... from a "vital aid to combat terrorism" to a handy thing to have to make shopping easier.

Hmmmm, is that the scent of desperation I smell?

No such thing - they're all Software Engineers now!!!

Do I smell burning holiday cottages again?

... for them to bribe the electorate before the election.

"Sir Michael Scholar pulls few punches in the letter to Grayling, which said his comments were likely to undermine public trust in official statistics."

Very funny...

If they show that much contempt for the duly elected representatives of this sceptic isle, how much more do they have for the great unwashed?

Then slap yourself on the back of the head for being a schmuck and leaving the laptop with the presentation on behind...

... as does technology.

It does seem that long ago, that one of the main "selling points" of the inter-web thingy was that it *couldn't* be sensored.

Or are we just playing out the initial scenario from the original DOOM game?

You know, experiment gone wrong, lots of dead scientists and a lone grunt struggling to fight his way through the hordes of demons and undead until backup from the Marines arrive...

Luis old chum, it was just a computer game - not a vision from the future!!

Pineapple, just in case...

Just wait for one of Osram Bin Lightbulb's finest to expire just they are about to press the big red button on the wall...

What is there to rob in an empty house? Plenty!

Many houses still contain original Victorian fixtures and fittings (fireplaces etc). These are worth a fortune to the right people and *have* been stolen from empty (ie unoccupied) houses.

As to comments about what is wrong with just going around and "casing" the area in person - never heard of Neighborhood Watch? Much easier to do it from the comfort of your pc before going there in person and much less likely to get you reported by the neighborhood busy-bodies...

Ah, the old "slag the competitor's product off" when they fail to win the contract ploy...that'll get them to change their minds.

Is there a home for retired doom-mongers? Just wondering what happens to them when the world doesn't end on schedule.

Or perhaps it does and I'm living in the alternate universe where things worked out ok and some poor version of me is living in the universe where all the power grids failed due to the Y2K Bug and he now has to hunt wooly mamoths for food clothing etc

Government legislators who haven't a frikken clue what they are doing...

If only that could be extended to the rest of the world...

Reminds me of Babylon 5, where the Excalibur (?) virtually lost all power after firing their main gun...

As long as this "military research" results in my being able to get hold of a BFG, I don't care...

If this had happened to a British Citizen in some communist/3rd world dictatorship, the media and everyone else would have been up in arms at the "travesty of justice".

But as it occured in the uk, well...that's perfectly fine. He was obviously a heinious criminal and needed locking up for all our protection - not to mention to protect all the kiddies.

This was just a preliminary study. They are hoping for funding for the next phase which will involve "hands-on" data gathering.

I'll quite happily volounteer my services as a data gatherer...

On the other hand, if you want to set up business in a country you should respect their laws and traditions.

How many of these PCs are simply taken away on a phishing excercise? You'd never get a search warrant on the basis of "lets have a butchers and see what we can fit them up for", on the other hand in the current police state we live in...

Anyway, can't they just clone the hard-drive and then hand the PC back?

No optical or electronic viewfinder is enough to put me off anything that costs even 1/10th of that. Anyone who has tried to see the image on the LCD screen of a digital camera in bright sunshine will know exactly why...

I'll wait for the "two for the price of one" offers...

"The Government basically haven't got a clue as to how it will really work, they are just filling an emotional vacuum between reality and perception. "

Oh, sorry. Did I mis-read that?

The Lords require help finding their own arses...

Failed to install on my PC. Every time I downloaded it was corrupted. But as I don't have a Palm Pre or an iPhone (just an iPod) - I don't really care too much.

But if you do have a Palm Pre, ummmm - maybe don't install the latest update and carry on as before?

Having paid a licence to to use the s/w, can vBulletin then revoke it? I can understand them saying no more support for this version, you are on your own unless you upgrade, but pulling the plug?

I smell a class action lawsuit coming up...

Give the grunts what they want, not what someone thinks they want.

Paris, coz I'm sure they want her too...

That'll make a nice mess when some artic driving muppet crushes it under their rear wheels when they pull in too early.

Now that's the sort of electric vehicle that could actually catch on. I used to own a C90, which seemed to do about a zillion miles to the gallon. Bikes like that are perfect for commuting on and as long as the recharge time is reasonable (and the purchase cost isn't stupidly expensive) then I can see them catching on in a big way.

Especially, if employers (or councils etc) install recharging points so they can be trickle charged during the day ready for the journey home. Never mind your sexy e-Sports cars, this is the way to get electric vehicles on the road in any quantity. And deal with congestion problems at the same time.

Except it isn't the public, it is (for the most part) commercial organisations making use of the postcodes for financial gain.

An individual can make up to 15 free postcode searches each day. So try coming up with a sarcastic reply that doesn't make you look like a smuck next time.

You must work in the same office I do!!! I swear she's a real-life version of Olive Oyle.

More Beer, bigger women.

Not entirely sure what the fuss is about - The Royal Mail (which last I looked is state owned) is trying to prevent unauthorised used of something created through the use of public funds.

If they weren't taking such action, I'm sure other people would be chastising them for *not* trying to stop unauthorised used of something created with public funds...

Shouldn't we be pleased that a publically owned organisation is trying to make a profit?

Well, explains where all our licence money has gone, coz it sure ain't on quality programmes.