Why (oh why etc) can’t someone design a better way to attach peripherals? No, not some clever Bluetooth advance or wizzy technology, just a nut that doesn’t come undone when you screw / unscrew monitors, serial connectors, printer cables,… to the back of a PC.

Years ago I had this problem as I was often working on serial comms solutions and customers (and colleagues) insisted on tightening the screw that held the adaptor to the back of the PC. In these modern times there aren’t so many serial ports in use but I’m often swapping monitors even with my Belkin switch and (especially with my Belkin switch) you need to screw the cable down as it is so thick it untwist itself & pulls out. A real irritation with my laptop as it cleverly (hah!) realises there is no external monitor and switches to internal display only - requiring much fiddling with display properties to get back to the correct twin head resolution.

Processors advance, peripherals advance, cases advance but we still seem to have these crappy little nuts. Captive ones rather than screw in ones would do the job. Is there a solution out there? Maybe I just get naff PC’s!

Some guy on the radio was protesting about the Orange Prize for Women Writers being discrimination against men. What really annoyed me was the response of Shami Chakrabarti who chairs the judges which was to dismiss with a chuckle the issue without even answering any of the points. As director of the human rights organisation Liberty she should have more respect than to laugh at any complaint of discrimination. Obviously, something open to women only is discriminatory - whether it is wrong or even significant is debatable but not dismissible.

I was somewhat disturbed by the strap line to the new online mag Gizmo

Technology eh? It changes the language, often adding but sometimes taking away. I have often used the phrase “It’s like painting The Forth Bridge” since I discovered that by the time they get to the end it’s time to start again at the beginning. So much in life seems like that. However, it appears advances in paint mean the next coat will last