Posts by Chris Green

MS 'fight' IBM in the interest of?

Can't remember much fighting.

Can remember the 'MS servers don't demand client licencing' which soon changed to 'you must have client licences' when they'd got sufficient fishes hooked.

Can remember OS2 v Windows and wish OS2 had prevailed, because it was much better in it's 'no MS code' guise than Windows at the time and for many iterations that followed. My rose glasses still suggest to me that XP didn't stack-up so good against OS2 either, but I may need to clean those glasses.

Can remember lots of other things, but 'fighting', naah, not that.

The greedy always attract unwanted attention, which grows slowly and dissipates it not regularly fed, but when fed the way MS has, it just simply grows n grows.

He tried to follow the directive and sought clarity

Unfortunately, that clarity was clearly very murky indeed.

Stopped biker threatening?

Last time I tried to pull my weapon out in a hurry, while wearing bike gloves and leathers, I came close to a senior incident (Side of road, bushes, caught short, etc.).

Wrong Software for Resilience?

To have failures like these, surely they must be using something other than Windows software then?

Wish I knew what it was. I could avoid it then.

Surely there's room in a helmet for a card reader?

Would at least make a helmet useful.

May I borrow your camera and record the pictures you have taken, in case they are useful in an enquiry?

Yes officer, of course and if you give it back swiftly, I may record some more useful evidence, like the guy behind you that is stealing your car.

Take the camera = overzealous application of a law, just because the copper thinks it's right.

It used to be that the police were (a) courteous (b) right much more often (c) working for us (d) respected.

Not much of any of those nowadays, save perhaps a glimmer of respect, but that's only ever from us to them nowadays, sadly.

What was that they said about 'we wont misuse these laws"

Did the have their fingers crossed when they said that, again?

EULA's are in effect, theft

Is the EULA on the outside of the packaging and in a font that's large enough to read?

Is it short and snappy, written in plain language to promote understanding?

Is there a complete money back guarantee, should the purchaser find the EULA unacceptable?

Does the money back, include all costs incurred, such as translation costs from a contract lawyer?

NO?

It's bollocks then and should be ignored, even if the case IS a stupid legal money grab stunt!

That decision comes later...I hope.

One up for the people versus corporate lawyers.

Mmmm, maybe not

Way back, when candles / oil was pricey, the limit on everyday people's lighting was money.

That cost 'blockage' gradually reduced as electricity became the standard lighting energy because it became cheaper and more convenient.

In recent times, money was less of a problem for many, even high powered exterior lights (annoyingly) sprouted all over the place.

You may remember when you had a long 50w florescent tube in your kitchen and it was as bright as you wanted. Then you replaced it with 12 x 50w spots and you had good light here and there.

Then you see real LED lamps that put out serious lumens and start replacing those hot spot bulbs and you are back to 12 x 4w.

A touch under the wattage of that 50w tube, but one hell of a lot less than your 'don't touch me' furnace lights, so we are getting back down to where we were, perhaps 20 years ago (or at least, I have).

However, even if energy stays affordable, the next real life limit on lighting will be eyeballs. You probably already were sunglasses when out and about on a good day. Maybe you'll want your home more comfortably lit, with just enough light for whatever you are doing and will make space for some soothing darker areas.

So, unless bright/dim spark comes up with super stylish house-light glasses that make sure we don't all go LED blind, we must be on a downward trend for lighting/energy usage.

Then again, there's always that population explosion problem looming...more people...more lights? Bugger!

Drive well, drive safe

I've witnessed no accident caused by speeding. I've seen near misses caused by (a) driving too close (b) distracted drivers (phones/food/fags/family) (c) sudden unpredictable driving changes (d) lack of indication (e) the slow lane creep of the drowsy/sleepers (f) idiotic maneuvers (g) lack of consideration to weather conditions.

I'll grant you that going faster reduces your ability to cope with other peoples mistakes, but a blanket limit is counter productive because wherever the driver feels it's unnecessary, it's disregarded and that reaction is easily extended to the point where there's no respect for the rule, in a place where it's actually extremely appropriate.

I've followed many drivers that stick to the 60 limit on the open road and then refuse to drop below 40 in 30 limits. I'd rather see 70+ mph on the open road (with care) than 40mph in a village/town, where vulnerable pedestrians are much more common and where road hazards abound.

Thrashing the bad boy when caught, does not enforce the rule, nor (more importantly) engender appropriate behavior in future. More often than not, it encourages worse behavior.

It does, however, tax the relationship between the individual and law makers/enforcers.

Teach better driving habits, not compliance and reward those that excel.

No Open WiFi?

With no open WiFi to record, why would Google bother to equip the rovers with Streeview gear?

Or should they have gone, in case they found some and in doing so, proved that Martians (a) exist and (b) can't setup password controlled access?

How about going the other way?

When in London, do as the Greeks would. Complain noisily and with as much disruption as possible. Well, actually that would be more the French way (and no bad thing), but in the case of the Greeks, it was more just ignoring ALL the parking charges, totally and they won.

