Posts by Flicker 56 publicly visible posts • joined 22 Jan 2014
Yes, Lisle Stree was magic - and the top end of Tottenham Court Road. Still have various odds and ends from GWS, including the teak sleeve case for my Leak valve pre-amp, retrieved from the back of their stockroom, I think in their closing-down sale when Lasky's took over. Before that they'd bought a load of old Vortexion valve PA amps from me and my mates, acquired in a highly dodgy auction from the old ILEA. The past is another country....
If they've really kept the old 7-row Thinkpad layout then those keys are Page Backwards / Page Forwards (works as Back / Fwd in most browsers) and there are dedicated PgUp / PgDn keys at the top right, next to dedicated Home / End. The Fn modifiers for the Home / End increase / decrease LCD backlight brightness.
This is the place I bought my X220 a year ago - not clear whether their current stock has the (much better) IPS screen or a TN LCD, but still good value. No connection with the company other than as a happy customer. May also be worth checking that they have a UK keyboard - as with most things on traditional Thinkpads the keyboard can be swapped out, but worth getting right first time.
Hope this fits OK within ElReg posting guidelines??
http://microdream.co.uk/laptops-and-netbooks/lenovo-thinkpad-x220-12-5-1366x768-2nd-gen-core-i5-2520m-2-5ghz-4gb-250gb-webcam-windows-10-professional-64-bit.html#.Wa1z8diQzIU
Typing this on my (refurb) X220, best laptop ever made. Good IPS screen, lovely keyboard, near indestructable. Best thing is that you can repair / replace / upgrade pretty much everything, as if iFixit had designed the ideal laptop. You can swap the function of the Fn & left Ctrl keys in the BIOS (though sadly not the keycaps). Confuses the hell out of anyone else trying to use the machine but works for me. Just hope that Lenovo retain the repairability on this new version - until proven I'm hanging onto my X220.
http://x220.mcdonnelltech.com/resources/
Like many other commentators here I visited BP last year and found the Colossus and Diplomatic Wireless Service parts by far the most interesting sections - both quirky, manned by real, knowledgeable enthusiasts and bringing the whole place and era alive in a way that no sanitised info-tainment cobblers ever could. I understand that the DWS stuff has now gone (anyone know where??) but most telling was that my opinion was shared by my 16 year old daughter - I guess part of the target demographic for Standon's vision - who found the rest of the place pretty boring and "just like every other museum". What morons like Standon never understand is that aping all of the other trash is a surefire road to oblivion. If he and the trustees had any integrity or gumption they'd realise that the key to BP is that it's DIFFERENT and interesting because of that. If I ever return it will only be to the NMOC...
The weakness of this page is trivial compared to the complete, total lack of security on the PlusNet email system where they have for years, ignoring repeated requests from customers, refused to provide a properly secure IMAP or POP service - which results in both inbound and outbound email and account passwords being sent in clear text across the internet and open WiFi - leaving users open to a total security meltdown from any service which sends replacement passwords over email. In general I'm a pretty happy PlusNet customer but their complete, arrogant disregard for basic email security is a disgrace. The signup page looks like an accidental cockup - their email service is wilful neglect.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2025
