Sponsored
Techradar |
- In Depth: Tablet operating systems compared
- Review: Sony DR-GA100 headset
- Review: YoYoTech Dragon F-58
- In Depth: Slow or unreliable broadband: your rights explained
- Review: Asus ML249H
| In Depth: Tablet operating systems compared Posted: 03 Jul 2011 05:00 AM PDT Just as PCs and Macs run Microsoft Windows and MacOS X, so different tablets are based around different operating systems. The most popular of these is Apple's iOS found on the various iterations of iPad, but there are numerous alternatives from the likes of Google, HP, Blackberry and Microsoft. Each comes with a set of pros and cons and will almost certainly influence your tablet buying decision, so here's our guide to every major system. Apple iOS
This is the operating system found in the iPad and iPad 2 and is also used in the iPhone and iPod Touch. The operating system debuted on the original iPhone in 2007 and was called iPhone OS. A different name became essential after the iPad was released and Apple announced the change in June 2010. The big draw for iOS is its famously simple approach and healthy App Store - there are now 300,000 apps available, all of which have been vetted by Apple. Many of these are designed to work with the iPad specifically, though virtually all iOS apps will run on it - if they're designed for the iPhone and iPod touch the operating system will simply make the graphics bigger. This doesn't mean they look too hot, but they will run. Not everything is a truly amazing app, but it does guarantee a certain level of quality that you often don't get with Android. The system works alongside the Apple App Store, which you can access either on your iOS device or using iTunes on your Mac or PC. At the moment, iOS devices still need to be synchronised with your PC or Mac to download music, videos and the like. Of course, that's not to say you can't watch video streamed from the web on your device - indeed, once you have synchronised it, you can pretty much use it completely independently and just sync for major changes in your music library or system updates. iOS' identity is through its grid-like layout which has been in place since the first iPhone. By default, the bar at the bottom of the iPad's screen includes the icon for your browser, mail, photos and music, though you can replace these with any icon you like. The latest major update to iOS - version 4 - introduced folders to the OS so you can group icons and you can move icons between different home screens should you have enough apps downloaded. You're also able to completely configure your iPad through iTunes including the position of the apps and the apps you currently have installed on your iPad. Operating system updates are also available through iTunes.
Everything is controlled on screen with the exception of the single Home button, which takes you back to the home screen - in essence enabling you to start again. Everything is contained within apps - some of which contain standard systems settings and functions such as the web browser. The App Store's biggest boon is that you can find an app for just about anything - if there's a problem you need solving, you can bet there's an Apple app that will solve the problem. And it's not just a hotbed of development for small-scale software writers and companies, either. Huge multinationals such as Sky, the BBC and newspaper groups have developed their own apps for the iPad in the hope that it will bring content to new audiences. Rupert Murdoch's News International has even started to produce a daily newspaper for the iPad, called The Daily with special graphics and videos. The size of the iPad's screen has really got publishers thinking. Apple has created a compelling model for developers with iOS and some serious money has been made from the App Store. Most apps are free with plenty also paid for and they range from 59p to hundreds of pounds for specialist apps - you can even buy full-blown sat nav apps, too. Subscriptions are also available inside certain apps - some newspaper apps are free, for example, but you have to pay an amount within the app for a year's subscription. The Guardian is a good example of this. The future of iOS looks completely secure - the iPad and iPhone have been runaway successes - over 15 million first-generation iPads were sold and rumours are already circulating about iPad 3. The iPad 2 is currently the best tablet out there for the price and, while Apple's share of the market will fall in 2011, you can be sure it will continue to innovate. One of Apple's strengths is that it continues to update products it has long since finished working on hardware-wise. Software updates mean that the first-generation iPad now has almost the same software functions as the iPad 2, even if the latter tablet makes more of the software advances because of its superior hardware. Likewise, you're also able to get updates to apps you've already purchased - these are all downloaded via iTunes. Mind you, although Apple has had the tablet market pretty much sewn up, most of the slates this year will be launching with Android 3, which, as you'll read, is an operating system to be reckoned with. Android 3.0
Android tablets may be relatively new on the market, the Google-backed Android operating system phones will comfortably out-sell the iPhone in 2011. However, there are different versions of the OS available, which can make things a trifle confusing. Virtually all of the new Android tablets are running version 3.0 of the software. This is dubbed 'Honeycomb' (all versions of Android have sweet food-related codenames) and has been designed specifically for use with tablets, rather than modified from a phone OS. Tablets such as the Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 use Honeycomb. Some tablets released with older versions of Android. It was rumoured that Google wanted all Honeycomb tablets to be dual-core, though this is something the company refuted. In truth, the original Samsung Galaxy Tab, Dell Streak 5 and Dell Streak 7 were released (or announced) sooner and came with Android 2.2. Dell has indicated that the Streak line will get an upgrade to Android 3.0.
