The same, but different

Posted on by Ian C.

My Q5 is in for service currently, to get the keyless entry system working again, addressing a couple of service bulletins, and hopefully eliminating a rattle from the back of the car, and so I’m driving … a Q5! But this Q5 is not the “prestige” spec, so doesn’t have the B&O sound system, or navigation – and it does show in the interior with lower quality displays and poorer sound (though really that’s a good thing; it’s nice to know I got something for the extra money I paid!)


All the stereo / display controls are crammed together above the heating controls, leaving a lot of empty space around the shifter – compare my Q5 picture (left) with the rental:


The main display, in the center of the car, is smaller – and updates noticeably slower when for example scrolling through the Sirius radio channels; more noticeable still is the small display between the dials, with this rental Q5 having a single red color display with much bigger pixels (or less aliasing); it just looks lower quality!

Other differences include the speed-volume compensation (which is apparently randomly too loud in this rental Q5) and, strangely, much lighter steering – I definitely prefer my Q5 🙂

MINIsOnTop 2010

Posted on by Ian C.

This year MINIsOnTop has a new organizational crew, so expect some exciting changes – the first, announced today, is that when registration opens soon, it will be “online”; no more printing and mailing of forms!
Don’t fret – MINIsOnTop is happening again this year! We’re just moving a bit slower than our predecessors Ian, Theo and Michael did.
Registration will be online this year and will open soon. As always, it will be first-come, first-served. We recommend signing up for the MOT announcements list so you’ll be notified when it opens.
After rave reviews last year, the Attitash Grand Summit Hotel will be our base hotel again this year. The Attitash is a luxury resort, centrally located in Bartlett, NH between the Kancamagus Highway and the Mount Washington Auto Road. Please call (800) 233-7699 to book your room and be sure to ask for the MINIsOnTop special rate! Please note: the special rate is not available for booking online.

Personally, I haven’t figured what to do with MINIsOnTop this year, as GPMINI will likely remain in Florida, and showing up in an “SUV” Q5 might be un-popular 😉

Comcast data usage

Posted on by Ian C.

So, Comcast has introduced a “data usage meter”, and I find it rather suspicious!

Their FAQ makes such statements as:
The vast majority – more than 99% – of our customers will not be impacted by a 250 GB monthly bandwidth or data usage threshold … 250GB is far beyond the current median of data usage for a typical residential Internet customer in a month … median data usage by Comcast High-Speed Internet customers is approximately 2 – 4GB each month … 95% of service customers could increase their data usage many times over and still not be considered an excessive user …

But then their chart claims my January usage to be well past 50% of their limit! I wouldn’t mind if I torrent’ed heaps of movies, and ran SlingPlayer every day – but I don’t … of course Comcast provide no data statistics to back up their single number, so there’s no way to draw any conclusions from what they claim; I suppose I’ll need to look at traffic monitoring!

Anyone else with experience of this new Comcast feature?