossings as a result of this.

It took me 30 minutes to find and turn off sucha helpful feature.

Uncle Sam charges Julian Assange with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion

Re: Is this the best that the USA can come up with ?

There is NOTHING wrong with horsemeat. I bought some during the "scandal" so that I could knowingly try it.

There is a problem with fraudulently selling it as more expensive meat, and not sourcing it from hygienic sources.

In a nutshell, if I'm going to eat horse, it should be my choice, and I should pay horsemeat prices.

Shocker: UK smart meter rollout is crap, late and £500m over budget

Re: Home security problem

"Do you know anyone who doesn't flush a bog within an hour of falling out of bed in the morning?"

Yes! My Kids :-(

Amazon, eBay and pals agree to Europe's other GDPR: Generally Dangerous Products Removed from websites

But what about just plain crap?

I'm seriously considering weaning myself from my Amazon addiction.

It is getting so hard to filter out the stuff that is just plan crap!

Things I have been bitten by (and not always returned)

Hair colour

Thermostat

Cable holder

Earphones

USB cables

Ceramic light sockets

Mains socket timer

It's got to the point where you can't trust the reviews, and it's not always obvious where the products are being shipped from.

Oh, and "Prime" rarely delivers next day any more.

Microsoft shoves US govt IT contract where ICE throws kids: Out of sight in a chain-link cage

Re: Have another quote

Have another one :-)

..."Too much sex and violence. Too shocking even for channel 4"

BT announces Gavin Patterson to become ex-CEO

What they need is...

What they need is one phone number where you can contact one person on a help desk who will log a fault and see it though to resolution.

What they have is multiple phone numbers (take your pick), with people at the other end trained to say:

"Ah, you've come through to department A, you need to speak to Department B on this phone number."

"Ah, you've come through to department B, you need to speak to Department C on this phone number."

"Ah, you've come through to department C, you need to speak to Department A on this phone number."

Sometimes, just for shits and giggles, the department list is longer. I've set aside whole afternoons to (fail to) resolve issues with BT.

Wanted that Windows 10 update but have an Intel SSD? Computer says no

Gaming mode

Run Avast in "Gaming Mode"

Scammers use Google Maps to skirt link-shortener crackdown

Links are already short

If your going to shorten the link to something unreadable and unmemorable, why not cut out the middleman?

You could use something like https://255.255.255.255 for instance.

Five things you need to know about Microsoft's looming Windows 10 Spring Creators Update

Re: Next OS - no idea

Yeah probably a Chrome book.

Music - not so much. I rip CDs to my library on the NAS, and then sync them with winamp to the ipod

So everything I have done on my PC in the last 6 months:

1) Produced (and printed) party invitations in word

2) Produced and printed graphics for charity events (Word NOT Office 360)

3) Written emails (Gmail) (used to be chrome, but now Firefox)

4) browsed the web (chrome/firefox)

5) opened keypass

6) ripped CDs (and listened to music while doing so)

7) logged into work with Citrix

8) produced simple excel spreadsheets (Not Office 360)

9) Downloaded gopro footage

10) Copy photos to NAS & USB, and made minor edits (Photoshop - NOT CC)

11) managed NAS./firewall / router (browser based)

What I have not done is gaming!

When you look at that list, a chrome book will be more than adequate.

Next OS - no idea

I've no idea what to get next.

I hate windows 10.

I have tried Linux - everything is a tiring battle requiring internet searches.

I hate Apple (iTunes borked my PC music library), and it's an overpriced walled garden.

Tablet (Hudl) - hated limited screen and keyboard options (like to have more than one thing open at once, and easy drag/drop functionality. Plus USB OtG was flaky

ChromeOS - maybe, but the devices are low powered.

Something else? Maybe I don't need a computer? Except the NAS interface is browser based :-/

Most of what i do is send emails and copy pictures from my camera to NAS.

I will nurse Windows 7 as long as possible, and see whats available in a couple of years.

