Sean McNamara

Update: 28th of July 2010

It’s been six days and not one backup message. Hallelujah! Thanks to Ciara from o2 Customer care!

So with my updated phone model I’ve had one problem. It lies in the network not in the phone.

O2 for some reason have designed the most annoying backup service in the world. It is aggressive marketing at it’s finest.  Let me walk you through how this works.

1. Late May - I am not signed up for the service. O2 send’s a service message daily asking me if I wish to avail of their O2 backup service. The message comes up above the keypad lock. Two options are presented, ‘Yes’ / ‘No’. Either can be pressed in your pocket. The message turns on the background light and keeps it on either until you make a decision or your battery dies.
2. After countless pressing’s of the ‘No’ option, ‘Yes’ eventually gets clicked in my pocket. I am charged €2. My contacts get backed up.
3. A contact gets updated.
4. I get a message saying
   

   7 contacts have been updated since your last backup. Would you like to backup your SIM contacts now? The service costs 0.50 eur (inc. VAT) for your backup update.

   This message also comes above above the keypad lock. The same two options are there, ‘Yes’ / ‘No’. Both clickable in your pocket.

5. I have no credit, I press ‘No’.
6. The message comes again within 10 minutes.
7. I press ‘Yes’.
8. I get told I have insufficient credit and that when I top up I should backup my contacts.
9. I press ‘Ok’.
10. The message comes again with 10 minutes. It doesn’t care that I don’t have credit.
11. 16th June - I call O2 and complain. I get told that this is a common problem for a lot of people and that they have flagged a technician to fix the problem on my account. There’s a backlog of people at the moment so this could take up to a week.
12. 28th June - A week and a half later I go on holiday’s to Holland. On the way to the airport I top up my account, get the lovely message yet again and press ‘Yes’ in the hope it will leave me alone.
13. The lovely message greets around five minutes after turning on my mobile after getting of the plane. I say what the hell, press ‘Yes’ and get told that because I am roaming I cannot backup my contacts.
14. The message comes every ten minutes, of every hour, of every day while I’m on holidays. I’m forced into turning off my phone at night to preserve my battery.
15. I return from my 10 day trip abroad and ring O2. Not wanting to see this message ever again I explain to the customer service agent that I want to be removed completely from this service. I tell the agent that I also wish to raise a complaint over the way the message gets around the keypad locked and get told that ‘the majority of users find this feature handy’. I really fail to see that. I’m told that the issue will be resolved within 24 hours.
16. Today - 24 Hours later. The message is still doing it’s five – ten minute routine. It seems to be coming in faster and faster now, does it feel its end drawing close?

So what I really want to know is how are o2 getting away with a service like this?

• The whole thing is blatantly designed so that you accidently at some point in your pocket press the ‘Yes’ button, get charged €0.50 and your contact’s get updated.
• There is no option anywhere to opt out of the service. You have to ring o2, complain and rely on them to sort out the problem.
• You get forced into signing up for the service as the message comes up every day until you decide to use it.

It is like a smart scam.

I bet all those update charges are adding up for o2, nice to see a company that doesn’t mind aggravating & tricking their customers to make a bit more money. If my phone wasn’t locked to o2 I would have changed company already. Needless to say if this continues much longer I’ll be paying to unlock that phone and will go through the hassle of getting a new number.

If anyone else is experiencing these problems with o2 perhaps you’d like to leave a comment..

So since E3 started on Sunday videos are finally online of some of the games we have to look forward to this year.

Starting with Halo Reach. I’ve already done a post on this so not much need’s to be said.. I felt complete sadness when the beta was ripped away from me!

Next, Medal of Honor. Looking forward to this one myself I have to say! This one is the multiplayer trailer.

And this one is the campaign trailer.

A surprising one for most of us I think as this had been well kept in the dark, a new Metal Gear Solid “Rising” . Looks the business, as we’ve come to expect from the Metal Gear Solid series!

The much discussed Black Ops revealed a new trailer at E3 as well. I actually will not be buying this if they don’t sort out the JTAGer’s on Xbox. The leader boards in Modern Warfare 2 just being completely hacked and ALL THE GLITCHES has really turned me off COD. Get dedicated servers Infinity Ward! God knows you can afford them!

Keeping favourites for last, Fable III. I honestly cannot wait for this game to come out in September. It’s one of those games you just can’t put down until your complete.

Update 14-06-10: This new Xbox Slim has just been unveiled at E3 and is therefore confirmed. What a shame!

Also on my little rant of Red ring with a slimmer Xbox they have apparently reworked the cooling system [or so they say]. Only time will tell!

So rumours have been circulating Twitter and the major game sites for a good couple of hours now about a new Xbox to be launched over E3 this week. Leaked pictures show that Microsoft have dropped the smooth design of the Xbox and gone back to sharp edges. Some love it, I personally dislike it. As has been said before it’s a very “PC Case Mod” design.

