This is a little rant I'm afraid. I know it's basically my fault BUT!!!!!

Sometimes when at clients premises, I have to use a series of rescue/installation discs to resolve an issue.

Sometimes, it can take quite a few hours to sort out the multiple problems people allow to accumulate on their computer before seeking professional help. A lot of which is helped along by the 'bar room fixers' who know absolutely sod all in real terms about much at all.

They don't know what the real problem is because they've not seen it and clients rarely know how to describe the problem fully anyway - not that there's anything wrong with that, I don't expect it.

The client then goes and mis-follows the wrong advice they've been given and make an even bigger dogs breakfast of the whole thing and after they've totally screwed their computer, they call me.

Now to the point of my rant.

After I've spent hours sorting out the cock-up, I put my things back in my bag (or so I think) and head off home. Some days, or even weeks, later I open my bag looking for the discs to find that I've accidentally left at my clients.

The annoying thing is the client, who now has a full set of service and recovery discs that I've paid for, and doesn't have a clue in hell how to use them, hasn't had the decency to ring me and let me know I've left them. This has happened every time I've done it.

I now have to go through the time and expense of getting a new set of dics together.

ONE THING YOU GET FROM ME IS HONESTY, IF YOU CAN'T RETURN THE FAVOUR THEN YOU DON'T DESERVE THE SERVICES I OFFER.

​I will work out where I left them and that person will have a heavy bill next time they call me!

It just goes to show, there's a lot of really dishonest immigrants out there.

From Jon after moving in to Gran Alicant this week:

"Thanks Clive for your excellent services in setting up internet, phone and TV. Would recommend you whole heartedly to anyone moving to the area."  

Whilst I didn't quite set up his internet, we had a long chat and discussed the best options in his area for his circumstances. Jon originally contacted me for internet but I didn't have the right package for his intended usage pattern so after talking things through, we chose his local provider who have some good deals going and will hopefully be reliable.

I supplied the phone system which he will be able to alternate between Spain and Switzerland as he wishes. Anyone ringing his number will be able to get through to him regardless of where he is in the world without any call forwarding charges to either party.

Jon can also get his free calls wherever he is in the world. Try getting that anywhere else!

I was also able to source an IPTV box, from one of my colleagues. That gives Jon all the UK channels he wants and can also be equipped with UK catch-up TV as well.

The bottom line is, I endeavour to provide a good customer experience wherever possible. Many have tried to copy my work ethic and many have failed.

What the heck am I talking about. There isn't such a thing!?

Strictly speaking, that is the case but every now and again scones, clotted cream, jam and a cup of tea comes along.

What we are doing again this year, is free phone calls on January 1st 2015 for our clients as a thank you for their continued support.

Rules of the game:

• All calls made on January 1st 2015 will be deducted from your account balance as normal.
• We will then refund all calls made on January 1st 2015 back to your account during the seven days following January 1st 2015. Those managing their own accounts will be able to see the refund on their transaction history.

The THL T6 Pro comes with Android 4.4 OS, it features a 1.4GHz Octa Core CPU with 1GB of RAM, an 8 MP camera, hand gesturing, dual SIM card support and loads more.

1.4 GHz MTK6592M Octa Core Processor

With 1.4GHz MTK6592M Octa-core processing power the THL T6 pro has plenty of horsepower to cope with all your requests so it effortlessly performs multitasking. The advanced and powerful GPU is there to throw around pixels and quickly render pictures on the beautiful 5 inch IPS screen letting you enjoy the latest in advanced mobile gaming. With 1280 x 720 HD resolutions the capacitive touch screen with a large color range perfectly shows images in all their glory with great contrast and excellent brightness and white balance so your photos, videos and games will look better than ever before. 

F2.2, 8 Megapixel Camera

With a rear facing 8 megapixel camera which has a F2.2 aperture and auto focusing features you can take fantastic shots or record detailed video in 1080p so capturing those special moments has never been easier and you will have memories you can replay and cherish. 

Hand Gestures

The hand gestures features allows for instant access to a range of applications without ever unlocking the phone. By just tapping the phone twice you can wake it up and by drawing the appropriate shape on the screen you will instantly be taken to the corresponding application. 

Android 4.4

Android 4.4 is the OS of choice on this phone and offers you the latest and possible greatest mobile operating platform which allows you an unparalleled level of customization and features some fantastic features such as Google Now which is like having your very own PA on call 24/7. With its ultra thin design the T6 Pro looks simply exquisite with crafted edges and sleek lines the high end design of this phone makes it stand out from the crowd.

At a Glance...

• MTK6592M 1.4 GHz Octa Core Processor
• HD 5 Inch IPS Screen
• 2 Megapixel Front-Facing Camera + 8 Megapixel Rear Camera
• Android 4.4
• Dual SIM

ONLY €125 delivered

Starting on the 1st April, we will be lowering our monthly line rental on standard installations from €11.98 to €9.99.

This will apply to all our existing customers currently paying €11.98 monthly rental and for all new standard installations from that date.

What are you waiting for? Our line rental and call charges are lower than just about everyone else on the market so get connected NOW and save!

Our standard pricing beats BT & Virgin in the UK and Telefonica, Direct Telecom, Spantel and Europa and many others in Spain.

Why are you paying more than you need to?

We can even integrate your existing phone line into our voip system with no extra monthly rental allowing you to easily take advantage of our rates. Typical rates are €0.007 per minute to UK and €0.012 per minute to Spain.

Yes, you read that right, less than 1 cent a minute to the UK, that's 1 hour for only 42 cents so work out how much you're overpaying with your current provider or if you'd like us to do the maths, just send a copy of your current bill and we'll do it for you - no problem.

All prices include IVA

It never went away really but it's back again on the Costa Blanca.

