Posts by This Side Up 442 publicly visible posts • joined 9 Nov 2011
I can't give you a definitive answer, but paraffin lamps were used to illuminate signals, to display headcodes and by guards to signal to the loco crew. Did the crew have any lighting in the cab, other than by opening the fire doors? Some coaches had gas lighting in the ceiling presumably (I don't know) using compressed gas or maybe carbide - not excessively safe either way.
Why bother with the licence fee? Given that most households receive live tv, just pay for the BBC out of general taxation, at the negotiated rate times the number of propeties. There would be no need for separate collection, enforcement and administration of the fee. You might need a tweak to legislation to deal with overseas visitors in large hotels. As for telly in pubs, gyms, workplaces, etc., their clientele would for the most part be taxpayers anyway, so no special treatment needed.
It is unlikely that the Queen was the only person in the UK who didn't need to take the driving test. The test was compulsory in 1935 but testing was suspended during the second world war and during the Suez Crisis in 1956. Therefore there will be people aged 83 or over who qualified during these periods (e.g. in the forces) and didn't have to take the test.
Also there are lots of people who never had the need to drive.
It's hard to see the logic of this. Instead of two camps (Android/usb and Apple/lightning) we'll add a third: Apple/usb. What about all the existing kit? Will Apple users need to buy new chargers for future equipment? Why can't Apple just make usb/lightning adapters available for a fee. Why can't they standardise on the other end of the cable which is normally the larger USB A? - the big one used on mains sockets. Then we'd only need different cables.
But won't we need different chargers or mains adapters for different types of equipment. Whilst 1A will be OK for phones, laptops and tablets can swallow 2A or more.
In any case, by 2024 won't we be using wireless charging? That's when standardisation should kick in.
Type your comment here — plain text only, no HTML "That means Apple fans who want to stop faffing around with extra proprietary Lightning charge cables should hold off purchasing the iPhone 14, which is slated to launch later this year. "
On the other hand if you want all your Apple devices with the same connector get them now.
The EU says it's aim is to simplify things. In reality it's doing the opposite:
Now: Apple+Lightning
Android+USB
In future: Apple+Lightning (while it lasts)
Apple+USB
Android+USB
Surely it would be better to standardise on the next generation with inductive charging and Bluetooth?
Type your comment here — plain text only, no HTML
"I've been working with desktop computers since CP/M-80 was the operating system of the day. Since then, I've used MS-DOS, Windows, OS/2, AmigaOS, System 7, macOS, Xenix, SCO OpenDesktop, and more versions of Linux than you can shake a stick at. Even today, I have Windows 10 and 11 and macOS running on test boxes. "
So obviously you haven't used RISC OS then?
"And to hear Xperi and Madza tell it, the broadcaster is to blame for transmitting images ? which show up on HD Radio display screens ? without the required file extension in the file name."
No, the filename extension shouldn't be required - the content-type should. This problem is all too common. People sent out files which may have DOS-style filename extensions bit no content-type, so they get stored as text or data. Filename extensions are useful if you're not using file type icons but they shouldn't be relied on. I can call files whatever I like (accepting that some characters can't be used) and I can set the file type to what it should be. The two are independent. If the file type is missing then you may be able to guess it if there's a valid extension.
Type your comment here — advanced HTML and hotlinks allowed. The trouble is they don't train the bots on all the scenarios that they are likely to come across, in particular reporting technical issues. That's really nothing to do with idiom, sarcasm or whatever. I usually get somewhat annoyed and end up with "Please can I speak to a human being".
Type your comment here — plain text only, no HTML I wouldn't dream of sending html!
I've been with PlusNet since Argonet shut down. Initially they were very good but they withdrew cgi-bin and scripting. Web space was 20MB but went up later. Meanwhile I hosted my sites elsewhere, except one.
PlusNet isn't good at sorting out email problems. There is a persistent fault in which certain messages I bounce from one mailbox to another are rejected by their SMTP server as spam, although they had been delivered to me with no spam indicaion at all. I have supplied them with complete raw messages, transport layer logs and Wireshark traces but they won't sort it out.
Their usual tactic is to tell me to use their webmail service. That is a non-starter because I download mail from the server and then delete it from the server, and I never know when a problem message is going to arrive. The error report says the body of the message has been rejected, and progressive deletion of bits of the message which eventually works. Sometimes just deleting the html part gets it through, but that is unsatisfactory. I get fed up with raising tickets which end up getting nowhere.
"Epic Games was keen to highlight, as its own marketplace allows users to run the same software on multiple platforms."
So why can't they allow users to run it on Android and iOS? Can't they give customers on one system a voucher to switch to the other? Or even an install file which they can carry across?
Type your comment here — advanced HTML and hotlinks allowed
If it goes badly blame it on someone else; if it goes well take the credit.
So it's "NHS Test & Trace" and "Government Vaccination Programme" (complete with Minister who does nothing as far as I can see).. Of course it should be Dido Harding Test & Trace" and "NHS Vaccination Programme".
I have a Panasonic box and the apps are limited to iPlayer, YouTube, Netflix and maybe one or two others I never look at. Trying to navigate iPlayer is tedious in the extreme. Surely this is completely the wrong approach. It would be far better to have a Linux computer with a built-in tv tuner, a bluetooth keyboard, and a tv application.
As for Samsung, I have one of their tvs (not smart) but I won't get another because of the appallingly designed timer facilities.
"Consumer grade appliances are trash, with no longevity and (usually) no repair options[0]."
I bought my Servis washing machine c.1989. It was one of the first to use full microprocessor control instead of a big clunky rotary switch. It had a new mother board under warranty and has been extremely reliable since then. It's only now starting to go up the back end of the bathtub curve. Sadly the company was liquidated in 2011.
1. Please stop using "driverless" and "autonomous" interchangeably. A driverless car (SAE level 5) doesn't have a driver, hence the name "driverless" (no driver). So it doesn't have driving controls and can't switch to being driven by a person. Vehicles with lower levels of automation can.
2. Software will have bugs in it. It's only a matter of time before the right combination of circumstances will arise to reveal them.
"Our view was that when you're talking about a ton of metal that's travelling at high speed on the roads, you should potentially lose that right to take risks with other people's lives. Our input would be that we think the updates should be implemented right away."
What if the car is parked in a location where there is no data signal? Do you set out on a journey only to come to an abrupt halt as soon as the vehicle picks up a signal and discovers that an update is available - possibly when you're doing 70 in lane 3 of a motorway?
What if the update contains a bug? Can the vehicle revert to the previous version or does it have to stay where it is until the manufacturer fixes the bug?
This obviously hasn't been thought through.
Once again we read this nonsense about the government banning the sale of diesel and petrol engined vehicles after 2040. This is not what has been said. They are only proposing to bena the sale of NEW diesel and petrol vehicles (excluding hybrids) after 2040. It will still be possible to buy and sell existing vehicles at that time, barring further restrictions.
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