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Comments · 62

  1. Unlike Ford Prefect... on Win a Part in the Hitchhiker's Guide · · Score: 1

    I do actually come from Guildford.

  2. GET A NAT ROUTER AND CHANGE THE PASSWORD! on How To Avoid Viruses At Windows Install Time? · · Score: 1

    It's about the best way of protecting yourself from this crap.. hundreds have said it before me, and it all makes perfect sense. I've been using one ever since I got DSL, and never had any problems with internet worms attacking my machine directly.

  3. This is great but... on Thunderbird 0.7 Released · · Score: 1

    now I've got 2GB of space on Yahoo, I don't think I'll ever need to use a mail client at home again...

  4. High MPG figures are based on efficient driving! on Hybrid Cars Don't Live Up to Mileage Claims · · Score: 1

    If I really hold back, my FTO gets 32mpg, if I drive it like it _can_ be driven, I'd be lucky to get 10mpg.

    Mileage claims have never been accurate, every car has it's quirks, and no two drivers are the same. "Can get as low as 60%".... I'd say that was a generous margin for error.

    Other handy tips for lowering your mileage:
    * Leave loads of crap in the boot (tool kits, blankets, beer, etc).
    * Eat lots of fast food
    * Have lots of kids, and feed them fast food
    * Attach weights to your right foot
    * Push all the pedals at the same time
    * Always use the lowest possible gear
    * Open all the windows and hang your washing out of them
    * Drive anything over 5 feet tall
    * Open up the bonnet and play with every screw you can find
    * Run your tyres at 25% of the recommended pressure

    Now... go forth and complain to the manufacturer of your inneficient car.

  5. Palm Tungsten on Best PDA To Read e-Texts On? · · Score: 1

    My trusty old Palm Tungsten T has not let me down yet. I read books on it all the time (PalmReader), and occasionally use it to peruse the odd Acrobat document. Not sure how portable the Acrobat stuff is from a linux platform though, as it needs to go through a conversion process before it gets to the PDA (iirc).

    Screen is very clear and readable, and the battery lasts for ages. I'm sure the other newer tungstens do an even better job.

  6. Re:I'm sure on Laser Vision Offers New Insights · · Score: 1

    You can already get them. They're called beer glasses.

  7. Re:NYT and no registration? on Internet Revives Public Libraries · · Score: 1

    Nope, guess they haven't... just tried to view another story...

  8. NYT and no registration? on Internet Revives Public Libraries · · Score: 1

    Have they finally come to their senses?

  9. Re:Writing speed on The Myth Of The 100-Year CD-Rom · · Score: 1

    Absolutely correct. When burning CD's for clients, we used to have big problems if we burned above 4x due to their outdated CD-ROM Drives. Even now we still burn all outbound CD's at no more than 4x.

    If you burn a CD faster, the laser that's doing the job doesn't get any brighter, so it's down to the media to respond quickly. The slower you burn it, the better the definition on the output. So fewer errors, and longer lasting media.

    It definately makes a difference!

  10. Re:Global Warming? on UK Releases Global Warming Report · · Score: 1

    $5 a gallon as a decentive??? They obviously just giving the stuff away over there! It's sickening.

    In the UK we already pay the equivalent of $5.65 a gallon (84p a litre for the good stuff (98RON), about 5% less for standard (94RON) unleaded). The thing is, we don't complain about it. And yes, I live an hours walk from the nearest train station, and by train it would take me 2-3 hours to get to work each day; by car less than an hour, and about a third of the price.

  11. Oh dear... on Google's Gmail To Offer 1GB E-mail Storage? · · Score: 1

    Looks a calendar just after hitting "register interest" button.

    Hell, even if they were only to provide 10MB of space, a non ad-supported web based mail service would be really nice.

    Surely they wouldn't call it something as cryptic as "Gmail". It would be more alont the lines of "Moogle" (which is a cool name by all acounts!)

