My original post, where I revealed the truth behind ProductTesting.uk.com, has become one of the most read articles on my site and has garnered a huge amount of feedback. What’s certainly true is that the only people with something positive to say are those who’ve actually received a product to review. I always knew that they would actually be giving out products – what is clear is the methods use to confuse people into thinking they’re guaranteed to get one in exchange for signing up to a lot of spam email. Spam email, it should be noted, that is difficult to stop.
(more…)Category: How To
My “How To” guides on various things
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Ford Focus – tips for a new owner
Yes, I’ve just bought a new car – the 2013 model of the Ford Focus Titanium X. It has a 1.0 litre Ecoboost engine which is remarkably good for it’s small, 3 cylinder capacity. A lawnmower it is not!
And the thing about the Titanium X is that it’s bristling with gadgets – it has the optionally appearance pack too which includes keyless entry. Anyway, I’ve come across a number of things that have required head-scratching and a lot of Googling so I thought I’d document them here.
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Battery Savings that don’t cost you the Smart in Smartphone
A recent Tweet by Richard Taylor, editor of the BBC tech show Click, got me annoyed. In it he directs readers to a video of him giving various tips, based on “years of experience”, on how to save the battery in Smartphones and tablets.
It got me annoyed because it’s no different to the lists you find elsewhere, and they’re not any good either. Don’t get me wrong ,tips such as “turn off Bluetooth” do save battery, but what is the point is buying a device such as a Smartphone to then turn off the very features that make them “smart”?
So, here are my recommendations.
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How to fix EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGBUS) crashes on Mountain Lion
I’ve just started experiencing EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGBUS) crashes when attempting to start Evernote or Komodo Edit and a minute after starting Chrome.
I had no idea what was causing this and looking on Google indicated everything from faulty memory to needing to re-install Mountain Lion.
However, it was only when looking for this error along with Evernote that I stumbled across something less radical that, thankfully, fixed the issue.
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How to modify start applications in OS X Mountain Lion
Skype doesn’t launch with OS X and doesn’t appear to have an option, unlike many other programs, to do this.
However, after some searching I did find a reference to user preferences that allow you to modify which programs start with the system. Unfortunately, these were not 100% correct for Mountain Lion, so it still took me some trial and error to find the correct process. Here’s what you do…
- Press
and select “System Preferences” - Click on “Users & Groups” (bottom left, in the “System” section)
- The current user should be highlighted on the left. To the right, select the “Login Items” tab
- It now lists all the applications that start when the system does. Those ticked will be hidden (click on the screenshot at the side to see my screen)
- Press the + and – button to add and remove applications. To add Skype simply press + and select it from the Applications list.
- Press
