Just Ask the Forum

eBay drama's version 2.0498953845398493

Thu, 17 May 2012 01:31:21 +0000

As usual eBay is a bloody minefield of idiots & scammers.

So i sold a bunch of stuff a few weeks back including a GoPro camera.

I sold it to some bloke & got this feedback on the 8th April

Quote

A+++ EBAYER AS DESCRIBED GREAT THANKS

Then on the 21st April he come back saying...

Quote

hello mate i won the go pro from you and i finally got to use it on monday but the problem is when i was useing it the camara would start recording and then freeze on so i would have to remove battery to turn it of
thinking it may be just me i ignored the fault it had
used it again yesturday and exactlly the same happened again
can you help as not very happy with buying a camarathat doesnt work properly

Went back & forth with him for a bit troubleshooting his "issue" reformatting the card etc, checking the firmware is up to date yadda yadda. I'd also never had any issues at all with the camera.

He was very keen to get it to a eBay Buyer protection case & opened that on the 22nd after i'd actually responded claiming he'd never got it.

eBay being eBay ruled in his favor & i finally got the unit back today & it's obviously taken a pretty heavy impact & i've also just recorded 40mins with no issue at all.

Here's the before pictures from the auction...

& just now...

I'm pretty pissed off, before i would have been happy to issue the refund if it had had the issue, but coming back damaged & not having the issue he'd stated has really got my back up & is just wasting my time.

Any advice, can i contest this? I'm tempted to cancel any connection to my finances by calling my card companies & claiming my paypal has been hacked so they can't take any money, but again that's a ballache & waste of time.

Can I install programs on a usb 2.0 flashdrive?

Wed, 16 May 2012 23:42:24 +0000

I'm running out of space, and I wanted to know if I could install programs on to the an external usb 2.0 Intenso flashdrive instead of the normal c:/program files and still say for example Photoshop or games without any issue?.

By the way I'm only using the usb drive on my computer so its not a case of wanting to use the programs on another computer for example.

Portable VM player

Wed, 16 May 2012 22:59:13 +0000

Is it possible to run a VM via a USB drive without any software installation on the host machine?

My company is moving offices and we are adopting a hot desking approach using a pool of PCs. Being the classic geek I very much like the familiarity of my own desktop. I'd like to achieve a setup where I can carry a USB hard drive which I can plug into any machine and load a VM image without having to do an configuration on the host machine.

Is this possible? Has anyone done something similar with another solution? Google seems to tell me it's not possible but what do they know.

DIY Advice needed: dIncreasing channel in stud wall

Wed, 16 May 2012 22:33:30 +0000

So there is a pre-existing tunnel for TV cables in my wall but the cables were obviously put in place when the dry wall was put up as now when I try and pull the cables out they won't come out as the end of cables (HDMI) is thicker than the space that has been chiselled out.

What I want to do is remove the old cables and run a new cable through the wall but I am totally stuck.

Does anyone know some clever way of channeling through the wooden studs in a wall without taking the wall down?

      |   |
      |   |
      |      <------Cable in here
      |   |
      |   |
      |   |
      |   |
      |_ |   <------- Cables get stuck here
      |   |
      |   |
      |    <------  Cable out here
      |   |

The Headphone Thread

Wed, 16 May 2012 22:01:00 +0000

Reviews

A word about ratings: please bear in mind that the reviews (and therefore the numerical ratings) are done by different people, so you can't assume they all used the same criteria or are of the same severity / generosity in applying their ratings.

A word about prices: these fluctuate all the time so obviously don't assume they are still correct if the review was posted days or weeks (or even hours) ago.

Open back

Grado SR-80/SR-80i, £108 @Amazon.co.uk (review by phresh, 25/06/11, 4.5/5), (review by Liamness, 25/06/11, 4.5/5)
Sennheiser HD600, ~£250 (review by IcEBuRN, 13/12/11, put an x/y in it, yeah?, you know how number-obsessed people are, but apparently they are very good anyway)

Semi-open

Koss Portapro, £18 @Amazon.co.uk (review by Liamness, 25/06/11, 4/5)

Closed back

Audio-Technica ATH-M50, £103 @Amazon.co.uk (review by Gorf King, 24/06/11, 4.5/5) (review by PaulM, 27/06/11, 5/5) (comments by Franki, 09/07/11)
Goldring NS-1000, £55 @Play.com (review by FAF, 23/06/11, 4/5)
Sennheiser HD25-1 II, £140 @Amazon.co.uk (review by Liamness, 25/06/11, 5/5)

Canal

Etymotic hf5, £100 @Play.com (review by Wiper, 09/07/11, 2.5/5)
Klipsch X10i, £159-£235 @Amazon.co.uk (review by davidcotton, 27/06/11, 4.5/5)
Monster Turbine Pro, £89 @iheadphones.co.uk (review by davidcotton, 27/06/11, 3/5)
Sennheiser IE8, £199 @Amazon.co.uk (review by Dapple, 23/06/11, 5/5)
Soundmagic E30, £40@Amazon.co.uk (review by Liamness, 09/05/12, 4/5)
Soundmagic PL30, £18 (review by Alan Stock, 29/06/11, 3.5/5)
Soundmagic PL50, £40 @Amazon.co.uk (review by Wiper, 09/07/11, 4.5/5)
V-Moda Vibe (v1), £27.99 @Amazon.co.uk (review by Wiper, 09/07/11, 3.5/5)
Westone Trufit 2, £169 @Iheadphones.co.uk (review by davidcotton, 27/06/11, 4/5)