I would love a shiny new laptop - but every review I read makes me shudder when I get to the OS bit.

Genuinely not enthused by any of the poor options currently available.

Too many bricks in the wall? Lego slashes inventory

Lego Minecraft

Really?!

I always though the Minecraft was essentially virtual Lego,

How can it be right that we now have a physical copy of the virtual Lego!

Isn't that just Lego?

PS - FWIW, it is hugely overpriced, but for what you get, so are the cheap knock-offs.

Hotter than the Sun: JET – Earth’s biggest fusion reactor, in Culham

Excited

I'm just excited by the production of Helium. I hadn't realised that.

I'll start using party balloons again.

It's official: Users navigate flat UI designs 22 per cent slower

Re: Personally

I'm the error bar too, I lie, or give random answers.

Donald Trumped: Comey says Prez is a liar – and admits he's a leaker

Re: Impeachment?

"but technically under clause 4, sub-section III, sub-para-9 of the whatever act that wasn't technically illegal"...

"All nations attending the conference are only allocated one parking space." Is that entirely relevant sir?

Gravitational waves permanently change spacetime, say astroboffins

Re: stretching effects on quantum foam? Eddy's in the Space-Time Continuum?

And this is his sofa, is it?

Tablets become feebleslabs as sales spiral down

Got one. Meh

I got a Hudl with a keyboard attached.

We take a lot of photos on holiday, and I like to back them up onto a USB stick while we are away. I also occasionally connect into work

I thought a tablet would be a better solution than a netbook: lighter, modern, touch screen.

Citrix was fine, but it turns out that USB OTG is a complete pain in the arse. Basically it doesn't work.

The result is that I still take the trusty NC10, which has now been loaded with Ububtu. I was quite disappointed really. And it's not supported any longer, I believe.

I still use it occasionally, but it doesn't offer me much advantage over the phone (and its usually further away, with a flat battery). If I need a bigger screen, I use the PC.

BBC surrenders 'linear' exclusivity to compete with binge-watch Netflix

Re: Content is king

@ David Nash

Thanks for your suggestion. I am rapidly coming to that conclusion - that it is the only way to watch it on a TV.

I then start looking at the FireTV, so I can get a cable connection, and the price increases markedly.

Plus it's yet another box, and I already have 4!.

Plus it is definitely inelegant to have that number of boxes. :-(

Re: Content is king

I signed up for Netflix over Christmas to watch films.

I have trawled through the list of available films.

There are ONLY half a dozen I will watch, two of which I have seen. I am still buying latest releases from Virgin :-( Oh, and FB Junior is working his way through The Clone Wars, saving about £60 on a box set.

So it's not all bad, but on an ongoing basis I can't see any more films I want to watch. I might watch Westworld, and I will return for GoT, but maybe I am not the target market for it. I don't like American drama that never ends, but merely gets cancelled. Please give me a proper story with a proper end. Like 24. I enjoyed that.

I have also just signed up to Amazon Prime, in order to watch the Grand Tour.

I have again trawled through the films on there. Nothing. TV series: Lucifer, Constantine and Ripper Street (which I expect will be on BBC at some point). The next day prime delivery is useful, but it appears to not be available for a huge part of the stuff available, rendering it frustrating. I've tried the "no rush" delivery a couple of times, but can't work out how to spend the credit on anything I actually want.

The delivery mechanism isn't great either. It took me an afternoon to figure out how to watch Amazon through any of the smart devices I could plug into the TV. The ones that didn't work: Samsung smart DVD; Virgin tivo box; Ubuntu laptop; Android phone chrome cast. I have had to plug in a Windows 7 laptop.

It's not that it confuses me, it just that the lack of elegance annoys me.

Canadian cops cuff 11-year-old lad after Grand Theft Auto gets real

Re: GTA is an 18 certificate game

"I asked her if stealing cars, screwing hookers, dealing drugs and killing people was appropriate for an 11 year old."

