Posts by Mark 65

So what you're saying is...

"The core problem in the UK is actually that the banks have had an effective monopoly position. Until recently, research has shown that people are more likely to get divorced or move house than change current account. Things are improving, but it will take at least another 10-20 years before the cartel is actually broken."

So what you're saying is customers are stupid and deserve all they get for being so damn lazy? It is very easy to move accounts in the UK, having done it twice myself, by asking for the direct debit/standing order form that they have to give you. Pass this on to your new bank and they can take over the transactions. SImple. When it's this easy if you don't move you deserve to get screwed.

Patent

Did you get it? Have you made the device or licensed the design? Or are you waiting to troll?

5 Hail Marys

Confessional is the next door along.

@Rob Moir

I don't think people are necessarily saying it's too expensive from a cost of components aspect, although there is a site that lists the profit over pure component costs that shows some good margins for a non-discounted device, but rather that it's expensive for what it does. Drop the 16GB wi-fi to 329 from 429 and we could be talking, especially if you can tether to an iphone for mobile web. It's not massively overpriced but it does make you wince first time you consider it.

DDOS is...

the weapon of the script-kiddy. That is all.

@Kevin Rudd - Not a Complete Tosser

It's a fluid situation, I wouldn't update anything until it becomes static.

Pipe providing fuckwits

Do they not realise that they only have customers due to the content someone else is providing?

Second that

I had one for ADSL2 and never again. Absolute piece of sh1t couldn't hold onto a connection for more than a couple of hours and wouldn't reconnect without a power cycle. Paid good money for a Draytek - solid as a rock.

Whilst you're at it

In these recessionary times it might also be handy to flag the power draw on these beasts - I've seen some modern TVs that seem like you'd need three-phase power linked up to the house (LGs I think). You could call it a green credential but I prefer to look on it as running costs plus how much does the heating need to be adjusted by?

Don't entirely agree

"Companies across all sectors, who generally use Java for all new server-side development, are probably taking comfort that Java is now owned by a single company with a lot of cash and a future. "

Whilst in a lot of instances this is generally true I'm not so sure it's the case when the owner is Oracle. Every organisation I've worked at since leaving uni has balked at the fees Oracle charge. Ellison didn't get that yacht by being his customers' best buddy with a penchant for charity when it comes to licensing and support. Most would regard them as thieving bastards.

As for the language itself, given its maturity, I'm not sure big company ownership is required. There are plenty of major companies out there happy to use open source projects like the Apache web server, perl, python, and RHEL. Admittedly these won't be supported by forums (obviously in the case of RHEL) but ownership of the product isn't an issue either - you are free to choose your provider for Linux, Perl, Python etc.

As you say, its a dog on the client where C#/C++ will reign and how much more key work is needed on the server that, say, IBM or the like wouldn't do to fulfill their own needs and pass on much like Red Hat contribute to linux?

Prices?

I though Goldies set the prices on the stock exchange?

Certainly more persistant than I

I'd have moved house long ago. Perhaps FTTC will help when it arrives in his area around 2050?

What's more

They see sticking ATMs on a normal corporate network as "convenient" rather than "a f*cking great security breach just itching to happen".

How about that?

The novelty of football hooligans pretty much transporting themselves to the labour camps before having a fight. Good way to save on policing costs.

@Paul Durrent: A lot less I would hope

When people don't really have a choice - I doubt the majority know how to/can be arsed using time-shifted versus realtime viewing - you can really stick it up them. When you have to tempt them in the face of bittorrent availability pricing *should be* more competitive. Brits get rooted, rest of us can pick and choose.

Is a valid point

What constitutes it can make a massive difference and it would be interesting to know the threshold and whether it's download only or if upload counts.

Also some geographically challenged countries like Australia are not as challenged as you first think. Certainly they're screwed when it comes to the upper end of the stats (getting 90, 95+% etc) onto something but to get a boost over the UK it is remarkably easy due to the concentration of the population in a few municipal centres. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth make up 50% of the population as at the 2006 census.

