Category: Phones


CEX CON

I walk past a CEX shop on the way to the office from the buis stop every morning. If an attack of boredom strikes, of the need to get a TECH fix, I have a wonder in.

I have never understaood their pricing structure, in the past i have seen

  • 2nd hand Wii’s 30 quid more then a NEW one next door
  • Pink DS 40 quid more than a new on, in stock in Argos

yet today??I was surprised to see them selling SIM packs for 3.99 or 4.99 which are available in the high street for free, or 1.99 (in the case of THREE, and that was direct from a THREE shop)??

Playing the Marketing call centers at their own game

By adding a Linksys spa-3102 to my existing TRIXBOX iPBX which is have running under VMWare server on windows 2003, i am now able to route inbound call based on caller id or lack there of (or the number that was dialed if I add some free SIP trunks from sipgate) to any extention in the house or group, but even better a fully featured IVR, lets see how the marketing tossers like a bit of that

I just found this too Littlewoods bombards man by phone

Technology at its best

After much google,ing and faffing, i have managed to

  • get my SIP softphone (VOIP) to connect to my asterisk box at home with out the use of a VPN
  • Get RPC over HTTP email to work
  • setup WEBDAV over SSL access to my file server

So I no longer need the VPN to do normal networky stuff to home, the only reason i need the VPN now is to trick Sky Anytime into thinking I am in the UK, and that is only the gui client, the peer to peer service does not give a stuff, so once i have requested the video, i can drop the VPN !

I am Glad i am NOT paying to the t-mobile WiFi usage !!

O2 PUK Code,

What a complete waste of time

my wife managed to block the SIM is one of my O2 phones

so??I called O2 on 08702410202 , got to an automated system which gave me my PUK code
and the only question it asked was the phone number !

So if i was one of those people who stick the number of my pool phone on the back of the phone with DYMO tape, the SIM PIN woudl be completely pointless

??

I have recently been called to a friends house to look at an issue with their broadband connection being very unreliable, dropping out etc.

Having been on site for an hour broadband seem to work fine, line stats were good etc etc,
and then the phone rang…. and the ADSL dropped
Hmmmmm. Faulty filter? I thought, Pull out a few cupboards to get to the phone socket
?

AARRGGHH !!!?

All of the Phones etc where plugged directly into the wall socket, the only thing connected to the filter was the USB modem !!!

Apparently they had SKY+ and SKY multiroom installed, and the so called “Engineer” had added some extra sockets etc and reconnected everything in the wrong order and in the process completely screwed the ADSL connection !

?

Wireless bloging

While this is not quite as glamorous as Brighton beach, I am currently sat in Go Bananas, using my XDA Mini S to write this blog. Go Bananas is a superb, whacky warehouse style, kids fun house with loads of stuff for kids, and reasonable coffee too….

Skype V SIP (cont)

For any one how has read my first Skype V SIP? rant.
According to an article on lightreading.com, it would seem that eBay, who aquired Skype for $2.6 Billion late 2005, have differeant ideas and may start looking at interoperability,

Skype V SIP

Why is it Skype is the most well know internet VOIP outfit, when their propriarty protocols and technology mean it will not interwork with the 100’s of SIP complient provider around the world, When SIP, and IAX for that matter, is capable of providing FREE calls between different vendors, technophobe friendly integration with an PSTN device

Some SIP Vendors
SIPGATE

Gossiptel
Free World Dial up
Earthlink
Vonage
VoipTalk
Gradwell

I have managed to break the charging adaptor for my XDAii1 (Xda IIi DC converter – AHTA22JN), so i can only charge it via PC at the moment
So I goto local O2 shop who suggest I call customer services
so I look on the web, the O2 xda mini site says they are ??9.99
so I click on the buy now link which takes me to the O2 shop which does not list them.
But there a hotline phone number so i call it 08702257879, Press 1, press3,
only to get told they dont do accessories and? I? should to call 08007810202
only to get told they dont do accessories and I should call 08003894516
only to get told they dont do accessories and? I should call expansys on 01618680868
only to get told they want to charge me ??16 for somthing which O2 advertise for ??10
so i call O2 cust serv, 08702402020
And get told they cant help and have i tried a O2 shop

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH !

An update

Hmmm
Go back to shop to order adaptor and get served by different person
She says “I think we have some of those”
and then pops out to the back of the shop and returns, before the stockroom door finished closing, with one in her hand

Go figure

Mobile Phone (Orange)

Well after being an Orange customer for over 10 years, I have finally had enough of there so called customer service.?
I was looking into upgrading my peronsonal phone to either 3G or a PDA type device. They were unable / refused to offer me the same deal as a new customer , desipte several calls to their so called retentions deptartment and their new adverts about treating existing customers with the SAME respect as new ones.
It even took me an hour to convince them to issue a PAC. However ironically the delivery of the PAC code was the most impressive bit of the whole argurment, it arrived by SMS before i could hang up the phone !
so i am now the proud owner of an O2 XDA11i complete with my original orange phone number