COMPUTERS, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY

[Tizer]

I've followed this but made no comment before - I was just too amazed at how they managed to draw out a problem for so long! I hope it's sorted now, Kev.

[Stanley]

Perhaps Dido Harding is right about BT.....

[Big Kev]

I've followed this but made no comment before - I was just too amazed at how they managed to draw out a problem for so long! I hope it's sorted now, Kev.

Me too, we'll give it a week and see how it goes.

[Big Kev]

Router logs are showing me connected at 21mbps down and 2mbps up, not too shabby for a 17mbps service. I will reserve judgement until after the weekend and, if it's still connected, me and Sky will be discussing a compensation agreement

[Stanley]

Good!!

[Stanley]

Can you remember me complaining because my keyboard was having intermittent drop-outs? It got much worse this morning so I took the transmitter out of the slot at the back of the case and put it in one of the USB slots on the front and immediately found that everything was working perfectly..... I don't think it was the slot because I have tried swapping USB plugs around on the back and it made no difference. It looks as though it might have been a weak signal and a bad location. In its present position the distance to the keyboard and mouse is halved and unobstructed by the metal case or being close to the radiator..... Whatever, I think I have cracked it!

[David Whipp]

My keyboard is still wired...

The letters on the popular keys have worn off (not a problem), but now the nibs on the home keys are wearing away; need to start saving up for a new 'un.

[Big Kev]

My keyboard is still wired...

The letters on the popular keys have worn off (not a problem), but now the nibs on the home keys are wearing away; need to start saving up for a new 'un.

Between £5-10 on Amazon for a usb keyboard. ..
Alternatively you could take a look on the Scan website Here, I currently work over the road so could save you the postage if there's anything that takes your fancy.

[Big Kev]

Router logs are showing me connected at 21mbps down and 2mbps up, not too shabby for a 17mbps service. I will reserve judgement until after the weekend and, if it's still connected, me and Sky will be discussing a compensation agreement

Still working
Connection Speed 21965 kbps 1252 kbps
Line Attenuation 15.5 dB 9.0 dB
Noise Margin 3.0 dB 7.7 dB

[David Whipp]

Thanks Kev.

Will have to save up my pocket money... and don't like to rush into making big decisions...

[chinatyke]

My keyboard is still wired...

The letters on the popular keys have worn off (not a problem), but now the nibs on the home keys are wearing away; need to start saving up for a new 'un.

Between £5-10 on Amazon for a usb keyboard. ..
Alternatively you could take a look on the Scan website Here, I currently work over the road so could save you the postage if there's anything that takes your fancy.

Here is a good tip. If you are going to throw a hissy-fit at work and break something, choose the USB keyboard and not the computer. They break very satisfyingly (? is that a word?) into many pieces and they only cost a fiver to replace!

[Stanley]

I usually wear the 'e' key out first but on this one it is the 'a'.
Glad your connection is holding up Kev. So bloody annoying when something as important as that is intermittent.
I'm glad to say that there is no sign of the keyboard drop-outs this morning. Could be a cure.....

[Big Kev]

Thanks Kev.

Will have to save up my pocket money... and don't like to rush into making big decisions...

I've found one that is surplus to requirements you're welcome to have...

[Stanley]

Oneguy is quite splendid!

[David Whipp]

Thanks Kev!

[Tizer]

Watch him Kev, he'll want a discount even if it's free!

I'm still using my 1999 Logitech wireless keyboard and never had a problem with it. Even though I used it for my work as an editor none of the keys have faded or worn. I suppose it must have a battery somewhere but I don't recall ever changing one. It came with a wireless mouse but that died early a few years ago. I bought a new wired mouse but it wouldn't work with my PC so I gave it to Mrs Tiz and it worked on hers. I bought a new Logitech wired mouse and that's been fine.

This weekend we bought a new TV hard disk recorder, a Panasonic DMR-HWT130 500GB, to replace the old one (another a Panasonic DMR-HWT130 500GB!) which we've had for too many years to remember and has always worked well. The cheapest price from a well-known supplier was £169.99 online from Currys. We happened to be passing a Currys on the weekend so we looked in and there it was - for £162.00. I picked it up and took it to the till where they told us it was £169.99 so I took the assistant back to the shelf and showed her the price. After some discussion with the manager he agreed we could have it for the £162. How generous of him! This is the second time Currys have tried to charge us more for an item than its shelf price.

[Big Kev]

Watch him Kev, he'll want a discount even if it's free!

I'm still using my 1999 Logitech wireless keyboard and never had a problem with it. Even though I used it for my work as an editor none of the keys have faded or worn. I suppose it must have a battery somewhere but I don't recall ever changing one. It came with a wireless mouse but that died early a few years ago. I bought a new wired mouse but it wouldn't work with my PC so I gave it to Mrs Tiz and it worked on hers. I bought a new Logitech wired mouse and that's been fine.