Advertisements show a 250GB storage capacity, which is already available on the current model of the Xbox. We all know that this will be for the “Elite” model so really, why bother?

The only feature to really raise an eyebrow to is the built in Wi-Fi. This will be a godsend for most users, leaving behind that expensive clumsy [and often hard to set up] Wi-Fi adapter.

Original sources say that this rumoured Xbox will be called The “Xbox 360 Slim”. Obviously just doing what Sony did and releasing a “Slim” version of the Xbox. However from views it really doesn’t look that much slimmer than the current Xbox 360. Of course one has to raise the question of “Red Ring” with this new Xbox, if it is a slimmer version, surely the chance’s of that hated “Red Ring of Death” increase. Microsoft didn’t do well last time around slimming down the Xbox and had serious problems with heat management, slimming down the 360 again has to lead to more frequent cases of Red Ring.

Of course in the current climate we’d be expecting that Microsoft have done this to cut production costs and perhaps hopefully lower the cost for us. More rumours speculate this new Xbox will cost around the same as the current Elite Xbox. [€250] <-Confirmed

In terms of power and specs, this Xbox slim isn’t going to change anything apparently and even though it “supports Kinect [Project Natal]” it doesn’t seem to be incorporated into this new Xbox. This seems odd of Microsoft to have done as I think most of us believed the next console release would have “Kinect” built in.

On the subject of Kinect[Connect?] a few games have been announced:

• Kinectimals lets you train and play with 20 different virtual cats, including a lion, cheetah and tiger.
• Joyride, a racing game, lets players use their hands to hold an imaginary steering wheel — pull your hands toward you and push back out for an acceleration boost — and their bodies to execute jumps and tricks.
• Kinect Sports has six activities including boxing, bowling, beach volleyball, track and field, soccer and table tennis. To serve a volleyball, you mimic the real motion; in soccer, you can kick the ball or do a header.
• Kinect Adventures includes a river-raft time trial and obstacle course, playable by up to four players. On the raft, playing as a duo, you and a partner must lean one way or another to steer. Jumping helps the raft reach special areas for extra points.
• Dance Central, in development by MTV Games, brings a So You Think You Can Dance experience home.
• Star Wars characters and iconic Disney favourites will be featured in separate new games being developed at Microsoft in conjunction with Lucas Arts and Disney.

Personally I’ll be sticking with this model!

Over the past few years, bloggers and "tastemakers" have been developing their brands on their own websites, blogs and social profiles. Vendr allows the owners of these personal brands to take advantage of their existing online presence and integrate a store right into their own website without adding the clutter or brand deflation that usually accompanies existing e-commerce tools. Vendr is clean, simple and pure, and will not overcrowd their personal brand or lead visitors away from where the core message is — on their website or blog.

But what is Vendr?

Vendr is a website overlay widget that allows you to build an online store WITHIN your own website in 15 minutes flat! And no, you do not need to be a design or code guru. After setting up your products through an intuitive control panel, you simply paste a few lines of code into your website or blog template and your store is up and running. Others have claimed to provide easy e-commerce solutions, but this is truly the utmost in simplicity! Vendr supports both physical and digital products.

What else can Vendr do?

Even though it has been built with simplicity as its main goal, Vendr still manages to cover all the features needed to transform any site into a fully-functional online store front with multiple pictures per product, categories and product options. Its extensive backend dashboard allows you to be in control of your store in real time. You can accept payments with your Paypal and Google Checkout accounts, track inventory and receive alerts on low merchandise. It is easy to manage all of your orders, report on sales data and customer information, offer discount codes, and even run your own affiliate program!

Why are you telling me this?

Right all off the above is copy pasted from an email I received during the week from Zenna @ Vendr. I don’t usually review software, especially for no dosh.. But call it nice timing or what you will, I was in the middle of piles of code playing around with a Prestashop installation. They could not have picked a better time to email me talking about a SIMPLE webstore with ZERO code!

Of course, for my project Vendr wouldn’t be a good fit, I’m sure I could make it work somehow but that would be making more work for myself and I can’t be doing that now! However for future projects, especially for people with existing websites, Vendr seems like a really good choice to go with. Most web stores are bloated, your bringing your customer off to another page / sometimes even domain, and its hard to keep branding between two different web applications. Vendr seems to fill that void, a simple widget overlay with all the features you would look for in a web store. Simplicity is really the key word here, I think boxador have done well with this one.

There’s three examples of Vendr currently online,

Boxador
This is an example on how Vendr works on a corporate website using a custom owned domain. This is a demo store, so feel free to browse and go through the checkout process.

Blogspot Example
Blogspot is very commonly used by bloggers, this is an example of a blog that talks about fonts and typography and can now sell fonts to its followers. a cool demonstration on how a downloadable item is sold through Vendr.

