* Posts by Andrew

23 publicly visible posts • joined 16 Apr 2007

UK.gov plans central database for all your communications

Andrew
Dead Vulture

Time to Encrypt?

I'd fully recommend starting to encrypt your emails and stuff you don't want prying eyes to see. Perfectly legal. http://tinyurl.com/45k5wm

Peter Gabriel's website is back

Andrew
Coat

I wouldn't just be mad, I'd be 'Wo' -mad

Seriously though, the Datacentres that we use have so many layers of security that it's difficult for me to get into them myself as a legitimate user. Shame he hasn't got a more redundant setup - but fantastic that the credit card details were stored elsewhere.. let's hope they changed the access passwords!

:p

O2 unveils XDA Atmos

Andrew

Bad Site

Yeah, I honestly think I could do a better job. It's still the same as it was when it was Genie.. someone needs to tell them.

T-mobile on the other hand.. nice site.

Siemens kicked off UK government contract

Andrew
Linux

Silly Situation

It's a controversial idea, but why not just specify that development needs to be open sourced - at least internally. That does _not_ necessarily mean free software - but that the Government then owns the right to the code that has so far been produced so that another supplier can pick up the mantle and continue with the project - or at least separate the wheat from the chaff.

That'd stop the big businesses coming in and taking the proverbial.

Ubuntu chief ushers in the age of Intrepid Ibex

Andrew
Thumb Up

Ubuntero

Ubuntu is fantastic. It's getting to a stage where even my friends on Macs are starting to take a look and say "What? I could have run that on my PC?"

It's so nice to be able to have a centrally managed administration. I want to update my server. I've gone from edgy eft up to gutsy without any major issues. The updates within the release are incredibly stable. I tried doing a 'yum update' on CentOS and spent half a day fixing everything it broke. Ubuntu was like that back at Hoary.. but it's moved on.

I'm even running the alpha5 (pre-release) version of Hardy Heron on my laptop.. and it's yet to crash on me. If there's something you feel you can't live without- post your idea to brainstorm.ubuntu.com. That's the beauty of it. It's not their OS, it's ours :)

DoH IT projects overshoot budgets by £247,000

Andrew
IT Angle

Good Response

Article - thumbs down..

Comments - thumbs up...

Software company seeks 'Senior BJ assistant'

Andrew
Joke

We like what we do.....

yep.. that's the slogan on the company's website.. how apt.

Virgin Media taps Microsoft in lengthy email outage

Andrew

Squirrel

..their web-interface is squirrelmail - so they're not completely open source unfriendly.

They will be now though...

Veggies a 'perversion of nature': Official

Andrew
Black Helicopters

We had this discussion on IRC...

yeah, this is an interesting one. I've been eating steak for ages.. since I was 8 I've eaten steak at every restaurant I've been to, bar probably about 10. (then I have either lamb/scampi).

I loved reading Pravda during my A level history course. Amusing article.

I don't eat bugs.

Garmin takes on iPhone with satnav mobile

Andrew
Alert

Legend

I had a garmin eTrex legend until it was stolen in Malta - and it was a fantastic piece of kit. Garmin do make good quality stuff.

To be honest, i'd rather the OS wasn't extensible on the phone. As long as what it does, it does well then I'm not too bothered. That's where WinCE has gone wrong. It's not designed for a phone, it's designed for a PC. I hate using my XDA stellar when I'm not sitting at a desk, and when I'm sitting at my desk, I have a PC/Phone/Laptop I can use instead.

This garmin looks like it's suitable for using on the move. Wahey! Someone's got the right idea. I just hope they don't ruin it with a stupidly small soft-key-pad. I HATE THEM!

Linux-less Eee PC launched in Japan

Andrew
Alert

I'd rather stick ubuntu on it.

It's a bit like WinCE for Mobile Phones. Use Software that was designed for the unit, rather than try and load something generic onto it.

Having just got a HTC Kaiser it's just not as good as the iPhone (or even my openmoko.. well at least the HTC can make calls at the moment..) it's just too fiddly.

XP on the Asus.. not for me.

Nominet to hand out £5m to online charity cases

Andrew
Happy

If the costs go up...

Surely if the costs go up - this surplus is reduced. Creating surplus is what not-for-profits are about. They spend the surplus on their 'cause' and if the surplus surplus is static, or increasing (money that cannot be spent on fulfilling their directions as a NfP) then it can't be divvied up internally.

It's good that nominet are going all philanthropic - they aren't reducing prices in case the cost of their activities increases.. then they'll just have less to spend on the Nominet foundation.

