Just get your own phone and get a SIM only tariff of your choice!

This. I usually buy my own phones, and sign up for a 12 or 18 month contract.

Now I’m only tied in for 12 months and will be free to stay on as a rolling contract or switch. I don’t need, or want a new phone every 12-24months, and I certainly don’t need to be shopping around for a new tariff more than once a year (stayed on my last one for 4 years, rolling monthly after 18 months).

Burghers Thunder installed jacket may be an option for you. Or Jack Wolfskin do down parkas (however these, and the North Face are very heavy pieces of kit and wouldn’t really suit hill walking). If it’s cold enough fro down it’s too cold for rain. Just saying…

As for

Generally I see northface stuff as a shitty fashion brand that has sold out, similar to hunter.
I don’t want fashion brand – over price tat thanks. Unless they are now making decent stuff again?

That is just how you see them. Doesn’t make it true.

They have never stopped making decent stuff, nothing they make is “tat”, and just because they’ve got a great marketing team that’s moved them into a desirable brand on the high street doesn’t mean they’ve sold out.

I’ve only read the first few pages of replies but have to say, it’s not just graduates that should be expecting more.

I’m currently on barely above minimum wage, zero hour contract, and so have no idea of what my hours are. They can give you 8 hours one week, or suddenly ask you to work extra days the next. Only ever when it suits them, of course.

The job market is tough for EVERYONE, not just graduates.

(I’m in the final year of a degree at the moment and have no illusions about walking in to a 40k a year job).

I had the same thing happen with the HSBC. It was over a weekend also. The fraudsters do it on a Friday on purpose.

HSBC, in fairness, did return my money and gave me a free, unlimited overdraft to allow for any bills etc until the money reached my account (took 7 days). Mine was as a result of internet fraud, cloning my banking page or something.

Their security systems are crap though, compared to other banks.

It’s my first time at Uni, at 36. I did a foundation degree and a now on my third year top-up. Worth considering a foundation degree first as they are at colleges and often cheaper. Also, if you quit after 2 years you at least have the FdSc to add to your CV. Mine is funded by working 25 hrs a week and student grants/loans, but that’s a fine balance between work/uni (not much “life).

You could do part time, and continue to work perhaps?

My Sennheiser px100 have just given up, cables are flimsy on them, but otherwise the sound quality has been superb. I’m looking for a replacement, was thinking about bluetooth but not sure. Most likely be Sennheiser again though.

It’s this years macbook, and an iPhone 5c.

I have noticed my web browsing seems slower than before though, with pages taking a lot longer to load. Not sure if that’s a connection issue though so will wait until I get to the Uni on Tuesday to try it there.

Thanks Drac.

My laptop isn’t ringing yet, apparently theres a phone update required on Monday?

Loving the iDrive feature on my Mac, must more integrated than the previous MS OneDrive that I was using.

All working here, not sure about the new look but guess that will grow on me.

I do like the proper maximise button in the left side now, could never understand why they had the full-screen button on the right. Worth the upgrade for that….

One thing I would like though is some sort of tutorial/help video to highlight the new features once installed. I’m probably missing out on lots of new features.

Wow, it really is taking forever to download, and slowing everything else down I’m working on. Might have to pause it and leave it running overnight!

Guess after this update all my other apps will then want to update. Could be a long weekend!

Yosemite is downloading now…I may be some time 8O

I was hoping for more for the Apple TV. Great to see the prices of older tech dropping when the new stuff is released (and still available from Apple). That’s how I got my phone, and my mother will be getting an “old” iPad for Xmas now 8)

To be honest I’m now thinking that maybe the length of journey to commute every day might not even warrant the need for a deisel so maybe I should have just said ‘which estate?’
Would a petrol estate give me more for my money (apart from mpg obviously)?

I went down the petrol route with my latest car (hatchback). It’s doing 40mpg on my commute (real mpg, not trying to take it steady) and 45mpg on longer runs. My A4 tdi was getting 48mpg average over the year (mixed driving).

The 8mpg difference, over the mileage I do, costs me about £300 a year more than the diesel (after tax & fuel prices). Factor in I got a 50k mile vehicle for £1k, which is a third of the mileage of any diesel I found at under £2k, and I’m happy.

Never thought I’d have a petrol again, but now I’m back in one I wouldn’t rule it out in the future, and for cheap cars I think they make perfect sense (given the low buying costs and low mileages).

Casio G shock (or baby g).

I bought the HP Deskjet 3520 from PC World. £60 including paper and a spare black in cartridge. Has AirPrint capability as well.

Works great, and if you have a Unidays account you can get replacement cartridges dirt cheap, direct from HP. (£6 for the black, or a full set of 3 colours and one black for £16). You’ll also get discount off the printer at PC World. Or you could buy a printer from HP direct. In other words, join unidays 8)

I gave up on HP a few years ago, when a £30 printer of theirs did as yours was. Happy to say this one is an improvement!

Why do brits have so much road angst? Chill out and accept other road users, it’s really no big deal.

THIS.

We are all just trying to get somewhere, for some reason, whatever method we are using. If we all respect that and each other a bit more the country would be a much nicer place to travel in.

