We’ve had an odd one today: Before installing a copy of Photoshop Elements 6 on a Vista machine, we thought it best to uninstall an older version 2 that was on the system in case anything got fouled up by the new version (or rather the old version fouled up the new install).
That was easier said than done. There is no uninstall option under Program files, so Control Panel was used, but it threw back the error that the “‘Uninst.isu’ file is not valid”. Reinstalling version 2 in an attempt to fix any corruption was also not successful, but we then noticed that the uninst.isu filedate had not changed.
After trashing the file, we again reinstalled v2 and uninstall then worked OK.
Setanta has lost the rights to their Premier League matches after failing to make a contractual payment.
I can’t say that I am surprised by this. While I don’t agree with Sky having a monopoly on coverage of a particular sport (or any other broadcaster for that matter), the European ruling that rights must be split between broadcasters was ill-conceived.
Prior to this, it was possible to pay one subscription to Sky and watch your team on Sky. When the rights were split, consumers (whose interest the ruling was supposed to favour) were faced with paying an extra ten quid a month to get the same as the previous season; Sky’s subscription did not reduce as a result. The European ruling completely failed to increase competition from the customers point of view; the only winners have been the rights holders as it has allowed them to split the rights packages and sell them for more than they would have got for the package as a whole. You have to wonder where the interests of those making the ruling really lay.
Competition requires the availability of a choice (such as a telephone company or electricity supplier) for the same service; Sky and Setanta were not providing the same service; you could not choose to watch the same match on Sky or Setanta.
Faced with this decision, only the most hardened fan would shell out another tenner (over 20% on top of Sky’s complete Sport/Film/Entertainment package) just to see a handful of matches, especially in a family household where the full Sky package is likely to be accepted by a spouse, but an extra tenner for sports would not go down well.
Even without the current economical downturn, Setanta were always facing a mammoth task to break even.
I got an email from TomTom proudly offering a free £8 voucher
so I thought I’d use it to get an additional voice, but since TomTom now force you to use the TomTom Home software to download voices and most other purchases that you would likely use this voucher for, the voucher is of little use as it cannot be used with TomTom Home.
If you live in an area that has no broadband provision or you cannot get more than 2Mbps, then ThinkBroadband want to hear from you.
They are collating information for a coverage map showing the broadband ‘notspots’ in the UK.
Cat 5 picture by kaeru.my used under Creative Commons Licence
I recently downloaded the 30-day trial of Apple’s Aperture software and have been impressed enough to buy it. On clicking the ‘buy’ link in the software however, I was presented with the choice of a boxed version shipped to me for £126 or have a serial number emailed to me for exactly the same price. Surely, Apple should be offering a discount for the downloaded version: no box, no DVD, no shipping.
In the end I ordered it from Amazon
for over six quid cheaper, and as it is shipped from the UK, as opposed to the ‘Grand European Tour’ that Apple products tend to take, I’ll probably get it quicker anyway.
One day, a florist goes to a barber for a haircut. After the cut he asked about his bill and the barber replies,
‘I cannot accept money from you. I’m doing community service this week.’
The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber goes to open his shop the next morning there is a ‘thank you’ card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.
Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replies,
‘I cannot accept money from you. I’m doing community service this week.’
The cop is happy and leaves the shop. The next morning when the barber goes to open up, there is a ‘thank you’ card and a dozen doughnuts waiting for him at his door.
Later that day, a university professor comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replies,
‘I cannot accept money from you. I’m doing community service this week.’
The professor is very happy and leaves the shop. The next morning when the barber opens his shop, there is a ‘thank you’ card and a dozen different books, such as ‘How to Improve Your Business’ and ‘Becoming More Successful.’
Then, a Member of Parliament comes in for a hair-cut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies,
‘I cannot accept money from you. I’m doing community service this week.’
The MP is very happy and leaves the shop. The next morning when the barber goes to open up, there are a dozen MPs lined up waiting for a free hair-cut.
Barbershop picture by Trondheim Byarkiv, used under Creative Commons Licence
Not content with removing the FireWire interface from iPods in favour of the exclusive use of the inferior USB interface, Apple has removed the FireWire charging option from the Nano 4G, iPod Touch 2G, iPhone 3G. Unfortunately, most third party manufacturers of docks, speakers and car interfaces, used the FireWire charging option on their interfaces, rendering them useless for charging the latest iPod/iPhones.
Worse still, plugging one of these latest iDevices into an older dock connector throws up a warning message (see left, click for larger) suggesting you switch to flight mode. Not what you want to do if you still want to receive phone calls!
Enter Scosche Passport
which is an adapter that sits between your iPod/iPhone and the normal dock connector and redirects power to the USB power pins. (Scosche also make a Home Dock
version for use in a speaker dock). Unfortunately, and wrongly, the iPhone still displays the warning message, despite the fact that the iPhone is now clearly charging. Hopefully Apple can fix this bug in a future software release.
At only £5 more than a Griffin car charger, I can now have my iPhone connected like my old iPod 3G with no need for a separate car charger. It also has the added advantage that I can choose whether to charge the iPhone when it is plugged into the Dension Ice-Link or allow it to drain - My iPod 3G used to remain permanently connected to the Ice-Link and its battery suffered as a result, now being unusable without external power.
My only criticism is that the size of the Passport makes the overall connection a little flimsy; it would have been better if it was made as an in-line lead so there was no load on the iPhone’s connector. Alternatively it could have been made shorter but wider, but its size has obviously been chosen to fit the width of an iPod Nano. The false warning on the iPhone is also a nuisance.
All this could of course have been avoided, had Apple done the right thing in the first place and left the FireWire charging pin connected.
My iPhone 3G has started rebooting when attaching to the Mac for syncing. This has only started recently and is intermittent, but it would appear that I’m not alone. It is obviously not supposed to do this because according to Little Snitch, mdcrashreporttool is connecting to iphonesubmissions.apple.com to report the fault:
Here’s a great video from someone who clearly has too much time on their hands, but is nonetheless very talented.
(via The Register)
” is ten years old. 
