Posts by gerryg 548 posts • joined 19 Aug 2009
A Rolex or any other such "hand crafted mechanical device" benefit from a capital gains tax exemption .
HM Revenue & Customs regards them as “wasting assets” and does not charge Capital Gains Tax on the profits made when they are sold, provided they have not been used in the course of business.
Assuming they are over fifty years old or treated as long term investments they have become instruments of tax avoidance
In 2012 the Open Source Consortium published a report and the Policy Exchange ran a seminar saying much the same thing about interoperability and open standards
In 2002 Cabinet Office published research from Sapient with similar case studies.
No doubt in 2024 we'll be reading yet another study.
Let's go back to 2009 and a Centre for Policy Studies pamphet about data, written by a Councillor and the Lead Member for Policy and Performance at the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead - yes, that will be Liam Maxwell
In "It's Ours" (pdf) he argued that the Government should give people back their ability to control their data (such as medical records) that the government traditionally holds.
However, it seems, when offered the chance to work in government (he started in Cabinet Office and then the Government Digital Service) these were just the first steps in his Damscene conversion to "It's not ours - it's not even government's - it's any bloody multinational with a cloud"
..has no-one asked Apache if they want to join the litigation?
Retailers are no longer obliged to inform TVLA of any of your purchases, full details somewhere on this informative site.
I used to watch one programme on iPlayer, once a week, but TBH never really understood why it was legal. If I recall correctly, the original strategy of the BBC was to try to extend its bandwidth grab under the Blair administration to include the internet but the only reference to those intentions I ban find is a 2009 FOI request (so we should remain grateful for small mercies...)
They either broke the law or they didn't. I find it difficult to believe that they did anything other than get advice on how to sail as close to the wind as possible, as all corporations do.
Many people dislike international tax policies in the same way that many people are always keen for rich people, defined as anyone that earns more than they do, to pay more tax.
Is this about the EU flexing its muscles on weaker EU states or is there a genuine issue? All answers would seem to have to start with the word "Luxembourg"
Apple's view
Other views include Guido Fawkes Irexit
I was commenting within the context of the article. I was not expressing a world view nor pretending anything.
While, broadly, I agree with everything you say, your use of a "straw man" rhetorical fallacy was unnecessary.
The OP is absolutely spot on, it's not Apple, it's their customers
A few years ago, a right-on journal "New Internationalist" tag line "People, Ideas and Action for Global Justice" ran an issue complaining about four first world issues affecting the developing world:
exploitative Intellectual Property practice, environmental pollution, workers rights and the other one (copyright Monty Python) - tax?
natch all four of these can be laid at the door of Apple
On the back page they were proud to announce that the journal was now available as an Apple app
A letter to the editor calling them out (published, in all fairness) elicited the response "customer demand"
A further letter asking if they had evaluated whether the total effect of what they were doing (tag line v promoting poor first world practice) was positive or negative went unanswered
"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers"
Henry VI, part 2: Act 4, Scene 2
"link"? Are you having a bubble? Is this a secret test analysing the gullibility of "El Reg" readers?
From the FAQ
Is Google Summer of Code (GSoC) a recruiting program?
No. If you are interested in working for Google, please visit the Google jobs website.
Is GSoC considered an internship, a job, or any form of employment?
No. GSoC is an activity that the student performs as an independent developer for which he/she is paid a stipend.
Are mentoring organizations required to use the code produced by students?
No. While we hope that all the code that comes out of this program will find a happy home, we don’t require organizations to use the student's' code.
Do I get paid for participating in GSoC?
Yes! Google will provide a total stipend of $5500 to those students who successfully complete the program
"Why do you think Google love the Apache licence, and hate the GPL"
Remind me again which kernel underpins Android and which licence it is released under?
Let's look at the Google Summer of Code,
"a global program focused on introducing students to open source software development. Since its inception in 2005, the program has brought together almost 11,000 student participants and 10,000 mentors from over 113 countries worldwide."
Here are the projects that have benefited.
When KDE abandoned KDE 3, Timothy Pearson took all the code and created TDE*
Since about 1997 I have been a parasite on openSUSE infrastructure (bought a couple of boxed sets, back in the day). I remember them abandoning 16 bit.
