The gaff - 11th September 2015

[#1]

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"Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom."	11th September 2015 / Issue #140
News & Announcements Announcing my giffgaff v2.1 for Windows Phone 8.1 - imminent release giffgaff member, ianmorland, is set to release an update to his semi-official "my giffgaff" app for Windows Phone 8.1 on Monday. So read all about it if you run Windows on your phone. Not much news then, so it's a good job this happened last week ...	New members spotted this week - by mark1101b alisonb70 has been with giffgaff for just over a week, and says she has had "no problems" and "porting went like a dream". That's great to hear. Welcome, Alison, and happy gaffing. pammchale says that her intro was her "first post on the forum", and that she isn't too "tech-savvy" and might "ask some dumb questions". Pam, ask away ... we are all here to help. Hello, and a warm welcome to the community. galahad123 has always had company phones and was fed up getting urgent e-mails at silly o'clock. He made the jump to giffgaff and went a bit rebel at work. He is delighted so far and the reception he gets is better than from his old providers. We say "cool", and welcome aboard. bethlewis98 Beth has been with us now for a few months now and "loves it". She says that she would like to get to know a few of us. Pop over into General Discussion, Beth. You will meet a lot of awesome people over there ... sirbobbydazzler Rob loves his tech and phones, and thinks that he will enjoy the giffgaff community. Rob, if you like that stuff, you will love it here too.
\\     ||    ||    ||    ||    ||     // = The giffgaff Wedding = //     ||    ||    ||    ||    ||     \\ Two giffgaffers that met right here on this very forum in 2011 married last Friday. Long-serving and highly respected members, oldyorkie and mary_r_t are now husband and wife thanks to the existence of this community, and we wish them all the best for their future. Visit Mary's thread to add your congratulations and see more photos from their big day. And they say giffgaff's not a dating site!
Topics Hot Topic: o2 customers priority over giffgaff con Newcomer to the community, davehayrwork, wishes giffgaff were more transparent over the quality of the mobile network services that members should expect, relative to O2, whose network infrastructure giffgaff uses. What do you think? Is giffgaff really cheap? Another forum newbie, woodlandrichard this time, questions whether giffgaff's services really are as cheap as they make out, considering the savings they should be making with their business model of on-line, community-based support. Debunking a few commonly-held ideas about Best Answers This former Hot Topic from a month ago returns to the gaff this week, as original poster, essie112mm, has made some further fascinating insights into what's really going on on the Help & Support board. Catch up with the original post above, then read these follow-up posts from Essie from the past 7 days: Post #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 Airbnb interview giffgaff money's Community Manager, estherkem, reports back with the answers to your questions, following their recent interview with Airbnb, the service that enables people to offer others a stay in their own homes if they need accommodating. The Social Review : August 2015 This is deanljbirch's final round-up of all things social on the forum before littlemisszoe takes over from September's review onwards. Having missed July's review, this covers the last 2 months' activity on the General Discussion board. Among other titbits, you can find the winners of July and August's Photography Challenges here. Creative Writing Competition - Aug/Sept The second of giffgaff's monthly competitions for the community's literary geniuses, themed "Going Back To School", has reached the final voting stage to decide the payback and gift voucher winners. Cast your vote(s) for your favourites (before the end of next Thursday, 17th September) by scrolling through the thread, reading the entries and awarding Kudos - voting for more than one entry is acceptable.	Mitchell's Web Wrapup - by mitchell98 MPs reject "right to die" law For over 20 years, people across the UK have been campaigning to allow people who are suffering terribly from terminal illnesses to be allowed to have the right to assisted dying, meaning that with help from family or medical treatment, they would be allowed, legally, to end the suffering of the patient by painlessly bringing an end to their life, essentially freeing them from their pain and suffering. It is something that has been quite controversial with some claiming that it could be abused to "get rid" of those who their families and friends deem to be a "burden" on their day-to-day lives, while others fully support it, saying that it enables patients to be fully relieved from their daily, agonising pains, some of whom had to be heavily medicated to even slightly relieve them from their pains. The law would propose that people who have less than 6 months of life would be allowed to be given a dose of lethal drugs that could be taken themselves, assisted by 2 doctors, and approved by a High Court judge. The number of MPs in favour was 118, while the number opposing the bill was 330. What do you think about this ruling? Should those suffering from terminal illnesses be granted the right to end their life, or is there room for this to be abused? Click here to read more about the ruling.
Blog Highlights Apple Event 2015: iPhone 6S & more All the hot news from Apple's big event in San Francisco on Wednesday is summarised in this blog article from shadylady. Find out about the new iPhone, the major change in the iPad, upgrades to Apple TV, enhancements for the Apple Watch, and more. The Top Budget Laptops of 2015 It's a double helping of shadylady this week! If you're in the market for a new laptop but don't have a huge amount in your budget (we're talking a limit of £350 here), this article could be just what you're looking for. You'll find answers to some FAQs, and a selection of 5 potential purchases. Fairphone 2 Review: An Ethical Smartphone with Modular Design I don't typically include phone reviews in this part of the gaff, as I'm not sure they're particularly "general interest" topics, but the characteristics of this phone may intrigue anyone with an interest in the industry. kenlo looks at the latest model of the pro-environment Fairphone handset, with parts you can individually replace or upgrade, which will be on sale in the UK in the next few weeks.
Phone Updates Phones newly available: Motorola Moto G (2nd Gen) (refurbished) (4G-ready) (£99) Phones now cheaper: none Phones now more expensive: Apple iPhone 5c (8GB): was £279; now £299 Apple iPhone 5s (32GB): was £479; now £499 Apple iPhone 6 (64GB): was £549; now £559 HTC One M9: was £439; now £449 Samsung Galaxy A3: was £179; now £189 Samsung Galaxy A5: was £249; now £269 Samsung Galaxy S6 (32GB): was £429; now £439 Samsung Galaxy S6 edge (64GB): was £529; now £569 Sony Xperia Z3: was £369; now £379 Sony Xperia Z3 Compact: was £319; now £329 (Updated: Thursday 10th September 2015 - prices are subject to change on a regular basis, typically weekly, so please check here and/or here for the very latest prices. Phones are subject to availability, especially refurbished ones.) These phones, and more, are available for purchase here.	Featured Member (full archive) n4tz Afternoon folks. Today we're shining the Featured Member spotlight on someone who has not only been a positive influence on our community but a constructive and creative one too. We're only talking about n4tz, of course. She has been fantastic in helping towards discussions and her Photography Challenge thread has gone down a treat with us all. Brilliant work, n4tz!
Thanks for reading

