* Posts by Dog Faced Boy

33 publicly visible posts • joined 26 Nov 2010

Bill Gates: Corporate tax is not a moral issue

Dog Faced Boy

What incentive can we give?

The incentive is that they can still profit from the populace, just not as much. Take Starbucks, if they were forced to cease all operations in the UK unless they paid their full tax, rather than use loopholes for tax avoidance, do you think Starbucks would allow all there stores to be closed when there is still a profit to be made?

Probably not, I am sure they would comply. If on the other hand they refused to pay the proper amount of tax and were happy for their stores to close, then this service would be provided by UK businesses, from entrepreneurs to large businesses, as it is a commercially viable service.

UK cookie law compliance takes effect today

Dog Faced Boy

Re: Problem exists between keyboard and chair...

Totally agree, and soon someone will come along and exploit it.

It minds me when less tech savvy people realised that you just need to click next to install software, and then they started bundling in toolbars with the software installation.

The amount of PCs I've had to repair for people with dodgy toolbars or unwanted toolbars, just because they didn't read the text before clicking next.

Dole office to roll out digital benefits to north-west – 6 months early

Dog Faced Boy

@AnonCoward:

Do you actually know how much people are paid on benefits? On average it is £70 per week for a single person over the age 25, living on their own.

This is £280 per month, utilities (gas & electric) will roughly be £20-£30 per week, so £80 - £120 per month, so for the sake of argument we will round utilities down to £100 per month.

You now have £180 per month to survive on, but you still have to pay some council tax, in my area it will roughly be £25 per month on average. So now your monthly figure has dropped to £155 to survive on, which gives you £38.75 per week.

You need to buy your food on this money, so usually cheap foods, beans, noodles, etc. Miss out breakfast, lunch and supper. 7 main meals a week and you may have £10-£20 left spare for yourself, if you're lucky.

Some of the money will be used to buy the cheapest clothes from charity shops, but usually you wear your clothes until they are threadbare. Other parts of the money is spent on public transport, to and from appointments.

Too skint, to have a telephone, internet, decent clothes (for interviews), and if you are lucky to be offered a job, you may have to wait up to 6 weeks before being paid, therefore that £20 has to be stretched to cover your daily transport costs, food, heating and other bills, just not possible, and in an area with mass deprivation, it is likely everybody is just as skint as you, so you cannot rely on friends or family financially to bail you out until the first pay packet.

Being on benefits is not an easy ride, as some think it is. Anyone who thinks living of the benefits system is easy, they should try it for a change, walk a mile in another persons shoes. I can guarantee you will not like it.

Dog Faced Boy

Re: For the AC...

Just to add to your post, when you accept a job, you could be waiting for 4-6 weeks before you see your first pay, therefore you have to work out how you can support yourself during this time, which you will be required to pay full rent, poll tax, travel to and from work, as well as essentials (food, electricity and heating).

For some it is not possible to move into employment from benefits. I was on the dole for several years, and what actually helped get me out of the benefits trap was that I luckily found an employer that paid weekly.

Friends fooled by Facebook Timeline 'removal tool' scams

Dog Faced Boy

Facebook security a joke

I hate Facebook, but run a community page so I have to maintain an account on the site.

At least every second time I login into Facebook, I see obvious scam postings supposedly made by friends (ie they've accepted a dodgy app that posts on their behalf). I find my time is split equally on Facebook into managing the fan page, and telling friends they've falling for a scam.

The worst thing, is that even though they listen and realise it is a scam, a couple of weeks later the same people for the latest scam app doing the rounds on Facebook.

One friend had accepted an app which posted on their wall every hour or so, and on the walls of their friends. You couldn't delete the app from your profile and a few friends had fell for it. It took Facebook several months before they addressed the issue, even though it was reported to Fb repeatedly, provided screenshots of the app, providing technical details, etc. Facebook did not respond to anyone and allowed it too happen.

I personally think they ignore all the scams, until a scam has reached a threshhold of complaints, it could be a 1000 complaints, 10,000, 100,000 etc. Who knows, Facebook will never tell.

Dog Faced Boy

Re: sites or ads?

It will more likely be a 3rd party app that you have to give permission to access your personal data (which also slurps friends data if they haven't set their security permissions correctly).

The first person that accepts the app, then gives the app permission to make posts on their behalf which starts to send spam on all their friends walls, continuing the cycle.

Child support IT fail: Deadbeat mums 'n' dads off the hook

Dog Faced Boy

Re: Moose

What about single dads that do not get any support from the ex? There is many negligent females out there as there is males, it is just that the media automatically assume and reinforce the stereotype that there is only single mums in the UK.

Only global poverty can save the planet, insists WWF - and the ESA!

Dog Faced Boy

Re: Where does the money come from?

I haven't read through all the comments as yet, so apologies if this has already been mentioned. Some of the answers to your questions can be found at: http://www.undueinfluence.com/wwf.htm

They are a very big corporation with very healthy salaries for CEOs. I'm assuming the report which wants us to all live in poverty, will exclude WWF high earners, so they can continue to enjoy their lavish lifestyles at the expense of others.

