The key problem with government databases like this is that it is so easy for commercial bodies to "purchase" information on individuals, especially since the security is down to (generally) poorly-paid goverment employees.
In the UK, the Department of Social Security maintains a database of everyone with a National Insurance number (= social security id) called the Departmental Central Index. At one stage, it was possible for outside companies to buy info on an id for £5 (about $8) - this was illegal but it happened nonetheless.
The only companies who need proprietary extensions are those who know that the competition could produce better products with them.
This level of reasoning probably explains the Microsoft PR babble we have had to suffer about how breaking them up will harm the computer industry, damage the economy, speed up global warming, cause the death of every first-born child, rant, rant...
Sorry to disappoint you, but Duron is actually the secret ingredient in Durex's plan for domination of the Galaxy. Well, at least it should solve the Klingon over-population problems.
Note that you can be charged for incoming calls when "roaming" (using your cellphone in another country). What happens then is that you are charged for the international leg of the call while the person calling you pays the same rate as if you were still in the country of origin. Your service provider may provide special tariffs to reduce this cost so do check!
Europe does have the advantage over the US with the widespread adoption of GSM (currently limited to major cities in the US) - even in Eastern Europe coverage is impressive (check out this for details).
For real Internet access we will have to wait for 3G and given the astronomical licence fees paid so far, pricing is likely to be more of an issue.
Even more sad, this is continuing with the smaller nuclear nations e.g. the tests carried out by India and Pakistan (remember the news reports showing Indians cheering and dancing in the streets afterwards?)
The root cause here is nationalism and this has pretty much always been fuelled by fear of 'hostiles'. One potential benefit of the Internet here could be to make different cultures/peoples more aware of each other in real life and less susceptible to manipulation by politicians riding the racist ticket.
A GPL'ed specification would be necessarily limited to the free softwaree world (since it could not be included as a component in a commercial package). Specifications need to be implemented on as many platforms/operating systems as possible to prosper and (currently) this has to include the commercial offerings (including a widely-used somewhat unstable mouse driver).
Consider how TCP/IP would have fared if it had been GPLed from the start. Commercial OSes would have shunned it in favour of proprietary or other "open" protocols such as OSI.
However something along the lines of the LGPL, allowing inclusion within commercial software, should not pose such a problem.
Only got as far as the second line when the paper-clip winked at me and asked "It looks like you're writing a virus. Would you like help?"
Nice to see some innovation at work here...
Microsoft: Don't Innovate, Regurgitate!
ReBoot - Don't forget the Redmond version..
on
Quickies Rock!
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· Score: 1
Courtesy of Windows 98 Second Edition, a entire series of episodes of ReBoot. Each lasts 3-4 minutes (making for easy viewing) and, following Microsoft's past record for innovation, makes up for quality with quantity by giving you multiple episodes every hour. Timing is random, keeping you glued to your PC!
The previous BT logo was a blue T, the left hand bar of which was 2 dots. The joke was that if you turned it 90 degrees anti-clockwise, you got a little cockup, another 90 and you got a big cockup and a further 90 would give you an absolute balls up!
It may well be that mobile Internet access (specifically 3G - the successor to GSM) will provide a better option for a lot of the UK given the leisurely pace of BTs rollout.
Unfortunately the licenses have been auctioned off - the cost? From about £4bn (US$6.3bn) to £5.9bn (US$8.6bn) - a total of £22bn going to the UK government.
All of which is going to have to be recouped by the mobile companies... from us.
Yup, Trident are still in the game, threatening to release their CyberBlade according to this site (which currently seems to be/.ed)
As the proud owner of a laptop running the prestigious Trident CyberShite9397 3D-Decelerator, I can definitely say that they pose serious competition in the market. Microsoft Hellbender never looked so good.
The true heart-breaker is watching this pathetic chip struggle with Imperium Galactica II (like watching Peewee Herman trying the Ironman contest). And yes, I do intend to upgrade, once some enlightened notebook maker brings out a model with a decent 3D-chip.
One question - Nvidia are supposed to be releasing a mobile version of the NV11. Anyone any info on this, or the NV11 itself?
Apologies, the link shows in the preview but doesn't seem to make it onto the comment. The URL is http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO/Wearab le-HOWTO if clicking here doesn't work.
