Category: Blog

Fixing Windows Update error 8000ffff

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One of our Windows 2008 servers threw a wobbly (technical term) after a power cut a few weeks ago, and although I got it working again, it wouldn’t install updates, giving error code 8000ffff each time. The usual searches of the internets suggested a common fault with Vista on Dell machines, but none of the proposed fixes seemed to work. They included uninstalling an update I didn’t have installed, running a Microsoft “Fix It” tool, which didn’t work, and installing …

Reeling in a scammer Pt 2: Fish On!

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I got an email back today: Hello, I will like you to send me the list of GAME CONSOLES you have available and their prices,so i can choose the one that is most suitable for me. Regards So I sent this in return: Dear Mr Henry Here is a list of the GAME CONSOLES in our stocks. All prices are priced in US DOLLERS. NEW NINTENDO WII WHITE $200 NINTENDO WII BLACK $220 ZII CONSOLE $100 ITEK $60 SEGA XBOX …

Let’s Play! Tubaruba

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In the days of 8-bit gaming, there were over $hlmun platform games. It’s not really surprising, given the excellence and popularity of Jet Set Willy and Manic Miner. One of the platform collect-’em-ups I remember most vividly was Tubaruba, not least because of Tooba Zaidi, the horrifically named programmer who appears in the game. And the frightening way he speaks white noise at you. Also, despite what one of the possible commentators on this post may tell you, the Speccy …

Dear Activision (An Open Letter about the 3DS)

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Dear Activision, Now I know we rarely see eye to eye these days. Back in the days of the Atari 2600, you could do no wrong and provided me with so many hours of pleasure with your Pitfall and Frostbite and Keystone Kapers, and two decades later provided me with Tony Hawk – perhaps my most beloved of all non-platforming game series. Unfortunately, things have become a little tense between us in recent years with the murdering of the the …

Reeling in a scammer

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This never works, but it’s always worth a go to see how far things progress. Earlier this week, I got the following email: Hi Sales, Am Mr Henry Romans. I want to place an order from you. I know the difficulties encountered when shipping internationally, But that will not be a problem because i am registered with a shipping company whom i have used severally without any delay nor problems with my goods. Before i place these order, i want …

Let’s Play! Ricochet

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Woo! A rhyming Let’s Play! Ricochet was the best Breakout clone ever, at the time. Well, it wasn’t. It wasn’t even nearly the best. And Arcanoid and Batty and Krakout were all much better. But the thing with Ricochet was the scrolling message on the title screen. It’s amazing. Seriously.  And it goes on for hours.

No business like crow business

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No apologies for the very poor pun in the title. It was business involving crows. And there’s really nothing like it. Last year, we heard scratching in our (bricked up) chimney. About a week later, the scratching stopped. Whatever had fallen in had either died or escaped, but we didn’t know what it was at the time. A bird? A mouse? A dog? OK, probably not a dog. About three weeks after the scratching stopped, we noticed a few bluebottles …

Dead Space 2: Bring the Terror to Space

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Engineer Isaac Clarke returns in Dead Space 2 for another blood-curdling adventure in the sequel to the critically acclaimed Dead Space. New tools, new environments and new characters lead this relentless necromorph onslaught. After waking from a coma on a massive space city known as “The Sprawl”, the lone survivor of a horrific alien infestation finds himself confronting a catastrophic new nightmare. Battling dementia, hunted by the government, and haunted by visions of his dead girlfriend, Isaac will do whatever …