Earbud (non-canal)

Sennheiser IE7, discontinued ~£100 (review by davidcotton, 27/06/11, 3.5/5)
Sennheiser PMX-80, £18 @Amazon.co.uk (review by Liamness, 25/06/11, 3.5/5)
Soundmagic PL30, £18 (review by Alan Stock, 29/06/11, 3.5/5)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Here's how the thread works. (So far, at least...)

If you have a set of phones you'd like to tell the forum about either as a warning or an entreaty to buy, post in this thread. I'll add a link to your review in the list above. Please use the first line of your post to state:

Manufacturer, model, type (see below), price, rating (x/5)

Then your review.

If you have a question rather than a comment or review, it'd be a good idea to read the relevant reviews linked to in this post first. If you still want to ask for recommendations and are able to, please specify the type and price range of phones you're after. That'll help focus replies.

The types are:

Open back | Semi-open | Closed back | Canal | Earbud (non-canal)

The list has been expanded a little since it began, and I'm reluctant to add any more sub-types now. I think the categories as they stand adequately represent the major types, and if you want to give a further sub-classification (sport, wireless, whatever), you can do that in your review.

That's it for the boring part. Post away, and if someone else wants to maintain the thread, just ask: I'm not bothered who does it and I'm sure a mod would oblige.

Best way to dispose of a car?

Wed, 16 May 2012 21:45:17 +0000

My Mondeo has failed it's MOT with flying colours and could cost up to �1500 to get it back on the road.

It needs new catalytic converters (it has three, evidently), new exhaust, new rear springs, a new middle seatbelt, one of the headlights and one of the brake lights need sorting (not just bulbs, they might need replacing) and the handbrake doesn't really work.

So bollocks to it, I want rid. My missus has just got a new job about 2 minutes from my office, so we don't need two cars.

Anyway, what's the best way to get rid of it that doesn't involve setting light to it? Scrappy? eBay? Autotrader?

It's a T-plate V6 Ghia X...

Somewhere in Wales to visit

Wed, 16 May 2012 21:13:04 +0000

I'm going to go to Wales for a daytrip/overnight trip with my girlfriend on the bank holiday weekend. The only problem is I've never been to Wales and don't know much of it. Does anyone have any suggestions on a place to go? It should be picturesque, have a train station, have a castle preferably, and preferably be on the coast.

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

Synology NAS questions

Wed, 16 May 2012 20:05:03 +0000

Any Synology experts out there?!?!
Just got myself a Synology DS212+ with 2x 2TB drives to be used on a i7 iMac.

I've set up Diskstation4, formatted both HDs to use RAID1 and fuddled around with many of the features on it with varing success but I'm guessing this is mainly down to me not fully understanding it all.

I have over 750GB of data I'm intending to copy onto it - which RAID1 mirrors, but I was wondering if any of your fellas that have one of these Synology systems would be so kind to advice me what I should be doing with it and how.

I only ask this as it seems to take AN AGE to copy data over the network onto the device. I have a backup of this data on a FAT formatted drive which now I find it doesn't 'see' so my alternative is copy the data directly from my Mac over the network which would roughly take 3+ days But I'm sure I'm going about this backwards? any pointers?

Also anyone got it all set up so they can access their shared folder via their iOS device/s and view pictures/movies? which is what I want to do ultimately...

Teaching English in Japan and also in general.

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:55:56 +0000

I know there are a few members here who teach/have taught English in Japan, so I figure this is as good a place to ask as any, and I might avoid the annoying negativity that is inevitable when asking anything on Japan based forums.

I am just about to finish a CELTA course. I have no teaching experience aside from the course. I was just wondering how the normal lesson format in a Japanese English school compares to the CELTA idea of a proper lesson. I gather teaching English in Japan is mostly about conversation. How is the teaching of grammar etc usually handled?

Another thing I'm wondering about, which the Celta doesn't cover, is kids classes. This seems to be where a lot of the money is. How do you usually structure a kids class? The celta method clearly only has adult classes in mind. I wonder how much actual teaching goes on in classes for young kids? Any info welcome.

Have any of you with a CELTA had any success using that lesson style in Japan, with older teens/adults etc.

Does anyone have a good book recommendation for learning about teaching English to kids.

