There are anywhere between 5-7 of us in the room at any time and the communication within the team is excellent, thought provocative and means we're not just staring at a screen all day, which needs time away from now and then. Cheers,I work in a 3rd-line support role, with a little development, mainly done at home. The ability to bounce ideas around between my 3 collegues and the trainee, is invaluable.
That's not open plan though, there's a new building at work with full open plan offices, 500' x 100' with only a few pillars. Hundereds of people are piled into these offices, and while teams may work well together, when some namby pamby department that bursts into applause and has group hugs every half-hour is near a department that actually does work, there's bound to be conflict.
Of course, in my previous job on second line, I didn't even get my own desk -- the joy of 24/7 cover. I miss the window though, but with 8 monitors and two plasmas in my field of view, there's not much room for daylight anyway.
Digital can give better broadcast qualityBut doesn't. MPEG artifacts are painful, just look at some high stress images (multiple flash guns at a press conference for example), it's laughable.
Of course, while many people working for UK broadcasters don't see the difference between 4:3 and 16:9, we're bound to be technically screwed. Still, at least DVB-T as implemented in the UK is better than our DAB implementation.
can fit in many more channels in the same bandwidthYeay, more quiz shows and reality TV.
The complaints about getting a signal and low quality would go away if DAB could crank it up, spread out a bit and not worry about overriding FM transmitters.Current DAB radios tune in to Type-III FM, ~200MHz, nowhere near the FM band of 87.5-108. Quality is crap because it's 1980's compression and hideously low bitrates, which are being lowered furthur to fit more crap channels in.
With the analog channels off, the digital transmitters can boost the power (i.e. better range)This is essentail to get at least one mux to 99% of the population.
and use some of the huge amount of freed bandwidth so they don't have to compress so much (i.e. less blocky artifacts). Even better, they can start broadcasting the free-to-air HD channels over freeview, which they just don't have the free bandwidth to do now.Yes, they can. Or Brown can sell off the frequencies for whatever he spends the enoumous amount of money he steals from the population.
Regions are switching over to digital TV only from 2008 to 2012. I for one can't wait. TV signal with good reception, lots of channels and HD to boot?You wish, you'd be better with FTA satelite.
Given I live in the wilds of Dorset, my analog signal is barely watchable, and I only get about 2/3 the multiplexes. Improving that has got to be good.
Oh, one last thing. The public owns the airwaves, thus the government gets to allocate their use on the public's behalf.You really believe that the government acts in the best interests of the public?
<cranky>I've learned to just sigh and say "the general public is so confused" when I hear mainstream media talk like the iPod is the only portable music player.The BBC are the culprits, they are in love with apple, they even hosted the ipod video launch party. Apple product annoucements always receive a high position on the running orders.
Conspiracy theory: the government told them to do it in order to increase identity theft, thus hoping that the public will become more accepting of the national identity register, and more willing to carry biometric ID cards.
Which would imply the govenment shows 1) Joined up thinking 2) Competence
They can't come round and turn it on, because they have no right to enter your home unless you specifically invite them.
Indeed, sadly most people don't seem to realise this. They have less rights than baliffs.
They can, however, view your home from afar. If you open the door and they hear Corronation Street in the background, this would count against you in court.
which meant that legally you needed a television licence to own a silver teaspoon.
It meant the license claimed you were allowed to own a silver teaspoon. The license isn't law though, its the wireless telgraphy act and their various ammendments, which has never stated what the license used to state
You need a licence if you have any kit that is *capable* of receiving a TV broadcast signal,
This is a myth that TVL allow to propergate. They used to have an entry on their website saying that's you don't need to to watch offair DVDs/VHS.
I suugest you read the relevent laws, but you can also look at the mostly-accurate guardian article here
You need a licence irrespective if you want to watch live television. If you have equipment capable of receiving TV signals and its tuned in you will are required to pay. If you only watch DVDs at home then you are not required to pay. However TV Licensing (TVL) will expect your television not to display BBC1 or any other channels when they come round and turn it on and may question why you have an aerial on the roof. "If you watch live TV on any device, you need to be covered by a valid licence," it says.
Are you referring to the myth that TV detector vans could pick up signals from working TVs? They can't; that was a lie to try to scare people into complying. The antennae on the vans were purely for show.
Last time I was in one it certainly seemed convincing from the inside. There were only 3 in the country though. The IF (about 35MHz) is detectable on the downlink cable form the ariel. It won't work with communal ariel systems though.