Instead of adding new charges for parking, demand the abolition of car parking charges. Get with the 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more' brigade.

Too much of our money is spent by our 'representatives' (local and national) on setting up and running additional taxation schemes (did they say £430k? for bike parking? hhmmmph!). It wastes an awful lot of money, some of which no doubt finds it's way to yet another overseas system provider and or call centre, just to rake in some extra cash.

I want a new law...

No new Government or Local Government tax/charge without a national referendum.

Then start killing the laws that are there to back-up each additional tax. Have you read what backs up the 'congestion charge'? Some of it sounds supremely 'police state' to me...pass into a zone...pay within one day or bang, a fine higher than a speeding ticket...miss that letter (no one lost post lately?) and in comes another fine, followed by the bailiffs.

And all that for a 'congestion change'?

That's not democratic government of the people by the people. It's lawful bullying.

Maybe another new law...

One existing pseudo tax removed every year, with a simple tiny % hike in VAT (or similar) to cover the lost revenue but the increase calculated as original tax gained LESS the cost of running the lost tax for a year AND less all original implementation costs (it should not have been spent in the first place). This law to run until we have just a few basic taxes on the individual.

After all, an increase in tax percentage like VAT, NI etc. costs nothing in extras. It's just a % on a computer program, so it's massively cheaper to run and it's an open and in your face truth!

Waste? Spend? = Bankrupt, Again

You buy a lemon, I count you in. You buy an orange, I Ignore you.

The argument that phones and so on should not be counted, can also be used the other way...just because someone has bought a DAB radio, it doesn't mean it's used!

I believe the Germans dumped the DAB idea last year, because their electorate said they were crap.

Just when they want us to trust them, they leave their slime on the statistics again!

Politicians are completely untrustworthy and prove it, endlessly.

They say:

Think Green, produce less waste, recycle...except when we tell you to throw away millions of serviceable units and replace them with new units that don't work as well.

Lets go spend millions of pounds that we don't have, so China grow their cash pile.

On current roads it'd be fun (not)

At 15mph, every pot hole you hit will tip you sideways, unless you are lucky enough to live where roads are flat, or pot holes are wide with nicely ramped sides.

On a push bike, you need just a inch of flat to work with and on a motorbike, two/three inches will do. On both these, you do have to take into account where the rear wheel will go, but that's pretty easy to get spot-on or at least close enough and anyway, dropping the rear wheel in a hole is not the end on the world on inline wheels.

However, with this beast...how'd you like to be tipped sideways, into the path of that vehicle that just couldn't find the room to give you some fall over space?

Can't These Fools Agree and Work as a Team for US

All politicians are elected. They are supposed to work for us, rather than for themselves, their party, or specifically in opposition to another party.

Can't they combine their talents (mmm?) and agree those items that should not be delayed?

Is there ever an actual commons vote on contracts who's terms run across elections and that also commit to spending very large sums of money due to be collected in future taxes? If not, what's to stop any of them setting up five/six year contracts just before each election (especially when there's a chance we may boot them out) and hobbling the replacement government, so they have lees monetary room to get things the way the electorate were promised.

Maybe we should have referendums on all contracts over a certain value, before our money is committed. If the in-power politicians can't make a good case, we may stop them doing things we have no desire for, either because it's a crap idea or a higher price than we want to fund (in cost or privacy), or both (ID cards anyone?).

Uh oh, that could be headed towards government of the people, by the people for the people.

Rather than what seems ever closer government of the people, by the party, for the party (but with special emphasis on their top dogs).

So close it must be...

...that whoever was in that court, were deaf.

Ridiculous.

Possible Use: Speed Camera Target Practice?

Hopefully, something created through taxation that can actually remove taxation devices.

Politicians should all be composted to save waste

Most of their ideas/actions are appeasements and the vast majority do nothing but shift emphasis to somewhere else, but in the process, cost taxpayers/voters, money.

Personally, I have no problem rewarding artists for good work.

However, it annoys me that the hangers on demand a bigger cut of my money.

It also annoys me that politicians think that a new law solves everything.

Mind you, I've bought a few albums that have annoyed me as well, you know, the ones where there is only one good track. Thankfully, I get a better look-in nowadays, before I pay.

Could that be that reason the sales of 'intellectual property' have diminished, because that 'property' is more easily rejected as not worth buying.

Overstate reality...Make law...Recount = Lower...Result!

Simple politicians playing with numbers to pretend they are useful.

Reality is nothing they are interested in. It seems to me that prostitution has been around longer than almost any 'trade'. It can either exist in the open, where it's controlled and taxed or it is pushed underground and the further it goes down that path, the more dangerous it becomes. Those that do the work will pay a higher price.

Those that control them with live well, only holidaying in prison if really unlucky.

I'll vote for that, if true and applied with common sense

Didn't Tony Blah promise to do something similar before going down the 'power corrupts' and 'I know best' route, once we elected him?

Personally, I'm very happy with 20mph around schools, but it should be when the kids are arriving and leaving, not the rest of day and all holidays! Over control breeds contempt and failure to comply.