Have any of you fine folks living in Japan tried setting up something on your own instead of being employed by someone else? I'm thinking of giving it a go. Have option of cheap accomodation for a while in Kyushu (not with in-laws, empty house), a spouse visa,JLPT2 , studied in Japan for a year, lived there for another year on WHV, without the work part. CELTA. Degree in Business and Japanese. No work experience other than public sector office work here.
I find the idea of working in a language school/company for a wage miserable and depressing, but the idea of setting up on my own very motivating, even if I don't come out with much extra money. I am just talking about a one man setup. Have any of you guys tried it?

descaling a tassimo (or other coffee machines)

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:56:06 +0000

Descaling my tassimo has become a epic conundrum. Just can't find descaling tablets anywhere, went to a huge Tesco like superstore the other day and couldn't find any at all. Running out of ideas, they seem incredibly rare on Canadian websites and have expected delivery between 1 and 2 months. Descaler liquid maybe? (That seems hard to find too)

Create a Knowledgebase

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:13:19 +0000

Looking into creating a knowledgeable for the IT helpdesk. do not really have much of a budget to spend on anything so would need to be cheap or ideally a free solution.

Home insurance - will I have to backdate it?

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:26:50 +0000

My buildings and contents insurance for my house ran out about 2 months ago, and I never renewed it. Been shopping around today, and will probably go with a different provider to the previous one.

Will I have to back date it to when the last one ran out? Or can I just, say, start it from tomorrow? Will the new insurer ask any questions about my last insurer? Anyone else been in this situation? I'm sure someone on here has, as I remember reading about it. Can't remember what the outcome was though.

This is a scam isn't it?

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:45:08 +0000

Trying to buy a keyboard but received this reply, the deal wasn't a too good to be true either.

Hello again,

The keyboard is in exccellent condition and everything works perfect.
The keyboard comes with all the original accessories in original box.
Sorry but now, I'm in Romania with job.
But is not a problem I will ship the keyboard for you via DHL.
Shipping is on me.
This transaction is very safe and secure for both of us!
Don't worry,you will receive the keyboard at your door,and you can
verify and inspect it.
DHL will let you know on the invoice,how you can make the payment and
when my keyboard is in their custody.
DHL will handle the payment and delivery of the keyboard.

Want to scrape certain info from a website. Any coders that can do this?

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:30:39 +0000

Im looking for someone with the knowledge to help me. I want to scrape certain information from a website and put it onto my own. The site also has an API but im not 100% sure how flexible it is. Willing to pay money for this to anyone that can help. Either reply here or PM me, cheers!

I need freelance app (android and iPhone) developers

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:46:36 +0000

Where is a good place to advertise the briefs, as and when they become available?

Many thanks!

Customs charge on personal goods shipment

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:49:03 +0000

I've just recently arrived back from Taiwan after living there for 2 years. Before I left I sent three boxes back with personal belongings inside. All three of them had roughly the same contents and were listed as such (with a note made that they were personal belongings). Two of them made it through ok, but they charged me 60 quid for the last one.

Now, I've been in touch with customs and they told me the correct way to claim them back, but I was just curious if anyone else had done this, and if so, how did you fill out the form? I just want to avoid this whole process becoming even more protracted to be honest. Thanks.

Please help with final year project (answer a simple question)

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:43:37 +0000

This was a question I had been asked by a friend as part of their final year project that I would appreciate if you took the time to answer.

"I am proposing a home-casting kit utilising the metal Gallium which melts in hot water. A person's cells are said to regenerate every seven years, this casting kit allows people to signify this seven year interval by casting a small object. A person is given the casting kit with a piece of gallium as a baby and each seven years the person will cast the metal into a different object. I am trying to understand what kind of objects people would choose to cast the metal into. If you were to cast an object to represent your hopes and aspirations of the next seven years what would it be and why? "

Thanking you!

Trying to remember/find an animated short created by a forum member

Tue, 15 May 2012 22:45:04 +0000

Chatting about animation with a mate recently, I was reminded of an animated short that I saw either here on RLLMUK or back on the old Edge forums.

I think it was created by a forum member, possibly as a final year project, but essentially it was a short film showing a messenger/bike courier delivering a package on foot (kind of parkour-ish maybe?) and it was set to 'Diesel Power' by The Prodigy. It might have had a yellow and white colour scheme, but I'm not entirely sure.

Does that ring any bells with anyone?

Threatened with dismissal due to not wanting to waiver my rights

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:54:50 +0000

Hi, at work my company is using a bargain basement referencing company to gather references. To enable this I must sign a declaration to allow them to use my data. I disagree with the declaration based on two principles;

1. "I consent to my data being transferred to countries which may not have equivalent data protection standards to those which I or my personal information are subject. . . "

2. " I further understand that unless required by law, access to data resulting from this employment screening process is at the sole discretion of the company."

From reading around about the company my employers wish to use, it is apparent that they get things wrong, quite a lot, sell information on and won't correct the wrong information. However after raising my issues with HR and upper management the line has been drawn that I must sign or I will be asked to leave.

Do I have any rights regarding this or are they allowed to enforce what ever policies that they like, as my sacking would be filed under none compliance?

Twitter URL - is this possible

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:42:15 +0000

Let's say I want to give you a URL, that when you click it, opens up Twitter in your browser with text already in the "tweet" field (assuming the user is currently logged in). So, basically, I want to send you something vaguely like this:

http://www.twitter.com/post-MESSAGE GOES HERE

The HTML for creating a Twitter button or link will not do. It has to be just a URL, that you could copy and paste into your browser address bar.

I ask because I know, for example, that you can bookmark an Amazon search, so it doesn't seem like it would be impossible.