The HTC Flyer tablet was said to run Android 2.4 when it was announced, however it wasn't available at the time of going to press and might well ship with Android 3.0 when it is released. The main reason that the OS version is important is that the user interface is quite different. The older versions are more recognisable as the same interface that is shipped with phones. The interface on Android 3.0 is much more tailored to a broader tablet screen and is far more streamlined. Android's big difference to iOS is that it doesn't rely on being connected to a PC or Mac for updates or synchronisation of music, for example. Everything, from your contacts to your email, is controlled online via Wi-Fi (or 3G if you have it) using your Google Account login - in other words, everything is stored online (if you've heard the expression 'in the cloud,' this is what it means). Your Google Account is associated with your device. The advantage to this is that, if you lose your tablet, everything is backed up. The disadvantage is that Google has all the information from your contact details to your latest emails. Of course, this is all your information safeguarded by Google's Privacy Policy. While iOS apps are administered through the App Store on the iOS device itself or iTunes on the PC or Mac, Android is a little different. Since there is no equivalent of iTunes for Android, the easiest way is to use the Android Market app on the device and download apps via Wi-Fi or 3G.
However, that's not where the story ends as the Android Market is also available online on your PC or Mac at market.android.com. If you sign in with your Google Account, any apps you choose to download (whether free or paid-for) will automatically download to your device even if you purchase them via the web - very clever stuff. Google updates Android regularly, but with phones these updates have tended to come via the device manufacturer because of the various modifications they have chosen to make. However, Google hasn't been that impressed with this approach as the differing modifications have meant that there are tens, if not hundreds, of variants of Android on different handsets. How this will play out with Honeycomb is anyone's guess - it's the first time Google has produced a laptop-specific OS, so it remains to be seen whether Google will roll out updates to all Android 3.0 tablets in one go, or whether it will have to produce updates via manufacturers once more. Android's only downfall is that it's less foolproof than iOS and so might not necessarily be recommended for someone with no technical expertise - it really is a tablet OS for those who enjoy using a flexible operating system as opposed to something completely straightforward. However, that's not to say Android 3.0 is difficult to use; it's a terrific, fluid operating system - absolutely ideal for tablets and a perfect antidote to those who feel iOS is too clinical. Microsoft Windows
Android and iOS may be the top operating systems for tablets, but that doesn't mean other manufacturers aren't having a go at toppling the big guys. Microsoft is currently nowhere in tablets and that means no Windows on tablets - yet. Here's a little background. The software giant previously tried making tablets with full-blown Windows on it and succeeded to a small extent. There was a special version of Windows, the XP Tablet PC Edition, in 2002 which used a stylus instead of touch. Subsequent versions of Windows have included support for this natively. Convertible tablets were made by HP and others. These looked and worked like laptops but the keyboard could swivel back under the screen. Last year, when Microsoft previewed the excellent Windows Phone 7 - now launched - there was a lot of speculation that it would also be made available for tablets. And, although the OS would be great on a tablet, Microsoft has constantly denied that it will happen. And the proof would appear to be in Microsoft's latest announcement, made in January at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. At the show the corporation announced that the next-generation Windows - Windows 8 as it's currently being called - will be able to run on ARM-based hardware, the same hardware that's currently inside mobile phones and tablets such as the Android-based models and the iPad.
