No revolution
I was pleased to note your inclusion of World Online in your table of internet access providers a couple of weeks ago (Online, September). I recently signed up to their excellent Freedom 24 programme after giving up on BT's risible Surftime deal - which was still not available in my area months after the heavily-hyped - June 1 start-date. Numerous encounters with BT's "customer service" department only confirmed my suspicions that its inefficiency and smugness are boundless.
Alas, World Online has now contacted its customers to say that they might have to reconsider their pricing structure due to the non-appearance of Friaco.
"Internet revolution"? Not if BT can hold everyone else to ransom whilst still being utterly unable to deliver a credible alternative.
P Gore
penny@penmart.worldonline.co.uk
CD prices
I think Tom Parish (Feedback, September) is rather missing the point about the prices charged for CD-RWs in the shops. It may well be "commonplace" to pay £10 per disk, and I have even seen some hopefuls selling them at £14.99 each. However, my brother, who sells both CD-Rs and CD-RWs on the web, tells me that his highest cost price for a single CD-RW is currently £1.12 excluding VAT. No, that's not a typing error - and that's for a Kodak product, not Brand X. Other name brands are even cheaper.
Even allowing for the addition of VAT, the reseller's legitimate profit margin, and first class carriage if purchased by mail order, I would still have to say that any high street retailer selling a single CD-RW for more than £5 is trading on consumer ignorance and is guilty of profiteering. I would strongly suggest that readers who need CD-RW but have been paying these ripoff prices should cast their net a little wider.
Paul Bowes
PBowes9116@aol.com
Unlike Tom Parish (Feedback, September 7) I do not believe that Anthoy Bullock is confused at all. I certainly am not, and I do not have to pay "upwards of £10 per disc". Good brand (Memorex) re-writable CDs can be bought mail order for £1.45 each, with slightly lower rates for 10 or 20. At only 50 pence less, it hardly seems worth bothering to buy CD-Rs any more.
George Kitchin
george@gkphoto.freeserve.co.uk
I think Tom Parish's response only goes to prove the point that shopping around pays. I have on my desk a Lead Data 74min/ 650MB Silver Blue Professional CD-RW. The price: £1.99 inc VAThe CD-R versions were a little cheaper. I purchased this locally, in Cardiff.
Mike Hayes
mike.hayes@libertysurf.co.uk
Word patch
Referring to recent correspondence on this subject, a "patch" downloadable from the Microsoft website will enable Word 6.0 or Word 7.0 (Word 95) to open Word 97 files. The address is: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q162/2/14.asp There are of course some limitations where features unique to Word 97 are concerned. These are covered in the readme document that comes with the patch.
Robert Clark
robert.clark@btinternet.com
Mac first
I'm not sure that idrive.com is as pioneering as suggested in Web Watch (Sepember 7). Mac OS 9 users have had this facility for many months. Whilst we're on the subject of 'other' OSs, perhaps Ask Jack could be made a little less constantly Windows specific.
Paul Arnold
pd2@bigfoot.com
Online replies: It appears our Mac-using readers simply have fewer problems...