Resubmitted link - the HTML got stripped out of the previous comment! If you check the Wearable HOWTO, FIST is still proceeding and it gives more info on similar projects by several armed forces.
There was a documentary over a year ago on the British Army's FIST (Future Integrated Solder Technology) and the problems encountered on field trials (sunlight obscuring the helmet HUD, the digital compass not working, the routefinding equipment not registering waypoints correctly). The project manager at DERA (Defense Evaluation Research Agency) apparently did not get his contract renewed after this debacle. However, if you check the Wearable HOWTO, FIST is still proceeding and it gives more info on similar projects by several armed forces.
Slashdot Mirror
In the UK, the Department of Social Security maintains a database of everyone with a National Insurance number (= social security id) called the Departmental Central Index. At one stage, it was possible for outside companies to buy info on an id for £5 (about $8) - this was illegal but it happened nonetheless.
This level of reasoning probably explains the Microsoft PR babble we have had to suffer about how breaking them up will harm the computer industry, damage the economy, speed up global warming, cause the death of every first-born child, rant, rant...
Sorry to disappoint you, but Duron is actually the secret ingredient in Durex's plan for domination of the Galaxy. Well, at least it should solve the Klingon over-population problems.
Europe does have the advantage over the US with the widespread adoption of GSM (currently limited to major cities in the US) - even in Eastern Europe coverage is impressive (check out this for details).
For real Internet access we will have to wait for 3G and given the astronomical licence fees paid so far, pricing is likely to be more of an issue.
The root cause here is nationalism and this has pretty much always been fuelled by fear of 'hostiles'. One potential benefit of the Internet here could be to make different cultures/peoples more aware of each other in real life and less susceptible to manipulation by politicians riding the racist ticket.
Consider how TCP/IP would have fared if it had been GPLed from the start. Commercial OSes would have shunned it in favour of proprietary or other "open" protocols such as OSI.
However something along the lines of the LGPL, allowing inclusion within commercial software, should not pose such a problem.
How much money have you so far received from PayLars?
Nice to see some innovation at work here...
Microsoft: Don't Innovate, Regurgitate!
Microsoft: Don't Innovate, Regurgitate!
The previous BT logo was a blue T, the left hand bar of which was 2 dots. The joke was that if you turned it 90 degrees anti-clockwise, you got a little cockup, another 90 and you got a big cockup and a further 90 would give you an absolute balls up!
Yes, I remember Busby. Apparently the Busby campaign was halted by BT because of the increasing number of "Ring Busby's neck!" jokes going around.
Unfortunately the licenses have been auctioned off - the cost? From about £4bn (US$6.3bn) to £5.9bn (US$8.6bn) - a total of £22bn going to the UK government.
All of which is going to have to be recouped by the mobile companies ... from us.
As the proud owner of a laptop running the prestigious Trident CyberShite9397 3D-Decelerator, I can definitely say that they pose serious competition in the market. Microsoft Hellbender never looked so good.
The true heart-breaker is watching this pathetic chip struggle with Imperium Galactica II (like watching Peewee Herman trying the Ironman contest). And yes, I do intend to upgrade, once some enlightened notebook maker brings out a model with a decent 3D-chip.
One question - Nvidia are supposed to be releasing a mobile version of the NV11. Anyone any info on this, or the NV11 itself?
There are a number of http proxies listed on this page. Filtering can be bypassed by using SSL encryption on URLs requested through these servers.
Apologies, the link shows in the preview but doesn't seem to make it onto the comment. The URL is http://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO/Wearab le-HOWTO if clicking here doesn't work.
Resubmitted link - the HTML got stripped out of the previous comment! If you check the Wearable HOWTO, FIST is still proceeding and it gives more info on similar projects by several armed forces.
There was a documentary over a year ago on the British Army's FIST (Future Integrated Solder Technology) and the problems encountered on field trials (sunlight obscuring the helmet HUD, the digital compass not working, the routefinding equipment not registering waypoints correctly). The project manager at DERA (Defense Evaluation Research Agency) apparently did not get his contract renewed after this debacle. However, if you check the Wearable HOWTO, FIST is still proceeding and it gives more info on similar projects by several armed forces.