Important Question
The most important question that I can think of, that "friend" in the first picture, is that a guy or a ladyboy? Its not female it is?!
1003 publicly visible posts • joined 16 May 2007
The EU's solution to this problem would be to get MS to remove IE from Windows and give computer makers the option of bundling their own version of a browser when they sell the hardware.
Thats really all we need isn't it? Its bad enough already when they bundle 5 different tool bars, 65 anti-virus solutions and god knows what else, now they will have full control over which browser gets installed, which toolbar gets installed with that browser, all its links, favourites and what-not.
This doesn't take into account those who do not buy a computer but instead build their own and purchase (yes, some of us bought Vista :P) an OS to go on to it. Nor students who get an OS through dreamspark, or the myriad of people who will buy MS Windows with no browser on it.
The question is, who would OEM's go for? Would they put IE onto the computers, Firefox or Opera, my guess is IE.
After spending £400 on a HDTV, another £200 on Sky HD, as well as the £120 p/a subscription fee for Sky HD, on top of theSky subscription, there is no way in hell that I'm going to spend another £400 on a new TV as well as the usual £200+£10pm fee that Sky will want to charge for the service.
HDTV is still sort of new, people who have just upgraded will not want to pay for a new upgrade, even within 2 years
@ JonB - Why would the BBC want to spend millions of taxpayers money on a system which no one can use right now, and may never want to use? The Japanese are already using Super-HD, so it could end up a fight between Super-HD and 3D-TV, do you really want the BBC spending licence fee money on a system which may lose the battle against Super-HD? Or would you rather they let the private sector take the risks, and just do what they do, broadcast the content.
I play Final Fantasy XI and a web site I view for that is anti-RMT (real money trading) in such that it doesn't allow adverts from IGE or any web sites which deal with RMT. The suggested sites however, if you click it whilst browsing the website will list... IGE. Less savvy people may think the suggested site is suggested by the site they are viewing and consider the web site safe to browse, or indeed that the site advocates a certain subject.
There really *has* to be a way for web sites to disable the feature that does not include the internet all going https.
In the tone of some Yank voice over...
"The end of days is nigh.... Aliens from the planet Tharg are upon us.... Only one man can save us from enslavment by the lizard race.... (cue Arnie whispering about the man) the man who saved us from Red Ken... (cue Ken Livinstone standing next to a Lenin statue with the USSR flag waving in the back ground) the man without fear... (cue Boris facing off against the Stig in Top Gear) the man who can save us all..... Boris! (cue lots of explosions, Parliment being blown up, the Union Flag on fire waving in the wind then Boris running up to the aliens and saying "do you know, if you change gear on your warp drive engines at a lower revolution, you'll have less CO2 and save dilithium crystals? We can save the world! Together!"
I have a palm that uses gestures, its not with the fingers it with a stylus, but you move the stylus down and to the left for a <br /> etc. Heck, if you used a touch screen and played Black and White, couldn't you really be using finger based gestures to hurl balls of lightning at infidels?
"But what if the worst happens? Plod has burst through your front door at two in the morning. All your PC equipment is now in a van on its way to the local police forensics unit, and you are sat sweating the wrong side of the interrogation room, trying to decide whether the copper offering you a cigarette is the good one or the bad one?"
Obviously the bad one, he wants you to light a smoke so he can arrest you for smoking indoors, take your DNA and keep you for 42 days under anti-terror laws, cause all smokers are terrorists!
Quick question for you, without using a web browser to find the URL of the FTP download, how do you expect Joe Luser to be able to find the URL to get the FTP to download the browser? Random guessing? :P
People *need* browsers to get the information they require to like, do stuff.
However, worst case scenario, MS agree and change the Internet Explorer icon to a "Download IE" icon, it isn't tied to the system and only screws up the people who need a browser to go to http://10.0.0.1 or http://192.168.0.1 to set up their internet connection.... so that'll be a lot of people.