It seems to me, that if <pick your distro>'s commercial model finds supporting 32 bit too expensive then that is not their problem.
Get together, do it yourself. Pick Gentoo
That is the flipside of freedom. Don't want to do it yourself? Accept that you are a parasite and move on
*from the website
Contribute to the TDE Project
Creating TDE requires significant computing resources and bandwidth. Please consider helping to keep us online with a donation on our donations page. Without your financial assistance, TDE would not be possible!
Of course, to a certain extent one is free to be "anti-anything".
But if one were just venting one's spleen about a particular organisation (e.g., there is a long history of some FOSS-types foaming at the mouth at the mere mention of particular companies/practices) it would be more honest and quicker to write "I hate X, they're shit" (or whatever)
But if the article (as I assume) is about revolving doors then if all other companies are doing it then any one company would be stupid not to follow suit. The open question is whether Google are disproportionately engaged in revolving door practices.
I'm not sure I'm too keen on the revolving door, (does business experience easily or usefully transfer, what about propriety, governance and accountability)
However I wonder how these figures compare (absolutely, by number of staff, turnover) with, e.g., law firms, accountancy firms, management consultants, <name your hated sector here> or even IBM and Microsoft.
Without this information it could just look a bit anti-Google
Choose your answer:
a) at least it will be safe to get on the tube at Stockwell
b) it still won't be safe to get on the tube at Stockwell
c) it definitely won't be safe to get on the tube at Stockwell as they'll be able to justify actions
This farago has been elaborated in all its gory detail over many months by D Moss Esq
Are these air bags from Bulgaria?
It's OK, I'm not here very often these days
Motorists crash into lamp posts, illuminated keep left signs (other types of illuminated street signage equally vulnerable) bridges, each other, pedestrians, cyclists (I know, I've weakened my case)
We could paint everything yellow and erect barriers around it but that still wouldn't solve the problem that 99% of motorists think they are above average drivers
I don't know enough about the rest of the world, so I'll stick to London.
Uber seems to meet a need, AirBnB similarly. I have used neither of them. A few years ago Taxi Drivers were up in arms about those bicycle rickshaw things claiming they would bring the end the world as we know it. Doesn't seem to have happened. No incumbent welcomes competition.
The argument here seems to hinge on the "community" theme, we are all in this together, etc. So what will Uber/Air do to undermine that? Well, if we all agree with one definition of community: nothing at all. Personally I don't care about the schools I don't need, the public libraries I don't use and so forth. Of course I live in a Local Authority that seems to be efficient in both collecting and administering local taxes, so they are low and I am quite happy. YMMV
Those that argue for mechanisms other than competition highlight the accompanying evils but underplay the resulting choice and diversity. Don't like the wages? Do something about it. Don't like the prices? Don't buy it then. But what are the options in the absence of competiton?
Remind me again, why the tube drivers are taking strike action and what alternatives I have?
The Grauniad says it's about working patterns - OK but is that every tube driver*? (in the same way some shops are happy to open on Christmas day) and what about the user demand for a 24 hour service?
The world was going to end, according to some, when buses went cashless - doesn't seem to have happened.
Sure society needs some oversight, but always beware of special pleading and always ask "qui bono?"
* I'm grateful as ever for the Daily Mash view no thanks, we're paid enough
...and I didn't pay for it when I didn't use it
Isn't that called "a taxi"?
Drinking "Waterloo Sunset" cocktails?
It wasn't five years ago that the London School of Economics published an extensive study on the TCO comparison and the Open Source Consortium published an extensive study on everything else.
"The boffins also asked 32 folks, none security experts, how they feel about this form of 2FA: most said they would prefer it over no 2FA being used"
Whatever the merits of the proposed system, I was deeply underwhelmed that they prayed-in-aid the preferences of general users. General users generally know what is the right to say when asked however, the researchers would do well to research the dangers associated with relying on Revealed Preferences
In general, general users are underwhelmed by security measures, nobody cares
There's a code of conduct in order to co-ordinate the release of financially advantageous information. The press releases are sent out early and embargoed until x o'clock on y day. It's so everyone get the information at the same time in order to prevent the arbitrage of privileged information (a mild version of insider trading but as we see, with similar opportunities)
I was briefly on a list used by sub-continent scammers. The first few were wanting to discuss my recent car accident which stopped after a few pre-emptions of the Boris Johnson gambit but my deepest regret was never to have received the Microsoft support call (worse, a non-technical friend for whom I have provided LOTD, has) but my most recent (and hopefully last) call gave me (Linux user since 1999) that satisfaction
I got a Chromecast on special offer (£15 with about that on credit with Google play) I was offered a Fire Stick for £18 so I thought I'd give it a go.
