Ying tong yiddle iPad

[Sandy Buttcheeks]

I would just like to state, for the record, that my is iPad is the worst money I have ever spent. How the hell are you supposed to do anything with it? I wish I had bought a slate and some chalk. Apple are the devils seed. If I hadn't been so afraid of the shop assistant and all her piercings I would have said no. Only good point is that it's flat and thin. I'm off to the nearest pond to see how far it will skite.

Keech.

 

And relax.

[Diane CBPFC]

As it happens this temporary (too expensive to use) hub that my internet provider provided me with is a lemon. They told me to take it back to my local store. I didn’t believe them (I have no reason to) so phoned the local store (30km round trip) first. Of course you can’t take them back to an independent dealer if they are mailed from the internet giant directly.

But the local guy told me to bring it in and he would sell me an aerial as that was more likely to be the reason the internet is on then it’s off, then it’s on then it’s off and so forth. I got a new SIM card and a big second-hand aerial – but the hub itself IS a lemon (5 business days to ship a new one to me).

The point of all this being that I spent a lovely half an hour with Tom the local guy and we got talking about me and others like me feeling left behind with “i” thingies. The long and the short of it being that he has persuaded his co-worker Kay to volunteer to come to the library for a two-hour  session on “how to use your “i” thingies and what to look for when buying an “i” thingy.

You may want to see if your library is doing anything similar – if not request that they do. If not them then the people who do Further Ed in your area (adult evening classes) may put on such a mini-course.

[Sandy Buttcheeks]

My main gripe is the apple software. I have a wee iPod touch which clears itself of my tunes when it syncs and it seems to me that if you don't purchase stuff from iTunes...they don't like it. I even downloaded a free Adobe PDF reader today for my spanky new iPad and the buggers still managed to muck me up that much trying to install it that I gave up. So I ended up getting a free istore thingy that loaded no probs. It seems a good device but my god they don't make it easy. An hour and a half of study time lost installing what should have taken 30secs. Swines.

If I ever get a spare half hour, I shall relay my tale of my library, the silver surfer, his iPhone and his online banking. A truly uplifting tale for those who dislike a "show off".

This might be a silly question, but why is the internet over there so expensive?

 

[Diane CBPFC]

The internet can be reasonably priced, but not always reliable - in the last couple of months the customers of the most popular service provider in the area have had two towers destroyed in the record winds we have had and have been without internet for weeks at a time. This company charges $90 a month unlimited and that is reasonable as it is quite fast. They do slow it down after you reach 50GB so not great for high use of Netflix or video games.

For those of us who can't get it, we are stuck with hubs - as they know people with hubs can't get anything else - they can charge what they like. I consider $51.20 for one GB theft. It is even sadder as this giant was allowed to buy our our government run telephone system on the promise they would look after rural customers.

I am still waiting on one more wireless company who only charge $50 a month unlimited - but I had to phone them 4 or 5 times just to see if they could come here and have now waited another two weeks for them to come out. They are willing to put a 50' "pop up" on our roof so I am waiting to give them a try. If not them - then there is a satalite company that I've heard is slow but does usually connect - however we have to pay a couple of hundred dollars to find out if they can - even if they can't. They get the second chance.

There is hope - but in the meantime - this lemon of a hub is crashing all the time.