Author: Richard

The Trouble with iPhones

| Richard

So Apple has unveiled new features for its iPhone. The main one is for advertising within apps – I read that as intrusive targeted ads that you need to click past before using the app or whilst using it.

This means the final nail in the coffin for me ever getting one: my Nokia N97 is due for replacement this summer and I thought about getting an iPhone but quite honestly its size puts me off. Likewise I’m becoming more and more annoyed with touchscreens and having a filthy, greasy screen to read. There’s no way I’ll be putting up with intrusive ads either.

More and more, I’ve been thinking that the only thing that makes my other phone, a Sony Ericsson W595, less than perfect is its lack of GPS. And guess what? Their W995 has that. SE also do a great-looking touchscreen model running Android, but Google’s implementation of Bluetooth hands-free is such that you can’t actually make the call from a car kit but you need to do it from the phone. Which means it’s not good enough for use in the car (much like Nokia’s N97 then…).

The Sony Ericsson W595 Just Works. If their W995 is as easy then that’s a no-brainer for me: a small phone with all the features I want and none of the features I don’t.

Issues

| Richard

Well it seems that all is not well with the R3, so it was back to the dealers today for fettling.

The rear foglight has not been working since I got the car: it turns out that the wiring loom to the towbar fitted by the dealers, Nunns, has a relay that should switch between the foglight on the trailer and the foglight on the car. Whilst the foglight on the trailer works fine, the one on the car doesn’t. Sadly this wasn’t picked up in the PDI when I bought the car. Parts are now on order.

Of equal concern is the (very expensive) iPod integration module that doesn’t seem to actually want to integrate any iPod with the Bose stereo system. Mazda list a whole load of Apple devices that aren’t compatible with the module – which, by the way, cuts off the auxiliary input circuit so you’re completely screwed if it doesn’t integrate – and I found that none of our iPods of varying age worked at all with it. They all connect fine and some can seemingly draw power. All display the Mazda logo. All have their functionality removed from the devices whilst connected. None actually work with the stereo system.

Including the brand spanking new iPod nano I got for my birthday specifically for the car. Ah…

So Nunns will be talking to Mazda over the next few days to try to find out what’s wrong. If they can’t fix it, I’ve already told them I want the auxiliary socket reconnecting and my money back for the horrendously expensive integration module.

Let’s Race!

| Richard

I drove up to Grimsby last night for the first time in the RX-8. Now although I was ‘making good progress’ as usual, it seems  that if you’re driving a sporty car, the knobheads seem to try to prove something.

A case in point was the rep in an Audi RS4 Estate on a 10 plate who immediately accelerated away when I’d overtaken him.

When I got closer on the A46 I came up behind a Skoda Octavia. Again he must have seen me rapidly approaching him as we drove towards a 40mph limit because as soon as we were through it and heading out, he accelerated hard and kept on until he was well into ban territory. I carried on as usual and, of course, caught up with him a few miles later as my driving wasn’t quite so erratic as his was.

What is it with other people’s perception of sports cars?

Frederick’s of Hollywood/iShopUSA

| Richard

Never again!

I will never again buy any shoes from Fredericks of Hollywood. For non-US orders, they use iShopUSA to ship them and they are utter fecktards:

2 March, order paid by credit card:

“Credit Card Payments
Your credit card will not be charged until we have been able to verify the details of your credit card information”

2 March, e-mail from iShopUSA:

“Dear Richard,

Due to the high risk of credit card fraud associated with international transactions as well as discrepancies regarding your order information, we ask for your understanding and cooperation in verifying your identity with us, since we always strive to do our utmost to protect our clients from fraudulent and unauthorized transactions.

Before we can proceed with your order, we need you to provide us with the documentation outlined below:
1. The signed credit card authorization form (click here to download this PDF document)
2. A photocopy of the front and back of your credit card
3. A photocopy of your driver license or passport
Please send all required documents to Anti-Spam e-mail Link or fax them to +1 310 882 5447.
Please note that we need you to send us these documents only once. As long as you use the same credit card, it will not be necessary for future orders.

Please take the following security precautions before emailing or faxing the documents:
- Cover all digits of the credit card number except for the last 4 digits
(Please note: This does not apply to the credit card number field on the credit card authorization form; this field has to contain the full credit card number including all digits.)
- Cover the driver license/passport number
- Send the documents separately
In order to avoid delays with your order, we suggest that you scan the documents and send them via email or at least set the fax resolution to high, so that they are clearly legible.

