Coggs Bloggs

a bloke who loves meddling with technology (and justifying it to my lovely Wife) 



September 26, 2008

And another one.. New Phone

Gadget lover that I am... I’m getting a new phone this week. (Well, hoping that the bargain I found online doesn’t turn out to be some dodgy scam).

Anyway, Nokia N95 8Gb. Read some good things about it.

I’ve been using a Blackberry for nearly 4 years. And whilst most of them have been, useful, but awkward, the 8100 (Pearl) has been fantastic. Unfortunately, due to not working right now, there really is no point in having an email phone, that doesn’t have WiFi (i.e. Data charges are way too expensive – as all the iPhone users are finding out!)

Might have to flog the Blackberry on eBay.. but we’ll see. Recently a Telstra store employee informed be that once you’ve had Blackberry, you’ll never go back!

Will make note of findings on here, when (and if) it arrives!

And, the Wife? Very supportive. All about the cost you see. Having WiFi on the phone (as she has – and LOVES!) is an easy justification. Tell her that I want to spend the $40 / month on Blackberry Data plan and all of a sudden the prospect of a new phone becomes a whole lot more attractive.

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September 26, 2008

Twitter

I’m now using Twitter. It’s a cross between the status field in Facebook, or Messenger, or Skype, and a blog. I’m connected to a couple of people I don’t know, and I now have access to their movements each and every day. Bit weird, and to be honest, I still can’t see any major benefits. But we’ll see.

I just read on ZDNet, that Bigpond are using Twitter as a support mechanism... so if you complain about their service, they get in touch to find out if they can help! Eh! Sounds good? It does. But it also sounds very Big Brother (and I’m not talking about the 12 weeks of torture that the TV makes us suffer every year)

 

Anyway, if you want to follow me on twitter : ozcoggs

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September 15, 2008

Microsoft and its "Querks"

Querks?

Inconveniences? Issues? Problems? Bugs?

Yes! All of the above...

 

I’m not going to rampage on like a Linux Fanboy (I’m certainly not a Linux Fanboy) about MS and its contribution to the digital age, but it has to be said, here and now, they’re very good at making life more difficult than it should be.

 

Perhaps, it’s to keep our feet on the ground, not rely on computers to do everything for us.. NO.... it really is just a bug

 

Case in point...

 

I have a Dell Laptop, amongst other bits and pieces... Running Vista Ultimate. I don’t like it, but it serves a purpose (The laptop is great - XPS M1330)

There is a problem (?) with Outlook 2007... every time I add a Calendar item, it adds its own recurrences. STOP IT!

Obviously, a quick visit to Mans (new) Best Friend, Google, turned up the answer....

Thanks Litterman

With Dell machines, they have an Outlook Addin installed, by default. Not sure what it does, other than make life an (exaggerated) misery

Uninstall.. and bishbashbosh... the problem has gone away for good....

 

I have lots of “Querks” with my machine, and of course, I’m not alone...

As I fix them, you’ll be first to hear!

 

 

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July 27, 2008

Upgrades

I just updated my iTouch. Nice. Thanks Apple. Now I can install and run a million time wasting applications and games. Admittedly, some are not so time wasting, I particularly like the (free) Bloomberg app.
Glad I didn’t pay for the VNC app, as that, so far, has been completely hopeless. Going to do some googling to see if anyone else has managed to make it work.
BUT! There is a BUT. How come, I had to pay for the upgrade? I am more than happy to pay for stuff, however in this case it’s a bit frustrating. You see, I also upgraded my iTouch in January. $24.99! So, imagine my surprise when this month I’m asked to pay an extra $12.99... And bvgger me... It’s got the January update INCLUDED!!!! Once again, Apple is penalising new adopters.. Maybe I should rethink my allegiance’s! Come Apple, your products are amazing... But your pricing stinks.

