Tag: rant
Sometimes, I really hate my 360
This was my experience of setting my Xbox 360 up again for the first time in three months, so I could play Lego Indiana Jones 2, which I got for my birthday yesterday. I unpacked it. Then it all went wrong. There were FIVE system updates, one of which froze my 360 (as is usually the case with system updates). After that I couldn’t connect to Live, except I was connected, could see messages, send messages, browse the shop, etc., …
What a mistake Sky turned out to be
A few weeks ago, I had to ditch Virgin (I didn’t want to – I just couldn’t get their service any more) so was on the look out for an alternative. For cost and features, the best all-in-one TV/phone/broadband package seemed to be Sky. BT Vision looked pretty good, but none of it is HD, and it relies on broadband of “an acceptable speed” – something I couldn’t find out until after it was all installed. So I duly went …
Broccoli
Yesterday, we got our Asda shopping delivered. Not because we’re fat and lazy, but because we were busy. And lazy. If you’ve ever ordered stuff from them yourselves, you’ll know that sometimes things are out of stock, and they replace them with alternatives. So the juice we ordered was replaced with a different flavour. No problem. For some reason, and without listing it as a replacement on the delivery note (like they did with the juice), our order of apples, …
How to buy a Lenovo server
Perhaps the title for this post should contain a question mark, because, as you’ll see, I have no idea. We needed a new server at work. We always buy Dell, but The Powers That Be request that all purchases over £3000 require at least three quotes. So off I went to Dell’s website, where I spec’d up a server and they gave me a price on the screen there and then. I then emailed a Dell reseller the same spec, …
In defence of the Wii
Nintendo’s Wii gets a bit of a hard time on gaming forums and newsgroups. In the eyes of many, it’s still a console for kids and/or old people. If you enjoy playing Wii games, the 360 and PS3 owners sneer at you as if you can’t afford a “proper” console (even though the 360 is cheaper!). They wonder how you can possibly like playing games with “last gen graphics” and “tacked on waggle”. What they’re not realising, is that graphics …
Christmas
Seeing as it’s Christmas Eve today, I thought it time for a Christmas blog post. I have been accused, in the past, mainly by both my wife and my mother, of being bah humbug when it comes to Christmas. It’s not an entirely false accusation, if somewhat exaggerated. For quite a few years now, the “bad” side of Christmas has been the overriding factor in the runup – the shopping, and being shopped for, especially. I’m useless at figuring out …
Technical support needs technical support
Can you see the form? No, neither can I.¬¨‚Ć I wouldn’t mind, but they’re not answering the phone either.
My 360 RIP, part IX
Last week, there was an update for the 360. It was supposedly innocuous, simply providing the groundwork for some features not yet accessible. It wasn’t supposed to do anything to the system. Except, of course, for me. I can now no longer access the Marketplace. Joy! I can sign in and out of Live, send and receive messages, play games online, and all that – but the Marketplace is just… gone. I can still download stuff, by going to xbox.com …
When did Google break?
Over the last few weeks I’ve been becoming more and more frustrated with Google’s search. It’s only really one complaint, but it’s a pain. In the olden days, when you searched for words that Google thought you may have misspelt, Google would provide all the matches for what you typed in with, additionally, a link to a search for Google’s spelling correction. That is to say, if I searched for the word ‘stuipd’, it would show me all the matches …
Stupid DIY blind instructions
I had a bit of a tantrum yesterday, because the simple task of putting up a blind seemed beyond me. Of course, it wasn’t entirely my fault as several things conspired against me, including a wall with a metal plate behind it.¬¨‚Ć However, the B&Q instructions didn’t exactly help. Just look at the quality of this amazing diagram: (click it for a bigger, but not exactly more visible version) Ignoring the fact the screws provided needed 5mm holes, not 6mm, …
To the woman with the Isuzu 4×4
Dear Woman with an Isuzu 4×4 at Asda tonight, I noticed you parked your oversized car in the last remaining “family” space. You know, those spaces reserved for people with children, who have to struggle with car seats and pushchairs. Those spaces positioned near the shop doors, so you don’t have to wheel your baby through quite so much cold and rain. Those spaces in such great demand to people with families, that even on a relatively quiet night there’s …
BBC Rant: The Complainening
I just sent this off to the BBC: (This complaint also covers the reporting of the same story on BBC TV and radio) I find it disgusting that the BBC would report on a story like this in such a poorly researched manner, effectively scaremongering and propagating untruths. The real news story is that some companies (both at home at abroad) are supplying Nintendo DS consoles with power supplies that are not tested to British Standards. Also, some companies sell …
The HM Customs/BBC fact-free report
This is where lies become fact, isn’t it? Parents warned on fake consoles (BBC) Lets just ignore the woman from HM Customs who doesn’t have a clue what she’s talking about, and doesn’t seem to know how to answer questions coherently either, and just move on to the subject. It would appear that Nintendo has been complaining that people have been buying DS consoles abroad for less money than they are over here in rip-off Britain. However, since ordering the …
Exchanging items for my identity
I placed an order with Pixmania last night. Nothing strange in that, aside from the fact I’d normally steer well clear because of the times I (and other people I know) have dealt with them only to have stuff arrive with French power cables and German manuals.¬¨‚Ć But the thing I wanted was substantially cheaper from them, and when you’re saving almost ¬¨¬£100, you make concessions. Which was a mistake, it seems. Ignoring the virtually-impossible-to-remove “loyalty card” and “Zen extended …