* Posts by John Dawson

4 publicly visible posts • joined 1 Apr 2008

Hands-free kits make drivers even more dangerous

John Dawson

Looking at a TV camera while driving

So, if talking on a mobile phone is dangerous, what about TV presenters who drive a car while talking to a TV camera mounted on the passenger window, often *looking at* the camera for several seconds at a time! Last week there was a (BBC) presenter doing this while driving along a narrow country lane; I was extremely glad not to have been riding a horse or a bicycle just in front of him. Speaking to, and in particular looking at a camera while driving must surely count as dangerous driving. Why, therefore, is it encouraged by directors and producers in the name of "immediacy"?

Microsoft kicks out third Windows XP service pack

John Dawson

SP3 needs an OS key for WGA? WTF?

Both my desktop PCs, and my laptop PC run XP SP2.

Both came with the operating system pre-installed, and no operating system CD/DVD (which I agree with someone earlier, is a rip-off).

There may once have been a key told to me when I bought the machines, but I long ago lost it. I'm therefore *very* reluctant to even *try* SP3 if WGA (Advantage - what a joke!) will later ask for a key. WGA has already checked that my OS is genuine and registered to me - why should I have to jump through more hoops to prove it yet again?

John

Sales slide at PC World, Currys

John Dawson
Flame

PCWorld "sale" items

Go into PCWorld in Stevenage. They're advertising a "sale" of a laptop I want.

I look at the display model. It's ideal. And at that price it's a bargain.

Ask the "assistant". None in stock (sale laptops, not "assistant"s!), except the display model, which of course they won't sell. They then try to "interest" me in similar non-sale laptops at 3 times the price.

I return to the display sale model, note down all its details, and order it online for 75% of PCWorld's sale price. It arrives the next morning. QED.

John

US allows visual inspections of nipple rings

John Dawson

Berlin Gay LeatherFest - problems for airport security?

I've just returned from the Berlin Gay LeatherFest held over Easter. At least 2000 leather men in the city, most with piercings, quite a few with PAs, I should think. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in the airport security zone as all that metal set off the bleepers, and then the officials had to investigate "manually"!

John