But apart from the screwing hookers bit, none of that is appropriate for an 18 year old either!

I fail to see the difference.

My kids play it, and we talk about it. They like the driving...

World-leading heart hospital 'very, very lucky' to dodge ransomware hit

Re: Is it a sign of the times..

I just read your comment, saw the highlighted letter, and thought (in order)

But that IS how you spell it.

Has El Reg made a typo ?

OMG, perhaps the g wasn't there in the first place.

That would make, erm, Goole. That's a place!

I'll go back and check the article!

Have an upvote

Europe loves to pay by bonk* - survey

Re: Who the hell is using them daily?

I did this for about 3 months earlier in the year. I had no cash on me at all.

I came unstuck at a charity event. It seems the Scouts don't take cards when you want to buy a hot dog.

I now carry a couple of tenners for "emergencies".

Microsoft deletes Windows 10 nagware from Windows 7 and 8

Re: so, is it SAFE to run 'windows update' again?

Yeah. Me too. I want to know this.

Sorry Nanny, e-cigs have 'no serious side-effects' – researchers

Benefit for a non-smoker

Can I just point out that as a non-smoker, I am completely in favour of vaping.

When entering or leaving any given building, I no-longer have to hold my breath.

The profusion of aromas is actually quite enjoyable.

(Although maybe I am becoming addicted to nicotine?)

Meet the man who owns his own piece of the internet

Wholeheartedly agree.

Except he wants .lildick

Switch survives three hours of beer spray, fails after twelve

Re: Football is football

El Reg is an English publication, so when it says "Football" it means 1966.

Whatever happened to ... Nest?

I have a nest, and this is what I think.

Firstly, I was given it, I don't think I'd ever have bought it.

Likes

1)Multiple temperature setting events per day.

For instance 05:50: 20 degrees, 07:00, 9 degrees, etc. I've not found a limit on the number yet.

2) Looks nice

3) Interesting to see when the heating was on for the last 10 days

4) Ability to turn on remotely when I know the kids are in (but upstairs) and its turned off. However this wouldn't be needed without Dislike (7).

Dislikes

1) Learning facility is useless.

2) Remote control is a useless gimmick. Never used beyond the first few weeks.

3) Software errors cause unexpected heating schedules

4) Software updates cause unexpected heating schedules.

5) "True radiant" (where it turns on and off early) is useless.

6) Annoying that I cant see when the heating was on since I installed it.

7) Auto away that turns heating off when people are in the house but not passing the thermostat.

8) Price (Although mine was free).

BT broadband is down: Former state monopoly goes TITSUP UK-wide

Re: Thanks BT

You do realise that if you're actually watching Netflix, you're doing it wrong :-)

PS - down here too in Essex

City of London cops in Christmas karaoke crackdown shocker

That name

Why are they named after a Penguin?

Who would win a fight between Cortana and Android?

Re: For Windows 10 integration

Its much simpler to use a to do list.

If you ONLY get the reminder to construct the spreadsheet next time you are on your PC, you might miss an opportunity when sitting at a laptop, or someone else's PC, or the spare Linux one you're dabbling with.

Give me a single list, and let me decide how & when to action the items on it.

Brit-American hacker duo throws pwns on IoT BBQs, grills open admin

Re: New acronym proposal

My proposal is I(di)oT.

Microsoft's OneDrive price hike has wrecked its cloud strategy

Re: Never had this problem...

My solution to the offsite backup:

Old PC with USB disks added running NAS4free, placed in a detached garage, and connected with powerline networking to automatically back up my file server twice a week.

Sales down, profit up, 1,000 bods chopped: Your one-minute guide to Planet Microsoft

Re: We are making strong progress across each of our three ambitions...

..."in the fist week after I took over"

I gotta ask. Is that just after the bag of dicks week?

