tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88490592009-01-06T09:41:41.805ZBlogging, internet, software, mobile, telecomms, gadgets, technology, media and digital rights from the perspective of a consumer / user, including reviews, rants and random thoughts. Aimed at intelligent non-geeks, who are all too often unnecessarily disenfranchised by excessive use of tech jargon, this blog aims to be informative and practical without being patronising. With guides, tutorials, tips - and the occasional ever so slightly naughty observation.Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-18256057283859205192008-12-01T07:36:00.003Z2008-12-01T07:39:06.439Z2008-12-01T07:39:06.439Z

So a survey of UK consumers, published in November 2008, conducted for computer microprocessor corporation AMD by market research outfit YouGov, found that we Brits (77%) value having Internet access over a car (54%) or washing machine (66%). That's the bit that's been getting the most headlines. I want to pick up more on the part that (according to the Netimperative news report) claims to show

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-62807031717242549372008-10-29T23:39:00.000Z2008-10-29T23:39:37.456Z2008-10-29T23:39:37.456Z

Many ISPs in the UK try to win customers by claiming to offer: Broadband speeds - "up to" (some big number) Mbps download speeds, and Usage allowance / bandwidth - "unlimited" usage of their service i.e. downloads and uploads. In both cases claims like these, which are very commonly found in advertising, marketing or promotional material, are misleading to consumers, because in

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-30290319377720276802008-10-29T23:38:00.002Z2008-10-29T23:41:38.737Z2008-10-29T23:41:38.737Z

'If you sign up for this service or buy this product, you'll get this other stuff "free"!' 'The service charge in this restaurant is "optional"!' (And, perhaps, the good ol' 'Your broadband or mobile internet data usage allowance is "unlimited"'?) How often have we consumers been fed that sort of line in advertising or marketing material, when in fact it's misleading - and the "free" product is

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-15864708422538725102008-10-23T22:20:00.000+01:002008-10-23T22:20:29.437+01:002008-10-23T22:20:29.437+01:00

Many Webform designers don't seem to realise (or maybe care?) that "name" boxes on many websites just don't work for some non-Anglo Saxon cultures. Site owners who aren't fussed about "political correctness", racial discrimination or cultural sensitivity should surely still consider that it's not just about respect for other cultures or not causing offence - it's also about money, i.e. the risk

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-37104548085780279442008-07-27T00:04:00.001+01:002008-07-27T00:04:52.701+01:002008-07-27T00:04:52.701+01:00

If you bought an Asus Eee PC900 in the UK, you might have noticed that the battery life isn't too great. The Eee PC900 mini-notebook computer shipped to UK users with only a measly 4400mAh battery (and therefore poor battery life - I get about 2 hours out of mine) while buyers in the USA and HongKong got a bigger 5800mAh battery, so not surprisingly there was an outcry from customers, and Asus

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-42360158139649641482008-07-25T13:17:00.000+01:002008-07-25T13:17:09.393+01:002008-07-25T13:17:09.393+01:00

It's an interesting indication of the growing popularity of the open source Linux operating system that Dell are now offering Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) pre-installed on several of their systems to consumers in the United States, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, United Kingdom and many Latin American countries (like Mexico and Colombia) - initially on the XPS M1330N and Inspiron 1525N notebooks and

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-14857915581529408072008-07-22T11:25:00.004+01:002008-07-22T11:29:46.666+01:002008-07-22T11:29:46.666+01:00

I've banged on before about the horlicks that is "delivery" of products bought through internet shopping in the UK, and how credit card companies could help but mostly don't. It's one of my major wishlist items given how much I buy stuff over the Web - I've been doing "home shopping" since the days of mere telephone ordering! If proof were needed that home delivery isn't working properly,

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-46009497558993462152008-07-13T22:58:00.003+01:002008-07-13T22:59:35.925+01:002008-07-13T22:59:35.925+01:00

"How to avoid the holiday mobile bill blues: Tips for using your mobile abroad" is a consumer guide published on 27 June 2008 by UK comms regulator Ofcom, with sensible tips on using your mobile if you're travelling outside the UK - and in particular on how to reduce your phone bills while you're roaming. Ofcom's top 10 tips Enable your mobile phone: Check with your mobile provider that your

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-69640303720831080962008-07-03T23:30:00.001+01:002008-07-03T23:34:44.511+01:002008-07-03T23:34:44.511+01:00

When choosing or changing your mobile network operator, phone company, broadband provider or cable, pay TV or satellite TV company, it can be hard to be sure that you've got the most up to date information and that you compare like with like. There are many services around that claim to provide price comparisons, but how do you know how accurate they are? To help consumers be confident that the

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-86436698201200390602008-05-13T23:04:00.011+01:002008-05-13T23:51:21.896+01:002008-05-13T23:51:21.896+01:00

Sick of having to turn the TV volume down when ads come on, and then back up when the programme proper starts again? From a viewer / consumer perspective, being virtually deafened by a sudden blast of too-loud sound when the ad break starts is very annoying, to say the least. Well, if you're in the UK, you're in luck.Following a consultation by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-29593804716564598512008-03-31T10:16:00.005+01:002008-03-31T10:29:11.335+01:002008-03-31T10:29:11.335+01:00

