Re: trademarks
Then had an issue with following Pentium with Sextium.
66 publicly visible posts • joined 6 Aug 2013
22 years ago we bought a house. By chance, the owner had the same first name and almost the same surname (certainly sound alike). We asked if they could recommend a GP, which we then signed up with.
Cue a few years later, I entered the consulting room, sat down and the GP started reading out from the screen the previous issues and how I was getting on. I glanced at the screen and said "that's not me..." GP genuinely shocked and shut down the the screen incredibly quickly as if had something NSFW there... which was true in a sense as was a rather serious confidentiality error.
Probably why they now check date of birth too.
A common problem in the 80s when chip sockets were common (eg for the BBC microcomputer) was the chips easing themselves out of the socket due to vibration. Of course, the solution was just to push them back down, but still, surface mounted is a lot more reliable.
When at uni, I was put in charge of the students' union entertainment equipment, and used to drag out the disco equipment (it was the 70s) for impromptu evenings in the bar. Revolting students used to be the thing in the 70s (they are much tamer now they have to pay fees, it seems) and throwing beer in the over dancers (and the equipment) wasn't infrequent.
I'd built a mains checker from Practical Electronics mag - basically neon lights and resistors squeezed into a three pin plug (it would probably throw an RCD now) - tried it on the mains extension lead presumably created by a predecessor - the lights didn't look good, so opened it up to find the extension lead was simply a hefty two core, no earth lead!
Changed that promptly, and taught me not to trust stuff provided with.
My "Dad's Joke" (not IT related) is on the Victoria Line, which usual stops for 30 seconds before the terminating station (perhaps waiting for confirmation/switching of which of the two platforms it could terminate at). Train stops in tunnel, cue get up, and start pushing the stanchion in the middle of the aisle. By time kids have agreed to push, the train moves off - it worked!
At school in the 70's a classmate had an early TI scientific calculator.
He had a basic model of course. Opening it up, he noticed there were unused pads on the PCB, the only difference between the basic model and a higher model was the buttons provided. Cue the addition of little button switches to unlock the missing features...
Bought my mother (82) a Chromebook this year so she could receive emails and view family photos. She's never used a keyboard or mouse before, let alone a computer of any description.
So, showing her the basics, moving the mouse - she asked "what's that fly on the screen" - it was the mouse cursor.
Fortunately I'd got her a touchscreen Chromebook. She found that much easier to use than the touchpad. I have to phone her to let her know when I've sent an email (with a link to photos on Google Photos) so she can start the Chromebook (just lift the lid), click on the email tab I'd left open and view photos.
Yet to find any Chromebook guides at a suitable level.
There's also password-less login, where an email is sent to the registered address. Similar to a password reset (same security level, i.e. not much) but the resulting link is a one-time login, short term. I've used it for a low security required site where there was about 50% password resets, this went to zero. Example for WordPress: https://www.cozmoslabs.com/add-ons/passwordless-login/
"My understanding is that once a virus mutates to become more virulent, it also becomes less contagious." - evolution doesn't care about the effects, it's unthinking. Something could mutate to kill 100% of its target, thereby killing itself, and not "care".
A highly virulent virus (as in the case of HIV) can become less virulent over time, as by killing fewer of its targets it succeeds in spreading further (not necessarily by being more contagious, just by the host living for longer, so has more chance of spreading the disease).
"A trademark is registered for specific use(s) as defined in the application and includes such things as colours, graphics and typeface as part of the definition."
Recently I made a trademark application, and was granted it. I used a made up word only - without specifying any colours, graphics or typeface. That means for the specified uses, the word is trademarked regardless of appearance. So the above should read: "A trademark is registered for specific use(s) as defined in the application and may include such things as colours, graphics and typeface as part of the definition."
Moved all from fasthosts to lcn.com (mostly .co.uk) - very smooth and easy, and very nice user interface, bodes well. Chat was answered immediately. Free transfer of .co.uk and kept the remaining term, and exactly half the price of fasthosts after their rise, and discount price breaks. Shame about the lack of free privacy, though for individuals, not needed for .co.uk
Just bought a Chromebook for my mother's 80th birthday. She's never used a computer before, but wanted to keep in touch, see family photos etc. Loved the "what's that jiggling fly thing?" (it was the mouse cursor). Looked up some introductory books for Chromebook - and even they assumed too much, e.g. started comparing them with PCs, Macs, talk about USB sockets etc. But she's pleased, and will learn bit by bit.
I still have my final year BSc project thesis - hand-written assembler, which I manually converted into machine code for entry with a hexadecimal keyboard into an UV-EEPROM.