Low Tech?

[Muttley]

Love this, thanks for posting. It totally sums up the uk high street in general! Though recently I've noticed that among all the coffee shops and nail bars a disproportionate number of dessert parlours cropping up. In our main shopping street there's at least 3 of them, then in the next street there's another one and in the other major shopping area of the town 2 more have cropped up and there's only 4 doors between them! They're all in large premesis and decked out in the same garish American style glitz. I guess they're primarily there for the dad to take the kids when mum's having her nails done. They never look particularly busy, and who goes out for dessert fgs?!

Interesting, I hadn't noticed dessert parlours, they haven't hit Kilburn High Road (yet). We've got all the nail bars though.

 

[stratobuddy]

Interesting, I hadn't noticed dessert parlours, they haven't hit Kilburn High Road (yet). We've got all the nail bars though.

That was my area when I worked in London on and off for 6 months at a time.

 

[ERICS MUM]

I have a theory. For a few years now in central London, American ‘candy’ shops have popped up and common opinion is they are fronts for money laundering. My theory is that dessert parlours and Turkish barbers could be the same…..
The theory (not mine) is that customers are more likely to pay cash in these places. Cash is king to ML.

 

[Clothescloth]

I have a theory. For a few years now in central London, American ‘candy’ shops have popped up and common opinion is they are fronts for money laundering. My theory is that dessert parlours and Turkish barbers could be the same…..
The theory (not mine) is that customers are more likely to pay cash in these places. Cash is king to ML.

Add nail bars to that list. I think it generally known that these establishments are fronts for money laundering, but nothing seems to done about it. Maybe they are ‘kept an eye on’ in order to catch the bigger fish?

 

[merryone]

I have a theory. For a few years now in central London, American ‘candy’ shops have popped up and common opinion is they are fronts for money laundering. My theory is that dessert parlours and Turkish barbers could be the same…..
The theory (not mine) is that customers are more likely to pay cash in these places. Cash is king to ML.

I’m not sure about that theory, perhaps in the big cities. Since the pandemic hardly anyone uses cash any more and even tourists can get currency cards nowadays. I live in a city myself one that received city status some years ago. We’ve got a few touristy places , a small shopping mall and street and a couple of smaller shopping areas all with a disproportionate amount of dessert parlours for its size. I’d imagine that the only ones who’d use cash would be unaccompanied kids, but as I said the ones I’ve seen are always pretty empty. My theory is that it builds upon the success of the coffee shop which is a staple for weary shoppers and “coffee with the girls” . You rarely see a coffee shop full with mums with kids or teenagers so I think they’re a response to what’s been identified as a gap in the market. I don’t think it’ll be too much longer before we see them as empty premises with whitewashed windows, especially if we have a crappy summer!

 

[madaunty]

I have a theory. For a few years now in central London, American ‘candy’ shops have popped up and common opinion is they are fronts for money laundering. My theory is that dessert parlours and Turkish barbers could be the same…..
The theory (not mine) is that customers are more likely to pay cash in these places. Cash is king to ML.

Add nail bars to that list. I think it generally known that these establishments are fronts for money laundering, but nothing seems to done about it. Maybe they are ‘kept an eye on’ in order to catch the bigger fish?

Ever since I discovered BBC Sounds and started to listen to true crime podcasts, I’ve viewed the proliferation of car washes, nail bars, fried chicken shops etc etc as a “bit dodgy”. Some are there purely for washing dirty money.
The things you learn from a podcast….I was such an innocent…..

 

[ERICS MUM]

Ever since I discovered BBC Sounds and started to listen to true crime podcasts, I’ve viewed the proliferation of car washes, nail bars, fried chicken shops etc etc as a “bit dodgy”. Some are there purely for washing dirty money.
The things you learn from a podcast….I was such an innocent…..

I like BBC Sounds too. It’s one of the only UK tv/radio channels available abroad when I’m on my travels.

 

[Muttley]

I have a theory. For a few years now in central London, American ‘candy’ shops have popped up and common opinion is they are fronts for money laundering. My theory is that dessert parlours and Turkish barbers could be the same…..
The theory (not mine) is that customers are more likely to pay cash in these places. Cash is king to ML.

