Forum Topic

This will get lost in the po-litical posts so...

Blow the blessed stamp budgets!  Having had a day trying to sort out photos for a meeting and then trying - with my scant knowledge of IT - not to block everyone’s mail boxes – why don't the Councillors all have broadband - yes, paid for by the Tax payer?The negotiation power of these sorts of contracts must mean they can be work out a good reduction in normal costs (Jim, you are needed for this bit), especially as the broadband company gets the advertising when each Councillor uses their mailboxes ... blah.blah@megamail.com.… Or am I showing my complete ignorance in such matters?

Sarah Felstead ● 7033d11 Comments

...hopeless parker!

Phil Andrews ● 7025d

PaulUnfortunately the problem isn't just one of providing the technology.  One needs a support system to back it up.I was presented with a wonderful laptop by the council which lasted me a few months before the power cable malfunctioned.  It was, by all accounts, a special type of power cable which I could only obtain through the council and not directly from the supplier.  So I requested a replacement.  Six weeks later I still didn't have it, and was only able to get back into my computer thanks to the generosity of Councillor Peter Hills who kindly lent me his.A few weeks later one of the keys came loose.  It couldn't just be secured, apparently.  Major surgery was required to the keyboard.  The keyboard was opened up but couldn't be relocated in situ because we didn't have any superglue!  I promise I am not making this up.I found out my mailbox was full when somebody complained to me about unanswered e-mails.  I couldn't tell it was full because I couldn't even access it.  E-mails sent to my "corporate" address were supposed to forward automatically to my "proper" address, but this stopped happening somewhere along the line for no apparent reason, and with no warning before or after it happened. The multifuncton printer which came as part of the package didn't multifunction.  The scanner didn't scan.  Our IT department didn't know why this should be, but weren't able to do anything about it.I'm afraid that if the London Borough of Hounslow provided me with broadband, or for that matter an elastic band, I wouldn't trust it to work.  Councillors need to buy their own, as I have done.  I haven't even put in a receipt because I couldn't be ar*ed with all the trouble.Nearly eight years after having been told that Hounslow was working towards a "paper-free" system of communication there is still a rain-forest somewhere in Brazil with my name on it.  I receive more paper now than I even did.Maybe we should sub our IT operation out to your company?

Phil Andrews ● 7025d

"After my comments about Councillors having broadband to download information from their e-mail accounts – it would be nice if there was some check of mail boxes and those whose mail box rejects mail because it is full, should be given a bigger one!"It does indeed begger belief that our Cllrs are still on dial up and not broadband as I am sure the Council could negociate a good deal for 60 x Cllrs plus numerous Officers.If my mailbox is full or nearly full,I recieve a warning from my supplier so there is no excuse for any of us to have our correspondance "rejected" or is there?Perhaps one of the Cllrs who read this messageboard could enlighten us all?

Paul Fisher ● 7025d

Thanks for the comments Ann.  Do you mind if I separate one comment you made in order to make a point, myself?  I don't consider it a war with anyone.  I see it as a natural conversation, from which you hope an ever improving Council would takes bits and use them to improve their services - I am just a simple (no jibes puh-leese!) ratepayer and this is how the services within this area are working - what a loss of money!  What a loss of quality of life to many people around here.  A very few developers who unchecked, run roughshod over everyone else, and then wander home to their safe and quiet houses at night.Knock on a few doors around here and you will hear the same story over and over again – and often people who have lived here for years have decided to sell out and move on to regain a quiet life.  You think with the planes overhead that there would be some consideration to people living here about other noise – particularly on the Community quiet times at the weekends and after 6 in the week.  There also ought to be a rapid response reply to disruptions or damage to community property – often it can be caught when it is actually occurring – but what is the point of anyone reporting anything?If the Council had a rapid response team at weekends to visit building sites and tell them to stop working, and then to fine them because they have been found to be working, either they would not do it again, or there would be a huge ‘rainy day’ kitty maybe for HM Magazine?After my comments about Councillors having broadband to download information from their e-mail accounts – it would be nice if there was some check of mail boxes and those whose mail box rejects mail because it is full, should be given a bigger one!E-mail to Adam Beamish last night was rejected as his box was full again.  Somebody in his position (and there must be others too) is bound to have photos/petitions/links to photo’s sent to him, so can’t he have a larger one?

Sarah Felstead ● 7025d

Sarah,I think you are so clever with your adding photos to the postings (like Jim and others).  I can email them perfectly well, but do you always have to have the photos on an outside website to transfer them to postings?All the clever guys are giggling into their coffee cups at my daft question, but I would love an answer.Good luck with your ongoing war on the local council!  Your two latest pictures show a disgraceful state of affairs.  Such shoddy work practices wouldn't have been allowed 40 years ago.

Ann S. Allridge ● 7029d

Thanks Richard - I will have a go later and mail you if I get stuck.Often when sending photos the bigger format in an e-mail allows you to see the detail in the picture more closely - but the bigger picture can snarl up the mail box or cause complications in the downloading.I pinned some pictures to Photobucket and mailed the links in the end.I think everyone received the pictures who needed to see them or might have been interested in taking a peek - but Cllr Edwards and Adam Beamish's mailbox were full and everything rejected ... so somebody got there before us!  There were several people sending information by e-mail and none of it could get through.There were important letters and information which rejected as well and one Cllr wanted to download a petition and couldn't as it was taking forever.

Sarah Felstead ● 7031d

If you're worried about sending large photo files to Councillors without broadband, you can fairly easily reduce the file sizes.  For example, the first of your photos was 252 KBytes. You can reduce that to about 52 KB just by saving at 50% compression, with no change to the visible size and little loss of quality.  You can halve that again by reducing the visible size, and other techniques.  See the second Q&A at http://www.photobucket.com/faq.php#misc(Mail me direct if you need more advice.)

Richard Jennings ● 7032d

Pedestrians, many of which are children on their way to school, forced to cross between parked cars as pavement is blocked?A typical working day in the area?  Mixing materials across the pavement and /or road.

Sarah Felstead ● 7032d

The thought of ICG Members sitting around the pool in thongs or speedo`s is putting me off my cornflakes Sarah ;-)

Paul Fisher ● 7032d

They all appear to have a variety of internet access.  The speed of the downloading, particularly of photographs and larger documents would make things so much easier.  Now digital cameraa are so cheap it could often save a Cllr from having to trek out to see something which could be easily photographed and posted to the comfort of their fireside chair of an evening ... or in Phil’s case, to the side of the ICG swimming pool.(Oh crumbs!  Have I started a rumour?)PS  Letter to member services, today.

Sarah Felstead ● 7032d

Good luck with your meetings Sarah regarding "bulbous" house extensions and the like.You ask...""why don't the Councillors all have broadband - yes, paid for by the Tax payer?""  Really, I'm not an expert on those matters. Perhaps members services at the Civic Centre might help..or speak to Councillor Ewes!! Do the Osterley and Spring Grove Councillors not have broadband? blah.blah@megamail.com.

Jim Lawes ● 7033d