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[#2]

Congratulate u both ...

[#3]

Cool.

[#4]

Gud luck

[#5]

Thanks Gordie for the email, much appreciated.

[#6]

Hey guys,

This week features my Web Wrapup which is about the right to assisted death/suicide - it would be really interesting to see what everyone thinks about it and what your views are.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend,
Mitchell.

[#7]

Thanks @gordie10 @mitchell98 and @mark1101b

Great to see the giffgaff wedding being featured. Once again, huge congratulations Mary and Oldyorkie.

And a big pat on the back to my wonderful friend @n4tz on finally becoming a featured membermember.

Mitch great choice of topic, my personal view is that we should all have more control over our health and how/when we choose to end things if our state of health takes a serious nose dive. I'd like to think that one day we will have the right to die, but only if the laws ensure the system can not be abused.

Finally, a great big welcome to all the Featured new members and everyone else who joined giffgaff in the past weekweek.

[#8]

Another cracking edition of The gaff ...... thanks to  @gordie10 , @mark1101b & @mitchell98

 The first giffgaffer wedding .......

           Congratulations and all the best to @oldyorkie & @mary_r_t ( Neil & Mary  ) ....... 

 to our most recent Featured Member @n4tz  .... well deserved recognition,

                                     Happy giffgaffing everyone ..... 

[#9]

Thanks for another great edition. Weird that so many of the phones are more expensive this week. 😢

[#10]

A good round up of what has been happening on the forum and a little bit of stuff from the outside world for those who have been fully engrossed within the forum - so you can catch up on what is happening in reality!

Thanks for your time in putting it together