It's all very well to identify people at risk of falling but the issue isn't really that. Far more common that older people are in an oversized house that they have lived in for years and they are set in their ways and do not want to move
The BBC originally based their iPlayer software around windows media player and were heavily criticised at the time for using a solution that blocked non-windows platforms, including Apple, mobile and Linux. This was principally because they wanted to DRM all of the downloaded files in the interests of 'rights holders', i.e. BBC worldwide (their commercial arm). This includes automatically deleting files after a certain time from your computer amongst other things. They were ordered by the BBC commission (basically their governors) to come up with a cross-platform solution pronto and chose Flash as it covered a wide enough range of devices to get them off the hook in a hurry- bear in mind that iPlayer apps are also available for Windows Mobile; Symbian; Nintendo Wii; xBox 360; Sony PS3 etc. which can all use Flash. There have been third party solutions that made content accessible beautifully and they have all been removed due to pressure from the BBC due to 'concerns from rightsholders', i.e. sidestepping DRM. The issue is not with finding a cross-platform codec or software, the problem is the BBC wanting a cross-platform DRM in a diverse technology environment. This is why they are having to build and support all these different apps and are crapping it about Flash going away.
What about GCstar http://www.gcstar.org/ ? It is specifically a collection manager for things like books, comics and movies. I have a collection of 1500 movies indexed with it and it even lets you specify a location, e.g. your hard drives, from which to open the file. It is free and cross platform and I have used it successfully for several years. It would seem to cover all the criteria that you have listed
The elephant in the room here is the Hawala system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala) quicker, far cheaper, no accounts getting suspended- as reflects it's origins as a money transfer system designed to work in a hostile environment without regulatory authorities. And it does work, has worked for centuries. The only brake is the media scare stories on 'Islamic terrorist banking'...
No one seems to have considered the opposite- it's quite common to encounter shops with incredibly loud and tasteless music, clearly chosen by the bored staff. It seems to be generally clothing and shoe shops but my local supermarket has this too. I guess that there must be a whole generation over 30 who will never learn to appreciate 50 cent and Lady Gaga- I know that I try to reduce my own exposure to such 'unscheduled entertainments' as much as possible.
The article is hysterical and highly misleading. I cannot speak for the school supposedly using Mozart as a 'punishment' but I do live and travel in London. It is quite common here for classical music to be played at tube ('subway') station entrance halls. The choice of music is generally 19th century waltzes and military marches. The sound volume makes it noticeable but not unbearable- you can hold a conversation over it. It's not at every station but it isn't rare. It does seem to cut down on the beggars and general hecklers that you would otherwise encounter.
In the UK we have the Disability Discrimination Act (‘DDA’) ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disability_Discrimination_Act_1995 ) This requires that service providers do not provide a disabled person with a lesser degree of service than a person who is not disabled and that they make reasonable adjustments to facilitate this. Any public website based in the UK would be bound by this legislation. Cases are heard in a criminal court with a jury. Statute law does not define what constitutes a disability or a reasonable adjustment, the courts decide this on a case by case basis. A common prejudice is that people think of disabilities, first as someone in a wheelchair and maybe secondly of a blind person. A disability may in fact be mental, ‘invisible’ (e.g. epilepsy) or in fact any chronic condition that disables someone. The comment “Someone with no legs shouldn't sue Ford because it is hard to drive.” is not relevant because Ford do provide cars that may be driven by someone with no legs- certainly an automatic with hand controls is available in the UK. The linked article specifically mentions ‘World of Warcraft’ which for the terms of the DDA is a web-based business operating in the UK. There is a very clear precedent here with Odeon Cinemas (a UK chain) not providing a website that was accessible with alternative browsers: before http://networks.silicon.com/webwatch/0,39024667,39124215,00.htm and after http://www.odeon.co.uk/fanatic/accessibility/ The alternative of course would be to not do business in the UK
That was before the recent software upgrade which fixed a lot of bugs and made the interface a great deal more responsive. I have one of these phones and it's excellent.
Slashdot Mirror
Err 'kikes'? Really? Do you know what that word means?
Burger king pays you in bitcoin
It's all very well to identify people at risk of falling but the issue isn't really that. Far more common that older people are in an oversized house that they have lived in for years and they are set in their ways and do not want to move
The BBC originally based their iPlayer software around windows media player and were heavily criticised at the time for using a solution that blocked non-windows platforms, including Apple, mobile and Linux. This was principally because they wanted to DRM all of the downloaded files in the interests of 'rights holders', i.e. BBC worldwide (their commercial arm). This includes automatically deleting files after a certain time from your computer amongst other things. They were ordered by the BBC commission (basically their governors) to come up with a cross-platform solution pronto and chose Flash as it covered a wide enough range of devices to get them off the hook in a hurry- bear in mind that iPlayer apps are also available for Windows Mobile; Symbian; Nintendo Wii; xBox 360; Sony PS3 etc. which can all use Flash. There have been third party solutions that made content accessible beautifully and they have all been removed due to pressure from the BBC due to 'concerns from rightsholders', i.e. sidestepping DRM. The issue is not with finding a cross-platform codec or software, the problem is the BBC wanting a cross-platform DRM in a diverse technology environment. This is why they are having to build and support all these different apps and are crapping it about Flash going away.
