Since I correspond with people in Asia, the US, and Europe for work, I've found that the only unambiguous way to express dates is YYYY-MMM-DD or the reverse (e.g. 2009-Feb-02, 02-Feb-2009).
I've seen this form (usually little-endian) quite a bit, and yes, it was probably to remove ambiguity. When you have underpaid and overworked staff trying to quickly parse the date on an invoice, that seemed to be the clearest way to convey the information without mistakes.
Do the Brits write "2 February, 2009"? If so, do they say it that way? Americans almost always say the month first.
Yes, we do. But we usually write the ordinal form, e.g. "2nd February, 2009". And in speech, there's always an "of" in there: "2nd of February"
BT deny any form of throttling, yet if I download at any time of day via FTP I get ~450kB/s, it is morning now and with HTTP I can get 300kB/s, in the evening more like 50-80kB/s. Crazy, seems BT throttle port 80.
BT continuously monitors network performance and may restrict the speed available to very heavy users during peak time.
... and they explicitly mention P2P:
we restrict P2P speeds if it's having a negative impact on the online experience of the majority of our customers. We normally place restrictions in the evenings at peak time, but we do apply them during the day if a lot of customers are using P2P at the same time.
...
we are not stopping you from using any P2P service. P2P will just be slowed down in the evenings and during the day if a lot of customers are using it.
You might not have looked hard enough to find this, but that doesn't make it a denial.
My BT Broadband connection gives me about 6.5MB/s for non-P2P traffic, but that's because I'm only about 1/4 mile from the exchange.
P2P is slower than dial-up in the evenings, but is generally fast enough between midnight and 8am, and even to late morning on Saturday/Sunday, so I just schedule my big BT downloads to run overnight.
In my last job, where I could use the office network from home over a VPN, I had no need for a memory stick to get my job done.
The people I work with who take sticks to other sites are doing it mainly because it's less tortuous than trying to get that site's network manager to contact our network manager and set up firewall rules and VPN access.
That said, all our laptops are encrypted now (mandatory) and run as slow as sh*t.
(For non-UK readers, the Guardian is a well-known s*cialist newspaper; the Daily Mail emphatically isn't, and there's a long-running difference of option between those two papers; so there was a strong sense of Schadenfreude in the Guardian article)
I've never used a wireless keyboard (never seen the point) but I was once given a wireless mouse at work (I think I was supposed to be grateful): it didn't offer any noticable improvement, but the batteries ran out every six weeks, and I'd have to resort to using MouseKeys until I could find a corded mouse or new batteries.
When I did desktop support about 10 years ago, we had a user desperate to have a "cordless" mouse, because a cord made the mouse harder to move around; after one week with a wireless mouse, she was complaining it was too heavy (batteries again), and wanted her old one back.
There's nothing really wrong with the password (though a smart dictionary-based search could discover it).
There is something very wrong with writing the password down, in plain text, on a public-facing server and assuming that no-one will be able to see it.
Vista is without a doubt the future of the Windows platform.
Fine. Maybe in future most of the peripherals people own will work with Vista; and their software; and most of the more serious bugs will be fixed.
Holding off for another 6-12 months isn't necessarily an option.
You can only go on so long with 256MB RAM and a 40GB disk.
Right now, I need a PC that isn't 4+ years old, and I'd like it to work with my stuff; so I'll be buying a PC now-ish no matter what, and Win XP is currently preferable to Vista.
SWMBO bought some tracks from Tesco Downloads (just another branded reselling of the 24/7 MusicShop service) and found that:
about half of the tracks couldn't be burned to CD because of an Unknown Error from WMP10.
one of those tracks, after being downloaded a second time, could be burned to CD
2 of the others, after a second download, still wouldn't burn to CD (Unknown Error again)
DRM only allowed 2 downloads of each file; I would have liked to try downloading the tracks again until I got a good burnable copy, but that wasn't an option.
I ended up downloading hooky copies of those tracks via Gnutella2 - no DRM, and burning to CD worked flawlessly.