Got a free one from Vodafone when I switched my phone. Just popped in store and they gave me it there and then. Walked out with the same number. Job done in under 5mins.

FWIW i didnt put winter tires on at all last year ….. never died

Is that because you couldn’t get off the drive?

:wink:

I’m beginning to believe they have seen me but just don’t give a shit.

This is the case for me 99% of the time. They look, then pull out of the junction anyway, most waving a “sorry” before they’ve finished the manoeuvre, so they know they’re doing wrong :roll:

Why bother? Trust me, it isn’t going to be worth it.

1) There’s a HUGE amount of stress involved, before, during and after the wedding.
2) You are getting no financial reward, and are an amateur, so use what you have and if it’s not good enough, bow out before getting the credit card out.
3) If you’re asking such “basic” questions about flash photography then are you (honestly) up to the job? (honest question, not a criticism).
4) You’ll need an assistant. Getting the right people in the right place at the right time is a nightmare. Also things like a back-up camera will be required.

I’ve done a few, as an assistant and one with another photographer, and they were all very stressful. That’s why wedding photographers charge “a fortune” :roll:

Do’t do it, let the tight-wad pay for a photographer!

Rigid is the new fat.

Amen to that 8)

Probably just an isolated manufacturing issue and I know Alpkit have excellent customer service but the fact that they are sold out will mean no Brewkit for me.

Unfortunately this is the problem with Alpkit. For example, I wonder if you’ll be able to get a replacement igniter when it fails at some point in the future. I feel the same about their tents as well.

Great company, great ethos, but maybe branching out too far into areas that are already pretty well covered? Maybe better off focusing on stock levels of the stuff they do really well. Like dry bags, stuff sacks, bouldering mats, etc.

This thread is useless without a video :roll:

M&S. Job done.

The fit is good (proper “Man”/traditional fit) and the quality is excellent. And less than £20.

Or the Gap when on sale.

Many have come off cars written off in accidents.

So? Cars get written off for all sorts of reasons, can’t see how that means the tyres should be binned.

I would never recommend second hand tyres, you never know their history.

Do you only ever buy brand new cars then, or do you change the tyres immediately on second hand cars?

Bet the way home isn’t so much fun…all up-hill :twisted:

The fundamental question is: do I lose data when I need to change the batteries?

No.

Done it, now the proud owner of a 5c 32GB 8)

Bought the phone outright from Apple Store (they had a few 32GB left in store) for £379. Then went to Vodafone who popped a sim in, gave me unlimited minutes and 1GB of data (with 3 months unlimited data test-drive) for £16.50 pm, for 12 months.

Worked out by far the cheapest way over 24 months, the phone is mine, I stayed with Vodafone, and kept my number :D

The best part…the whole experience was typically Apple. They set the phone up in store, Vodafone put the sim in, and 15 mins later I had my first phone call on my new phone (kept the same number), my calendar was all there, my contacts, emails, the lot!

Very happy chap, and goes to show, the best deals aren’t always online, for the phone or the tariff.

ukip to cut income tax

They’d have to be in power to do that.

That’ll not happen. Not in my lifetime anyway.

Nose down slightly for me, otherwise I get pains down below. A level saddle is agony for me.

Smart do a rear rack mounting bracket for £2.99, then you can fit any Smart rear light to it. Cateye do the same.

Linky

Well phone shopping was a nightmare, spent 20mins plus in each store today, without moving any closer down any queue! That’s why I loved the Apple store so much I guess, I paid over the odds but I enjoyed the complete experience. Shame they don’t do 16GB 5c’s anymore.

Anyway, I’m going to just order one on line, as soon as VF take me off hold and give me my PAC number :roll: Going for the 5c. I like the feel of it in my hand, and it’s £100 cheaper, so win-win for me.

U Switch was the best place I found for comparison deals though.

Thanks for the above, it helps to listen to different views. I think 16GB would be enough, but I’ll get the 32GB as it’s not much different in price (CPW must have a glut of them as they are offering free upgrade from 16GB to 32GB).

Looks like I may have found a deal on a 5s with 32GB. It’s with EE, 2 years, £19.99pm, Plus £249 for the handset. That’s for 1000mins and 1GB of data.

Or I could get the 5c 32GB for £149 on the same deal. Guess it’ll come down to which one I prefer in my hand to be honest. The 5c is tempting though.

Seems pretty good (more than I need for what I can afford). Vodafone may have lost a customer, their tariffs are pants and not prepared to budge!

Thanks for the advice above, I’ll see what CPW can do to beat this deal in store today.

maybe scottish lidl and aldi are different to english

Yeah, they don’t stock fruit and veg for starters :P

Personally I didn’t go for a chrome book because you need access to the web to do anything on them.

Not true.

The sales assistant in the Samsung store talked themselves out of a sale then. The way it was explained was a 16GB HDD was plenty, because the software and documents are all stored on the cloud. If that were true, I don’t see how you can work on them without having access to the web/cloud.

External DVD drive sorts the “clunky” laptop part out.

I have a MacBook Air with the Apple Superdrive (external DVD drive, nice and slim, no extra power cables, just the one USB lead). Very pleased.

