Bloggage Thoughts that periodically cross my mind, and photographs I take.

Virgin Media vs. Ubuntu

My Grandfather has been enjoying the internet via his 133MHz computer and his 56k modem for years, but recently for his 80th birthday as a family we bought him some components to build him a new computer with a nice new 4GHz processor and flat screen, because his old computer was truly useless.

To celebrate his new pc, he thought he would take up Virgin Media on their offer of broadband for only £9.99 a month. So he picks up the phone and calls their customer phone line to get it set up, the first bad sign was when he was on the phone to the sales rep:

Sales Rep : What manufacturer is your machine made by?

Grandfather : My son made it for me

Sales Rep : Ok......What Operating System does it run?

Grandfather : Ubuntu

Sales Rep : No, What Operating System does it run?

Grandfather : Ubuntu

Sales Rep : No, no, no............Is it a brand new machine?

Grandfather : Yes, brand new.

Sales Rep : Well that should be fine then.

Clearly the Sales Rep doesnt even have a clue as to what Ubuntu is, let alone him knowing it is a linux distro. He also seems to believe that just because its a new machine it should come loaded with Vista, which is what Virgin Media Recomend, even though they don't say that you can't use anything else.

Now in my house we got NTL ages ago, and so we still one of their old modems, so we believe that it should be a piece of cake installing this new modem onto his computer as its just a matter of pluging in an ethernet cable. But no, it seems that when Virgin and NTL merged they changed their systems, so it turns now you need to plug in the modem AND install their software onto your computer, so that you can type in your password, to connect to the internet.

So the "engineer" (I use that word loosely due to past experience with NTL "engineers") turns up this morning at my Grandfather's house to install the modem, which he does by unpacking it from the box and plugging the cable into the back. He then asks about the computer, which my Grandfather tells him runs on Ubuntu. He doesn't even bother to turn it on and just leaves an install CD and a User Guide.

My Grandfather then has some troubles setting this up and phones me, so I go over this afternoon and try to help him. After turning on the computer I try some quick pinging with well known websites such as bbc.co.uk and google.com, and they all work. So I expect to be able to load either in Firefox, thus I load up Firefox and much to my surprise nothing happens. I check the pinging again, and that is all fine, but the browser won't load anything.

A quick browse of the User Guide suggests why, in it says that you have to enter your user name and password into the software. It would seem that Virgin Media have some sort of port blocker active until you enter your user name and password. One slight problem with this however......the software is designed to run on windows and so won't work on Ubuntu. So now even though my Grandfather has done nothing wrong and has even specifically told Virgin Media several times he has Ubuntu, he can't use his new broadband connection he has paid for. All due to Virgin Media's incompetence.

Anyone know how to get this working? I'm thinking of using Wine, but would that work? As I noticed the CD had drivers on it. Obviously there is no point in calling Virgin Media tech support as they are going to be as useless as a Chocolate Teapot!

Shoreham Airport Motorshow

Shoreham Airport is hosting a new event this year, to go along with its annual airshow it is now hosting a motorshow, which is sponsored by The Argus. The dates are set for the 4th and 5th of August, which is the weekend after next.

There doesn't seem to have been as much publicity of the motorshow compared with the airshow, the first I knew about it was when I recieved an email from someone at the company organising this motorshow (http://www.motorshowevents.co.uk) offering me 2 free tickets if I was one of the first 50 people to reply to the email. I thought to myself, well why not. So I replied the next day, and lo and behold I won a couple of tickets. So I will go along and take my camera and see what its like.

Aparently this is what we can expect to see there:

* Hosted by TV motoring presenter Quentin Willson
* Sponsored by The Argus
* Hundreds of brand new Cars, Motorbikes, Commercial Vehicles & Motorhomes on display
* Main Arena events every 40 minutes spotlighting sports cars, hatchbacks, MPVs, estates, executive cars, family saloons, 4WDs etc.
* The Argus Children's Play Area
* Large venue with free on-site parking

This summer a brand new event comes to the South Coast: the biggest motorshow the area has ever seen.

