3rd sector and non profit consultancy...Lasa clientele.

He should stick with telling people who have no idea or clue. He should also stay well away from making sweeping, poorly thought out statements to start a piece that WILL get ripped apart by his peers, nay...more than his peers.

Identity providers?

I'm more interested in the 8 identity providers...*why in all that is holy* why would the likes of Paypal get to manage the ID for Gov? what happened to the government gateway?National insurance numbers?

I was in the field for UK Online for 7 long years getting the message out that you can 'do stuff' on-line..I even managed a project whereby we tried to set it up as part of monitoring utilities, bus timetables, useful stuff. the ones that wanted to get it, got it, the others just not interested.

The mid west amerikans didn't want internet access because they didn't NEED IT, thanks..we get the same here..why would some old person that has given their best years through a proper world war or more, then be told, that they HAVE TO have access at home...there was a project in Hull promoting tele-healthcare using set top boxes and wireless keyboards...yes to that for the good it does, but then they want to force it on people? After making the UK Online project shrink, with the admin and return for centres pathetic and almost impractical?

grrr. All sounds like cost cutting, and will undoubtedly end in tears...the mixed approach is best.

finally, fondleslabs for the visually impaired...?

It would be fantastic, especially as most people lose their sight when they get old, and the ease of use could be a real game changer...will be looking out for this a little bit. viva la haptic feedback!

missed tricks and unity copycats?

Seems to me that the whole thing echoes of the groans that many have/had with the Umbongo unity interface - I won't use it myself, but its great for many end users.

Why is there no touch screen device connected to the machine to facilitate a metro interface for media and stuff, then we have working desktops for people who make documents and other stuff..touch screens can only be good hung on a wall or small programmable hand-helds that aren't phones too...the transition from office to mainstream consumer is not quite on track here.

so, no one seems to disagree, only point and wave at smaples...

I did nearly 3 years in a front line support role which nearly broke my mind...I came to the conclusion (after getting it put right) that managers are generally managers through being good at their own jobs, not necessarily being a good manager (or having IT skills). The whole learning shebang, yup, I'd agree about the process of learning, but whilst adult learning is still about pedagogy (leading children) there will be an ongoing issue...and yes we are all getting older, and business is using IT to reduce people input, but people make decisions - I know why the Unabomber wanted to destroy all computers. So be nicer to your IT guys people who *believe* in gnomes in the box making it all happen, because they SHOULD get off their collective arses and join a union, get their rights collectively. You contractors have it sorted.

Not much of a life, checking internet whilst razzling it...

hard to believe that beer goggles and an ability to 'tune in' to the 'peace' keepers can mix.

Even tuned in, then how much notice would xmas munters take? Shouldn't it be about reminding bars, pubs and clubs to offer a service of the overly munted, have food around, be civilised like.

Mine's a whisky mac with a squeeze of lime. No, not that kind of squeeze.

card meters anyone...?

It seems that everyone has forgotten that 'poor people' have their own method of monitoring their gas and 'leccy usage through those beloved card based readers - why would they want another machine to bring it home further that they pay over the odds? Indeed you do when you have one. Even now when the costs have risen, per monthly bills have not exceeded what I was paying on those devil's armpits. Not quite the same is it I know, that the machines are *only* dumb enough to mug you in your home, but again, why?

We should also look at the Ewgeco which is Scottish, made in the UK.

http://www.ewgeco.com/

utopian ideals, sh*tty transport, bad politiks

...leave us with FB end users who would have been AOL/Compuserve's salvation and don't try too hard to do anything worthwhile. The web's connectivity has just brought more trite shite to fill heads with inanity as TV was becoming a stale and cold medium in a speeding up world.

Yup, I love MySociety's non partisan attitude as they know that the will to be transparent, efficient and serving appropriate need to a connected society is not there beyond tokenism. Sick of moaning about buses with moody drivers - I'll be getting their fracking driver numbers and see what happens. Don't knock it just yet peeps, I know that councils HATE fixmystreet because it makes them work and (heaven forfend) be accountable to the people that pay their wages.

People make problems, IT only highlights them - reflection is soo 18th century.

Before I was made redundant by a London borough council, monies were already being taken away. The council website was built on a old and clunky MS CMS, the intranet was basically a cludge of web pages made in Word. The guy in charge of all of this was so up his own arse you could hear the echo of his intestines when he talked - he was convinced of his technical know how, and so sure of his position. People with an agenda that isn't public service: the big problem, not the lack of IT and money. Another reason why any council 'officers' earning 50k+ should be taken outside and kicked up the arse back to their home(which is likely to be in another borough) by every passer by. After getting the push, of course.

oh dear..£

too much for too little.

gonks as I need one on me desk.

hmm, Pelesh you talk (write) well for a young'un..

But you will notice the old'uns have mentioned a number of teachers that deal with GCSE level science, and a number of old 'uns mentioning differential equations and calculus. the truth of the matter may seem subjective for a comparative analysis, but in 1982 the school took away our log books and gave us calculators. Now using logs is 'old hat' but can perform maths with large numbers easily, without having to use any tools other that old favourite combo, the brain and book.

Think about how many bored checkout people you see now, and when I was your age, I saw checkout people working out the total before the till had done its job quite often.

Science? don't talk to me about science.

Why bother? grrr.

As a man who never went to uni, I understand that education is important (for opportunities in getting laid mainly;-) but also in an economic sense. I recall a story told to me about Finalnd struggling financially when Russia imploded, but they put their money where their mouth is and have a strong science driven education apparently. Oh yes, Nokia is not just a company, its a place.

It is galling I'm sure for young'uns to put in those years and to come out with a stupid amount of money owing before they've even started earning, more so when their less ambitious 'peers' can do a year or so in a bleedin' college after and start making some decent money quite early on....witness plumbers, sparkies, other tradesmen in demand.

They took away any financial assistance for the poor kids, and now blame them. bastards.

p.s. I come from a place where the unemployment has never improved since the 80's.

ahem, management?

In my experience, women managers (of which there are many) are not necessarily worth working with, for many many reasons. It may be different in politics, but the old boy network would just be changed into an old girl network if the rules changed... I tend to prefer the fact that when it comes to gender wars, we never make peace over the strengths each gender is endowed with.

where's the IT angle?