You should, and should be able to, submit work in PDF format. I do. It’s the safest way anyway as it looks the same on any computer and prints as expected (unlike submitting as a Word document, which can leave margins, paragraphs, fonts etc all over the place, depending on the versions and formatting used). I think PDF’s look very professional when submitted/opened as well.

I don’t have problems opening documents sent by anyone else at the University (or anywhere), and so far I’ve not had anyone tell me they can’t open mine (Pages can save as PDF, or as Word).

So, if you have the money, and like them, then a MacBook Air is great. Not needed (bt then neither is a 3k full suss or Audi A5), but nice to have 8) No need to be concerned about software issues for Uni, not that I’ve found anyway.

The only software you’ll need to buy is,perhaps, Papers, or some other reference manager. This is £39 for students, and well worth it I think. I had Mendeley and it was good, but not compatible with Pages on the Mac (and wasn’t great with Word either). Papers looks much better, be it for Windows or Mac, and well worth spending money on. Also have a look at Evernote. I’m using it, and it is brilliant. Free, or £4 a month, I’ve used the free version for 4 months now and will soon be paying. Works on your laptop and phone, like a giant scrapbook for anything. Really worth a try for everything, from website links to research documents, bills and receipts, to photos of takeaway menus.

Personally I didn’t go for a chrome book because you need access to the web to do anything on them. All your software etc is on the web, storage is mostly on the web. That’s great unless you want to read or work on stuff when you’re not connected to the internet.

The only thing I’ll never do again is use a cupped wire wheel in one again. Nearly killed me and took months for the scars to heal

It was one of these:

I’m very experienced with grinders, in industry and home use, but don’t normally use these. This one was fine until I caught the thin edge of some 6mm x 150mm flat bar. It kicked/twisted the grinder back at me, caught my wrist (cutting through) which obviously left me holding it one handed, so it continued backwards and embedded itself in my chest. All happened in a split second, and there’s a lot of torque to try and stop with one hand. My t-shirt eventually stopped it as it wrapped itself up in the wheel (further embedding it in my chest leaving a 100mm bloody circle of a thousand cuts). Didn’t let go of the trigger as quickly as I’d like (or you’d think)!

A freak accident I guess, but I’ll never use them again. Made a mess that’s for sure!

Regarding discs shattering, I’ve used thousands and the only ones that shatter have been those that are out of balance (usually cheap ones). A quick blip of the trigger with the grinder pointing safely away usually highlights this and I remove and bin them straight away.

And yes, I wear a visor.

Thanks all,

Had a look at phones today. A quick chat with the assistant and I think the 5c would be a better buy than the 4s now (for the same money)? I liked it as well, felt nice in the hand. The 5s is still a bit too close to the 6 price, which is too expensive and too large for my liking.

The 5c, however, is affordable outright and I could then go for a sim only deal. All those mentioned above look like good deals to me and if the service is rubbish I would be free to swap. Also I’d buy direct from Apple, so know I’ll get good service and warranty with it. £319 isn’t bad for a camera, satnav, and organiser that also makes calls :P

The only thing that had me a little hesitant was Tims comment about the 8GB memory. This is the same as the 4s that’s available in CPW, and also the Nokia Lumia, Kestrel, and other similar phones. Is this enough for satnav, emailing, reading PDF’s, saving pics until I upload them to my Mac, etc? I’ll not be gaming, producing documents, downloading movies etc.

I’m dusting the cheque book off and planning a drive to the Apple store as we speak :P

Mostly want to stick with Apple because I am so happy with the MacBook and Apple TV, and also don’t want the hassle of new software/syncing stuff to the Mac. I know the iPhone will just have everything I need on it and sync without me having to anything. I mostly use Apple software on the Mac, so it makes sense for me to stay with Apple.

Not considered the 5c to be honest. Will take a look. And I will pop-in to Carphone warehouse tomorrow and see what I can get out of them!

Thanks.

If you have the cash go sim free then chose a nice cheap deal on the SIM – giffgaff or three are probably your best bets, giffgaff is more flexible and cheaper, three better for more data

I do, would rather dip into that than have a huge monthly bill to be honest. £20 a month would be double what I pay now, so don’t want to be paying £40 or £50 a month!

Will shop around for sim-only deals, might make it easier to decide.

Not true! You just need to be able to take an already good offer from one place to the second place and say “give me a reason to buy this from you instead of them

I did try that with Vodafone…even after 15 years as a customer they told me there wasn’t anything they could do in terms of price. Might try the carphone warehouse though.

Here’s an example, EE are offering sim only 5s…£519 + £10 top-up. Apple sell the 5s for £459 with a £15 EE top-up :?

Unless anyone knows of anywhere cheaper for a NEW iPhone 5s I may just stump up for this from Apple and get a sim only plan. Don’t fancy second hand (happy with refurbished from Apple, but that’s all). Which leaves data…do I really need a lot of data? What is a lot? Most places I need the internet I have wifi. I won’t download stuff, just browse the web, and even then, only for directions, emails, etc. Got the MacBook for serious browsing/netflix etc. Is 1GB plenty?