Posts by Neil

British Standard explains how to store data for use as evidence

If it's anything like the BSI spec I'm currently developing against...

We're all doomed.

Oz couple served legal docs via Facebook

Not Facebook.

So they were served via email, not via Facebook.

Of course that is ridiculous in itself because you cannot guarantee that they will read it. It's no better than posting something. I thought the whole point of serving legal papers was it had to be done in person to ensure the receiving party actually got them.

2008's top three touchscreen phones

Have the haters ever actually used one?

I've always avoided Apple stuff. My MP3 is not an iPod, and I dislike iTunes (sadly my daughter insisted on having an iPod so I have to have it installed).

I use an LG-Viewty, which is touch-screen. It's pretty cool. Then the other day I had a play with an iPhone. As soon as my contract runs out I will be getting one. In fact, I was begging my wife to just let me get one there and then. The interface is simply awesome and just miles better than anything else I've used.

Indian court urged to 'ban Google Earth'

I have the solution

SImply blind everybody at birth.

Is filming someone in the street a breach of privacy?

Simple

If you are on the street - in a public place - you have no expectations of privacy. If you are in your home, or on your own property, then you do.

The woman isn't upset about being filmed - she's probably filmed 50 times a day by CCTV cameras anyway. She's upset because embarrased. She might stand a chance on suing on those grounds.

However, if she's a big fat fatty then she couldn't really complain about being shown on a program about other lard arses could she? It's not the program-makers fault. Everyone who knows her already knows she is fat. It'd be kind of hard to miss.

Ofcom rules on Clarkson strumpet gag

Thank goodness

339 people complained. 5,999,661 didn't (based on 6m viewing figures).

If such a small minority could cause havoc by complaining when the vast majority were in favour then it would have said something about the future of mankind. With this decision, there is at least some hope.

When JC becomes PM, at least.

IT departments VAT-whacked

Nightmare

This is a nightmare for me. A couple of our systems have it hard-coded in, and the prices are based on nice, round numbers being inclusive of VAT. Changing those to stupid figures (i.e. a £10 "topup" becomes £9.73) looks daft, and may well break things in ways I've not thought of.

The other solution is to increase the price so we still charge £10. But that means we have to inform our customers that we are doing this. Those in a contract with us will probably not be pleased about this.

I've highlighted this to the business and am waiting for them to make a decision on what to do. The problem is that no matter what we choose I simply will not have time to investigate and make the change. We have large projects on for big customers that are due next week and these will be taking priority over the smaller systems that need a VAT change.

The timescales are ridiculous. As is the whole cut-con in the first place.

China slams Guns N' Roses album

Not too bad

I bought it yesterday. It's not too bad. It's no Appetite or Illusion, but it's growing on me.

NASA's curious climate capers

Usual Global Warming rubbish

"In all, September data from 90 stations was used in October. GISS director Hansen claimes that data analysis and quality control is rigorous"

Yeah, as long as the temperature shows it's goes up we're happy - regardless of whether it actually si or not.

PC virus forces three London hospitals into computer shutdown

Great

Not even the computers are immune to MRSA.

Gov to Manchester: No new trams without road pricing

Do as I say

Or I'll punch you in the face.

That's what it comes down to, if you replace the above line with "take away all your funding."

Bullying prick.

Co-op IT workers vote to strike

IT Workers on strike?

I bet their still checking their emails and server statuses from their mobiles....

AVG slaps Trojan label on core Windows file

Makes me glad

That my AVG's auto-update feature has been broken for weeks...

Boffins: global warming kills lemmings, not suicide

@Charles Manning

You missed off Malaria, which kills millions per year. If we stopped pouring money into pointless Global Warming research and poured it into Malaria research we could save millions of lives every single year.

Michael Crichton dead at 66

New book

I believe there is a new book scheduled for end of Nov / beginning of Dec. I presume (hope) this will still be released.

Roadpricing satnav spybox trials under way

How Long Before

My TomTom has options for "Quickest/Fastest/Cheapest" route?

Cue mega congestion on the cheaper roads...

Sky channels return to cable

No more downloading Lost!

Although it was nice watching it in HD.... are we getting Sky One HD, anyone? anyone? anyone?

Windows 7 early promise: Passes the Vista test

I like Vista

Am I the only one that actually likes Vista? I installed it recently on a new (admittedly quite powerful) machine. It absolutely flies. Obviously XP would have, too, but I was half expecting it to drag a bit after the bad press.

It's been rock-solid and I love the Aero interface. All my hardware worked except my Webcam, but that's Logitech's fault for not providing a driver. Even better was my USB TV tuner... under XP it was a pig to install the drivers and the supplied software was crap. With Vista I plugged it in, Vista went off to the internet and found some drivers, installed them and it all just worked with zero effort from me. And the Media Centre stuff is way better than the bundled stuff I had to use on XP.

Seems to me that people bash Vista just to join in - I think it's pretty good.

Apple prices iPhone at $666, says analyst

Does this mean?

It's now the "Devil Phone" rather than the "Jesus Phone"?

Led Zeppelin plan Plant-free tour

Not Zep

Zep without Plant != Zep.

BBC's TV detector vans to remain a state secret

Waiting for the first idiot...

To say something like "But TVs only RECEIVE - they don't TRANSMIT so TV Detector vans can't possibly work!"

BBC clarifies location of England

Confusing

Especially when the article below this one has a headline of "Paris ups sticks to London".