So it turns out that illegal P2P music downloads work, legal music downloads don't, and the simplest way to get music on a CD is to... er... buy the CD.
Try reading about it first before spouting all this FUD.
Section 2. Overview
paragraph 7:
"BitLocker also has a disaster recovery console integrated into the early boot components to provide for 'in the field' data retrieval."
and paragraph 10:
"Further, in the unlikely event that system lockout occurs--perhaps through a hardware failure or as a result of a direct attack--BitLocker offers a simple, efficient recovery process. These scenarios include events such as moving the hard drive containing the operating system volume to another computer, replacing the motherboard containing the TPM, or data corruption of early boot files."
It's not just about speeding. Check this blurb from the company supplying the tech:
Derbyshire Constabulary has operated ANPR systems in some of its road policing unit vehicles since 1999 and will act as the Lead Authority on the framework. Whilst the contract sees Derbyshire working with Lincolnshire, the framework may also be utilised by a number of other East Midlands police forces.
As part of the five year framework agreement, 'vehicles of interest' will be detected and stopped, using the new system to cross reference the data against a variety of databases including the Police National Computer (PNC), Local Force Intelligence Systems and other related databases, for example at the DVLA.
I've nothing against this in principle, but given UK.gov's track record in implementing computer systems and maintaining "accurate" databases, I predict this system will be making regular appearances in RISKS.
Yeah, even to reduce traffic volume, implementing a GPS tracking system wouldn't really be best value-for-money, so why do it?
Looking further ahead, once the infrastructure is in place (to track vehicle positions), any other (perhaps more policitally sensitive) uses for the technology would only need a legislative step, not a physical roll-out of hardware, so they could be implemented quickly and quietly, with most of the population not even being aware of it.
Slashdot Mirror
Why doesn't everyone just say express numerical dates as 2009-02-26? (I was going to use your dates, but the duplicate 02 didn't illustrate my point).
Tradition.
When you can't think of any other reason for doing something, at least you can say "But we've always done it like this."
Since I correspond with people in Asia, the US, and Europe for work, I've found that the only unambiguous way to express dates is YYYY-MMM-DD or the reverse (e.g. 2009-Feb-02, 02-Feb-2009).
I've seen this form (usually little-endian) quite a bit, and yes, it was probably to remove ambiguity. When you have underpaid and overworked staff trying to quickly parse the date on an invoice, that seemed to be the clearest way to convey the information without mistakes.
Do the Brits write "2 February, 2009"? If so, do they say it that way? Americans almost always say the month first.
Yes, we do. But we usually write the ordinal form, e.g. "2nd February, 2009". And in speech, there's always an "of" in there: "2nd of February"
Sasha Baron Cohen, in Ali G guise, would make a good Freeman - as long as he keeps hit mouth shut.
Thank God Chrome's out of beta.
BT deny any form of throttling, yet if I download at any time of day via FTP I get ~450kB/s, it is morning now and with HTTP I can get 300kB/s, in the evening more like 50-80kB/s. Crazy, seems BT throttle port 80.
Deny?
BT's Fair Usage Policy states:
BT continuously monitors network performance and may restrict the speed available to very heavy users during peak time.
... and they explicitly mention P2P:
we restrict P2P speeds if it's having a negative impact on the online experience of the majority of our customers. We normally place restrictions in the evenings at peak time, but we do apply them during the day if a lot of customers are using P2P at the same time.
we are not stopping you from using any P2P service. P2P will just be slowed down in the evenings and during the day if a lot of customers are using it.
You might not have looked hard enough to find this, but that doesn't make it a denial.
My BT Broadband connection gives me about 6.5MB/s for non-P2P traffic, but that's because I'm only about 1/4 mile from the exchange.
P2P is slower than dial-up in the evenings, but is generally fast enough between midnight and 8am, and even to late morning on Saturday/Sunday, so I just schedule my big BT downloads to run overnight.