Either way, the EU are not thinking this through properly, MS really should *not* be forced to include other companies browsers as that is unfair competition *coff* on other browsers, but forcing them to remove the browser is just asking for trouble, in fact I'm going to find out who my MEP is and tell them so!
5 weeks after the EU ruling
Guy > "So instead of having the big blue E on my desktop, I've got to go to the local store and buy a magazine with a DVD for £6 and install an internet browser thingy? Why do I need to pay for something thats free?"
BOFH > "Well, even though IE8 is apparently getting more standards compliant and passes the Acid2 test, but not the Acid3 test - companies which have minimal market share complained to the EU. The EU enjoy slapping companies, gives them something to do, so they agreed and told MS to stop bundling IE with Windows. MS threw a hissy fit and went OTT, the EU didn't think things through like 'so, if they do remove IE, how will people use the internets?', its all to foister competition!"
Guy > "Competition? Huh? I just want to install IE, what other browsers are there?"
BOFH > "Firefox, Opera to name two"
Guy > "Firefox, I've heard of that, but Opera?"
BOFH > "Decent browser, doesn't have the sex appeal of Firefox, hardly well known, hardly used, doesn't advertise on every website with 'Get Opera' and blames MS for its poor market share"
Guy > "So what does that mean for most people?
BOFH > "Why don't you search the internet and find out?!"
Guy > "....."
BOFH > "Oh, right. For most home users, like the older generation who don't want to faf around with installing a new browser, who just want to use their computer for email and the internet, it means they are screwed and will now spend a fortune on 0870 numbers calling their ISP's (if they can find the number) and be left wondering how they get on the internet. I'm making a fortune out of it! For the tech savy, they already have Firefox or Opera or even Chrome already downloaded so does not effect them.
Guy > "So it kinda screws the not so tech savvy?"
BOFH > "No, it gives ME lots of work. Do you know how many intranets use IIS rather than Apache? Using ASPX rather than PHP? Using functions which only work properly in IE? More than 4, probably more than 6, so now the system admin has to stop playing F.E.A.R. 2 and get IE back on thousands of computers, some colleges will have over 4,000 computers that need IE installed!"
Guy > "So why did MS retroactivly remove IE?"
BOFH > "You realise this is a premium rate number right? The PFY set it up just as the EU ruled?"
Guy > "..."
BOFH > "They did it to prove a point, an OS without a browser is like a rampant rabbit without batteries, sure its fun, but its just not enough, you may get satisfied, but wheres the buzz?"
Guy > "So basically Windows is a vibrator, and IE is batteries?"
BOFH > "..."
Guy > "So whats my solution?"
BOFH > "Well, I got several copies of this wonderful OS laying around, called OS2.. Warp... its fantastic and for only £75 a licence!"
I just don't think the EU are thinking this through, they are on an anti-MS crusade and will take whatever action they think they can get away with when it comes to MS. They have a history of screwing with competition and damaging the big guy in the hopes the little guy will actually make in-roads. Firefox is gaining popularity, not because its a better browser, but because everywhere you go there is "Get Firefox!" and through word of mouth. Opera is not doing this, I don't think I've seen a "Get Opera" advert.
If MS were to lock down Windows in such a way that FF/Opera/Chrome couldn't work, or did an Apple Quicktime and changes file associations every time you used it, then yeah, Opera would have a valid case. But people won't stop using IE if IE is removed.
The sort of people who use this site will know how to get a browser installed via FTP, but the vast majority of people wouldn't know their FTP from their NTP and asking them to accept an OS without a browser installed is punishing them. They won't switch to Firefox/Opera, they will most likely INSTALL IE off a cover disc and stick with it. I know if IE was removed from Windows I'd never go near Opera again.
Its 2009, the whole world needs to be online to do business, do the EU really want to put the EU at a major disadvantage to other trading blocs? What next, Windows must unbundle its boot loader as it over-writes Linux? That'd be a laugh.
