Apple Scripts Eh?

So I was exploring Beccy's new Mac and she's got Microsoft Office 2008 for it. I know what you're going to say but actually I think Office is much much better on the Mac and iWorks just don't cut the mustard. So I was looking into the macros thing and it turns out you have to use this apple scripts thing. But I've not idea how it works. Does anyone else? Perhaps a website might help but if you know how to write them please let me know.

A Good Day on Wallesy/Isle of Man

Yep just a quick one to say I had a good day's training on Sector. It got fairly busy at one bit and my watch training officer said "your radar skills are progressing well". So I was happy with that.
In other news Beccy has an Apple Macintosh, Mac Book which I am presently using and which I adore, and so does she, but I think with her it's more of an aesthetic thing being as it is hot pink and very sexy (if a computer could be such a thing). I, of course, like it for the more efficient way the OS manages the resources as it isn't top of the range specification yet it makes light work of doing almost everything. Well recommended.

Tapas and Sweeney Todd

So Beccy's parents came over to see us last night. We met them in town and they took us to a Tapas restaurant called El Rincon just off Deansgate on Longworth Street (see map below). You head down a back street and the restaurant/bar is almost subterranean so it's pretty funky. The staff are all Spanish and I thought the food was excellent and the atmosphere authentic. I don't know if the others liked it as much because there was a lot of fish on the menu and there not fish eaters, perhaps they'd like to comment.

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We parted company and Beccy and I met Matt and Brian at the cinema to see the new Sweeney Todd film. It's a musical and it's a black comedy but the first half an hour was a bit serious and not really very funny. However it did pick up and there were some chortles to be had. It isn't for the feint hearted nor those who are squeamish as there's quite a lot of blood flying around. As with most musicals the storyline is a bit thin and with the actors playing the main characters being of the none musical variety it left one feeling half done; the story is a bit weak and so too is the musical side. I did enjoy myself but my advice would be to wait for the DVD to come out as I don't think the big screen gives the movie anything else. The performances of Jonny Depp and Helena Bonhame Carter were strong and gave the film some depth, but I think Alan Rickman's portrail of Judge Turpin stole the show and I found his character the most believable.
I leave you with this enticing poster and I'm going to be late for work.

When You Need to Trust the Pilot

So what with all this talk of airplanes crash landing at Heathrow, I think it's about time someone aught to remind everyone that we should actually trust the pilots and here's a few pictures I was emailed recently in that very vein:

Most of these are sourced from Airliners.net.

Pilots

So although Youtube is seen as a fairly underhanded and full of rubbish. There are, however, some amusing things to be found and I give you this one which is about pilots, enjoy!

 

Kservice.exe

What is this all about? I hear you ask. Why are you talking about computers and rubbish like that again? Well, read on and be prepared to be shocked!
You've probably seen the BBC, Channel 4 and, if you've got it, Sky advertising their "telly on demand" services, namely BBC iPlayer, 4oD and Sky on Demand respectively. "Get online and watch it where you want, when you want!" the tag lines go. Well I was suckered in to it when I missed "The Big Fat Quiz of the Year: 2007" and like every other sheeptastic person I fell for the marketing, downloaded Channel 4's 4oD, and satisfied my desire to have another thing "on demand". And why not eh? after all we do live in the age of convenience.
Brilliant! thought I. What a great idea. It works well and you can download the programs onto your computer and watch them whenever you like! Hunky-dory.
So yesterday I noticed some unusual network activity (lots of flashing lights on the internet box). Normal for a time when you're browsing the web etc. but no one was using the computer, so why is it using the internet? It should be idle.
Alarm bells were ringing. This is a symptom of a virus, trojan or some spyware. Beccy has purchased Symatec's Norton Internet Security so it shouldn't be that and we should be protected. Only one thing to do; run a scan, but it turned up nothing. This morning I ummed and ahhed and couldn't work it out, I had a flash of inspiration, let's see if we can find the offending process. One did stand out. I don't know why, just a hunch maybe, it was called Kservice.exe. A quick look on google and a very encompassing and helpful page on... you guessed it, Wikipedia. See it here. Further reading through the sources at the bottom of the page reveals a shocking truth:
When you install the afore mentioned on demand clients you accept in the Terms and Conditions that you will participate in a Peer 2 Peer network to download the data; i.e. once you've downloaded data you then share it with anyone who wants it, effectively turning your computer into an internet go-between. This I can accept. However when you close said client and stop using it this "Kservice.exe" continues to use the internet to give the downloaded show to everyone else. Now there's nothing in the Terms and Conditions about that! In actual fact you have no control over how much this Kservice.exe can do. Moreover for those of you with data bandwidth limits this can be dangerous as this stealth program, which doesn't show up anywhere, continues to use your internet connection. This is effectively malware being promulgated by big media companies.
So what are we to do? Well there are lots of suggestions out there to stop it, the best of which can be found here: kservice.exe, Channel 4 and the stolen bandwith…
If you are infected then you need a copy of the uninstaller which is hard to come by.
My advice, stay clear of on demand clients and if you miss a show; wait for the repeat.