I've never had a problem with any of my Apple kit 🙂
I don't think I could bring myself to drive a Volvo no matter how nice they are. It's just not 'me'. I think it's important to be happy with the car you have, not just in terms of price and reliability etc, but in how it fits you 🙂
I ended up in the doghouse for a couple of days … It’s birthday season at the moment and I hadn’t sent a card to either my mum or my nan.
Doh !
Fixed that by heading up there this weekend just gone. Decent weekend, we headed off to my sister’s place to check out one of the pubs down there. My techie knowledge expanded a bit too.
Windows Vista – is an obscenity (knew that already, remembered it this weekend). My sister’s Vista laptop got rebuilt a couple of months ago (hard disc failure) and she’s looking to get her iTunes library back on it. iTunes has a very nifty feature called Home Share, which lets you sync libraries between different machines. I use it to progressively back up my library, taking advantage of the “show me what isn’t in my library already” feature.
Works well if Vista allows it. Which it wasn’t. (iTunes application, reckon Vista was blocking it). Vista was also not allowing our other Windows 7 laptops to see it.
In the end, not so much of an issue, because there is a workaround that dates back to before Home Share became available. Awkward to use but it does the important thing – it Works.
Apple reliability – Apple used to have a rock solid reputation for quality. Dunno why but they’ve been allowing that to slip in recent years. Maybe it’s because the workers in their Foxconn factories aren’t happy bunnies. My original iPod was 100% reliable, plus my LittleWhiteBox Airport Express worked 100% before I allowed a firmware update. I refuse to allow iTunes to update now due to issues.
iPod – my 4th Gen 16GB has let me down a couple of times. There’s the can’t sync error which is solved by emptying it and refilling it. I was about to head off home yesterday, only to find “Shuffle – 0 songs” on an iPod which was full. Cue factory reset to fix that. Shouldn’t happen if the software was up to the job.
Airport Express – This either works standalone, setting up its own wifi network or it can join in on a wifi network that is already there. It switches to standalone just fine but you have to put passwords in when you’re making it join another network again. Those settings should be remembered, those software flaws are making it forget.
iTunes – the last 3 times I’ve allowed it to update itself, I’ve had to uninstall/reinstall to have it talk to the Airport Express over Airplay.
We expect better from a premium brand like Apple, it’s disappointing when these silly software flaws spoil the experience. It definitely means that I will not consider changing my computing to Apple machines.
What else ? Volvo cars.
Yes. My dad retired and bought a Volvo. Don’t tell anyone.
To be honest, it’s not a bad car. It’s plush, solid, well put together and has a decent amount of toys. It should also last well. What is it ? It’s a C30 2.4 litre with an automatic box.
I found driving that to be quite a useful experience as it allowed me to give a Long Cruise test of an automatic gearbox car with cruise control :
Auto box – Gotta be honest, looking at the specs of the C30 the autobox cripples the performance it gives. It goes from 7.5 secs to 60 up to 8.5. That’s a huge drop in performance and it shows behind the wheel. A 2.4 litre engine car shouldn’t feel laboured, although that could be my reluctance to ever use 100% throttle. I.e. There’s a mismatch between what I want the car to do on a lean throttle and what the car thinks I want it to do. The 100 mile trip told me I could happily live with an automatic, you can’t really do 100 mile test drives as the garage starts up the search party.
I’m getting on with the Focus much better there, since the service it’s been feeling very Perky indeed. Almost like it’s giving its full power instead of something like just half that. The Focus has become far more responsive and that’s going to delay my jump into another car for a couple of months at least. (I’m enjoying it while it lasts)
The Volvo isn’t a terrible car, I could definitely get used to having Cruise Control (as long as there’s a place to rest my right foot, which the Volvo doesn’t really have) and I could live with the auto box, as it would help out a left leg that likes to tense itself up (dunno why). The only time I’ve really driven an automatic was a Jeep in the USA, which I had as a hire car for a fortnight.
Would I get a Volvo ? No. What they currently offer doesn’t fit what I’m looking for. They’re all too big and heavy.