People should be given their own choice, but every OS should have a browser installed by default. IE is the browser that comes with Windows, sure they could bundle Firefox/Opera, but they get in trouble for bundling, and also who would offer support then? If it comes with Windows, MS would be expected to support Firefox/Opera, and should FF/Opera suddenly develop a major exploit that lets hackers download your hard drives or something, MS would be to blame as they bundled the software.
Mind you, they could try adding Chrome to a Windows install......
Opera > "So, get them to stop shipping IE with Windows!"
EU > "Ok, we'll see what we can do, ok?"
MS > "Umm, ok, we'll no longer ship IE to any Windows PC's in the EU, we will also apply a forced update to all Windows based PC's through Windows Update to uninstall IE from all Windows based PC's in the EU, that work for you?"
EU > "Yes!"
3 days later
Guy > "Honey? Wheres the little blue E thingy gone?"
Gal > "The little blue E?"
Guy > "Yeah, you know for the internet"
Gal > "Isn't it there?!"
Guy > "Wait, theres a message..."
Message > "Due to an EU ruling Internet Explorer has now been removed from all Windows PC's within the EU, please click this link to go to the IE home page"
Guy > clicks link
Guy > "What? Nothings happening when I click this link!"
At an important world wide number 1 business place
BOFH > "IT support, this better be good, I was just about to complete leisure suit larry!"
Fella > "Umm, we can't seem to access the company network any longer"
BOFH > "Let me check" click click click "Everything seems to be working fine on this end, what appears to be the problem?"
Fella > "The big blue E has umm, vanished"
BOFH > "What?!"
Fella > "There is a message" (says message)
BOFH > "So now I have to install IE on all the computers in this entire place, or recode the company intranet sites to work in browsers other than IE? Wheres my cattle prod"
In France
Farmer > "I shall just check ze subsidies I am due mai qui!"
Farmer > "WZF? Ow am I supposed to check zee subsidies now and claim my money for doing no work! I shall have to go on strike and burn zee sheep!"
At the EU place
IT Support > "Well yes, the entire company really needs IE to function properly, all our web pages are designed to be run with IE but now that MS has followed your orders and removed it, we no longer can, and as none of the computers have an internet browser now, we cannot use them to download the latest version, we're screwed really"
EU Chaps > "Wait, you mean 70% of the EU can no longer access the internet because of us?"
IT Support > "Looks like it, I really hope they can understand why you did it!"
EU Chaps > "Because its the right thing to do?"
IT Support > "Don't be stupid, becaue Opera is an EU company!"
The answer is easy, stream the hentai from servers in Japan and use that hacker case as precedence "Officer, the computer I accessed 'tentacle joy joy happy happy woo haaa!' from is based in Japan, therefore I want to be tried in Japan, now snap to it and get me my tickets man!"
Isn't that obvious? Its "do not allow civil servants to handle these documents, they are secret and we really mean it this time, no leaving it on trains or on computers at MP's home where the local plod can come and have a gander whenever they feel like it, its REALLY secret, although we will share the information with the yanks at some time so they can say 'hey, thats really cool, we'll steal that tech from you now' but other than that, no one is to know about it, not even me, or the PM but then he is a bit of a dick, so yeah, its super top secret and if I find any information about this project on youtube I'm going to cancel the xmas party this year"
Naturally its way too big to put on everything (Top Secret fits just right) so they just write down on it "Really Top Secret!!!!!" with lots of !!!!!!'s
Helicopter cause now they know that I know what they know about what I know about their secret secrets!
The problem is that the US never ratified the treaty they are trying to use to extradite the chap. Whilst the UK did sign it and bend over for the US every time they say "yeah, send us some prisoner cause our human rights with Guantanamo are like, irrelivant" the US refuse to do the same.
Anyone remember how they refused to send over the video from the bomber that blew up the British tank? Or refused to send over the pilots to face trial? That was someong *killing* people and they said no, yet kick up a stink over something as trivial as an idiot with too much time on his hands.