At the moment Windows runs on either Intel-based processors or AMD-based processors - only Windows Phone 7 that can run on ARM. The big news in terms of this is that we'll finally see some decent tablets running Windows. There are some that already run full-blown Windows 7 - such as the Viewsonic 10s and Acer Iconia W500 - but while Microsoft likes to say that Windows 7 was designed for touch, the simple fact is that it just doesn't function as well as iOS, Android, or any other operating system specifically designed with touch in mind. Windows 8 will have a completely redesigned interface and will include special concessions for touch - the benefit here is that apps will be able to be designed that will work equally well across Windows personal computers as well as they do on tablets. Windows 8 will also have instant-on capabilities, removing the traditional PC startup that has become the bane of many working lives. There will also be major work done to ensure that Windows does not consume huge amounts of power. webOs
There are two other tablet operating systems you need to know about. The first is inside the BlackBerry PlayBook, called the BlackBerry Tablet OS. The second is HP's tablet OS, called webOS. webOS started life in the 2009 Palm Pre smartphone and, HP bought Palm in 2010 and immediately said it would be using webOS in other devices. The HP TouchPad is the first fruit of this in tablet form - webOS 3.0. webOS uses touch in a similar way to the iPad, but application windows run in separate so-called cards - that means you can flick between different app screens - perhaps a webpage and an open email - all of which are displayed on 'cards'. You move between these on the screen by flicking from left to right or right to left on the screen to cycle through the open cards, while you can close anything by flicking the card off the screen. There aren't huge numbers of apps at the moment, but HP says they will only grow in number. Apps can be started from a Launcher which displays all your apps, while there's also a Quick Launch bar for popular apps at the bottom of the screen. When changing the orientation of the tablet it doesn't respond instantly. There's a pause with Android 3.0 Honeycomb, but the TouchPad takes a lot longer. And though it might not be a huge amount of time, it's these little things you notice when comparing webOS to Android 3.0 and iOS. However, generally speaking, we really like the way webOS 3.0 works - it's a superb interface, but there's a little work to be done before it's as responsive as Apple's iOS or has the polished, mass-market appeal of Android 3.0. Blackberry Tablet OS
We really like the new Blackberry Playbook by RIM, and Blackberry Tablet OS is simply beautiful and integrates with the hardware like no other tablet. The Playbook's bezel packs hidden secrets. Swiping your finger from the edge of the device, across the bezel and onto the screen will bring up all manner of options and features, depending on which side you choose to swipe from and which app you're using. For instance, in the web browser, a swipe from the top down pulls down the tab menu where you can either switch to another tab or open a new one. The OS is quick and responsive and we like it a lot. It seems that initially though, the available apps will be few, with features like email, calendar and contacts not available at launch. Instead, you'll have to make do with web-based versions, though manufacturer RIM has promised them in a later update. There's also great multitasking with the Playbook - far better than in iOS, for example. There's no doubt that, while it's probably a more business-orientated tablet to fit in with Blackberry's core audience, the Playbook is a pretty handy entertainment machine to boot with HD video support. 
| ||
| Posted: 03 Jul 2011 03:30 AM PDT You may recall this very reviewer getting all grumpy a few issues ago about the overpricing of gaming headsets. Some manufacturers seem to think that by pairing a microphone and headphones and adorning it in gaming livery they create a money-no-object, ultra-desirable commodity. Hand over your blank cheques, everyone. Hmm? The sound quality? Don't worry about that. And the splitting pain across your head is quite normal. It's well worth it to look that ridiculous. At the £200 mark, things are ridiculous enough. You may as well buy a Shure SM58 microphone and a low latency soundcard to grief n00bs in crystalline clarity – which they'll listen to with their £10 headphones. For the price of the most expensive headsets on the market, you could quite literally take all your guild members on holiday to Hawaii. So what attributes do gaming headsets actually need, when you take away game licensing and silly price tags? Surely comfort comes first and foremost. After a few hours of gaming, you shouldn't even notice you're wearing them. Sound quality is clearly vital, too. Sound is just as immersive as visuals in-game, and being able to hear footsteps in online shooters or your tyres and brakes in a racing sim can give you the edge over the competition. It would be nice to be able to listen to music and enjoy all the nuances it was recorded with as well. You'll also need a clear microphone that's easily adjustable and some handy volume/mute controls that don't weigh a ton and throttle you. Enter Sony's DR-GA100 gaming headset. It ticks every box mentioned above, and it costs a very reasonable £33. Even before you get to find out what the DR-GA100 is capable of audibly, the visuals hit you. At 120g it's a lightweight headset and separates itself from the pack, working the near-future military prototype vibe, rather than the 'Action Man's headphones' aesthetic many cans seem to opt for. The smart black band holds a figure-of-eight microphone that stays in place once you've bent it to fit. It's noise-cancelling, and the mic's polar pattern minimises consonant pop sounds. The volume/mute control isn't anything special and it's not easy to see when the microphone is actually muted, but at least it's small and light. Value added It does get better though. The biggest feathers in the DRGA100' s cap are sound quality and comfort. The ear pads look and feel like little bean bags. That might not sound all that comfortable but these headphones don't cause any fatigue for a good few hours, either around the ears or across the band. The frequency response range isn't quite as high as pricier headsets – bottoming out at 14Hz means the DR-GA100s can't handle low rumbles and sub bass as well as the best, but only the rabbit-eared will notice. Sony has boosted and shaped frequency response in just the right areas to produce awesome sound from unassuming hardware. They're worth every penny. They might even be worth more pennies. Some are more comfy, some sound better, but none offer such a good package for the price. 