Oxford Street is full of American candy shops. Last year Westminster Council were bragging that they were cracking down on them and had shut down a third of them but I just read that numbers were back up again. The council only deals with non payment of business rates and fake goods (some of the chocolate is fake Hershey bars).

As you suggest there is a probably a bigger picture going on but nothing seems to be done from a law enforcement perspective. We've got plenty of nail bars round my way but I only use my local beauty salon with established employees and I pay by card.

 

[ERICS MUM]

Oxford Street is full of American candy shops. Last year Westminster Council were bragging that they were cracking down on them and had shut down a third of them but I just read that numbers were back up again. The council only deals with non payment of business rates and fake goods (some of the chocolate is fake Hershey bars).

As you suggest there is a probably a bigger picture going on but nothing seems to be done from a law enforcement perspective. We've got plenty of nail bars round my way but I only use my local beauty salon with established employees and I pay by card.

I avoid the “pop up” nail bars because I’m not sure about hygiene. I don’t want to get a nail fungal infection from non-sterilised manicure tools . I trust the more established salons to have proper cleaning regimes.

 

[Muttley]

I avoid the “pop up” nail bars because I’m not sure about hygiene. I don’t want to get a nail fungal infection from non-sterilised manicure tools . I trust the more established salons to have proper cleaning regimes.

That's a good point, at mine the manicure tools come out of sealed packaging where they have presumably been sterilised first.

 

[Muttley]

Ever since I discovered BBC Sounds and started to listen to true crime podcasts, I’ve viewed the proliferation of car washes, nail bars, fried chicken shops etc etc as a “bit dodgy”. Some are there purely for washing dirty money.
The things you learn from a podcast….I was such an innocent…..

Also there is the issue of staff being exploited if they haven't got employment rights. They are typical 'cash in hand' type places.

I haven't listened to any true crime podcasts, I mainly listen to history podcasts, I might give them a try.

 

[Deleted member 21838]

Here he goes with old Skin…The Burke and Hare of shopping television. The usual worthless patter, the buzz phrases, the empty rhetoric.. How he worked for Epson in 1895…Personally, I wouldn’t touch an Epson EcoTank with a long bargepole. I have read too many horror stories online and QVC (when they choose not to reset the reviews to Year Zero..again) about the difficulties of setting up a wireless connection. But good old Lee drones on with the worthless sound bytes regardless, encouraged by Flint and her much repeated appeal to the target audience act ..Pictures of the kids for Granny (more realistically Granny in tears trying to get the thing to communicate with her PC). Oh God…here comes Alexa in one of those wretched speakers, listening to all you say…ALEXA…Will I need an umbrella today..Yes, Lee, ideally shoved up where the sun don‘t shine.

 

[Deleted member 21838]

Watching Lee and the HP Touchscreen Chromebook demo. He flips it to tablet mode (For me, at a 14” screen, far too large and cumbersome to ever be a safely used tablet). He starts to try to scroll the apps store screen and nothing happens. He quickly moves the machine sideways and scrolls again. Some sort of screen drag he didn’t want to pursue in front of camera. Subtle as diarrhoea in a space suit. Do they think we are daft?

 

[boffy]

Interesting, I hadn't noticed dessert parlours, they haven't hit Kilburn High Road (yet). We've got all the nail bars though.

Oxford street is full of these shops selling huge bags of cheap sweets for daft prices. I am wondering how many Poundland and rip off Poundland shops there are. Lost count.

 

[merryone]

Watching Lee and the HP Touchscreen Chromebook demo. He flips it to tablet mode (For me, at a 14” screen, far too large and cumbersome to ever be a safely used tablet). He starts to try to scroll the apps store screen and nothing happens. He quickly moves the machine sideways and scrolls again. Some sort of screen drag he didn’t want to pursue in front of camera. Subtle as diarrhoea in a space suit. Do they think we are daft?

