A laptop bought for a fiver in a charity shop. How do I turn the thing on?

[DRM]

It’s the same on the Drighlington Bypass, A650 that goes from Junction 27 M62 to Tong at Bradford, I bet hardly anyone driving along it knows it’s built on a landfill tip, and don’t realise that the pipes sticking up are methane vent pipes

 

[presta]

Print out hardcopy and put it in a safe. (And don't forget the combination)

So it's a story about forgetting to write down a password, and nothing to do with losing a HDD as the media keep reporting?

 

[Dogtrousers]

So it's a story about forgetting to write down a password, and nothing to do with losing a HDD as the media keep reporting?

I think so, yes. It's a bitcoin key. I don't know how big they are, maybe 32 or 64 characters. That's how I understand it. I could be wrong.

The lessons are: 1 back up your data; 2 Don't dispose of electrical goods in landfill or else karma will get you.

 

[Conrad_K]

Its not the hard drive, it's the info on it. Imagine he has a safe and the combination is in a file on the drive. Now sprinkle that with random buzzwords like crypto, NFT, blockchain and prime factorisation and general woo and you understand it as well as I do.

That's a concise and reasonably accurate summation of how it works, yes.

It *could* be a reasonably effective method of making electronic payments without the centralized control of Paypal, Venmo, etc., but in practice it's more like the Dutch "tulip mania" in the 1600s.

 

[Dogtrousers]

So it's a story about forgetting to write down a password, and nothing to do with losing a HDD as the media keep reporting?

I think so, yes. It's a bitcoin key. I don't know how big they are, maybe 32 or 64 characters. Something like that. basically he left some info on a disk and failed to back it up. Now he wants that info.

I might feel sorry for him if he'd disposed of it properly. But as he put it in landfill I find it hilarious.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I might feel sorry for him if he'd disposed of it properly. But as he put it in landfill I find it hilarious.

I thought it was his, or his then girlfriend who binned it, not himself. 🤔

 

[Accy cyclist]

He's not giving up! He wants to buy the tip now it's due to be closed, but the council say they want the land to install a solar farm on the site to power their new bin wagons. Maybe both parties could negotiate a contract where if he finds this laptop and he gets his hands on this supposed 620 million quid he has to give the council half or a third of it. 🤔 Think how much of that if it happened would go in the back sack of those dodgy councillors and council employed civil servants!

https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-want...12.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly

 

[HMS_Dave]

He's not giving up! He wants to buy the tip now it's due to be closed, but the council say they want the land to install a solar farm on the site to power their new bin wagons. Maybe both parties could negotiate a contract where if he finds this laptop and he gets his hands on this supposed 620 million quid he has to give the council half or a third of it. 🤔 Think how much of that if it happened would go in the back sack of those dodgy councillors and council employed civil servants!

https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-want...12.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly

Plot twist.

The council have already found it and have decided to spend it a solar farm on the site to power their new bin wagons whilst simultaneously, preventing the fella ever finding the evidence.

The rest of the millions is spent on mirrors, a white powdery substance and suspiciously wrapped up tubes.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Plot twist.

The council have already found it and have decided to spend it a solar farm on the site to power their new bin wagons whilst simultaneously, preventing the fella ever finding the evidence.

The rest of the millions is spent on mirrors, a white powdery substance and suspiciously wrapped up tubes.

And a brand new civic event Limo' and Algarve 'mega' villa for the leader of Newport council!

 

[Accy cyclist]

I think it's time for a new one! I can't get a video's sound off even after I've turned my laptop off for 20 minutes. I'm hoping it goes off when the video ends, but even then this laptop is looking and acting knackered. I'll probably go to Currys tomorrow and buy a 'budget' one as I only need one for the basic things. My concern is will I be able to connect a new one to the internet. Do they come with instructions on how to do so and if so is it quite easy?🤔

 

[Accy cyclist]

I think it's time for a new one! I can't get a video's off even after I've turned my laptop off for 20 minutes. I'm hoping it goes off when the video ends, but even then this laptop is looking and acting knackered. I'll probably go to Currys tomorrow and buy a 'budget' one as I only need one for the basic things. My concern is will I be able to connect a new one to the internet. Do they come with instructions on how to do so and if so is it quite easy?🤔

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I'll probably go to Currys tomorrow and buy a 'budget' one as I only need one for the basic things.

Video as in DVD? Be aware that most new laptops do not have a CD/DVD drive installed anymore.

My concern is will I be able to connect a new one to the internet. Do they come with instructions on how to do so and if so is it quite easy?🤔

As easy as it was with the one you're currently typing on.

 

[HMS_Dave]

As long as you have your WIFI password it's a very easy step. If you're buying a brand new laptop, on first switch on, you'll be presented with a simple setup process which will include typing in your WIFI password to get you online.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Video as in DVD? Be aware that most new laptops do not have a CD/DVD drive installed anymore.

So I wouldn't be able to play videos on it? 🤔

 

[Accy cyclist]

As long as you have your WIFI password it's a very easy step. If you're buying a brand new laptop, on first switch on, you'll be presented with a simple setup process which will include typing in your WIFI password to get you online.

Where will my WIFI password be? 🤔