Posts by markowen58

Shocker: UK smart meter rollout is crap, late and £500m over budget

My 50p in the meter

I've recently been hassled and there's no more accurate word for it by my energy company, who I used to work for coincidentally. Where the language they've used is that they 'have' to install the meter, which technically isn't a lie. The government want them to, they 'have' to, or will face fines.

Meter aren't compulsory, and they've been sent away and I'll be leaving them when this contract is up and telling them implicitly they've damaged their brand by doing so.

'Free' also being a load of BS, it's a subsidy applied to everyone's bills. I'll consider having one fitted when SMETS2 is more common, so I don't waste my money, but I'll not be forced into the wrong decision to meet their imaginary deadlines.

I'd argue against the point that the big companies want this set up of smart meters. They've tried to lobby and have some concessions here and there, but as I've just pointed out. They're scrambling arse over tit to throw these contraptions at customers to meet an arbitrary deadline to avoid fines.

Working there whilst earlier installs and trials were underway, they're no fans of the in home device, dreamed up prior to everyone having a smartphone (yes not everyone, but IHD could be optional instead of mandatory and offered to those without a smartphone)

I'd always wondered why the data wasn't sent over the power lines themselves, granted noise and as usual a cobbled together infrastructure would make it difficult and costly, but then so is trying to get a 2G signal from the location of some meters.

The only benefits I can see them offering is a small dip in usage when first installed for people who don't know or care about it. They'll go around turning things off for a while then get bored and go back to their usual habits.

Also, having to employ less meter readers, although by law they will still have to inspect the meters every two years anyway.

And, as some appear to be doing, making pre payment meters smarter so they don't have to pay a margin to payment networks at newsagents and can offer an app to take payments directly.

Whole thing is a bloody mess. But then it's a government run IT project in essence. So why wouldn't it be?

Britain ignores booze guidelines – heads for the pub

I'd be teetotal

if my drunken exploits were recorded by multiple quite decent cameras and recorded for posterity on t'internet.

You should install smart meters even if they're dumb, says flack

import/export meters and storage

Do the current specs for the smart meters incorporate export metering?

Having a national roll out that would improve the infrastructure to accommodate customers being able to more easily fit PV and storage in the home would make sense. It's the tea drinking that gets us in this country, specifically when Corrie has a break.

So why not have a small scale energy storage solution that covers that peak, but is charged throughout the day, same for electric showers, evening off the peaks in demand?

There also seems to be a complete lack of recognition that wind and solar require a similar build out of storage.

If smart meters were part of a wider co-ordinated programme that incorporated generation at the traditional plant level through to home generation, and co-ordinating a distribution network upgrade that acts as a market place to buy and sell energy, for individuals and companies to generate, store and consume, then it would make sense.

As is, the smart meter roll out just seems like a marketers/snoopers wet dream, with little to no benefits for the cost we've been asked to pay through our bills.

Three non-obvious reasons to Vote Leave on the 23rd

If this referendum was called by a left government that sought to reform the EU or save democracy then I support the authors view of exiting. However. We have a right wing government that will lean only further to the right if we chose to leave.

That won't rescue the unwashed masses, it will only seek to screw them over further in the pursuit of profit and shore up the elites money and power even further.

I'm not denying the EU is broken, but we're better off from emerging from this with a remain vote and a mandate to fix the EU from within, and to fix our own democracy that has quite rightly pointed out abandoned the working class, who feel disenfranchised and have turned to those throughout history who promise to expel the foreigner, the other, 'them that don't even learn to speak proper English'

Microsoft won't back down from Windows 10 nagware 'trick'

Windows 10 leaving a bad taste in your mouth?

Try Mint.

I'm surprised no one has or is trying to capitalise on this fumble by MS. Does Linux have a marketing department? :)

My take on MS is that high up the decision has been taken to ride out this period to maximise the number of beta testers, as that's what this OS is in, get their feedback through the sneaky monitoring, and shift to this faster update schedule I've read about somewhere and this whole service thing.