This is just the sort of nonsense up with which they will not put.
Years back, I and a few colleagues noticed you could take whatever the product does (or whatever you'd do with it) and add "-ex".
E.g. Kleenex, Earex, Sinex.
We jokingly proposed a new toilet paper: Wipex.
Of course, that name was already taken.
Funny thing is, someone actually wrote a paper on this very subject.
I would mod the parent up if I could.
In my last job, where I could use the office network from home over a VPN, I had no need for a memory stick to get my job done.
The people I work with who take sticks to other sites are doing it mainly because it's less tortuous than trying to get that site's network manager to contact our network manager and set up firewall rules and VPN access.
That said, all our laptops are encrypted now (mandatory) and run as slow as sh*t.
HM Revenue and Customs breaches did not necessarily result in data losses, or at least any that they have records of.
"We did have records of some data losses. I kept them safe on my memory stick. It's around here somewhere... now where did I ...?"
...when they made a similar mistake back in July.
(For non-UK readers, the Guardian is a well-known s*cialist newspaper; the Daily Mail emphatically isn't, and there's a long-running difference of option between those two papers; so there was a strong sense of Schadenfreude in the Guardian article)
Apparently, it's even slower. In this story, there's a picture showing that even with the pre-release of Vista SP1, copying 24GB will take 100 years.
... is expected to be over 45 minutes.
Seriously, could the manufacturers try to produce a phone that goes, like, a whole week on a single charge?I've never used a wireless keyboard (never seen the point) but I was once given a wireless mouse at work (I think I was supposed to be grateful): it didn't offer any noticable improvement, but the batteries ran out every six weeks, and I'd have to resort to using MouseKeys until I could find a corded mouse or new batteries.
When I did desktop support about 10 years ago, we had a user desperate to have a "cordless" mouse, because a cord made the mouse harder to move around; after one week with a wireless mouse, she was complaining it was too heavy (batteries again), and wanted her old one back.There's nothing really wrong with the password (though a smart dictionary-based search could discover it).
There is something very wrong with writing the password down, in plain text, on a public-facing server and assuming that no-one will be able to see it.
I have a microwave with such a stylish circular chrome theme on the front, nobody wanted to compromise the look by adding a STOP button.
To start it (obviously) you press the START button.
To increment the cooking time by one minute while cooking, you press the START button.
To stop the microwave cooking, you have to press the START button for 3 seconds.
Or just open the @!*&ing door.
Fine. Maybe in future most of the peripherals people own will work with Vista; and their software; and most of the more serious bugs will be fixed.
Holding off for another 6-12 months isn't necessarily an option.
You can only go on so long with 256MB RAM and a 40GB disk.Right now, I need a PC that isn't 4+ years old, and I'd like it to work with my stuff; so I'll be buying a PC now-ish no matter what, and Win XP is currently preferable to Vista.
SWMBO bought some tracks from Tesco Downloads (just another branded reselling of the 24/7 MusicShop service) and found that:
I ended up downloading hooky copies of those tracks via Gnutella2 - no DRM, and burning to CD worked flawlessly.
So it turns out that illegal P2P music downloads work, legal music downloads don't, and the simplest way to get music on a CD is to... er... buy the CD.
Try reading about it first before spouting all this FUD.
Section 2. Overviewparagraph 7: and paragraph 10:
a 303KB 900x675 GIF (with no alt tag) to tell me I need to download the Flash plugin.
That'll impress the folks on dial-up.
Yeah, what's the big deal?
It's a piece of piss.
Everything you need to know is here.
Oh, wait...
--
Been underpaid? Do something about it
Yeah, even to reduce traffic volume, implementing a GPS tracking system wouldn't really be best value-for-money, so why do it?
Looking further ahead, once the infrastructure is in place (to track vehicle positions), any other (perhaps more policitally sensitive) uses for the technology would only need a legislative step, not a physical roll-out of hardware, so they could be implemented quickly and quietly, with most of the population not even being aware of it.