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L1NUX number plate roars onto eBay

The Linux users among you who've been putting aside all the lovely cash you've saved by not shelling out for the Satanic Software of Redmond™ might like to consider blowing it on the ultimate open source boy racer accessory: the one and only L1NUX number plate. It has to be said, the auction has hardly set eBay alight, with …

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Oi

The item photographed doesn't appear to conform to The Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001 which requires a 33mm gap between groups of letters.

(http://www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk/plates.htm)

"But the problem is when people change the letter spacing and make the plate hard to read. Cars with these plates fail MOT tests and there is a maximum £1,000 fine."

"The DVLA plans to work with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to crackdown on drivers. From 1 March people without correctly displayed plates may have their registration marks withdrawn permanently without compensation."

Coat

L1NUX, SHM1NUX

"just one bid at a paltry £1,000"

The number of bids has quadrupled , and the high bid is now just over 2 grand. Reserve not met, either - realistic or insane optimism? You decide.

Interestingly, just after I passed my driving test a mate of mine asked me whether or not I'd go hunting for the "L1NUX" plate once I'd got myself a car. I pointed out that I'd much prefer "8OFH" or some variant thereof :-)

Seen at Sun in Camberley

in October 2005, on a motorbike. One of the truly saddest sights I have ever seen.

Cost of Vista vs Linux

So not matter what the Beast of Redmond says, Vista _does_ cost 135 times what Linux costs? The market says so...

To Be Expected

Limux users are sufficiently mature and above fan boy nonsense like personalised plates.

Says a lot about the users mentality. I'm surprised that anyone's prepared to pay even a tenner for a L1NUX plate, never mind bid a grand.

What's the point?

Mind you I've never been able to understand the mentality of people who pay good money for personalised plates - so perhaps I'm missing something.

@to be expected

I don't mind people having private plates. I think it can look quite nice, depending on the plate. and it de-ages the car which is nice. would I have one? possibly, except I can't work out what I'd buy. any ones I might conceivably want are waaay too expensive I think. also the paperwork whenever one buys and sells a car seems like a lot of hassle...

dave

Anonymous Coward
Paris Hilton

G33KS

...RE57ART seen on a Smart car belonging to a computer maintenance firm...

WINNT

Around Peterborough i see on occasion W1NNT on a Honda Accord estate

Pirate

@To Be Expected

I've never seen the sense in personalised numberplates either. Unless we're talking about RA55 MAN (say it out loud in a West Indian accent).

Doesn't seem to be for sale though :-(

Anonymous Coward
Gates Halo

Libel, I tell you, libel!

"We suspect that Linux aficionados have become so accustomed to not paying for anything except pizza that they really aren't going to stump for this automotive statement"

You are Andrew Thomas and I claim my fifty quid.

Coat

Plain not true.

"We suspect that Linux aficionados have become so accustomed to not paying for anything except pizza that they really aren't going to stump for this automotive statement"

We pay for beer! You just can't get that for free.

Taxi!

Unhappy

Stiched up either way ?

What gets me is that there's one Govt dept actively selling personalised number plates (in some cases for loadsa money) on the basis that the particular sequence can be seen as a particular "word"...and then another dept that'll fine you big time if you do re-space the characters in order to make the word....!

This country is going to the dogs and not mistake...!

Anonymous Coward
IT Angle

URL 1 - Aston Martin DB9

This car / plate combination is parked outside a tech company local to me - also in Cardiff, Wales. What's going on? Is cardiff the new IT capital of the UK. I atually spotted L1NUX in the same car park (on a 5-series BMW) as URL 1 - so perhaps they're friends. I also note that James Wickes from Ideal hardware wants URL 1 - perhaps he should get in touch and I can point him in the right direction

Gates Horns

Why isn't...

...SH1T isn't the same price as V1STA? Both are, after all, equal.

Anonymous Coward
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Around Newcastle from time to time

H2 EAU

It's known to be driven by the owner of a local water bottling company.

Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

Re; 35mm Gap

I think you'll find the car has a new MOT (!)