Standing NEXT to an HTML coder is like standing NEXT TO GOD

Dog Faced Boy

Re: MLF Evaluation

That was my first thought as well

Go Daddy spokes-totty: I'm on the elephants' side

Dog Faced Boy

@AC

There was a few pics with trainers holding electric cattle prods against the skin of the elephant, no discharge of electric could be seen though, but if they have the tools, they are intending to use them

Popstar hackers snaffle Lady GaGa fans' email addresses

Dog Faced Boy
Pint

@Peter Murphy

Have a pint for your good taste in music ;)

'Wilful blindness? We've heard of it,' says Murdoch

Dog Faced Boy
Pint

scapegoat

Rebekah Brooks is getting hung out to dry. I wonder if they have paid her to take a fall, or if she will fight back and reveal who was really involved.

@El Reg: where's the popcorn icon? Never mind a beer will do ;)

Creationists are infiltrating US geology circles

Dog Faced Boy

As Bill Hicks said

“You ever noticed how people who believe in Creationism look really unevolved? You ever noticed that? Eyes real close together, eyebrow ridges, big furry hands and feet. "I believe God created me in one day" Yeah, looks like He rushed it.”

Taxman recruits fricking tax-collecting robots

Dog Faced Boy
FAIL

Apart from E-bay....

this sounds like they will be targeting individuals that have created their own online site to sell goods, etc. So I am wondering will this crawler respect the robots.txt file or completely ignore it, and for the case of individuals running their own sites they should be able to block it from accessing their site and thus render the crawler ineffectual.

As for E-bay, HMRC have been targeting and crawling that site for years

BP loses personal details on spill victims

Dog Faced Boy
FAIL

Tracking Software?!?

What amazes me is that there is plenty of paid for and free solutions that will allow you to install software on your computer and monitor its location form any computer that can connect to the internet.

As soon as the person who stole the laptop connects it online, the laptop will call home, if the laptop has a camera, pictures will also be taken. You can then retrieve this info for the police by logging into an online account which will store the data (location and images)

Google faces possible antitrust probes in two other states

Dog Faced Boy

Yep, they do

They scan every incoming email and create a list of keywords contained in the email to deliver the relevant ads. It wouldn't surprise me if they also retain that data and compare keywords against keywords from other emails to refine your interests.

TalkTalk silenced over anti-BT comparison

Dog Faced Boy

@Almo

Yep Plusnet is owned by BT. I'm a Plusnet customer but what I find funny is that I get better support from Plusnet than what I ever did with BT and their service is cheaper with less problems than BT.

I think Plusnet are treated as a seperate company, apart from when legalities are concerned (such as the ACSLaw debacle)

Sheep as smart as humans: Official

Dog Faced Boy

the sheep.....

....are on the rise http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn-KXNcpyt0

One-third of Aussies 'are pirates'

Dog Faced Boy

@Jim_2

I have to agree but would also add that piracy increases sales. From my own personal viewpoint, I have discovered more music through piracy, but any group I am into, I always prefer to have the original, as you get the extras (better quality music, sleevenotes, etc.) before I had broadband my music budget was low as I didn't want to risk my money on unknown bands.

Since downloading music, I have discovered more talented groups, and went out and bought their music. Piracy for me is a try before you buy. Some groups I have downloaded, and they are absolute tosh, so I'm glad I didn't waste the £10-£15 for their album, and their music doesn't stay long on my machine.

Also being a bit of an oldie, I had a lot of groups on vinyl, then upgraded those groups to CD, so the music industry made double the money out of me, and they continue to make even more profit out of me, as I discover more bands through piracy that I like and then buy the original.

Some pirates will never pay for what they download, but take away there ability to download and they still wouldn't pay anyway. Some studies have shown that most pirates spend more on DVDs and CDs than people whjo don't download. TorrentFreak is a good resource for a lot of info on the torrent scene and decent studies, not just studies backed by the MAFIAA

The Social Network scoops four Golden Globes

Dog Faced Boy
FAIL

Film devoid of facts

The film completely glossed over and omitted certain key points of the development of Facebook, such as Mark hacking into Facebook users accounts when the site will still in it's infancy.

The film did make Zucker look an ass, but not as big an ass, he seems to be, if all the Facebook expose articles are true.

Mozilla blocks Firefox-breaking Skype toolbar

Dog Faced Boy

re: toolbar madness

I feel it is the user that suffers from idiocy and that developers don't care that you are losing part of your viewing screen. I recently fixed a laptop with a 15.6" monitor that was running 6 toolbars. They only had half the screen for viewing the internet.

I personally wanted to remove them but the person insisted they stayed (apart from the one toolbar that was malicious and giving her the viruses).

Knowing the person, I reckon the next time I will be fixing their laptop, there will be even more toolbars installed. Some people just dont have a clue

National Identity Card holding chumps have buyer's remorse

Dog Faced Boy

Its about Privacy rights, not travel convenience

So, basically NFH, people should give up their right to privacy from the state so you can live and move around in another country more conveniently.?

