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Post by pre65 on Dec 26, 2016 11:19:45 GMT
I saw a TV advert for a car (a Vauxhall of some sort) and it was claimed to be a "wi-fi hotspot".
Could any car be made to be the same ?
I'm thinking of a laptop or tablet rather than a smartphone.
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Post by MartinT on Dec 26, 2016 12:03:48 GMT
You need a phone or SIM-enabled device in order to create a Wi-Fi hotspot. Unless the laptop or tablet is SIM-enabled (i.e. has 3G or 4G built-in), it cannot create a Wi-Fi hotspot. Doing it with a phone is trivial.
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Post by AlanS on Dec 26, 2016 12:29:41 GMT
Apple iPads have SIMs built in and can be hotspots. Beware of tunnels, dense city buildings.
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Post by MartinT on Dec 26, 2016 18:42:08 GMT
Apple iPads have SIMs built in and can be hotspots. Not all models. |
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Post by Greg on Dec 26, 2016 22:07:43 GMT
Apple iPads have SIMs built in and can be hotspots. Not all models. Mine does, but in my view it is not worth pursuing a sim only contract for an iPad if you intend to make, regular use of it. A three month SIM basic sim only contract will around £20. If after three months you've not used all your data allowance, you lose any credit you have and have to cough up another £20 for the next quarter. I thought it would be handy for occasional use but it would become occasionally expensive and frankly not worth it. In the old days you could get a sim, top it up as and when needed and credit would last until used up. Apparently those days are gone  |
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Post by MartinT on Dec 26, 2016 22:42:16 GMT
You're much better off using your daily smartphone on a decent data contract. I never hit the limit on 4GB monthly when tethered to my Surface tablet. I wouldn't dream of using a separate SIM in the tablet.
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Post by zippy on Dec 27, 2016 8:49:24 GMT
I can't see the point - as said above the car needs a SIM in order to communicate so you end up with one for the car, another for your phone. I believe you have to renew the 4g contract every year and there's no price announced, so it could be expensive.
The 'car' does have a much bigger aerial though, so likely much better reception.
I'd just use my phone and tether any other devices.
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Post by pre65 on Jan 3, 2017 15:30:01 GMT
Laptop built in webcams.
When I use Skype there is a light that comes on when the webcam is activated.
If my laptop was hacked could the webcam spy on me without the light coming on ?
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Post by zippy on Jan 3, 2017 15:52:09 GMT
Laptop built in webcams.
When I use Skype there is a light that comes on when the webcam is activated.
If my laptop was hacked could the webcam spy on me without the light coming on ? I'd say, probably, but I guess it depends on now the light is implemented in the laptop. Best to assume the worst - I keep the cover on my desktop webcam at all times when not in use, just in case. |
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Post by MartinT on Jan 3, 2017 17:08:16 GMT
It depends on how the hack works, but most webcams will show the light when operating. It's a sign of the times when a row of students all have tape over their webcams. Makes me laugh.
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Post by Greg on Jan 3, 2017 19:47:10 GMT
It depends on how the hack works, but most webcams will show the light when operating. It's a sign of the times when a row of students all have tape over their webcams. Makes me laugh. I find that most encouraging. My kids who are in their twenties and thirties and seem to be principally Facebook users have been so insecure with their personal data and when I suggest they need to tighten up on this, they just don't get it. Oh well, I've told them, they know, it's their life they need to live. End of. |
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Post by Greg on Jan 3, 2017 20:03:58 GMT
Hmmm, the forum seems to be playing up once again using my iPad. I included your quote of your last sentence. I have tried to correct this with a copy and paste and it's not having it.
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Post by MartinT on Jan 3, 2017 20:37:19 GMT
Fixed!
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Post by MartinT on Jul 28, 2017 21:29:49 GMT
Working on our backup strategy at work, taking advantage of the relatively quiet summer period, it's amazing how much time is spent waiting for things to complete. Once you're moving data at Terabyte levels, you start to see the limitations of a gigabit network. Worse still is making belt-and-braces cloud backups of key files and documents. Using our pretty speedy 300Mbps leased line, backing up the best part of a 20TB server is currently predicted to take 46 days!
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Post by ChrisB on Jul 28, 2017 21:55:13 GMT
So you won't be home for tea then?
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Post by MartinT on Jul 28, 2017 21:56:41 GMT
It does rather feel like I'm typing it all out!
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Post by MikeMusic on Jul 29, 2017 14:19:22 GMT
When Matt our IT support guy visited he went from PC to PC and demanded a mug of tea when they were all busy  |
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Post by MartinT on Jul 29, 2017 16:48:52 GMT
It's much less of a problem now with W10 doing much of its updates overnight (except for those making it worse by changing the defaults). MacOS is similar and, goodness me, iOS took an age the other night updating an older iPad (not mine).
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Post by MartinT on Jul 31, 2017 12:12:44 GMT
Using our pretty speedy 300Mbps leased line, backing up the best part of a 20TB server is currently predicted to take 46 days! 68% done, so the predictive algorithm is pants... |
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Post by pre65 on Oct 31, 2017 12:54:37 GMT
Just recently I have had an unwanted (and annoying) icon appear on my Lenovo T540p laptop screen.
At first it would go away if I re-booted, but now it wont.
It's a black square, with a white upward pointing arrow with the figure 1 in the middle.
Clicking on it has no effect (left or right) and I can't seem to move it to a less conspicuous position.
Any idea what it is, and how to remove it ?
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