Wake up and smell the coffee, TomTom - you're about to lose a customer.

CeBIT is the annual new tech show for all manner of consumer gadgets, including but not limited to computers, phones, and so on.

Now, for the last 18 months, I've been using a very good PPC - that's Pocket PC, which has the added advantage of being a phone and GPS as well. It's the iPAQ HP HW6915 Navigator. I've got lots of software on there, but the one I use the most in the car is the satnav, in the current case, TomTom version 6. And in the last 18 months, that's all I've been able to get for TomTom. No upgrades to 7, or 8 (the current personal Navigation Device standard for TomTom, by the way): Version 6 was the last version of TomTom for Pocket PCs and Smartphones in general.

Now, there have been rumours one way and the other regarding TomTom,and the features on the PNDs they have recently released are all well and good (such as Mapshare, providing the facility to automatically update maps from user uploaded reports, and so on), but nothing whatsoever in support of currently loyal customers, like me, who have TT v6 on their PPCs or Smartphones, and we are, it must be remembered, a reasonably large percentage of their customer base.

So, when I heard that TomTom had released a statement at the daily press conference at CeBIT (if you're there, you can harangue them at CeBIT Hall 15, Stand E14), I was all ears. Unfortunately, TomTom's response was basically "we've never left people in the cold for too long but there are no announcements regarding the navigator software today."

In the words of the person reporting this, they were saying STOP WORRYING.

Boiled down to "stop worrying" is it?

This after an utter age - 18 months or more - of literally zero comments regarding their either continuing support or lack of support for the PPC/PDA platforms. In the ever-so-slightly cleaned up vernacular, they're taking the bodily fluids with that one.

Now, a friend mentioned to me that it's probably cheaper for them to support their own PNDs than to support PPC/PDA software. This is NOT the issue. The issue at hand is whether they are going to continue, or not continue, to support what has, until now, been a very loyal customer base with PDAs and PPCs. The lack of information from one of the biggest companies in this market is frankly insulting to those of us with such equipment, and speaks highly of their complete and utter contempt for us - especially when you consider that we've spent a large sum of money with this company; TomTom v6 cost me close to a ton (£100) in the shops when I bought it, but that was 18 months ago, when TTv6 was the latest TomTom version out, and thus was more costly. Now it can be seen going for as little at sixty-odd quid in the on-line shops: That's purely due to TomTom Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs) having later versions (now at CeBIT, it's v8, it seems) of the software on board.

The tragic thing about all this, is that they've made an industry bench-mark product, used by tens of thousands of people around the world. To my mind, this means that they have a certain level of responsibility to continue to support their products. Sorry if this sounds silly to some, but I have really had enough of companies and their scatological levels, and attitudes of, and to, customer support. TomTom appears to be one such company, and I'm sure I'm not alone in my perception of this.

So, it's crunch time for me. Do I continue to have a slim to zero hope that this SatNav provider will continue to support my ageing software with new versions of it, or do I move to another, more visibly supportive supplier? The answer's quite obvious when you put it that way, isn't it?

My decision has been a while brewing (the last few months, in fact), and is therefore reasonably well thought out. For my part (I can't speak for you, of course), TT have until the end of CeBIT to announce one way or the other that they will continue to provide PPC/PDA software on general release - not just specific pre-loaded PPC/PDAs and phones - or I for one will be voting with my wallet, and looking to support a different satnav software provider when it comes time to renew my kit.

There y'go, TomTom. Forewarned is forearmed. Not that I expect to see any announcements for us TT v6 licence holders, but if you do, make the announcement a good one.

OK... some general comment regarding paperwork and Living History Group Re-Enactors, and a request...

In the Living History group that I'm a member of, I've been accused of being somewhat obsessed with paperwork. I admit it, I'm guilty as charged, etc etc etc Get over it

Seriously, there WILL be those, at some time or another, who will come up to us at an event, and ask us it we've got such-and-such a piece of documentation. Now, while it's not something that the run-of-the-mill members of the public will be likely to ask, it's eminently plausible and possible that former soldiers (indeed, currently serving as well!) might ask this; the Army didn't just march on its' stomach, it's kit, or even its' weapons: The Mickey Mouse Factor was always at work, and any good squaddie'll tell you that one appropriately presented and properly-completed form will solve a multitude problems (and insults) from an SNCO who likes nothing more than eating soldiers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Therein lies the problem for us Document Fabricators (as I like to call those of us who enjoy this aspect of the hobby - and please don't call me a dodgy f****** - I know I'm one of those already ). Not all the original documents are either easy to find, or even available; when new forms are published in the military, the old ones are normally scrapped by slinging them in the shredder, bin, or burn-bags. So. I have a simple request for all of you ex-military types out there: Go through your kit, and if you've any old Army forms from the 1970s and 1980s, hang onto them, and LET ME KNOW!