Pirate Bay mouthpiece disses Assange's legal wrangles

Dog Faced Boy

Sweden to US

Why should he return to Sweden, as the Swedish authorities have already hinted that if he returns the Americans call for extradition will take first priority. If he has committed the crime he should face punishment, but I suspect as soon as they get him in Sweden, he will be taking a trip to the US.

UK domain registry breaks 9 million

Dog Faced Boy

Nominet renewal costs.

What I dont get about Nominet is that I can buy a .co.uk for around £7 for 2 years, when renewing through the site I bought the domain, the price is roughly the same but before the renewal is due, Nominet writes me a letter saying they can renew the domain name for £80.00

So why do Nominet try to charge such a high payment for domain renewals? Needless to say I have never renewed a domain through Nominet.

Scientologist overlord declares victory over Anonymous

Dog Faced Boy

Watch the Panoroama doc

Anyone that missed the panorama documentary "Scientology and Me" can watch the full version at: http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/educational/watch/v155829886QJ8WKAk

Beeb ordered to release TV licensing contract sweeteners

Dog Faced Boy

tv flicker

I used to know a TV Licensing agent, and he said that they caught most invaders by doing their rounds at night as they could spot the TV flicker from outside, he would then go to the door and claim that their "technology" detected a TV signal on the premises.

Facebook trains self to recognize your face

Dog Faced Boy

The title is required, and must contain letters and/or digits.

"Do you imagine they are not already trawling FB for information about those they are interested in?"

I used to work for a charity working with socially excluded individuals, the aim was to engage with youths to try and divert them away from crime and the courts, so I was in regular contact with the police, social workers, etc.

All these agencies had fake accounts on Bebo, MySpace, etc (it was before Facebook) so I am assuming they will now have Facebook accounts as well, with the main aim to spy on people that have came to their attention and also spot criminal activity.

Also I recently watched a BBC documentary on cannabis, and what was interesting was that the police force featured was using Google Street View to spot potential Cannabis growers.

They were marking out houses that had their curtains drawn during daytime and checking to see if condensation was on the windows. Apparently these 2 criteria marked houses as potential cannabis farms worth investigating.

Brussels quizzes UK on school kiddyprinting

Dog Faced Boy

Conditioning kids?

When the government wished to introduce ID cards into our system it wasn't very popular, and during this time I was a follower of the No2ID website which reported fingerprinting in schools (as well as other invasive measures) and in my opinion, the scheme was nothing to do with reducing school costs or stopping bullies.

My take was that if they cannot implement ID Cards now, why not introduce an ID system to kids, so they will be brainwashed to the system from an early age, so by the time they are adults, when ID cards are reintroduced, these adults will be so conditioned to biometric ID schemes that they will not put up a fight against the ID card and will see nothing wrong with it.

ID cards may be defeated for now, but they will resurface again. People mistakenly think the government takes a short view on things (and in some cases they do), but it is important to note that certain issues definitely get the long view treatment.

As an example of the long view, our local authority has implemented a regeneration plan for the local area that will finally be completed in 2065. The government will also have some very long term plans, and conditioning children at an early age to ID schemes and biometric schemes, could be one of them.

Sheriff's Department database leak puts snitches at risk

Dog Faced Boy
WTF?

fail

I can't believe that this data was accessible from April to November before someone caught on. Surely common sense dictates that any database containing sensitive data should be checked for integrity and security on a regular basis?

Walmart falls in with Washington's war on terror

Dog Faced Boy
Thumb Down

Control by Fear

So the US.gov have finally found another avenue to control it's citizens through the spread of fear, not content in controlling your media, censoring the internet, arresting those that do not follow the official line, etc. Soon I fear that where the US leads the UK will soon follow like a loyal lapdog.

"The actual danger to the population posed by insurgent operations, notably terrorist tactics, is often far lower than the perceived danger." - Counterinsurgency Operations manual prepared under the direction of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, October 5, 2009

"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed - and hence clamorous to be led to safety - and menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." - H.L. Mencken

Stuxnet code leak to cause CYBER-APOCALYPSE NOW!

Dog Faced Boy
FAIL

you could shut down the transport network across the United Kingdom

That comment made me laugh, where I'm from the local transport network cannot even manage regular transport on only one route every 30 minutes (it's more of an hourly service, give or take another 10-20mins on top of that).

Some of the comments on the Sky article are hilarious especially the one about planes falling from the sky, life support machines turning off, and EVERTHING failing (their capitals not mine), almost tempted to go trolling :D

Google to scrub slurped UK Wi-Fi data

Dog Faced Boy
Thumb Down

need a title

A council gets a £100,000 fine yet Google gets a a simple tut-tut and don't do it again, and ACS Law is still operating with no decision made against them (yet). Just doesn't make any sense IMO

Anti-piracy lawyers 'knowingly targeted the innocent', says law body

Dog Faced Boy
Thumb Up

@bernard

British law firm Ralli are looking to take action against ACS Law - http://www.ralli.co.uk/news/recipients-of-acs-law-copyright-infringement-letters-urged-to-come-forward&archive=

"It can be incredibly upsetting for people to receive such letters and they may well have a claim for harassment against acs law so I am urging them to come forward."