all talk and no action
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Not quite understanding how computers work
I received an email today that I thought was cute. In it, the sender said:
"I have accidentally deleted my recycle bin from my desktop. Could you tell me how to get it back or how to get a replacement one?"
I was tempted to write back with:
"You can obtain up to five replacement recycle bins free of charge by calling Microsoft."
I didn't, of course.
For anyone arriving by search engine, the procedure is this: right-click your desktop, select Personalize, and then click 'Change desktop icons' and make sure there is a tick in the checkbox next to Recycle Bin. I've deleted the recycle bin on numerous occasions myself, by right-clicking it and selecting 'Delete' as delete in my mind translates to 'delete the trash' not 'delete the entire recycle bin'. It would be better if Microsoft renamed this option to 'Remove Recycle Bin from desktop'.
"I have accidentally deleted my recycle bin from my desktop. Could you tell me how to get it back or how to get a replacement one?"
I was tempted to write back with:
"You can obtain up to five replacement recycle bins free of charge by calling Microsoft."
I didn't, of course.
For anyone arriving by search engine, the procedure is this: right-click your desktop, select Personalize, and then click 'Change desktop icons' and make sure there is a tick in the checkbox next to Recycle Bin. I've deleted the recycle bin on numerous occasions myself, by right-clicking it and selecting 'Delete' as delete in my mind translates to 'delete the trash' not 'delete the entire recycle bin'. It would be better if Microsoft renamed this option to 'Remove Recycle Bin from desktop'.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Channel 4 gives heads-up on tasty sandwich
This week's Channel 4 documentary, Dispatches: Sandwiches Unwrapped, named the British Oakham Chicken And Pancetta Caesar Sandwich from Marks and Spencer as an offender, packing around 45 grams of fat. So while at a motorway service station today, in a brave and selfless act of journalism, I bought and ate one.
It was good. But since it's got chicken AND cheese in it, you can hardly expect it to be the epitome of health foods.
And since I grabbed the last of this type of sandwich on the shelf, I wonder whether the documentary has actually helped to promote it.
It would be interesting to see the program test its conclusion, which was that you'd be better off making your own sandwiches. I think that once I'd loaded up my bread with butter, cheese, ham, mayonnaise and everything else that seemed like a good idea at the time, it'd probably be higher in salt and fat than almost any shop-purchased version.
It was good. But since it's got chicken AND cheese in it, you can hardly expect it to be the epitome of health foods.
And since I grabbed the last of this type of sandwich on the shelf, I wonder whether the documentary has actually helped to promote it.
It would be interesting to see the program test its conclusion, which was that you'd be better off making your own sandwiches. I think that once I'd loaded up my bread with butter, cheese, ham, mayonnaise and everything else that seemed like a good idea at the time, it'd probably be higher in salt and fat than almost any shop-purchased version.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Beating the credit crunch
As I've noticed my cash running out further and further from payday each month, I figured I should do something about it. The big change, and the one that took some effort, was to take my bike training, buy a 125cc motorbike and use that to get to work instead of driving. It's been well worth the day's training, which cost £125.
£8 gets me a full tank of petrol which lasts me two weeks, and parking is free; in my car, I got through about £30/£40 a week in petrol and parking was £5 a day. The repayments on my new bike work out at about £60 a month. I can't be bothered to work it out but I figure I'm about even once you factor in the extra insurance, clothes, etc. But after I've paid the bike off, I'll be saving. I also get to work in 15 minutes because traffic jams don't apply to bikes, and it's a LOT more fun!
An easier saving was found by heading to confused.com when my car insurance renewal came in last week. My renewal fee was a touch under £400 and I found a whole load of quotes for £200. A quick call to my insurance company to cancel and they matched the quote. And they offered me breakdown cover for £35 a year, so I took that and cancelled my £100 a year AA cover.
While running searches, I also discovered that I can halve the cost of my home insurance, so that's tomorrow's telephone call.
If you haven't bothed up until now (and I know we all should but we don't sometimes) hit a price comparison site to reduce your outgoings. And get yourself a bike, motored or pedal-power.
£8 gets me a full tank of petrol which lasts me two weeks, and parking is free; in my car, I got through about £30/£40 a week in petrol and parking was £5 a day. The repayments on my new bike work out at about £60 a month. I can't be bothered to work it out but I figure I'm about even once you factor in the extra insurance, clothes, etc. But after I've paid the bike off, I'll be saving. I also get to work in 15 minutes because traffic jams don't apply to bikes, and it's a LOT more fun!
An easier saving was found by heading to confused.com when my car insurance renewal came in last week. My renewal fee was a touch under £400 and I found a whole load of quotes for £200. A quick call to my insurance company to cancel and they matched the quote. And they offered me breakdown cover for £35 a year, so I took that and cancelled my £100 a year AA cover.
While running searches, I also discovered that I can halve the cost of my home insurance, so that's tomorrow's telephone call.
If you haven't bothed up until now (and I know we all should but we don't sometimes) hit a price comparison site to reduce your outgoings. And get yourself a bike, motored or pedal-power.
A couple of handy blogging tools
If your blog is on blogger.com and you run Windows Vista, get Blogger Buddy. It's a neat Sidebar gadget that lets you post to your blog quickly and easily.
