Monthly Archive for April, 2010

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Google and Sky: Left Hand Meet Right Hand

Published on 9 April 2010 in Chrome, doh, Google, Sky and Syndicated. Closed

Google is currently throwing lots of money at Sky to show big banner ads on Sky’s website for Google’s excellent Chrome browser.

Does Google not know that Sky’s interactive listings guide doesn’t work with Chrome?

“We have detected that you are using Chrome. You need Internet Explorer, Safari 3 or Firefox to view the latest version of the TV Listings”

Doh!

The Trouble with iPhones

Published on 9 April 2010 in Cellcomms and Nokia. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

So Apple has unveiled new features for its iPhone. The main one is for advertising within apps – I read that as intrusive targeted ads that you need to click past before using the app or whilst using it.

This means the final nail in the coffin for me ever getting one: my Nokia N97 is due for replacement this summer and I thought about getting an iPhone but quite honestly its size puts me off. Likewise I’m becoming more and more annoyed with touchscreens and having a filthy, greasy screen to read. There’s no way I’ll be putting up with intrusive ads either.

More and more, I’ve been thinking that the only thing that makes my other phone, a Sony Ericsson W595, less than perfect is its lack of GPS. And guess what? Their W995 has that. SE also do a great-looking touchscreen model running Android, but Google’s implementation of Bluetooth hands-free is such that you can’t actually make the call from a car kit but you need to do it from the phone. Which means it’s not good enough for use in the car (much like Nokia’s N97 then…).

The Sony Ericsson W595 Just Works. If their W995 is as easy then that’s a no-brainer for me: a small phone with all the features I want and none of the features I don’t.

Issues

Published on 6 April 2010 in Accessories, Audio, iPod fail, Nunns of Grimsby, R3 and Syndicated. Closed

Well it seems that all is not well with the R3, so it was back to the dealers today for fettling.

The rear foglight has not been working since I got the car: it turns out that the wiring loom to the towbar fitted by the dealers, Nunns, has a relay that should switch between the foglight on the trailer and the foglight on the car. Whilst the foglight on the trailer works fine, the one on the car doesn’t. Sadly this wasn’t picked up in the PDI when I bought the car. Parts are now on order.

Of equal concern is the (very expensive) iPod integration module that doesn’t seem to actually want to integrate any iPod with the Bose stereo system. Mazda list a whole load of Apple devices that aren’t compatible with the module – which, by the way, cuts off the auxiliary input circuit so you’re completely screwed if it doesn’t integrate – and I found that none of our iPods of varying age worked at all with it. They all connect fine and some can seemingly draw power. All display the Mazda logo. All have their functionality removed from the devices whilst connected. None actually work with the stereo system.

Including the brand spanking new iPod nano I got for my birthday specifically for the car. Ah…

So Nunns will be talking to Mazda over the next few days to try to find out what’s wrong. If they can’t fix it, I’ve already told them I want the auxiliary socket reconnecting and my money back for the horrendously expensive integration module.

Tiger Woods: Who Gives a Toss?

Published on 5 April 2010 in Sport and TV. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

So I’ve just sat down to watch World Superbikes on Eurosport 2.

But instead, some overpaid golfer is talking bollocks for the next half hour.

So what?

Let’s Race!

Published on 1 April 2010 in driving, knobheads, R3 and Syndicated. Closed

I drove up to Grimsby last night for the first time in the RX-8. Now although I was ‘making good progress’ as usual, it seems  that if you’re driving a sporty car, the knobheads seem to try to prove something.

A case in point was the rep in an Audi RS4 Estate on a 10 plate who immediately accelerated away when I’d overtaken him.

When I got closer on the A46 I came up behind a Skoda Octavia. Again he must have seen me rapidly approaching him as we drove towards a 40mph limit because as soon as we were through it and heading out, he accelerated hard and kept on until he was well into ban territory. I carried on as usual and, of course, caught up with him a few miles later as my driving wasn’t quite so erratic as his was.

What is it with other people’s perception of sports cars?

overtone