From Engadget 'official quote: "Samsung takes Mr. Hassan's claims very seriously. After learning of the original post this morning on NetworkWorld.com, we launched an internal investigation into this issue. We will provide further information as soon as it is available."' http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/30/samsung-reportedly-installing-keylogger-software-on-r525-privac/
What about GCstar http://www.gcstar.org/ ? It is specifically a collection manager for things like books, comics and movies. I have a collection of 1500 movies indexed with it and it even lets you specify a location, e.g. your hard drives, from which to open the file. It is free and cross platform and I have used it successfully for several years. It would seem to cover all the criteria that you have listed
The elephant in the room here is the Hawala system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala) quicker, far cheaper, no accounts getting suspended- as reflects it's origins as a money transfer system designed to work in a hostile environment without regulatory authorities. And it does work, has worked for centuries. The only brake is the media scare stories on 'Islamic terrorist banking'...
They specialise in handmade soaps and seem to be in pretty much every high street in the UK- Example: http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=10383864969614968362&q=lush&hl=en&sll=51.494368,-0.154123&sspn=0.049163,0.154324&ie=UTF8&ll=51.518891,-0.2314&spn=0,0&z=13 You are more likely to get bath soap from them then eyeliner and you can smell the patchouli from one of their branches from quite a distance... Maybe their 'IT' team is in the same vein?
No one seems to have considered the opposite- it's quite common to encounter shops with incredibly loud and tasteless music, clearly chosen by the bored staff. It seems to be generally clothing and shoe shops but my local supermarket has this too. I guess that there must be a whole generation over 30 who will never learn to appreciate 50 cent and Lady Gaga- I know that I try to reduce my own exposure to such 'unscheduled entertainments' as much as possible. The article is hysterical and highly misleading. I cannot speak for the school supposedly using Mozart as a 'punishment' but I do live and travel in London. It is quite common here for classical music to be played at tube ('subway') station entrance halls. The choice of music is generally 19th century waltzes and military marches. The sound volume makes it noticeable but not unbearable- you can hold a conversation over it. It's not at every station but it isn't rare. It does seem to cut down on the beggars and general hecklers that you would otherwise encounter.
In the UK under The Distance Selling Regulations ( http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/distance-selling-regulations/ ) All mail order companies, including on-line sellers must give you a seven (working) day cooling off period during which you may return your purchase for a full refund. For a phone you would be expected to pay the tariffed cost of any calls etc that you made but during the time you had it but nothing for the phone, no penalty and the contract would be cancelled. All networks also offer SIM only contracts where you may use your own phone. T-Mobile UK for instance offer both monthly sim-only plans: http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/mobile-phones/sim-card/pay-monthly/ and pay as you go 'free SIM' plans http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/free-pay-as-you-go-sim-cards/
It's already here, for a subset of images: http://www.plinksearch.net/apps.html Works quite well here
In the UK we have the Disability Discrimination Act (‘DDA’) ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disability_Discrimination_Act_1995 ) This requires that service providers do not provide a disabled person with a lesser degree of service than a person who is not disabled and that they make reasonable adjustments to facilitate this. Any public website based in the UK would be bound by this legislation. Cases are heard in a criminal court with a jury. Statute law does not define what constitutes a disability or a reasonable adjustment, the courts decide this on a case by case basis. A common prejudice is that people think of disabilities, first as someone in a wheelchair and maybe secondly of a blind person. A disability may in fact be mental, ‘invisible’ (e.g. epilepsy) or in fact any chronic condition that disables someone. The comment “Someone with no legs shouldn't sue Ford because it is hard to drive.” is not relevant because Ford do provide cars that may be driven by someone with no legs- certainly an automatic with hand controls is available in the UK. The linked article specifically mentions ‘World of Warcraft’ which for the terms of the DDA is a web-based business operating in the UK. There is a very clear precedent here with Odeon Cinemas (a UK chain) not providing a website that was accessible with alternative browsers: before http://networks.silicon.com/webwatch/0,39024667,39124215,00.htm and after http://www.odeon.co.uk/fanatic/accessibility/ The alternative of course would be to not do business in the UK
That was before the recent software upgrade which fixed a lot of bugs and made the interface a great deal more responsive. I have one of these phones and it's excellent.