New kubuntu today. also new thunderbird, but I've mostly stopped using that so meh.
Not updated my computer yet - partly because the ubuntu sites have been running very very slowly all day. Haha. Was considering it this afternoon but I think it can wait until at least the weekend.
Reading the official upgrade guides, and I'm not entirely amused. Preferred method of updating - using pissing adept (or whatever gui unbuntu has). Manual command line updates are apparently "not recommended" because it is "less reliable". What The Fuck?! I see no logic in this, and have decided it must just be lies and scare tactics so that newly converted windows users don't get scared of anything vaguely technical.
Then again, I am also a bit of a linux snob at times, and the whole idea of linux simply being a free replacement for windows annoys me no end. It is much better than that. grr. When I get round to doing my upgrade it will be with the command line, for the simple reason that it takes less time and effort. and because I'm a little bit stubborn.
New stable Debian came out a few weeks ago too (wow!), which reminds me that I really should rescue my other computer from dad and get it working again. I also really do need to get round to buying a dvd writer for this one, which I have been meaning to do since about christmas. Also want a few new usb drives, and then today I was thinking I may as well buy a new hard drive too, as the other pc only has 40gig in it. Not that I use huge amounts of disk space for anything, but it's some kind of geek pride thing I think.
Thought process then says: if you're going to buy more space you may as well get more memory too... can I afford any of this? not really. Considering that I still don't have a washing machine yet. ahh, priorities!
Doesn't help that John has a newish laptop... I don't dare think about that too much because the second I start trying to justify it (mmm, internet in bed...) then I will decide it's a good idea and that'll be that..
British Gas are now well and truly top of my 'I-hate-you' list.
I moved here what, 6 weeks ago? And when I did so the lettings agent took gas/electricity meter readings and passed those on, along with my details, to whoever the suppliers are.
This morning I get not one but TWO angry letters from British Gas demanding details with the threat of assuming the property is empty and cutting off the electricity supply if they don't hear back within 7 days.
Great.
What's even better is that the letters say "we sent you this letter on 4th April 2007". Today is the 13th. The post office may be crap, but it DOES NOT take them 9 days to deliver a letter, and it's even less likely that TWO letters would get lost in the post for the same amount of time... (incidently the one letter goes on about gas readings despite saying that they're supplying the electric. okay then.
So this morning I phoned, armed with a meter reading. Sat on hold for quarter of an hour then gave up because I had to go to work.
I've just spent another 44 minutes on hold, and now their 'customer support' phoneline is closed. Excellent. That's really fucking fantastic. Now I'm going to have to waste half my Saturday also sitting on hold again because otherwise they're going to be twats about everything and I'll have no power.
44 minutes ago I was feeling normal and mostly relaxed. Now I am very stressed and angry and could kill things. In fact, I might. Also quite hungry as I would have liked to have had my tea about half an hour ago.
I do feel sorry for call centre monkeys, to a point - but they can't expect people to not be incredibly pissed off after 44 minutes of crap hold musak (in this case a weird and horrible midi mix of Coldplay and Tears for Fears) and patronising energy saving tips. At least I have speaker phone so I can leave the phone on the desk and get on with other stuff.
Especially annoying because I know for a fact that they already have my details because I have spoken to the person in the lettings agents who made the phone call and told them. Fucking hell. How useless can you be?!
I have a new pet hate. Well, really a newly resurfaced old pet hate... On websites, of course:
That. It's an empty input with a 'go' button. Really user friendly 
It is, of course, a search box. Clearly many web designers think that this should be obvious to your average internet user. It's not. It's just an unlabelled input box.
This particular example was screengrabbed from the Ubuntu forums, and they really should know better.
I'm not making any claims of expertise when it comes to doing user friendly accessible websites, but I do my best - and things like that really annoy me. Like having next/previous/first/last page links in the 'wrong' order. grr.
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