scorch Posted June 13, 2017 Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 Good old NTL. Back in the day we had NTL lay a cable up our street. It wasnt until we had a house fire and the fire brigade accidentally burst our mains water supply that the NTL contractor had laid tarmac over everybody's stopcocks. Link to post Share on other sites
Xaccers Posted June 13, 2017 Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 Good old NTL. Back in the day we had NTL lay a cable up our street. It wasnt until we had a house fire and the fire brigade accidentally burst our mains water supply that the NTL contractor had laid tarmac over everybody's stopcocks. OK, excuse me for laughing, I'm sure that was a total PITA at the time, but sounds hilarious knowing how useless NTL could be at the time! In the Portsmouth area, we started with NyNex (which apparently was great as it was analogue and you could get a free trial, then cancel and swap the F-connector on the end of the signal lead for a normal aerial connector and tune in to any unscrambled channels. They did catch a load of people out by transmitting a new channel with a screen saying they'd won a speedboat with a number to call, which told them to go to a posh country restaurant for a free meal and the award ceremony, only to have the police walk in and arrest everyone at the table. Cable&Clueless bought out NyNex, then NTL bought them, along with about half of the other regions (Telewest got the rest), but failed to consolidate them to make savings, so if you called the wrong customer support number, after 40 minutes of listening to Dire Straits in the queue, they wouldn't be able to help you. This was back when they owed $1.6 billion and their stock dropped off the NASDAQ for being under $1. We had loads of fun trading stock, you could double (or half) your money in the space of an hour as the stock bounced up and down from 10c to 20c before they gave it all away to the creditors and offered previous stock owners options at 70c. One manager in the office lost a few grand as he had an auto buy set up at $3 which he'd forgotten about, and a project manager lost £11K buying cheap and thinking we'd be bought out and re-floated. He wasn't too bothered, it was free money from AT&T stock options he got from Thompson Directory which technically he shouldn't have gotten. At the time they were concentrating on making money out of TV services, but that only gave them 6% profit (they might as well have put their money in the bank), and the marketting team was wasting so much money it would have been cheaper to sent every customer a fiver with a note saying "Please renew with us" We showed them the internet was the way forward and they could make over 100% profit per customer with it. We also used to give a bit more speed than was offered, so a 512Kbps would actually be 600Kbps so we'd beat the competition in any speed comparison tests (as long as our Inktomi transparent proxies were working, otherwise carrier pigeon was faster) Link to post Share on other sites
Hedganian Posted June 13, 2017 Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 Every time they changed the name after getting bought out and merged, the prices went up and the service went down... We started with Derby Cable Communications back in the 90s, then Nynex bought them, then Cable & Wireless, then NTL and now Virgin... They still have the best broadband though, and one of the only options that aren't using a BT line. Link to post Share on other sites
Xaccers Posted June 13, 2017 Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 Every time they changed the name after getting bought out and merged, the prices went up and the service went down... We started with Derby Cable Communications back in the 90s, then Nynex bought them, then Cable & Wireless, then NTL and now Virgin... They still have the best broadband though, and one of the only options that aren't using a BT line. We used to say as long as nothing went wrong, they were great, but if you had trouble then their customer service was dire. They split into NTL:Home and NTL:Business, with the latter hiring a useless bloke to replace losing me to NTL:Home. One of my colleagues registered ntlhome.com and co.uk, NTL offered him £10K, he said he wanted more, and they asked if he wanted to keep his job. The £10K was accepted. Jammy sod. I had a "Whoops!" moment when we moved NTL.COM from Guildford to Winnersh. No one was able to give me a definitive list of domains that pointed to the ntl.com website. The datacentre was overloaded, so we had to share web servers with the DTV team (who just ran a small HTML site). Unfortunately I'd inadvertantly left the default website of the server pointing to a page that said "Whoops!" after troubleshooting a DTV issue and proving a point to an obnoxious member of their team who didn't think their issue was at their end. Consiquently when the IP address of the website was updated anyone accessing it via a domain name I hadn't bound to the ntl.com website got "Whoops!" Get a mention on El Reg http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/04/19/ntl_hacked/ Link to post Share on other sites
Habakure Posted June 13, 2017 Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 Nowtv is worth a go. You can find offers all the time (three months voucher for the price of one month). It is a tad expensive for the sports channels, but the entertainment package and movies is decently priced. The problem with Amazon prime video (also, you get Amazon prime music included) is the menu system. It doesn't always show the latest releases to prime. Though you do get limited movies on prime for say a week, as part of your subscription, on day of release (I'll try to find an example). I do think it is worth, but only just (and because I use Amazon music too). Link to post Share on other sites
