Posted February 22nd, 2009
by Josh
My eldest daughter has started developing an interest in using computers and the Internet. She quite often asks to play games on one of her favorite websites on my laptop.
This has started becoming a more regular occurence, so I decided that I would re-instate an old laptop that I had lying around and set it up for the kids.
The machine is quite old so wouldn’t be particularly speedy running Windows, so an idea struck me, I could install may favorite linux distro of choice, Ubuntu; not only would this run better on the old laptop but would also give my kids a different view of computers than most of their friends will get just using Windows.
I’m hoping that giving my kids this different view of computers will help them have a better understanding of computers in the future.
One of my problems with computing in schools is thatfor example, kids arn’t taught how to Word Process, they are taught how to use Microsoft Word, this goes for using the OS itself as well.
I’m a realist enough to know that this is the way things are due to Microsofts Dominance of the market, but I’d like my kids to be able to have a different perspective on how computers can be used
I’m no Microsoft hater, I’d just like my kids to make their own decisions on these things and by giving them a choice, I hope enable them to do that.
Tags: Kids, laptop, Linux, Microsoft, Ubuntu, Windows, Word Posted in Cool Stuff!, Personal, Rantings, Technology
Posted January 22nd, 2009
by Josh
I’ve just come accross this report on the BBC’s technology newspage.
Its unbeleivable really, BT and our own government will not seriously look at rolling out a decent high-speed broadband infrastructure, so some desperate people are looking at cobling their own broadband services together.
I think its disgusting that people are driven to these measures, which will end up costing them ridiculous amounts of money, when people i countries such as Sweden, Holland and Japan have these services available as standard.
Yet another indicator that the UK is a good 5-6 years behind some countries in regards to our broadband infrastructure, so much for us being a global superpower and leading nation. 
Tags: Broadband, BT, IT, UK Posted in Rantings, Technology
Posted December 21st, 2007
by Josh
I was excited to recieve an email from Nintendo UK today explainig in their words that this was the “news that our most loyal members have been waiting for”, its now finally possible to exchange Club Nintendo Star Points for Wii Points.
So, I excitedly loaded up my web browser and proceeded to load up the club Nintendo Site…only to be hit by an erroneous Apache webserver error. After 5 mins of trying the page finally loaded up, I logged in and followed the directions to the Wii Points shop.
Once there i then found out that Nintendo have ‘run out’ of the virtual points cards! Notice the word of choice there ‘virtual’. Seriously, only Nintendo could run out of a virtual commodity!
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Tags: Apache, Club Nintendo, Nintendo, Star Points, Wii, Wii Points Posted in Rantings
Posted September 19th, 2007
by Josh
Finally, someone in the British Goverrnment with some sense and foresight!
The Minister for Competitiveness, has ordered a summit to look at ways in which the Government can assist in the roll out of high speed broadband. Click here for more info.
It sounds like a great idea to me, but like anything in this country, Ijust hope it doesnt end up being all talk and no action.
The Jury is out i guess…
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Tags: Britain, Broadband, Government Posted in Rantings
Posted August 23rd, 2007
by Josh
I decided to migrate away from my ISP the other day as there have been a few things that have really irritated me about them. Anyway I phoned them up to ask for my MAC code and they said to use the form on their website.
The form has a box in which you type your reason for wanting to migrate.
Here’s what i wrote:
The main reason i migrated to newnet at the end of 2006 was because you were offering a fairly high cap for a low cost (about £25 for 60gig). 1 month after i migrated to newnet, you promptly ramped up the cost of this service to almost £40 a month.
Disgusted, i downgraded to home S and a 25gig cap. I was then shocked to find that newnet had tried to charge me for excess bandwidth, although this bandwidth was covered by the inital uncapped service.
This issue was resolved and Idecided to stay with newnet as the Accounts department were excellent in helping with this issue.
I have recently been advised that i have exceeded my cap for the past 2 months and am to be charged for excess bandwith. I phoned customer services to contest this as im sure ive not downloaded that much data. The representitive told me ‘you do realise upload bandwidth is counted towards your cap’, at which point I was aghast. I have used various ISPs at home since my initial ADSL conenction, and being an IT engineer, i am constantly specing and installing ADSL services for my clients. I have never in my experience found an ISP that counts upload bandwidth towards monthly bandwidth usage.
I trawled through newnets T&C and found that this is indeed the case with newnet.
I beleieve that your customers are being slightly hoodwinked, by this stealth revenue generation, and that any reponsible ISP would state clearly on their website that they do this, and not hide it in teh T&C. I expect that 90% of users to not read most T&C’s as it would end up taking half of their life. Its seems to me that newnet count on this in regards to their stealth upload bandwidth charging.
As you can tell this has really upset and irritated me. I have recomended newnet to 3 or 4 people since joining in 2006, and now feel that this was a very bad decision. I have been impressed with newnet in almost every other area, but feel i am compeleld to migrate as a matter of principle.
