
Re: Paging Mr Twain
I think that p*ssing off your customers so much that you have to give them your main product for nothing is pretty much a fail, however you look at it.
174 publicly visible posts • joined 22 Apr 2012
Downloaded win10 ISO, pro version, wouldn't boot in Vbox without EFI turned on.
Then found that my MAPS key wouldn't work, so downloaded the Enterprise ISO. this wouldn't boot in VBox unless I turned EFI off.
Trying to download it on a windows7 PC using IE11 (sometimes MAPS insists) I got "4 hours and 15 minutes left"
So out of interest I tried on a Linux PC using Firefox, the download took 9 minutes, same site, same file, same network connection.
Maybe Linux users get priority :)
For power users, maybe.
For me, the real pain is the stupid ribbon interface in MSO.
Most people use a tiny fraction of any office package's features.
I have yet to find anything missing in Libre, and I can't use MSO at home because I don't have any windows PCs there.
I had a shock the other day, I thought that my "skip forward" button had stopped working, I was actually being forced to watch adverts.
Then I realised I was actually watching TV in real time. I pressed pause, made a cup of tea, and all was right with the world again.
But even though I never watch adverts, I am not naive enough to think they don't have an effect.
What really annoys me is that I am paying for them (and indirectly all commercial TV content) every time I go shopping.
Yes, I use adblockers too, and spam filters.
I still purchase products, so I must really screw up all that analysis of ad campaigns.
I had a shock the other day, I thought that my "skip forward" button had stopped working, I was actually being forced to watch adverts.
Then I realised I was actually watching TV in real time. I pressed pause, made a cup of tea, and all was right with the world again.
But even though I never watch adverts, I am not naive enough to think they don't have an effect.
What really annoys me is that I am paying for them (and indirectly all commercial TV content) every time I go shopping.
Yes, I use adblockers too, and spam filters.
I still purchase products, so I must really screw up all that analysis of ad campaigns.
We have reached a sort of plateau where even a cheap PC is more than man enough for most users.
Especially when you can carry an 8 core processor and several gigabytes of stuff in your trouser pocket.
The only way for windows10 to drive new PC purchases is to be bloated and a bit rubbish, slow down your hardware, etc, and that just isn't going to wash these days.
Extended life of hardware means an extended refresh cycle.
Even Paris is looking a bit sad and boring these days.
*We assume that most of our keen readers will not be using anything so basic as a stone-age telly without digital storage. We presume it'll be more along the lines of custom media servers with a fistful of tuner cards, top-end DVRs, iPlayer run on a variety of exotic platforms, that sort of thing.
A little quad core Kabini with MythTV and dual HD tuner, streams LiveTV or recordings to a RaspberryPi behind the TV, or various other devices (phones, Tablets, PC, Android TVbox, etc.)
I originally built it as a backup for my YouView box.
Now it seems to be the other way around.
Shame there is so little worth watching these days.....
Actually, I think that is what is meant by "longer than expected lifecycle"
PCs as well as tablets are good enough these days that there is no urgency to replace them, either because of functionality or obsolescence.
Laptops (and does that include Chromebooks by any chance?) seem to be taking a while to catch up, but they will reach the plateau soon.
Poll Tax?
That was per person, not per household, remember?
License fee
Started off as a way to pay for the infrastructure, only the BBC had the transmitters.
I don't really mind paying the license fee, I use the BBC quite a lot.
But I have no choice but to pay for commercial TV, even though I don't use it, ever.
Every time you buy a product that is advertised on TV, you pay for the commercial TV companies.
I bet it adds up to a lot more than £145 a year.
Bear in mind, if there was no Freeview then the monthly sub costs would increase, as they would then become the only game in town, and advertisers, bless them, would love to use more and more airtime to feed you the important stuff.
Tried most distros at one time or another.
Mint is for XP refugees as far as I can see, don't like it much.
Xubuntu is Xcellent, run my Main home server (which doubles as a Kitchen desktop) on it, with MythTV and Zoneminder (for security cams).
Lubuntu isn't bad, used it on my netbook until I got a tablet.
I use Ubuntu 14.04 as my main desktop at home, but I use Android more and more, the desktop is becoming a fading memory for many.