Of course, these days when you buy a TV you have to give your name and address (no idea what happens if you refuse), so they automatically know who owns a TV and don't need any of that silliness.
Last time I bought a TV from Comet, they insisted it was a legal requirement. I gave my work address (BBC Television Centre), although I was tempted to give "Number 10", and "SW1A 2AA". Gave a false name too.
I recall a couple of years ago the BBC said something along the lines of "if you stream TV clips then you need a TV license". I don't think there was talk of legislating it, however.
Only if it's been broadcasted to the UK at the same (or similar) time. I.E. Downloading an specific episode of "the Simpsons" that's being broadcast on C4 at 6PM, or Sky One at 7PM, is only OK outside of that time.
Note that the UK does have exceptions for TVs owned by businesses and used exclusively for prerecorded video.
No, the UK has exception for any TV's that aren't used to receive broadcast video. The wireless telegraphy act and it's ammendemnts specificaly state it's the USE of euipment to RECEIVE BROADCASTS that needs licensing.
There are various forms to fill in, and it's checked fairly regularly.
The TV License people have no legal right to "check" you. They can gather any evidence that they legally can (look through your window, scan for the IF, etc), and present it to court. To enter your property they need a search warrant.
Something similar should apply to computers, although I'm not sure you can "neuter" a computer in the same way as a TV (unplugging the aerial, usually. Ripping out the tuner is a bit drastic).
Yes, if you have a TV that's not tuned in to the local transmitter and not plugged in, that would be enough to satisfy any court. Of course as long as you don't watch the TV, and don't let the TVL people in, there's little they can do to proove you are or arent watching.
With TV over IP, I suppose they could look at getting the ISP to provide logs, however that would probably break the data protection act. Their only real evidence would come through watching your through a window.
for instance, a dishwasher and washing machine that know not to turn on when the shower is in use.
I'm trying to teach my girlfriend to not turn the tap on when I'm in the shower, she just laughs though. I can see an "evil" dishwasher having great fun.
Which is just plain dumb. yy(yy)/mm/dd -- most significant first, is the best choice, but otherwise dd/mm/yy (least signficant first) is the next option. mm/dd/yy makes as much sence as yy/dd/mm, it's a random order.
So while light is significantly faster than electricity, for all practical purposes today, they're both "really, really fast;"
Not for some applications. 1ms round trip time for every 100 miles, or 100ms mimimum for London->Sydney. We have a very chatty program that refuses to work at all with latency >200ms (timeouts on the midtier), which would theoretically work with no switching time, but the cable propergation of a direct fibre is still a large proportion of the allowed latency. If it were over copper, however, it would not work, regardless of overhead in routing and switching.
Of course, throw in a satelite link and you're screwed anyway:)
my english homework in whatever office program is installed on the computer I'm using. I'd never think to use either one for the other purpose.
Do you kids never actually write anything anymore?
Besides, why do you need something as bloated as a word processor for simple text editing? What's wrong with vim (which has far superior navigation than any word processor I've used)?
Which is your MP3 player and are its specs and battery life comparable to those of any of Apple's current iPod models?
Generic no-name 20 one, at least 10 hours play time on a single battery, has a screen so I can see, and select, the song I want. Only 1GB (2GB now), but then I plug it direct into my computer at work or home, it shows up as an external drive and a program I've written copies some random songs onto it.
Under 1/5 the price of an equivelent nano, and no dumb proprietry software that I need to install on a potentially restricted machine.
GTA got all the press, but Carmageddon was better by far, at least as far as the driving part went, it had a 3D engine in a time when Doom was considered amazing.
Slashdot Mirror
umm, this is slashdot. we don't follow baseball.
Obviously you do, to know that the "Detroit Lions" play baseball
There are anywhere between 5-7 of us in the room at any time and the communication within the team is excellent, thought provocative and means we're not just staring at a screen all day, which needs time away from now and then.
Cheers,I work in a 3rd-line support role, with a little development, mainly done at home. The ability to bounce ideas around between my 3 collegues and the trainee, is invaluable.
That's not open plan though, there's a new building at work with full open plan offices, 500' x 100' with only a few pillars. Hundereds of people are piled into these offices, and while teams may work well together, when some namby pamby department that bursts into applause and has group hugs every half-hour is near a department that actually does work, there's bound to be conflict.