Yes the guy should be punished, he should be sent to prison, but in the UK because until the US sign the treaty, the treaty should not be in effect, and for no other reason.
"We'll save you the trouble: If the ASA has the power to order the ads taken down, why bother with an investigation as to whether they offended the delicate sensibilities of Middle England?"
Because there is a procedure they need to go through for ones that are not obviously against their standards, at least that the most likely explanation. if they just said "ok, take down the advert NOW!" willy nilly, and then had an investigation which proved the adverts did not break the rules, wouldn't they be liable for the costs to the advertiser?
In a case like this, where its obvious they are breaking the rules (advertising presription only medication), the investigation can only possibly go in favour of the ASA so it doesn't matter what they do.
Paris because, hell no, I don't need no stinking medication!
"This is akin to cancelling a web-hosting account then complaining you lost all the files stored there... or closing an email account then not being able to read emails stored in it."
Not quite no, its akin to cancelling an email account, the email account you have cancelled the opening your email client and deleting all your email, contacts and calendar. If you cancel yes you lose the ability to access the information on the server, but the server should not then have the ability to delete your emails/contacts/calendar. its poor, sloppy programming from Apple.
Its also no where near as bad as Active Synch, ok so you can't resynch with the same name, thats not a problem because it isn't destroying the data on your mobile phone, you just resynch with a different name, so how you can possibly say that its not as bad as active synch is beyond me, active synch didn't clear out your contacts etc. (thats at the pro-mac anti-ms author of this piece)
How could they possibly go it? LLU is a cherry pick service, install it in the exchanges where you are likely to get the most money back, sticking it in an exchange where only a few people and a sheep live would lose money so they avoid.
BT have no incentive to do anything, as soon as they spend billions on upgrades, OFCOM tell them to let other people use their lines without any of the investment.
BT should be allowed to upgrade anywhere they like, and if they choose to upgrade a lower profit area (3 people and a sheep) they should be allowed exclusivity over their upgrade until they have made their initial investment back. Yes it would kill competition in those areas, but at least those areas would get DSL.
Small companies which want to serve only rural areas where the profit is low and return on their investment is very long term should be given financial aid to allow them to start investing, maybe zero interest loans on the infrastructure, so they can invest in the areas without having to worry about huge interest rates killing their profit and causing them to go bust.
Maybe BT could be forced into supplying the 0% loans, and in exchange they hold the keys to the LLU, so if the company goes bust, BT gets to take over the lines so they will have no risk of losing their investment.
Cherry picking should be stopped, all exchanges should be rated A to D, A being the most profitable exchanges, D being remote rural exchanges which may not ever see a return on the initial investment. If a company wants to install LLU in a grade A, they have to install 3 grade D's, if they want to install in a grade B, they have to install 3 grade C's. The return on the grade A/B's paying for the low returns on grade C/D.
I believe swoopo isn't the actual company, its a company that has the same thing over here but with a fantastic twist. its in the UK, Germany and Spain, all people from 3 countries are bidding on the same items, except the UK are in £, Germany/Spain €.
Now, with the exchange rate and the cost of bids, people from Germany/Spain actually pay less for their bids, and over-all less for any items they win, they even get more cash.
It is all one giant con, people have paid more than the price of the item they are bidding on simply because of stupid economics. Paid £500 in bids already on a fixed price item? Item valued at £1,000? You can't stop at 500, you won't get it back, so you continue to bid, 750, you're still being outbid, people are jumping in because the price is going up so its going to die out, right? £1,000, can't stop now, you can't afford to lose £1,000 and have nothing to show, must keep bidding!
Eventually you win, but pay more in bids than the items value. Unless you are in Germany/Spain where it still says "you made a saving of..."