Now..... I just moved house...  I used to have Foxtel IQ on cable, and what a decent job that does. Of course, as with most people, (maybe, maybe not), I have (had) a hard disk full of stuff I haven’t watched yet.. (and some stuff I have watched but unlikely to watch again). Where we are now doesn’t have cable, but has a satellite connection. So, I called to cancel my account, to maybe resign when we move into our permanent place, and hopefully get cable again. Anyway, Foxtel are going to install Foxtel HD+ IQ2. After having done a little homework, I’m a little sceptical about how good this really can be. I’ll report on it later.
One thing I will say, the bloke on the end of the phone made the offer very attractive, so much so, that my lovely wife didn’t even blink at the pricing.. So thanks Foxtel, good job!
One small problem... My current IQ Box, now sitting on the coffee table, as mentioned, has stuff on the hard drive, some I’d like to keep. Can I connect it to a DVD recorder to perhaps record it for later use? Well, NO, you can’t. Not without connecting it to a Foxtel Cable signal. The box has a very polite message telling you that it is receiving no signal, and that’s it. So, my advice, if you are moving/upgrading or whatever, either watch or record the hard drive contents before you disconnect the box!

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July 10, 2008

to iPhone or not to iPhone

(The 3G iPhone came out in Australia today amidst mass frenzy – I mean WHY oh WHY would you queue up overnight in Arctic temperatures for a bl00dy phone?)

To iPhone or not to iPhone? That is the question. The answer for me, quite simply. Nope. Sorry. It’s great. I’ve got friends with them (admittedly, not the 3G one), I’ve used one. The Gadget Envy aspect is way up there.. but it’s just too big.

Phones have been getting smaller. My Blackberry Pearl, is great. If only I had the one with WiFi, but Telstra are still not supplying it yet- Come on Telstra... play the game.

Sadly, the iPhone fails the “comfortableness in the trouser pocket” test. Can I sit down with it in my pocket, and not risk leaking LCD juice and leaving an embarrassing stain? I’m sure it’s not that weak,

Then, there’s the Wife! How do i justify another phone, that I don’t really need. Every Bloke who is in (or has been in) a relationship has had the “need and want” conversation. “Just because you want it, doesn’t mean you need it”. Not sure I agree, but female logic is not always ... well, logical.

But right now.. I’ll stick with my not quite there alternatives, iTouch & BB Pearl. They do exactly what I need, but won’t make me centre of attention in the Pub!

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July 10, 2008

Gadgets, Games, Technology and the Wife!

So, here it is. I’m an IT bloke, but I don’t consider myself a geek – I don’t have a pony tail. I’ve been a programmer, and I’ve done my fair share of networking and building PCs and playing games.. (not so much online), watching movies and watching TV from back home in England, on my iPod, my PSP, and on good old TV – but not on the Fridge

I’ve got a healthy collection of bits and pieces.. my PS3 is certainly the centre of it all, and the more updates that get thrown my way, the more I appreciate it’s possibilities.

I’ve always been a Windows man (who hasn’t – don’t answer that), BUT before everyone starts shouting anti Gates malarkey, I’ve got an iMAC, and I’ve got Linux machines in the garage. My philosophy.. Horses for Courses

I’ve spent many hours setting this stuff up. Buying this bit and that bit, and previously I could only spell “L I N U X”.. now I can use VI ! BTW It seems there are better tools than VI.

There is stuff I really don’t understand, but would love to. DNS & BIND... it’s a career. I’m positive there are people who think this stuff is easy, but it is a strange concept and I reckon there is logic in there somewhere. Do I need to know BIND ? No. Do I want to... well frankly, Yes, I do. I run IT Teams, I think I do my job better when I know what the guys do, how they do it and how they think.

I spend so long googling problems, fixing them and then forgetting what I did. Useful tools here and there, useful commands. Web links.. blogs where people are doing something similar... but I don’t keep track of them. Well, perhaps now I might. Right here.

And then... there’s the Wife. How do I persuade her that the this is an investment (!!), how do I manage to squeeze $100 here and there out of the kitty to go and buy the latest router, the latest game, the latest hard drive.

So, what I am going to do is this...

I’m going to detail what I’m doing, what I want to do, and, more importantly, just how the h3ll did I do it!

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