Viviti
Here we demonstrate how a blog about baby products can benefit from selling some of the products they talk about. Again this is a demo blog and store.

Within all three of these examples you can see what I am talking about, the design is simple and your on the same branded page the whole time.

Pricing

Always the kicker, pricing starts from FREE [Max 5 Products] right up to LARGE [Max 250 Products] for $29.95 p/m . See more of the pricing here.

Beta Codes

Vendr is currently in a closed beta, but for the first 100 readers, use the invitation code MVHAL6RMTC to sign up to any of the packages during the closed beta! The closed beta is going to be over in early July so get your accounts quick! I believe they are planning on an August release.

So I’ve finally gotten a new phone, the Sony Ericsson Elm which is a part of Sony Ericsson’s “Greenheart” family. So far I’ve been using the phone a week I am extremely pleased with it. It’s made from recycled plastics and is free from hazardous chemicals – and comes with a low power consumption charger, reduced packaging, some eco-aware apps and an e-manual on the phone instead of a printed guide.

It also comes with built in Wi-Fi and A-GPS technology, HSPA high-speed mobile network data capability, a 5-megapixel camera and a full of multimedia features. Measuring up at 110 x 45 x 14mm at its thickest, and weighing 90g, the Elm feels slim in-hand and pretty lightweight.

The buttons are familiar to Sony Ericsson’s, with a rectangular central navigation D-pad surrounded by more comfortably curved buttons. Although it comes with decent music player software, Sony Ericsson hasn’t built in a standard 3.5mm headphone socket on this model, relying on its Sony Ericsson multi-connector socket on the side. A camera button is included on the side, along with volume keys, while the camera lens on the back panel is accompanied by a small LED flash.

The home screen has a simple widget system, currently allowing a Facebook app, a calendar app and the Sony Ericsson Walk Mate Eco pedometer application. Once selected, these sit on the home screen, and you can switch between them, so you can see regular updates from whichever of the widgets you use.

Email set up and usage is also a now-familiar routine. An email wizard enables you to get started with email by adding just a few details – name, email address, username and password. Settings are downloaded automatically if you’re using popular POP3/IMAP4 email account, and messages from your regular accounts are downloaded to the inbox.

The Elm is powered by a 1000mAh lithium-polymer battery that Sony Ericsson claims can deliver up to 446 hours of standby time or four hours of calls on 3G networks (or 430 hours’ standby or 10 hours’ calls in GSM-only coverage). However if you have WI-FI constantly on like myself you’ll notice the battery last’s about a day and a half. [Not bad considering]

Among the more eye-catching of the other applications pre-loaded onto the Elm are applications that use the onboard A-GPS satellite positioning gadgetry, plus a selection of applications that emphasise the green message behind Sony Ericsson’s “Greenheart” initiative. Google Maps also comes pre-built into the phone and supports street and satellite viewing. Other applications included are Youtube, Accuweather, EcoMate, Neoreader and Wisepilot.

Overall I love this phone, the camera is great and really I’ve just been searching for an affordable phone with WI-FI for quiet a while, this fits that need. The built in browser isn’t amazing but you can fix that by downloading Opera Mini.

Finally the cost I hear you ask? Well I picked it up on o2 pre-pay for €169, I’ve tried to check other provider’s websites for it, Vodafone do not seem to carry the model and the meteor store seems extremely broke at the minute! I’ll update here if that changes!

Been a while since I’ve updated here, Digg is just SO good at the minute!

Google’s Chrome 5 is now out, with support for Linux and Mac. Time to get rid of Chromium.

The Coke machine of the future, have to say I want one in my house.

Disappointed the Halo Reach beta is gone? It’s release date is now September 14th.

On the subject of games, Dead Rising 2’s release date is edging closer and closer, 31st of August!

That’s all I got for today, check back soon!

So it seems like we’ve been counting down the days to the Halo Reach beta forever, yet here we are, it’s out tomorrow!
Not been following the news? Here’s what to expect from Halo Reach;

