[wizard710]

Guys I'm doing a sponsored walk at uni. Would people sponsor me? http://www.justgiving.com/chrisbramm/

[Dez]

Failblog have some pretty awesome pumpkin wins this year - particularly like this and this.

[cambo211]

Is it worth getting a kindle now?

Getting fed up of faffing with journal articles and trying to get them to print properly and then lugging them about with me, and i just can't read things like that off my laptop screen.

[Gofre]

(Original post by cambo211)
Is it worth getting a kindle now?

Getting fed up of faffing with journal articles and trying to get them to print properly and then lugging them about with me, and i just can't read things like that off my laptop screen.

What do you mean by "now"? As in is it still worth buying one, or should you hold out for a refresh?

[cambo211]

(Original post by Gofre)
What do you mean by "now"? As in is it still worth buying one, or should you hold out for a refresh?

Is it still worth buying one/ is there a new one just round the corner?

[Gofre]

(Original post by cambo211)
Is it still worth buying one/ is there a new one just round the corner?

They were only refreshed in September, so there's no worry of a new one landing soon (Unless you count the Kindle Fire, of which there has been no mention of an international release) [=

[cambo211]

(Original post by Gofre)
They were only refreshed in September, so there's no worry of a new one landing soon (Unless you count the Kindle Fire, of which there has been no mention of an international release) [=

D'you know how easy it is to get journal articles and the like onto it?

[Gofre]

(Original post by cambo211)
D'you know how easy it is to get journal articles and the like onto it?

Afraid not, I haven't used one myself.

[Dez]

(Original post by cambo211)
D'you know how easy it is to get journal articles and the like onto it?

If it's a PDF then it's just drag and drop. Results may vary as to reading quality though.

[wizard710]

(Original post by cambo211)
D'you know how easy it is to get journal articles and the like onto it?

You email your documents to amazon and it magically uploads to your kindle as long as you are connected to some sort of internet or you can transfer them manually via USB. PDFs are alright on it but it can be a faff scrolling around but amazon will convert the document when you email it to them if you want but it does seem to struggle with column layouts tho

[Dez]

Just got an email that proclaimed I was free to "forward this email to all your friends and family" followed by a disclaimer at the bottom that said "This email and its attachments are confidential and are intended solely for the use of the individual(s) or entity to whom it is addressed".

[tface]

(Original post by Dez)
If it's a PDF then it's just drag and drop. Results may vary as to reading quality though.

It's actually drag and drop for all file types

[Wednesday Bass]

Okay, here's the deal:
I thought that my download speeds of about 5Mbps (as opposed to the 16 the router claimed) was due to Sky's ****ery. Now it turns out it's the homeplugs I've been using. So I plan to stop using those, but this leaves me with a problem of what to do next. My room is on the opposite side of the house to the master socket where, ideally, the router would be plugged in. I bought an extension cable to move it from the bedroom it was in to the living room so the 802.11b router Sky provided us with reaches my room. Still a bit patchy.

I've bought a 802.11n router which should be here in the next couple of days with a better range/better wireless speed but since I don't have a wireless card in my desktop, I'm pretty screwed if I want decent speeds. Short of buying a 20m ethernet cable and dragging it through the length of the house, what do you guys suggest.

TL;DR: Need ideas on how to get decent speeds in my room. I don't have a wireless desktop, homeplugs are slowing me down dramatically, and I really don't want to have 20m of ethernet cable running through the house.

[THESHade]

(Original post by Wednesday Bass)
Okay, here's the deal:

TL;DR: Need ideas on how to get decent speeds in my room. I don't have a wireless desktop, homeplugs are slowing me down dramatically, and I really don't want to have 20m of ethernet cable running through the house.

I had exactly the same problem ... now I bought myself a D-Link (I think) PCIe WiFi card with Atheros chipset and external antenas and its rocking. but it ha to be on 802.11n (both) or it won`t be smooth at all...

[Tathrim]

(Original post by Wednesday Bass)
Okay, here's the deal:
I thought that my download speeds of about 5Mbps (as opposed to the 16 the router claimed) was due to Sky's ****ery. Now it turns out it's the homeplugs I've been using. So I plan to stop using those, but this leaves me with a problem of what to do next. My room is on the opposite side of the house to the master socket where, ideally, the router would be plugged in. I bought an extension cable to move it from the bedroom it was in to the living room so the 802.11b router Sky provided us with reaches my room. Still a bit patchy.

I've bought a 802.11n router which should be here in the next couple of days with a better range/better wireless speed but since I don't have a wireless card in my desktop, I'm pretty screwed if I want decent speeds. Short of buying a 20m ethernet cable and dragging it through the length of the house, what do you guys suggest.

TL;DR: Need ideas on how to get decent speeds in my room. I don't have a wireless desktop, homeplugs are slowing me down dramatically, and I really don't want to have 20m of ethernet cable running through the house.

If you put powerline dapters in a surge protected extension cable, you filter the frequencies it uses, reducing throughput. Invest in some new plug-through ones (so you can have ethernet and not lose a socket).

[Wednesday Bass]

(Original post by Tathrim)
If you put powerline dapters in a surge protected extension cable, you filter the frequencies it uses, reducing throughput. Invest in some new plug-through ones (so you can have ethernet and not lose a socket).

Both ends are plugged straight into the wall.

I've been advised by the Computer Society at uni to invest in a wireless PCI card, so have done.

[THESHade]

Good choice, I was against it as well but with 80.11n it`s betther than ethernet and I am glad that I did

[Wednesday Bass]

Why do Sky make it so ****ing difficult to do anything?

They provide you with a ****ty 802.11b router, which doesn't cover the house - even when it's right in the middle; don't give you the PPPoA details so you can use your own router (hell, they even put it in the T&Cs that you can't use your own router).

Protip: Don't get Sky broadband.

[Ape Gone Insane]

(Original post by cambo211)
Is it worth getting a kindle now?

Getting fed up of faffing with journal articles and trying to get them to print properly and then lugging them about with me, and i just can't read things like that off my laptop screen.

(Original post by cambo211)
D'you know how easy it is to get journal articles and the like onto it?

Kindle is absolutely fantastic for reading off a screen without eye strain (e-ink). However, I would be wary if your sole reason for buying it is journal articles. Firstly, I would assume they are PDFs. Obviously you can't change the font so if your PDF has a small font, you're essentially screwed. You can zoom in and what not but it's a terrible way of reading. Getting them on is just drag and drop. Conversion is also free and easy.

You can convert any PDFs to MOBI (via Calibre) and that gives you control over the font. But since this is journal articles, it only works best with text so no references, tables and the like - which mess up the formatting.

[mikeyd85]

(Original post by Wednesday Bass)
Why do Sky make it so ****ing difficult to do anything?

They provide you with a ****ty 802.11b router, which doesn't cover the house - even when it's right in the middle; don't give you the PPPoA details so you can use your own router (hell, they even put it in the T&Cs that you can't use your own router).

Protip: Don't get Sky broadband.

I'd take a look at the config of the router. I'd be very, very surprised if that router didn't at least support 802.11G.