Posts by David Jackson 1

Re: Well that was unfortunate.

https://www.gov.uk/dismissal/unfair-and-constructive-dismissal

This explains what you cannot be dismissed for. It's a long list.

Re: UK Crayon Departments are just as bad

Ferrovie Federali Svizzere? That the first thing I though of (as in SBB-CFF-FFS).

Re: Ah IT 'managers'

Technical knowledge is absolutely essential I would say. "Never manage anyone whose job you couldn't do" would be an excellent motto for a manager. That's not to say the manager actually needs to do the work, but he can't manage effectively if he or she couldn't do so if required.

Re: Not so obvious

Indeed, as did some Archimedes mice. Both my Risc PCs are in the attic, but I think I still have at least one mouse of that sort.

Re: "the cost of which would be automatically taken from their wages"

True, but if I work through my lunch hour and doing so is authorised, I get paid overtime.

Obviously, if I work through my lunch break and I'm neither going to be paid overtime, nor get time back in lieu, then I'm an idiot (and my employer would not expect me to do either of those anyway).

<quote> Pling was common in the 1980s ISTR. I think I first came across it when Acorn-types needed a quicker way to pronounce the indirection operator ("?" was used for bytes, "!" for 16 bits IIRC) and started using "query" for "question mark"." </quote>

Pling was 32bits on the BBC Micro and later on Risc OS. Since integers were 32 bits you could do things like

DIM fred 16

!fred = 100

fred!4 = 200

fred!8 = !fred + fred!4

B% = fred!8

PRINT B%

etc as I recall.

Re: Lack of integrated email/contacts/calendar?

Like many people, I have the misfortune to work with Office 2013 and SharePoint. Office 2013 is a load of rubbish compared to earlier versions and I'd never willingly use it. SharePoint is largely pointless and a waste of time. I hope there is better software around (Office 2000 isn't bad), but even if there isn't, Office 2013 and SharePoint are truly dreadful tools to work with.

Re: Simplest solution to XP diehards

But why would anyone want to upgrade (if that's the word) to Windows 7 or later? I have the misfortune to have to use Windows 7 at work. Fortunately, there are still some proper machines with XP around. It's much nicer to work with than Windows 7. If we must have a newer version of Windows, why can't we have one that looks like XP but with the bugs fixed?

Re: @Tim Almond

"Actually, that makes me wonder. Maybe it's because the work of journalists and analysts CAN be done on fondleslabs"

Oh dear! Don't they do any real work then? I do sometimes have to work on machines with touch screens, but fortunately, they can and do have a keyboard and mouse attached to make them actually usable.

Re: Anecdote doesn't beat evidence

I do not want to buy from any company which relies on 'data' and not on 'listening'. If I know a company works that way, I will avoid it if at all possible. Almost invariably, the so called 'data' is not so much wrong as misleading. Any company which does not have good, trained managers actually on site and listening and observing what it going on and passing that information upwards in a way which actually get the information to the top (and people at the top who actually get out and find out what actually happens 'on the shop floor', does not deserve to succeed. Of course 'data' is not to be ignored completely, but it is human interaction and real knowledge of a business at the human level, not just data which leads to success.

Re: Didn't this happen with Windows 95?

The Ribbon is an abomination. Sadly, it's hard to get Office 2003 now.

Re: Virtual Memory confusion

Indeed there wasn't virtual memory built in, but you could buy Virtualise, which provided virtual memory for Dynamic Areas, which were a feature of RISC OS 3.5 and above.

Re: Please kill Metro, or at least allow it to be completely disabled

That's a pity. Generally, the really important changes between Windows version have been invisible; i.e. they are not inprovements to the GUI, although there may be some, but improvements in the performance, robustness and security of the system, plus support for new types of peripheral. Without these, there is no real point in having a new version.

Re: Another thought...or another angle on this

While there obviously are people who use toys like the iPad and the like, there is no substitute for a real PC for most people. Trying to get people to abandon real computing is not a sensible option. Moving to tablets etc is very much a move backwards and not something to be encouraged, although for some people having a tablet in addition to a real computer may be a sensible option.

Re: Doesn't work on IE8

Yes, I've just found that. Since I have no intention of ever 'upgrading' to IE9 (I have the misfortune to have to use it at work, so know never to install it at home), I'll not bother with this site. I could use an alternative to IE8, but a site which cares which browser I'm using is probably not run by sensible people and so is probably not worth visiting.