Info and forum posts by 'JulesBloke'

RE: Car Car Car Leasing...

Just remember that most of the quoted figures are for 10k miles a year. It goes up a tad when you do 30k odd like me!!

RE: How much can I realistically get away with bringing back from the US?

Yeah - I echo all the above. Ditch the boxes and receipts. If you`re packing clothes, take all the labels off them too! I tend to wear new clothes back - they`ve probably had a days wear in the US and look nice and rumpled after a long flight anyway :D As the others have said, any new electronic goodies, ditch the boxes and pretend like you took them out there with you to amuse you on the flight, wear the watch, carry the PSP, pack a knackered laptop bag in your suitcase and bung the Macbook in that for the return journey etc.....

RE: Dexter

Fantastic. Been into this since it was first available from you know where. Just watched the Season 2 finale and it was great!

It`s very well written with plenty of wry humour, superbly narrated :D It`s amazing when you think what/who Dexter is, how you end up routing for him.

RE: Hewlard Packard - Customer services

I think a 6 colour inkjet is always going to be better for photo`s. Colour laser is OK, but it`s more for brochures and worky stuff.

As for sample packs, they do them sometimes. I have seen them handed out at electronics shows. HP usually have big stands at Mac Expo (in Olympia, but that`s just gone) and at Focus On Imaging (at the NEC in February I think). Although Focus On Imaging will be all inkjet and designjet (poster printers) so I doubt they`ll have any lasers there.

RE: Las Vegas - Helicopter tour of Grand Canyon etc.

That`s it - you`re on a slippery slope. My wife and I went out there and enjoyed it so much we booked up for another holiday a year later.

Didn`t go this year because we moved house, but next April - Vegas here we come again for the third time :D

RE: Got cut up on a roundabout by a 4wd with trailer....

Wow - so it`s not just me that`s noticed more people seem to want to turn right at a roundabout from the left hand lane! Sometimes even when there are fecking huge white arrows in the lanes, one pointing left, one pointing straight/right.

Don`t they teach roundabouts in driving tests anymore?

It did happen to me once on a roundabout where someone totally cut me up, forcing me and the police car behind me to stop on the roundabout. Once the driver had obliviously carried on to his destination the last thing I saw in my rear view mirror was the blue lights come on and the police follow him - hopefully to pull the idiot over, but it was too far away for me to see properly by then!

Will a tower server make a good games machine??

I will shortly be getting an HP ML115 server which I was originally going to set up as a file sharing machine. But I also noticed that as well as a dual core Opteron processor, it has plenty of USB 2.0 ports and more importantly a PCI Express x16 slot for a graphics card.

Do any of you techy guys know whether a rig essentially designed for business would make a good games PC if I installed Vista (to use the dual core) and a decent gaming graphics card (nVidia 8800 series)?

Linky to the spec is here:

h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/en/WF06a/15351-15351-241434-241646-3328424-3330535.html

I would guess I`d need a sound card too!

This item was edited on Monday, 29th October 2007, 20:22

RE: Ebuyer and hard drives

I`ve been buying from Ebuyer for years also and never had an issue.

Their prices are usually the cheapest and I find if you`re not in a hurry to receive the goods and select the cheap shipping option (Super Saver within 5 days) that most of the time it gets delivered in 48 hours!

The RMA process is a bit of a pain - online forms, but on the odd occaision I`ve needed to use it the replacements or refund have been dealt with quickly.

RE: Are the BBC trying to screw up Heroes?

Wouldn`t be the first time the good old beeb screwed around with series like Heroes. Just wait till there`s something like the snooker on, they`ll move programs around at random (days and times) or not show them at all!!

This item was edited on Sunday, 30th September 2007, 21:09

RE: Which Software is best to build websites...

SiteSpinner is a WYSIWYG editor and easy to use.

There`s a trial version:

www.virtualmechanics.com/products/spinner/

RE: Any good bargain book shops on the net?

