COMPUTERS, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY

[PanBiker]

Nowt to do with me, Pluggy holds the keys for the webmaster address.

[Tripps]

Well - they seem to be OK Heatons men in sheds

I think that narrows the field of suspects down a bit. No harm done

[Stanley]

That's a puzzle David. Nowt to do with me and I know nothing about them but someone has seen the St Pauls/Heatons/Shed content on the site and reached out but how they arrived at Chez Trippier is a mystery.
As you say they look fairly harmless.....

[Tizer]

I've got the message too and I've sent a copy to Ian so he can see who's behind it.

[Tripps]

Mystery solved- I knew watching all the Poirot episodes would pay off.
I risk assessed the situation, plucked up courage, and opened the email -

Hello Tripps,
The following is an email sent to you by Whyperion via your account on
"OneGuyFromBarlick". If this message is spam, contains abusive or other
comments you find offensive please contact the webmaster of the board at
the following address:

He was the 'Prime Suspect'. Purely circumstantial evidence and gut feeling though.

[plaques]

Tripps could this be part of your mystery.

In Greek mythology, Hyperion (/haɪˈpɪəriən/; Greek: Ὑπερίων, romanized: Hyperíōn, 'the high one') was one of the twelve Titan children of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (Sky) who, led by Cronus, overthrew their father Uranus and were themselves later overthrown by the Olympians.

Zapped by a message from the gods.

[Tizer]

My 18-month Plusnet Broadband contract comes to an end this month and I've had a couple of reminders from them. I had a look at their offers to new customers then phoned to ask what they'd offer me. I currently have a deal for up to 40 mbps. New customers are being offered slightly less than my current deal. I asked to have the same as that but of course they made excuses why they couldn't do it, then said they'd `look what they could manage'. After a while listening to music I got a surprise. They said in view of me having been a customer with them since 2007 they would essentially give me the same pricing as I have now but include an upgrade to the superfast broadband (what they call `Unlimited Fibre Extra'). So we're now on that for £33.49 a month which includes the calls package `Unlimited calls plus mobile'. That sounds fine to me!

[PanBiker]

I did the same with TalkTalk and got the 65Mbps package for the same price I was already paying, with the first three months free, calls package etc included.

[Big Kev]

My package with Sky comes to an end in February, the email said I could continue with what I have for the same price of £31 a month (60mbps unlimited broadband, anytime phone incluing mobiles) or take out exactly the same package on an 18 month at £44 a month

There's either an error in their email or they're not very good sales people...

[Stanley]

[Tizer]

`Smart locks: Convenience comes with security doubts' LINK
`...As principal security researcher at Tripwire, a risk management software firm, Craig Young has tested many smart locks. He says he would not be comfortable having a smart lock on his home. Mr Young thinks that some manufacturers do not invest enough in looking for flaws in their systems. "I think there's a lot of times that organisations are trying to reinvent the wheel for some of the fundamental components... and they don't have the necessary expertise to do that securely." There is the risk that the lock could be opened by a hacker, but Mr Young is also concerned about reliability. "Until I've seen better proven track records of reliability for the uptime of the services that are running the systems, as well as the individual components in these locks, I don't think it's a great idea to make your personal safety rely on these," he says. Another challenge for manufacturers has been extending battery life, currently about six months for locks using wi-fi..'.

[Stanley]

I read the link.... Include me out! I can't see any pressing reason to 'embrace new technology' in this way when I have managed quite nicely thank you with unhackable keys in my pocket for almost a century!

[Tizer]

`Huawei patent mentions use of Uighur-spotting tech' LINK
`A Huawei patent has been brought to light for a system that identifies people who appear to be of Uighur origin among images of pedestrians. The filing is one of several of its kind involving leading Chinese technology companies, discovered by a US research company and shared with BBC News. Huawei had previously said none of its technologies was designed to identify ethnic groups. It now plans to alter the patent. The company indicated this would involve asking the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) - the country's patent authority - for permission to delete the reference to Uighurs in the Chinese-language document. Uighur people belong to a mostly Muslim ethnic group that lives mainly in Xinjiang province, in north-western China. Government authorities are accused of using high-tech surveillance against them and detaining many in forced-labour camps, where children are sometimes separated from their parents. Beijing says the camps offer voluntary education and training..'.

[Big Kev]

I almost put this in the jokes thread but decided it was too close to the truth...