| ||
| Posted: 03 Jul 2011 03:00 AM PDT Got £600? Current PC collecting more dust than Peter Andre's little black book? You could pop into a local electrical superstore and peruse endless rubbish computers, bracing yourself against the barrage of cheap coffee breath, plaque and misinformation spewing forth from a furtive salesman standing two inches away from your face. Or, you could entrust your budget with a respected system builder, who knows how to put performance parts into a £600 PC. It's no easy task, after all. Powerful components don't come cheap, and £600 is a small outlay in PC terms, performance expectations are higher than a 'three-figure Facebook checker.' So what exactly does one expect of a machine like YOYOTech's Dragon F-58? To our minds, we should be able to play the majority of current games at high settings, and have plenty of storage space. Crucially, the base components should be easily upgradeable down the line and have no old generation, redundant technology. Good news. The Dragon F-58 does this. It might look like a futuristic bin to the untrained eye, but inside the SilverStone Fortress case lies an AMD Radeon HD 5850 GPU. It's a DX11 card, albeit first generation, and despite its age, the HD 5850 can still chomp through current DX11 titles at playable frame rates and 1080p. Likewise, the Phenom II X6 1055T is no spring chicken technologically, but it is more than capable. That capability's boosted further with some YOYOTech overclocking – boosted up to 3.6GHz. It's hex-core, so multi-threaded apps perform particularly well. Not too RAM-ed The 4GB of DDR3 memory supplied is all you'll realistically need too. We've seen OEMs cram in RAM lately and it hikes up the price for a barely noticeable increase in performance. Likewise, a single 1TB HDD and DVD-RW keeps the cost down over SSD+HDD and Blu-ray drive setups that are luxuries rather than necessities at this price. It's a well thought out build then, but there are niggles. There are always niggles.
For one, the HD 5850 is outclassed by Nvidia's first gen DX11 GTX 460 card, but then it's around £20 cheaper. That's only a slight taint to the value offered here.
Benchmarks CPU rendering performance DirectX 11 tessellation performance DirectX 10 gaming performance Two – the case is an odd-shaped mini-ATX that doesn't have the space to bung in another of those HD 5850s should one require more grunt, and fan positioning could be much better inside, particularly if a water cooler was attached to the CPU and the fan mounted to the top of the case. Still, things aren't bad enough to drive the budget purchaser down those neon-lit aisles of the PC superstore. YOYOTech has produced a competent rig with visual appeal that's hampered but far from ruined by a less than ideal GPU and case. What's more, it offers good value for money at the hardest price point to do so. Future-proofing isn't top of the agenda at this price; you might not be playing next year's games at high settings on the Dragon F-58. But today, it's money well spent. 