The Ofcom Consumer Panel's recent research report "Switched on: an exploration of Britain's tech savvy consumers" (PDF) (see also their 27 March 2008 news release), conducted for the Panel by Sparkler, is a good summary of what consumers want from communications technologies like mobile phones or the Internet, and indeed its conclusions could be applied to any technology. It's an interesting

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-82491739547451761842008-01-02T17:16:00.003Z2008-10-25T18:18:49.414+01:002008-10-25T18:18:49.414+01:00

It's taken me an age to process and upload the videos I recorded of various BarCampLondon3 sessions on 24 & 25 November 2007. Here's the first, with the slides embedded below so those interested can follow them while watching the video. It's about fair use in the context of flat rate mobile data price plans. Namely, price plans offered by mobile phone network companies where you pay a fixed

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-31337132067182023392007-12-21T22:29:00.000Z2007-12-21T22:31:35.529Z2007-12-21T22:31:35.529Z

Have you ever been misled by broadband providers' advertisements claiming to offer broadband speeds of "up to" X Mbps - then found that in fact your download speed is much less than that, or that your upload speed is just pitiful? Misleading ads like this have been all too common in the UK; people sign up, tempted by the lure the ISPs hold out of faster speeds, not realising that with many ISPs

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-13155668441912282102007-11-17T20:03:00.000Z2007-11-17T20:03:55.579Z2007-11-17T20:03:55.579Z

The quickieIf UK consumers buy goods or services using a UK credit card, and they have a valid claim against the seller for a refund or reimbursement etc due to the seller's breach of contract or misrepresentation (defective products, lying about the features etc), there's good news - they can now also claim against the credit card company, even if they bought the goods or services outside the UK

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-24213696532497361012007-11-16T16:07:00.000Z2007-11-16T16:07:51.965Z2007-11-16T16:07:51.965Z

On 9 November UK regulator Ofcom fined Prodigy Internet Limited - which seems to trade as Prodigy Networks - £30,000 for failing to provide info on Prodigy's compliance with new rules, known as GC22, introduced in Feb 2007 to help consumers migrate their broadband services "quickly, easily and with minimal service disruption" (more on moving broadband internet providers using GC22): As part of

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-30516871406636381942007-10-29T23:39:00.000Z2007-10-29T23:40:50.456Z2007-10-29T23:40:50.456Z

Linux fans who resent paying for a pre-installed Microsoft Windows operating system or other Windows software that they don't want and won't use should be perking up, at least in Europe. At the end of September a French court ordered Acer to refund to a notebook buyer a total of 311.85 euros out of a total price of 599 euros (135.20 euros for Windows XP Home, 60 euros for Microsoft Works, 40.99

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-67279375028775806522007-09-22T00:30:00.000+01:002007-09-22T23:21:20.528+01:002007-09-22T23:21:20.528+01:00

Internet shopping is exploding particularly in the UK (and see some detailed EU stats), especially amongst the time-poor, cash-rich A and B social grades so prized by retailers. Online sales of clothes have overtaken computers, even buying food and groceries on the internet is big, so online buying is certainly not a geek-only activity anymore, if it ever was. But having to be at home to take

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-7814703297055156172007-09-02T00:29:00.000+01:002007-09-02T00:38:23.770+01:002007-09-02T00:38:23.770+01:00

The quickieIf you want to change mobile service providers but keep the use of your existing mobile number on the new network, UK telecomms regulator Ofcom have decreed that from 1 April 2008 the network operators must switch your number across to the new network within 2 working days (currently 5 working days), and Ofcom also propose that by 1 September 2009 the industry moves to "a near-instant

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-85543365568016378862007-08-16T09:10:00.000+01:002007-08-16T09:10:11.671+01:002007-08-16T09:10:11.671+01:00

About 100 incidents of over-heating while charging the battery (with "no serious injuries or property damage") have been reported in relation to Nokia-branded BL-5C batteries made by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. of Japan between December 2005 and November 2006. 100 so far doesn't seem too bad considering 46 million of those batteries were made, but the "serious" gave me pause for a

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-23353384998354330432007-07-13T23:40:00.000+01:002007-07-20T15:42:28.371+01:002007-07-20T15:42:28.371+01:00

One For All Universal 5 in 1 Stealth TV/DVD/SAT/AMP/VCR Remote Control (pic above from the One for All website, for review purposes only) This post is: a review of Universal Electronics' One for All universal remote control URC 7555 aka One For All Universal 5 in 1 Stealth TV/DVD/SAT/AMP/VCR Remote Control (or One for All 5), plusa basic howto buying guide with general tips on what to look

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8849059.post-81441676332023364192007-05-27T14:03:00.000+01:002007-05-29T17:54:53.523+01:002007-05-29T17:54:53.523+01:00

If you add Technorati tags to your blog posts, you might also use Technorati's tagcloud widget ("Blog Top Tags" widget), officially launched in April 2007, to include a tag cloud on your blog too. For those not familiar with it, this widget displays the 20 top tags used in your blog as displayed by Technorati on their tag pages (if you're on Blogger: add Top Tags cloud to your blog with a couple

Improbulushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00806072006905261495noreply@blogger.com2