Rule One: Never post when angry

Rule Two:  Always read everything twice before posting.
Rule Three:  Always read the entire contract from end to end before purchasing.
Rule Four:  Re-read Rules One-Three before posting.


I bought a new geeky toy.  Love it.  Sleek, slender, light, powerful.  Fun.  Convenient, easy to use.  Nice customisable features.... (plus, I got the black one, waaay more sexy than underpants white, right?)

Hmmm.  But wait... My new geeky toy appears to have a major design, ummmm, limitation.


Apparently the Vodafone Google bundled model was never designed to synch (i.e., talk to) a PC 'as a device', so any Apps (little programs that run on your phone) that depend on your synching your PC to your device, won't work.  For somebody like me who reads a lot of e-books, that is a seriously seriously poor piece of design.  Because this is 'new tech', there are only a couple of Apps on the market which will supply the required e-book reader, and the chosen App (which I might add is completely blameless in all this mess) just can't talk to 'temporary drive x:', it needs to talk to 'the device'.


And so, I have to say, I'm very cross.  Nobody from Vodafone bothered to tell me when I signed up for the damn plan that the phone couldn't synch with a PC 'as a device'.  They told me all about the good stuff, like Google Maps, Gmail, Synching your calender & contacts with Gmail, yes, indeedy, but did they mention it couldn't talk to a PC 'as a device'?  NosireeeBob.


Am I cross?  Very.  Did I mention that?  Oh yes.


So, I hear you say from the non-geek corner of the world, what's the big deal?  The PC will still see the device as a 'temporary drive x:, and you can load files to the drive for things like music.  Fine, but if the App requires the device to synch as 'a device', forget it, it just can't do it.


And the other thing that has really got me riled is that Google, whose big idea this all was, has about as much help as John Howard has heart - practically none.  Their website is as much use as a chocolate teapot, glass door in a toilet, screen door on a submarine*, [insert own 'useless' metaphor here].  It doesn't even mention that the HTC Magic is out on the market, branded Google, with all these Google apps 'bundled', as they say, and the help is non-existent.





C'mon, people, lift your game.  This is serious!

*Image & metaphor courtesy of here, thanks Baino.

The hills are alive...

With the sound of music... well, now that I've figured out why I couldn't hear any of Mr Dave & his happy buddy Mr Ry playing merrily on my lovely new machine, that is - she who is the self-proclaimed music junkie forgot to turn the external speakers on.  Hah!  What a dope.  Anyway, I proved it wasn't my possibly somewhat-lacking skills on the YouTube front by watching this Podcast & when there wasn't any sound, I thought I'd uploaded it wrong.  You know, what happens to old people when confronted with new technology - they get it, almost, but not quite..


What drove me was one of the other other blogs  I follow regularly was having that Podcast & they'd worked out how to stick the YouTube thingy into the post, the smarties, and I wanted to see if their voices sounded like I thought they should (and they did, which is kind of creepy), but anyway, there was no sound coming out of that either, so I did what any semi-literate computer user would do - I called the help desk.  


Just kidding.  I went to the control panel & checked for my speakers, which were apparently all working, and the little sound level they so kindly give you on Vista was going up & down, living proof (well, not quite living, but you know what I mean), so I figured "There must be something else going on".  Brilliant.  This is why I earn the big bucks, y'know?


Anyway, guess what?  The cable was plugged in.  But they speakers be not turned on.  Turn they speakers on.  Magic.  Well, actually, I don't believe in magic, but it was a nice result.  Sound, lovely sound.  Sharon Lee sounds just like I thought.  Steve Miller sounds just like I thought.  Plus interesting, as a bonus.  Now I have to sit & listen to the whole podcast.  Maybe.  But first, the results of some labours last night with the stuffing implements & a whole bag of fibre-fill:

He is so cute, and of course, he's for my lovely DSSIL*.  Last time I made her a froggie, she pressed me to come up with a name, and I folded.  Anyway, eventually we went with 'Guido', but I'm still not sure if that's the best name.  So, for this lovely colorful canine, I'm thinking that I should throw it out to my huge audience, and see if anybody can come up with something more appropriate.  A small prize is being offered for the best name.  Miss DSSIL* obviously cannot participate.

Now, I only have to sew up the open bit (and there are absolutely no prizes for guessing where that is, and figure out how to get him up to where she lives... Australia Post loves a challenge.  Just as well!