It was the MacBook Air sub-notebook

Andrew
Flame

Let's put money on the RMA reasons...

It's too thin.. so here goes.

Battery Life will be rubbish - not the advertised.

Someone is bound to snap it.. or sit on it.

Internet Connection will be limited.. I'd need my ethernet.

It too thin - on a lap it'd feel horrible I'm sure...

Let the flaming commence :)

Jackass 2.5 to premiere online

Andrew
Jobs Horns

Is it going to work on Linux? & OSX?

This was a massive problem with the iPlayer - and this film being a one off they're not going to have the longevity of complaints from Linux customers...

Will it run on my Linux box (Gentoo/Ubuntu)?

Dell moves 40,000 Ubuntu PCs

Andrew
Linux

Ubuntu versus Mac

Hey - we have some concrete figures here and no one has commented.

"Dell ships more Computers with Ubuntu than OSX."

I'm guessing this is a good level of FUD :P

T-Mobile data service collapses

Andrew
Thumb Up

Hmm.. O2 down.

I just had to announce that on Friday night, in central Manchester I was without mobile for 4 hours with the o2 network down. i tried calling my Friends on o2 and couldn't get in touch either. Headed out for a night out and a few punters were complaining about there phones not working - til I told them o2 was down..

There we have it. (I'm assuming it's got something to do with them downgrading their network to work with EDGE).

Facebook's marketing goldmine may be crock of shite

Andrew

Silver Surfers...

I understand completely what you're saying about people entering the wrong information - but I think the point is being missed a little. So what if I entered my details as being born in 1900 - they can still work out what films I like, the books I like - and get a pretty good idea of my age depending on the average ages of the friends I have - unless a very high proportion of my friends/acquaintances are adopting the same '1900' attitude.

The fact is that there are networks/communities on facebook that share common interests... let's not get ageist now.. age has little to do with it.

Is your phone free?

Andrew

Finally Ordered

I've been waiting months to get my hands on one. Now they're released I have mine ordered. It's going to be fantastic to finally get hold of one. There's the potential for so much. Imagine being able to set your phone to change ringtone to the mother in law's favourite tune when you visit their house. There are just so many uses available for the blend of integrated devices that this phone will nowt but succeed for the developers. It's just a case of working on the UI to make it a consumer 'must have' when it comes out in October/November.

NHS IT boss quits

Andrew

Credit where Credit's due

We may question the IT system, we may question the politicians, but I don't think anyone has the right to question the integrity of the man who has lead the project for the last five years.

Not only has be had to attempt implementing a system that has been conceptualised by non-experts and then have technically guided adjustments questioned by politicians, but he has worked for what is far beneath the average pay for someone of his calibre.

Rather than dig the knife in and use Mr Granger as a scapegoat for the project as a whole, let's take an objective view of the projects achievements. Five years ago, the only method of communicating patient information was via the telephone or post. The infrastructure is in place for secure transmission of patient data. Some 90.000 medical institutions are already connected, and more connecting daily.

Connecting for Health is precisely what it says on the tin. Increase communication, increase efficiency - and bring the NHS up to a 21st Century Standard.

Thank you Richard.

Shuttle docks with ISS after 'almost flawless' launch

Andrew

World Record

Without being too much of a pedant - how valid is a world record when completed literally "out of this world."

With an ever increasing number of people heading to places beyond this current world - surely the record books need to be written to create a more sophisticated way of acknowledging human 'records.'

Dell goes direct into Wal-Mart's clutches

Andrew

UK

Any ideas when they'll be releasing the Ubuntu Desktops for UK / European customers?

CA mulls suing co-founder Wang over accounting fraud

Andrew

hmm...

CA = computer associates new name... can someone make this clear? Oh, they already did; in the article...

D'oh!

Missing the PowerPoint of public speaking

Andrew

"Scientific Explanation"

I recently completed a cogntive psychology experiment based upon exactly this argument, when does audiovisual presentation become more efficient than purely visual (or purely audio).

There has been lots of research done on this, and the common theme is that for technical diagrams, where the audience need to view the stimuli. Imagine explaining the mechanics of a bleach bottle lid, it's a lot easier using a diagram and explaining than just explaining.

The main concern I have with powerpoint slides (and impress slides for those OOo users on the site) is that if you stick with the default themes, it can get very boring very fast. They looked professional 5 years ago, and few people have updated them since then.

There is also the point regarding what is written and what is said. My PowerPoint slides rarely have more than a sentence on information on them. Any more than that and you should be questioning why you need to give a presentation at all, if all the information is on the slides. Sometimes less is more.