Both have their plus points
The Firestick has 8 (5 free?) GB of memory which enables buffering and makes HD watchable on my 19Mb/s broadband - it's more like a DVD experience
Using your phone or table with Chromecast is OK but still gives a clunky UI, I prefer the Firestick remote control, clunky UI, but easier to use.
Use case: I don't have TV and find it neither shiny nor pointless
Are HP making cracking contraptions these days, Gwendoline?
It was to be formed by countries accepting 100 directives. This was amended to 99 by the UK's refusal to sign up to a directive banning pattern parts (not just any radiator hose but now it's a reassuringly expensive BMW radiator hose)
I've sometimes mused whether this and similar gave rise to the IP wars we've seen over the year ("rounded corners" anyone)
Perhaps the return to trying to eliminate third parties reflects the turning tide in IP wars, but it would be interesting to see how this one pans out as the topic is well worked over
see also
Microsoft claims victory over second-hand software broker
iFixit boss: Apple has 'done everything it can to put repair guys out of business'
Hacker catches Apple's Lightning in a jailbroken bottle
among others...
They might be wankers, but the last time I checked (see what I did there) right-handers wear their watch on their left wrist and left-handers on their right wrist.
Remind me of your contribution to all of this?
Whether or not you use (GNU)Linux, you have benefited from FSF holding critical account.
but he deserves a bit more respect than this
Never seems popular to say this, however on the Epson website: Image Scan For Linux or search
Along with almost every desktop environment under the sun, find it here
I have lived where I live for over 16 years. Every year I used the two part no-change on-line process to update the electoral roll
With the new process involving gov.uk my local authority couldn't use that information but instead had to match my address details to those held by DWP. Despite me having contacted DWP a few years earlier from the same address by post because I couldn't use their on-line service for my NI record as my address details didn't match their records, they still couldn't match me, so I had to do the passport and inside leg measurement fandango.
It does actually leave me wondering if they are deliberately this bad.
...whether it's GDS or the Rural Payments Agency here, after all we've been here before with deja vu all over again
in response to the NAO criticisms the then head of the RPA procuded one of the best non-statements I've seen:
"We will be considering the content of the report carefully. The problems we have faced over the last year have been widely documented. We are striving to make payments as quickly as possible and apologise to those farmers still awaiting money."
I can't track it down at the moment but at a Select Committee hearing, the then recently appointed head of DEFRA said (my phrasing) "the thing is, it started before I arrived" and the then recently left head of DEFRA said "the thing is, it happened after I left"
The naked RPA staff seem to be in there, somewhere, too
"I don't think there is risk, because in the worst case scenario the government could take it over," he said
"It might have a point, given that the work IBM and Novell did on Linux is thought to have have helped the operating system reach its current status as a data centre darling."
For those of you who haven't been following this since the start it is worth reading the history on Groklaw.
This no longer about Linux, Novell settled that. So now they are going after IBM on contractual matters.
It was a failing business then (remember we are talking pre-2003, when the suit was launched (oh, how I remember) and it has failed ever since. IIRC IBM have been waiting for them to bring this on.
It's a strange thing, there's a lot of concern out there that [insert your least favourite private sector leviathan] is getting too big and that this cause problems for you, me, world peace and global warming
However similar behaviour in the public sector tends to be treated differently and I've never understood why.
If bad outcomes are caused by size then it seems irrelevant what those bad outcomes turn out to be (profits, too many bureaucrats, overpaid "talent", whatever)
Anti-competitive practice in the public sector is loosely described as illegal state aid
it's not as if the BBC hasn't been here before with its digital curriculum.
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