Mobile Phones

[Stanley]

My hearing has its faults but I haven't felt the need for external speakers..... One thing I noted last night is how cool the set runs, it only consumes 45watts. Much cooler than the Sony.

[Big Kev]

I had to get my old Sony 'surround sound' system out of mothballs. Most of the TV is only half an inch thick, this doesn't leave enough room for quality speakers. Those in the set are very 'tinny' sounding. 5 speakers, with a sub in the corner, makes good use of the optical sound output.

[Stanley]

Interesting Kev. I shall bear it in mind when the burial fund has recovered!

[Pluggy]

Note to self, hang on to the dinosaur telly.....

[Tizer]

This is why we are often reluctant to change!

[Stanley]

If the colours go to negative you don't have a lot of choice.... I fitted up my own surround sound on my old CRT telly and it was magnificent. The two big speakers behind me on the top bookshelf are still there...... But I think I'll pass on that one.... (Note to self, time those speakers were taken down and ditched!)

[Big Kev]

Do you have the spec for the speakers? I am looking to donate my old AV setup to the local Youth Club but need a pair of speakers that will hande around 50 watts each.

[Stanley]

No spec Kev but they are big Wharfedale speakers with both bass and treble in each one. I'll bet they will do for you. If you want them you are welcome. pop round and we'll rip them down!

[Big Kev]

No spec Kev but they are big Wharfedale speakers with both bass and treble in each one. I'll bet they will do for you. If you want them you are welcome. pop round and we'll rip them down!

That's great, Stanley. Thank you. Early next week OK for you? Monday morning sometime or Tuesday afternoon?

[Stanley]

Mornings are best Kev because I get up early and have a sleep in the afternoon. Give a call any day and let me know you are coming....

[Stanley]

I'll get them down and ready for you this morning.....

Later at 07:30.... Despite the enormous personal inconvenience, 80 year olds shouldn't be carrying stepladders down stairs or climbing up them.... I have got the speakers down cleaned and polished.



I was wrong about the make. They are Sony model SS-NX1, Impedance 6Q. The sooner they aren't cluttering up my kitchen the better!.....

[Big Kev]

You are an absolute star and, you're quite correct, you shouldn't be climbing up ladders. I will be round about 10 am. Thank you.

[Stanley]

He liked them....

[Pluggy]

They look seriously more business like than the little things they shoehorn into smart tellies.....

[Tripps]

Plaques spoke of the expiry date for Sim cards. I rather smugly thought that didn't apply to me - and of course it did. Phone stopped being able to make calls on Saturday. Quite a lot of credit seemed to be 'down the Swanee' .

However I rang customer services, and as a pleasant change actually got some service. They said they were obliged by Ofcom to cease the number, and I would need another Sim to get back connected. They would send me one free of charge within 5 working days, or to be quicker - I could buy one for 99p, then call them again, and they would transfer the credit to my new number. Not sure why they could not warn me by text message when the Sim was about to time out.

I chose to buy one, and am now back in good standing. I just need to tell everyone of my new number. Not a problem really as 'everyone' adds up to about three.

[Big Kev]

He liked them....

I did indeed, thank you again. Just waiting for someone from the Youth Club to get back to me now...

[Stanley]

Pluggy, Tut tut....I'll make a large wooden spoon for you......
You're right of course but Kev had a worthy cause to deal with and he has never refused me anything..... It was a pleasure to see I had hit the nail on the head. Far more valuable than a pair of speakers.

[Tizer]

Note to self, hang on to the dinosaur telly.....

We've got a new TV now, a Sony, and I'm finding the sound is less suited to my old ears, especially when the TV programmes have muffled sound too. Mrs Tiz has kindly offered to have the new one in her `den' and put the old one back in the lounge...

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Anyone for free mobile voice, text and data on their phone?
"A US firm is to extend its free mobile data, voice and text offering to the UK from July this year. FreedomPop will offer Sim cards that offer 200MB of data, 200 texts and 200 minutes of voice calls per month using the cellular network at no cost. The company already offers a similar free mobile data plan in the US to more than half a million users." LINK

[Tripps]

Sounds just the job, and I'm just the ideal user - but if it seems too good to be true etc.
That said - Skype is free, and has been for a long time.
I've bookmarked it and will no doubt have a go. thanks for the tip.

[Stanley]

I've dusted my mobile phone off and put it on charge, I'll send a text to one of my daughters to see if I am still connected.... Another thing to worry about!

[Stanley]

I attacked my old mobile this morning and found it was dead even though fully charged. It would get as far as the menu then drop out. Being an engineer at heart I took the back off, polished the contacts on the SIM and replaced it and cleaned the battery contacts with a fine, flexible diamond buff (They sell them for lady's nails and they are a useful thing to have about you!) That cured it, I called daughter Susan and was delighted to find it was still functioning and evidently has credit..... It's back on the sideboard gathering dust.....

[Tizer]

I'm still wary about getting caught in a so-called PAYG where you lose any remaining money at the end of the month....went and found a friendly Tesco lady and interrogated her about the PAYG and she assured me I wouldn't lose the money at the end of the month.

That was me a month ago. It's surprising how things turn out after a month. I wanted the phone simply for its camera function. I've taken photos with it but don't like having to keep it on all the time or having to wait ages for it to start if it's not kept on. I checked to see that it would connect to the Internet OK by visiting the BBC news web site and accessing my webmail account but haven't used it to send any email messages, texts or voice calls. I find writing with the touchscreen awful and I'd rather use my old phone with keys for voice and texts. So not impressed. My data usage showed as 1MB. The final straw came this week when I received a text message from Tesco Mobile saying they were going to charge me monthly! Also, of the £10 I put on the phone when I bought it, there was less than £5 left. It turns out they'd taken £5 off me!

I took it back to the Tesco store this afternoon and complained. They wanted me to pursue it with Tesco Mobile by phone or online. I told them no, I'd bought it from Tesco, not Tesco Mobile. In the end they refunded my money and I handed them the phone back. They were surprised that Tesco Mobile was trying to charge me but I didn't want to do their job for them in sorting out their own business problems. At the back of my mind was another potential problem - Tesco announced last week that it is selling off Tesco Mobile to one of the big mobile phone companies.

At least I've learnt that, like Pluggy, I've got no intention of spending my life using a tiny touchscreen. Perhaps I could get to like a touchscreen on a big screen but not the tiny things.

[Stanley]

Good man Tiz! The everlasting SIM in mine is Orange......

[Tizer]

The techie journalists seem to think this will be a dud but it could be great for folk who have difficulty with small keyboards and touch screens, or whose vision is impaired...
`Lenovo phone features virtual keyboard'
"Chinese electronics giant Lenovo has unveiled a phone with a built-in laser projector that can be used to display a virtual keyboard or display. The interactive display can replicate the phone's touch screen, a full-size computer keyboard or even piano keys. The laser projector can also be used to beam images and videos onto walls. The Smart Cast phone was unveiled at the company's Tech World conference in Beijing, where the firm also unveiled a new type of smartwatch. The laser projector measures just 34mm by 26mm by 5mm and, said Lenovo, does not need focussing to project sharp images onto walls or other flat surfaces." LINK

[Stanley]

It's modern magic and I don't understand how it can work.... The touch buttons on my monitor baffle me!