Anyway, I clicked next on the form and was promptly provided with the list of charges I’d need to pay before i could migrate, percentage of this months fee etc, usual stuff. But hiding in amongst it was am £11 plus VAT surcharge for ‘early migration’.  This stumped me, because as far as I am aware, im on a monthly contract and can terminate my service whenever i like.
If you think about it, ISP’s cant really charge you for migrating as they dont actually do anything apart from give you a MAC code, its the new ISP that has the work to do, setting you up on their systems, porting the phone line over etc.
I was really steamed at this point and phoned newnets customers services, and screamed at some poor girl down the phone. When i let her get a word in edgeways, she told me that the 11 + Vat wasn’t to pay for the migration, but to offset the cost of setting me up when i migrated to them! it costs them £22 + VAT to set a new customer up on their systems and port the lines apparently, and because i was leaving within a year of joining, i was liable to pay half of that cost!
Anyway, I ended up speaking to a manager and the guy was a true hard-ass, he wouldnt budge even when i mentioned all my previous issues with newnet, wouldnt even wave the 11 quid. I told him id be advising all the people id advised to sign up to get out as soon as they can, and telling everyone i know how poor newnet are.
IÂ Could wait 3 months before Ileave and not have to pay the 11 quid, but screw em, its a matter of principle, so im long gone from newnet.
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Tags: ADSL, Broadband, cap, ISP, MAC Code, migrate, Newnet, Stealth Posted in Rantings
Posted August 17th, 2007
by Josh
We all forget the odd thing when driving from time to time, you never know what’s coming round the corner and sometimes you have to make split second decisions. But there’s no excuse for constant bad driving.
People who regularly don’t indicate are complete idiots. The Highway Code is the definitive guide to the rules of the road. Its there to ensure the safety of all road users These rules apply to pretty much everyone, and we all learn to obey these rules when we learn to drive. So what gives some people the right to blatantly ignore these rules after a few years of driving, are they above the rest of us, do they have some special privilege that we don’t know about? Of course not, they are just arrogant, reckless idiots. Maybe they think we all have psychic powers and know which way they are going to turn at a roundabout or when they’re about to change lanes in front of us with no prior warning.
I’m pretty sure mind reading wasn’t on my driving exam, maybe It was on yours?
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Tags: highway code, inidicate, Road Posted in Rantings
Posted July 26th, 2007
by Josh
Its so annoying, your searching for a program that performs some specific task. You scour the net and eventually you find an app that sounds really good.
So off you trot and download it, only to find that rather than using bog standard windows toolbars and widgets, it uses a really awful custom theme.
Take this for example . A great little SIP app, works really well, but i dont want it to look like a cheapy phone handset! I know its a bloody SIP application, I downloaded it, I dont need to be reminded by the terrible theme its using.
Fair enough, i dont mind software being skinable, but its when it DOESNT include a default windows theme that really hacks me off.
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Tags: app, SIP, software, theme, themed, Windows Posted in Rantings
Posted July 20th, 2007
by Josh
Im getting so bored with people saying how crap Linux and Unix are.
I use various forums on a regular basis, and everynow and then this topic pops up.
The problem is that people dont relize what Linux and Unix are and what they currently do in regards to the worlds IT infrastructure.
Linux is one of the most widely deployed and flexible server operating systems there is.
Between them, Linux and Unix power just over 50% of the worlds web servers, and between 60-70% of the worlds DNSÂ servers, FACT!
I’ll say it once tho, ITÂ ISN’T, ANDÂ NEVERÂ WILLÂ BE A DESKTOP OPERATING SYSTEM!
This is the reason people moan about it being shit, they are trying to use it as a freebie windows replacement, which is isnt!
Theres a reason why Windows is the worls number 1 desktop OS, and thats because Microsoft plow billions of dollars into it.
Stop being tight, buy a windows license and stop bloody moaning.
Use Linux for what its designed for and its a brilliant platform.
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Tags: DNS Server, IT, Linux, Microsoft, MS, OS, Unix, web server, Windows Posted in Rantings
Posted July 18th, 2007
by Josh
Have a look at this.
The UK is supposed to be one of the worlds biggest super powers, yet we have some of the most out-dated and slow telecoms infrastructures in the world.
In laymans terms, this means that we are doomed to the current crap broadband speeds for some time to come.
Why is this? The reason is BT (British Telecom) (and the 80’s Tory government).
Since they were privatized in the 80’s its all become about the money. They do everything as cheaply as possible so that they can make the most money out of us poor suckers.
It galls me that countries like Korea have the forsight to invest in its Telecoms/IT infrastructure, whilst this county is starting to stagnate in its thousands of miles of 20 year old copper. I mean, BT had to be forced by the Government to impliment ADSL broadband, if they’d had their way, we still all probably be using dial-up.
I can seriously see our infrastructure colapsing under its own weight unless it is given a serious overhaul very soon.
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Tags: ADSL, Broadband, BT, dial-up, infrastructure, IT, privatisation, telecoms, UK Posted in Rantings
