Doc,

Thanks for pointing out my mistake. I had actually realised that it was per MB and not per minute, but I had a problem with the connection between my brain and fingers hence the typo. I'm told it's a sign of age.

:o)

The Publisher,

I still don't understand why someone does not make a telephone that accepts broadband and has a crude e:mail receive/send facility.

I wasn't sure whether you meant a telephone or a mobile phone/PDA. If you meant the latter, the Qtek 9100 does it all, the only downside being that it's a Windows Mobile device. Quad-band GSM/GPRS, Wi-Fi and so on.

"I wasn't sure whether you meant a telephone or a mobile phone/PDA."

I meant something that, for example, my wife could use. She's 63 and has never turned on a computer or a PDA in her life.

For her making a phone call involves picking up a handset, dialling a number and putting the handset down to disconnect the call.

She would not thank you for a Windows Mobile device you had to turn on each time the phone rang. Nor would she want something with either a keyboard too small to use easily or icons that needed her to put on her reading glasses.

Didn't the French have a phone that had a little LCD screen? Wasn't it supplied free as an alternative to their directory enquiry service? And now I think of it, didn't Alan Sugar try to market something similar in the UK?

I've just looked at the Qtek. I was talking about a telephone that used the copper wire that comes into your home and for which you are already paying - not something that requires you to subscribe for another service.

TP

TP, I had nearly posted details of the Emailer but of course it is not broadband.

http://www.amstrad.com/products/emailers/e3.html

TP,

Well, I'm 62 and I've been turning on computers as long as I can remember . . .

But now I know what you mean and Kayak anticipated my next bright idea.

The French thing you refer to is the Minitel.

But I understand your requirement -- my technophobic old Dad (age 92) could really use something similar.

K,

So it still exists, the Emailer.

Can't be hard to make it handle broadband, surely?

MM,

Yes Minitel. I wonder if they still exist.

A problem is that we, who have been turning on computers for eons, forget how much we have assimilated. I was sitting next to my wife on a plane about a year ago and she got that device out of her armrest to choose a movie. Paging and cursoring down the screen was totally new to her and all the little icons that would have guided her through it were just clutter on the screen.

Tp

Do you ever take her out?

What other kit have you got in your home? Sky+ TV, for instance?

"What other kit have you got in your home? Sky+ TV, for instance?"

Plasma fed using an RGB to VGA converter from a TiVo fed from Sky, linked into surround sound HiFi.

Radio and CD fed into surround sound HiFi.

But all totally controlled by Pronto - which is the only way you can combine all that kit and keep the controls simple.

"Do you ever take her out?"

Yes, but not to places you need to know how to cursor down a menu or wine list.

TP

Can you come and sort out the mess that is my TV, DVD, Sky and stereo TP? :-)

I was ok with a video but its all gone to ratsh*t now :-))

Harlosh

Check out Forums on DigitalSpy.co.uk

TV, Sky and Sky+ Digibox, DVD player, Home Theatre, Connection Issues and more. Indeed, much, much more.

TP,

Look, navigating the IFE (in-flight entertainment) systems on planes is a Black Art. Your wife Is Not Alone.

I frequently have simply hours of fun with the Virgin systems on my many trips to California. Did you know they ran Linux? I found out when I crashed the thing and the reboot sequence scrolled up my screen . . .

Thanks for that pointer Doc. A new one to me.

When I started out to build my plasma based system I picked a lot of brains on what is now findable with:-
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk.media.home-cinema

The best way to use a plasma is to feed it from the RGB signal as that removes all the artifacts such as artificial sharpening. Someone at the BBC R&D centre made me a converter and that design has now been put into production by the guy at
http://www.js-technology.com/

Feed a decent plasma this way and you'll get a far cleaner image than most of these so called HD systems selling at five times the price.

Harlosh. Ratsh*t. I sympathise. I set mine up about five years ago and dread the day when my wife decides she wants the carpet cleaning and I have to dismantle all the wiring so the cabinet can be moved. If I were starting again I'd be tempted to use one of the guys who maintains the satdish system in the flats where we live. We had some signal problems about a year ago. I have two TV decoders as we have two dishes - and the guy simplified my wiring without me asking.

MM.

"a Black Art. Your wife Is Not Alone."

Glad to have it confirmed. I found it easier to read a book than battle with the menus.

TP

Help anybody familiar with outlook express I would like to hear a sound when mail arrives I have ticked all the relevant boxes played around with it but no sound any help greatly appreciated cheers

Mida,

Before you get a reply from an expert - presumably you have checked that your PC can make sounds?

I say that because mine doesn't. Not that it bothers me.

TP

I set mine up through

Control Panel
Sounds and Audio Devices
Then click the Sounds tab
There will be a sound for a new mail arriving.
It will be a .wav file which you can play as a test. You can substitute your own sound. I used to have a recording of my son saying, "You've got Email Daddy"

Does anyone have any knowledge of Xandros, a Linux alternative to Windows? I am thinking about giving it a try.
Grateful for any advice or comments.

Xandros website


Many Thanks

I bought a Vodafone 3G quad-band datacard in the week which was delivered on Friday, but has now been sent back because it appears to be faulty.

Regarding the business of the datacard being unlocked or locked to a particular network, would I be correct in thinking that none of the 3G datacards are actually locked themselves? Instead, is it the accompanying "Dashboard" software which locks the datacard to a particular network?

In my digging I came across this web page which explains how to set up the datacard for use with any airtime provider without using the locking "Dashboard" software.

If this is the case, presumably I could buy any 3G datacard (eg Vodafone, Orange or O2) and just set up a different connection for different USIM cards in different countries. Presumably I would just need to find out the connection details for the different airtime providers as detailed on pages such as this.

CCC, not specifically but I have played with Linux a bit over the years. The main thing to remember is that even if it looks like windows it isnt windows, below the surface its very different. This has a lot of consequences such as inability to run Windows programs, a different support model and many applications that are very superficial.

Dont get me wrong Linux is a great product and I very much admire the people who dedicate themselfd to making Linux and linux applications avaiable and supported. It is however different and if you need specific applications that are not Linux you may well have problems.

Hilary, I have not used a 3G datacard or even seen one however I would expect the locking to be done at a different level than software. I expect its something done via the SIM card (or equivalent).

Derek will probably be able to give a proper answer as he is an expert on mobile data protocols.

Spacie, thanks.

I'd be surprised if the locking was anything to do with the SIM card, but I did wonder if it might be locked through the firmware of the datacard.

The datacards are made by a company called Option who sell not only to Vodafone but also to Orange, T-Mobile and a string of other airtime providers in different countries. Firmware can be downloaded from the Vodafone website, but I was wondering if this were the same as the Option firmware or whether it had been tampered with by Vodafone to lock it to their network.

The people who sell the "unlocked" datacards intimate that the unlocking is done by changing the APN through the settings within the "Dashboard" software. Unfortunately, however, the APN details seem to be greyed out and therefore unchangeable which is why I suggested in my post above using the datacard as a simple modem without the Dashboard software and setting up a connection using the APN details for the airtime providers of the SIM cards that I intend to use.

I know that D's the expert here and I'm hoping that he will explain the workings when he's got time.