Author Archives: GEEK!

Karoo ISP screws up service policy

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Karoo, the only ISP in Hull (UK), recently screwed up its service policy, leaving a lot of press concern.

The company was recently under fire from the press, with news that it would suspend all users that illegally downloaded content from the internet. No 3-strikes policy, no warnings. Do it once, and you’re kicked off the net.

This was a big leap for a company – no other ISP in this country does such a thing. News sites became very concerned that Karoo had gone a step too far.

If you wanted to get yourself back on the internet, you would have to speak to Karoo pay a re-connection fee and sign a document promising that you will never download illegal content again.

Many people were claiming that this was totally unfair – to cut off a user with no notice at all.

However, the company has now edited their policy. The new idea is that all users are now on a 3-strikes system. A user will get 3 warning letters before being cut off by Karoo. This is an improvement, but there are still very few ISPs in this country that have this procedure.

I would hate it if my ISP cut me off with no notice whatsoever. This is not good conduct and I would be complaining if my ISP was thinking of following a procedure like that.

TVCatchup.com – Watch live freeview TV online for free!

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I just randomly found a fantastic free service. It’s called TVCatchup – bit of an odd name for a service that isn’t a catchup service. EDIT: One of the moderators has let me know that they are planning to add in recording capabilites in the future – looking forward to that.

It allows you to stream all of the freeview channels available in the UK for free. You can watch every free-to-air channel online, using the helpful online service. It even has a simple but useful EPG that runs in your web browser.

The service, predictably, is only for use in the UK. However, it works anywhere in the UK that can get a broadband connection, so if you’re in an area where Freeview/digital signal is poor, this service is a godsend! If you don’t have a TV license, it’s probably a bad idea to use the site, too. TVCatchup has said it will not actually police this.

You simply sign up for a free account and you’re off. Watch whatever channel you want whenever you want. The only thing you have to be careful of is your bandwidth limit – this will quickly chew up your bandwidth – so if you’re on a tight limit, I wouldn’t recommend prolonged viewing.

There is a short advertisement when you start a channel, but as far as I know that is all (with exception to adverts shown on TV channels).

I think it only works on some ISPs. Me, being on Tiscali (don’t ask why), miraculously it works. The service will tell you on signup if your ISP is not supported. TVC has told me that it is peered with all ISPs – I’m not totally sure what this means, but presumably there are few (if any) ISPs that actively block usage of TVCatchup.

This really is a fantastic service. I can now get all the channels I don’t get on Freeview, online. If you want to see for yourself, get a free account at www.tvcatchup.com.

Windows 7 RTM complete

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Sorry I’ve been a little behind on the news lately, but I’ve just read that Microsoft completed the RTM (release to manufacturer) of Windows 7 yesterday. Yay!

It is exactly 3 months behind the official launch date of Windows 7, which gives manufacturers plenty of time to prepare for the big launch of Windows 7 on October 22nd.

Sadly, I didn’t manage to get my preorder copy of Windows 7. This means I probably won’t have my copy of Windows 7 this side of Christmas, but you never know.

3 Customer Support is improving…

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I’m very glad to report that 3’s (Hutchinson 3G’s) Customer Service is finally improving.

I’ve had to speak with various people at 3 today because my local 3G mast has become unavailable, leaving me with very little coverage. The only way I can currently get coverage is by using Orange’s backup 2G network.

I spoke to 3 today and told them about the issue. To be truthful, I spoke to a technician online first (as 3 provides online chat as well as free telephone customer support), but he was very helpful and quickly reported the issue for investigation.

I then got a text from 3 this afternoon saying that they’d tried to call me back but I wasn’t available. I was glad to hear they had tried (how many times has a company promised you a call back, but not bothered?), but as I was out at that time I couldn’t take the call. In the text they provided me with an 0845 number to call them back with, and despite having to wait a little while for an advisor, I did get through to a very helpful man.

He told me that the problem would be investigated and gave me some instructions to make sure my 3G connectivity was available as soon as possible. He was very apologetic and promised me the problem would be solved within 21 days.

After lots of discussion, the man finally said that 3 may call me in the next few weeks to check the 3G coverage is available again. I was fine with this and the man I spoke to was very thankful for my co-operation.

In the end, I was also promised a little compensation for the lack of service. I didn’t ask for it – it was simply offered to me, so I willingly accepted it. This means I will receive a free top-up to the value of £10 (so I am told).  I haven’t received the compensation yet, but I have been promised it within the next 24 hours so hopefully I shall get it soon.

In conclusion, I am very happy with the service I received today. There are countless reports of poor customer service, but if you have a little patience and don’t loose your temper, the customer service is really efficient and helpful.

New in Office 2010 – The new “dashboard” (as I like to call it)

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Well, as promised, I’m going to be doing some in depth previews at new features in Office 2010. Today, we’re going to have a look at the new replacement of the “ribbon button”‘.

In Office 2007, there was a circular “ribbon” button that users would click to get the general functions of Office – such as getting a new document, saving, printing etc.

Now, the “ribbon” button has been replaced by a simple rectangular button, as shown below.

officebutton

Click it, and you’ll get a brand new “dashboard”. Here is the one for Microsoft Word.

officeworddashboard

There are differences to the “dashboard” for every piece of software in Office 2010 – they all have their own colour and they each have different options specific to each piece of software.

In the “dashboard”, you’ll find all the features you’d expect in Office – new document, open, save, print etc. You’ll also find recent documents and ways to share the document with others.

It’s all fantastic, and I really love the new idea. However, it does have its problems:

  • When you are in the “dashboard” and you click the red X (exit) button, it closes the whole of Office, rather than just the “dashboard”. Ok, it is something you’ll get used to and remember not to do, but it can be really annoying. You just have to get used to using the ‘Back’ button at the top left of the dashboard. I’m sure Microsoft will do something about this before the final release, though.
  • The print button is a little unobvious – you click the ‘Print’ section, choose your settings, and then its quite hard to find the ‘Print’ button. The button you have to click is actually at the top left, but it was a little hard for me to find at first (yes I know – you’re thinking “well how dumb can you get?!”, but honestly – you don’t see it at first).

Other than that, I really like this new “dashboard”. It works really well, and it’s really easy to access. Good one Microsoft!