Then you add in bid-butler, it bids for you, except no one knows how many bid's you have put aside, so 30-40 people bid, the clock ticks down to 5 seconds then... bid butler, more people bid, gets down to 6 seconds... bid butler. Then some bright spark decides to spend £20 on their own bid butler and the clock goes upto 15 minutes and the guy who just spent £20 still isn't the winning bidder, someone else has paid hundreds to "win".
All in all, a site worth avoiding. I believe it is called tele-bid or something.
Wonderful news, I recently finished reading Sir Terry's book, Nation, and it was a fantastic novel (non-discworld). I'm an avid fan and am really pleased that he now shares the same title as Sir Wogan....
Congratulations Sir Terry, may you write lots more books because genius like you is really once every several generations.
The thing is, if the US was a world leader in X market and another country, lets say Japan had companies who wanted to play catch up so went to their gov. saying "yo, sup, give us some dosh so we can like, compete", the US would cry foul.
It is *not* the job of government to fund private industry, in fact there are competition laws out there which prevent governments giving financial assistance to companies to help them better compete. If you cannot compete on a level playing field, don't compete, inovate and produce a better product, if you can't do that because you were waiting for the gov. to give you a hand out, then you have already failed.
Idiots I tell you, idiots, Japan is showing the US up, private industries funding their own projects to the tune of over $1b, putting their own money where the risk is, not expecting the tax payer to fund the risk.
What is the difference between a petrol car running out of fuel, or an electric car running out of fuel?
The petrol car you can bring the fuel to, the electric car you have to take to the fuel.
Seriously, you wouldn't need to push the petrol car into a garage to hook it up to get a charge to carry on, you would just call the AA, or walk to the nearest petrol station, and fill it up in seconds, how can people not see what TG was alluding to? You can't walk to the local petrol station and say "Yes, I've run out of electricity, could I please buy some?" you *have* to push the car to an electrical fuel recharge station (plug).
In that respect it is a very realistic assessment of the main issue with an electrical car, if you run out of power, you're screwed. No matter how you sugar coat it, with a 16 hour recharge time, it would be practically impossible for the AA/RAC to come to your car and recharge it with enough fuel to get home, so the car has to be pushed.
If a Ferrari ran out of petrol on the track, petrol into a can, can to the car. You don't have to push the Ferrari into a garage to refuel it.
The Register has some of the most intelligent readers of any website on the planet, so I'm very sure that the penny has now dropped!
@ the "Tiff" comment - they left the BBC ages ago and are now on Channel 5, swapped with Richard and James.
The reason to choose Windows in this environment seems really simple to me. If they had chosen Linux they would have had to build their own distro from scratch. Grab the Linux kernel and modify it heavily removing every driver possible for the kernel to ensure it works perfectly for the submarines hardware.
They would then have to (under GPL) release the kernel modifications for Johnny Terrorist to have a gander at, as well as Johnny Foriegner to have a look at and install on their submarines.
Simply put, with Windows they don't have to release any modifications to the world wide community, they can strip it down to the basic minimum required for the task at hand, and they can do it quickly, rather than having to re-programme the entire kernel and develop their own OS before even getting to the installation of BlowUpTheWorld.sh version 0.0.1.
I remember as a kid being told not to say bloody, but we had a cure rhyme to deal with it!
Bloodys in the bible, bloodys in the book, if you don't believe me, have a bloody look.
Obviously this was before kids went around carrying AK47's and machetes and stuff. Wheres the IT angle though? Unless you suggest we start to read the Sun for unbaised technological opinion?
Its Sega, after the 32X and Sega CD, anyone who decides to buy *any* Sega console needs their heads read. Their monster cockups are one of the reasons that Sony were able to attack the market and go straight to the top, if Sega had built quality systems, with support, and games and not the terrible ones they did make, maybe we'd still be playing Sega consoles today.
There is no Paris Hilton angle to this story. What is it doing here? I am removing Paris Hilton from my trousers. Please confirm my subscription so I can cancel my subscription. I am also really happy with today's weather, it is very sunny in Cornwall. Please make the weather the way I like it every day. Goodbye, I'm going to the pub and invite all el Reg staff along to the Union Bar for unlimited* free pints
*Fair Use Policy Applies, fees may be charged if you go over the FUP which will be determined sometime soon.
