WaFiTz! » Archive
HMRC Incompetence?
If they can’t even get it right with honest civilians… what chance do they have with genuine tax dodgers? 22nd January 2011 National Insurance Contributions Office Newcastle Upon Tyne NE98 1ZZ Re: National Insurance Contributions Dear Collections Manager, I have written several times in the past (last letter 28th January 2008) to query as to why I am chased for National Insurance Contributions quarterly, since I already pay these through my employer and I am not self-employed. My previous letters went ignored so I ignored yours – nothing happened and it’s been 3 years now. This is a shame because if you had taken court action I could quite easily demonstrate how incompetent you have been in handling my records and correspondence. Anyway, I’m getting sick of these letters so I thought I’d try writing again. I AM NOT … Read entire article »
Filed under: Distractions
Companies I Won’t Be Buying My Next Android Phone From
Motorola After owning a Motorola Milestone for a while, despite impressive hardware, Motorola themselves have been very lackadaisical about providing updates – I’m pretty certain we won’t be seeing Official Gingerbread on it, even if Froyo comes sometime this year. This wouldn’t bother me too much if it had not been for the locked bootloader. Unlike most other manufacturers, Motorola decided Open Source meant Locked Down and essential farted in the general direction of both owners and developers. There are workarounds, but they are much more complicated for the layman to carry out than other Android phone manufacturers. Samsung Samsung have recently fell out of favour with me in the netbook department, but now they pull a stunt like this? Sorry Samsung, you’ve lost me, and to think people have bought your netbooks because of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Android, Complaints
3rd Times a Charm… Linux, Wifi and Samsung N210
If you follow this blog you will know that I’ve mentioned wireless and the Samsung N210 in the past. Kickstart Samsung N210 Wireless Update: UNR 10.04 Wireless on Samsung N210 The first one post was the most successful blog post I’ve ever written, and judging by the number of posts in the Ubuntu forums it’s something many people struggle with constantly with this netbook. I’ve found that the solutions I posed previously worked, but had to be redone each time after a kernel update. What’s worse is that with each new ‘Buntu distro upgrade, an entirely new wireless problem appeared. To be quite frank, I’m getting sick of this and I won’t be touching another Samsung netbook. In fact when it comes time to refresh I’ll probably opt for a System 76 box. The latest upgrade … Read entire article »
Filed under: Complaints, Linux
Installing Updates… Windows vs Linux
Ever installed an old Operating System from fresh? Ever tried installing all the required updates in one go? It’s a necessity for some corporate environments and for consultants we can’t just grab the latest build from IT services. Here’s what happens when you install an outdated Linux distro: Click Update Manager “You have 217 Updates” Click Update All “The system needs to restart to update the Kernel” Restart……… Click Update Manager “Your system is up to date!” Here’s what happens when you install an outdated Windows OS: Click Windows Update “You have 48 Important Updates and 13 Optional Updates” Click Install Updates “Windows needs to restart to apply updates” Restart……… Click Windows Update “You have 17 Important Updates and 2 Optional Updates” Click Install Updates “Windows needs to restart to apply updates” Restart……… Click Windows Update “You have 4 Important Updates” Click Install Updates “Windows needs to restart to apply updates” Restart……… Click Windows Update “You … Read entire article »
Filed under: Distractions, Linux
New Green Hornet Trailer
I first saw this advertised at a Cinema in Germany, so I had to do a double-take as I knew the Green Arrow is coming out. Finally, it’s being advertised in the UK and looks like it would be worth checking out, especially if GA doesn’t hold up to the hype. (You may have to disable adblock to see it) … Read entire article »
Filed under: Graphic Novels, Worthwhile Watching
The Psychology of Ownership
Recently I got a new work laptop with Windows 7 and Microsoft Office Professional 2010 installed. Along with the laptop I got a Product Key Card for MS Office Professional 2010 to activate the license. I am old enough to remember the days MS Office was sold in larger boxes on CDs and DVDs. What happened? I slid out the plastic inner case and opened it to find a card with the product key printed on it. I entered this into the setup screen on my new laptop and MS Office (already pre-installed) was activated right away. Then I noticed that inside the cover of the slightly slimmer box, Microsoft has taken liberty to print some waffle about the environment – perhaps to infer this is the reason for no longer supplying … Read entire article »
Filed under: Distractions
This Letter Acknowledges No Debt To You, Or To Any Company You Claim To Represent
My favourite response to companies who email me out of the blue demanding money and clearly not playing by the rules… With reference to the above account, I would like to inform you the alleged amount owed is in dispute/I have no contract with you/I have never heard of you. I would now like the following information provided to me at your earliest convenience: A true copy of the alleged credit agreement you refer to for this account. This is my right under your obligation to supply a copy of the agreement under the legislation contained within s.78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 (s.77 (1) for fixed sum credit). A signed true copy of the deed of assignment of the above referenced agreement that you allege exists. A statement of account I understand that under the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Complaints, Takeback
2011 Resolution
I don’t often make resolutions… I know myself too well to know not to make promises I’ll break so if I do I tend to keep them fairly low key. That said, I like to set large life goals and then take small steps in the right direction. My resolutions are usually spontaneous, as soon as I clear a problem I set a new resolution to avoid the same in future – so I don’t tend to wait for an arbitrary starting point like new years. Last year we decided to holiday in Ireland, we took the ferry across to Rosslare, then drove West around the peninsulas. We ended up at Killarney and decided to do some geocaching at the Torc falls, going for one called 360°. We bumped into another geocaching couple … Read entire article »
Filed under: Distractions, Takeback, WaFiTz!
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