Posts by Uberior

Re: "The Atari ST was a total non-entity"

I loved my Atari ST. It was £299 and is still in my parent's loft. Upgraded to 2.5Mb, double sided internal drive, double sided external drive, and a staggering 10Mb external hard drive.

Using Microsoft Word (yes for the Atari ST) and Degas Elite for artwork along with a bizarre hand held scanner, at least 4 issues of our school magazine was prepared on my home computer way back in 1988/89 - the BBC, Mac or PC just did not have the same options for gaming as well as sensible stuff at a reasonable price for the home.

As I run off a few copies of a document on my colour laser printer here, it's a good reminder that in order to get basic economical colour printing in 1988 at school, we had to print the document on my Star LC10 with a high-carbon content ribbon, then use a thermal copier to transfer those prints onto ink-duplicator sheets, then a separate sheet and run through the ink-duplicator for each colour we wanted to use.

Re: I feel you are vindicated as well

At a meeting with the internal audit team of my (former) FTSE100 employers I was frisked for recording devices at the start of the meeting. I had to leave my mobile outside and telephones were unplugged from wall sockets as was the videoconferencing unit and the room thoroughly searched including floor boxes, decorative vases and they looked above a number of suspended ceiling tiles.

They didn't take a second look at the re-engineered "running man" emergency exit sign that a "contractor" had installed in the meeting room the previous day.

Fortunately it clearly recorded everything from the bizarre or intimidating depending on your view searches at the start of the meeting, along with the thumping of the desk, raised voices and fist being waved at my face whilst the individual who was taking minutes was deliberately looking away...

Re: What about the manifestations?

Blend some egg and smear it on.

It can be a pest to remove from glass once dried.

Re: A great shame, but probably inevitable.

On Easter Sunday at 7am last year, my 3 year old niece came bounding into my bedroom with her Ipad to tell me that the WiFi was broken and I needed to fix it. On investigation, the router lights were all off with a vague odour of burnt-out capacitor.

Being England, rather than a civilised country like Scotland, I knew nothing would be allowed to open. But after a quick check, I found that... Argos "Fast Track" delivery was open as usual. So at 07:15, I placed an order, at 08:00 I had a call from the delivery driver to say he was on his way and at 08:15 I had a brand new router in my hand - all for £3.95 extra.

The funny thing is, (almost) everyone over the age of 65 has a government issued photo ID - it's called a "free bus pass". Just think how much better boarding a bus would be if the old dear didn't have to faff around in her handbag and could just touch a finger on the reader...

The eventual DNA scanning thing could get interesting. Imagine how non-binary groups will react if their DNA betrays their presentation.

Re: 60 calls a person

Just play the wildcard game.

Anything that starts 44

Anything that starts 0203, 08, 0161, or any dialing code in Wales.

It pretty much covers most of the phone spam.

Re: How about....

Ah, but it does matter.

The call handlers were acting as the firm's agents. Even though the law dates back to the late 19th centure (with various revisions), it's still very relevant today.

For a while I was being spammed by emails inviting me to "improve my credit history" by taking out a high-interest credit card from several of the banks that focus on the sub-prime market. The mail was being generated by a third party mailing house "not directly from the advertiser"

The complaint bounced between the ICO and Financial Ombudsman. Until the ICO confirmed that the banks, when they engaged their agent, should have undertaken due diligence that I had given clear consent to receiving these details. I accepted £1000 from each of them for my distress at being targeted for a sub-prime credit card, and a further £1000 when one bank's agent started emailing me again 13 months later.

Re: ICO angle

Royal Mail have a legal obligation to deliver the mail to where it is addressed, it might not be yours, but it's been delivered to the correct place.

The ICO issue is with the sub-prime health centre staff. Once a few of them are taken through the courts individually and fined for breaches concerning clinical correspondence, it might encourage GPs and their staff to take more care.