The 30mph limit is necessary, but enforcing it is not something a camera should do. It makes no one safer, unless you spend your life in the few yards before the camera and catch zone that follows.

The biggest factors I see in accidents or (much more often) near misses are (1) Distraction (2) Driving too close (3) The idea that driving is so easy, it can be done with eyes closed and/or brain in power save mode.

As an example, there are far too many people that try to climb in another car boot and far too few police cars to point out the error of their ways.

If you drive 50 miles on a motorway and fail to spot at least one bad driver, who warrants pulling over and warning, then you'd have to be someone that's too busy texting a friend and never looking in a mirror, least of all one that reflects your image.

Speed? Well, it can play a part, sometimes, but it's not the biggest failure point.

That'd be politicians and authorities, where the rise of the (apparently) squeaky clean politician and the fall of common-sense-man is a serious loss.

Speeding is an easy thing to capture, graph, point at and spout about, but it's like lying, it comes easy to some, hard to others, but make no mistake, it's practised by almost everybody.

We just need the driving fools of this land to know what's safe and what's stupid. A flash & fine can't do that. A policeman writing reports for politicians can't do it either.

Oh, nearly forgot...Congestion charge? Read TAX.

Rule one: If money is taken from people by authority, it's a TAX.

Passengers & Police Have Advantages

Agree entirely with a ban.

I've seen far too many fools on the phone, as they drive in an obviously distracted manner. Sure, there are those that can use a phone in a sensible manner, but unfortunately, there are many more that can't or wont.

Passengers, distracting? Yes, but they have the advantage of sight and can see when you, the driver, are extra busy making sure you avoid the idiot on the phone in the other car that's too close for comfort.

The police, etc. are trained to use vehicle comm's better than we ever are and they also have that little advantage of looking like a vehicle that contains someone that can get you in trouble faster than a Paris can raise blood pressure.

Mind you, if government and police are that interested in road safety, why don't they start pulling over the most dangerous of drivers. The roads are full of them, right behind you. So close you can't see their number plate in your mirror, or, in the case of lorries, so close you couldn't squeeze Paris in between them.

Missleading signs - Scrap them all

So where in a town are there NOT likely to be people that may cross a road slower than others?

More crossings and more care from drivers please. I hear a 20mph train thundering down the road safety track!

That'll be great wont it. Then we can do 20mph 24hrs a day like we already do in some areas, for schools that are...

(a) Empty through holidays (25% of year).

(b) Empty coz it's night time

(c) Not spewing kids onto the road coz they are hard at work inside!

Be honest drivers. How many times have you seen a pedestrian waiting to cross a road, in the rain, while you trickle along in slow traffic that would cost you nothing to halt for a short while. You never know, it may even lighten your mood as someone thanks you.

Free Market?

When the Linux shelf is empty, surely it's easy to provide a free copy of ASUS Linux on request. In a free market, the seller would do that given a chance.

Trouble is, it sounds like a very smelly Redmond fish is involved, again.

Perhaps that great guy in France could buy one and sue for a refund of the O/S cost again, or maybe someone will finally get a hold of this free market we are supposed to have and shake out the M$'s of this world.

Wow, was that a pig I saw fly by?

If It's To Help Save The Environment, Will The PSU...

...Fit anything other than a Dell system designed for that PSU?

...Work for a long enough time to make it worthwhile?

...Be sold at a low price to generate a true environmental effect?

Will it hell.

Well now we know it's legal to watch my webbing, how about...

...listening-in on my phone calls. Then when I mention a retailer, they could chip-in with the phone number and also suggest others that may suit, but who are obviously appropriate to me needs, just because those retailers pay BT to tell me so.

How about extending that service by warning me when I'm straying onto subjects that the government would prefer I not discus?

Then combine both to suggest a retailer for a book on a the subject and maybe recommend a title. 1984 perhaps?

Could I then wonder why it wasn't titled 2014?

We aren't quite there yet, but it's not so far now.

Pay-Up, Applogise and Show Code

Could this be another reason MS wont show it's code.

Do they fear litigation from others?

If I remember right, the 'see it and not buy', followed by 'copy it' method has been used before by MS and isn't that something for which others have sued and won (or got an out-of-court $)?

If true, such dirty tricks from the richest software company, should be be met with the highest penalties. After all, you don't give an armed bank robber, his immediate freedom if there is a promise not to do it again, again, again, again.

Refund after today?

There is, of course, no way to know from the boxed item, what it can/can't do to the extent purchasers may need.

So, does a router that cannot have UPnP disabled, mean that it's not 'fit for purpose' and therefore, returnable for refund?

So where's the 'save the planet' sense in scrapping millions of radios?

It just shows that our 'government' is as non-planet friendly as any business that's only out to get MONEY.

Scrap millions of analogue radios and TV's just for a quick money grab on radio frequencies, so they can be resold on ebay.

I don't know what use the spectrum will be sold for, but I bet advertising yet more unnecessary items, that have an ever shorter life and come in ever bigger packaging has something to do with it.

GREEN, a government? Pull the other one. Gimme the MONEY, voters!