Ordering a Pizza in 2022
CALLER:
Is this Pizza Hut?
GOOGLE:
No sir, it's Google Pizza.
CALLER:
I must have dialed a wrong number, sorry.
GOOGLE:
No sir, Google bought Pizza Hut last month.
CALLER:
OK. I would like to order a pizza.
GOOGLE:
Do you want your usual, sir?
CALLER:
My usual? You know me?
GOOGLE:
According to our caller ID data sheet, the last 12 times you called you ordered an extra-large pizza with three cheeses, sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms and meatballs on a thick crust.
CALLER:
Super! That’s what I’ll have.
GOOGLE:
May I suggest that this time you order a pizza with ricotta, arugula, sun-dried tomatoes and olives on a whole wheat gluten-free thin crust?
CALLER:
What? I don’t want a vegetarian pizza!
GOOGLE:
Your cholesterol is not good, sir.
CALLER:
How the hell do you know that?
GOOGLE:
Well, we cross-referenced your home phone number with your medical records. We have the result of your blood tests for the last 7 years.
CALLER:
Okay, but I do not want your rotten vegetarian pizza! I already take medication for my cholesterol.
GOOGLE:
Excuse me sir, but you have not taken your medication regularly. According to our database, you purchased only a box of 30 cholesterol tablets once at Lloyds Pharmacy, 4 months ago.
CALLER:
I bought more from another Pharmacy.
GOOGLE:
That doesn’t show on your credit card statement.
CALLER:
I paid in cash.
GOOGLE:
But you did not withdraw enough cash according to your bank statement.
CALLER:
I have other sources of cash.
GOOGLE:
That doesn’t show on your latest tax returns, unless you bought them using an undeclared income source, which is against the law!
CALLER:
WHAT THE HELL!
GOOGLE:
I'm sorry sir, we use such information only with the sole intention of helping you.
CALLER:
Enough already! I'm sick to death of Google, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and all the others. I'm going to an island without the internet, TV, where there is no phone service and no one to watch me or spy on me.
GOOGLE:
I understand sir, but you need to renew your passport first. It expired 6 weeks ago...

[Stanley]

As you say Kev. Frightening stuff. Look back at the keyless doors post....

[Tizer]

I'd never heard of Depop but this shows how scammers are finding increasingly crafty ways to scam people buying stuff on the web...
`Depop: 'I felt so violated when my account was hacked'' LINK
`...The fraudster had been instructing shoppers to pay them directly through PayPal's "Friends and Family" option, which sidesteps Depop's fees and doesn't offer any protection for buyers....In Ms Strike's situation, to get users to trust scam listing, the hacker had also uploaded a photo of her name on a post-it note next to the headphones that were supposedly for sale. This is a common tactic used by people selling second-hand items online, to prove that the photos were not stolen from another listing...According to Liv Rowley, a threat intelligence analyst at cyber-security firm Blueliv, cyber criminals are now targeting Depop accounts on an "industrial scale" using this method, capitalising on the fact that people often use similar passwords...'.

[Stanley]

I simply do not understand the attraction of apps like Depop. Perhaps being a dinosaur has its advantages!

[Big Kev]

Paulette is trying to convince me I'd benefit from owning a Kindle, apparently I have too many books. Do any of you good people use one?
I've been having a look and they look to be around £120 to buy, I've then noticed there's an Amazon subscription of £7.99 a month as well as 'e-books' to buy as a download. Does anyone know if I need to have the subscription as well as buying the 'e-books'? The information doesn't seem very clear.

[plaques]

Can't help you Kev. I always find it hard reading from a screen as against bog standard paper. I can see an advantage for holidays to minimise the load but other than that I tend to go for biographies rather than novels which take a bit more reading time and are probably thinner on the ground.
Lancashire Libraries are useful at the moment, order on line, one week to get to Colne (if on the shelves). and open 10 to 12 & 2 to 4 for collection.

[Stanley]

Susan had a Kindle but I think now uses another route in to her books. She swears by it. (Not sure but I think it's Amazon....)
My eyes won't stand it so like you Kev I have too many books.

[Wendyf]

You can download the Kindle app onto a phone or tablet. I used it for a while but prefer the printed page.

[Big Kev]

You can download the Kindle app onto a phone or tablet. I used it for a while but prefer the printed page.

I do too but, at present, have been pointed towards the 'paper white' model. I'd need to see one in the flesh though. It's the £7.99 a month subscription to Amazon I'm wondering about, is that a requirement or can I just download other 'e-books' to it?

[chinatyke]

A word of warning. Today I discovered I'd lost my back-up when my external hard drive became corrupted. The cable or contacts between the external HD and my computer have been dodgy for a while, sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, so I've only myself to blame. I've re-formatted the HD and backed up my important files again. Must buy another cable but this one will suffice for now. It's been a bad day, I was told our city bus fares have doubled from 10 to 20 pence per journey, and the wife beat me 4 - 1 at pool.

[PostmanPete]

The £7.99 a month is for Kindle Unlimited which gives you access to most of the e-books on Amazon. You don't have to take the subscription and can just buy single books as required.

I have a paperwhite Kindle which I bought 2nd hand on the Shpock app For £30 with a lovely leather case and enjoy using it. It has an adjustable backlight so you can read it in a dark room if your wife wants to sleep...! (I started with the keyboard Kindle about 10 years ago) The font can be changed to suit a persons eyesight (as large or as small as you like)

Mrs PostmanPete has a Kobo which is similar to the Kindle but uses a different file format (ePub) This means you can get ebooks from lots of other sources if you don't want to go down the Amazon route.

[PostmanPete]

I'd need to see one in the flesh though.

If you'd like to pop round you can have a socially distanced play with them if you like before deciding.