Philips - never again

I always thought well of Philips. But experience with one of their digital photo frames has me vowing "never again".

Why? Because they refuse (or are too lazy) to specify the power supply details. The most they will give is "•Power consumption: 5 W •Power mode supported: AC powered". Hardly useful.

I had presumed that this was to force you to buy a replacement supply from them at some inflated price. But although the parts specialists do offer very expensive Philips power supplies, none are listed for Photo Frames. A phone call to Philips themselves had them admitting they couldn't find out either.

So - lose or break your power supply and Philips presumably expect you to throw away the Photo Frame and buy a new one.

So that's me finished with Philips.

Update 22nd Feb 09:

I eventually found the power supply. For anyone needing a supply for a Philips 7FF3FPB/05 Photo Frame, it needs 2Amps at 9v DC (no indication of polarity and I had no meter with me). The original that came for ours in the UK was model MU18-2090200-B2.

The Grey-with-rust-streaks Horse of Ebbsfleet

We bemoan the short-termism that has seen our financial systems needing a bailout. But Britain never learns.

Mark Wallinger's winning design for Ebbsfleet will no doubt be the White Horse that he promises - for a while. Apparently "self-cleaning" white paint is in the specification.

But how long will such paint last - and what happens then?

Boringly rectangular structures can be cleaned and painted by hanging a basket from rails at the top.

But a horse? Lots of overhangs - and no mentions of any provision for hanging anything off the top.

So what happens when the paint needs replacing (or even a bit more cleaning than the self-cleaning action achieves)?

Presumably we leave it to look increasingly shabby - a fitting introduction to short-termist Britain for visitors arriving on the Eurostar.