I buy my books from Play.com too :D Free postage on them, just like the DVDs :D

RE: Bourne Ultimatum First Impressions

It`s fantastic. Carries straight on in Russian from the end of Supremacy (the phone call to Landy happens later in the film). Starts running and never stops. :D Paul Greengrass` style is great and I love seeing a decent actioner filmed in London (amongst others) and not being so US-centric :D

You can`t beat the ending - that Moby track just fits somehow at the end of each of the three films.

This item was edited on Thursday, 16th August 2007, 22:44

RE: Where to buy plain baby (12-18 months-ish) T-Shirts?

Brilliant thanks :D I shall pop in to Asda/Tesco on my way home from work :D

RE: Where to buy plain baby (12-18 months-ish) T-Shirts?

I understand your concern, but the transfers are permanent. They can survive a washing machine at 40c, so they aren`t any more of a problem than your average Bob The Builder top I reckon!! :D It`s this stuff here:

www.craftycomputerpaper.co.uk/paper%20for%20dark%20fabrics.htm

I still have one from a stag night a while ago done with the same stuff and it`s still going strong - although I only use it for decorating and slobbing around the house now :D

This item was edited on Monday, 30th July 2007, 22:25

Where to buy plain baby (12-18 months-ish) T-Shirts?

It`s my best mate`s little boy`s 1st birthday soon and I want to make some silly T-Shirts with family photo`s on for baby to wear at the party ("My Dad is the best" etc...). I have the transfer paper so I can iron on designs, but I cannot find little plain T-Shirts anywhere!

I`ve tried Matalan, Mothercare, Toys R Us and searching online but little plain T-Shirts seem to not exist. Any ideas? I`m only after a couple of black and a couple of white baby sized (18 months ish) cotton tees. I can find body suits or T-Shirts with slogans on, but no plain!!

If any of you parents out there know where I can get them - online or a store - please let me know :D Or don`t they do them that small?

This item was edited on Monday, 30th July 2007, 20:47

RE: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Quote:
Summer Glau has something to do now Firefly is dead!

you mean apart from The Unit & The 4400`s (tho, tbh i haven`t seen her in the new season of 4400`s yet)

LOL - forgot those, but not exactly major parts in either. Not watched any 4400 yet either, and I`d be surprised if she made a return to The Unit :D

All in all, it could have been a lot worse than it was. I quite enjoyed it.

RE: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Just watched it - thought it was pretty good! Some bits of dialogue and action copied straight from T2 - but that`s not a bad thing :D

I`m also glad to see that Summer Glau has something to do now Firefly is dead!

RE: Intels New Processors

Intel Quad Xeon`s are out in the server market, not sure about home Quads.

AMD haven`t released their Quad Opteron for servers yet (a couple of months away), so I would be surprised if they`ve got a home Quad core out yet.

RE: Heroes- New American Show

Looks like there`s not only going to be a Season 2, but a spin off too!!

www.darkhorizons.com/news07/070523i.php

This item was edited on Thursday, 24th May 2007, 01:15

RE: Laptops screens cracked.. HELP

The screen is almost certainly the most expensive component. I am afraid you`ll find it may be as expensive to replace the screen as it is to get a whole new laptop :(

RE: Plug external harddrive into TV

It needs to be capable of it. I have one of these:

www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/104087

which is great because as well as being a usb harddrive it`s networkable too, so I have it connected to my router :D

I also have a cheaper caddy from Ebay that works really well too:

cgi.ebay.co.uk/Black-2-5-HDD-AV-Player-Multimedia-MP4-MP3-DVD-Divx-UK_W0QQitemZ170104513469QQihZ007QQcategoryZ86758QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This item was edited on Tuesday, 24th April 2007, 14:28

RE: New Car Security Advice Please :D

Well, I didn`t want to show off and I have enough "hairdresser" comments from the guys at work, but I have the CC 1.9DCi. :D I wanted the open top experience my brother has (an Audi TT) but need something a bit more practical for long drives and cold winters!

RE: New Car Security Advice Please :D

Cool, thanks guys. Yeah - working in IT I am well used to hiding my goodies away and realise nothing is going to stop some scrote lobbing a brick through the window!