Getting good superfast broadband availability then becomes much easy for the early part of the rollout hence having a better score than the UK. Also these centres are pretty well covered by Foxtel cable network giving availability of 17MB/1MB cable broadband (minimum speed) with up to 30/1 speeds. Price is not so good at the moment. It's come down to around GBP 44/month for a 50GB cap at present. Not sure how this compares.

Filter fail

Of course it won't work but politicians never let facts get in the way of a popularity contest or soundbite. This sort of behaviour is exactly what I hated about the last Government. Let the public know that nothing is their fault and that big buddy Government will shield you from all the nastiness and all you do is create a nation of contemptibly stupid mollycoddled dickheads - not the majority but a very vocal "I know my rights" minority. We've all encountered them. It's about time some of these idiots were given a bit of education about parenting rather than having their ineptitude pandered to. If they want to bring in legislation how about something along the lines of "before you get an internet connection you'll need to have gotten a clue else use the library"?

@AC

Apart from the decision being that he isn't an employee therefore this should be a small boost for contractors. Hence HMRC should probably just STFU and move on.

Re:Cheaper ink

The other issue you get with cheaper ink is that when you don't use the manufacturer branded paper (kodak is a good alternative as they tell you how to adjust the print settings) and ink and you print out photos you'll find it pretty hard to get a good colour match without calibrating the device which is beyond the capability of a lot of users. Random chance may get you there but likely the prints will look a touch shitty - I speak from personal experience. So whilst they are robbing you they are also guaranteeing you some kind of output quality.

I'm thinking

misappropriation of taxpayer funds would be a good starting point.

Out of interest

Why do you use Tornados rather than Eurofighters? We paid enough for them, at least get the bastards out of the hangars.

Another point

What are the servicing costs and intervals like on these things compared with a standard petrol or diesel? No point saving on fuel to just piss it all away in servicing costs. No road tax is nice though but I think my olds manage that with their diesel.

dude!

"I currently have more than 10 laptops all less than 3 years old, ranging from several 15" desktop replacement models, to a few 13" ultramobiles, a 12" ultraportable wannabe, and a 9" netbook"

You either need to read more product reviews or try before you buy unless you run a company with about 5+ staff.

Not quite

Whether he has the money or not is quite important as the justice system needs to work within the confines of the law it supposedly enforces - it is not proportionate to try to force someone to pay back that which they have pissed up the wall. Where the burden of proof lay is a different argument. It's all crap anyway as if he got 15 years originally the 9 would be concurrent.

don't agree with the logic

"public sector workers are under the same constraints as private sector, the bosses really don't like finding a big hole made in their budgets because an employee has done something they shouldn't have"

A whole doesn't get made in the budget because they have some form of revenue raising power which they then use to fill the shortfall.

Personal accountability is much more effective. In private sector you'd probably get the boot, does that ever happen in the public sector without a large "their-their petal" pay-off?

Agreed

I certainly won't be buying one until my current HD TV needs replacing and they're all there is in the shops. Tried a demo of a pricey Panasonic one the other day and just found it nauseating. Give me a decent picture and accompanying plot over some pointless nausea inducing latest-fad crud anytime.

@Mike Richards

1. Cleaners - they simply outsource cleaning to someone that employs illegal immigrants or people that will live x-to-a-room (as has been stated).

2. Rent Control - rents have been rising because so have house prices and hence the mortgages required to pay for them. As a rough guide work out the repayment for the LTV percentage of the property price that does not attract an indemnity/insurance fee at the prevailing market lending rate. i.e. repayment on 80% of 300,000 at market rate of x% is Y. This (Y) is pretty much what you'll be looking at rents being. Obviously deviations occur in areas of high or low supply but it should approximate. Rent control is also state interference in markets and that level of meddling doesn't tend to go too well. You could of course not sell off all of the public housing in the first place and then you don't have to pay market related rents because you own the things.