For my part, I'll undertake to, as soon as practicably, reproduce them in PDF format for general release, with a comment on the final repro copy as to the source of the original document - how's that?

Thanks in advance!

How To Behave on an Internet Forum - video

Found this through one of the forums I'm a member of... made me laugh my backside off - hope you like it too :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIyr5TXqe8Y

Three posts in 24 hours! Well, why not :)

This time, it's on music. Specifically, music I like

I'm into classical music, as are quite a few other people. This said, I'll listen to most music (not rap, and numerous other strange stuff that masquerades as music) if it grabs my ears in a nice way.

One of my major likes are good Movie theme tracks. I recently found an excellent site devoted to them, too - Streaming Sound Tracks; it runs several streams of music formats, from Ogg to MP3 (see the site for more information), but here's a hint: Get a copy of WinAmp, if you don't already have one!

An example of the variety of music on offer from the several THOUSAND albums available to request...

Pan's Labyrinth
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith
The Best Of LucasArts, The
Saw
X TV OST, Vol. 1
Alvin And The Chipmunks
Back To The Future Part III
League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The
Halo
Independence Day
Dark Blue Almost Black
Homeward Bound
Final Fantasy, The Spirits Within
Mrs. Doubtfire
The Untouchables
Dracula Battle II Perfect Selection
Radio Flyer
Star Trek 8, First Contact
Toys

And that's just the playlist to be played over the next hour as I write this! Now, note that that's not just movie soundtracks, there are some of the better tracks from recent computer games (for example, recent 3-d 'role playing games' of the kind where a music CD is supplied with the game for background music), as well as some of the better-scored television series out there; all genres appear to be catered for, so it's well worth having a good look

There are even links to let you buy the albums in the vast majority of cases!

Oh, and no, I don't work for them, or got any form of payment for this review - it just so happens that I like the stuff they put out, and think you might too

Enjoy!

And folks wondered why I delayed so long in upgrading to XP...

OK, in a better frame of mind now than earlier (see the blog entry below), I now notice another SNAFU has finally been mentioned by those folks in Richmond, Virginia, USA.

Yup. Microsoft's admitted it kills security apps from 3rd parties.

NOW can some of you see why I delayed upgrading from Win2K to WinXP?

My next upgrade will probably be to a Unix, Linux, or similar operating system. At least then I (probably) won't have to put up with those unmitigated macroshaft (the opposite of Micro, and well, we all know how cash-hungry they are!) screwups.

And it'll be free to obtain (well, unless I get a commercial distribution, like Redhat or similar). And, by the time it comes to upgrading this machine again, heck, most of the apps I use will probably have been ported to Unix (or similar) anyhow, so whoopee for me at that time

So, guys, what to you want to break today?

Which country do these lawyers think they owe allegiance to?!

The BBC headline is "Claim UK troops 'executed' Iraqis"...

Here're my comments on it. WHY did they take so much time in coming forward to a UK solicitor to make a claim against the UK? Possibly because it's been a while since the last "scandal"?

This crap makes me sick. As to the lawyers over here who are actually taking this to court, they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. Just what country do they owe their allegiance to? Iraq or Great Britain?

If I say anything more on this, I'll use rude words. Nuff said.

Just another pin-cushion, me...

I suppose I should have posted this yesterday, but it didn't occur to me until now that other may be in the same boat as I am.

I had my first out-patients visit to my local hospital yesterday; in the case, visit No 1 to the Cardiac Care Nurse. I was weighed, measured, ECG'd, and finally, she wanted to take some blood. And that's when the problems started.

I wasn't really in much condition to notice if they had problems putting needles into my arms when I was admitted to King's College Hospital just over a month back, but I was certainly able to notice this time. No joy on left crook of arm on either side. Two tries both arms. No joy with a "butterfly" needle on the top of my hands, either. She gave up (probably in disgust), and sent me to the Blood Test unit, with a fake cheery "don't worry, they do this all the time, they'll be able to draw your blood".

Oh joy.

So, I arrive at the blood tests unit, take a number (23, they're serving up No 8 to the Count, I assume), and wait. Before long, I'm called in, and lo and behold, the Nurse there takes one look, and says:

"Did the other nurse have trouble finding a vein?"

Talk about Masters (sorry, Mistresses) of the bleedin' (sic) obvious!

To cut a long story short, another Butterfly needle was obtained, and mid-way down my right forearm, she found a suitable vein. I was past caring, had closed my eyes, and wasn't looking. I've never liked needles, and this was only reinforcing my opinion as to why I don't like them.

The good news?

If I'm ever bitten by a vampire, they're gonna have just as bloody difficult a job of getting at my blood as the NHS!