  12. Finally... on Macromedia to Port Flash MX to Linux? · · Score: 1

    This will be almost enough to make me ditch Windows completely... now, if our clients would be kind enough to switch too, then we'd be sorted!

  13. Re:Parisian Solution on Toyota Offers Automatic Parallel Parking Option · · Score: 1

    Yep, it's the truth...

    As for the paintwork.. I've never yet seen an un-dented car on a Parisien street. My taxi knocked over a moped once too, complete with rider, at about 30mph. It's obviously a "he who dares" rule out there. Needless to say, if I ever have to do it, it'll be a hire car, with plenty of insurance.

  14. Re:Finally on Wireless Street Lamps for Traffic Monitoring · · Score: 1

    Tell that to the female copper I just saw gassing on her mobile cruising down the high street in a squad car.

    Speed doesn't kill, but stopping really, really fast does. That type of deceleration is usually induced by people who don't look where they're going, or think it's much safer to stick to 25mph in a 60mph zone.

    I break speed limits, sure, everyone does, but I always make sure I can stop within the distance I can see. That's the way to do it, not by religiously staring at a little red needle down by your hands because some arbitrarily assigned numeric representation of forward velocity has been allocated to the particular stretch of road you're on.

  15. Re:What about just maintaining the roads... on Wireless Street Lamps for Traffic Monitoring · · Score: 2, Insightful

    But what made me think of this article was that it also stated that some scary number of streetlamps in the UK were so old that they were in danger of falling over all of their own accord.

  16. What about just maintaining the roads... on Wireless Street Lamps for Traffic Monitoring · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There was a report recently that stated that something like 1 in 5 miles of road in the UK was in such a poor state that it was unfit to drive on. How about they drop this idea for the moment and fill some potholes instead?

    Some councils actually spend more money setting compensation claims from car owners who have had accidents due to poor roads than they do actually maintaining them.

    Anyway, with a decent network in place, perhaps we'd need to use them less anyway!

  17. Re:SF story with slow-light windowpanes? on Scientists Freeze Pulse Of Light · · Score: 1

    There's an Asimov story on a similar theme. Only it's a huge box full of mirrors in that one... I think it's in 'The Complete Stories of Isaac Asimov' somewhere.

  18. Re:LOL! on Are Linux Zealots Terrorists? · · Score: 1, Funny
    When was the last time a terrorist helped a little old lady cross the road?

    And when was the last time a true linux zealot actually went outside?

  19. Re:No way on Amphibious Car Beats Urban Congestion · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Er.. you're obviosly not familiar with English weather...

    Forget driving through rivers, every spring for the last 5 years or so has seen major flooding on everything from back roads to town centres and motorways in the UK.

  20. Re:Electrolux has a better one! on Roomba Robot Vacuum Gets Siblings · · Score: 1

    Yeah, but it costs 1000... that's 800 for the luxury of it scooting off and recharging itself...

  21. But.. on Roomba Robot Vacuum Gets Siblings · · Score: 1

    ..where's the robot to pat you on the back when you choke on a cherry pip.

  22. A really well put analogy... on Why Virus Writers are Useful · · Score: 1

    If it weren't for hackers and virus writers, there would be no defence mechanisms against major attacks. If sobig was the first malware we'd ever seen, the net would be so screwed right now...

    Linux is only strong because hackers have historically 0wn3d boxen for their useful features. That's how I learned my lesson, and now I take care.

    Windows historically has had lousy connectivity, so it's blight has been through virii. Now that's getting better, it's the turn of the worm.

    Now for those antibodies....

  23. THE SUN??? on UK to Put Monitors in Every Car? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You're new over here aren't you.

    There's only one thing that I like about that paper... well 2 things actually... and the authenticity of those is dubious...

  24. Seaquest DSV? on Walk-thru Fog Screen · · Score: 1

    I'm sure they had one of these on that show... a genuine one at that...

    I can't even remember how many years ago that was...

  25. Re:Small point but .. on Wearing a Tie May Cause Blindness! · · Score: 1