I won’t go into details about how GP+ was produced this week, but I shall be taking the new computer back tomorrow and heading to the UK to get my hands on one with a QWERTY keyboard, which you cannot buy in France… This means I have been creating it on an AZERTY, so one must type the wrong letters to get the ones you want. I have torn out most of my hair. However, it’s done. Thanks to all those who have helped me in the last 48 hours. It’s not a bad recovery given that I also drove 1,000km in that period.
This week we have a Carlos Sainz interview, we remember Francois Michelin (a cedilla is beyond me this evening…) and the 1975 Spanish GP, plus some heavy-hitting columns about the sport. If you would like to sign up for the magazine, go to www.grandprixplus.com
thank you – it can’t have been much fun.
AZERTY is tolerable if you just look at the screen/close your eyes and follow your muscle memory.
Looking down is just asking for trouble!
I did that… But it is the punctuation marks etc that screw it up.
Hi Joe,
Can you not just order the different keyboard online? I know with HP laptops you can order different regional versions and swap them out… suspect it may be different with Apple though. Would save a trip across the Channel, is all I’m thinking.
Congrats on getting the new issue out so quickly, all things considered.
You can’t pull apart the new Apple laptops. Even the older ones, it’s a bit of a job to get the keyboard out. However, if you order one online, I think you can choose what type of keyboard you get. They ship it, and you don’t have to deal with the Chunnel or the ferry.
But it doesn’t happen in the two days I have before I leave
You can in fact buy a Mac with a QWERTY keyboard in France Joe (I live here too). If you buy via the online Apple Store (best way in my opinion) (http://store.apple.com/fr) you can choose your keyboard from a drop-down menu.
Save you some cash compared to a trip to London. They usually deliver within a day or two. I think you can pay more for next day.
I think you may have missed the point. You can buy anything you like if you wait four or five days. I don’t have four or five days to wait…
Actually, it’s 1 to 3 days and you can pay a bit more for it to be before 09h30, but clearly for you it is a problem not knowing if it’s going to 1 or 3 days. Calling them by phone would probably confirm either way.
Too late. I’m taking the train. This way there is zero risk
Unless you drop it, whilst stepping onto the train and it falls onto the lines and is split in two by a steel wheel. But don’t even think about that. =:o
Joe, It was ” Worth the wait “.
Nice article by David Tremayne on the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix.
Oh yes, is that a F1 car on the front cover, or an F3. The cars look so bad now with those skinny rear tyres, and narrow wings.
I read the report on the 1975 race rather than the one on last Sunday’s procession
DT’s piece on the 1975 Spanish is excellent and absolutely harrowing. How could they do that…?
Thanks for the extra effort Joe. Good luck growing your hair back quickly. Next time, write it in French with the ARZERTY keyboard and we’ll all use Google Translate to figure the damn thing out!… Keyboards aren’t too expensive… maybe buy two in Merry Olde!
Well done Joe,
It has to happen every so often just to show what a great job you guys do every GP weekend. Much appreciated by your audience.
Steve
Is an IT disaster recovery plan now in place? Backup strategy? Better late than never as they say …
I fear only 2 computers would have solved this one.
Yes and having an iPad would probably not help as publishing programme is too much. Maybe a virtual Mac is possible with an iPad
Virtual computers are possible with pretty much anything. But if typing with an AZERTY tried your patience, I wouldn’t even go there.
Hi Joe- a virtual Mac unfortunately isn’t possible on an iPad. One strategy would be to keep a copy in iCloud. You can edit documents you keep in your iCloud account in an internet browser and so it’s platform independent…thus easy from a Windows PC and its browser, iPad, Android devices…
So http://www.icloud.com from a PC will allow you to log in to your account (Apple ID) and you are back to desktop publishing.
Would be more than happy to elaborate if it suits you!
Might I suggest a MacBook Air. When my iPad was too old to run the latest OS I toyed with getting a new one but then took a look at the MBA. I ended up getting an 11″ one which is not much bigger than an iPad and has more of everything plus a proper keyboard. I also have a MacBook Pro 15. A combination like this would cover you for a similar breakdown as the one you experienced last weekend.
I feel your pain as I must use QWERTZ keyboard occassionally.
Can you not plug an external qwerty keyboard into a mac?
I want a proper solution
“MUST NOT BASH COMPUTER WITH HAMMER!…..MUST NOT!”
….but it would feel good after the weekend y’all have had.
Hi Joe, Just up to Bahrain showing in the list. No sign of Spain?
