It has already been said but the company is complying in the sense that it is providing a solution whereby you can delete your account. That said, where you are unable to follow that process, they should offer you the same ability via email. Each company does things slightly differently but I would hazard a guess that an email stating that you find it more reasonable for the action to be carried out via email, they would be likely to comply.
The reasons why companies put these in place is simply to avoid mass requests for deletion and, as stated, to also protect you.
While email spoofing has been mentioned, it is somewhat unlikely anyone would send a request for deletion after spoofing your email, yet, it is not impossible.
You may have to be persistent, could use services that support or even get some pointers from the ICO. Here is a really good link https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/your-right-to-get-your-data-deleted/
I wish you luck
A Synology NAS would be a good shout if you don't mind the self hosting and maintenance route. That said, I also have an Infomaniak kDrive setup for my cloud backup. With that I have my email, calendar, drive space and it even offers an office suite in the cloud.
It may not have all the bells and whistles you get with Microsoft Office but, for me, it certainly does the trick.
While I went mainly to see Comback Kid, I could not argue that the headliners were awesome! Another great evening on the Leeds punk scene.
Holding Absence performing for only the 2nd time in Leeds. Back in 2019, they performed at The Key Club, and this year, 2023, they played at the Leeds University Stylus.
Supported by Thornhill and Dark Devine, it was everything you would expect from them. There was no shortage of moshpits, but it would not be right if it did not happen.
A great evening, and I look forward to the next time they step into a Leeds Venue!
I read the linked post and it got me thinking of a lot of the posts I typically see around Linux. Most of them that are seeking support are very distro focussed; what is the best distro for this, what distro should I choose, etc.
The post I have linked shifts the focus to a clear use case putting the distro element in the background. I found this more useful, as I think, for the most part, the 'right distro' is subjective. What works for one person may not be right for another based on so many factors.
So, I wondered if anyone has any really interesting use cases around Linux. Especially those that can debunk the idea that you cannot do this, that and the other on Linux. Anyone using an audio production setup, has a video development suite or runs visual graphic design from Linux or, do you just have the gaming rig nailed down!
The first one is definately the best one in terms of the overall feel of the game and storyline. Both the 2nd and 3rd games are good and have elements of story continuation in them. On the 3rd one though, parts of the story did not keep me hooked and I did not feel invested in the character arch as much as the others. For me, great games, new and old, must have:
- A compelling storyline
- A believable or even relatable character arch
- Consistency throughout so the story flows
Graphics are not the most important thing in any way. I want to feel immersed.
Feel that went on a little tangent them but you get what I mean (hopefully).
I bought and finished the Mafia Trilogy a month ago. Forgot how good it was. I have since been playing Starfield so nothing else complete for a while I would think.
While I have loved the innovation of Sony over the years, this one is a little odd. If Sony had thought about this, they would have realised that most people these days already have a viable handheld device, a smartphone. Microsoft got that one right by making remote play work so well on most mobile devices with connection to a pad. I just feel Sony should have done the same.
That said, I get there are some benefits if you have a shared screen and cannot always get on your PS5 but is that worth the money? I am not too sure.
Still, this is the early days and Sony will likely have a bigger vision for it. I mean, being able to connect to any network and play games remotely would be a huge step.
Slam Dunk is a UK Pop-Punk, Emo, Metal, and Alternative Music Festival held in Leeds and Hatifeld. Each year the festival showcases the best in Rock and Alternative Music.
While it is still some way off and I am sure the lineup will change, which artists are we all looking forward to seeing at Slam Dunk 2024?
For me, it has to be:
- You Me At Six
- Goldfinger
- Pennywise
The 2023 festival was the first one I had attended and I was unsure about attending given I was going by myself. It is just reassuring that the community of people that attend these events at just awesome.
A number of games over the years have had that. The only one I witnessed myself (and feel is was more the console release) was Halo. I attended a midnight launch and that was just crazy. I was also working for a retailer at the time of the original Modern Warfare launch which was pretty hectic. We had some people that had be queuing for nearly 7 hours.
Others have been the release of the Wii and the PlayStation 3 which I was also present for.
After the Xbox escapade, I vowed never to bother with those releases but just ended up working for a retailer where it was part of my job.
Hi, my bad on the 'family' reference. It is the 'teams' package that I use, I just use it for my family. Like I mentioned before though, it is far more cost effective than the kSuite, which is targeted at businesses.
As for the transferring for data, this is possible via a feature in kDrive. It is capable of transferring from a number of cloud storage services, including OneDrive. You can get more info on that here: https://www.infomaniak.com/en/support/faq/2406/import-external-data-to-kdrive
I still have my OneDrive at the moment but aim to close this down. I use my Synology to synchronise the data between kDrive, OneDrive and my Synology for data safety. (Yes, this is overkill) I will eventually remove OneDrive from that as I get a better home cloud setup in place.