I had a call today from one of my customers. She had received a call claiming to be from Microsoft but because she wasn't quite sure about things, she sensibly asked for a number to call them back on.

The person on the other end refused and started to threaten her claiming he was going to revoke her Windows licence and stop it working altogether if she didn't co-operate.

Anyway, long story short, she called me to double check this guys story. Yes, it's a scam!

How do you know it's a scam Clive?

Firstly, and most importantly, Microsoft will NEVER call you, let alone call you to let you know your computer has a virus.
Secondly, how did they get your telephone number? Did you give it to them? I don't think so. If you bought a new computer, you might have given your details to the manufacturer but that wasn't Microsoft.
Thirdly, if you bought a computer with Windows already on it, it's the computer manufacturer that is responsible for your copy of Windows, not Microsoft.

Microsoft are only responsible for RETAIL copies of Windows purchased by you and installed by you (or your friendly PC guy) and NOT the OEM versions that manufacturers and system builders use.

So, the bottom line is:
If you get a call claiming to be from Microsoft, it isn't! End of story.

There are a number of things you can do if you get this call but the easiest is to tell the caller you're just going to turn the computer on, lay the phone on the table (don't hang up) and carry on with your day (after all, it's his bill, not yours).

Surf safe everybody.


Registered trade marks and brand names acknowledged.

 You could be forgiven believing that the UK has broadband in abundance from all the hype generated by the broadband companies but the picture isn’t quite as rosy as it’s painted – nothing new there then.

Who’s seen BT and Virgin Media advertising squillions of megabytes internet for ONLY peanuts. Well, it seems they’re making monkeys out of the UK public because absolutely nobody is living up to the hype.

I read quite some time ago the Virgin Media were able to provide 1Gigabit internet over their cable network. Where is it now? Just in their office? Anybodies guess.

Mind you, according to OFFCOM, they provide the fastest average broadband download speeds. They also advertise on their website speeds of UP TO 100Mbps but according to uSwitch, there is nowhere in the UK that actually gets this. Strange.  Oh sorry, yes they do; remember the magic two words – UP TO.

In fact, according to uSwitch, there is nowhere in the UK that gets superfast broadband speeds at all. Superfast broadband is classed as having an average download speed of 24Mbps or better. This seems to be in contradiction to claims made by BT in 2009 that they will give superfast broadband to at least 6 UK cities by 2010 and that 40% of the country would have access to superfast broadband by 2012. What went wrong BT? Could it be they got involved with Telefonica? Pass.

Add to this that at least 27% of the UK struggles to achieve 3Mbps. 35% of residents in Norwich are yet to see speeds of 3Mbps. So what is going on in the UK?

In London, 20% of people get speeds lower than 3Mbps.

In a survey 2 years ago, Halesworth in Suffolk was home to the slowest broadband connection at 0.128Kbps. Broadband?!

OK people, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee. Whilst the UK government are pouring money into the broadband infrastructure to try to give it a bit of a boost, it’s acknowledged in many circles that they will never reach the proposed targets using the existing cable infrastructure.

It is acknowledged across Europe that the targets will never be met by traditional cabled broadband suppliers and that satellite internet is the ONLY answer to the problems experienced by many areas.

Enter the next generation of internet available to just about everyone across Europe, satellite internet. OK, it’s not cheap as chips, but then it doesn’t have that vinegar after taste and it does provide you with more or less what you pay for.

Speeds up to 20Mbps download are available with prices starting as low as €10.95 (£9.99 UK) a month.

So what are you waiting for, contact us today and get yours ordered NOW for prompt installation. Current offers include free equipment. Check here for more information.

Clive Gray (Enterprises) (trading as Clive Gray Computers & Premier Voip Solution) are agents for Europasat (formerly ToowayDirect).

Europasat are Europes largest independent satellite broadband internet service provider (ISP) and are the ONLY ISP that can connect you to any of the 3 next generation satellite networks ANYWHERE in Europe.

Europasat are part of the Satellite Solutions Worldwide family.

In addition to supplying satellite internet, we can also offer voip telephone systems that will work over satellite internet, many companies can't.

All registered brand names and trade marks acknowledged.

I bet you didn't know that, did you! I wonder how many of you out there have been doing your on-line banking using some Android App, or other in blissful ignorance.

Me? Never! Android is the most targeted mobile operating system on the market - just like Windows is the most targeted operating system on PCs.

Ahhh, you reply, I've got my anti-virus program in place to protect me!

That is good, says I but the way this works by-passes your anti-virus programs protection system.

The best of it is, this vulnerability was discovered some 4 years ago in Android 1.6 (Donut) and has been carried over into every version since.

Basically, the flaw exposed in the Application Packages (APK) allows a hacker to add malicious code into an already signed App without changing the Apps signature so the App still reads as genuine and safe.

It is effectively like giving the hackers the keys to your device. They can steal all your data, accounts, passwords and run any App on your phone without your knowledge.

Google were notified of this vulnerability in February (which begs the question why were they kept in the dark for so long) and have reworked the Google Play store so it rejects any Apps that are vulnerable to the flaw. Any infected Apps already on your phone will no longer get updates from Google Play Store.

What this means for you is that any App you downloaded before this month COULD (not IS) be infected. The only ways to ensure your phone has no infected Apps is to download and install your Android operating system from the Android archives (only for experienced users) or uninstall all your Apps and reset your phone to factory defaults (assuming this hasn't been infected).

How do I keep myself from being infected?

Keep away from those 3rd party app providers - only download from a trusted source - make sure you've got that in your settings be careful of emails and don't plug in any USB device from your friends (this also means don't plug your USB device into a friends phone). Basically the same advice you give to anyone with a computer.

Don't have nightmares folks!

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