I was more concerned about the whole car going walkies, but have been assured that it`s most likely I`ll get bashed over the head and have the keys nicked than someone managing to "hot wire" it. Lovely world we live in :/

New Car Security Advice Please :D

I wonder if any of you Guru`s can offer some advice on car security. Basically I have opted out of the company scheme and bought a nippy Renault Megane. It comes with Thatcham Cat 1 Alarm and "Insurance Approved" Immobiliser.

Since I`m a bit more protective of me new "baby" :D than my old company rep mobiles, is it worth investing in a chunky crook lock or something too? Or is the alarm system so good that it basically can`t be nicked short of stealing my keycard or physically hoisting it onto a flat bed and driving off??

RE: Life On Mars.......last one...... :-( (Spoiler)

Quote:
Thought it was fantastic and liked the ending.... the fade to black `jumping off the roof` had me thinking "Don`t end it like that...." - it would have all been for nothing.
I don`t think he really jumped off the building at all - he would surely have died - certainly not guaranteed `just` serious injury.
For me, while he was under (in the bridge) he had the chance to come `out` and, as dreams often happen much quicker than reality, had the chance to see what his life was really like, realised in his real life he was `dead` (couldn`t feel the cut in the meeting) and decided he liked his other one better and that was why he `jumped` and came back.....

Wow - that`s exactly my take on it as well! I don`t think he really ever woke up, just started coming back to conciousness and in the end decided that he`d be better back in the seventies world of the coma.

RE: 19" HP TFT at PC World - Anyone know if it`s Mac compatible

According to the HP webby it only has a VGA input. I don`t know much about Macs, but I would expect a newer one to have a DVI connector.

If you`ve got VGA out it should be OK, if not you may be able to buy a VGA to DVI convertor, but I`m not sure.

RE: Auto reply on Outlook Express 6

Unless your ISP supports it on their webmail, then you`re out of luck.

The function you are talking about it called "Out Of Office Assistant" and you`ll need to be running Outlook proper and have an Exchange Server set up (which you can use to share diaries etc..). Outlook works by receiving/sending emails when you have your PC switched on and collecting them directly from your ISP. With an Exchange server, all your emails go to the server and you synchronise with it when you check your emails. The server can automatically send out replies without you needing your PC switched on.

You can get "business" email through internet providers, which means you use their Exchange server and have all the functions you would if you had you`re own.

RE: Radar and laser detection devices now illegal

Quote:
The sophisticated Gatso radar or laser-based detectors should not be confused with ordinary satellite navigation systems. These remain legal because they use GPS and published mapping technology to warn of published camera sites.

Sat Nav is still OK by the looks of it. If you have a Road Angel or similar then you`re in trouble I guess.

I have had a couple of laser/radar detectors in the past and as far as I am concerned they are useless anyway. They do pick up standard Gatsos, but also traffic light sensors, automatic doors etc - so many false warnings it`s not worth using. They don`t pick up Truvelo cameras as they use under road wires anyway - so no radar emissions. They are supposed to pick up Laser scatter too, but I have never had that happen even when driving towards a van. The laser beam is too narrow and usually pointed at your number plate, so it doesn`t pick anything up.

By far the best method of speed camera and mobile warnings is Sat Nav anyway IMHO, and they are still fine to use :D

RE: Those `Chips Away` companies

Yeah - I think that`s why it was high. I was under the impression they had some miracle method to cheaply repair such things. Guess I was thinking about windscreen chips - DOH :D

RE: Those `Chips Away` companies

I scratched my company car with a small but deep scrape on the wheel arch - about the size of a couple of 2 pence pieces ;) . It was one of those "I`ll probably get away with it when the car is returned" type things, but decided that if I could get it done cheap out of my own pocket it may save me being charged for it if the lease company get picky. I was under the impression that Chips Away have some fantastic system for cheaply repairing such things - wrong!!! Quoted me £200 ex VAT.

I may as well see if the lease company will let it slide as "wear and tear", even if they don`t I can put it through on the company insurance and pay the excess which is cheaper than the Chips Away quote.