Oh dear, Microsoft: UK.gov signs deal with LibreOffice

Re: Cue all the usual stuff about incompatibility etc

I tried Libre Office for a while.

Opening repeatedly with LO and MS Office and using tracked changes in both, results in a document neither can read after a very very short time. This is saving in docx format.

Until everyone (whole world) moves, it is a risk I can't take.

Microsoft now awfully pushy with Windows 10 on Win 7, 8 PCs – Reg readers hit back

Re: So tonight's tasks once I get home

You might also want to add

3a) plug back in network :-)

AVG to flog your web browsing, search history from mid-October

Why is anyone still using AVG?

I ditched it when it installed the AVG Nation toolbar into my browser as an automatic update, a few years ago.

I have been using Avast ever since (in gaming mode so it doesn't keep talking to me ;-) )

SPOOKY new Pluto snaps will make the HAIR RISE on the back of your neck

Re: One Way Mission to Dwarf Planet X

It's also fantastic that in front of the mountainy rocks is a flat studio floor like plane :-)

It clearly was done for technical accuracy, not cost saving.

SPACE WHISKY: Astro malt pongs of 'rubber and smoked fish'

Re: Scientific newbies

"(note to posters above, there is no E in Whisky)"

Well, there is no 'e' in this particular whisky, as it comes from Scotland.

Other whiskey does have the 'e' in it.

From Wikipedia:

The spelling of the term "whisky" is often debated by journalists and consumers. Scottish, Australian and Canadian whiskies use "whisky", Irish whiskies use "whiskey", while American and other styles vary in their spelling of the term.

Epson: Cheap printers, expensive ink? Let's turn that upside down

Re: I want a cheap low volume printer

Definitely go for a colour laser.

I've got one (after getting annoyed with chucking out half used inkjet cartridges.)

It lasts for AGES. OK, so the photo printing is not quite as good, but I just get any photos that I want to display printed online by Snapfish (other online photo printing services are available).

Inkjet is a complete con, I pretty much ended up buying a new cartridge every time I wanted to print something.

Windows 10: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE to Microsoft's long apology for Windows 8

Re: I'm disgusted!

Release time is 21:00 PST. Or 05:00 BST on 30th July.

All your kids are belong to us

I read this review with a growing sense of meh regarding the whole thing.

There are no killer features which I personally need.

Then I got to this bit, and experienced a growing feeling of absolute dread:

"The Xbox app delivered with Windows 10 supports Xbox Live Streaming, letting you connect to an Xbox One console and play games on your PC."

Every single teenager in the world (including mine) will be updating to Windows 10 this month, whether they are told to avoid it like the plague or not :-(

BONK! BONK! Windows 10 whack-a-mole – Microsoft still fixing bugs

Re: This "Get Windows 10" widget...

Oh, I hope so.

I turned it off (stopped relevant updates downloading, etc).

Fscking things come back! I can't be arsed spending any more time on it. I am hoping it will disappear tomorrow, but it might just get bigger :-(

Google robo-car in rear-end smash – but cack-handed human blamed

Re: I ride motorcycles so...

You can add to to the list:

Driving at the edge of the lane when in traffic queues.

Driving too slowly

Driving too quickly (and I don't mean just over the speed limit)

Microsoft nixes A-V updates for XP, exposes 180 MEEELLION luddites

Two points to make - Linux & W7

1) I have a Samsung NC10 Netbook which was supplied with XP. Despite being a great little piece of kit, it has lain unused for the last year or so, as I did not want to risk linking it to my home network, and have newer hardware. Last week I needed an extra PC to connect to the internet, so I installed Ubuntu on it (downloaded onto a thumb drive), and its fantastic. It allows the NC10 to be useful once more, and the learning curve is not as steep as I feared, after using Android phones and tablets for half a decade. I truly believe that the end of XP will (well, should) encourage people to try Linux.

2) I bought a windows 7 PC last night. It's still readily available on new PCs from Chillblast. In fact they highlight it as their recommended OS.