What follows is my complaint letter to Sky. If they choose to ignore it at least someone else out there will read it.

I wish to complain about the abysmal service that I have received from Sky. I signed up for Sky TV in February when I moved into a new house, I took the opportunity to subscribe to a multiroom account so that I could enjoy HD television in one room and have an SD Sky decoder in the bedroom.

All went well for a few months and then I started to receive error messages on both my Sky receivers. They would both state that there was no satellite signal being received. Often it would affect both boxes at the same time but inexplicably it would also affect only one at a time. Surely that should not be possible if they both share the same receiver dish?

I phoned to try and get this issue resolved and an engineer was called out to visit us. This was arranged of the 9th of June. After a few minutes of testing the HD box he discovered that there was a fault with one of its two receivers and replaced the box. Things went well for a few days and then the errors returned. This meant that I could not watch TV or successfully complete recordings, this was starting to become very frustrating. This was also very disappointing as I thought that the errors were all behind me. I called the help line again and I was instructed to complete a series of tests all of which failed. Another engineer call out was proposed but I would have to wait almost two weeks for an available slot. I found this to be unacceptable but I was told that if I was willing to wait a day that the operator would call me the next day to tell me if a better appointment was available.

Needless to say that call never came, I even left an extra day to make sure I wasn’t being too hasty. When I called back I was told that the engineer visit had been arranged for Friday the 19th of June which was a bit of a surprise as I wasn’t informed. In fact the engineer would have come to visit me only to find that I was at work! In light of this less than stellar customer relationship an engineer visit was arranged for that very Sunday, the 21st of June.

On that visit the engineer examined both my Sky receivers as well as the dish itself and found that the signal strength from the antenna was below 50%. In fact it was more like 11%. He then adjusted the dish by a few degrees and trimmed some of the excess cable. When he tested another new HD box he found that the signal strength and quality were almost registering double the values of my existing (second) box. So with that I was given a third HD receiver and I thought that surely this would be the end of this debacle.

But no, it was not the end.

This evening, upon returning home from a hard day at work I was greeted not by the friendly face of the Eli Stone, or even the unfriendly face of Dr Gregory House. I was greeted with the blank deep blue screen of “no satellite signal” hell. I checked my SD box in the bedroom and I found that I was able to watch channels that were exclusive to Sky, there was a signal but not in my HD Box.

Yet again I found myself phoning the help desk and yet again I was instructed to pull cables and flick switches. In the end I had had enough and I asked to be put through to the cancellations department whereupon I was told that they were shut at 9:05pm. I then asked to be put through to the customer relations department. This was not a turn for the better. When I was put through to someone there I was told that the cancellations department was not closed (someone here is lying) and that they were open until 10pm. But I couldn’t talk to them because they didn’t have any phones. I thought Sky was a communications company?

If I wanted to get through to them I would have to do so through the form on the web site, I’m pretty familiar with the Sky.com customer help page and there was no form that I knew of. In fact the operator didn’t know where it was either and we spent a few minutes exploring the labyrinthine depths of the Sky web site. I can think of better things to do on a Tuesday evening. Eventually we gave up on our expedition and she went away to ask someone for directions and a couple of minutes later she returned, rather than use the help page I should have followed a link from the main Sky.com home page. Of Course! Where else would I expect to find a help form, silly me.

So here I am, putting finger to keyboard in lieu actual human contact, recording my tale of woe at the hands of Sky. I’m beginning to wonder what my options would have been if my broadband wasn’t working? But that is another unfortunate tale...

Would it at all be possible to actually talk to someone about either actually fixing my television service or terminating my contract with Sky with extreme prejudice? You have my phone number, maybe it’s time you attempted to contact me regarding this matter?

Update: I don’t believe it! The Sky feedback form only allows 1000 characters to be sent, this little missive is 4835!

