The near enough French equivalent of Amazon is having a huge sale today. CDiscount has a vast range of products and there are loads going at amazingly good bargains prices. I have just picked up a 500Gb external hard drive box that connects with USB 2.0. For €74.23 I get post and packaging included and to my door within 24 hours!

As I said there is a vast range of products including mobile phones, clothing, furniture and toys. Worth taking a look and seeing what you can get at a bargain price – though I think the sale is on for a very limited time.

25 June 2008 | News | Comments 0

If you like to download music and films from the internet but they are not legal downloads then you may get youself in to trouble. The French Government is looking to pass a law to remove your access to the internet if you illegally download copywrite material, you will get barred from broadband.

A new agency has been proposed to oversee the new legislation (if it gets passed) called HADOPI. From the Blogging Stocks article...

The new law has yet to pass through the French government's two Houses of Parliament, but if enacted the HADOPI will begin by warning users via an e-mail that their infringements have been noted. If the Internet user continues to illegally download, the HADOPI will send a second warning, but by registered letter. No other warning will be given if the user continues to infringe on copyrights and the HADOPI "will be entitled to cut the Internet access of the user for three to 12 months, which can be lowered to one to three months if the infringer commits to stop illicit downloading." Debates over the law are expected to begin soon, aiming to pass the law by early next year.

Of course they will have to take in to account those who have connected to your ADSL router (via WIFI) who then download. They maybe doing it with out your knowledge but you still may be liable if it is detected (see related posting about running an 'open' WIFI connection).

More info from Blogging Stocks, French government starts legislation to curb illegal downloading and Times Online, France to ban illegal downloaders from using the internet under three-strikes rule.

23 June 2008 | News | Comments 0

This is my 200th posting. So I am going to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has read an article, left a comment, been in contact, voted on a poll or helped me out with a post.

Here's to the next 200!

21 June 2008 | General | Comments 0

I have found another web portal for France (definition of portal can be found here). The site is called Yanglo.com and I call it a portal because of the mix of features. It has forums, a directory, web search, events and even a blog.

So You have arrived here in your new home in your new country, well welcome first of all let me explain a little about Yanglo we are a part of your New home just as much as the School the Doctor or the Dentist in fact if you need to find one of these you should be looking here at Yanglo first, Oh and don’t forget if you happen to find somebody we don’t know don’t forget to let us know so we can help others who may not be in the know quite so much as you.

It does seem to be aimed more at those who are new to France which is good, too many seem to forget that there are those who are unfamiliar with French life but have chosen to make it their home.

20 June 2008 | Websites | Comments 0

Today is launch day for FireFox 3.0, the latest version of the very popular browser. Two articles on the BBC website (Behind the scenes of Firefox 3.0 and Firefox aims for download record) describe the new features...

Mr Schroepfer said Firefox 3 promised to be faster, easier to use and more secure than rival browsers.

He claims that Firefox 3.0 loads webpages three to four times faster than Firefox 2.0 and more than seven times faster than Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE).

And...

Included in Firefox 3.0 are malicious software spotters that tell users when they are on a website that has been compromised. A red box will pop up in the middle of the screen warning users of the danger.

Also...

New features in Version 3 include automatic warnings when users stray onto webpages booby-trapped with malicious code.

Also in Version 3 will be "Smart Location Bar" that lets people return to places they have visited even if they have not bookmarked them or cannot remember the full web address.

All sounds pretty good so far, however the new version is only available for Windows 2000, XP and Vista. I am sure Linux based versions will not be far behind.

Now I got a little confused from a posting on Engadget (Firefox 3.0: available now (almost)) ...

Update: Looks like we're getting ahead of ourselves. Although a file titled, "Firefox 3.0" (without the RC# associated with previous release candidates) is active and available to download, it looks like it's just the RC3 installer placed in the final 3.0 folder.

RC stands for Release Candidate, which comes after a Beta version but not the final version that is made public. So I am unsure if the real version 3 of FireFox is actually available.

If you want to try FireFox or upgrade to the next version (which I highly recommend!) then visit the official website – SpreadFireFox.com - though I can't see anything that relates to version 3 download yet!!!

Update: Just taken a look at the home page for Mozilla, home of FireFox and indeed, there is a version 3 available for download. It is release candidate 3, available for developers and for testing/feedback. However as it is available it should be stable enough to use.

17 June 2008 | Browsers | Comments 0

The cost of calling mobiles in France can be quite expensive. My deal with Club Internet gives me free local calls and virtually free calls abroad. But mobile calls are charged at 50 cent a minute. It would cost even more for calling mobiles overseas.

So when I came across this press release for pingo.com I was quite interested. They provide cheap calls using the Internet as the backbone but you can still use a normal phone or mobile. Here is a snip from the press release.

