Posts by Gavin McMenemy

And they are trying to cap your data usage too ...

Platform Independent

I've worked in IT for 20ish years now. I've never had a problem with my Windows laptops that weren't down to me thrashing the OS to hell and back. Hardware-wise they've all been fine. I had a desktpo PSU blow on me once (like the guy above) but that got a warranty replacement. I've worked with Macs too. They're solid machines and in fact I've no problem with them either... I've never really understood the carping from either camp. Shrug.

Dabbsy,

I don't know if we've been watching the same show or now.

I find it hard to define the "hero" of Mr Robot as an attractive young man, given that:

He has serious personality disorder issues that make it hard for him to deal with both reality and other people.

He doesn't live in what I would term an attractive flat (and it's in fact fairly squalid...)

He's a junky

And in fact he's pretty far away from what you would call a punky go-getting young man hacker that you describe.

There are plenty of scenes of him doing nothing but hunch over a keyboard typing (without bing boop noises).

I take your point about him being zit free though.

ps. It's a drama not a documentary. You have to give it some latitude.

After all that expensive IT training ...

After all that expensive IT training. All that time implementing and designing networks I have probably spent the most time helping colleagues "fix" their Word docs.

Whether it's understanding why a page has broken here...

"Or why all those extra blank pages are appearing... Maybe we need to put in a landscape page here... but keep the table on one page.

Hang on what do all these multicoloured boxes mean (track changes). And why has the style changed inexplicably, why is this bullet list all numbered wrong."

I have spent a LOT of time helping people with Word.

Don't get me wrong. I actually don't think Word is that bad (yes I did just type that) but the problems are: there are tons of ways of achieving the end goal but no one wants to train the end user how to make the best use of Word. And if you suggest some extra training you are often stared at blankly and told "But I know how to use Word". Though the truth is that we just spent some significant time fixing THAT document.

(and yes I still don't think it's their fault)

I gave up as soon as I saw the oily man giving his best sales pitch on the stage. Good tech, terrible presentation.

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this but...

I find it ironic that the memex has been mentioned in an thread about steampunk given Charlie's well documented disdain for the "genre".

This isn't a new idea. I've seen this before.

He's got a point....

When you interact with publishers (or those acting for publishers) invariably they ask for for .doc format.

And that's a right pain in the bum these days.

However I quite like Scrivener. Write your doc and when you need to send it somewhere it will export a perfectly good .doc if required (although I keep a copy of Office to proof it on ... just in case).

I wonder when they'll finally get rid of the feudal element of the oath too.

Hm. Good luck to them... I just wish we had more decent single player games.

Finally.

Non standard cables has been a longstanding bugbear of mine. Well done EU!

Since they changed the domain I've not had as much fun on www.ExpertSexChange.com.

Sizable fine? £75k?

I don't think, in banking terms, that £75k is a sizable fine. Especially where customer details are involved.

I've paid in

And now I want my ball themed mug.

I hope to have lots of special moments in the office as I walk around telling everyone how hot my balls are in my hand.

They work for you

So I have a suggestion - start writing to your local self serving representatives. It doesn't matter whether they are toeing the party line or not - get writing. Eventually if enough people start making a big enough fuss then your MPs are going to have to start paying attention because they will realise their jobs are theoretically on the line. Hand wringing and venting on sites isn't doing something about it.

I do agree that this is a daft idea. I have already started letter writing to my local MP and sundry representatives.

Is this not a joke?

It reads like a joke. It sounds like a joke. It even looks like a joke.

Surely the whole thing is a joke?

"... close the knowledge gap."

That's a phrase which causes me to invoke the "one channel up" hand TV control gesture. It's such a fine piece of management-speak that we should salute it appropriately.

Aren't most CVs full of cobblers?

Right so... Zardoz?

I know SF author Gary Gibson says its reputation needs rehabilitated but... Zardoz... over Silent Running...

More egregiously... No STALKER?

And you have Close Encounters on there... Whut?

I thought this was a hardcore list?

Other than that it's not a bad list.

I'd also chip in Strange Days.

If you like Gattaca then check out Code 46. It's great.

Also if you haven't seen it yet Robot and Frank is *brilliant*. Funny, moving AND thought provoking. Seriously this film packs a lot in on zero budget and a short running time.

Hm.

"This contrasts with the public, which consistently calls for stiffer penalties for digital rights infringement when it's asked."

This particular line really struck me.

The public doesn't know what it wants.

Ask someone who the pirate is and they will tell you it's someone else ... then turn back to their torrent site and download MP3s because... After all they only do it occasionally so where's the harm in that?

This attitude - which is perfectly normal - effectively undermines your statement. The vast majority of people are incapable of seeing the wider picture.

Is widespread copyright infringement an issue? Without a doubt yes especially if you are a small time (yet popular) writer/musician or whatever.

Although the entertainment industry has upped it's game it is STILL lagging behind what the consumer wants. Why is my selection on Netflix different to the US subscriber? Why is it that we still see geographically staggered film distribution? It's all facepalming stuff. Remove those barriers, do the job properly and people will pirate less.

The problem isn't sticks it's carrots. Like it or not.

Weirdly I'd forgotten how good looking Carrie Fisher was back in the day... I just looked up some pics for research purposes!

Whoa wait a minute. Didn't the Daleks need these power strips at first!

I agree with everyone here (including those pointing out that it's coming with a shutter).

Putt aside 1984 for a moment it does also remind me of the TV service Stand on Zanzibar...

... no, not a good thing. Count me out.

Reg is a bit late to the party. This has been reported widely for the last few days.

House of Cards?

Isn't this just a "remake" of the original Richardson House of Cards?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Cards_%28UK_TV_series%29

Oh yes ... it is.

So I couldn't possibly comment.

It was very interesting reading about Word but ...

I actually use Scrivener. Admittedly I wouldn't roll this out around the company but I find I can do just anything I ever wanted to do with it.

I know it's a bit of a left field suggestion for some people now that I've switched I'm very happy. And it's comparatively cheap.

As for the whole Office suite question.

In my company we're being more-or-less forced to upgrade from Office 2003 now because of document compatibility issues with clients. It's frustrating - especially as the staff do not have the technical expertise to understand what is going on.

There's no way we would roll out an Open Office solution to the people here. They just wouldn't cope. I've never found a satisfactory way to rejig a flavour of OO so that it 'looked and behaved" like MS Office - if anyone has a suggestion I'd be pleased to hear it.