@blacklion1725
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Dave being honest the craft beer from the tiny micro-brewereies is what I generally don’t like. went to Colorado a couple of years ago and craft-brewing has exploded – most of them I found I didn’t like – didn’t help they serve them all ice cold (even dark beers). It seems global – there were loads in Russia and some were OK and some horrible (seems you can call almost anything an IPA). I don’t like wheat beers, I quite like the unfiltered lagers I had in Russia that were cloudy but not the same as cloudy wherat beers here. To be honest I still enjoy a pint of Courage Best, along with the Adnams, Captain Bob, Doombar and a few guest beers in my regular haunt. Even there during this summer I’m not ashamed to say I sunk more than a few cold lagers as I do up the garden. As a proper lightweight I respect the continental beers but they are too strong for me given my chugging rate.
I like beer/ale and I like lager too….depends on the weather for me. I would agree about this explosion of craft ale which I generally don’t like. The smaller breweries round here Essex/Kent make proper beer which I enjoy, and not ashamed to say I enjoy a more mass produced beer like Greene King IPA. Likewise very happy to wash down a nice Indian meal with a Cobra or two. Craft beer s all a bit “Emperor’s New Clothes” for me.
Cheers Dave – I wouldn’t have bothered with the AC card if I didn’t keep shifing big media files around (having one in the spares box helped too!). Since I posted I ordered an similar unknown make M2 (42mm) off ebay (link) – only a 120GB but will be enough to back up windows and programs (if it works!). Absolute pleasure to work on this thing – the way the back/bottom just clips off. The 500GB Samsung Evo has gone in without a hitch and a clean install from an MCT USB completed very fast (as did the updates) – all drivers found without help and running like a dream. Found a right angle power cable adapter for £7 on Amazon which should make it a better fit in its final destination left of my armchair. Thanks again for posting this Dave – pain the same for my little Asus 11.6″ 2nd Gen i3 a good few years back (nowt wrong with it still – but the touchscreen was a waste).
The new one (from Microdream) came today – and this one is whisper quiet. As luck would have it, I found an Intel AC7260 WiFi card spare (think I bought it for a Lenovo that wouldn’t accepts it). Even better luck it works fine. Have to thank Dave for the recommendation, this really is a lot of laptop for the money – a real premium feel to it. I think I will chuck my Samsung 500GB drive in – and I notice there is also an M2 SSD slot if I can find a compatible one might look at that as a backup/recovery device. Only gripe for me was couldn’t get Nod32 activated – maybe their server is down but tried 3 different emails anc never got a validation email link. Not a big deal. If the Samsung SSD goes in I’ll backup the drivers and clean install anyway. If anyone is looking these are great machines – my advice would be get it from Microdream – worth the few extra quid to Amazon as I have found out!
I have an ipad from work (Air 2 128GB 4G) and it is a very nice thing to use. Biggest thing I noticed app wise is that you have to pay for a lot of apps where you can get the equivalent funtions free on Android – not a complaint and I often upgrade to the pro version on Android to support the developer of a good app. The paid “File Explorer” on ipad is good and the one Ii would recommend. It also integrates well with other apps. IOS is a lot more locked down and I found it annoying coming from Android, probably more secure but still annoying.
Saying all of that I can’t see me buying an iphone at any stage but the ipad is nice to use, they have impoved multi-tasking and app-switching – batteyr life is excellent.
Cheers Boris – £67.19 for the 480GB too – not sure how these compare to the MXs – had a few of those which have been very good. Really good prices though.
A Beer group. I’m in! That Ember Inn ale is decent Dave – my nearest (not my local though) does it and we have a few of their pubs within striking distance from here.
Noticed on HUKD what looks like a good deal for the Samsung Evo 860 500GB SSD. To make the most of it you need to make sure (a) you have a foreign currency friendly card to pay with such as Halifax Clarity and (b) that you select to just pay in EUR – ignoring Amazon’s offer to currency-convert. On the current GBP-EUR rate it works our approx £75.12 delivered…..which is rather good I think. Here is the link to Amazon Germany – use your normal credentials, you may need to do a text/email verification.
