Microsoft - fallen empire

In days gone by, I used to really like Microsoft.  I would defend its products against those from other companies, and tell folk how good it was.

How things have changed.

Over the years, Microsoft just keeps dropping support for things that I really wanted to keep, to the extent that I am now getting really fed up with the company.  Indeed, I think the only things keeping me on Windows now are Photoshop and Lightroom...

I get the fact that if you ship something, you have to test it.  That's fair.  But even so, Microsoft do seem to have been aggressively dropping things that I use.  Here are some examples

1. NetMeeting
A very useful feature in XP, you used to be able to have a conferencing session with another PC simply with its IP address.  You had no need to have that PC connected to the global internet, it could stay behind your firewall and be nice and secure. That's been dropped to give us some online conferencing system  I have no idea what information might be getting copied by Microsoft as voice and images go through its servers.

2. MIDI Mapper
Just dropped in Windows 7.  No warning, no alternative provided.

3. The latest one - replace Windows Messenger with Skype
I guess I wouldn't care much about this except that they have taken away Remote Assistance, something I use a lot when helping friends and relatives with their PC.

Three big fails, Microsoft

Summer School - Sunday

The first full day of summer school!

After a sumptuous breakfast, we walked to the sports centre, which will be our home for the week.  Kelvin put us through a very detailed vocal warm-up, and then we went over the arrangement that we started yesterday.  We also had a quick look at a second song before the morning tea break.

After tea, we started floor work with Lynne.  That started off with the most vicious warm-up I can ever remember doing, followed by a selection of dance moves on the floor, allowing Lynne to see what level of ability we all had.

After lunch, we started setting "Baggy Trousers".  Suffice to say the dance is extremely funny... and just a little rude!

The final session of the day was back to vocals, and then we went back for a quick freshen-up before dinner.  Tonight was a Greek evening, with Greek food and an exhibition of Greek dancing.  A few of us were volunteered to be helpers, we joined in the dancing, and generally had a great time!

Start Of The Summer School

Today's plan was to go for a run at Manchester, then pootle on down to Warwick for the Summer School.

Everything started well when I asked for a late checkout at the Holiday Inn Express where I was staying, and they were able to give me that.  I had a lovely breakfast, then packed for an hour.  I then went out for my run.

Muddy Path

The Holiday Inn Express is beside a pair of reservoirs called the Gorton Reservoirs, and my plan was to run round them.

The plan started out okay, as I went round the "lower" Gorton Reservoir.  It was when I got to the "upper" reservoir that things started to go bad.  The path was overgrown, and pretty muddy.

When I eventually did mess up and put one foot into a puddle on the way round, I realised quite how deep and muddy the puddles were!

Muddy Legs

I continued on to for a while, but eventually had to give up.  I turned back, and then tried to run the rest of the way round the lower Gorton Reservoir.  If I ever try to run this route again, I shall be wearing long sleeves and full-length running tights.  Let me make it clear that a vest and short race-day shorts do not go well with shoulder-high stinging nettles overgrowing onto the path...

So I ended up with a pretty lousy run.  I did a further lap of the lower reservoir, but this time did not try to stay on the reservoir once I got back into Debdale Park - instead I ran through the park.  I only managed a little over three miles; something of a shambles really.

However, by the time I had showered and packed up all my stuff, it was time to go.

I got in the car and started driving towards Warwick.  On the way, I stopped off at Knutsford, at the Cranford Café, for lunch.  I had a very pleasant meal in what appears to be a very pleasant town before getting back on the road and continuing on towards the University of Warwick.

Knutsford Town Centre

As I travelled south, I came to the turn-off for the M6 Toll Road.  This is a section of motorway that parallels the original M6, but is - as the name implies - a toll road.

Well, I certainly did not want to take a toll road.  So I stayed on the road I was on, and did not take the turn-off.

That was a major fail.  Bizarrely, the "straight on" route takes you onto the toll road!  If you want to stay on the public road, you have to turn off.  That's £4.80 I shall never see again - and a mistake I hope never to make again, either!

Accommodation 1

Eventually, I arrived at the Summer School.  I had forgotten how many people I would recognise when I got here - it was lovely!  And the accommodation is an amazing standard - every bit as good as my Holiday Inn Express.

And as for the food?  Amazing.  The ham served carvery style, perfectly boiled vegetables (nice and crunchy), and the dessert... just fantastic!

