CPTD - Central Patent & Trademark Database

Yet another fake patent bureau scam.

IOPTS Register International Patent Application

Yet another fake patent bureau scam.

Safeguarding the majority includes civil liberties and means much more than safeguarding the physical safety of a majority of people

My letter to the editor of The Independent about a letter from Mark Manson.

To: letters@independent.co.uk

Dear Independent,

Mark Manson in his 25 March 2009 letter “Better to lose civil liberties than suffer a terror attack” made a very reasonable argument for how he feels government needs to objectively put the majority first.

Permit me to add: if safeguarding the physical safety of citizens is the most important goal for government, it would seem to make sense for the government take steps to gauge which religious or socio-economic movement represents the greatest threat to our physical safety and align itself with that movement. If politically-motivated or poverty-fuelled religious fundamentalists are the potential terrorists (perhaps for the U.K. it was Catholicism a few centuries ago, Islam today, etc.) why shouldn’t the state officially adopt the religion in question, mandate conversion and make whatever redistribution of wealth is required to placate terrorists?

Fortunately (I hope) the majority of people will find this a ridiculous idea, as they value freedom to choose a way of life (which may be at odds with whoever threatens us) more than physical safety.

This freedom to choose was built on and is inextricably linked with our civil liberties. I hope the government will objectively and pragmatically assess that while terrorist threats are very real, they steal much more of our attention than some other very mundane threats to the safety of our families which are statistically more likely to affect each of us.

Safeguarding the majority includes civil liberties and means much more than safeguarding the physical safety of a majority of people.

Michael Maguire

Below, the text of the original letter I was responding to:

Better to lose civil liberties than suffer a terror attack

Wednesday, 25 March 2009

I have read with great interest over the past months the numerous articles and editorials in your paper that report on policies that show a worrying trend towards an erosion of civil liberties. There have been articles on surveillance, legislation, ID cards, CCTV, internet and e-mail monitoring etc. There have not been many articles that support, explain or justify the actions of the government and its reasons for trying to implement such policies.

Whatever the civil-liberty campaigners or the conspiracy theorists may say about government intent, the bottom line is that security forces are trying to solve crimes that have, as yet, not been committed. There is no forensic evidence to be gathered at the crime scene or witnesses to interview, indeed, no physical crime to investigate until it's all too late. It would be reassuring to think that the security forces have psychics guiding them, as in the film Minority Report, but they probably don't.

Therefore the only weapon the authorities have to prevent terrifying atrocities being committed on UK soil is "information". Because the potential terrorists are not likely to volunteer this information the only way to obtain it would be through surveillance and the monitoring of their communication systems and/or pressure through questioning.

I appreciate that if it was a member of my family or indeed myself being subject to such harassment than my stance would be different. But there is a genuine threat and in such a situation the government needs to be objective and pragmatic and be able to take the necessary steps to safeguard the majority. As unpalatable as this may be, it is preferable to forego certain liberties to safeguard us against, for example, the explosion of a "dirty bomb" or the poisoning of a reservoir.

Mark Manson

Gosport, Hampshire

I.B.F.T.P.R., CORP.

Favourite quote from the bogus fine print on the back of this fake patent office scam:

You may also cancel this contract if upon a doctors order you cannot physically receive the service

Register of International Patents and Trademarks

Yet another fake patent bureau scam.

http://www.ript.eu

(nice name -- ript off -- get it?)

IBIP-International Bureau for Intellectual Property

Yet another fake patent bureau scam.

http://www.ibip-service.com/

Nokia 6220c (AKA 6220 Classic)

Firmware: 06.06.229.03 31-May-2008 RM-328 6220c-1

Physically this phone looks like a winner -- small form factor, good keyboard, nice screen.

Sadly, this Nokia suffers from the same new Access Point "Category" problem that the 5320 suffers from, namely that the Access Point categories appear to be uselessly named and add an extra level of confusion. You'll see:

Internet
"Vodafone live!
WAP services
"Vodafone live!"

You'd think that for e.g. an email application, choosing "Internet" instead of "WAP services" would do the right thing, but alas it doesn't.

Even though the first category is called "Internet" and there is a second category called "WAP Services", both categories are actually set to use the "Vodafone live!" APN and so only work for port 80.