I have been using Infomaniak services for a few years now. I have my email with them, several domains and use Kdrive almost exclusively these days. Talking about Kdrive specifically, it is fast and has all the typical features you would expect from these types of services. The cloud side with the office integration is really good too.
If anything, the only negative I can find at the moment is that the app does not offer a lite mode (download as you need) feature for Linux so you have to download everything. That said, it does offer a WebDav feature which integrates well.
As for the kSuite, I would say you only need that if you are using it for business. Otherwise the solo or family package would suffice. I have kSuite too and it has some additional features but nothing you would need as an individual.
Not quite. They are network linked through Tailscale but typically running through a Mullvad VPN exit node. The NextDNS is baked into Tailscale too.
This gives me access to my home devices (including self hosted services, etc.) from out and about on the secure Tailscale network and connect to the Internet through a Mullvad VPN connection but that is further supported by the NextDNS which ensure devices are blocked from ads, trackers, telemetry, etc.
I only chose this route because I want an easy way to manage my whole network of connected devices without having to do a setup on each one individually.
Don't get me wrong, there may be a better way but this has just worked well for me.
I have a stack in place built around Tailscale. I mean, this may not be the best route but, hey, it works for me.
So I have Tailscale running across my devices. Within Tailscale, I have enabled Mullvad Exit Nodes for some privacy control. Then I have overridden the default DNS setting with NextDNS.
Within NextDNS I have a standard profile with some ad and telemetry blocking which is typically for the family devices and then I have a disgustingly pimped up profile for my main devices with a hell of a lot blocked, including domains that I do not care for (facebook for example).
The pros are that I can control all connections easier, even when out of my home network. That said, it takes some setting up to ensure I don't bork connections. And, yes, I learnt that the hard way when I blocked all 'meta' tools across my whole network and the kids lost it!
I did the classic, jump in at the deep end approach, and ended up with some distro hoping for a while. I then settled on Fedora.
Why? It did everything I wanted to do and did it well. I found some distro so easy to setup but harder to maintain, some really slick but problematic with updates and apps. Fedora, for me, just worked.
All that said, there are various factors to consider, including your hardware configuration. Some distro just happen to work better on some hardware specs, especially when considering your graphics.
I have a similar usage to you, covering a little bit of everything including gaming and dev and, so far, everything continues to work. So much so, I am thinking of switching my gaming rig over to Fedora in the coming weeks.
Wow... so many choices. Skyrim is a great shout.
I remember hearing the Halo soundtrack for the first time was incredible so feel I have to go with that.
Other worthy mentions:
- Street Fighter II
- Civilization (theme tune to be fair)
- Horizon
I went to see this talk yesterday, and while I have seen Emma Kenny in many documentaries over the years, I have never attended a true crime talk. I can safely say, it did not disappoint.
It was clear and consice and not fluffy like you find with many documentaries these days (talking to you Netflix)
It covered the psychology of a serial killer and covered several from across the USA and UK. No surprise to myself that I had heard of all of them... all except one that was... the name echoed out... "David Parker Ray" (AKA The Toybox Killer) and, man, is this guy something else. Rarely am I shocked by true crime, but everything about him was next level chilling. Especially when his "introduction" recordings were played.
These things are not for the faint of heart, and it was great to see a room full of enthusiasts. A great evening all round.
A nice early morning walk around Roundhay is always a great way to take in some clear air and just reset from a busy week. You cannot argue to beauty of the place.
I certainly take the comedic value from this. My dad is a classic technophobe. He believes the phone is there for emergencies only, and if a call between him and me needs to happen, he will get my mum to phone. With that, the two times in the past 8 years I have got a call, it has been an emergency... I dread the day he might phone and just go, "Just checking in to see how you are."
So yeah, there is a comical side to this, which I certainly see.
Unfortunately I have witnessed friends and family fall foul in the past. From scammers with ill intentions to sales reps just angling for the bigger bonus.
While scammers are often the hardest to spot and a damn sight harder to come back from, I tell everyone to have a "question first" mindset. My missus only truly adopted that when she was stung. A perfect opportunity for a "told you so" but I took the higher ground. Luckily she got the £650 back, though there was no justice as they hid tracks well. She now questions everything.
Now, sales reps on the other hand, I have had a lot of success with in terms of correcting the sly tactics. Again, I try to instill the "too good to be true" mindset. For example, my in-laws wanted broadband but were going to charge and extra £65 a month plus a £49 install charge. Why? They just wanted the line activated for broadband... they did not want the higher broadband, a call package, did not need a line install or engineer and... wait... did not want the sports channels either. They were so confused about what they had actually agreed to. Basically the rep had taken advantage of pensioners who were confused to upsell.
Unfortunately, it is too easy for a scammer or someone with ill intentions to operate and difficult to always spot them. All we can do as the savvy generation is educate.
I’ve been meaning to try out some new roasters recently so looking for some suggestions.
There is a great topic currently underway around the best UK coffee roasters.
I have not always had an interest in data privacy. Actually, it took me moving in to being a data engineer in the marketing world to really realise the intense nature of data capture.