Accommodation 2

After dinner we went for our first rehearsal.  We did some vocal warm ups and started setting one of the songs for Friday.  Thence to the bar for a while before coming to bed.

This is going to be a great week!

Let the bubble begin!

The Ham is off to Summer School for the first time since 2009, and I am really looking forward to it.

Buxton Opera House - wish I could rotate this pic!

Thanks to some wonderful timing, the NODA Summer School rims concurrently with the second week of the international Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, held annually in the beautiful town of Buxton. I had arranged to meet a friend there; another G+S enthusiast and a friend of many years' standing.

The show we went to see was The Gondoliers, a professional production in the Buxton Opera House.
the Opera House is beautiful both outside and in, a lovely theatre to visit.

It had been a long time since I last saw a G+S, and I thoroughly enjoyed this production.
And then it was time to go back to my hotel in Manchester,.update the blog and grab some shut-eye before going to the Summer School - also known as The Bubble - tomorrow.

Inside the Opera House

Opera House Ceiling

S1 English

Trying to help my daughter with her English homework this evening, I was struck by how difficult the questions are.  Given a text from about sldiers and their suffering, we had:

1. How did the writer freel from this experience?  Quote and explain why the quote shows this
2. The writer uses three questions in the text.  Write down the name of this technique.  Quote each one and analyse the effect each question has on the reader
3. Comment on the writer's use of imagery in this sentence: "Icy rain fell mercilessly on us and we lived day and night drenched to the skin and pierced with cold."  Remember - as well as stating the image used you must pin-point the descriptive words.  Decide what impact it has and explain why it has this impact.

First year?  I'd have said this was O-grade stuff at least!

So... in a total volte-face, next time I hear any politician tell us that the exams have been dumbed down, I'm going to have extreme doubts!

Sky Box Office Offer - shoddy customer service

Email sent today to Sky Customer Service

Sky sent me a letter entitled "Advance Notice Of Changes To Your Sky Subscription Service"

In it, Sky offered me a "Free Sky Box Office Movie"  To claim it, I had to register at a specific web address before 10-August.  When I did so this evening - 09-Aug - the web site said that the offer was unavailable.

So, I phoned the number on the letter - 08448 422450.  The lady to whom I spoke told me that I wasn't eligible for the offer because I had previously had Sky Movies on my tariff.

So, why did Sky send me a letter telling me that I was eligible for an offer then tell me that that was not in fact true? 

Why did the lady to whom I spoke tell me that it was impossible to provide feedback to Sky's marketing department?

Isn't this lying on Sky's part?  Offering me a service then saying that I couldn't have it?

regards,
/alan

Attn: Three Customer Service

To: executive.office@three.co.uk

My name is Alan Potter, I am a long-time three customer.

When my wife’s phone contract recently expired, I suggested she move to Three.  She ordered a nice new Samsung Galaxy S II, on the Text500 contract.  That was on Monday 18^th July (order number xxxxxxxx).  We arranged delivery would be on the Thursday of that week (21-Jul), and waited for the phone to arrive.

It didn’t.

Nor did it arrive on the Friday. 

I phoned Three’s customer service.  They told me that because there was already a Three account using the bank details I had given to Three (i.e. my Three account), then Three would want to see a bank statement to be sure that my wife was allowed to Direct Debit that account.  All that Three would need to see would be the account name.  That doesn’t really seem to stand up to scrutiny as you already knew the account name, and any credit ratings agency would have been able to give you all the information you needed.  But I can let that slide.

I asked why nobody had phoned us and told us this before the date when the phone was due to be delivered.  I asked when we would have been phoned.  The customer service rep told me that the back office would do the calling, they were busy just now and he did not know when or if we would be contacted.

After listening to him give this kind of excuse for a couple of minutes I gave up and told him that I was not happy about this.  At this point someone with a bit of savvy – or leeway – could still have saved the deal by apologising, offering a complimentary month’s line rental or something similar, and promising to get the phone to us next day.  But no, there was nothing like that.  Just a demand to see my bank statement.

So I cancelled the deal.

I understand that you guys want to give a cheap service and so you have lowest common denominator customer service.  I get that.  But you’ve taken it too far here.  If you promise to deliver a phone on a particular day, you should deliver it.  If you’re going to fail to deliver it, and you know you’re going to fail to deliver it, you must phone the (potential) customer beforehand in case that customer is taking a day off work to receive the package.

Yours faithfully,

Alan Potter