BT lab domain grab – 17 years after cheeky chap swiped 'em BT research campus Adastral Park can finally buy up its domain names – just 17 years after giving a chap the sack for registering them. Way back in 2000, BT rebranded its tech research campus – based in Suffolk, England, and formerly known as BT Labs – as Adastral Park. However, it was slow off the mark when it came to …
"People I knew who worked there referred to it as the Blasted Heath'."
Thomas Hardy apparently used that term when referring to the fictitious Egdon Heath in "The Return of the Native".
Culham Laboratories were part of the development of the disk operating system for the English Electric KDF 9 mainframe - and cultured lot that they were - called the system "Egdon".
When I stopped visiting, just before it became Adastral, they'd build a very modern looking building right at the entrance. Looked really hi-tech, visitors were always disappointed that it was actually the new cafeteria. Some of the 'locals' took to describing it as the chip fabrication facility...
It was claimed that the best view of Suffolk could be had from the top of the Martlesham Tower - because, according to the seasoned veterans, it was the only place in Suffolk where you couldn't see the bloody thing.
The A10s from the local US airbases used to use if for navigation so we used to suffer regular earthquakes as they passed overhead trying to find their way home. The view up there is no better - all you can see is Suffolk and the Sea and Suffolk is generally the flatter of the two,
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"You wouldn't walk by a £20 note on the floor and not pick it up, would you?"
I'm assuming he'd pick it up so that he could attempt to re-unite it with the person to whom it belongs ... otherwise it is theft ... there was a case a few months ago where someone dropped a note into a supermarket freezer and they were unable to reach it so went to get a staff member to help - in the meantime someone else saw it, though "free money", picked it up and walked off. They probably would have got away with it if it wasn't for those meddling kids the supermarket's CCTV cameras so they ended up having to trade in the note for a criminal record.
It still amuses me.
A few years back my kid found 20p in the school grounds. I explained that the proper thing to do is hand it in and when (undoubtedly) the true owner never claims it, it will be handed back to you.*
Then this story broke :
http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/endon-hall-primary-school-manager-margaret-bailey/story-16597044-detail/story.html
Eagle eyed viewers will notice the difference between 20p, £20 and £65k to £115k.
We're still 20p down but ne'er mind. Well, i am as i reimbursed her.
I was so nearly tempted to go visiting on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
I guess the techies in charge of domains and websites would be more than happy to just create new sun-domains as required but the marketing people want every part of the business to have it's own personalised domain.
After all, why exactly is adastralpark.com more valuable than adastralpark.bt.com. The former might be useful if they are planning to later spin it off as a separate company while the latter increases the brand awareness of BT and it's many ventures.
1) client of mine wanted to use .audio domain for their business
something.else.audio
but name.audio was blocked initially because of some domain technicality... then Cayman Island squatter firm bought it, sale price $45K... now available at £120 or thereabouts following increase in cost of .audio and several other gTLDs
2) a client forgot to renew a .co.uk domain so a UK squatter (and domain firm with Nominet tag, and London "mailbox" address) registered it and wants £1000 for it... luckily the .uk is not held by greedy squatter!
3) same client a few years ago had lawyers letter wanting them to hand over domains they had registered... something like
containertradeintel.com
so clearly to do with imports + exports but Intel has/had deep pockets and not worth court battle, or paying anything for arbitration.
Didn't hand over domains, just cancelled them...
Wish it had been fought to show how Intel and others (no names but EasyArt ring a bell?) can be shown up as bullies when there is no risk to their own business.
I worked there when this infamous incident took place. He initially claimed that he registered it to do them a favour, jacking the price up in the process, naturally.
When those sons of fun at BT told him to poke it, and relieved him of his duties, I believe he turned it into an S&M dating website. So I'm told.
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