Like, I am sure, a large proprotion of the privacy aware population, it is not that there is anything to hide, just that privacy of data should be a right. It is one of the reasons I stepped away from most social networks, try to de-Google as much as I can and take care in my data landscape.
But, how does everyone else manage theirs? It would be good to share some useful tips, resources, tools, etc. that the wider community (as it grows) can use.
For me, I use:
- A VPN (Mullvad in this case)
- Firefox with 'some' hardening (don't want to totally cripple the online experience)
- Windows OS with telemtry disabled across the system (never perfect but I am happy)
- Simplewall (Windows App) to manage some outbound traffic
- Random password generators (exact logic is incredibly unique to me)
- Android (mobile) with as much telemetry disabled as possible
- Privacy Guides, a great website to keep atop of new updates
- Various threat landscape blogs and podcasts
Listing it out, it sounds like I do a lot but this is pretty tame. I accept that there is a balance between user experience and privacy. Yes, I could totally de-Google my phone but then a lot of useful functionality is lost. Same with Windows, I could move to Linux full-time (and would if I could) but I am a gamer and, while Linux is improving in that landscape, it ain't great just yet.
The freelance network across the UK and even worldwide is huge and growing. Since COVID-19 alone, sites such as Upwork and Fiverr have nearly doubled the number of active freelancers. Everyone likely has something to share, be that some advise on how to be productive, how to manage time and cashflows and just how to be the best you can be.
This post aims to contain links to useful resources that can help to get you started or enhance your freelance service. Please share any suggestions you might in the comments and I will add them.
Productivity Tools
Finance Management
- coming soon
Job Sites (freelancer focussed)
This is an interesting one. I worked for a digital marketing agency several years ago who had an office in Leeds and London. In Leeds everyone would say hi, have the occasional chat over a coffee and say bye at the end of the day.
Working in the London office was so different, only greeted by the receptionist, no real pleasantries, no chats over coffee and a deadpan look when you get up to leave.
I found it a strange vibe. To be fair, in the same way I realised quickly it is every man for themselves on the tube. Leave the Yorkshire charm on the platform when heading to London.
After a few years out due to many pandemic related cancellations, we are really back in the swing of it! I love nothing more than being in the thick of it.
I kicked it off with a pre-SlamDunk gig, the NOFX final tour in Leeds. I had always wanted to see them and they were supported by some amazing bands including Comback Kid, Less Than Jack and Lagwagon. Despite only being 2 days before I was attending SlamDunk, it just had to happen and was a great precurser for the SlamDunk Festival itself.
Anyway, I have some more lined up in Leeds:
- Holding Absence
- Punk Rock Factory
- The Amity Affliction (supported by Comeback Kid)
- Static Dress
Likely not going to stop there and already booked Bowling for Soup next year.
So, what is everyone else attending?
After years of the festival being on my doorstep in Leeds, I decided to go this year. Let's ignore for now the general organisation with food and over population... ...the day itself was awesome!
The moment I stepped in I was met by Zebrahead starting there set and it did not dissapoint. These guys are genuinely incredible.
So, what stories do we have? Did you attend Leeds, Hatfield or even go further to the 1st international SlamDunk in Italy?
Let's hear it all and let's discuss who we would like to see headlining in 2024!
OK, so this is a big ask but we should be able to create a list of excellent music communuties covering, genres, bands, artists, instruments and anything else we feel is great to add.
While this is the UK music scene, it can easily include references to music topics from around the world but focussed on the amazing UK followers.
You know the drill, if you know of a community, would like to see one exist or happy to spin one up then leave a comment and I will add it to the list.
General/Genric Communities
Gigs, Festivals & Events
- Glastonbury Festival
- Download Festival
- Eurovision
- Reading and Leeds Festival
- Bestival
- Latitude
- Slam Dunk North and South
Genres
- Punk & Rock
- Jazz
- Electronic (EDM)
- Techno
- Dubstep
- R&B
- Rap & Hip-Hop
- Country
- Pop
- Classical
- Extreme Metal
- Heavy Metal / Death Metal
- Goth
- Emo
- Prog Rock
- Post Punk
- Drum & Bass
Bands
Other Topics
A chance to curate a list of the UK Rugby League & Union teams. Whether you know of an existing group or want to create and moderate one, use this space to let me know and I will keep the list up-to-date.
Please use the comments to:
- Let me know if I have missed a team
- Send me a link to an existing/new community
Overall Community
- UK Rugby League
- UK Rugby Union
UK Super League Teams (Individual)
- Castleford Tigers
- Catalans Dragons
- Huddersfield Giants
- Hull FC
- Hull KR
- Leeds Rhinos
- Leigh Leopards
- Salford Red Devils
- St Helens
- Wakefield Trinity
- Warrington Wolves
- Wigan Warriors
UK Rugby Union Teams (Individual)
Will need to populate this one as not a union guy (sorry)