The Australian Diamond Dealer
This is a tale that I am pretty sure is true. But on the other hand it might just be one of those tales that passes down from teller to teller gathering more and more embellishments as time goes on.
In the 1970s, I used to work as a consultant to a clearing bank. I’m not going to say which, but it probably can be ascertained by those who know me. In that case, you’re wrong, as either it’s another bank or the tale was about another.
On the computing side banks went through a lot of changes at that time. Remember that D-day when we went from £sd to £p was the 15th February 1971 and also computers were starting to replace manual systems. So there was a large scope for mistakes and possible fraud.
This Australian, who claimed he was a diamond dealer turned up at a Central London branch, saying that he’d like to open an account. He had a reference from an Australian bank and backed it with a substantial cash deposit. He said that he was spending a few months in “the old country” and when he returned, he would take all the money out of his account in cash to purchase diamonds to take back.
It all sounded feasible and over the months, nothing raised any suspicion in the bank. Money came into the account and just as quickly came out in cash to buy diamonds. But never at any time did the account go into the red.
Then, the Australian announced that he was going back to Oz and on a particular day he would draw the money out of his account in cash and close it. He left a forwarding account for any charges or extra payments that might accrue.
It was only noticed later that the date he would leave was a few days after the branch was computersied. And someone went in and changed the paying-in slips in the branch for ones where the account number had helpfully already been filled in.
You’ve guessed it, but it was the Australian’s account.
I heard this tale twice and let’s say that a very nice six figure sum disappeared.
In one version, he wasn’t even Australian!
Technology That Works
The postman came about five minutes ago.
He delivered two pieces of post that mattered amongst all the old junk; a new card for Sky and a Voter Registration Form from St. Edmundsbury.
The card had been flagged up on my Sky system for about a week now. A simple message just told me that the card had been posted and could I check the post. I took out the old card and entered the new one. It worked first time. As it should.
The Voter Registration Card had only one problem. The URL was rather complicated, especially as it included St. Edmundsbury, which is not the easiest word to type. But after a couple of pages and a few clicks, I’d updated everything. Or in my case, just told them that a very lonely man, who spends a lot of his time blogging is still alive!
Seriously though, life isn’t that bad all the time.
But both systems worked without a hitch and with the exception of the URL couldn’t be faulted.
An aside here, is that if you’re developing an on-line system, make sure that the URL is short. There are lots of six and seven character ones available. I even recently acquired mx73.com. Short and memorable.
I just wonder how less stressful our lives would be if so many of the other things that we have to do in our lives were just as simple. We’re getting there, but not as fast I would like.
One thing that works round here, is that when my wife died, the Registrar informed the council, so that I got an automatic Council Tax discount, after I signed and dated the form they sent me. A very civilised piece of joined up thinking.
Do all councils work this way?
And then we have the excellent system for Vehicle Excise Duty, that has cost the Post Offices so much money, as who in their right mind queues for an hour to buy it.
Network Frustrations
Whoever thought up how computer networks work, should be taken outside and shot. And many of the people who put them together deserve a worse fate.
My network here has a large aerial, so that anybody who wants to can connect with the right key. That’s the theory, but sometimes you can connect and sometimes you can’t. There is no logic to it.
Grr!
And try finding someone, who wants to come and fix it. I have a large budget to get it right and people come and say yes, but that’s the last I hear of them.
Metier Minotaur
I started a company called Metier Management Systems. For my birthday, an old friend gave me a copy of the rather interesting magazine called the Metier Minotaur.
I shall be printing copies, so if anybody wants a facimile let me know.
Fraudulent Tax Refunds
I’m getting a couple of these e-mails every day now.
Tax Refund Spam E-Mail
My ISP marks them as spam. But they are.
Note that it is not specifically addressed to me in any way and that there is no mention of my name or tax number.
Don’t ever login. This one was hosted in Korea.
The Russian Attack
It would appear that Russia has been using Twitter, Facebook and other sites to silence a Georgian with whom they disagree.
I take a dim view of this, as I’m a great believer in free speech, but it doesn’t really matter that much. The fact that it’s now clear that the Russians attempted the silencing does them more damage, than one Georgian blogger.
Technology will continue to improve over the next few years and censorship of the Internet will make these sort of attacks much more difficult.