If you have a Wordpress blog, you might like to try Artisteer. I've tried it out and I'm impressed by how easy is it to create good-looking templates. Apparently blogger templates are on the to-do list. Until then, I can't use it, unless I finally get around to swapping across to Wordpress, which is a project for less sunny days than this one. I'll probably just wait for the blogger functionality to arrive.
If you have a Wordpress blog, you might like to try Artisteer. I've tried it out and I'm impressed by how easy is it to create good-looking templates. Apparently blogger templates are on the to-do list. Until then, I can't use it, unless I finally get around to swapping across to Wordpress, which is a project for less sunny days than this one. I'll probably just wait for the blogger functionality to arrive.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Fujitsu Siemens - brilliant
A couple of weeks ago my laptop died and I had to send it back. I've heard horror stories of laptops disappearing for months on end and finally returning after a million phone calls only to have more problems than when they were sent off. So my expectations were pretty low.
Turns out Fujitsu Siemens is different. My laptop was collected last Friday and I didn't expect to see or hear anything for at least two or three weeks, but when I got home today there it was, waiting with my neighbours -- from me to Fujitsu Siemens and back again in a week. It's had a newer graphics card fitted and there was a note in the box to let me know, and that I should download a new graphics card driver.
Interestingly, when I called UPS to arrange collection of the laptop, I was asked two questions: how much does it weigh and where is it going? After answering ("A couple of kilos. Germany."), the woman on the other end said "is it an Xbox?" Are that many still being sent back?
Turns out Fujitsu Siemens is different. My laptop was collected last Friday and I didn't expect to see or hear anything for at least two or three weeks, but when I got home today there it was, waiting with my neighbours -- from me to Fujitsu Siemens and back again in a week. It's had a newer graphics card fitted and there was a note in the box to let me know, and that I should download a new graphics card driver.
Interestingly, when I called UPS to arrange collection of the laptop, I was asked two questions: how much does it weigh and where is it going? After answering ("A couple of kilos. Germany."), the woman on the other end said "is it an Xbox?" Are that many still being sent back?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
My dead laptop
My two-and-a-half year old Fujitsu Siemens gaming laptop has died.
Fortunately, the extended warranty hasn't, and I can get it fixed. Without wanting to jump too far ahead and tempt fate, here's what I've learnt so far:
1. Don't take it to PC World Tech Guys and say "I didn't buy it from you, but I think it's under warranty and I don't want to send it back. I'm pretty sure it's just a solder joint or cable from the graphics card that needs checking so I'll leave it here and you can have a look and call me with a quote by the end of the day". I didn't get a call and when I went in at the end of the day to collect my laptop they had diagnosed it without even looking at it. IT IS MAGIC! "Er, we've been really busy all day," they said, "but it will probably need a new screen or motherboard." Yeah, thanks for that.
2. Fujitsu Siemens' customer support is excellent. I called up, got through in seconds, said my laptop had died and I had no idea if it was under warranty and had no documentation. A quick read of the serial number and they said it was, and arranged a collection for the following day.
3. Never trust your neighbours. Not wanting to take a day off work, I asked my neighbours, who are home every day, if they could give my laptop to the courier. "No problem, we'll be here," they said. The next day I got a text message from the driver to say they were out and I needed to arrange another collection. When I got home and collected my laptop from my neigbours, they said "we just missed him by 30 minutes!" I wondered how they would know this if they were out when he called but decided not to ask.
4. Old Smokey rocks. Old Smokey is an ancient laptop from a company that went bust in 2005. This thing shouldn't even be running Vista, on its 786MB of RAM and 1.6GZ processor. But it even runs Aero, throwing dead monitor pixels, a dodgy space bar and a screaming fan into the mix. It's like Top Gear's Toyota Hilux in laptop form.
And now Old Smokey needs shutting down for a rest.
Fortunately, the extended warranty hasn't, and I can get it fixed. Without wanting to jump too far ahead and tempt fate, here's what I've learnt so far:
1. Don't take it to PC World Tech Guys and say "I didn't buy it from you, but I think it's under warranty and I don't want to send it back. I'm pretty sure it's just a solder joint or cable from the graphics card that needs checking so I'll leave it here and you can have a look and call me with a quote by the end of the day". I didn't get a call and when I went in at the end of the day to collect my laptop they had diagnosed it without even looking at it. IT IS MAGIC! "Er, we've been really busy all day," they said, "but it will probably need a new screen or motherboard." Yeah, thanks for that.
2. Fujitsu Siemens' customer support is excellent. I called up, got through in seconds, said my laptop had died and I had no idea if it was under warranty and had no documentation. A quick read of the serial number and they said it was, and arranged a collection for the following day.
3. Never trust your neighbours. Not wanting to take a day off work, I asked my neighbours, who are home every day, if they could give my laptop to the courier. "No problem, we'll be here," they said. The next day I got a text message from the driver to say they were out and I needed to arrange another collection. When I got home and collected my laptop from my neigbours, they said "we just missed him by 30 minutes!" I wondered how they would know this if they were out when he called but decided not to ask.
4. Old Smokey rocks. Old Smokey is an ancient laptop from a company that went bust in 2005. This thing shouldn't even be running Vista, on its 786MB of RAM and 1.6GZ processor. But it even runs Aero, throwing dead monitor pixels, a dodgy space bar and a screaming fan into the mix. It's like Top Gear's Toyota Hilux in laptop form.
And now Old Smokey needs shutting down for a rest.
