This is the weblog of Brian Curd. A lot of it is written on the spur of the moment and any benefit you gain from it is worth exactly what you paid!
For the past year I have had a contract with BT. That covered unlimited broadband, phone calls and a BTVision package with Sky Sports 1&2. Until a week or so ago I have been very happy with it as it meant predictable monthly cost and a half decent service. Unfortunately, as is the way with [...]
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Filed under: Hardware, Techie
OK so I’m a few days late… take it or leave it Not much to report really, I just thought I’d better get a new post in and bring things up to date a little. No matter how I try I can’t seem to get my office/workspace clear of a seemingly ever growing pile of [...]
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Filed under: Hardware, Home, Scams, Software, Techie
I’ve been using the BBC page for a good few years now and visit it at least once each day. This morning when I visited I see they have implemented their threat of a new design. OK, so it’s the first day of general release for the new page but I am really surprised that [...]
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Filed under: Home, Isle of Wight, Software, Techie
A week or so ago my trusty TomTom Go 500 finally gave up the ghost after almost 6 years of reliable service (see “A New Toy for 2006“). As the picture shows, it was a “sturdy” device and much deeper and heavier than the latest ones: Mine had got rather bashed about over the years [...]
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Filed under: Cars, Hardware, Home, Isle of Wight, Software, Techie
For anyone new to WordPress, WPtuts+ is hosting some really nice tutorial videos:- Quoting from the site: “Welcome to the WPtuts+ WP101 tutorial series, the perfect beginning spot for those just getting started with WordPress! It’s also a valuable resource for designers & developers who are teaching your clients & colleagues!” There will eventually be [...]
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Filed under: Home, Software, Techie
Although I have always been happy with FreeSat via my Humax box, the offer of a couple of Sky Sports channels for next to nothing on BT Vision was too good to refuse. A few months ago I added the BT system to my TV and have been happy with it since. The “Sky+ like” [...]
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Filed under: Hardware, Home, Isle of Wight, Techie
I can’t remember how I stumbled on the Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI) but I’m glad I did! Keeping your Windows machine clear of malware and nasties is never easy and it’s made worse by not knowing whether your installed software is up to date. The excellent PSI utility from Secunia makes things a lot [...]
Using the setup described below in my last post, I have now started exploring the world of astrophotography and my first attempt is shown below. To say I am pleased with it is a bit of an understatement! The original images were captured as a .mov file on a Mac laptop and then processed by [...]
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Filed under: Astronomy, Hardware, Hobbies, Isle of Wight, Photography, Software, Techie
I was given a Samsung SDN-520PH CCTV camera sometime ago – thanks Mark! . It was brand new and still in its box, it is just like the one below except that mine came with no lens. I thought it might come in handy at some point for a little astronomical experimentation. That hasn’t happened [...]
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Filed under: Astronomy, Hardware, Home, Isle of Wight, Photography, Software, Techie
Started playing with my webcam again – assuming it can cut through the pipe smoke, you may be lucky enough to spot me!
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Filed under: Hardware, Hobbies, Isle of Wight, Photography, Software, Techie, Trivia