“As a service of iBasis, Pingo takes advantage of the most extensive international VoIP network in existence, which enables us to pass along dramatic savings on international calls,” said Jayesh Patel, vice president of business development and strategy for iBasis. “Pingo is a simple and straightforward way to save; there are no hidden fees or extended contracts and customers can use existing phones without being tethered to a computer or having to purchase additional gear. Pingo is the best of ‘all calling worlds,’ and even if you have an existing phone plan, it’s a tremendous way to save on international calling.”

Pingo overcomes many challenges associated with traditional calling plans and prepaid calling cards. Customers can buy low-cost calling minutes online on an as-needed basis without incurring hidden fees, surcharges or any contractual obligations. Pingo only charges a low account maintenance fee of 98 cents per month. Customers can use existing fixed-line or mobile phones; no additional equipment purchases or software downloads are necessary. Pingo offers easy online account management and minutes can be purchased with credit/debit cards and PayPal. Subscribers can also pay in four currencies, compare rates in more than 38 others, and interact with automated phone voice prompts in a variety of languages including Chinese, English, French, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian.

I took a look at the website which at first seems only for the US but it is available for many countries. To find out the costs of calling from France to the UK I used their selection boxes on the home page and this is what I got...

United Kingdom €0.044

United Kingdom - London €0.041

United Kingdom - Mobile €0.148

United Kingdom - Other €0.138

To me that seems to be quite a saving!

16 June 2008 | Communications | Comments 1

The withdrawal symptoms nearly got the better of me but thankfully I am now back on the Internet and wading through tons of emails. I am catching up on my reading again and hopefully get back to regular posting very soon!

13 June 2008 | General | Comments 0

First I must applologise that I have not posted for a while. My wonderful Internet provider, Club Internet, has decided that there is a problem with our bill payments. So for the last 2 weeks I have been without phone or Internet connection.

It now seems that the root of the problem is that Club Internet is in the process of change of ownership, Neuf has bought them and is still in the process of migrating the financial side. No one can currently pay by credit card.

About a week ago, were told that we had to use a new credit card, not the one we had used before, and do it on the following Friday. Now we have been told no cards can be used.

It makes we wonder if you should be using a combined package of Internet and phone.

I now have to make a payment either by cheque or via La Poste. That could take some where from 5 days to 2 weeks.

I am unable to change provider or seperate the phone until the bill has been paid, something Club Internet are currently unable to do.

It seems I am stuffed until Club Internet can sort things out.

If anyone who I have been in contact with needs to keep in touch then here is a an alternative email address to use.

bobmobileATcomputinginfranceDOTcoDOTuk 

I will pick up email as and when I can.

06 June 2008 | General | Comments 0

While catching up on my reading, I came across a posting on This French Forum which should be of interest to any gite or holiday rental owner looking for some free advertising. Here is the main part of the posting...

hi all
We are offering 200 free credits on our new website and thought some of you may be interested.
Will will give you one credit per account that will allow you to advertise for one year for free. There is no obligation to renew in the second year. But we do ask that you publish your advert no later than one week after it has been added to your account. If you have multiple units please email us and we can talk about it. All you have to do is visit us at www.escapeanywhere.com register for an account build your advert and email us. We will then add the free credit email info@escapeanywhere.com please read our terms and conditions. We reserve the right not to give free credit or publish the advert.

Seems pretty cool?  I checked the site out and it looks pretty good. It's based on Google Maps, you can see where each property is. Here is a snip from the Escape Anywhere website...

escapeanywhere.com brings your search for the perfect holiday home to life allowing you to "zoom" the draggable map to street level, then merge it with high resolution satellite images to get a true picture of your holiday before getting there.
You can see how close your chosen property is from landmarks, beaches, city centres and places of interest - all in one view.

And...

In the detailed view you can read about the features of the holiday home, view images, watch a *video recording and contact the OWNERS DIRECT!

So this service allows you to see exactly where each property is and find what is nearby. Seems like a good idea to me and worth a try.

So what do you property owners think?

26 May 2008 | Website promotion | Comments 0

Well we are back home again, arrived last Friday but it has taken till now for me to get back on to the computer. Wife is recovering fine at home after a successful operation.

Coming up in the next few weeks is the new new look Computing In France website with new features including a directory of resources.

I also have an eBook that I am just finishing up  that will be launched around the time of the new design being unleashed.

There is also going to be a newsletter to keep you in touch with all the new posts.

I will be offering a newsletter subscription form soon so that those who receive it will find out about the new site launch and eBook before regular visitors do.

I plan to make the newsletter weekly but it could be monthly, what would you prefer?

26 May 2008 | General | Comments 0