Alternatively, you may also pay by PayPal.
In case you’d rather like to pay by PayPal, just let us know. We will then revise your order and send you a link with which you will be able to pay for your order.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
As always, if you have any questions or need help with your order, please contact our Customer Experience Specialists at Anti-Spam e-mail Link or give us a call at +1 (424) 903-4002. We look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks in advance and have a good day.
Kind regards,

iShopUSA”

2 March, my reply:

“Sorry, but no chance!

PayPal will be fine: please send me a payment link.”

3 March, PayPal link received.

3 March, e-mail from iShopUSA:

“Dear Richard,

This is your revised order containing a change in payment method to PayPal.

As soon as you accept the revision, we will be able to process your order. Please reply to this e-mail and send it to revisions@…, so that we can proceed with your order. Please be advised that your response has to include a copy of this revision as well as your statement accepting or declining the revised order. If you do not include the statement or the copy of the revision, this may delay the ordering process. If you do not accept the revision, please let us know as well. Thank you.

If you would like to respond to this revision in order to accept or decline this revision now, please click the reply button in your e-mail program, add your statement that you accept or decline to the e-mail text and make sure that the e-mail address in the send-to field is revisions@…. You may need to replace the e-mail no-reply@… with revisions@…. Please note that if you try to reply to no-reply@…, we will not receive your e-mail.

You can check your order status any time you want by logging in to your iShopUSA customer account.

Thank you for your order!”

3 March, e-mail from me accepting the order.

3 March, e-mail from iShopUSA to my PayPal e-mail account:

“Dear Richard,

Due to the high risk of credit card fraud associated with international transactions as well as discrepancies regarding your order information, we ask for your understanding and cooperation in verifying your identity with us, since we always strive to do our utmost to protect our clients from fraudulent and unauthorized transactions.

Before we can proceed with your order, we kindly request that you to reply to this email to confirm that you placed this order.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused…”

3 March, e-mail from me to iShopUSA:

“There are no damn discrepancies with my order. You’ve been paid. Now stop pissing about and send the damn shoes!”

4 March, e-mail from iShopUSA to me:

“Your order has been successfully processed!

The amount of time it takes for items to arrive at our warehouse varies between 5-7 business days.  Once we receive your item and inspect them they will be shipped out to you.  At this time we will email you with a tracking number.”

Silence.

29 March, log in to their website:

“Status: In transit to warehouse”

Looking at the explanation of what this means reveals this little gem:

“In transit to warehouse:
Your items are on the way to our warehouse in California where they will be consolidated and eventually shipped out to you.”

“Eventually” being the operative word, it seems…

Dishing the Dirt

| Richard

Whose stupid idea was that?

Having cleaned the R3 midweek so it would be looking at its best when my kids got to see it, I drove up from London to Norfolk early on Saturday morning. Unfortunately the drizzle in places meant that there was enough dirt and salt on the road to make the car dirty at the back, but still they loved it.

And then there was the football match on Sunday…

Jack, his mate Dan and Dan’s grandfather in the car after their match. And now the interior is dirty. Maybe I should have just had him adopted or made them walk home?

Lost and Found

| Richard

Well, well, well.

This morning I received a phone call from the Met. Wilf has been found somewhere in Lincolnshire!

No news on its condition or anything and of course it now belongs to the insurance company but if it’s not been totalled, I may well see if I can buy it from them. It should be worth less as a stolen recovered vehicle anyway and of course it’s almost a year older, but it’s worth asking.

In the meantime, I’ve got an appointment for early next week to give a statement to the police to say that it certainly wasn’t being used or stored with my permission so they can (hopefully) prosecute the scrote that had it.

iPod Integration

| Richard

A bit of a nightmare, this. The R3 comes with an auxiliary socket in one of the cubbyholes to allow you to connect an MP3 player to it, but all the play or selection functions have to be performed from the player.

When I ordered the car, I also spec’d it to include Mazda’s iPod integration module which is by no means cheap.

And it’s full of fail!

So far, I’ve tried it with three iPod nanos of varying age and although all connect to the system fine, none of them will actually play through the Bose system. And worse still, fitting the iPod Integration Module apparently disables the auxiliary socket as well! So I’m worse off with it fitted.

I’m giving it one more try: with a birthday coming up, I’ve asked for a new, 5th Generation 16GB iPod nano which should – in theory at least – work. We’ll see. Mazda’s Customer Service department did not have a clue when I specifically asked them the question…