Paris ups sticks to London

Goes to show

That we really need to firm up the Immigration policy in this country. If this was Tory rule - no way would she get in!

Crazy Frog won't croak again

Generation Gap

There are those who hear the tune and think "Beverly Hills Cop - cool!", and those who hear the tune and say "Ding Ding" at the end of the riff.

Those who do the latter should not be astonished to find themselves punched, hard, in the face. Several times.

Dial 'M' for Microsoft's new programming language

Next: "Bond"

They've already got "M" and "Q"uadrant...

Autopilot blamed for Qantas plunge

Seat belts again

I always have my lap-belt on, and make sure my kids have them on, too. It's no hassle and could save some serious injury.

EU battery rule may zap iPhone, blow away MacBook Air

Good

When the iPhone finally gets a user-removable battery, and a decent camera (2MP? What is this, 1999?) I might consider getting one.

Indian Moon mission is go for 22 October

@Sam

You took the comment right out of my mouth!

A picture of the flag, please. Preferably not fluttering in the wind...

Microsoft plans science of appliance for next SQL Server

Too soon

Sorry, but 2 years between SQL Server releases is too quick. We currently have no plans to migrate to 2008, let alone 2010 - it's just too much work.

Revealed: How Street View marks its territory

Proof

That Google are pissing over us all....

Home Office finally approves UK cybercoppers

I hereby suggest

That these officers be known from now on as the iPlod

Secret Service camera bought on eBay

Seized his computer?

I hope they give it back pretty smartish. If I bought something off Ebay in all innocence and had the cops come and take my kit I'd be pretty pissed off.

'I can see dinosaurs from my back porch'

My theory

Is that the universe was farted out by a giant incontinent goat.

I believe this theory should be taught, too. It's just as believable as the creationist view.

Net sleuths spot poker site cheat code

Happened already?

I'm sure I remember a security-glitch (read, bad design) in an online poker system before, where the seed for the random card generator was available from the client-side stuff, meaning you could predict what cards other players would have.

Met Office: Global warming sceptics 'have heads in sand'

Met Office: Global cooling sceptics have heads in sand

The UK Met Office climate change bureau has issued a stinging attack on the idea that recent rises in global temperature might mean that global COOLING is over or has been exaggerated.

"Anyone who thinks global COOLING has stopped has their head in the sand," said an unnamed Met Office spokesman in a statement released online today. The statement goes on angrily:

Global COOLING does not mean that each year will be COOLER than the last, natural phenomena will mean that some years will be much warmer and others cooler. You only need to look at 1998 to see a record-breaking warm year caused by a very strong El Niño. In the last couple of years, the underlying warming is partially masked caused [sic] by a strong La Niña.

------------------

Swap the "warming" for "cooling" and it's even more logical. As far as I'm aware, the temperature on earth is a lot cooler now than it used to be millions of years ago - meaning the overall trend is down. Anything going up is a statistical blip.

Noel Edmonds defies BBC's jackbooted enforcers

Detector Vans

Yes, they can work... you may think your TV doesn't broadcast, however it uses a local oscillator to tune itself in - have a google for Super Heterodyne. This is what can be picked up by the van, and is how they know what channel you are watching.

<I accept no reseponsibility for the accuracy of the above comment, as this is how it was explained to me by an RF Engineer colleague a few years ago. At least, I *think* that's what he said>

Oz pub slammed over 'No Undie Sundie'

All these comments

And not one "down under" joke. I'm disappointed!

Only in Australia...

Unfortunately.

Artemis Fowl scribe to pen sixth Hitchhiker's novel

All this vitriol...

And I bet you all still buy it. I know I will, even though I'm unsure on the whole thing.

Sony can sue distributor for sales value of stolen goods, not just cost

Therefore...

Sony can compensate me for the cost of a holiday, after their shitty memory card failed in my camera, losing me all of the pics of my kids at Disneyworld?

My name really is Ivan O'Toole, admits Ivan O'Toole

Pilot Inspektor

That'd be Jason Lee of My Name Is Earl fame...

When I was in tech support there was a customer called Barry Batman. His account kept getting cancelled and he kept having to prove it was his real name.

45th Mersenne prime discovered (possibly)

You can see why finding these numbers have such a cult following

No, I really really can't.

Password pants-off at Lloyds Bank

Amazing...

I have the same password on my luggage!

Wünderbra! German policewomen take 'Action Brassiere'

Vital Statistics?

Is getting shot in the tits a common thing in Germany then?

We need vital statistics to back this up...

Greens: Abandon economic growth to beat CO₂ offshoring

I'd hate to be one of his kids...

"Dad, can I have an iPod for my birthday?"

"No - they're far to un-green. You can have a hula-hoop instead. But don't use it too much or you'll breath out too much Carbon Dioxide".

Official: Eee PC range to expand

Great

So the 901 I just ordered is obsolete before I even get it? Gotta be a new record...

Google: 'Even in the desert, privacy does not exist'

What would happen

If I went to Mountain View and started walking around taking pics of everything at the campus?

Would I be invited in for tea, or would some security bloke ask me to leave?

Flash mob time!

IT career virgins need a cherry on top

C+ ??

Is that some kind of semi-OO version of C?

UK ISPs agree to menace their filesharing users

Guns?

Isn't this exactly the same thing as making Smith & Wesson responsible for ensuring that their products aren't used to shoot people, and then rounding up those who do and handing them over to the police?

Blinking to replace remote controls, claims Japanese boffin

Beware the Weeping Angel...

Whatever you do - DON'T BLINK!