| ||
| In Depth: Slow or unreliable broadband: your rights explained Posted: 03 Jul 2011 03:00 AM PDT The competition between the various companies vying to provide your broadband service is intensifying, and internet service providers are making increasingly dramatic claims to get your attention and your money. With broadband contracts typically lasting for several years, it pays to do your homework to find out exactly what these deals deliver. It's also important to understand that 'up to' or even 'average' speeds will not always refer to your personal situation (depending as it does on the position of your local exchange and the quality of the wiring). But what if you've already taken all these factors into consideration and you're still not getting the service you expect? Where do you stand legally? We spoke to Stephen McGlade, solicitor for Which? Legal Service, to find out what you can do to get out of a broadband contract when it isn't delivering what was advertised, who you can contact for help if you're having problems, and whether the way you bought the contract makes a difference. Q. What can you do if you've signed a three-year deal with your ISP, but your connection turns out to be slower than described, unreliable or ultimately unfit for the job? How can you extract yourself from the contract? A. On the face of it, you could argue under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 that the ISP isn't providing the service contracted for, and you could terminate the contract for its breach of that agreement. However, you'll need to look at the small print, because most service providers say 'up to' a specified amount - in which case, you will be bound by the contract. You should also quote Ofcom's Broadband Speeds: A Guide for Consumers to the New Code of Practice, because your ISP provider may be in breach of this code. If you entered into the three-year deal on the basis of statements made that have turned out not to be true, then you could also set the contract aside under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 without incurring any financial penalty. You should inform the company of this in writing. You can also complain to the Advertising Standards Authority, which will investigate your complaint.
Always go back over your contract and read the section that relates to the 'service level agreement' or 'level of service'. This section is a description of the specific services that your broadband provider is bound by contract law to fulfil. If you don't think your provider is meeting this service agreement adequately, then you should have good grounds for your complaint. Q. Are you entitled to compensation? A. The broadband provider is contractually bound to deliver the service you agreed to pay for with reasonable skill and care under the Supply of Goods and Services Act. This means that it has to come up to the standard of the reasonable, competent ISP. It would also be expected to comply with the Internet Service Providers Association Code of Practice, so it has to take your complaint seriously if you don't think it's keeping up its end of the agreement. Furthermore, if you signed up to a broadband service that was mis-sold by the provider directly, you should complain to it, follow its complaints procedure and report the matter to Ofcom. It might say it's the fault of an agent who mis-sold the package. If, however, the third party was acting as an agent for the ISP, then don't be fobbed off. The ISP would be liable, because the agent would be deemed to be acting on behalf of the principle (the ISP). For any other type of complaint, as your service provider, it is the ISP's responsibility to deliver that service to you, and it should still be able to give you a realistic timeframe and course of action to get any matter resolved for you. You should be compensated for any period during which your broadband can't be used, if this is the fault of your service provider. If after a period of eight weeks you have been unable to successfully resolve your complaint, the Communications Act 2003 sets out that all communication providers (including broadband providers) need to subscribe to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme that offers access to impartial and free arbitration. There are currently two such schemes, both of which provide lists of their members: Otelo (Office of the Telecoms Ombudsman) and CISAS (Communications and Internet Service Adjudication Scheme). Technically you can still take your broadband provider to court after an ADR has looked at your case, but most customers tend to accept the decision of the ADR, especially because an ADR can force an internet service provider to pay compensation. Taking your broadband provider to court should not be taken lightly. Any court action should be a last resort. The general advice would be not to proceed with court action if you don't think you have a strong case against the broadband provider. Always go through the ISP's internal complaints procedure first, and then refer the complaint to Otelo or CISAS if it remains unresolved after eight weeks. If you can't bear to wait eight weeks to escalate your complaint, you can refer it to the Internet Service Providers Association if your broadband provider is a member. If you decide that you still want to proceed with court action, it's a good idea to seek legal advice first. Finally, under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (as amended) a consumer can claim a full refund or compensation if they can prove that the service was not delivered as described. There may also be a claim under the Misrepresentation Act 1967. Q. If you aren't happy with your ISP's service, could you exercise a cooling off period if you bought the deal within the last day or two? A. The Distance Selling Regulations 2000 give consumers rights when shopping online or by mail order. Under the regulations, consumers shopping this way have the right to clear information, a cancellation period of seven working days and protection from fraudulent use of a credit card.