Brown : Well, as chancellor I totally messed up the economy, banks are in trouble and the entire economy is going down the drain, now I'm PM I'm still managing to mess it up!
HBOS : Darn it, we're going under, what can we do?
Lloyds : We shall rescue you, of course, it may cause unfair competition
Brown : Nah, don't worry about that, unfair competition which makes me look good is a good thing, I'll smooth it over, oh yeah, gimme a job? I doubt I'll be re-elected when the law states I have to have an election, wonder if I can change that law?
Barclays/Alliance-Leicester/etc : .....
Not really, most fully grown adults know not to use profanities so liberally, part of a good education is being able to substitute vulgarities for their less vulgar counterparts.
The reason a college filter would look for certain words, and ensure that students are not using certain words, is because the type of site where one would most likely use said words are not the kind of sites a college student should be looking at whilst they are studying. It would also help to prevent the college from any legal ramifications that may arise due to a student writing a large post, containing lots of swear words, aimed at a person whilst using the college network.
And also no, swearing, spitting, any activity which people may find offensive are against the general college rules aswell, college is supposed to educate a persons mind, keeping their mind in the gutter will not lead to any form of enlightenment, it will make the idiots drop out of their degree, claim to be grown up and never get a £60k per year job.
Yes, I meant "Work Safe", though "Word Safe" works also. Though as I pointed out I was mentioning college filters, for the computers that they use at college whilst I do my degree. It might be pretty hard for me to do my degree if the filters pick up many uses of the word "fuck" and issue me warnings followed by "gerrof our computers ya fuck-wit!"
I'm all for swearing, but it would be nice to know which articles may fire up a filter which is looking for profanities, especially as the college terms of service is a catch all, you have no idea who would be using the computers, what age they may be etc. and whilst our tutor is a wonderful person, she isn't the admin who set up the filters. Would you really want a college filter to allow students to browse sites where every other word was fuck? I.e. the bbc? Heck the filter would tell me "I'm sorry, you're not allowed to do that" if I were to write the word fuck, which means I have to tone down the emails to my better half.
If the termination fee is a fee that companies have to pay another company, and its to be abolished, the answer is simple, the person who initiates the call has to pay the termination fee as part of their connection fee.
For instance, if I call Joe Blogger, I pay a connection fee which includes not only the connection fee but also the termination fee, as well as the normal cost of the call, sure the first minute of every call may be 25p, but after that its standard rate.
If on the other hand I did have to pay to recieve a call, I'd phone my telco and tell them that I no longer wish to be able to recieve calls, I'd only be willing to accept SMS messages.
Whichever way you look at it, the only winner is 3, the consumer is the ultimate loser in this, either by higher charges for the dialer, or paying for the cost of calls for the reciever, neither are really a good option, especially since no telco over here offers "unlimited - no fair use policy, phone calls". US customers get insane amounts of free minutes, simply because their minutes are eaten away by people calling them.
Is this Mrs Reding anti-profit? Does she want all the telco's to deliver phone calls and texts and not make any profit out of it? She is nuts, insane, around the bend.
Our mobile sector works due to a lack of regulation, then along comes this bint and decides to champion a cause that won't effect her anyhow as she's on the EU gravy train. Sure, I text the US a lot, so having to pay 9p rather than 20p would really help with my wallet, but I understand there is a higher cost in texting the US, and its my choice as to wether or not I send the text, having this out of touch anti-capitalism, anarchist type of person trying her hardest to bankrupt all the mobile phone companies is stupid.
Yes, maybe Voda makes insane profits, but if this woman gets her way, they will have to find other ways of making their cash back, so long free phones? See ya free texts/voice minutes?
Or maybe I'm wrong, who knows.