Virgin Mobile – more issues – and then a light at the end of the tunnel?

sorry - I need something to smile at!

I have been having a jolly time this week – as expected my contact with Virgin Mobile has not been productive or stress free. We started our little charade back on Saturday morning – bright and early. The task was simple (or so I thought). Transfer my son from pay as you go to a contract, something that most mobile companies should be able to do easily – but not it seems Virgin.

Since Saturday;

I have made 6 calls to Virgin.

I have spent two and a half hours on the phone to them!

I have had various 24 or 72 hour guarantees pass with no progress.

I have been ‘mislead’ twice

I have never received the promised calls back or texts to confirm the (hoped for) progress.

Oh – and although they tell me the phone contract has been set up – it hasn’t!

Getting to the end of my tether I decided to email the CEO of Virgin Mobile UK, Graeme Oxby, I doubted he would even get the email – they seem very good at deflecting complaints and then don’t act when you do complain. However I have recieved a quick reply directly back from him (and this was at 9.30 last night). So thank you Mr Oxby, I am impressed by your personal interest in my issues

So may be there is a light at the end of the tunnel? Mr Oxby has told me he will get someone from his team “to get in touch to sort things out”.

I await with interest.

 

Are we playing too many video games?

We are all now well versed in the games that are available for X-box or Playstation, even if you have never touched a game controller you will have seen the adverts on TV. They offer the player a chance to live a totally different life without any personal danger (apart from RSI). The growth in the games industry has been staggering, and the UK is a major player. But just how massive wasn’t clear to me until this week when sales figures were released that indicated games sales now greatly exceed ‘video’ sales.

Taking over?

I am showing my age here as obviously videos are a thing of the past – but the figures relate to all DVD and Blue Ray sales as well as good old videos – and the figures are staggering!

Sales of computer games in the UK last year were £1.93bn! I know we all accept billions as small change now, but this is massive! By contrast, sales of DVDs and other video formats totalled £1.80bn, while music pulled in a ‘measly’  £1.07bn. Last year games accounted for 40.2% of the entertainment market, video for 37.6% and music for 22.2%.

In reality sales are falling overall (part of the reason for the demise of Game on our High Streets) and video won’t go without a fight. But I do think it is sad that we get our ‘jollies’ in this way – watching films is a social thing, playing games can be very anti social (it certainly is when my son is doing it)

So we have hit another ‘milestone’ in entertainment – I am not sure I like this one!

 

Yet more Windows issues!

I realise that I am in danger of becoming a bit of a bore here – but stay with me – the only way any firm manages to develop and improve is through feedback. This is what I am providing here for Microsoft – it’s just that it is all negative at the moment!

Sadly I can relate to this.....

At work we use an online system for managing our agency instructions and other areas of our CRM. I won’t name them here because it might be considered ‘unfair’, however it is fair to say that like many of the systems that we use it relies on Internet Explorer (IE) and the dreaded Active X. This means that we can’t run it on any non IE machines (so no Macs or iOS machines). Not a great start then.

It also requires Java to run – and here we come to the reason for my rant. It won’t run on the latest version of Java – that would be far too easy – no, it requires version 6 update 21. The current version is 31 (and version 7 is in beta). So we have to stop people updating, and if they do we need to ‘roll back’ to version 21. Quite why the developers haven’t managed to update their package to use the latest Java is another story!

But ‘updating’ the Java should be easy – yes?

In any world other than Microsoft’s it is – but not with Windows – let me explain!

We have a mix of 32 bit and 64 bit machines at work – so obviously when downloading Java one should download the relevant Java for that machine? Well no! Internet Explorer has a 32 bit and a 64 bit version BUT – and this is the ‘good’ bit – IE 32 will run on a 64 bit machine, and if this is the case you need the 32 bit Java NOT the 64 bit version on a 64 bit machine – so that is nice and straightforward then!

And people wonder why I complain about Windows so much!

 

Why Microsoft “don’t get it “

For a while I have been ‘coming over from the dark side’ – that is to say I have been embracing the world of Apple. To some that classes me as a geek, historically Apple products were the preserve of the ‘Guardian reader’ set, not a bad thing in any way, but a stereotype that probably didn’t help their marketing! This puts me in the minority, but if I am honest I don’t care, as I find the Apple way so much less stressful.

With the massive growth of the iPod, iPad and iPhone, Apple are now a major player in the hardware market (for example they have almost 80% of the tablet market). Historically they have been weak in the world of software – and by weak I mean they did not have the business market particularly catered for – that was the province of Microsoft – and still is. But for how long?

Computing in the business and home market is going mobile, we are all getting smartphones, and the tablet is making desktop computing far less of a necessity. Our PC at home is used rarely now, either iPad or Mac has taken over. Consequently we are all keen to have our data available where ever we are – cloud computing by any other name. And who is doing this best and appears to have a game plan going forwards?