You can see this and fix it so "Internet" uses "Vodafone Internet GPRS" by changing relative priorities under Phone settings/Connection/Destinations/Internet -- select the second one "Vodafone Internet GPRS" and Options/Organize/Change priority).

Note: It might be a bit unfair of me to blame solely Nokia for this -- it could be that Vodafone UK's device provisioning service isn't yet properly setup to handle these new Nokia's yet. Perhaps it's as simple as Vodafone tweaking their provisioning settings so that the "Internet" category gets assigned the "Vodafone Internet GPRS" access point.

SonyEricsson C902

Firmware: R3BH002 prg12041731_GENERIC_AO JP-8.3.0

(Press: * right * left left * left *)

This phone has been great so far. The only criticisms are minor niggles:

The screen is a little smaller that I thought it would be (it's not the width of the phone, it's actually narrower inside the black glass that you see).

The keys are hard plastic instead of the rubber you have on the K800i -- my finger nails keep slipping.

It's a little thicker than the W880i -- too bad they couldn't have kept it as thin as that phone -- but it feels fabulously solid and the slide-out for the 5 megapixel camera works well.

Dell Studio 17 -- Morals of the story (so far, after less than a month of ownership)

Don't buy a Dell (OK, that's a bit cynical).

If you have to buy a Dell, be prepared for their online order system to totally screw up your order.

In the end I had to resort to a phone call with a Dell business account representative just to get a (home) order sorted out. Lucky I have a small software startup that has bought a few Dell servers before...

Be aware that "Dell In Home Support" has lots of fine print -- they will probably end up wanting you to ship your computer away for 5-7 days anyway.

When I finally took matters into my own hands, I ended up being walked through a technical procedure. I was comfortable with it although I would rather have spent my time at my own job and let Dell send a guy to do their job. I work in a technical field, I'd be worried to think how this would have worked out if a non-technical person had a support problem.

Be aware that Dell support is a bit hit-and-miss, depends on who you reach. Try, try again (I would try again for someone else sooner next time).

Email support seems shoddy and far too disconnected as a process -- a bit of of a time waste.

Best to go for phone support right away if you have a problem, so you can keep the person on the phone until things are sorted out.

Note: Don't take this as too negative about Dell -- I haven't yet had a chance to blog my bad experiences with HP xw6400 workstations or CAD2 custom-built workstations. But I've had better experiences so far with IBM ThinkPads (A31p) and (HP Compaq laptops (nc8430).

Dell Studio 17 Problems -- Another final follow-up email from Arun

Appears to be a form email exactly the same as first one from Arun:

Dear Sir / Madam,

Thank you for contacting Dell Technical Support regarding your Dell system with Service Tag: [snipped] / Order Number: [snipped].

We hope your query was addressed to your satisfaction.

Should the issue still exist or if you need any further clarifications, please feel free to reply to this email clearly mentioning the following:

1.Case Number / Reference Number
2.Preferred way to contact you (phone or email)
3.Preferred phone number for callback
4.Best time frame to reach you (Please specify a time window of 2 hours)

We will get back to you within 24 working hours of receipt of your email. Our hours of operation are Monday to Friday 8:00am to 8:00pm

Alternatively you can choose to contact us through our Chat Support by typing www.dell.co.uk/chat into your internet browser and selecting the Chat option.

Currently Chat support is available for DIMENSION and INSPIRON systems only; this service is available between 12:00PM to 9:00PM GMT from Monday to Friday.

You may receive an electronic invite to participate in Dell’s Customer Satisfaction Survey. Your participation and feedback are vital to improve our Services.

Thank you for choosing Dell.

Kind regards,
Arun NN
Dell Technical Support
Dell Hardware Support – UK & Ireland
http://support.euro.dell.com
Dell Hardware Support: 0844 338 1000 (UK)
1850 543543 (Ireland)

Dell Studio 17 Problems -- Follow up call from Arun -- laptop appears to be fixed

Arun kept his word to check in on the system and called back on my mobile. I checked with my wife and the computer has been working fine this morning since the fix.

He also asked if I could take a few minutes to explain my customer support experience to his manager, Sharavanan, who said he would log this issue.