Shoreham Airport is to play host to the first Shoreham Airport Motorshow which will see cars, motorbikes, commercial vehicles and motorhomes all vying for attention.

Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th August are the dates when hundreds of brand new vehicles will descend on the Airport giving visitors the chance to see and compare vehicles without the need to visit dozens of different dealerships. There's also an exclusive chance to view over 25 brand new models for the very first time.

TV's Quentin Willson Topping the bill for the weekend and lending his vast experience will be one of the most experienced motoring experts on television.

Quentin will be sharing his wealth of experience on all the new models on display and answering all manner of motoring questions. Main arena events will take place every 40 minutes with sports cars, 4x4's, hatchbacks, motorbikes and much more under Quentin's critical eye.
Quentin Willson

Quentin Willson is one of Britain's best-known motoring authorities. He spent over a decade presenting BBC's Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and was largely responsible for bringing the once scandalously high prices of new cars in the UK down to the same level as the rest of Europe. Wiping over �2 billion off the car industry's balance sheets overnight may not have made him very popular with car makers, but he remains a much-loved champion of Britain's beleaguered motorists.

He regularly gives government ministers a hard time on the GMTV sofa, and in 2004 was awarded Motoring Writer of the Year. Quentin is a regular face on all terrestrial, and many satellite TV channels, and is the creator and owner of the Britain's Worst format, which has been sold in 27 different international territories.

Willson pens a weekly motoring column for The Sunday Mirror, writes and presents consumer programmes and documentaries, is the author of ten books and has appeared on scores of radio and TV shows.
The best way to buy a new vehicle

If you are considering purchasing a vehicle this year, what better way to examine all the options than to see them all in one place, be able to climb in and out, chat to the sales staff, compare offers and prices and get the expert opinion of TV's Quentin Willson on your choice?

Whether it's a bike, a van, a car or a motorhome, seeing all the vehicles on the move gives a unique chance to compare models and visitors can also book up test drives. Commercial Vehicle specialists will also be on hand with advice for business customers.
Fun for all the family

There will also be lots to see and do for younger members of the family. The Argus Kid's Play Area with bouncy castle and children's rides will keep them occupied in between the spectacular competitions, races and displays in the Main Arena.

Because the Motorshow is sponsored by The Argus, the entrance fee is kept to just �3.00 for adults (accompanied children free) and a free Official Motorshow Programme will give visitors details of all the vehicles on display.

Taken from http://www.shorehamairport.co.uk/events07.asp

European Grand Prix

This is a video I found on YouTube of the disastrous start to yesterdays European Grand Prix. Hamilton had a fantastic start, going from tenth on the grid, following his qualifying accident, to fourth by the second corner. Unfortunately by getting to fourth he had to go past the two BMWs which collided with each other, which resulted in a puncture which then dropped him back down the field.

But watching that rain storm live on TV and all those cars going off at the same corner seemed a little unreal and somewhat amusing, although it can't have been much fun for those poor marshals, at least nobody was hurt in all of it though. It did make for a more interesting race, but unfortunately it took out alot of the competitors and so did seem a little unfair.

It has shaken up the championship a little though and should make for a more interesting second half of the season.

Hamilton vs. Alonso

Anyone who has been watching the Formua One championship this year will appreciate this video of a new mercedes advert that my cousins showed me on YouTube.

I think this is a fantastic advert, taking advantage of the rivalry that has erupted between the two McLaren drivers this year. The good thing is that they seem to be taking it in good spirits in the video and they are laughing and joking throughout. The finale is the best bit for me though, the two new guys faced with the McLaren legend that is Mika Hakkinen.

I have to say Hakkinen was my favourite driver when I first started watching formula one, and I have been a McLaren fan through and through, so I have thoroughly enjoyed this season with Lewis Hamilton taking the lead in his debut championship. It was a shame however about this weekends poor performance, through no fault of his own however, he fought hard to regain as much as he could, but disapointingly he failed to pick up any points this week. Though he still leads the championship thankfully! What a race though today at the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, such chaos at the start with almost everyone ending up off the track at some point in time, but then settled back down to a fairly ordinary race at the end. An interesting race overall though.

More soon though from me.

P.S. Go Hamilton!