In my view it’s Apple and not Microsoft. I have started using Apples iCloud with its Numbers and Pages packages – all my documents are automatically available on all my devices (including my PC). The program’s are nothing like as ‘belt and braces’ as Word or Excel, but who uses anything like the full potential of those packages – they are just too complicated! Also on an iPad the Numbers spreadsheet is way better than anything Microsoft or any third-party converter can offer.

Apples iCloud is in its infancy, MobileMe was not a success, but the mobile OS has developed and I think we will see great things from Apple over the next few years in mobile data sharing and working – they never get things wrong more than once!

And what about Microsoft? Windows 8 is just about to appear and from what I have heard it is just Windows 7 with a weird front end. Their Office package has a web version, but it is not catching on (probably due to being too complex). Microsoft may be about to start to see the end of their dominance – a good thing?

 

How much time does a PC lose you in a week?

I am writing this on my iPad while I wait for my Microsoft based Laptop to be repaired by scan fix – it tells me that I have a very nasty Rootkit type thingy which has rather upset my laptop. Now I am not a ‘dodgy’ user and am usually rather careful about what I open on my PC, but this time I have been caught out and we are now at around two hours and counting since my laptop became unusable.

This rather annoys me, (actually it really annoys me) as it is totally un-necessary. If I was using a Mac I wouldn’t be suffering from the scumbags that create these ‘bots’ and virus things. It has also set me thinking, Microsoft have the computer market firmly clasped by the privates, most business environments use Windows and other Microsoft packages. But you and I are fully aware of the down time that we all suffer from their software being the target of certain sections of society. Yes, windows 7 is much better, but there is still the issue of viruses etc that are nearly all aimed at the PC user.

If we didn’t suffer crashes and the other viral issues etc how much more work could we get done? A search of the Internet doesn’t come up with any figures for this, but it does bring up pages of details about crashes!

So if I ignore the enforced crashes and just look at boot times (to a fully useable state) for my laptop and mac this suggests the following;

Laptop average boot time – 4 minutes
Laptop turn off – 1 minute
MacBook average boot time – 1 minute
MacBook turn off – 15 seconds

That’s an extra 3 minutes and 45 seconds a day because I use a PC

So over a year that’s almost 20 hours wasted before we suffer any crashes or the delightful “program is not responding” messages. I believe we are probably looking at probably a working week a year lost to the PC – I think on that basis Microsoft should be paying me for using their software – not the other way round!

Reliance on one system is never healthy, it is about time that more people moved away from Microsoft – you never know it might even increase the time you have to work!

 

iPad 2 or 3?

spot the difference?

After all the hype Apple finally launched the new iPad this week – I say ‘the new iPad’ because they don’t appear to be clear as to its official title. Apple are referring to the new iPad, not iPad 3 or iPad HD as the press were suggesting. Going for a generic ‘iPad’ moniker is probably sensible as it would sound silly in a few years time to say iPad 8!

The launch has set me thinking if I would want a ‘new iPad’ – it’s not a simple decision because the new one isn’t as different as it might have been. The retina display is a nice touch (it is amazing on the iPhone 4) but that is a small screen that benefits hugely from the extra definition. The iPad user is only really going to notice the better resolution on HD movies or photo editing, not something that is important to me at this time in the way I use my iPad..

Also the new unit is slightly thicker and heavier than the iPad 2, not a particular step forward in my view. Also are people really going to use a tablet to video or take photos? A better camera is nice, but again I can’t see a benefit for me.

So I am happy to stay with my iPad 2, I can see it giving many years of use like most Apple products. Having said that I am sure Apple will sell as many of the ‘new iPad’ as they can produce – so what do I know?

 

Sinclair ZX81

Having blogged about the Raspberry Pi the other day it set me thinking about the old Sinclair ZX81 in the attic at my Mums. The ZX81 ‘the first home computer’ was produced by Sinclair Research and manufactured in Scotland by Timex Corporation. It was launched in the United Kingdom in March 1981 as the successor to Sinclair’s ZX80 and was designed to be a low-cost introduction to home computing for the general public. It was hugely successful and more than 1.5 million units were sold before it was eventually discontinued in 1984. It even found success in the United States, where Timex manufactured and distributed it under licence.

Little did I know that this week is actually the 31st anniversary of its launch! When you consider what modern technology can do it is interesting to look at the spec (and price) that was a cutting edge machine in 1981!