Of course, in my previous job on second line, I didn't even get my own desk -- the joy of 24/7 cover. I miss the window though, but with 8 monitors and two plasmas in my field of view, there's not much room for daylight anyway.
Digital can give better broadcast qualityBut doesn't. MPEG artifacts are painful, just look at some high stress images (multiple flash guns at a press conference for example), it's laughable.
Of course, while many people working for UK broadcasters don't see the difference between 4:3 and 16:9, we're bound to be technically screwed. Still, at least DVB-T as implemented in the UK is better than our DAB implementation. can fit in many more channels in the same bandwidthYeay, more quiz shows and reality TV. The complaints about getting a signal and low quality would go away if DAB could crank it up, spread out a bit and not worry about overriding FM transmitters.Current DAB radios tune in to Type-III FM, ~200MHz, nowhere near the FM band of 87.5-108. Quality is crap because it's 1980's compression and hideously low bitrates, which are being lowered furthur to fit more crap channels in. With the analog channels off, the digital transmitters can boost the power (i.e. better range)This is essentail to get at least one mux to 99% of the population. and use some of the huge amount of freed bandwidth so they don't have to compress so much (i.e. less blocky artifacts). Even better, they can start broadcasting the free-to-air HD channels over freeview, which they just don't have the free bandwidth to do now.Yes, they can. Or Brown can sell off the frequencies for whatever he spends the enoumous amount of money he steals from the population. Regions are switching over to digital TV only from 2008 to 2012. I for one can't wait. TV signal with good reception, lots of channels and HD to boot?You wish, you'd be better with FTA satelite. Given I live in the wilds of Dorset, my analog signal is barely watchable, and I only get about 2/3 the multiplexes. Improving that has got to be good.
Oh, one last thing. The public owns the airwaves, thus the government gets to allocate their use on the public's behalf.You really believe that the government acts in the best interests of the public?
<cranky>I've learned to just sigh and say "the general public is so confused" when I hear mainstream media talk like the iPod is the only portable music player.The BBC are the culprits, they are in love with apple, they even hosted the ipod video launch party. Apple product annoucements always receive a high position on the running orders.
fly to Sweden to pick up my new KoenigseggWith or without the topgear wing?
especially in countries like Germany where there are alternative means of transport available.
Unlike America, where there are other drinks available. Noone forces you to drink alcohol then get behind the wheel.
Irregardless is not a word
Yes it is, I saw it in wikipedia!
Irregardless is a word
Conspiracy theory: the government told them to do it in order to increase identity theft, thus hoping that the public will become more accepting of the national identity register, and more willing to carry biometric ID cards.
Which would imply the govenment shows
1) Joined up thinking
2) Competence
That's some whacko theory you've got there
They can't come round and turn it on, because they have no right to enter your home unless you specifically invite them.
Indeed, sadly most people don't seem to realise this. They have less rights than baliffs.
They can, however, view your home from afar. If you open the door and they hear Corronation Street in the background, this would count against you in court.
which meant that legally you needed a television licence to own a silver teaspoon.
It meant the license claimed you were allowed to own a silver teaspoon. The license isn't law though, its the wireless telgraphy act and their various ammendments, which has never stated what the license used to state
You need a licence if you have any kit that is *capable* of receiving a TV broadcast signal,
This is a myth that TVL allow to propergate. They used to have an entry on their website saying that's you don't need to to watch offair DVDs/VHS.
I suugest you read the relevent laws, but you can also look at the mostly-accurate guardian article here
You need a licence irrespective if you want to watch live television. If you have equipment capable of receiving TV signals and its tuned in you will are required to pay. If you only watch DVDs at home then you are not required to pay. However TV Licensing (TVL) will expect your television not to display BBC1 or any other channels when they come round and turn it on and may question why you have an aerial on the roof. "If you watch live TV on any device, you need to be covered by a valid licence," it says.
Are you referring to the myth that TV detector vans could pick up signals from working TVs? They can't; that was a lie to try to scare people into complying. The antennae on the vans were purely for show.
Last time I was in one it certainly seemed convincing from the inside. There were only 3 in the country though. The IF (about 35MHz) is detectable on the downlink cable form the ariel. It won't work with communal ariel systems though.
Of course, these days when you buy a TV you have to give your name and address (no idea what happens if you refuse), so they automatically know who owns a TV and don't need any of that silliness.