Wifi extenders from my experience seem to work best (ironically) when the parent wifi is really strong and therefore when you don’t really need them. I agree they seem to be fairly flakey all round. I know a number of people who have had Sky round to install them for Sky Q (due to remote miniboxes playing up) and rarely has anything improved (bespoke case I’ll admit). As came up in another thread using your own router is cheap enough these days and a decent mid-range one will outperform what came free from your ISP, as well a providing typically many more features and better troubleshooting.
Wow that is a striking animal!
Lol, me neither. I logged into my account on the desktop page (omg yuk) for the first time in about 5 years, couldn’t see anything interesting. Had loads of requests and notifications, which i ignored as I closed it down. No interest in the platform. But I just know if they launce a tv service, nob head hear will end up with jet anther football subscription. Worst thing, for the consumer, that the monopolies commission ever did is make the Premier league open up bidding in the name for’ consumer fairness’ . Another new company called Channel 11 (iirc) just grabbed a load of rights sky and by had, luckily no English footy, but you know next year they will get some. Along with Amazon now in the game, bt and sky, all in all its never been more expensive to watch footy. Subs alone is about 40 to 50pm at least in the old days, you goudl just give sky 50£ and you was set. Not that I lile sky one bit. But it’s a matter be careful what you wish for!
Very true – have to laugh when they say BT/ITV/Setanta/whoever is/was competition and good for punters – it is only competiton if they all sell the same thing at different prices. Fragmenting it and making you pay multiple subs is not competition.
As you can imagine live TV football is less of a priotity atm (I was over there yesterday watching us clock up our 4th consecutive zero points) but even if it was, the broadcasting model in this country is mad. Luckily many boozers round here show the games live still (although a few have been blocked/fined), and if they blocked it all I could make do without it. Been minus sky for a year or so now, dip in and out of NowTV here and there, can honestly say I feel a bit “free” – you stay with them while the subs creep up year on year because you are used to it – but at the end of the day they don’t show that much content that you would miss when it is gone.
Ed always a great idea to keep the ISP router for diagnostics (when you know it is the WAN link but they won’t have it). I feel your pain as I have had a lot of (grown up offspring related) costs lately – ebay always worth a look as people who upgrade often outperfectly good kit for very little. I have done TP-Links for a few people and they are very good and very cheap (just to reinforce what Dave said).
At a slight tangent If your hub connects to a BT “white box” modem (Huawei or ECI) you can also run a PC direct in to the modem and share internet from that till you decide on a permanent solution (assuming FTTC if ADSL then ignore)
Just out of interest Ed – decent routers (and switches) are inexpensive – binned my BT one as soon as the engineer left – never looked back. Would it not be easier to get a decent, purpose built router (and switch if you need the ports)? No idea on the Pi question but would it not be a bit weedy for full-time use in this way?
Decided to send it back. No improvement on the fan – horrible hising sound even when idle – coming and going at ramdom. Have re-ordered from Microdream. One other slight niggle for me is the power connector is on the right, and the laptop will live on a little table left of my armchair – means the cable will have to do a 180 to get back to the plug socket. Proper first world problem that!
Understood – if this one goes back to Amazon I’ll re-order from Microdream. Ta.
Hope so too – its playing a youtube in full screen now (has been for a while) and all is quiet – so will definitely let it settle down for a couple of days – had to do the 1803 update, and the sticker on the front still says Window 7 – so possible it only had the most basic of W10 updates before they sold it. It is lovely to use and type on and the display is excellent for the res. BTW no NOD32 on mine – Dave (not at all urgent) was that link you put up (£273 on Amazon) the seller you used? If so and it doesn’t pan out with this one I’ll return it and go to your seller. Cheers.
Thanks Dave – will try and get all the HP updates done today and then take stock tomorrow – got a month to return it if it turns out I have got a dud. Hopefully will settle down. Am always inclined to do a clean install but don’t want to bugger about till I’m happy with it. By the way the BIOS update hasn’t changed the BIOS menu options for the fan as far as I can tell – it is recent (July 2018) and the only option is for “fan always on with ac power” or similar.
Thanks Ed – not added anything at all so far aside from log on details (no pics, files, nowt). Running the HP update app now – has found a lot – will let that complete then re-assess. Hope it sorts it.
Right – checked and only fan option I could see is “always on when connected to ac power” – wasn’t selected. Running through the HP update utility it found a BIOS update so trying that. Fan seems to kick in even when you just clisk the start button.
Will do ta
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