This weekend we bought a new TV hard disk recorder, a Panasonic DMR-HWT130 500GB, to replace the old one (another a Panasonic DMR-HWT130 500GB!) which we've had for too many years to remember and has always worked well. The cheapest price from a well-known supplier was £169.99 online from Currys. We happened to be passing a Currys on the weekend so we looked in and there it was - for £162.00. I picked it up and took it to the till where they told us it was £169.99 so I took the assistant back to the shelf and showed her the price. After some discussion with the manager he agreed we could have it for the £162. How generous of him! This is the second time Currys have tried to charge us more for an item than its shelf price.

You should have had a chat with Stanley, he has a HDD recorder that is, I believe, surplus to requirements

[Tizer]

We were keen to get the same model because we've tried others and didn't get along with them, especially Humax. perhaps if I want anything in the future I'd better ask Stanley first!

[PanBiker]

I have a Humax Freesat Box, works perfectly no problems at all with it.

[Wendyf]

Same here.

[Big Kev]

I'm on my second Humax box, the first one is still in use upstairs in the spare room as it's not compatible with the new BBC iplayer. Everything else works OK though.

[Stanley]

I have the Humax Freesat box as well. Touch wood.....
You didn't miss out Tiz I binned the recorder along with a lot of other stuff. Amazing how the cupboards fill up!
Tiz, you must have had good batteries!

[Tizer]

I'm glad you're all happy with your Humax boxes! We had experience with two that we inherited from our fathers, both relatively new. We don't watch much live TV and we don't use iplayer or catch up TV. We've always recorded most of the TV we watch, ever since video recorders became available, then with hard disk recorders. We don't connect our TVs/recorders to the internet because we don't need to, everything we want is available to record via the aerial. For our purposes we found the Humax very slow to respond compared with our HD recorders. We have two identical Panasonics and had a Sony before that. Horse for courses, they suit us and the Humax suits you guys. We're all happy bunnies!

On a different subject...have a look at this `smart' doll for children. The maker `retains the right to use it for marketing to children'.
`Call for privacy probes over Cayla doll and i-Que toys'
"The makers of the i-Que and Cayla smart toys have been accused of subjecting children to "ongoing surveillance" and posing an "imminent and immediate threat" to their safety and security. The accusations come via a formal complaint in the US by consumer groups. They, along with several EU bodies, are calling for investigations into the manufacturers. Genesis Toys, which makes the products, has not responded to a request for comment....In addition to the data protection concerns, a hack allowing strangers to speak directly to children via the My Friend Cayla doll is still possible....the doll prompts children to provide personal data verbally - including their parents' names, the name of their school and the place where they live. It also says the toys allow unauthorised Bluetooth connections from any phone or tablet within 50ft (15m).....the manufacturers also reserved the right to change the terms and conditions at any time. "We think this is particularly worrying because we're dealing with recordings of voice - kids' data," he told the BBC. "How the data's collected how it's stored and shared - all of that appears to be almost entirely unregulated," said Rik Ferguson, a researcher at security firm Trend Micro. "And the parents are certainly not made aware in any comprehensible fashion of the extent of data that's collected or how it may be used in the future." LINK

That's another example of how companies and even charities are beginning to assume they are above the law and above ethics. Another is today's news: `Pfizer fined record £84.2m for overcharging NHS'. Drugs giant Pfizer has been fined a record £84.2m by the UK's competition watchdog for overcharging the NHS for an anti-epilepsy drug. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also fined distributor Flynn Pharma £5.2m for the 2,600% overnight price increase for the drug in 2012. Pfizer And another: `Charities fined over 'wealth screening' data breaches' - The Information Commissioner imposed penalties of £25,000 on the RSPCA and £18,000 on the British Heart Foundation over the so-called "wealth screening". Charities

[Stanley]

Re. Pfizer. I remember the original report in PE and can't understand why it has taken four years to address the 2,600% price hike!
When Margaret visited yesterday she asked for the password to my router and sat there connected to the Web. I had my first video call with grand daughters Katie and Laura 11,000 miles away in Perth. It made me think about 'the internet of things' and the recent reports of hacking via connected household appliances. The power and scope of these technologies is a taste of things to come.
By the way, can anyone tell me why BG are charging people £9 a month to be able to control their heating from anywhere in the world?

[Tizer]

The FT today reports that several hedge funds say that the `alternative data' industry is failing to remove all personal information from the data that it sells to investment firms. The `industry' collects all kinds of online and email data from registrations, receipts, subscriptions, orders etc to social media chatter, satellite images, video and so on. It's supposed to `anonymise' the data before passing it on but often fails to do so. The head of a major hedge fund said that even when personal information had been scrubbed out, it was easy to restore. “We were shocked at how easy it was to de-anonymise the data,” he said. “It took one of my analysts 30 minutes to discover someone who was probably having an affair.” In the USA, spending on data is expected to double in the next 5 years to $400 million.