I only discovered I had learnt to touch type when I moved back from France to the UK and the sudden lack of an AZERTY layout meant I kept typing some odd things! The bit that really gets me is the half size enter key…
I won’t presume to offer advice, as I imagine you’re already up to your ears in more of it than you care to be.
But I am curious as to what, if anything, might change about future habits. Will you endeavor to carry a lightweight spare that’s minimally adequate? Or will you trust that lightning won’t strike you twice?
I will have better back up and perhaps use a system that allows any computer to work an online virtual Mac. Most press rooms have spare general use PCs
Did you lose content and have to recreate it? Or was the task mainly one of getting a new computer and reassembling content that you still had?
I got most of the content back, but had to redo a fair bit in terms of layout.
If you pick up a USB QWERTY keyboard, then if it does happen again you can plug that into whatever laptop you manage to get and type ‘normally’.
My wife has a AZERTY laptop (it was very cheap) and I agree the punctuation messes with your head. I have to sit and stare at it to find the right key.
Me too
I would guess that a cheap USB keyboard would have a Windows layout, though. Apple keyboards have fruit-specific keys, which could cause similar problems.
In the meantime I’m sticking with my 25 year old IBM Model M keyboard, although it has twice the mass of the laptop into which it is plugged so stays at home when I go travelling.
I have now assembled what I need. I’m a few programme keys short of perfect but they will come. I also lost three days of work but I might get that back…
Cannot get on to the GP+ website, neither from the link nor direct! Will try later, maybe so many users downloading at once?
No should not be a problem
Just tried it on the iPhone and all is well
Hi Joe – not much help to you now, except perhaps to save you an expensive trip, but… you should be able to re-configure your keyboard from French to UK in a few seconds. Open ‘Keyboard preferences’ From the ‘Systems Preferences’ Icon. The ‘Input Sources’ tab lets you access a list of keyboard configuration options, so you can select and set up your keyboard however you wish for touch typing. The symbols printed on the keyboard are irrelevant. (This works for my iMac running OSX10.9)
My apologies for all this techy non- F1 stuff, but it may help!
You can do that but I’m not a touch typist. I still look…
Past redundancy by now, but anyway – you can buy little stickers for the keys for different alphabets. My daughter has a regular keyboard with added Arabic and Armenian characters.
Sterling effort Joe bearing in mind what happened. My AZERTY keyboard is just under the desk but I often use shortcuts on QWERTY to avoid changing boards (such a faff). I can’t imagine doing what you do that way – bravo!
Still no access to GP+ website – links or direct?!
Yes. It’s all there as normal. Go there, put in your password and download the mag
Marvellous ON THE GRID in the latest GP+. Hammer, nail and head!
I feel your pain. My then grilf used to bring her German keyboard to visit and in the days before USB swapping it out meant grovelling under the desk with a torch.
Joe, for some reason the GP+ website will not load? Is this unique to me or UK problem?
I just tried it and it was fine.
Mine only loads Bahrain so it is not just you
Restart the browser. The problem is in the cache of your computer.
I keep trying and the page simply wont load, saying it was reset. I even tried it direct from the blog and get the same result. Technology!!! Grrrrr About to try on a different PC
No, I had the same problem but after the third try it worked. Glad it wasn’t just me though! Too many people downloading as Ted above…?
First time I’ve ever had such stories from more than one person. It can only be line quality. The server can handle mass downloading
I think it’s line quality as well. Orange Internet in the French countryside is abysmal sometimes!
I’m having the same problem – all day. Have tried all the links, direct entry of the website name, clearing caches etc etc. Using Windows XP Pro and Mozilla Firefox on a PC in the UK. Never had a problem before now. Have no other device, so will keep trying!
Don’t know why that would be
Thanks guys for the extra effort under hardship and foreign punctuation.
Suddenly this morning it all worked. And that was on a train was terrible bandwidth. So strange. technology. As usual it was worth the wait.
Just loaded! Took at least 2 minutes for the website and another 5 for acceptance of the passwords. All the graphics for the pdfs were “broken”. Download of the mag was fast however and now looking forward to a good read later this evening.
Sounds like a problem with the quality of the Internet connectoon
Great read, as usual. Thanks for going above and beyond the call of duty!
Thanks, mate.
Crap days at work, huh?
Thank you for putting together a great magazine Joe, despite the many challenges that come up!
I’ve had similar before but was fortunate that it was possible to remove the keys and manually put them where I needed.
In the race report no comments from VMax. Wasn’t he available after the race? IMHO his race was massively compromised by his slow first stop, the timing of his second (straight into heavy traffic) and the blue flags at the end. Without the first two team mistakes he would have easily finished in the points.