It’s typical isn’t it, you wait ages for something and then three come along at once. I’m not talking about public transport, I’m referring to possible choices for my next laptop purchase. It’s been a long time since any small computer came along and grabbed my attention, the last one was the Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium. Many small laptops have come and gone since then and I’ve even purchased a Advent 4211 (MSI wind to you and me) for my lovely wife. But as ever I’m hyper picky about the gadgets in my life and there haven’t been any releases that tick all my boxes, apart from the Fujitsu U2010 but that’s far too expensive.

And then along came the Asus T91, a convertible laptop with a nine inch screen and the Intel Silverthorne chipset. Weighing in at less than 1Kg it’s exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for, it’ll even have multi-touch which is a new “must have” feature for any device I purchase. There’s plenty of coverage here.

Then this week there’s been a lot of noise surrounding the Viliv X70, a device that is very similar to the Samsung Q1 at first glance. Both are tablets and both have seven inch screens. However the Viliv has an Z series Atom processor so is much more up-to-date as far as technology is concerned. It’s tempting that’s for sure and even has built in GPS, kind of redundant as I have that feature on my T-Mobile Compact IV (HTC Touch Diamond in a business suit).

Finally there’s the Archos 9, something that I wasn’t expecting at all. It’s a nine inch tablet so bridges the gap between the Asus T91 and the Viliv X70. Details are thin on the ground right now but it appears to have not one but two built in DVB TV tuners, this would be a portable PVR. I’m not too sure that I’ve ever thought to myself “if only I could watch TV right now and record something on the other side” whist I was on the bus but if that situation ever did arise I wouldn’t be left wanting with a device like this. It is still a light weight and very stylish looking device and therefore makes it on to my “most wanted” list.

So there’s still a place in my life for an ultra portable desktop replacement computer, and now it looks like I’m spoilt for choice. But there are a few things that are going to help me choose. I’ve yet to find out how good the screens are in direct, anything less than the quality of my mobile phone will result in the PC going right to the back of the queue. And multi-touch is semi confirmed on only the Asus T91 so far, that puts it at the front of the queue.

After putting my thoughts to screen in part one of my experiment I was given the chance to try and compare the use of specialist devices against general purpose ones. The test was going to compare the Game Boy Advance Micro against the Vario II. As a first test it wasn’t really a fair trial, the Vario II is not the best gaming platform available and I can’t recall the last time I actually used it to play a game while I was on the bus but seeing as it was the first of my new gadgets to arrive I thought I would get things going.

With all my toys laid out before me on the desk I started to get ready to leave the office. The headphones went on, the mic was clipped to the top button hole of my jacket and my phone went into my left pocket and my key cards with into my right pocket. I was then left with the Game Boy, I thought “where am I going to put that?” As it happens the Game Boy Micro is so small it can cwuch up next to my phone. Ultimately not a huge problem but would carrying more than one device be a sacrifice worth making?

I listened to some music while I waited for the bus and when it arrived I got on, took my seat and then made the transfer from phone to console. This was not an entirely simple operation. I stopped the music on my phone, unplugged the headset lead so that I might be able to hear it ring, disconnected my Sony headphones from the headset lead and plugged them into the Game Boy. The length of the Sony MDR-EX71 is perfect for hand held gaming, there was almost no slack at all when using the console and wearing the headphones. Playing the games brought back some memories, the Game Boy adaptation of the Super NES Zelda game was pure nostalgic entertainment. It was quite easy to forget where you were while playing games this way which leads me on to an observation. It’s perhaps not advisable to get so involved when travelling to work. I almost missed my stop twice and I think I’m lucky that I didn’t end up in Newport this morning. Maybe the idea of playing games to while away the commute is better than the reality? From now on I’m going to have to limit myself to only playing when I’m travelling to the end of the route.