Introductory price – £49.95 for the kit, £69.95 for the assembled machine (equivalent to £143 – £200 in 2012).
Operating system Sinclair BASIC
CPU Z80 at 3.25
Memory 1 kB (64 kB max. 56 kB usable)
Display Monochrome display on UHF television
Graphics 24 lines x 32 characters or 64 x 48 pixels graphics mode
Dimensions 167 millimetres (6.6 in) deep by 40 millimetres (1.6 in) high
Weight 350 grams (12 oz)

Even the most basic mobile phone is way more powerful than this today – who says we haven’t made progress over the last 30 years!

 

When Apple do big they really do big!

the bare earth area will be the farm

One of the major benefits of being one of the largest (and the richest) companies in the world is economies of scale. Apple can do things big when it does things and it has now revealed plans to build America’s largest private solar energy farm.

The farm will cover 100 acres of North Carolina, and produce enough power to supply thousands of homes. Apple will use the green energy to power its huge data centre where the servers for iTunes and iCloud services are held. When completed the 20-megawatt facility will supply 42 million kWh of energy annually, it is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars to construct – a drop in the ocean for a company as rich as Apple.

‘Our goal is to run the Maiden facility with high percentage renewable energy mix, and we have major projects under way to achieve this – including building the nation’s largest end user-owned solar array and building the largest non-utility fuel cell installation in the United States,’

Apple has in recent months has come under increased criticism for working practices at its production facilities, so some ‘greening’ can only help – although in reality it is already far greener than most of its competitors;

• It has reduced carbon emissions on a number of its products, most notably the Apple TV set-top box – from 2007 to 2011, carbon emissions with the Apple TV were reduced by 90 per cent.
• The iMac has also seen a 50 per cent reduction from 1998 to 2011, while the Mac mini has dropped 52 per cent.
• Apple has also reduced the packaging associated with the iPhone by 42 per cent from 2007 to 2011. That allows the company to ship 80 per cent more boxes in each airline shipping container, saving one 747 flight for every 371,250 boxes Apple ships – and when you consider they shipped 37 million in the first quarter of 2012 that makes a big difference!

However, Apple’s solar site is still dwarfed by the world’s largest array, Golmud Solar Park in China, which produces 200MW of power. Apple may have to play second fiddle on this one!

 

More proof (if it was needed) that Apple products just work!

it's all in the hinge....

This week I have been on the hunt for a case for an iPad, I already have ‘a solution’ on my personal iPad which works perfectly – but it is too costly for a work funded iPad. Let me explain;

On my iPad I have an Apple smart cover - the one that folds back into a triangle to support the machine for typing etc. it has a magnetic bar that holds it onto the iPad and clever hinges that work brilliantly. It is however £60 (it’s a leather one), it still needs a case for the rear of the machine (brilliantly provided by an Incipio smart feather case). Total cost around £85, but it works and I am very happy with it – especially the Apple bit!

So I have been looking for a cheaper alternative for my second iPad – shouldn’t be difficult. – right?

Well actually it is very difficult, there are lots of cheap imitations of the Apple product, but they just don’t work as well – they are not all bad (although some are), just not as good!

I have ended up with a ‘Skinny’ from STM, it is £35 and is not exactly what I was after but appears to work how I want it to. What it has highlighted to me though is that there is a lot of rubbish out there from manufacturers for apple products and although Apple products are expensive they all have something in common – they just work!

 

Can cloud computing help reduce global warming?

There is a steady move towards cloud computing, both Apple and Microsoft are nudging their users towards it in different ways;

Apple via iCloud which is in its infancy, but has some potential. This however is currently based around machine based apps for word processing and similar, and only carries data.

Microsoft on the other hand is moving towards cloud based application use – Word, Excel etc accessed directly from their servers so that software is not PC based. This is perhaps more related to them trying to control pirated software than for our benifit though!

Is there a ‘green’ side to cloud computing though?

A study carried out late last year that focussed on large IT companies in France and the UK found that they could achieve large cost savings and carbon reductions by 2020 if they migrated their data storage operations to the cloud. The suggestion was that they could reduce their carbon emissions by up to 50%!

The study follows a recent forecast that use of cloud services could triple in the next two years, a fact that has  been backed up by a number of blue chip companies indicating that they intend to move to cloud solutions far quicker than many had thought. Obviously cost saving is the main aim – but a drop in carbon emissions has to be a positive side effect.

Cloud computing allows companies to reduce costs by buying less hardware and using servers located elsewhere to store, manage and process data. The report suggests that by 2020, large UK companies that use cloud computing could achieve annual energy savings of £1.2 billion and carbon reductions equivalent to the annual emissions of over 4 million passenger vehicles – figures not to be sniffed at.

And if your server farm is in a country that has lower emission electricity such as France, (where nuclear plants generate the bulk of electricity), that figure can be much lower.

So as we place more and more data in the cloud we can actually reduce our carbon footprint!