• Reach will NOT follow the book, Fall of Reach.
• We play as Spartan IIIs. Jorge is the only Spartan II on the team, and as a result is larger.
• Carter 259 and Kat 320 are the only members of their original squad.
• Jorge is a heavy weapons specialist.
• “Skully” now has a name, Emile 239. He’s the silent type of the game.
• The sniper is called Jun 266. He’s thoughtful and taciturn.
• We can customise the appearance of the Lone Wolf by a small degree. Awesome.
• The game is apparently darker than any of the other Halo games, even more so than ODST.
• Human Insurrectionists are possibly in the game.
• Bungie have once again made the Covenant more dangerous and frightening, as they were in Halo 1.
• Covenant soldiers no longer speak English, they speak in their own languages.
• A new enemy like a Jackal has been introduced, named a “Skirmisher.” They are deadly and cunning enemies that attack in packs, and flank secure positions.
• Graphics have been improved drastically, as proven by in-magazine comparisons.
• Elites are back, and are more ferocious than ever.
• Larger scale combat will be in Reach. Where only 20 AI at a time could be on screen in Halo 3, now over 40 AI and 20 vehicles can be present at a time.
• Scenes are more cinematic.
• Noble Team splits up at a point in the story, but it seems they soon get back together.
• Health Bar is back along with energy shield.
• Single shot rifle like the Halo 2 E3 demo is in the game, named the Designated Marksman Rifle (DRM)
• Sniper AR ad Magnum make a return. Gun sounds are more realistic. Read more about Reach weapons here.
• Needler Rifle is in the game, a mid-range headshot capable weapon.
• Spike Grenades and Flame Grenades are out. Only frags and plasma remain.
• Helicopter Transport is called the Falcon.
• Civilian vehicles are now drivable.
• Fully stealthy game play is now possible.
• Assassinations are possible with a knife by holding down the melee button.
• Sprinting is now possible through an equipment like mechanic.
• Spirits, the Covenant drop ship in CE, return in Reach, alongside Phantoms.
• Grunts look a lot more menacing.
• Motion Tracker seems compressed, like an oval rather than the Halo 3 circle.
• Hud is yellow rather than blue.
• Marines look vaguely like Halo 1 marines.
• Phantoms now have a flashlight, like the one seen in the ODST announcement trailer.
• Elites seem taller, and are no longer hunched.
• All features from Halo 3 (Forge, Theatre, Co-op) make a comeback along with several new ones.
• We will be shown what Reach looks like before it is destroyed. We will see the levels of destruction progress as we get further through the game, implying the game takes place over a longish period of time.

So do you have your copy of ODST[Beta invite included in ODST] ready? Will you be playing the Beta tomorrow? If so leave a comment with your gamertag! The final countdown begins!

So I ordered 2gigs of RAM of “Komplett.ie” there two weeks ago.

The order went through, I got my email confirming my order number etc. etc.

I watched as the order changed to “processing”.

*POOF* Order Gone.

Checked with the credit card company, charge gone through. Odd I thought, so I sent them an email.

So far, its been 14 days and still no reply!

Their company number is even more of a disgrace. €0.15 a minute, and your only on the phone that one minute anyway.

“Welcome to Komplett. etc etc.”

“For customer Service press 1”

“For tech support press 2”

No matter WHAT I press, the line disconnects.. Leaving me in a loop of paying €0.15 a minute just to try get through to them! Frustrating to say the least!

According to “Boards.ie” Komplett are experiencing problems at the minute with a warehouse move. As well as the website going down the last few days and many products missing. Still you’d think they’d respond to their emails?

Update: 4:44pm – 23rd of April

After 14 days Komplett responded

Hello Sean,

Our sincerest apologies for the delayed response! At this stage the order will have been cancelled if you’ve still not received it. We went through a major systems change on the back end which lead to the cancellation of orders placed on the old system but not already shipped out. If you were already charged for the order, please let us know so we can correct this for you. If you weren’t and would still like to purchase the item(s), you’ve only to re-create the order. If you have problems logging in, your account was not able to be transferred from the old system to the new one, so just create a new account and you’ll be good to go.

Best,

Komplett.ie Service

Finally, an advertisement appeared on XBLA last night announcing Gears of War 3 to release in April 2011, seems to be an early slip on Microsoft’s part as the advert has now been removed.

IGN also have speculated the following about the new gamely features through a trusted source of theirs:

According to the source, Gears of War 3 will include all-new Locust enemies the feature "tentacle-like appendages" that can extend to cover spots. To combat this, Delta Squad COG members will now carry explosives that can travel underground and take out enemy positions.
Gears of War 3 will also have "a heavy duty mech suit" that COG members can use for both protection and causing havoc on the battlefield.
These new combat mechanics will be used in both singleplayer and multiplayer, according to Edge.
Gears of War 3 will be set during the summer, and include a host of new locations as well. The biggest addition are new underwater levels. [source]

Apparently a trailer for Gears of War 3 will be released this Monday, but remember all we are 100% certain of is this: Gears of War 3 is confirmed.

Get your chainsaws ready.

One program I’ve been using a while now and is a serious lifesaver for when I’m out of credit is “Jelly SMS” [previously just jSMS]. You need to have the latest Java installed for it to work but it is cross-platform. It basically lets you send web texts from your desktop without having to login to your network’s website.

The latest version of the software, available here [just click Free Version –> Desktop] even supports delivery reports, and support is very good, I’ve noticed it not working maybe twice in the last year[due to o2 redesigning their website], both times the issues where fixed and an automatic update was out within two days. They also now have an android and iPhone app, for anyone in possession of those luxuries!