Melt butter, put eggs and other ingredients into liquidiser, whizz until mixed well, then slowly drizzle hot butter in the top.
That way, the heat from the butter cooks the eggs, avoiding all the bain Marie faffing.
I add Bacon Jam as well.
(I make my Bacon Jam with free range streaky bacon, red onions, garlic, cholula sauce, demerara sugar, cider vinegar and Calvados)
If you are running an internet server, you should be taking basic precautions to reduce the attack surface.
I know that default VPS setups are often pretty poor, so if you just set one up thinking "it's Linux, I'll be safe", your server was probably rooted a couple of months ago, right when you put it on the internet with no firewall settings, and a big sign saying " PLEASE ROOT ME".
And no customisation.
Who thought that was a good idea?
Probably the same dork that programmed my car entertainment system.
It took my carefully arranged playlists and played them alphabetically by title!
I don't mind some people using search for everything, I just want the choice.
Nobody two people use a PC the same way, why must they be limited to one method?
Progress is not about removing options.
Would be a shame to see Blinkbox go. I only watch films infrequently, but it is nice to have the option to watch one without taking out a monthly subscription to channels filled with loads of American TV carp.
Because it isn't an all you can eat service, it tends to have a better choice, whereas the sub channels only have some stuff for a limited time. I assume because the royalties are on pay per watch.
Sky store is apparently similar, but I haven't tried that.
Simple solution, just tell your printer to print page 1.
I only print email out when it is money off food or drink at >insert name of pleasant hostelry here<
And then the voucher is conveniently designed to print the bottom few lines (or half the bar code) on page2 ! DoH!
Happily a lot of them allow you to show the barcode on your phone now :)
Yes, you are in the main, right.
Like Netbooks before them, Tablets fit certain niches very well, but they are not the all purpose devices they were touted to be.
I have just replaced my 2.5 yr old Samsung 10" tablet (which replaced a 4 yr old Netbook). With a Sony 10" Android tablet with a faster processor, more storage and more memory.
I find it invaluable.
I use it for reading, surfing, email, etc. I can carry software, firmware and manuals for all of the 6 manufacturers' hardware and software I support in the field. Best point: it weighs less than 500g.
With a USBOTG cable and a USB stick, I can use it for 99% of the stuff I need when away from my desk.
My laptop mostly stays in the boot of the car nowadays, but in a case with its charger it weighs over 3Kg.
And the bill can be changed after it has been issued.
A few examples: (CBA to find sources at the moment, but they should be easy enough to find similar stuff)
Guy has a few stitches after an accident, bill $200. After they find out he has insurance, bill magically triples, but is still not high enough for his insurance to pay out.
Woman is hit by another vehicle, hers is written off,
Hospital bill suddenly doubles when they try to claim some of her payment from the car insurance.
http://www.networkwestmidlands.com/Apps/phone_app.aspx
It works very well, and the bus connections usually work well too.
As someone who has to use a car to get to work on the days when I am not able to work form home, (25 miles away and no direct bus or train service)
I was pleasantly surprised how much things have changed since I used to be a commuter.
I regularly use it now to visit the town centre for restaurants and theatres etc.
I always pre-record TV, or on LiveTV, pause it by about 15 mins.
That way I can skip the ads when they come on.
One thing that I prefer about broadcast TV, you can skip the ads.
Too many streamed services have unskippable ones.
I rarely see any ads, and I expect much of my shopping is unadvertised, but I can't be sure, except when I am shopping from my local grocer or butcher.
Yes, I know that advertising is a necessary evil, but I only want to see it when I am looking to buy something.
Intrusive advertising strikes me as self defeating.
Pop-ups that won't go away or have a tiny close button which is almost impossible to hit on a touchscreen, pages that take several minutes to load because of the advertising, etc, etc.
My instinctive response is click away and not return.
Particularly obnoxious ads make me determined to avoid the proffered product at all costs.
Mind you, I maybe particularly ad-averse. I even deliberately record TV so that I can skip over the commercial breaks
I often holiday at my daughter's house in a village in Cornwall, where the only mobile phones that work are on Orange.
My company phone is on Vodaphone, so it stays in the glove compartment of the car, and I use a PAYG Orange phone for personal use. Needless to say only one trusted colleague has that number.
He has never called me on it.