Tom Holland's blog

Internet kiosks

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:40:26 +0000

And the worst Internet Kiosk award goes to... Spectrum Interactive.

£1 for 20 minutes isn't too bad - but the amount of adverts fixed around the browser window means you lose about 20% of the viewing area and they animate constantly, just to really annoy you.

Added to that is the crappy browser. Sorry - we don't support the select all keyboard shortcut. Oh and you want to what? Copy and paste? No keyboard shortcut, menu option or contextual menu for that. So congratulations Spectrum Interactive for the worst customer experience I've ever had with an Internet kiosk. You have shown true ineptitude as a company. I was planning so spend an hour using your service, but I think I'll stop at £1 thanks.

HSBC online banking Safari issues

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:14:55 +0000

"This is with regard to your recent e-mail concerning being unable to access Internet Banking. We realise that some customers are facing difficulties connecting to the Internet Banking using Mac OSX with Safari. The Personal Internet Banking service will be restored soon. You can use Firefox in the interim to access your accounts as the problem has been isolated to Safari only."

You are nominated for a Ph.d spam

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:37:18 +0000

Why am I spending 3+ years studying for a Ph.D. - apparently I could just buy one:

No EExams/Books/Tests/Interview/classes100% No Pre-School qúuálification required!------------------------------1nside USA: <removed>0utside USA: <removed>------------------------------Bacheelor, Degreee, MasteerMBA, PhDD (non accredited) available in the Field of your choice so you can ëven become a doctoor and receíve All the benéfits Thatt comes with it!Please leave beelow 3 Info in \/oicemaïl:1) Your náme2) Your country3) Your phone no. [please include Countrycode](alll Now!! 24-hours a day, 7-Days a Week waiting For your call------------------------------1nside USA: <removed>0utside USA: <removed>------------------------------Our Staff will get back to You in 1-3 workîng days

I do hope the spelling is better on my certificate though. And what are these "benéfits" they speak of? The PhDD sounds more tempting then the Ph.D. I'm currently working at - it has double the D and I'd be a doctoor. I wonder if anyone actually tries to buy one.

Belkin Wireless G All-In-One Print Server F1UP0002uk supported printers

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:32:13 +0100

After several hours of effort, I discovered that the Epson DX4400 is not compatible with the Belkin Wireless G All-In-One Print Server (F1UP0002uk).

Apparently Belkin customer support knows this - they just don't publish the URL of the supported printers list on the Wireless G All-In-One Print Server (F1UP0002uk) support page.

The problem with Microsoft

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:57:10 +0100

I often encounter things that reinforce my belief that Microsoft are unbelievably clueless when it comes to writing software.

My latest find: How to prevent the automatic creation of hyperlinks in Excel for Mac.

"Excel for Mac does not provide a built-in method to override this behavior. However, this article contains sample methods that you can use to prevent Excel for Mac from automatically creating hyperlinks."

"To prevent Excel for Mac from automatically creating a hyperlink, use any of the following methods."

"Type an apostrophe at the beginning of the cell entry"
"Use a program-level event handler to prevent hyperlinks" (11 steps: ~50 lines of code)
"Use a program-level event handler to remove existing hyperlinks and to prevent Excel for Mac from automatically creating hyperlinks" (11 steps: ~45 lines of code)

So my options to stop this 'feature' are: corrupt my data, or use 45-50 lines of code to fix the program's poor usability.

I mean, it was only the 2004 version...

Situvis

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 15:03:15 +0100

As part of a paper for the USE '08 workshop at UbiComp 2008, I have released a new version of the Situvis tool; you can read the paper and download the software at situvis.com.

Netgear DG834Gv3, WPA and PlayStation 3 (PS3)

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 23:44:28 +0100

Have a Netgear DG834Gv3 (Wireless ADSL Modem Router) with WPA enabled and your PlayStation 3 won't connect to your wireless network? You may need a firmware upgrade.

History of the browser user-agent string

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 09:05:54 +0100

Via DF: History of the browser user-agent string.

The opacity of airline charges

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 11:46:04 +0100

Ryanair should be held accountable for hidden charges they add to their "cheap" flights. From my latest booking:€0.99 Total Fare€47.31 Taxes, Fees & Charges€10.00 Passenger Fee: CCFrom a fare of €0.99 that is a 5788% increase on the "total fare" cost.What exactly are those charges? Why do they vary seemingly randomly? Why I am paying €10 for using a credit card (you don't accept my European debit card); I don't know any other online payment systems which charges €10 to process a credit card transaction.If I had wanted to take a bag with me (aside from hand luggage)? An additional €30.If the flights cost €58.30 then that is the cost of the flights, not €0.99. It is blatant false advertising. Stop adding hidden charges and just list the flights at their actual price.

Ackbar on Twitter

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:18:26 +0100

Even Admiral Ackbar is on Twitter.