For services (including broadband contracts), the cooling off period ends seven working days after the day the initial order was made. If you agree to the service beginning within the seven days, your right to cancel ends when the service starts. So effectively, you must give up your right to cancel early, but this must be clearly communicated and with your express agreement. If you want to cancel during the cooling off period, remember that unless the supplier sent written confirmation of your order no later than the time of delivery of the product or performance of the service, your seven-day cooling off period will not begin until it does, and may be extended by a further three months. Q. If you do, will you wind up in hot water for breach of contract? A. As mentioned earlier, you need to find your contract and take a close look at the 'service level agreement' or 'level of service'. This describes exactly what your ISP is bound by contract law to fulfil. If you don't think your provider is meeting the terms of this service agreement, you'll be in a strong position if you decide to make a complaint. There are a few mechanisms for making a complaint about your ISP's performance. In the first instance, a broadband complaint should go through the internet service provider's internal complaints procedure. Keep records of all written and verbal communication with your ISP. If the internal procedure fails, eight weeks after the date of the original complaint (whether verbal or written), you can take it to the Telecommunications Ombudsman (Otelo) or the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS). Every broadband ISP must belong to one of these two complaints schemes. Q. Do you need to pass any details from your existing ISP to your new one? How can you get these if your ISP won't respond to your request? A. If you're switching to or from ADSL broadband (broadband via a standard BT phone line), you'll need to switch provider using the migration authorisation code (MAC) process. In February 2007, OFCOM made the MAC process compulsory. Your MAC is a unique code that identifies a particular broadband line. Ask your existing broadband provider for your broadband MAC. You only need to request your MAC, not ask for your broadband service to be cancelled. Some broadband providers will see requesting your MAC as a sign that you want to cancel the service, which isn't great if you then change your mind. Some providers charge a fee if a customer wants to simply disconnect their broadband service rather than switching to a new broadband supplier. Under broadband switching regulation, your broadband provider must provide a MAC on request, and should send it within five working days. Your broadband MAC is valid for 30 days from the date it's issued, after which it expires. You need to give your MAC to the broadband internet provider you want to switch to. It should process your request and give you a transfer date. The act of giving your MAC to your new provider will automatically cancel your old broadband account. If you are currently with a cable broadband provider, it's important to note that Virgin Media doesn't use the MAC broadband switching process. If you're switching your service to or from Virgin Media, simply tell your existing provider that you want to cancel, then sign up to your new broadband service. You may need to have a new phone line installed. Virgin Media charges from £40 for a standard line installation. A new, standalone BT phone line will cost a bit over £100. BT and the Post Office both offer a BT phone line installation service. Some phone and broadband bundle providers will install a new line for less if you sign up to a bundled phone and broadband contract with them. When you sign up to your new broadband deal, check how long it will take to connect you, so you can minimise the time you're without broadband. If you want to avoid the risk of temporary loss of broadband service, you can have an ADSL broadband service (via a BT line) and a cable broadband service operating at the same time, though this will obviously double your broadband costs. If you're switching to or from a provider that offers phone and broadband services bundled together, you may find that you're unable to use the MAC broadband switching process for technical reasons. This usually applies to providers that offer local loop unbundled (LLU) broadband. This is a type of ADSL broadband where ISPs install their own broadband equipment in BT telephone exchanges. Though the broadband ISPs still use BT wires, adding their own broadband equipment enables them to offer faster/cheaper home broadband. The process for switching between LLU broadband providers can cause problems. When they want to switch, customers who have a full LLU deal (on both phone and broadband) can find that there are few providers willing to accept them. You may be told that because your phone line is LLU, that it no longer counts as a BT line so it's not possible to switch easily, and you may be told you must pay a fee for a new BT line.
