Computer Shopper - UK (2020-03)

(Antfer) #1

LETTERS


ISSUE385|COMPUTER SHOPPER|MARCH2020 7


In the nextissue

COMPUTERSHOPPERISSUE386ON SALE IN NEWSAGENTS FROM 13thFEBRUARY

❱❱Make aPVR
Recording TV can
stillbemore
reliable than
streaming, so we
show you howto
build yourown ❱❱Listen up
We test and
compare the best
headphones for
your perfect audio
experience

❰❰Eyein
thesky
We explore the
technology behind
satelliteimagery,
and the many
benefits it brings
❰❰Get smart
Make life easier
with atruly
connected home

Navisavvy
RegardingPaulScott’ssatnavproblems
(Helpfile382), Iwas inasimilar
situation myself.Iwouldsuggest you take a
look at Navmii. It’s free,you candownload all
themaps easily before you leave home,and
it’s pleasingly miserlywithany data use.
Anotherbonus is that it keeps on working
even when you’re in an area withnodata
connection. It wasalifesaver in France and
Belgium earlier this year.
KevCrocombe


Exclusionzone
Hurrah for myfavouritecomputer mag!
ThankstoMel Croucherfor laying it on
thelinethat vulnerablepeoplearebeinghurt
bydigitalexclusion (Shopper384), and
government is only making it worse.
Ijust wish Ihad asolution. Free (basic)
broadband mightbethe waytogo.
Paul Martin


Scarestories
Recentcorrespondence onthe
‘Chemical effect’(Letters,Shopper383)
fills me with despair.Weare inundated with
scaremongering storiesofshortages all
the time –peakoil/coal, loss of water
sources, food and so on –and theyhaveall
been shown to be exaggerations, andno
prediction has ever come true.
The use of resources doesn’t ‘lose’
anything; it hardlygoes off-planet, does it?
If anything, all we’re doing is removing the
need forrepeated strip-mining andindustrial
processing to get at those resources in the
first place; ie; we’re concentrating those
resources.For thosematerials that end up
costingmoredue to availability issues, we
will invent alternatives. We always have.
Afuture world will revolve around
repurposingand recycling, as thiswill be
the mostcost-effectivemeans of

progress, and we allknowthe worldisbuilt
around finance.
Stop withthe scaremongering, please.
DC Gill

Atpresent, there is ahuge amount of
unused technology and electronics kit sitting
around not being recycled or reused, and so
production requires sourcing more of the
same materials. Even if we’re in no danger of
running out any time soon, one view is that
promoting reuse could be just as efficient, or
more so,than the current approach.

Hotornot?
I’vebeen using aHotmailemail address
forwhatseems to be 99 years, mainly
viaOpera Mail on my PC and Microsoft
Outlook forAndroid.
Imagine my surprise when
accessing my email via
MicrosoftLive.com. WhenI
logged out, Iwas diverted to
MSN.com and received a
pop up saying, “Werelyon
advertising to provide you
with free content”.Ihave
bought and paid rip-offprices forMicrosoft
products, including $200 foranupgrade to
Windows 7Pro,which Microsoftdecided
wasn’t genuineeven though Ihavethe disc.
The likelihood of me spending any money
or subscribing to an ongoing Microsoft
product is next to zero.Maybe theycould
askBillGates forasub to tide them over.
Gerald Bull

⬆Should we be focused more on recycling rather
than extracting materials from the ground?

n
Free download pdf