Posts by turbine2

What do you mean, I have to POST a PHYSICAL CHEQUE to get my gun licence?

May also reduce the horribly long delay between requesting a license and actually getting one. Last time I needed to renew it was a 3 month wait due to 'unexpected demand' which given that it is pretty easy to work out when they are due to be renewed (5 years) I call poor planning.

BT engineers - missed appointments

Not the greatest of install experience

I've recently had BT out to install a new phone line and fibre, which in BT systems is two jobs (which I can just about accept).

Date and time were agreed and on the day I was the first appointment of the day. BT engineer does his bit and installs the line, but he can't tell me if / when the fibre will be installed so I have to wait until the end of the morning deadline (13:00) to discover that there was a problem with my fibre install and no engineer was coming.

BT engineer was trained to do fibre installs, so it wasn't a capability issue. He did say they have a new booking system, but their booking system does not help the customer at all.

Apple patents shopping lists

Isn't this pretty much the same thing that Boris Johnson look alike that did the Apprentice put up and has actually started to get working without actually winning Lord Sugar's financial backing?

Olympic Security cock-up was down to that DARN software

Ah, memories of scheduling software

I remember when scheduling software was introduced by Woolies many years ago. With much trumpeting from the district managers on how this was going to "save a fortune in wage costs" and "you absolutely positivly under no circumstances use you own judgment, only what the scheduling software says on pain of being sacked. The software is right and knows better than you".

So, did the training, entered the staffing profiles pressed the button and out spat the bit of paper saying we needed to recruit more staff to run the store.

Remember that "The software is right and knows better than you" bit? Well, as it happens, I agreed with the software. Shame the district manager didn't and then told us to ignore the software and use his judgment instead.

Luckily I left a couple of weeks later.

O2's titsup network struggles to find its feet

Got hit by this when I tried a text this morning, did the turn it off and on again (I've worked IT for a LONG time) and problem solved.

Be interesting to see what the root cause was, but I'm guessing that with the complexity of current networks it's not going to be something simple.

Ten... dual-band wireless routers

What 5GHz channel?

It would also be nice to see the channels used for the tests, and what channels are available on the router for that matter. On 5GHz channels channels 36-64 are at a lower maximum power level (23 dBm) than channels 100-140 UK or 100-165 US (30 dBm).

Fujitsu promises rural UK 1Gbit/s - if it gets 'fair deal' from BT

what BT inherited

>What BT inherited from the GPO was a knackered, analogue network that was overpriced and

>barely up to the job.

... but inlcuded a whole load of very expensive to install cable ducting that can be reused for modern services paid for by the public.

... and the remit to have their ducting put in place for all new builds in order to deliver a universal service (as I understand it, I accept I may be wrong on this though)

The problem is that laying cable itself is fairly low cost. Digging up roads, getting legal agreements in place for installing ducting and installing roadside cabinets is expensive. This is one of the reasons the NTL, Telewest, etc. went under.

BT confirms broadband upgrades for rotten boroughs

Just because your exchange is upgraded....

... does not mean you will get infinity. BT will cherry pick which parts of the community will get the service as well.

My exchange has been upgraded (Basingstoke) but still I have to live with a 0.5Mb/s ADSL connection because they won't upgrade the rest of the infrastructure. And this isn't a small community I'm talking about either but includes at least two major housing developments.