But what of the experiment, I think in this case the Game Boy makes its point well. It is so much better than using my phone to play games. That’s the plus point, the minus points are; the fuss of switching leads, possibility of missing a phone call and the extra bits I need to carry around. On balance I think the scales tip towards the Game Boy but we’ll see how things progress. I’m going to continue my experiment and I’m waiting for my dedicated music player to be delivered, it should be due any day now.

It's true when people say that it's the little things that make life enjoyable. For example take what just happened to me. I was waiting for my bus to arrive and whisk me back to Barry, listening to a bit of Metallica when the reminder on an Outlook calendar event rang out in my earphones. It was a reminder telling me that an eBay auction was only 15 minutes from ending. Even though I was far away from home I did not fear. I opened Pocket IE and visited the mobile version of the auction web site.

I was logged in and still enjoying my Metallica, the bus arrived and I embarked, took my seat and checked the status of my auction. With only moments to spare I placed my bid and waited. An email was delivered only seconds later, my bid was confirmed. Then another email, I won the auction! Sweet. And the music just kept on playing.

I was so chuffed with myself that I updated Twitter with my latest exploits. Just at that moment Amanda rang, not a problem as the music automatically paused and I answered the call. After some last minute Friday evening arrangements were made I hung up the phone and went back to the thrash metal performance of Fight Fire With Fire that was ringing in my ears.

And then I fired up Word Mobile and penned this blog entry, I haven't reached Barry yet. This high tech lifestyle is something else. I love it when I plan comes together.

I’ve been reading about the profits that are being made by the energy companies this week. The likes of Centrica have made almost £1,000,000,000 in pure profit at the same time as raising the price of fuel by over 30% in some cases. Then there are the petrol companies, Exxon has just announced a quarterly profits of over $11,000,000,000! And all the time the price of petrol and diesel goes up and stays there.

That got me thinking, as things like this usually do. It seems to me that these energy companies are not treating their customers with the respect that they’re due. If it wasn’t for us, as paying customers, they would not exist. However we seem to be treated with contempt by them. A strong opinion perhaps but let me explain why I think that way. For years now we have been told that the rising price of crude oil has pushed the cost of fuel up, which would seem to make sense. But when crude goes down the price of fuel stays the same. If the only reason the price is high is because the raw materials are expensive and can raise the price of the end product in an instant then wouldn’t a drop in the price of a barrel of oil spark an equally quick drop in prices at the pump? No, evidently not. That’s because we’re not being treated like customers.

Now I’m not asking for the big oil companies to start treating us like charity cases, I know full well the operation of a private business. But for most us consumers these products are more than just a luxury, gas and electricity are essential utilities. It would seem that in these cases the shareholder has become vastly more important than the customer, to the point of exploitation. And there we have the crux of my thoughts. We, as a whole, are no longer customers in the eyes of these companies. We’re addicts.

We act like addicts so is it any surprise that we are treated just like them? If we were able to we would vote with our pocket and switch to a better product or service, a competitor that provided a better service or cheaper price. But we can’t, we have no choice, choosing which massive Big Oil company to fill your tank up from is no choice at all. We can’t escape the fact that we NEED this stuff. We simply can’t function without it, and as an end result we act like addicts. We might grumble, we might complain, we might even protest but at the end of it all we all line up and dutifully pay the higher price for the product we can’t live without. And like hopelessly addicted smack addicts if there is a chance that we might run out we go crazy.

Earlier on this year there was a strike by petrol tanker drivers. And even though only one a few oil companies were involved there was a rush of panic buying. For a few days in the area around where I live all the petrol stations were bled dry. And it wasn’t even a nation wide strike, at the most I would estimate that only 20% of distribution was effected but that didn’t stop the addict in us from going berserk. And the price is higher now than it was then, and we’re still buying it like good little addicts.

While I was writing my previous blog entry I mentioned the fact that I don’t use the zoom feature of Pocket IE as much as I though I would. This got me thinking about my choice of mobile browser and how I browse the web when I’m on the move.