Last time I bought a TV from Comet, they insisted it was a legal requirement. I gave my work address (BBC Television Centre), although I was tempted to give "Number 10", and "SW1A 2AA". Gave a false name too.
Only thing I've had is marketing stuff.
I recall a couple of years ago the BBC said something along the lines of "if you stream TV clips then you need a TV license". I don't think there was talk of legislating it, however.
Only if it's been broadcasted to the UK at the same (or similar) time. I.E. Downloading an specific episode of "the Simpsons" that's being broadcast on C4 at 6PM, or Sky One at 7PM, is only OK outside of that time.
Note that the UK does have exceptions for TVs owned by businesses and used exclusively for prerecorded video.
No, the UK has exception for any TV's that aren't used to receive broadcast video. The wireless telegraphy act and it's ammendemnts specificaly state it's the USE of euipment to RECEIVE BROADCASTS that needs licensing.
There are various forms to fill in, and it's checked fairly regularly.
The TV License people have no legal right to "check" you. They can gather any evidence that they legally can (look through your window, scan for the IF, etc), and present it to court. To enter your property they need a search warrant.
Something similar should apply to computers, although I'm not sure you can "neuter" a computer in the same way as a TV (unplugging the aerial, usually. Ripping out the tuner is a bit drastic).
Yes, if you have a TV that's not tuned in to the local transmitter and not plugged in, that would be enough to satisfy any court. Of course as long as you don't watch the TV, and don't let the TVL people in, there's little they can do to proove you are or arent watching.
With TV over IP, I suppose they could look at getting the ISP to provide logs, however that would probably break the data protection act. Their only real evidence would come through watching your through a window.
for instance, a dishwasher and washing machine that know not to turn on when the shower is in use.
I'm trying to teach my girlfriend to not turn the tap on when I'm in the shower, she just laughs though. I can see an "evil" dishwasher having great fun.
I'm hoping Flashblock still works with it
But that's all about as likely to change as the American flag
Happens a lot more than most flags. Last happened in 1960,
Slashdot is behind the times again! According to all my calendars, it's been Saturday the 14th for 13 hours already
Lucky you
US notation is standardized MM/DD/YY
Which is just plain dumb. yy(yy)/mm/dd -- most significant first, is the best choice, but otherwise dd/mm/yy (least signficant first) is the next option. mm/dd/yy makes as much sence as yy/dd/mm, it's a random order.
I suspect Xerox(tm) and Kleenex(tm)
Maybe in America, however in the UK the common term is "photocopy/copier" and "tissue"
American Obesity Is causing a wobble in the earth's orbit and causing global warming. Now where is my Nobel prize?
On one side of the world you have 300 million Americans.
On the other you have 1 billion Chinese, 1 billion Indians, and half a billion other people in Eastern Asia.
The Earth is about perfectly ballanced
So while light is significantly faster than electricity, for all practical purposes today, they're both "really, really fast;"
:)
Not for some applications. 1ms round trip time for every 100 miles, or 100ms mimimum for London->Sydney. We have a very chatty program that refuses to work at all with latency >200ms (timeouts on the midtier), which would theoretically work with no switching time, but the cable propergation of a direct fibre is still a large proportion of the allowed latency. If it were over copper, however, it would not work, regardless of overhead in routing and switching.
Of course, throw in a satelite link and you're screwed anyway
my english homework in whatever office program is installed on the computer I'm using. I'd never think to use either one for the other purpose.
Do you kids never actually write anything anymore?
Besides, why do you need something as bloated as a word processor for simple text editing? What's wrong with vim (which has far superior navigation than any word processor I've used)?
Just like Iraq was probably going to be a cake walk eh?
Taking Iraq was, as invasions go. Keeping it is a different matter, but there's no reason to stay in North Korea after taking it, there's no oil.
Which is your MP3 player and are its specs and battery life comparable to those of any of Apple's current iPod models?
Generic no-name 20 one, at least 10 hours play time on a single battery, has a screen so I can see, and select, the song I want. Only 1GB (2GB now), but then I plug it direct into my computer at work or home, it shows up as an external drive and a program I've written copies some random songs onto it.
Under 1/5 the price of an equivelent nano, and no dumb proprietry software that I need to install on a potentially restricted machine.
GTA got all the press, but Carmageddon was better by far, at least as far as the driving part went, it had a 3D engine in a time when Doom was considered amazing.