So yeah, bloody mindedness from them for the foreseeable future. But back to my original point, no point preaching to the converted on here.

GM crops are good for you and the planet, reckon boffins

Piracy

So sterilising seed is the same as data protection, when does it get cracked and pirated so anyone can use the GM version? I get recouping the R&D costs, I really do, but perhaps they should look elsewhere when trying to lock down their 'invention' and how well that's gone.

Thirty Meter Telescope needs to revisit earthly fine print

Re: astronomy as a traditional activity

no, by that logic you would run say, the A303 right by it.

Hands On with Windows 10 Mobile build 10572

I actually think Continuum is a really good play. The majority of my office has a dell ultrabook, docking station, monitors, KB, and mouse. Along with a deskphone, and plenty of bluetooth headsets, and a company supplied mobile (usually iphone5S).

If they get it right the laptop and deskphone disappear and bean-counters rejoice.

Why do driverless car makers have this insatiable need for speed?

Re: re: AC

You mean Uber at it's current overpriced valuation vs it's actual profitability/worth? My guess is that investors are putting 2+2 together when it comes to Uber and wagering on it providing the platform for these driverless cars.

When you have this type of system, the cars actually cover many more miles more efficiently, as, if still petrol/diesel based, will be running at an optimal temperature for longer, can take themselves out of the market if needing a service and can drive themselves to a service centre.

To add my 2cents to the usual crash dilemma, no one appears to have assumed that the car will adapt to driving conditions, including a built up area with lots of parked cars (although will they exist still?) it will slow down, just as any good drive should. 20mph is already becoming the new norm for those areas too, reducing stopping time even more and if needed the car will slow even further based on the amount of human traffic around, although that will be really interesting in London and other European cities.

The main frustration will be similar to mine each morning as my bus driver through their driving decides if I can stroll/brisk walk/jog/run to catch my train.

My wager would be that HGV's actually get fully automated first. Delivery centre to delivery centre via A/M roads. Larger platform to mount cameras, etc, simpler rules to follow initially and provide real world tests. In theory never coming into contact with pedestrians as the A/M roads they're separate from.

SPECTRE-tacular: New trailer out for Bond 24. But where's the pussy?

One bit I did pick up on, thanks to a still over on the independent site, is that Waltz's character is wearing a Nehru suit. No white fluff on it though.

giffgaff riff-raff hacked off with lift-off of cash spaff

Stumbled across their loan page yesterday...

...while I was getting my PAC code.

I thought it might be peer-to-peer lending behind it, but that usually means the offer to loan out money as well as borrow it. But then I suppose that's not their demographic; people having spare cash.

Heading to Three and my greatest fear is that I see a 'GPRS' icon on my phone.

Ten Mac freeware apps for your new Apple baby

Karabiner - key remapper

Karabiner - https://pqrs.org/osx/karabiner/

I use it to remap the keys. Although only two, F5 to put the display to sleep when I want and changing the eject button (Largely redundant now) to the 'delete' key. Although that button doesn't have a repeat on it, but it's better than an awkward key combo. There's plenty more available to suit your workflow though.

Use a Mac? For actual work? Evernote Business has arrived

location, location...

Their data policy is more favourable, so you'd be paying for them not to mine the hell out of your data to flog you stuff unlike google, but one of the hold ups my company has over yammer and similarly over this would be the location of the data and the local law enforcements ability to get at it. Not that anyone seemed to mention what we were going to do that was illegal...

Google buys parcel storage service for Christmas

Odd choice of purchase

it's not like Google actually ship stuff, I presume they are looking to get access to the order slip to establish your shopping habits. Not that i'm cynical of Google or anything.

Heroic Register reader battles EXPLODING COMPUTER

Re: Bottled Water ?

surely sparkling instead of still, what with all that CO2 in it?