This is not a "Windows vs Linux" thing. These are highly specialized data networks designed specifically for aircraft. The typical running life of a big jet is some 40 years or more - the idea of a consumer O/S such as Windows (or even Linux) being suitable for such a situation is simply stupid. Everything is coded in firmware, micro-processor based, with a likelyhood of actually crashing accidentally being somewhat less likely than getting struck by lightning on a sunny day while sitting in the cellar of your 4-story house. A current commercial widebody from the same company uses a Windows based network for some of its onboard cabin systems and either Unix or Linux for other systems closely related to vital aircraft functions. The operating systems might be modified, but the underlying code is still there. As for "everything is coded in firmware", well, yes it is, but as with all firmware, it has to be loaded and updated from time to time. Many complex Line Replaceable Units on a modern aircraft require software load on install, sometimes by crossloading from another identical onboard unit already fitted, or from a disc.
That they trusted a third-party courier instead of delivering it by hand. Umm... if you listen to Alistair Darling's statement to the Commons, he actually said they posted them, which implies that they entrusted the discs to the normal Post Office delivery, rather than a courier. Not only that, but when the missing discs didn't arrive, the same department then posted another pair... I just wish they'd be so careless when working out my tax bill.
Also, much made of the opportunity to clean out bank accounts of the parents with this info, nothing been said so far AFAIK about the endless possibilities for future identity theft, as the names and details of practically every child in the UK, including those over 16 in full time education were apparently on those discs.
Hmm... well, firstly the use of robots in warehouse situations is not new, and secondly, having experienced robotic storeman behaviour a few years ago, I wouldn't just write off humans in the logistics chain just yet. I remember on one occasion ordering a particular component at a state of the art warehousing facility. I ordered the component through the human storeman, and definitely saw the number "ONE" in the screen quantity box. I then watched as the little robotic trolley went off in search of it among the racks and shelving. About five minutes later, the little trolley returned, and dumped into the "OUT" tray not one but seven components, which turned out to be the entire stock of that part. Which just left the human storekeeper the task of returning to stock the (expensive) six unwanted items, which of course the computerized stock keeping system would no longer recognize because as far as it was concerned they had been issued.
That said, that was obviously early days, and inevitably the system improved with time and( a great deal of) money being spent on it.
Interesting that the supposedly corrupt (see previous Slashdot posts on this subject) Nigerians stepped in to sort things out, while the scrupously clean US authorities made no effort to speak up. Why would they, you ask? After all, MS might be a US company, but the business was being done in a foreign country. Well, for starters, when you set yourself up as the moral high ground, it shouldn't matter if keeping that high ground involves disadvantaging a US company.
Take a long hard look at the US DoJ, which has turned a blind eye to this sort of behaviour by US corporations, and yet becomes strangely enthusiastic about rooting out corruption when the skulduggery involves foreign competition. Witness their determination to expose the truth about the BAE arms sales tactics to Saudi Arabia, and the fines imposed on British Airways for fuel surcharge price fixing. The DoJ spokesman at the press briefing in the BA case was so eager to impose a multi million dollar fine against a non-US competitor, er, I mean was so eager to see justice done, that he even managed to get the company name wrong. No mean achievement when you realise it simply involved remembering two words in sequence.
You forgot to add that when pushing IE7 as a critical update still didn't stop FF growth, for some unfathomable reason they then removed the validation check from IE7. I say unfathomable because obviously with all the careful research and development that has gone into making Genuine Windows a better deal for customers, there's obviously no way they would condone piracy just to gain market share.
I quickly got sick of having to click "OK" on 3 different security validation popups every time I'd want to run a program. Not being a Vista user, I am puzzled at how MS seemed to have got the UAC feature so wrong, given the length of time they spent developing it.
Quite seriously, and no fanboiism intended, the security model of signing in as root in Linux to make system wide changes works with a minimum of disruption. Clearly, MS had the opportunity to introduce a similar thing. After all, there are similarities with the Mac GUI and Vista which would indicate that MS learned from the competition. Why then, have they apparently got UAC so wrong?
Hmm... according to the BBC:
"However, Goldsmith advised fans facing such dilemmas to 'contact us and give us a justified explanation' in order to retain their tickets. "
So it isn't so cut and dried as it appears. I imagine that if you have a legitimate reason for a different name, then you will be OK. To be fair to the promoters, they did warn that anybody caught touting would lose their tickets, which in my opinion is far less than they deserve.
I recently spent two days trying to get tickets for a series of gigs on Ticketline. Even as I was applying, blocks of tickets for the same gigs were appearing at double the money on eBay.
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Hmm... well, firstly the use of robots in warehouse situations is not new, and secondly, having experienced robotic storeman behaviour a few years ago, I wouldn't just write off humans in the logistics chain just yet. I remember on one occasion ordering a particular component at a state of the art warehousing facility. I ordered the component through the human storeman, and definitely saw the number "ONE" in the screen quantity box. I then watched as the little robotic trolley went off in search of it among the racks and shelving. About five minutes later, the little trolley returned, and dumped into the "OUT" tray not one but seven components, which turned out to be the entire stock of that part. Which just left the human storekeeper the task of returning to stock the (expensive) six unwanted items, which of course the computerized stock keeping system would no longer recognize because as far as it was concerned they had been issued. That said, that was obviously early days, and inevitably the system improved with time and( a great deal of) money being spent on it.
Interesting that the supposedly corrupt (see previous Slashdot posts on this subject) Nigerians stepped in to sort things out, while the scrupously clean US authorities made no effort to speak up. Why would they, you ask? After all, MS might be a US company, but the business was being done in a foreign country. Well, for starters, when you set yourself up as the moral high ground, it shouldn't matter if keeping that high ground involves disadvantaging a US company.
Take a long hard look at the US DoJ, which has turned a blind eye to this sort of behaviour by US corporations, and yet becomes strangely enthusiastic about rooting out corruption when the skulduggery involves foreign competition. Witness their determination to expose the truth about the BAE arms sales tactics to Saudi Arabia, and the fines imposed on British Airways for fuel surcharge price fixing. The DoJ spokesman at the press briefing in the BA case was so eager to impose a multi million dollar fine against a non-US competitor, er, I mean was so eager to see justice done, that he even managed to get the company name wrong. No mean achievement when you realise it simply involved remembering two words in sequence.
You forgot to add that when pushing IE7 as a critical update still didn't stop FF growth, for some unfathomable reason they then removed the validation check from IE7. I say unfathomable because obviously with all the careful research and development that has gone into making Genuine Windows a better deal for customers, there's obviously no way they would condone piracy just to gain market share.
"Flying is so much safer than driving to the airport it is not even funny."
That isn't an argument that aviation is safe enough, that's an argument that driving isn't.
Hmm... according to the BBC: "However, Goldsmith advised fans facing such dilemmas to 'contact us and give us a justified explanation' in order to retain their tickets. " So it isn't so cut and dried as it appears. I imagine that if you have a legitimate reason for a different name, then you will be OK. To be fair to the promoters, they did warn that anybody caught touting would lose their tickets, which in my opinion is far less than they deserve. I recently spent two days trying to get tickets for a series of gigs on Ticketline. Even as I was applying, blocks of tickets for the same gigs were appearing at double the money on eBay.
*and* Vista? Yes, but sadly, only on Home Premium and above...