The totally off-topic thread

[penegal]

Anyone here still owns cassette tapes*? Or even a tape-based dictation machine?...

I never got into cassette tapes - Vinyl is where its at young fella...

 

[Bundy Bear]

I never got into cassette tapes - Vinyl is where its at young fella...

Didn't you go home at the end of your school day and tape record the songs that played off the radio and hoped the radio announcer didn't talk over the start of the music too much.

 

[anat0l]

I never got into cassette tapes - Vinyl is where its at young fella...

They were flogging record player to USB devices for a while back, too!

 

[Hvr]

Didn't you go home at the end of your school day and tape record the songs that played off the radio and hoped the radio announcer didn't talk over the start of the music too much.

Yes, many times.

 

[JessicaTam]

Ahh yes, the old 'mix tape'

 

[jetlagger]

Didn't you go home at the end of your school day and tape record the songs that played off the radio and hoped the radio announcer didn't talk over the start of the music too much.

Never worked out how to do that on our AWA valve AM wireless.. :mrgreen:

 

[Hvr]

Never worked out how to do that on our AWA valve AM wireless.. :mrgreen:

You might've had problems getting the wax at just the right temperature to record, and the needle always needed sharpening half way through.

 

[JohnK]

AFF stroll down memory lane!

 

[straitman]

I could always tell you how old I was in 1976!

Not as old as me I can assure you. I was a flying instructor in the RAAF in 1976.

I never got into cassette tapes - Vinyl is where its at young fella...

Still got lots of Vinyls loitering around.

 

[straitman]

War is told differently through the eyes of a soldier.

Some of you may have seen this but if not I am sure most will be interested.

The link is a FB link but you do not need too be on FB to access it.

This story is told in a letter to his Mum and is through the eyes of an Australian soldier in Afghanistan. (As may be expected there is a bit of language)

[h=2]War is told differently through the eyes of a soldier.[/h]

 

[JohnK]

Re: War is told differently through the eyes of a soldier.

Can one of the AFF gurus please assist?

Samsung Galaxy S3 with 1GB data included. How do I connect my laptop to utilise the 1GB available?

 

[anat0l]

Re: War is told differently through the eyes of a soldier.

Can one of the AFF gurus please assist?

Samsung Galaxy S3 with 1GB data included. How do I connect my laptop to utilise the 1GB available?

The feature you want to use is "tethering". Essentially it turns your phone into a wi-fi hotspot, so you can connect to it with your computer just like you were connecting to wi-fi.

Note that turning on tethering on the S3 disables the S3's connection to other wi-fi hotspots, so all data transmissions by your S3 until you turn it off will be solely packet data only.

Steps:

• At the home screen, press the menu button (to the left of the central button) and select Settings.
• Under the Wireless and Networks section, select More Settings. Then select Tethering and portable hotspot.
• Under there, click on Portable Wi-Fi hotspot (the text, not the O/I selector).
• Click on Configure. Here, give your hotspot name a SSID (this is what you will lookup on your computer) and a password (you can change the security type - doesn't matter too much, but WPA2 PSK is good enough secure for most).
• Click Save. Turn on tethering by clicking the O/I selector next to Portable Wi-Fi hotspot at the top of the screen.
• If you've turned on tethering successfully, your status bar (at the top) should show a new blue wi-fi icon (it is a black symbol on a blue square).
• Fire up your computer, search for available networks and connect to your tether hotspot (enter the same password you entered in before).

Done.

Make sure you are careful in keeping tabs on how much data you are using. Also, once you are done tethering, turn it off. (I think in some cases if there is no data transmitted over the tether for a while, it will turn itself off).

Note that tethering may or may not work depending on whether the network provider you are on restricts it or for your particular phone plan, but most providers in Australia should now allow tethering especially on post paid plans.

You can also find these instructions under the S3 User Manual (look for "Mobile network sharing").

 

[Pollywaffle]

Didn't you go home at the end of your school day and tape record the songs that played off the radio and hoped the radio announcer didn't talk over the start of the music too much.

I tended to do this weekly when the Top40 was on the radio. Those were the days - LOL.

***
In other news I am trying to track down a package that's gone missing. It was posted from the US and Fedex doesn't recognise the tracking number they gave me. So frustrating!

I also bought some currency at the UAE exchange in Chatswood. They will match other written offers and some guy came in with an offer from an exchange place in the Lemon Grove centre at Chatswood. I didn't have time to go and see where it is but it's worth considering if you in the Chatswood area.

 

[Pushka]

FedEx tracking is pretty useless. Mine didn't change status until well after I'd received it.

 

[erkpod]

I saw the trial schoolboy uniform for guards & drivers this afternoon. I've got mixed feelings about it. Less Jetstary looking than the station staff but still very much schoolboy uniform.

It may look better on me (dark grey shirt, black pants) than the current blue shirt/grey pants.

 

[whatmeworry]

Fedex is a weird company and how they send their packages. I tracked a work package from MEL to CGK. Don't ask me how or why, but Fedex sent the package first to China, then the Philippines, then to SIN before finally arriving in CGK where the package got held up for nearly two weeks because of Indo customs.

 

[markis10]

Fedex is a weird company and how they send their packages. I tracked a work package from MEL to CGK. Don't ask me how or why, but Fedex sent the package first to China, then the Philippines, then to SIN before finally arriving in CGK where the package got held up for nearly two weeks because of Indo customs.

They hub, so your package flows in the biggest river until it gets to the point where it needs to go where it needs to go. European packages rarely flow to Asia when with Fedex or UPS, they all float to the US then flow here via HNL, because the bulk of traffic is across the Atlantic.

By comparison QF freight route everything to China then they head to the US as far as their dedicated aircraft go.

 

[Pollywaffle]

I am just worried something has gone haywire with the entire order. I made 2 orders from the same company 4 days apart. The second order arrived about a week ago. The first order is out there ... somewhere. I hope it arrives because it's got clothes I want to take on my trip. Yes, it's that trivial.

 

[rogerkambah]

Didn't you go home at the end of your school day and tape record the songs that played off the radio and hoped the radio announcer didn't talk over the start of the music too much.

Yes, but I was recording on a reel to reel. I was at uni then.

 

[Buzzard]

Anyone here still owns cassette tapes*? Or even a tape-based dictation machine?

Some deal-a-day websites are flogging tape player to USB conversion devices... seems odd - thought we were way past that, and in many cases can't you usually just record from OUT to the AUX channel into most computers these days?


* For the young 'uns here, use Wikipedia. You're welcome.

I have a couple of cassette players, one a double where you can copy tapes, a rather large cassette collection plus some brand new never opened blank cassettes.
I also have a Walkman type cassette player - not sure what it's actually called but the brand is Toshiba.
And my car has an AM-FM Radio Cassette and CD combo.
I am sure cassette players are still very common.