When it comes to picking a mobile browser I’m not limited for choice. I’ve tended to favour the ones that are part of the OS, my computing philosophy being “don’t muck about with it”. I have used Opera Mobile and Mini but was never that impressed by either. Many other people who have used the Opera software rave about them and I can certainly see why, they are very accomplished browsers that attempt to bring the desktop web experience to the hand held device but I never found the squeeze to be worth it.

I think that I never got used to the way Opera works because I grew up with mobile browsers and have always found mobile services that are optimised for them. My first WAP phone was a Motorola V2288, the main reasons why I bought it was the built in radio and WAP capabilities. It had a tiny grey scale screen but that didn’t stop me from dialling up and reading the BBC News site and other mobile sites like Ananova. From there I ended up with phones that had bigger and more colourful screens, from a Nokia 3330 I got a Sony Ericsson T610. I was able to browse more demanding sites but they were always formatted for the small screen. Now I use a Windows Mobile phone and have a good browser in Pocket IE that will load and display full web sites, even if it does it badly. But I’m not interested because I still use sites that are designed for the mobile.

This is what separates me from phone users who are perhaps new to mobile web browsing. They are used to the web on their computer and want no less on their phone. People were attracted to the iPhone because it had a good web browser that mimicked the desktop and even though I have the option of using a browser with similar capabilities I think I’ll pass for now. I have all I need from my mobile optimised sites. Maybe my next phone with a VGA display will change my mind.

Last week I thought I would try and move away from Bloglines as my rss feed reader. There’s nothing wrong with Bloglines at all, it’s just that there are alternatives out there and I thought I would give NewsGator another spin. The last time I tried it I attempted to use their application that syncs the Windows Common Feed Store (or whatever it’s called) with the NewsGator feed store up in the cloud. The advantage was going to be the ability to use the feed tools built into Windows and Outlook and still be able to read feeds on my mobile phone when I was out and about. That didn’t actually happen, the beta NewsGator software consistently failed to keep all my devices in sync and I gave up and went back to Bloglines.

But now I’m trying again, I’ve migrated all my news feeds over to the NewsGator web reader, installed the Feed Demon desktop software on Queeg (my PC at home) and put the mobile client on my phone. At first it was all roses, the feeds on all three locations were keeping up with each other and I was able to read my news without having to work through the same story more than once. However, in the past day or two I’ve noticed that the unread counts on my phone are higher than they are on the web or on the desktop. The feeds are going out of sync again and I have to sift through articles I’ve already read on my other devices. There is an option to “Reset Sync” which clears out all news stories and downloads them fresh from the server. This does indeed synchronize all my feeds but it takes a long time and uses up a lot of my data allowance. It shouldn’t be necessary anyway, so if things don’t improve soon I might have to go looking for an alternative method of getting my feed fix.

In fact, I’m thinking of using the Windows method again. I’ve noticed that if I keep my Outlook feeds in my Exchange folders they get synchronized to my email account. From there I can read them in Outlook Web Access online and using the email client on my phone. This is a strong possibility as it is using things and services I already have and seems to work well (I’ve been testing it with a single news feed to see what happens). I just don’t want to use up all the space in my Exchange account with news stories.

I like to learn about cutting edge advances. So when BMW say that they've built a car using fabric I had to take a look. It kind of reminds me of science fiction flying saucers that were made out of mouldable metals. Anyway take a look and see for yourself.

It would seem that Apple has decided that it can’t compete with Microsoft Exchange and has decided to build support for it into their new products. It’s interesting to note that as well as adding Active Sync support into the iPhone (both the new 3G model and the old first generation) they also plan to add it to the upcoming desktop operating system “Snow Leopard”. And to think they spent all that money on bashing the badly dressed and boring PC in those adverts that I found so entertaining but unconvincing enough to “switch”. But all along it would seem that the trendy looking Mac secretly pines for a stable and reliable communications provider that serves thick clients, mobile devices and web services. Maybe Mac needs to buy a shirt and tie?