Anyway – decent weekend and I learned stuff that I’ll put towards my next car. That’s still likely to be a Prius T Spirit but with what’s happened in Japan where they’re built, they need a bit of time to get themselves right again. Plus more time before buying gives :
More Payment Holiday
Enjoyment of a Frisky Focus
Time for something better to appear …
Will add something in when I (eventually) decide to jump for a new car.
It's easier for me to count Heinlein books I haven't read instead of Heinlein books I have read 🙂
I haven't bothered counting but I am a big Heinlein fan 🙂
34…. [grin]
They’re at it again 🙂
The Reg have turned their earlier Best Films Never Made (that’s my link to it) story into a poll now. Here’s a link to the story with the poll : Reg Link.
Different list this time around, I definitely recognise a lot more on it :
The Algebraist – Iain M Banks ****
Altered Carbon – Richard K Morgan
The Atrocity Archives – Charles Stross
The Baroque Cycle – Neal Stephenson
A Canticle for Leibowitz – Walter M Miller, Jr.
Childhood’s End – Arthur C Clarke
The Chronicles of Amber – Roger Zelazny
Cities in Flight – James Blish
The City and the Stars – Arthur C Clarke
Consider Phlebas – Iain M Banks ****
Cryptonomicon – Neal Stephenson
Deathworld – Harry Harrison
The Demolished Man – Alfred Bester
Dorsai – Gordon R Dickson
Downbelow Station – CJ Cherryh
Dragonriders of Pern – Anne McCaffrey ****
Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
Eon – Greg Bear
Excession – Iain M Banks ****
A Fire Upon the Deep – Vernor Vinge
Footfall – Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle ****
The Forever War – Joe Haldeman
The Forge of God – Greg Bear
Foundation – Isaac Asimov ****
The Gap Cycle – Stephen R Donaldson
Gateway – Frederick Pohl
Hyperion – Dan Simmons
The Legacy of Heorot – Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes ****
Lensmen – E.E. “Doc” Smith
Lord of Light – Roger Zelazny
Lucifer’s Hammer – Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle ****
The Man in the High Castle – Philip K Dick
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress – Robert A Heinlein ****
The Mote In God’s Eye – Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle ****
Neuromancer – William Gibson
Night’s Dawn – Peter F Hamilton
Old Man’s War – John Scalzi
On Basilisk Station – David Weber ****
The Player of Games – Iain M Banks ****
Protector – Larry Niven (have it, not read it yet)
Rendezvous With Rama – Arthur C Clarke
Ringworld – Larry Niven ****
Skylark – EE “Doc” Smith
Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson
The Stainless Steel Rat – Harry Harrison
The Stars My Destination (aka Tiger! Tiger!) – Alfred Bester
Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert A Heinlein (gave up on it)
The Technicolor Time Machine – Harry Harrison
Titan – John Varley
Use of Weapons – Iain M Banks ****
Same as before – the ones in Italic with ****’s are the ones I’ve read. 14 this time.
Started reading again 🙂
I have cycles where I’ll devour several books very quickly, interspersed with periods where it takes me ages to get through one. The latest is Inversions by Iain M. Banks.
He’s a decent author but his books tend to be somewhat inconsistent. I think it’s the aim behind the book. Is the book relating to galaxy shaping events or is there something more philosophical going on. I tend to deal more in absolutes and have trouble getting my head around philosophical stuff. Page turners for me tend to be more about will that starship make it through, which of the crew have the Sword of Damocles hanging over them. I like things to happen.
Maybe that’s why I like watching rugby and cricket but find football tedious. Lots of narrative in football but very little in the way of game changing events (goals & sending offs).
Anyway – Inversions is a tale set in two countries in a far off planet. It’s not earth but a similar analogue. The narrative alternates between a Doctor and her apprentice in one country and the bodyguard of the Protector (King) of the other. You have intrigue inside the court and intrigue between the countries. There’s lots here that should make it interesting but to be honest, most of that is telegraphed long before the actual action happens.
Yep – it’s more a philosophy message book than Armies Invade Spacefleets Clash. Must read Consider Phlebas or The Algebraist again soon as they keep the reader guessing much more in a “how the hell can the characters get out of this mess ????” kind of way.
Not a bad book, just not as many surprises here as in his other books. Not much “science” fiction here too. There’s touches of sci-fi in there but it’s very light.
