The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.

[Wombat]

Whereas an Android phone plugged into a Windows PC just asks if you want access for file transfer or not, and if you say file transfer, then it will indeed open a folder (unless you've already told the PC never to open folders if you plug it in...)  if you say no, just charging, then it'll just charge.  Blimey, two different OSs not having an argument! Miracles...

[Diver300]

Vent-Axia shouldn't be making bathroom timer fans that take around 10% of their full power when sat there doing nothing. Arguably, there is no need for them to have the electronics running at all once the timer has expired and the fan has stopped as the trigger is a 240 V signal. Even the lazy design that leaves the electronics running could use a capacitive dropper not a resistive one which will cost around £3 per year and will heat the board so much that it will probably only last a few years.

[Kim]

Vent-Axia shouldn't be making bathroom timer fans that take around 10% of their full power when sat there doing nothing. Arguably, there is no need for them to have the electronics running at all once the timer has expired and the fan has stopped as the trigger is a 240 V signal. Even the lazy design that leaves the electronics running could use a capacitive dropper not a resistive one which will cost around £3 per year and will heat the board so much that it will probably only last a few years.

Somewhere in the murky depths of the fettling thread, there's a post where I bypass the electronics in Mrs-Barakta's-Mum's downstairs bathroom fan, because some idiot used a resistive dropper and it cooked itself after a few years...

[CAMRAMan]

ID Mobile: my contract expires in 2 months, and I'm not desperate to upgrade before then; especially when you're asking £25/month for a phone I can get elsewhere for £4/month less, with more data thrown in. I'll just buy outright and get a SIM-only deal, kthxbai. As it happens, Three's signal round these parts is shite, so switching networks wouldn't be a bad idea anyway.

[perpetual dan]

Royal Mail, why have you decided I want my parcel collected? The delivery office is, by some oversight I’m sure, open at a convenient time tomorrow and on my way to the bus stop - whereas waiting in is neither. I simply need to pay and print the label. You even suggest this is possible on the first page. (I’m sure this used to work.)

[rafletcher]

Royal Mail, why have you decided I want my parcel collected? The delivery office is, by some oversight I’m sure, open at a convenient time tomorrow and on my way to the bus stop - whereas waiting in is neither. I simply need to pay and print the label. You even suggest this is possible on the first page. (I’m sure this used to work.)

It’s automatically added to the basket now, you need to always remove it if you don’t want a collection.

[hellymedic]

Royal Mail, why have you decided I want my parcel collected? The delivery office is, by some oversight I’m sure, open at a convenient time tomorrow and on my way to the bus stop - whereas waiting in is neither. I simply need to pay and print the label. You even suggest this is possible on the first page. (I’m sure this used to work.)

I suspect they're trying to close and destaff as many offices as possible.

If they collected from everyone, they'd need fewer staff and less space.

[hellymedic]

The more folk opt for home collection, the less an open office will be needed and the more easily office closure can be justified.

Seems banks, ticket offices and Post Office counters are going this way...

[T42]

Seems banks, ticket offices and Post Office counters are going this way...

Aye. The services our village PO provided have now been shifted to the local tabac/newsagent/varming-engines emporium, while a branch of our bank in another town has recently closed and moved some of its services to the bakery across the road.    Going to need a mortgage to buy a loaf of bread, maybe.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Haven't noticed any POs closing here. Still have a choice of three within a half-mile radius. And two of them have ATMs (in fact one has two – one outside, one inside – plus of course the cash-at-the-counter machine).

[Socks]

Piggin energy providers!  In my case, OVO for gas and electric.  A few years ago we had a second generation smart meter fitted, which worked for a while and was quite handy in tracking usage and not needing to send readings in every month or two. 

Then it stopped communicating with both gas and electricity meters.  Got round to reporting it about nine months ago.  Filled in an on-line questionnaire to help them identify that the bloody thing was, after all, faulty.  In the meantime I've been sending meter readings using my on-line account - a minor nuisance.

Eventually got an email and phoned to arrange for the meters to be replaced.  Engineer came today, replaced the electricity meter which is now communicating with OVO and the display unit.

He couldn't do anything about the gas meter because he hadn't been given some reference number (MPRN?)  And the display on the gas meter has gone blank so I can't even do manual readings .....

Back to square one - fault reported to OVO and awaiting response.  Customer f...ng service my arse!

[T42]

Every year our village organizes a 3-day Sat/Sun/Mon knees-up called the Kirwe, and we have droves of people turning up to generally freak out and get pissed.  The racket starts in the early evening and goes on until after 3 am. Kids were still zooming through on mobylettes at 4 this morning.

In consequence, MrsT and I haven't had a decent night's sleep since Friday. Today I'm crawling round, feeling like death warmed up and wanting to strangle a few of the wee bastards.

[Mrs Pingu]

Sounds like a good tradition to start a weekend away?

[Mr Larrington]

What sort of time is this for a Mr Larrington to be awake?

(Goes in search of matches to prop eyelids open)

[andyoxon]

Buy a new mobile phone & you don't even get a charger included...    I can use my old one, but of course it doesn't charge the phone at the faster rate...

[Polar Bear]

Of course you may not need to charge at the faster rate but there's nothing like an opportunity for the cash hungry corporations to empty your wallet for you.  I was staggered at the cost of some of the "faster" chargers.  I make do with what I already have.

Generally but not absolutely, charging and discharging at faster rates is synonymous with reduced battery life.  Of course, it's simplicity itself to change the battery isn't it ...

[Cudzoziemiec]

It's to reduce waste ie duplication of chargers.

[perpetual dan]

Mostly I charge my phone overnight. I’m not sleeping any faster, and I’ve yet to have a phone that wasn’t full when I wake up. If I top up, it’s probably a wire into some other device. So mostly I’m ok with no new charger.

On the other hand, my mobile reception (ID) seems to be getting worse. Which makes me grumble as I try and get a bus ticket on an app that has a 5 click purchase process. Remember when the River corp were really pleased with 1-click ordering? Surely repeat purchase of a £2 bus ticket could be easier than this?

[Beardy]

Fast charging also degrades the Barry faster, so not using a fast charger is a good thing.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Fast charging also degrades the Barry faster, so not using a fast charger is a good thing.

Poor Barry. We should leave him on his island.

[andyoxon]

Fast charging also degrades the Barry faster, so not using a fast charger is a good thing.

Fair point.  I'll probably cope with 'sluggish' 18W charging... 

#FWP

[Mr Larrington]

I have had to bring three wall warts, devices for the charging of, with me on holibobs.

[TheLurker]

Surely repeat purchase of a £2 bus ticket could be easier than this?

Indeed; cash, but that would mean the bus company doing work it used to do before it off-loaded its work and costs onto you and your computer.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I thought most buses were tap-in now. That seems simpler than either using an app, buying from a shop, or paying cash (which requires change and slows the bus down).

[T42]

Of course you may not need to charge at the faster rate but there's nothing like an opportunity for the cash hungry corporations to empty your wallet for you.  I was staggered at the cost of some of the "faster" chargers.  I make do with what I already have.

Generally but not absolutely, charging and discharging at faster rates is synonymous with reduced battery life.  Of course, it's simplicity itself to change the battery isn't it ...

MrsT's new refurb iPhone seems battery-hungry so I had a look at how to put a new one in.  Bloody hell: special tools + glue(!!?)  My wonderful old Motorola MB 525 had a removable battery and you could buy spares for half nothing.  It was also small enough to stash virtually anywhere.

So of course it was obsoleted by software and serves mainly as a paperweight these days.