* Posts by Old_timer

6 publicly visible posts • joined 12 Dec 2014

Sure, we've got a problem but we don't really want to spend any money on the tech guy you're sending to fix it

Old_timer

A few years back we sent 2 flight cases containing laptops and printers to a client in Barcelona. One arrived. The other was found still sitting in the courier company's loading bay. The client needed the kit the next day by 08:00 to use for registration at a conference. There was no option but to get the flight case back from the courier company and for me to fly out to Barcelona with it. Except that the last flight to Barcelona from our local airport had already left so I had to fly to Alicante, hire a car and drive through the night to Barcelona. I got there about 06:00, delivered the flight case, tried to sleep in the hire car and failed, had breakfast and drove to Barcelona airport to get the flight home.

Landlines: The tech that just won't die

Old_timer

The really odd thing is that I've been told by an independent financial advisor (IFA) that not having a landline will count against you if you're applying for a mortgage.

Users shun UK.gov flagship digital service

Old_timer

I've just tried to use the online system to change the address on my driving licence. The first time I tried to move on from the info page, the connection timed out. The next time I got 'Sorry... The service is unavailable at this time.'

UK.gov prompt payment promise is POPPYCOCK - NAO

Old_timer

We came close to suffering by being sub-contracted by a company supplying a Gov't department. We told them our standard terms and they replied that their terms were 90 days. Fortunately we can afford to tell such customers to go and get stuffed.

However, there's another factor that the Gov't needs to consider if it's serious about having 25% of spend on SMEs. The hoops that you have to jump through in terms of have having these policies and those procedures in place etc. are ridiculous. It got to the point some years ago where we decided it simply wasn't worth the effort of trying to get contracts with local or national Government. Our experience was that the effort put in was wasted because there was little chance of success and they made much greater demands than commercial organisations.

Marriott: The TRUTH about personal Wi-Fi hotel jam bid

Old_timer

I thought that the problem here was that a venue provides wifi for a conference or exhibition and that's fine until you get a couple of hundred myfi units trying to operate in the same space which brings the venue supplied network to its knees.

Or have I misunderstood what's at the heart of this problem?

El Reg Redesign - leave your comment here.

Old_timer

Not liked but for good reasons

I use having been using The Register most days for several years to keep up with new developments in a rapid, easily digested way.I don't like the redesign because:

1) I don't need the 'Pics at the top of nearly all stories'. They take up room and very rarely add anything of value. 2) It used to be easy to see which stories I had read because they were marked in red. Now they're much less obvious. 3) The bit that I'm interested in (the 3 columns of headlines) now takes up around one third of my screen space with nothing at all on the left side.

You're right. Nobody likes change but at least I can offer a rationale for my dislike of the new site.