Dell Studio 17 Problems -- Making sure the right hand knows about the left hand

Mr. Singh,

I'm sorry but I couldn't wait any further. I called in on the Dell
Technical Support For Home number 0844 338 1000 and spoke with Arun NN
in Dell Hardware Support – UK & Ireland.

He walked me through the process of re-seating the keyboard and
updating the BIOS.

He has informed me that he is handling this technical support call from now on.

Regards,

Michael Maguire

Dell Studio 17 Problems -- Finally I give up and call tech support directly myself

Dear Sir / Madam,

Thank you for contacting Dell Technical Support regarding your Dell system with Service Tag: [snipped] / Order Number: [snipped].

We hope your query was addressed to your satisfaction.

Should the issue still exist or if you need any further clarifications, please feel free to reply to this email clearly mentioning the following:

1.Case Number / Reference Number
2.Preferred way to contact you (phone or email)
3.Preferred phone number for callback
4.Best time frame to reach you (Please specify a time window of 2 hours)

We will get back to you within 24 working hours of receipt of your email. Our hours of operation are Monday to Friday 8:00am to 8:00pm

Alternatively you can choose to contact us through our Chat Support by typing www.dell.co.uk/chat into your internet browser and selecting the Chat option.

Currently Chat support is available for DIMENSION and INSPIRON systems only; this service is available between 12:00PM to 9:00PM GMT from Monday to Friday.

You may receive an electronic invite to participate in Dell’s Customer Satisfaction Survey. Your participation and feedback are vital to improve our Services.

Thank you for choosing Dell.

Kind regards,
Arun NN
Dell Technical Support
Dell Hardware Support – UK & Ireland
http://support.euro.dell.com
Dell Hardware Support: 0844 338 1000 (UK)
1850 543543 (Ireland)

Dell Studio 17 Problems -- Test STILL running

The tests I was instructed to run are STILL in progress after 4 days. Currently in the "Memory March LR" test. Unable to cancel out of the test (as later instructed) using the ESC key (likely because of the keyboard fault).

I didn't want to wait for someone at Dell to arrange to call me as instructed in the last email from Mr. Singh.

I decided to turn off the computer and call into tech support.

I speak with Arun N who walks me through the process of removing the keyboard, cleaning all contacts and re-seating the connections.

He also instructs me to download and install BIOS update A04 (was A02).

Computer restarts and appears to be working better.

Arun instructs me that he has taken over the case and will call back later in the day to verify that things are still working.

He seemed very competent.

Dell Studio 17 Problems -- The meaning of "In Home Support"

Dear Mr. Maguire,

Thank you for your reply.

I have gone though your mail that you want the technician will visit at your place and replace the faulty parts.

Have all my sincere apologies for any indiscretion that has caused you dismay.

I wish to send the technician and replace the parts onsite according to your system warranty if the issue has been isolated in your system but in your system issue has not been isolated and the technician does not diagnose the parts onsite in onsite service but in depot service the technician will diagnose the system and replace all parts which he find faulty how ever I will arrange the call back and our call back agent will call you and isolate the parts in your system and create the service according your system warranty.

We are operational between 10:00 AM to5 PM Mon-Fri.

Please provide me the following details:

1. Contact Name:
2. Daytime Phone Number (Cell# preferred):
3. Alternate contact number:
4. Best Day and time to call you.

Note: Please do not forget to write ?PREFERRED CALL BACK? in the subject line if you need assistance over the phone.

Eagerly waiting for your kind response and please be assured that your issue resolution to your complete level of satisfaction mean a great deal to me.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to assist you. Your case number for this interaction is [snipped].

Thank you for choosing Dell.

Thanks & regards,
Deepak Kumar Singh
8:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Dell Hardware E-Support UK & IRE Support
http://support.euro.dell.com

Dell Studio 17 Problems -- Another we-solved-your-problem SMS received

SMS received: 13-Aug-2008 13:26

Dell Support

Dell Support has responded to your email today. If your issue remains unresolved, please do not hesitate replying to email received from us.

Note: No email yet received.

