Vista?
Posted: Tue 30 January, 2007 Filed under: Customer Services, Geeky, Thoughts 2 Comments »So, today Microsoft launches its new Operating System, Vista™. Whoopee-Doo.
Will I be going for Vista™? Hell no – and there’s a few reasons why.
First of all, I’m just not one of those people who simply has to have the latest greatest newest versions. Hell, I only started using XP on my home computers last year. Until then, Windows 2000 had done me very nicely indeed, thank you. In fact, I still don’t like a lot of XPs ‘features’, although I’m getting used to them.
Secondly, as with every other Microsoft OS, the first release will be a bug-fest. It’ll be horrific, and it’ll piss off a lot of people – particularly those who’ve paid to be able to ‘upgrade’ (I use that term *very* loosely!) as soon as Vista is released, and then find that various odds and sods Just Don’t Work. In my opinion, you’re always best to wait ’til at least the first Service Pack has come out, which will fix most of the major bugs. But I also despise the Microsoft attitude where you pay for software, and are still effectively a beta-tester of the OS. That just sucks.
Thirdly, there’s all the DRM (Digital Rights Management) that’s built in to Vista – and that’s something I really object to. In fact, that’s a whole different rant, but basically why the hell should I have limitations on something I’ve bought, and decide I want to listen to on my PC, or MP3 player, or wherever – and why the hell would I buy a piece of software that enforces rights management on items I’ve legally paid for?
So, three good reasons why I have no intention of upgrading to Vista until its absolutely necessary for me to do so. Which, by my reckoning, will be somewhere around 2011.
Progressing : 2
Posted: Wed 24 January, 2007 Filed under: Customer Services, Domestic, House Purchase Leave a comment »So, we’ve now engaged a solicitor, and all that paperwork has gone off, including copies of all our ID. I know they need some kind of proof that we are who we say we are, but still, it seems a bit odd to be able to send copies of ID documents – surely that’s no real proof of existence?
Paperwork has been flying around the place – solicitors guff, estate agents guff, mortgage guff, insurance guff, and payment protection guff.
And we see the architect about our potential plans for the new place on Friday, which should be fun.
Also, supposedly the mortgage company sent out their valuing surveyor yesterday to check the place out, make sure that the building exists and so on. It’ll be interesting getting their report – I’ve paid £560 for a ‘Homebuyer survey’ so it should tell us about anything medium-to-major on the property.
So yes, things are coming through pretty smoothly so far.
Handwritten
Posted: Wed 24 January, 2007 Filed under: 1BEM, Customer Services, Cynicism, Thoughts Leave a comment »In my opinion, some people just deserve to be ripped off.
Picture the scene – two cashpoint machines (ATMs to the Americans) side by side, in the wall of a bank. On one, a handwritten notice saying “This machine is out of order. Please use the other one.“. And the other machine has a queue of about six people using it, complaining that this one’s a bit dodgy too.
Me? Maybe I’m paranoid. But there’s no fucking way on earth, even if it were the only cashpoint in town, that I would use that machine. And it’s for the following reasons.
- It’s outside a bank, thus making people feel psychologically more secure. (“Oh, no-one would mess with this machine, it’s right outside the bank”)
- The notice is hand-written, you pillocks. Surely the bank would have either
- some pre-prepared properly printed notices
or - just turned the damn thing off, and let it display the ‘out of order’ notice
- some pre-prepared properly printed notices
- The second machine is obviously slow, as there’s a queue
- People are audibly complaining that the second machine isn’t giving out money either
To me that’s a whole list of reasons that would generally add up to “this machine has been tampered with, and is currently recording your card details, and repeated attempts to type in your PIN” and as a result I just wouldn’t use it.
And let’s bear in mind, I’m talking about Cambridge. It’s not like there aren’t (quick mental tally) at least six other cash points within three minutes walk.
Like I said, some people just deserve to lose their money.
Warning Signs
Posted: Thu 11 January, 2007 Filed under: Customer Services, Cynicism, Weirdness 2 Comments »I normally find some amusement from the warning signs and notices that currently seem to be appearing everywhere.
Yesterday, I was looking in the local M&S, and had a look at one of their prawn mayonnaise sandwiches. Impressively, it had the warning
May contain shellfish
What gets me, though, is the “May”. It’s a bloody prawn sandwich – if it doesn’t contain shellfish, I want to know why! After all, at that point really it’s just a mayonnaise sandwich.
Houses and Bureaucrats
Posted: Thu 11 January, 2007 Filed under: Customer Services, Cynicism, Domestic, Getting Organised Leave a comment »Over the last few days, we’ve seen a whole bundle of houses. There’s still two more tonight, one on Friday, and about another eight over the weekend. By the end of that, though, I’m kind of hoping we’ve found a couple that we really like.
Actually, that’s not fair – we’ve already found one that we both really like: it’s just that it’s got a lot of questions around it. And that’s the problem – finding the answers to those questions is going to involve the local church diocese and the local council’s planning department.
In short, fucking bureaucrats.
I’ve already been waiting two days for the tosspots in the diocese to come back to me – if they haven’t contacted me by lunchtime today I’m going to chase them up again. As for the council (coincidentally, the council I nearly ended up working for) I’ve spoken to their ‘Customer Contact Centre’, who told me that I can’t speak to the planning department on the phone, everything has to be in writing.
Which, as an indicator of the future, isn’t all that promising. Still, I’ve emailed them now, and we’ll see just how long it takes the tossers to come back with any form of answer. Although I suspect that the answer will take the form of
Don’t know, don’t care. Next question
Waiting
Posted: Tue 9 January, 2007 Filed under: Customer Services, Domestic Leave a comment »Today I’m working from home, waiting for a couple of deliveries. Both are furniture-size, although small-furniture, so it should be OK.
Of course, they’ve given no indication whatsoever of what time they’ll arrive. It could be anytime between 9am and 6pm.
Oh yes, and even though it’s all coming from the same place, for some godforsaken reason it’s going to be two deliveries, unless common sense has broken out at the despatch department. And let’s be honest, what’re the odds of that? (Low to sod-all, in my humble opinion)
Still, it does mean I get to be at home doing some work, instead of sat in the office.
DVLA
Posted: Mon 8 January, 2007 Filed under: 1BEM, Customer Services, Festering Season 1 Comment »Since we moved, I’d kind of forgotten (and it worked out for the good, as I needed to rent a car during December anyway) to send off my driving licence in order to get the address changed on it.
Anyway, I sent it off between Christmas and New Year, and it came back on Saturday, all well and good.
I think it’s pretty impressive, to have taken less than a week to get the address changed and both parts of the licence returned within a week even during the Festering Season.