Letters
12
Tell us what’s on your mind
What’s the Issue...?
When did you explain how to?
use AllDup (www.snipca.
com/39806) to remove duplicate
photos on your PC?
Judith PalmerCA SAYS That was in our ‘What
Should I Download?’ section in Issue
619, page 19.What was the name of that app
that lets you watch YouTube
without adverts? Think it was ‘New’
something?
Martin BrooksCA SAYS That’s
right - it’s NewPipe
(https://newpipe.net).
See Issue 627, page 57.I actually know the issue I need
- You recommended a 17in
laptop, but I’ve lost the issue. Can you
remind me what it was please?
David Jones
- You recommended a 17in
CA SAYS You probably mean the LG
Gram 17Z90P, which has a 19-hour
battery life. Buy it for £1,200 from
http://www.snipca.com/41892.EBay wanted a mobile number. To be
fair, they did try to offer an
alternative, but it failed in the
end. So our days with eBay are
at an end. The last time I used
Amazon they did send a code
via email, but when I had a
query I was asked for a
password. My wife has an
Alcatel 2051 mobile phone for
emergencies when we’re out in
the car, but this doesn’t meet
the criteria that companies
demand.
Edmund HobbyNetflix is right to charge for
sharing passwords
Netflix might lose some customers
if they start charging people for
sharing passwords, but in the long run
it’s definitely going to pay off for them
(‘What’s all the Fuss About?’, Issue 631,
page 49). By not charging so far, they
made the mistake of devaluing their
service and people took it for granted.
Introducing a free service with adverts
is also a good idea. Adverts are a great
way of determining what consumers are
prepared to pay for. Many people loathe
them, and will be happy to pay to skip
them. Others don’t mind them, and will
be delighted that the marketingdepartments of major companies are in
effect paying for their viewing pleasure.
Loads of other streaming services
have hit upon the successful business
equation, which can be summarised like
this: the more annoying the adverts, the
more people will pay to avoid them. I
can’t believe it has taken Netflix so long
to follow suit.
Steve FranklinI’m one of the millions who
subscribed to Netflix in the
first week of the first lockdown, and
cancelled it within weeks of the final
lockdown lifting. For me, it was a
temporary experiment in TV streaming
that was entirely driven by not being able
to go to the pub or my Royal British
Legion branch. There wasn’t much for
me to watch on it. There was a heavy
bias towards US drama, and tacky
documentaries.
I understand the appeal of Netflix and
other streaming services, but they don’t
feel like proper TV channels to me. I’m in
my 70s, so I grew up watching just three
(then four) channels that had a daily
schedule you felt comfortable with. You
knew roughly when there would be quiz
shows, chat shows, sport, news and so
on. They felt like companions to your life,
always on in the background. But you
can’t leave Netflix on in the background
like that. That doesn’t suit my style of
viewing, and it looks like many others
are now switching off too.
Nigel KirbyService in shops has improved
post-lockdown
Perhaps one of the
reasons why people
are buying fewer things
online is because high-street
shops are fighting harder for
their custom (‘Question of
the Fortnight’, Issue 631,
pictured). I was a heavy
online shopper even before
the lockdowns were
imposed. Online discounts
appealed to me, but I was
also put off by what I saw as a decline in
customer service in shops. You don’t have
to put up with surly assistants online.
But I’ve noticed a change in mood since
the lockdowns lifted. Shops seem to be
offering more inventive deals, and have
improved how they treat customers.
Lockdown was obviously tough on them,
but has it forced them to change their
old ways and become more appealing to
the public? The other theory is that
customers missed the high street so
much that they’re now overcompensating
by spending more.
Leslie BonhamWithout doubt the economic
downturn has an influence on
the fall in online shopping, but might I
suggest a less obvious reason. Recently,
companies have increasingly been
insisting on a mobile-phone number to
verify an account. It seems it cannot be
just any mobile phone, but a smartphone,
which neither I nor my wife have.
As a couple of 81 and 77 with health
difficulties, personal shopping is not
really an option as we live in the
country and our nearest shopping centre
is 30 miles away. While I drive a
Motability car, parking is very difficult
in such places. Public transport is
non-existent. All this means that online
shopping is necessary.
We insured our bungalow with
Sainsbury’s, and suddenly they
demanded a mobile-phone number for
secondary verification. Despite me trying
to explain we didn’t have one, they just
dug their heels in. I owed them around
£20 and when I suggested sending a
cheque, they said they don’t accept
them. And, remarkably, they confirmed
all this by email.25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632