scorch Posted June 13, 2017 Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 Now tv are great when you try to cancel. They offer you a price reduction for a few months. Rinse and repeat. Link to post Share on other sites
shmook Posted June 13, 2017 Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 Thanks again! Not bothered about sport so that's no issue Link to post Share on other sites
Mike_West Posted June 13, 2017 Report Share Posted June 13, 2017 I am *fruitcage* livid. The private clinic that does employee checkups refused to give me the official note confirming that I'm good to go, because the Labor Law reference on the slip from my employer was outdated. Yes, the old bag from HR responsible for keeping the forms up-to-date obviously slept on her *fruitcage* job. I swear, if I don't get the right slip tomorrow, if she says ONE WORD, I'm going ballistic. And if that wasn't enough, my cable connection *suitcase* itself and died AGAIN. Tapped out with Tapatalk. Link to post Share on other sites
scorch Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 Just found out a mate and fellow airsofter died yesterday afternoon after getting stabbed on Saturday night. Am feeling pretty stunned. Link to post Share on other sites
shmook Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 *fruitcage*. You OK? Link to post Share on other sites
Habakure Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 Really sorry to hear that, scorch. If you need a chat send us a pm mate. Things like this really make you wonder what type of people do we live with, if they think killing someone is acceptable. *fruitcage* scum bags the lot of them. Link to post Share on other sites
scorch Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 Just feel kinda numb right now. He was such a cool guy. Just like always positive and upbeat. Can't believe it. Link to post Share on other sites
Tw1tch Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 I'm sorry for your loss Scorch, it sucks that some scum did that and took away someone's family. I can't say things will get better because sometimes they don't, I'm still mourning friends I lost in Afghan a few years ago and it hasn't gotten easier but I think that's guilt for me. If you ever need to vent my inbox is also open, or at least talk to someone if it does get bad, please? Link to post Share on other sites
Lone_Bullet Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 Sorry, Scorch. Since he was a fellow softer, you recon we would know him? Link to post Share on other sites
scorch Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 Yeah, will do. Thanks guys. Sorry, Scorch. Since he was a fellow softer, you recon we would know him? Probably not. He wasn't in it that long. About a year? But he fit right in seamlessly like he'd always been one of us. Link to post Share on other sites
shmook Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 If you ever need to vent my inbox is also open Obligatory fnar Link to post Share on other sites
Hedganian Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 Just found out a mate and fellow airsofter died yesterday afternoon after getting stabbed on Saturday night. Am feeling pretty stunned. Well, that's *suitcase*. Link to post Share on other sites
hitmanNo2 Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 I think I have finally accepted that there will be no HL3 Link to post Share on other sites
Habakure Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 Well, Duke nukem forever took a while to come out and that turned out well didn't it. . . . didn't it?!? Probably for the best. Link to post Share on other sites
Pdubyuh Posted June 15, 2017 Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 Yeah, will do. Thanks guys. Probably not. He wasn't in it that long. About a year? But he fit right in seamlessly like he'd always been one of us. I also Play at the same sight as Scortch, well marshal mostly these days, But I completely agree he slotted in like he'd been slinging plastic for years, I've had a couple of issues recently that i have shared on Facebook (I need to talk about stuff when it affects me and living on my own FB was the only outlet) and both times he sent me messages offering support its such a tragic loss. I say we play hard Sunday in his honour, what you recon Scorch? Link to post Share on other sites
Hedganian Posted June 15, 2017 Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 Your site should have a minute's silence for him before the game. Link to post Share on other sites
scorch Posted June 15, 2017 Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 Minutes silence will be arranged. Link to post Share on other sites
Gunmane Posted June 15, 2017 Report Share Posted June 15, 2017 I've said it before, but it bears repeating, it hits hard when it is someone who shares the same passion as the rest of us. Condolences from across the pond. Link to post Share on other sites
Hedganian Posted June 19, 2017 Report Share Posted June 19, 2017 It's too damn hot for the UK... My air conditioning unit is struggling desperately to keep the room under 24 degrees and that temperature should *not* feel cool - which it only does in comparison to everywhere else in the house. Also, I have mild sunburn and annoying insect bites from the training weekend just gone. Link to post Share on other sites
hitmanNo2 Posted June 19, 2017 Report Share Posted June 19, 2017 I wouldn't mind 24 degrees right about now. 31 in and out here. Not pleasant. Link to post Share on other sites
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