16 posts from January 2008

About a week ago I managed to get Google Earth working on my Eee PC but it wasn't easy and I'm unsure about how I did it.  It *should* be easy (or should at least be relatively straightforward) but things never are for a Linux newbie.

Could I replicate my success on my niece's Eee?  Well, er, no... I just went 'round in circles wasting about an hour of time.  Following the instructions given on the EeeUser wiki to a tea won't work - but I can't remember how I deviated and in doing so got it right!

Yesterday it was my job to track down a DS Lite for my nephew's birthday (which is today - gotta remember the card!)  I was already going to be in, or going through, a few different towns so it seemed like the best chance of being able to grab the much sought after handheld.

I struck gold with the second shop I went into (HMV in Woking BTW) but realised I still needed to pick up something for the little terror myself!  I popped into a Gamestation as I remembered that before Xmas I'd seen a slot-car Mario Kart set which, quite frankly, looked completely and utterly awesome!  This particular Gamestation had the large version for £39.99 - eeek, didn't remember it costing that much!  So I decided to give it a miss.  I then went into the Gamestation in my home town and they had the same set for, wait for it - £24.99!

Sometimes it pays to shop around, even when it's the same chain.

This is something that seemed a pretty obvious pairing - an ultraportable laptop and an attractive 3G data plan (and HSDPA modem) bundled together.  SFR appears to be the first operator off the blocks to offer such a deal.

Click on one of these for more detail: EeeUser.com and Reg Hardware

Of course in the UK the likes of Carphone Warehouse are throwing in "free" laptops with some mobile broadband packages but these are full size laptops, bulky and awkward to carry.  What's really needed is for the likes of Three to get onboard and offer Eee's for free or in special bundles.  The first network could land an exclusive deal and could make themselves really stand out from the other four (yeah, I don't count Virgin Mobile as a network!)

If the posts on the biggest forum devoted to the Eee are anything to go by it would appear that there's huge demand for 3G connection and the network that crops up most often is... Three.

BTW, I'd love to try out that little HSDPA 'pebble' and really check out mobile internet at proper broadband speeds (my Nokia N73 really doesn't cut it!)

Streamtuner is a great little program that offers quick and easy access to thousands of stations on the Eee PC.  Here's some pictures for now, more info later:

This post is UK-centric

Lots of people already know about the excellent SAYNOTO0870.com but not everyone.  What is it and how does it work?  Glad you asked...

Normally when you have problems with billing, need help, advice - whatever, you usually have to call either an 0870, 0845 or 0800 number.  None of these numbers are ideal if you have to call them on a mobile phone.  0800 is however fine to call on a landline as it is always free on a landline.

I've been typing this whilst on hold with CS at my ISP.  I've just got off the phone after 20 minutes and by using SAYNOTO0870 I've saved enough money to buy a bar of chocolate!

So how did I save that money?  Well, I needed to contact my ISP and they provided me with an 0870 number.  As I've been on hold, in queues and in disputes for over an hour in the past with various companies I always search out either a cheaper or free alternative as the cost of those calls soon mounts up. All I had to do was type in the name of my ISP into the search box and choose a number that seemed like the best fit (big companies tend to have quite a few different numbers).

It was as easy as that.  I was using a landline and I chose an 0800 number.  The call cost me nothing (but time!)  Good job too - why should I pay for the mistakes my ISP made (billing and speed issues) and why should they profit from them?

Or, in other words... Nokia Sports Tracker goes Facebook

I love Nokia's Sports Tracker and think it's great that they've added Facebook functionality to the app, it's just a shame I haven't gotten it to work yet!

A little after the event but something else just made me think about it - Madrid, Pac-Man, Christmas and Mastercard.  Huh?

There was a Pac-Man Christmas tree in Madrid and the New Year's Eve countdown included two Pac men munching pills towards each other until they embraced and became the Mastercard logo!  What exactly is being put in Madrid's water?

What does Ms Pac-Man make of all this is anyone's guess.

The whole world knows how difficult it is to get hold of a Wii or a DS right now (even nearly a month after Christmas).  Nintendo have even been accused of restricting supply to increase demand.

Perhaps Nintendo are just useless with stock control.  Take their 'virtual' Wii Points card for example.  People buying Nintendo products get Star Points which can be used to buy a bunch of things on Nintendo's website.  Nintendo have recently added the option of buying Wii Points with Star Points.  With those Wii Points you can then buy software from the Shop Channel on your Wii console.

Hopefully those of you not versed in the ways of Nintendo have been able to follow that as it is a little on the convoluted side!

To sum things up - buying Wii points is a lot like buying credit for a pay-as-you-go/prepaid mobile phone via the handset itself.  There is no tangible item involved, no physical object to actually have to stock, ship or store anywhere.  In other words there can't be any valid reason for Nintendo to run out of stock other than they're deliberately restricting supply.

Nintendo.stars.points

The crash landing earlier today was fortunately, and quite clearly, nowhere near as bad as it could have been.  Watching the rolling news channels it looks likely that we'll see a lot of pictures in the next day or two.  Apparently some passengers on the stricken plane got their phones out and started taking pictures almost as soon as they'd whizzed off the inflatable slides.

This news is actually about a week old but it doesn't hurt for me to repeat it.  Yup, now there's video calling.  I've not tried it yet but will soon.  If you've got an Eee and don't know what to do...

In Easy mode (or 'normal' mode if you've not messed about and enabled 'advanced' mode) go to the settings tab and then choose 'add or remove software'.  It's all pretty self explanatory from there.

I'm looking forward to traveling with my Eee now more than ever.  It's gonna be great being able to access email, browse, blog and make phone calls for free wherever there's free WiFi.  Being able to make free transatlantic video calls will be, to paraphrase the 'young un's', awesome!