COMPUTERS, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY

[Gloria]

New ink cartridges installed and all working fine----- makes me feel stupid.
Thanks All

[Stanley]

You may have faults I don't know about Gloria but stupidity is definitely not one of them! Glad you are printing again....

[Stanley]

Thanks to Canonical for a new Linux core, 80mb download. As usual, works perfectly on restart. Wonderful....
See this LINK tp an article in PC World about Regin, the scary piece of malware that Symantec say has been infecting computers since 2008. It's a rough and dangerous world out there.....

[Stanley]

See THIS for the latest Reuters report on the hacking of the Sony Corporation. The term 'cyber war' seemed a bit exaggerated at first but evidence mounts that it is raging out there. Talk about letting the genie out of the bottle.....

[Stanley]

I think Canonical have just given me my Xmas pressie! 156mb of upgrades. Looks as though I have a completely new Linux OS and other upgrades as well. What amazes me is the speed it downloads and installs itself.... A miracle!

[Pluggy]

You do have a blisteringly fast PC and internet connection, Stanley.

[Stanley]

Lets not forget who specified and built it! It seems to be holding up pretty well against the opposition. How long is it since you built it?
Five minutes later, another 80mb of Linux header upgrades. It might be my imagination but everything seems faster still!

[Pluggy]

March 2013, Stanley.

Top end machines wear well. I repaired a top end box for a customer a while back, it was built in 2010, it was still more powerful than the majority of new machines. Generally, you get what you pay for.

I see some depressingly recent computers that are struggling under the work load, generally brought to me to make them a bit quicker.....

[Big Kev]

I still have Stanley's old machine, apart from adding a 3TB drive for image storage, it's still working very well. If anyone has 4x4GB of DDR2 RAM going cheap that would be the only upgrade I would consider at present.

[Stanley]

Talk Talk have addressed the phishing scams that have been going out in their name and set up various measures to counteract them. Good....

[PanBiker]

Never noticed anything on my Talk Talk account, mind you I'm still on my Tiscali email addresses. I have set up one Talk Talk alias address but I don't use it in anger.

I have added a new bit of functionality to my home network. The main machine downstairs is connected directly to the Netgear WiFi router I run. Laptop, tablet and two mobiles use the WiFi and my computer up in the loft for my radio use also had a USB wireless adaptor. Operation of this was a bit erratic from the ground floor where the router is to upstairs in the loft. Whenever it dropped out I usually had to disconnect it from the ports at the back of the tower and re-plug. For some reason it would not re-acquire the signal on a refresh. I have abandoned the wireless option and invested in a pair of TP Link powerline adaptors. They work like a treat and have paired at 200Mb over the mains but running at 56Mb connectivity, fine for my 17Mb broadband signal. Solid as a rock and no drop outs. To all intents and purposes I am running hardwire back to the router, albeit via the mains rather than CAT5. I can expand with the addition of extra adaptors anywhere on my ring main circuits running from the same meter. I have not detected any interference from the addition on my HF transceiver and conversely they are not affected by transmitted RF.

[Big Kev]

I have added a new bit of functionality to my home network. The main machine downstairs is connected directly to the Netgear WiFi router I run. Laptop, tablet and two mobiles use the WiFi and my computer up in the loft for my radio use also had a USB wireless adaptor. Operation of this was a bit erratic from the ground floor where the router is to upstairs in the loft. Whenever it dropped out I usually had to disconnect it from the ports at the back of the tower and re-plug. For some reason it would not re-acquire the signal on a refresh. I have abandoned the wireless option and invested in a pair of TP Link powerline adaptors. They work like a treat and have paired at 200Mb over the mains but running at 56Mb connectivity, fine for my 17Mb broadband signal. Solid as a rock and no drop outs. To all intents and purposes I am running hardwire back to the router, albeit via the mains rather than CAT5. I can expand with the addition of extra adaptors anywhere on my ring main circuits running from the same meter. I have not detected any interference from the addition on my HF transceiver and conversely they are not affected by transmitted RF.

I use the same, Ian. Useful bit of kit and relatively cheap at around £20 a pair

[PanBiker]

Indeed Kev, don't know why I didn't take that option first rather than go down the wireless route for my radio tower. Mind you I only paid £5 or so for the USB wireless adaptor clone from Ebay. Maybe the reason for the dropouts despite it's Realtek chipset. No worries, fully functional now.

[Stanley]

The word from Talktalk was via email.... I almost didn't open it because so many of the phishing mails came looking exactly like it.

[Stanley]

See this REPORT for an account of how serious the hacking of Sony was. The US are certain now it originated in sites which are 'friendly' to North Korea....

[Stanley]

See THIS for a Guardian account of the internet failure in North Korea yesterday. Funny thing that.... The conspiracy theorists say it was a US attack but we don't know. Perhaps after all there is a God!

[Stanley]

Reports this morning of the popularity of apps that allow you to monitor someone else's phone. An article in the Times says that this is far more widespread than is realised and is becoming dangerous. Also a report about the rise in speeding fines generated by digital cameras that don't run out of film but upload hits via the web to their home site. Generation of speeding tickets is automatic.... I'm glad I'm not a driver any more.....

[Stanley]

Thanks one more to Canonical for 81mb of new Linux OS delivered and installed this morning. Four minutes and a restart... Amazing.

[PanBiker]

Also a report about the rise in speeding fines generated by digital cameras that don't run out of film but upload hits via the web to their home site. Generation of speeding tickets is automatic.... I'm glad I'm not a driver any more.....

That's been the norm for sometime Stanley particularly on the motorway and is the system that generated my ticket (and hundreds of others) last year for slightly over the temporary limit in the unmanned roadworks on the M6. I think the only part of the procedure touched by human hands in many cases is to process the reply to the summons.

[Stanley]

Big Brother!!!

[PanBiker]

Well, we are 30 years the other side of 1984!

[Stanley]

I can remember the days long before then.... Too many spies about these days, I'm glad I don't drive now.....

[Stanley]

Computers are strange wee beasties.... All started well this morning but not far into the day my internet connection failed completely. I did the usual things, making sure connections were tight and re-starting the modem and all reverted to normal. The thing that stuck me was that there will be many people who would simply have sent for Pluggy!

[Tripps]

I am watching the chess over the internet, from Wijk An Zee, Holland - today is the final round.
It has occurred to me that an analogue volume control would be very handy to quickly turn down the sound, for when I want to listen to something else for a while. Instead it's minimise window, select audio control, adjust level, return to expanded screen.
Is there any laptop which has such a feature?

[PanBiker]

Have a look at your function keys at the top Tripps, mine uses F10 to F12 to control onboard audio in combination with the Fn key.