What’s next ? That’ll be the Exiles Trilogy by Ben Bova. It’s a trilogy two thirds written before I was born. I’m 100 pages out of 450 in so far and it’s escaping the obsolence trap that a lot of older sci-fi books fall into. The tech is what you would expect from extrapolating from what we see today, in that it thinks we’ll have Better versions of what we have now. Progress through evolution instead of revolution. Computer tech is a bit behind though. We have advanced in hardware (if not AI) far more than what anyone in the Apollo years would have expected.
Ben Bova’s books can be a bit “Writing By Numbers” (the way David Weber has gone) but they usually keep the reader guessing along the way. And that’s what counts, we don’t want to know the outcome before we read it.
MoT & annual service again today – shiny car is still shiny.
For non-Brits, the MoT is an annual test all cars over here that are more than 3 years old have to pass to say they’re ok to go on the roads. I thought I’d get whinged at this time around for brakes, as that was something noted on the last test.
What was the damage ? Nothing “needed” fixing. Well, nothing except the tyres which were changed a couple of weeks ago. They were still legal, just. Let’s say it was more fun driving on the Fluffy Stuff end of last year than at the start of last year.
Advisories on :
Brake pads at the back (80% worn)
Brake discs at the back (same width as last year)
Exhaust heat shield (my first proper car actually ran better without the heatshield)
Coolant a bit low
Translation – nothing to worry about right now. The brakes is the same advisory as last year and with the low mileage I do, they will last. Exhaust heat shield explains some rattlies from a couple of weeks ago (think this was actually something different). Same again, not bothered.
So – another tick in the box. The only one left now is the letter that says the finance has finished paying off on the Focus. I don’t actually need to wait for this but extra time means a bit more chance for the “There’s Something Better Coming” feeling to be satisfied.
Hmm – that would be the same feeling that’s had me holding off on upgrading the main PC, although with the PC I know there’s something better coming soon. (It’s called V68 Sandy Bridge chipset)
It’s a lovely sunny day today so I thought I’d indulge myself in a wander around the centre of Bristol. Lots of good outfits on show. Lots of not so good outfits. Lots of good outfits worn really, really badly. Oh and a wardrobe malfunction by someone who intended to run across the road but she ended up going bouncy-bouncy instead.
Didn’t buy anything, although I did stop off at ToyotaWorld Bristol South on the way back (yeah right – it’s in the opposite direction). Prius T Spirit is definitely something that belongs in a scifi movie in the near future. Things like the dashboard computer which will require a few evenings learning the manual. There’s even a head up display which I think could work nicely.
The dash in general wasn’t nearly as plush as the Lexus though. It’ll be a tough choice there :
Lexus – definitely fits the “luxury” bill. Not so sure about the level of toys and reports generally saying that they messed up the chassis.
Prius – Many toys. The car is a toy. It’s the third generation of its type. It proved the tech while the Lexus just borrowed it. Build quality not quite the same as the Lexus but I’d prefer build quality effort to go into chassis and toys.
At the moment, my opinion is going to the Prius. It’s a bit cheaper, the offers are better (saves £1000 in servicing) and it has extra toys :
Satnav – meh, I’d prefer to use a standalone Tomtom.
Smart (keyless) entry & start – not sure about this, could they get in with the key kept at the front of the house ?
Cruise control & reverse camera – £510 option on Lexus
Head Up Display – it works but I’m old fashioned and like dials.
Fancy trip computer – £1500 on Lexus for shiny knob thingy
Bigger car (inside) for same weight
Deals …
What you miss from the Lexus is :
Heated front seats – my back would love these 🙂
USB socket for iPod – meh. A headphone jack does the job.
So – still making my mind up, although today’s MoT pass lifts another of those barriers. Dunno about resale value on the Lexus because it’s too new but the Prius holds its value well … 1 year old average mileage lost £4k, 2 year old higher mileage lost £6k (£18.5k) which compares very well with a 3 year old Guaranteed Future Value of £9k.
Somehow I've never bought Citizen of the Galaxy. I have everything else by Heinlein 🙂
There's a few more new (to me!) authors on that list that I will need to check out at some point.
24 [grin]