But I tracked down some new firmware and thus have unlocked the device. I can now use any SIM, and better still I have a web interface to the device. I have also set it up so that it switches on, turns on the WiFi, connects to the 3G network at the push of a single button. Neat eh?

Quite why ’3′ does not do this as standard is a bit of a mystery.

I would offer instructions on how to do this but when I let my friend Ashley try it on his device he managed to brick it so I am a little reluctant to make the software public.

I hate Flash so much I have it blocked on my MacBook Pro. I would uninstall it but for the fact the internet would be all but useless without it.

Meanwhile the war of words hots up between Apple and Adobe.

So let me offer my opinion as a user of a Mac.

Flash sucks!

Flash makes my Mac crash.
Flash makes my CPU usage go through the roof, it runs the CPU hot and uses more power and increases the noise level as the fans kick in.

The problem is not so much Adobe’s fault for inventing Flash but more the web developers for using it all over the internet in inappropriate places where there are better alternatives to achieve the same results but mostly because they develop for Internet Explorer and IE is fatally flawed as a browser.

Flash is NOT for getting around the poor browser implementation of fonts and colours and all the clever stuff.

Remove Flash from all those silly locations. Once everyone has dumped IE and gone to Firefox, Opera, Safari or Camino Microsoft would have to get it’s act together and fix IE.

But don’t hold your breath, Flash, IE and all the problems will be around for a long time yet.

/rant

Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Opera.

It’s very simple, I don’t like any of them!

Internet Explorer: I don’t use IE much as I have a Mac and it’s Windows only but this one is the one I hate the most. A few days back I could not find the history, come on Microsoft, you hid the history. Get a grip, the ergonomics and menu layout sucks! It’s also insecure, slow and looks dreadful.

Firefox: I did some early development work on this back when it was at version 0.6. Firefox is one of the better browsers, what bugs me is that whenever it gets upgraded most of my add ons and plugins stop working. I know that this is as much the plug in developers fault as it is Mozilla but it’s very annoying. I also find it a bit slow. I use it some of the time.

Safari: This is the default browser on the Mac, I use it most of the time. I hate the way it handles the bookmarks. Just why Apple feel the need to put cover flow on everything eludes me. (Aside: I’d like to be able to turn off cover flow on my iPod Touch) Bookmarks are best in a list, preferable in a sidebar. So dump the silly full page coverflow nonsense Apple and put the bookmarks in side bar. Please.

Chrome: Chrome is really nice but it’s Google. They already know far more about me than I am happy with plus I hear that even after logging out of GMail and other services they can still track my searches with a cookie. Donning my foil hat and lead lining the walls and surfing on an anonymous proxy may defeat their data gathering but I doubt it. Since I have a fixed IP and am logged permanently into Gmail they know everything about me. So Chrome is a no go for the paranoid.

Opera: Why bother! My blog is broken in the latest version of Opera. Until they fix that I am not even going there. Use Firefox instead.

Next time on GollyGosh my take on email applications!

Apparently Mr Fry was upset by a comment from a Twitter follower, I don’t know who, that complained that Fry’s Tweets were boring.

Get a life anonymous Tweeter! If you find some one a bit boring on Twitter do what everyone else does, stop following them. Don’t abuse them.

I find the Fry tweets interesting and an insight into his hectic life.

Stephen, please keep going.

UPDATE: Fry has changed his mind as is staying with Twitter, and he has made up with his follower (@brumplum) who thought he was boring.

So that’s all right then.

I am amazed that this made the news, it must be slow for ‘real news’ at the moment!

I installed the plugin for Safari that turns Flash off. Instead of those annoying adverts I now get a plain grey box with “FLASH” written on it. I click the box to play the Flash. Or not. Mostly not.

Look here for the ClickToFlash page. Similar plugins are available for Firefox and maybe IE.

Why should you care about this?

It costs you money. Yes really, your hard earned cash is being frittered away by Flash. Flash makes your CPU work harder, it takes more energy, so that’s electricity you are paying for. It takes up bandwidth on the web, bandwidth you indirectly pay for with your broadband subscription. If you surf on a portable using 3G WiFi from the cellular network you are directly paying for the bandwidth.

Your browsing experience will be much faster without Flash.

If we all block the Flash perhaps the perpetrators of this crime will get the message and stop putting Flash all over the web.

BAN FLASH!