Dell Studio 17 Problems -- Losing my patience -- I paid for in home support

Dear Mr. Singh,

I submitted this problem report 10/08/2008 (3 days ago). I've followed your instructions. I tried cancelling out of the memory tests (which are STILL proceeding "Memory March LA Test, memory test activity CPU0@address00_26c00000 CPU1@adress idle 000") but I can't -- the ESC key doesn't appear to do anything. This is no surprise as the fault I reported is that the keyboard isn't working.

As I mentioned, I tried hooking up an external USB keyboard and mouse and they work fine -- the problem is clearly a keyboard hardware problem.

I feel like you have been bungling this service call (See email to "Mr. Davison" below) and causing delays to what should be a simple identification of the problem and arranging of a technician visit.

I do not want to be without the computer for another 5-7 days. When I bought this computer (a month ago) I paid for:

"754-10020 4Yr In-Home Warranty Support, including evenings and Saturdays"

(please see attached order)

From the Dell web site, "In-HomeWarranty Support" means:

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/learnmore/learnmore.aspx/hmc_warranty_support_inspn?c=uk&cs=ukbsdt1&l=en&s=bsd&~lt=popup

"However, with In-Home Warranty Support you can extend your cover for up to four years including the cost of repairs and replacement parts. In the event of a problem that cannot be resolved by phone-based troubleshooting, we can send a Dell-certified technician to your home at a convenient time to directly resolve hardware-related issues."

Please send a Dell-certified technician over immediately to fix this laptop per your contractual obligations or I will be forced to return it for a full refund.

Regards,
Michael Maguire

Dell Studio 17 Problems -- Answer to the second time I asked the question about aborting the test

Dear Mr. Maguire,

Thank you for your reply.

Please do not worry, for your satisfaction I will go-ahead and would setup the service in such a way that your system can be picked and would be completely diagnosed at our Dell depot and all the faulty parts can be replaced by the new one.

Please provide the details which I have sent in last e-mail so that I will create the depot service for your system.

I will be waiting for your reply.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to assist you. Your case number for this interaction is [snipped].

Thank you for choosing Dell.

Thanks & regards,
Deepak Kumar Singh
8:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Dell Hardware E-Support UK & IRE Support
http://support.euro.dell.com

When responding to me, please use the *REPLY* function of your e-mail program. This will keep the SAME SUBJECT LINE of our e-mail. Otherwise your message may be delayed or lost.

Dell Studio 17 Problems -- Answer to the first time I asked about stopping the test

Dear Mr. Maguire,

Thank you for your reply.

Please do not worry, for your satisfaction I will go-ahead and would setup the service in such a way that your system can be picked and would be completely diagnosed at our Dell depot and all the faulty parts can be replaced by the new one. The normal lead time in this service is 5 to 7 business days depending on the availability of the parts.

Please provide me the details which have given below.

To initiate the service, it is very important to have all the below mentioned information for an early closure of the current issue in hand. Please provide me the following details:

1. Contact Name:

2. Address: (from your original order/ invoice)

3. Address from where courier will pick up and deliver the system after repair:

Street Address:

City:

County:

Post Code:

4. Daytime Phone Number (Cell# preferred):

5. Alternate contact name:

6. Alternate Phone:

7. Please confirm if the following parts of your system are intact and functioning properly. This will help us to bypass any unforeseen trouble with the system that may arise in future. These parts if faulty are subject to replacement in terms with the warranty coverage of your system.

a) System plastics such as LCD hinges, LCD top cover, Media\battery bay latches:

b) Keyboard Keys:

c) Touchpad\Palmrest:

d) Systems Ports:

e) Optical drive such as DVD\CDRW Drive:

f) Any other noticeable technical disruption\suspect or system abuse visible:

g) Rubber Feet/LCD bumpers/Screws:

h) Frayed Cables on adapter and cord:

8. Any new fault found might involve few more interaction(s) to diagnose and fix the issue.

** Special Note: Please be informed that windows might require reinstallation; please make sure that you have backed up the data on the system. If any concern please let us know.

I will be waiting for your reply.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to assist you. Your case number for this interaction is [snipped].

Thank you for choosing Dell.

Thanks & regards,
Deepak Kumar Singh
8:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Dell Hardware E-Support UK & IRE Support
http://support.euro.dell.com

Dell Studio 17 Problems -- Re-asking the ending the memory test question

Dear Support,

I still haven't gotten an answer to this question.

Regards,
Michael