Stop

Uh-oh

That plate is illegal (letter spacing). It should be "L1 NUX".

Stop

What's the problem?

"But the problem is when people change the letter spacing and make the plate hard to read. Cars with these plates fail MOT tests and there is a maximum £1,000 fine."

I've never understood the issue with changing the spacing on number plates. If the Police check your plate, I doubt very much that they check it as "L, 1, SPACE,N, U, X" for example!

Very sad...

I once saw "0RA DBA" on the back of a very, very expensive Merc, obviously one of those over-payed Oracle DBA contractors we all employ somewhere in the company!

I checked and I believe the number plate "1 DBA" is currently available for £23,000!!! Why so? I have no idea!! You'd think if youer were one, you'd want to keep it quiet!

Anonymous Coward
Stop

Easy to remember?

I think the whole issue of private plates is sad.

Apart from that, I wouldn't want my number plate to be more easily remembered by someone I cut-up or speed past ;-)

More seriously, though, I knew someone who had one, (I forget what it was now) and he had been stopped a few times concerning the illegal spacing he had - the reason quoted earlier:

"But the problem is when people change the letter spacing and make the plate hard to read."

Weird. His was much easier to read/remember as a 'word' than in it's spaced out form - and we're just talking spacing, not changing a 4 to look like an A etc.

Black Helicopters

@Timbo

Think of it as a stupidity tax.

Richard K: I suspect it's all to do with Automatic Number Plate Recognition: I've toyed with the idea of building a number plate recogniser, but my leet skillz aren't up to it. Mucking about with the typeface, weight, spacing, etc. will make it much harder for Plod's PC to recognize you as you whizz through the congestion charging zone...

Seen this on a Porche

Read it as you would see it in the mirror

T1 3VOM

Title

Bidders beware the L7NUX number plate

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/08/23/bidders_beware_the_l7nux_number/

The owner of L1 NUX admits "The police have stopped him five times for having the incorrect spacing between letters on his cherished plate."

"In London they're very very sensitive about the spacing of letters. I've been taken to court once," he said. Bult had changed the letter spacing on his plate within the seven days of being instructed to, but an admin cock up meant he still had to appear in court"

"He now lives in the countryside outside Cardiff where the number plate special squad is more relaxed. Which is not to suggest he doesn't adhere to the DVLA's regulations. He currently drives a BMW 528."

May be he has a revolving number plate switching from L1 NUX to L1NUX.

Which version is on the car at the moment?

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@ Anonymouse Coward:

Reminds me of the shell/bp/maxol/some other petrol company executive who purchased the legit Northern Ireland registration plate of "OIL 8055".

Gates Horns

number plates

I'd rather have the number plate FR33 BSD ;)

Anonymous Coward
Heart

W4NKR

Reputedly once seen on a pink E Type Jag. Or was it PEN 1S ?Says it all really.

Anonymous Coward
Stop

chances are

V1STA is far older and has nothing at all to do with OS's (shock horror) as it was a word since there have been number plates.

Anonymous Coward
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on the embankment

I've seen two bentlys park next to each other with the plates.

"2 BE" on one and "Not 2 BE" on the other.

Best numberplate so far

VE DUB01 seen on a new style beetle near reading.

...or maybe

D15 TRO would be a better choice.

That DB5

Has anyone actually got BMT 216A ?

Now THAT'S a number plate worth covetting.

A joke...

Private plates in the UK really are a joke. Trying to massage a sequence of letters and numbers into "words"? All because the UK public is being held hostage by a computer system designed in the 1970's that nobody can change in any meaningful way? If they could change it, they could allow REAL personalized number plates, without all the faffing about with numbers and letters. But no. They've got the gullible UK punters who will pay loads for "personalized" numberplates that aren't actually at all personalized.

Anyone who gets one of these things is simply supporting bad programming and bad design, and obviously has more money than brains. P.T. Barnum is proven right yet again.

Coat

Currently £5,100??????

