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  • Deleted post – you can't be harsh!

    This morning I was reading a popular UK discussion forum. On it, I came across a query with regard to opening RAR files. However, there were a few lines that lept out at me…

    I have purchased a R4 card for use in my daughters DS.
    I installed the software on it successfully and managed to transfer some .nds files from a friends micro card. These games play fine.
    I also managed to download one game successfully but ever since then I have tried 3 different DS game sites and…

    And then it goes into the RAR file problem.

    So, basically, they are downloading illegal game copies to put onto an R4 card. For the uninitated, this is a hardware device that allows SD cards to be placed into a Nintendo DS. The R4 card is fine by itself, but it’s how it’s used that is the issue. It’s normally used for “home brew” hacking – placing emulators and own software onto the device – or for holding mass collections of pirated games. I know, I work with people who do this regularly.

    I’m sure there are legitimate games that can be downloaded and placed on an R4 card, which is why I decided not to report this post to the forum adminisators. Instead I simply replied…

    Please tell me these aren’t illegal game copies.

    Without wanting to sound preachy, I’m tired of having to pay extra for my games simply because I don’t feel the need to steal them.

    I get my point over, and the poster gets a chance to state that these were legal games. Great.

    Except, my post is pulled. The adminstator said..

    Your comments seem a little harsh, the OP asked a question about RAR file formats – it did not involve any request for help to download something illegally.

    Obviously, I’ve replied back, pointing out much of the above, but I’m guessing nothing will come of it. Why are we so accepting of this? As I said in my response, why should I be paying, probably inflated prices, due to piracy? Why is that acceptable and, say, shop lifting isn’t? We really seem to have our priorities wrong.

  • How to upgrade the memory of an Acer Aspire One

    How to upgrade the memory of an Acer Aspire One

    I recently upgraded my Netbooks memory from 1GB to an astonishing (obviously, there is a little sarcasm here) 1.5GB (which is the maximum). This is not only a fiddly job as the memory slot is on the underside of the motherboard (and there’s no way of accessing it from underneath) but it will invalidate your warranty. So proceed with caution!

    Having said all that, it wasn’t as difficult as I though. Register Hardware have an excellent article on how to do it.

    The only deviation I found was that my AA1 has an HHD, rather than an SSD. In this case, ignore the instruction to remove the SSD connector. The HHD appears to be connected to the motherboard, so you will also need to remove the daughterboard on the right-hand side of the case first. This is just a further 3 screws (but they’re more of those that are in very tightly, so remove them carefully).

    The memory itself was a single 1GB module that I bought online for approx. £12. The other 512MB is actually built onto the motherboard itself and can’t be changed.

  • You see, I told you…

    Sometime ago, I lamented the lack of advertising income thanks to the popularity of ad-blockers, et al.

    Yesterdays announcement by News Corp therefore didn’t come as a surprise – they would no longer be providing their newspapers’ websites free of charge. The only way websites such as these can provide the information that they do is to make money. And if you block their adverts, they won’t make money.

    Of course, people are now complaining. My favourite example being..

    What a ridiculous idea. Why would anyone pay for news from the web?

    Well, I guess it’s that or they don’t provide it at all. You choose. Or you could just turn that ad-blocking software off.

  • TomTom Customer Service

    TomTom Go 540 Live
    TomTom Go 540 Live

    Believe it or not, I’ve been working for my current employer for 20 years (yes, yes, I started when I was 12). Loyalty like that is a rarity these days (or could I just not find anything better elsewhere)? Anyway, they’ve given up on handing out watches and simply give out gift vouchers instead (although a generous amount, I should add).

    I’d been thinking for a while of replacing my aging TomTom One v2 – I was attracted to the larger screens and IQ routes features on more modern versions. I thought I’d get a TomTom One XL IQ, as this covered the bases, although secretely I’d have ideally liked one of the better models. Well, these vouchers were all I needed to upgrade my aspirations! I could use my vouchers at Halfords, and as they had a sale on at the time, it sounded ideal.

    After much searching of reviews and looking at specifications, I narrowed it down to the TomTom GO 540 or the 730.

    The 730 is the more “up market” model, but is the not the most recent. Halfords were actually selling this cheaper than the 540.

    However, the 540, or more precisely the 540 Live, had one thing that I wanted and that the 730 lacked – voice control. My new car has a very steep sloping windscreen so to secure it in its ideal position at the bottom of the screen would put it out of reach. Of course, you still have to press an on-screen button to activate the voice control but the purcahse of a bluetooth remote would eliminate the need to even do that.

    Anyway, I weighed up the reviews and general pros and cons, and finally decided to go for the 540. The Live services (at £7.99 a month) are steeply priced but offer regular traffic updates, amonst other things. After now using the 540, however, I feel compelled to try and find the money each month to pay for the Live services.

    The only thing left bugging me is the on/off technical support from TomTom – they’ve often responded to me quickly on most questions but when it comes to swapping over the map update services (that I’m paying for) to the new device, they haven’t responded in over a week – even when I’ve updated the support call with a prompt.

  • What is Twitter playing at?

    I like Twitter. I don’t post many comments and when I do, they’re not very exciting. But I “get” Twitter, unlike some people.

    However, considering its worldwide success, it lacks basic features. Sorry, what I should say, is that they appear to be concentrating their efforts in the wrong direction. I didn’t really want the new “Ajax” drop down menus on the Followers screen. Neither did I want a swish new login screen.

    No, what I wanted was not to be bombarded with “followers” trying to entice me with pornography. I would also like to search through the current more popular tags without them being awash with futher porn enticements and general spam.

    Twitter has started to do something – it’s using Google’s Safe Browsing API to get rid of links to spyware and other potentially “dangerous” sites.  But, even that is a half-arsed attempt as it doesn’t work with shortened URLs – something that the majority of URLs on Twitter are.

    Any particular reason why? Most shortening services allow you to expand their URL into the original full length version – why isn’t Twitter feeding this into the Google API? Sucuri provide an excellent online example of this.

    And this doesn’t prevent all the follower spam or pornography links (although I’m not suggesting these later examples are excluded – I’m sure some people would like to legitimately exchange them) . Surely it can’t be difficult? New people who turn up and follow hundreds, even thousands of others? Users that are regularly being blocked by others? Can’t Twitter flag this to some kind of adminstrator?

    Unfortunately, some of the above behaviours are affecting my enjoyment of the platform. I’m sure I’m not the only one.