I saw this and I thought exactly the same thing - 10" is about right for a tablet. I certainly wouldn't want to be faffing around with that when I'm on the move. On to the printer - Did he really say that the ink will last a few years? That seems incredible. To be honest I'm pretty happy with printer I've got. It's a Canon Pixma and I'm on my second one now. I had one some years ago when I was a heavy user, frequently using it for projects for work and I was also a keen crafter. I was finding the ink costly, so I got rid of it in favour of a Kodak which promised cheaper ink - Talk about a false economy - The ink ran out twice as fast, and to add insult to injury, if either of the cartridges ran out then you couldn't use it at all. I remember trying to print of a black and white document but I couldn't because the colour cartridge needed replacing. For some reason the next printer I purchased was an HP and I had the same problem, if I remember rightly I was unable to get another Canon at a reasonable price at the time and I desperately needed a printer and this one was dirt cheap. The ink lasted better but again once again it would only print if both cartridges had enough ink in them. Eventually I managed to get another Canon Pixma, and whilst I'm a light user these days, mainly printing tickets off and the odd document here and there at least the bliddy thing works if you've got some ink left in one of the cartridges!

 

[Deleted member 21838]

For me, it is bordering on contempt for the viewers they think are watching. I saw what he was doing with the lag on the HP touchscreen. I would have had more respect if he’d just touched the screen again without moving the unit sideways.

As for his price savings on the Epson: how these are actually broken down in the real home use consumer printing world, God only knows? I rarely if at all even use printers these days. Photos and documents being kept in ‘the Cloud’ as it were. I only use my colour laser to print off dog walking invoices for the few customers requiring a hard copy nowadays. Show me home non-business users in numbers these days who would get anywhere near the fanciful price savings examples he uses time and time again. Also, what remote relevance to today is him continually repeating his ‘I Used to Work for Epson’ tedious mantra time and time again. He states this was in 1990s. A world away in technological terms to today. Its like me saying I was a Police Officer in 1981 (I was) and having me front a debate on modern day policing. Meaningless. And just yet another of his lazy same old same old routines.

I am also mindful of QVC resetting customer reviews and beginning a product from scratch whenever it suits them. They have been flogging the Epson EcoTank ’dream’ for years now, and have received continually bad reviews in relevant number about how difficult some buyers find to get it to connect to print using Wi-Fi. Yet these get wiped on a regular basis. Its not only with this product, but others, too. All reviews made on a product that remains generically the same thing should stand. I would love to know why they do this, even though I can guess.

 

[Deleted member 21838]

Did he even print anything off during the EcoTank demo? If he did, I didn’t see it. He showed the App on his telephone, but other than his usual hot air, didn’t use it to communicate with the printer? I wonder why?

Mat Trim used to do the Epson demos. He came over as a far more thorough demonstrator than his successor, with substance over style, rather than the other way round.

 

[Muttley]

I saw this and I thought exactly the same thing - 10" is about right for a tablet. I certainly wouldn't want to be faffing around with that when I'm on the move. On to the printer - Did he really say that the ink will last a few years? That seems incredible. To be honest I'm pretty happy with printer I've got. It's a Canon Pixma and I'm on my second one now. I had one some years ago when I was a heavy user, frequently using it for projects for work and I was also a keen crafter. I was finding the ink costly, so I got rid of it in favour of a Kodak which promised cheaper ink - Talk about a false economy - The ink ran out twice as fast, and to add insult to injury, if either of the cartridges ran out then you couldn't use it at all. I remember trying to print of a black and white document but I couldn't because the colour cartridge needed replacing. For some reason the next printer I purchased was an HP and I had the same problem, if I remember rightly I was unable to get another Canon at a reasonable price at the time and I desperately needed a printer and this one was dirt cheap. The ink lasted better but again once again it would only print if both cartridges had enough ink in them. Eventually I managed to get another Canon Pixma, and whilst I'm a light user these days, mainly printing tickets off and the odd document here and there at least the bliddy thing works if you've got some ink left in one of the cartridges!

Hi Merryone, I've just bought a Canon Pixma printer and I'm happy with it do far. Had problems with printers on the past. I'm only a light user but don't like not having one at home. Was easy setting up and I generally struggle with setting up anything technical. My last one was a HP and I had Instant Ink which gave you a regular supply. When the printer stopped working I had so many problems trying to cancel the subscription (in theory was easy but not in my case for some reason). Was up and running quickly and got holiday documents printed off as I don't like to solely rely on my phone. Hopefully it will continue to be reliable.