Bleedin 'ell, do you have any idea how many pair of socks and sandals you can buy for that?

Paris Hilton

how much is..

..B0 LL0X

stupid personalised number plates. I've been miffed since the DVLA wouldn't let me have B45TARD or W4NK3R, the b*st*rd w*nkers.

wonder how much Paris Hilton's would be?

Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

@ Chris Jones-Gill

XUNIJ might work too.

Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

Re: W4NKR

Steve Parrish, current BBC MotoGP commentator and former well-known 80's GP paddock prankster, used to have PEN1S on his truck...

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TOSSER

One of my friends in the US had a red Corvette with the plate TOSSER.

He told the DMV that he came from a long line of caber tossers.

cool number?

M7 JAG (with a curved "7" to look like a "Y") lives on a sporty Jaguar near me these days.

Why do people do that?

Thumb Up

Saddest yet...

is the Edinburgh based Porsche with H1 61RLS!!

Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

Jesus

My car is the only 'cool' thing I've got going for me. If I'm ever to have any hope of getting laid more than once per decade, I think I'll pass.

Cast my mind back

Post by Kenny reminds me of one I saw in Brighton maybe 5-6 years ago (they'd got it on one of those 2 line number plates like you get on some 4x4's):

H1

5LAG

Classic

Think UK "custom" numberplates are limited?

The Irish (Republic) system is even more restrictive -

The standard for regs is YY-C-NNNN, where YY is the year ie 07, C is the county e.g. D=Dublin, C=Cork etc, NNNN is a sequential number eg 34704. Nice and simple, the age of the car is easy to pick out, and where it's from.

One problem with this is that while at the start of the year all is fine eg. 07-D-123 is nice and easy to read, towards the end of the year the numbers get longer eg. 07-D-110573. Try reading the numerical part of the reg after the car does a hit and run. Not too easy. And think of all the regs that it could look like if you're out by a digit!

Right, back to the matter in hand - customising - you can't. Even down to the format of the plate and the font itself. Changing the font is an offence (afaik), and will certainly fail your NCT (MOT equiv) if you do.

The "creative" types try to do things with the number part. So every single Porsche in the country has some variation of YY-D-911. Well done. Its a 911. We know. (This technique also works for Peugeots, Rovers, BMW etc)

Having said all this, I do think that in Cork, in 2036 or Dublin in the same year, there will be sniggers as all the regs start with either 36-C or 36-D and a few lucky punters will get their grubby mits on the 7175th car, or even the 80085th car in their county. (Squinting may help, also having a juevenile mind!)

Fnar fnar.

Dead Vulture

Spotted in Liverpool

H10RNY (with the 1 perilously close to the H)

- it was driven by a woman I can only describe as "undesirable" (I suspect she worked at a local dairy curdling milk).

As for the choice of icon for this post, she was one _ugly_ bird :-p

Coat

RE: Easy to remember?

"I think the whole issue of private plates is sad.

Apart from that, I wouldn't want my number plate to be more easily remembered by someone I cut-up or speed past ;-)"

I couldn't agree more. If I were to get a personalized plate (the rules seems a bit different on this side of the pond) I would want my plate to say "I FORGOT". Then if the cops ever tried to "call it in", they would end up in an Abbot and Costello routine.

Pirate

Actually...

"Of course, were V1STA ever to become available, Windows apologistas would be falling over themselves"

No, no... They would be being sued for trademark violation or something.

Seen on a RAV4 on the M3:

F46GOT

Didn't stop to see if he was!

Silly

And when it ends some unfortunate sod finds out it's just for the plates (i.e. worth £20) rather than the actual reg number. Wouldn't surprise me really.

Be different...

Seen in Northern Virginia, proof that Yanks can have a sense of humor: 2DV8S2B

Seen on a Ferrari Testarosa in Cambridge

BEG 4 1T

He was about 20, and quite pretty for a boy.

Instantly hated him.

wow

I guess you guys have to pay a private company to do vanity plates .

Here the state does it no problem.

Cheap and with real choices :) http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg17.pdf

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