However, under Ofcom's switching rules, phone and broadband bundle providers are still required to make the switch as easy and hassle-free for you as possible. You can find advice on the various broadband and phone switching processes at www.ofcom.org.uk. Each process aims for the minimum of disruption, though there is a chance you may experience some loss of service. Q. What should you do if your ISP is refusing to respond to your emails and telephone calls? Should you just go ahead and cancel your standing order or Direct Debit? A. Keep a log detailing each call or email that you make to your ISP. Make a note of who you spoke to, the date and time of the call, and how long it lasted in case you want to claim back costs. Always approach your ISP first with any complaints or grievances. Inform it in writing that you want to make an official complaint. Don't just stop or cancel your standing order or Direct Debit, because your ISP may say that you are in breach of contract, and you may be cut off. If your ISP is a member of the Internet Service Providers Association, you could refer the matter there. It has a code of practice that it expects members to abide by. That includes responding to all emails and telephone calls. In 2003, the communications regulator Ofcom drafted The Communications Act. The act states that all communication providers (including broadband providers) need to subscribe to an ADR scheme that offers access to impartial and free arbitration. Again, it's worth emphasising that taking your broadband provider to court should not be taken lightly. Anyone considering starting court action in England and Wales (even in small claims) has to follow the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct. The Direction sets out what is expected of the parties to a dispute, and the efforts they should both make to keep the dispute out of court. The parties should be open about their claim and defence, and shouldn't hold back information or documents. Both should carefully consider whether there is a system of ADR open to them (Otelo or CISAS) that could resolve the dispute rather than going to court. Q. For example, say you've been to a shop and sought advice about a connection that will work in your geographic area, only to get home and find there's no signal. How are shop sales people viewed by the law - are they 'experts'? A. Legally, because you would be relying on the sales person's "skill and judgement", having sought their specific advice, if they said that the connection would work in your area, it would be implied that the service would be fit for that area. If it wasn't, the shop would be in breach of contract and you would be able to rescind the contract. Under the Supply of Goods and Services Act, the sales person has to use "reasonable skill and care".
Q. Which acts or regulations can help protect you from this type of mis-selling? A. Ofcom currently has strict rules that ban all forms of mis-selling in relation to landline and mobile phones, and companies that break these rules can be fined up to 10 per cent of their turnover. Although Ofcom's mis-selling rules currently only cover landline and mobile phone services, Ofcom wants to see mis-selling eliminated across the board. So if you feel that you have been mis-sold your broadband, you should notify Ofcom and inform it of your experience. Having reported the matter to Ofcom, if it finds that the ISP's actions are causing significant consumer harm, then it will have to consider introducing further regulations to ban mis-selling of broadband. Q. Would the law view the same contract differently if you were to make the contract on your doorstep or via the internet or the telephone? Are there different protections in place for these situations? A. The purchase of goods and services over the internet, by phone or by mail order generally is subject to the Distance Selling Regulations. One of the most important implications of these regulations is a cooling off period of seven days, during which you have the right to cancel. You must provide notice of cancellation in writing, and it must be posted to, left at, faxed or emailed to the business address of the supplier. You must ensure this is done no later than seven working days after receipt of goods. As mentioned earlier, your broadband supplier must have sent you written confirmation of your order no later than the time of delivery of the product, or in the case of an ISP, performance of the service. If the supplier didn't do this, then your seven-day cooling off period will not begin until it does, and may be extended by up to three months. If you have commissioned a service like broadband under a distance selling contract, and the service begins before the end of the seven-day cancellation period, then you must give up your right to cancel early, but this must be clearly communicated and with your express agreement. If you have bought something costing more than £35 from a trader as a result of a visit to your home or place of work (whether or not the visit was requested by you), you will be protected by The Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumer's Home or Place of Work etc Regulations 2008. These regulations give you a cooling off period of seven calendar days, during which time you have the right to cancel and get a full refund. Just as with the Distance Selling Regulations, you must have been provided with a notice of your cancellation rights, otherwise the agreement may be legally unenforceable. You may also invoke your seven-day cancellation rights for items over £35 where business is taking place away from the trader's headquarters or shop. This may include any of the following: your place of work, a trade fair or a one-day fair (like a wedding fair) or a marketing presentation (like overseas property, for example). It's also the case even when contracts are concluded at a later date, back at the trader's shop or office - the fact that you have made your offer away from here is the important thing. You will only benefit from a cooling off period if the credit agreement was made in one of the following ways: for agreements signed away from the creditor's normal business premises (at your home, place of work or at