I do find it strange that Russia should use the Internet in this way, when according to Internet spam experts like SpamHaus, three of the top ten spammers are based in the Russian Federation. I think of phrases that use pot, kettle and black.
Copyright Please!
This post on another blog is mine!
Where’s the copyright?
Nowhere!
I just tried to post a pleasant message on his site, but it asked me to answer the challenge and didn’t give me any challenge. Not good!
Business Contact Manager
Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007 come with a piece of software that I consider totally unwanted and unnecessary; Business Contact Manager. The default installation sets this piece of software on your computer, but you then have to run a wizard to set it up. I never do, as no-one has actually told me what it does and how it is used. I certainly have no need for it.
A friend came to me with a computer that had developed a problem, where Outlook constantly failed on start-up. They used to have to re-install Outlook 2003, every few days or so, to open just get their e-mails. Now, I should say that their computer was a four year old HP, with only 512Mb of memory.
The machine seems OK now! But I removed Business Contact Manager.
Just as my machine is a lot better, now that I’ve removed this unwanted piece of software too.
When are people like Microsoft going to get the message, that most people are happy with their computer setup and don’t want to have new software, that they won’t use. At the least, the standard installation, should not install new software without asking if you want the rubbish.
It’s not just Microsoft who do this. McAffe add something Site Adviser. That’s unwanted too. At least by me!
To remove unwanted software go to the Control Panel and find the command that adds and removes software. Click on the unwanted software and you’ll be given the change to remove it.
How to Keep Your Computer Running Smoothly
This post really has been brought about because many of my friends seem to struggle keeping their computers working smoothly. And it doesn’t seem to matter whether they are Macs or Windows PCs.
Children and Young Adults
A lot of the problems I have found seem to stem from allowing teenage and sometimes older children to use the machine, as they gum it up with massive video and music files and inappropriate software. This would not normally be a problem, but many older people are careful with their computers and often run one that is a bit older and therefor short of both disc space and memory.
So the answer should be no, when your child asks if they can update their iPod.
Not Enough Memory
I also find that a lot of PCs don’t have enough memory, so make sure that you have at least two gigabytes. To find out how much you have go to the Control Panel and display the System. This should tell you. It is usually a simple matter to purchase more memory from someone like Crucial over the Internet. Installation is not difficult on many machines, but if you can’t do it yourself, there are plenty of your friends who can do it.
Slow Starting Up
Slow start-up of a computer is often caused by loading too many programs at the beginning. Many software companies think that their products are so important that they preload every time you start the machine. But do you really want them loaded every time. This page says how you remove them for Windows XP. For Vista it is quite similar except that you’ll need to find the Run command, which is in Accessories.
Updating Windows and Programs
I also always update my computer to the latest versions of Windows. Some people set the settings to do this, but set it for the middle of the night and then it either doesn’t get done or makes your computer extremely slow in the morning. If your computer always seems to have a hangover when you start it up, move the update download to a more convenient time.
Backing Up
And then there is the need to backup everything regularly. I backup all my important documents and my e-mails to an external hard disc at least once a week. Good external hard discs, usually cost about £50 and just plug in to your USB ports.
You can also back-up to SD cards, like you get in digital cameras. This is to be recommended for important documents and pictures, that say go with a particular project you have worked on. Can you be sure that DVDs will still be readable in twenty years? I suspect they will, but I reckon SD cards are a better bet. You can get very affordable and good ones from Memory Bits.
Cleanliness
A last point and one that is often forgotten. Keep your computer clean!
Text Message Accident Scam
A few minutes ago I got a text on my mobile from +447849031791 which said.
You may be entitled to 6000 pounds compensation for the Accident you had. To claim for free reply with YES to this msg. To opt out text stop. HBXA
As I haven’t had an accident, it’s either a cyber ambulance chaser or a scam. Take your pick!
I will not reply.
I did search the Internet with Google and found a useful site called WhoCallsMe. They had several copies of the same message registered on their site.
Note – I put quotes around “You may be entitled to 6000 pounds compensation for the Accident you had” to do the search.
This isn’t the first time I’ve come across these sort of people. A few months ago to get one off the phone, I had to use the F-word many times and put the phone down on him at least six times.
The Anonymous Widower 