an exhibition stand, for example), or for agreements made at a distance (online, by phone or by post). For agreements which fall under the former, you will have a cooling off period of five days, which begins when you receive the second copy of the agreement (containing the cancellation form). For contracts that fall under the latter, you benefit from a 14-day cooling off period. Unlike the cooling off period for goods bought under the Distance Selling Regulations (DSRs), the creditor may make a reasonable charge for any service (like insurance cover) that was operating during this time. There are specific guidelines on how you should cancel the contract, which must be notified to you by the creditor before or immediately after the contract is made. If the creditor doesn't make this information available to you, then your cooling off period will not begin until this happens. Q. Does paying by credit card offer you any further protection over other payment methods, for example if the company goes bust? A. Yes, but you may need to wait. It's possible that a buyer for the business may be found and that your home broadband contract will continue on the same terms as before. If a new company steps into the gap, but tries to change the terms of your agreement, you'll need to look back at your original terms and conditions to see what changes they allow to be made. If they allow the price of the service to be increased, they should also give you the right to withdraw from the contract if the new price is too high compared with the price originally charged by your broadband ISP. If they allow characteristics of the service to change - if the new company places a cap on your download facility, say - you should again have the chance to bring the arrangement to an end. If no buyer is found and your ISP goes out of business, then it is in breach of contract by failing to provide the service contracted for. You have no obligation to pay for broadband services that you aren't and won't be getting. You could also try to claim back from the ISP any extra it costs you to get a comparable service elsewhere, but in practice it's highly unlikely you'll get any compensation from it. If you signed up to an annual or longer broadband contract and you were paying with your credit card, you may have a claim against your credit card company. If the total amount that you were to pay under the contract with your broadband ISP was more than £100, you may be able to argue that Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes your card provider jointly responsible for the breach of contract and it should meet any additional broadband costs that you've incurred. If your ISP has gone out of business and you're not getting the service you've contracted for, and you are paying for your service by Direct Debit, you should ask your bank to cancel the Direct Debit immediately. The Direct Debit Guarantee allows you to do this, and says that if your bank pays any money out under the Direct Debit in error, it has to pay you the money back. 
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | ||
| Posted: 03 Jul 2011 02:30 AM PDT At PC Format, we remember the days when two-stone, hearing-aid beige TFT monitors stood resplendent atop our desks, brazenly spewing out heat and gamma-like prototypes from Aperture Science's monitor division. We might have played through the golden age of PC gaming on these screens, but the glory days of screens themselves might well be right now. For under three hundred of your (possibly) ill-gotten gains you can buy a 24-inch PC display with the kind of native resolutions and contrast ratios that would have had people burning them at the stake for witchcraft just a decade ago. Some of them are even 3D, so you can watch films and play games while earning yourself a splitting headache. Just as importantly, said witchcraft has been packed into a slender package smaller than this reviewer's GCSE graphic design folder. The problem with glory days though is that when standards are so high, it's easy to miss out on the very best. Asus' ML249H monitor isn't particularly aiming to be the very best, but it certainly wants to beat the rest. It isn't a 3D screen, so refresh rates max out at 75Hz and when you watch Avatar there'll be none of that distracting 'It's like I'm there!' nonsense and you'll see it for the bloated, generic game intro FMV it is. As a 2D screen then, with a native resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 and a contrast ratio of 3,000:1, it goes toe-to-toe with other manufacturer's screens at the £200 price point. It also boasts an impressive 178-degree viewing angle both horizontally and vertically thanks to the VA panel, although this is offset by a slightly longer response time. The screen itself produces as good a display and as accurate colour representation as we've come to expect from mainstream monitors outside of the designers' realm. The HDMI-in is a bonus too, for those who want to connect computers and consoles and whatnot simultaneously. It's also very compact, due to the swivel stand design. It won an award for this, apparently. Not best in class That stand doesn't allow a lot of adjustment, though – the inability to actually raise the panel vertically grates. It feels a bit flimsy for a £200 monitor too. Going back to those inputs, the HDMI in is all well and good, but the only other input is plain old, analogue VGA. Luckily it does come bundled with a lengthy DVI to HDMI cable to link the good ol' PC up to the digital input. More relevantly though, there are other monitors out there that do everything that little bit better. Samsung's P2450H, for example. It's £30 more expensive, but that represents little extra outlay when you consider it has none of the Asus screen's gripes and comes with higher contrast ratio and response time to boot. There's nothing wrong with the ML249H on a base level. If you buy it, you're unlikely to be disappointed by the image quality and the biggest real-world niggle is the limited number of inputs. It's just that the Asus isn't the cream of the crop at this price point. 
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from techradar To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment