I won't use my two main cards over the phone, internet or out of my sight at restaurants, I also ask for the carbons if they ever have to hand-swipe the card.
For any purchase of that sort I have a debit card linked to an unrelated account with nothing in it - the credit union has explicit instructions never to allow it to be overdrawn. Whenever I want to buy anything via a 'suspect' route, I transfer just enough to the account/card to cover the cost then immediately complete the transaction. If anyone intercepts the information, the most I lose is that amount.
It's slightly inconvenient on occasion but I feel far more comfortable about my cards.
"High above Earth where seismic waves never reach..."...except perhaps for the solar ones.
Only two weeks ago my current boss invited me to accompany him to an evening lecture... on solar seismology! Turns out the guy is not just a paper pusher but actually has some serious qualifications in nuclear physics (of the solar, not bomb, sort - albeit a fine line between). Gave me a fascinating insight into more of the complexities of our sun, how its quakes make ours seem like mere trembles and its potential effects on us.
Unfortunately, coming to Oz from an eastern european country meant he had little opportunity to use those skills, so now he's a frustrated project manager - there ain't no justice, eh?
IANAL. However, I do know (from personal experience) that in both the U.K. and Oz the law relating to the commercial sale of an item are essentially encompassed by the following. The item must be all of these:
1. Fit for the purpose for which it was sold. 2. Of merchantable quality. 3. As described.
How these are interpreted by the various parties involved is obviously variable but I have always found that stating these tenets as part of the "Consumer Protection Act" with sufficient confidence and presence (DON'T get angry) has yet to fail in achieving a refund / replacement / whatever.
Finally, don't be fobbed off to a third party - your contract of sale under law is with the party from whom you purchased the said item, unless specifically stated and agreed to as an agent of another party, and even that's not too rigid and intractible.
Perhaps it's different in the U.S. but I recall a case maaaaany years ago in the U.K. where a patent was refused because the idea had previously been seen in a children's comic.
The idea was for an automatic cat flap that opened when the trained cat pressed on a pad. Apparently the patent office clerk either saw a similar design on his son's comic (The Beano or The Dandy, U.K. comics for the under ten) or spoke of it and the son brought the comic to his attention.
Either way, the patent was knocked back for not being an original work - the idea had been presented before, albeit as an act of fiction in a comic. I'm fairly sure this is genuine, it made the headlines (mumble) years ago "when ah were just a nippa".
Surely the same approach is used today in that, if an idea is already in general use, then it can't be an original work and therefore cannot be patented!?
...more bloody land-fill, courtesy of our great throw-away society, when are these people going to take responsibility for their actions? By creating something this cheap, whatever recycling opportunities are presented to appease the greens will still be ignored by the masses and the damned things will still get thrown away. God, it makes me fume!
I have to say I support the poster's underlying point here. I'm a Psion user of some 17 years duration (I still have a Organiser II from 86) and have been spoilt by the set of inbuilt apps. that the Psions included.
I've recently been looking round at PDAs because the screen on my Series 5 packed up and I was thinking it might be time to change now that Psions aren't made any more. All I can say is that the current crop of Palm and Pocket PC based units made me suffer the loss of my Psion while it goes to Sydney for a week for repair.
I'm lucky that my current employer is looking at PDAs for a major project and we've got a variety to evaluate, both in their own right and for suitability for bespoke customisation. Frankly I was disappointed with the lot. None provided the full set of applications/features I've grown to love over the years, to say nothing of the limited input mechanisms in many cases.
To be fair though, this review and your post have raised my hopes that there is light at the end of my Psion tunnel. Obviously I won't be getting something new soon since I've now sent my 5 for repair but at least I can look more favourably on replacing it when the time finally comes, for which I thank you!
1. "...zooms from zero to 60 in four seconds" nuf sed. 2. " Working from a photo-shopped picture of a 1998 Mercedes A-Class hatchback..." and Mercedes seem to be doing ok with that style given how many I've seen around. 3. "... causing a jam in front of Spokane's Northtown Mall. Traffic stops, drivers gawk." nef sed. 4. "...leaving a puff of rubber smoke and conventional Corvettes and Porsches in the dust.". Sounds like most sets of traffic lights will do that part! 5. "... Three hours to completely recharge in a dryer socket" - in other words, at your home, your mate's, at work if they provide covered parking and a convenient socket or extension cable and technically any other location where they have a bloody main socket!
Did you actually bother to read the article before posting!?
It's that sort of short sighted attitude that is the very reason many cities in the states are choking to death on polution fumes from cars.
Go ahead... buy your gas-guzzler, but don't come bitching to the rest of us when you get nailed for higher fuel prices when a environmentally aware government gets in and slugs you at the pump. At current fuel prices it might seem a high cost investment but I'd bet that'll be very differnet picture five years from now.
Did you actually read the article or just look at the pretty pictures?
The weight of the lead acid batteries provide more than sufficient roll stability "...including 1,100 pounds of Yellow Top batteries under the floorboards as ballast, so it's not tippy on turns." FTFA!
Check the text, he says "Windows-based computers now crash more than twice each day". According to my understanding >2 is the same as >=3 for singular events.
Translation: "Windows-based computers now crash three times or more each day"
It's classical marketing speak, use the more acceptable term ("two") two and qualify it such that it sounds better than the real term ("three") would.
You're right, unfortunately. This method really can only work if you can justify a fee and have a clear target in your own country. It helps to have a business involved too in order to be able to invoice the charges more easily.
If you can get to that point, you should be able to find a collection agency that takes it's fee from the claim - if the method works, who cares if you get no money from it at the end if it reduces the spam just a little bit.
At the end of the day it's going to take a lot more effort but it's good for the little guy to get a win now and then.
Aw bugger! I use a boogie board, is that good enough?
FWIW I was cheering for the Aussies from the day I came back from Oz the first time and sent off for the migration doco. Let's face it, who'd cheer the English cricket team, except the barmy army?
I recently got on the mailing list of a surf company in Sydney, I've no idea how since I'm in Perth and can't surf (Ex-pom).
I started receiving almost weekly newsletters and updates and, despite numerous phone calls and e-mails with the usual promises to comply, I just couldn't get off the list... then they sent the 2.5 Mb Word document, you know the type!
I e-mailed back and told them that they'd filled up my e-mail account and caused me to miss some important e-mails, plus cost me time and money due to the download costs. I advised them that, as they were now affecting my business, I'd be invoicing them $25+GST administration fee for each and every e-mail I received from then on and that if they didn't pay, I'd hand the account to a debt collection agency - one that takes a cut of the recovery value.
I cautioned them that it would not concern me if I received nothing from the agency but that such action could affect their credit rating. What a surprise(!), I've received nothing since.
If you can justify charging a fee to the spammer for administration or storage or anything like that, sufficient to stand up reasonably in a small claims court, then you should threaten to invoice the spammer and use a debt collection agency - it just might work for you too.
And so it the Australian one, so your point is...?
I simply used the term "citizens" because the original poster used it, you could equally use corporations, businesses, entities or any other term of choice. The point I was making is that the Australian government is correctly (for once) acting for the benefit of those to whom it is directly accountable and not for the foreign power, in this case the U.S. from where the questionable patent appears to originate.
The original poster seemed to take exception at a foreign government seemingly acting against U.S. interests for the benefit of its own interests, while at the same time supporting the U.S. for doing just that - sheer hypocracy.
I said that within five years Linux would be a tangible, realistic desktop option for the mainstream and a true challenger to M$ - he disagreed. I can't remember just now what percentage inroad I stated (my p.d.a. knows) but it looks like I'm going to be getting that posh dinner for me and the missus after all.
"It's the duty of a goverment to act for the benefit of all citizens"
By this I presume you mean all its own citizens, in which case that's precisely what the Australian government it trying to do for its citizens, instead of bowing yet again to our big friendly(!) U.S. dictatorship (oops, sorry) ally whose sole objective is to exploit everybody else for its own benefit - guess the high I.Q. overlooked that!
This is about the first time of late I've agreed with something the Howard govt. has done. How long is it going to be before someone tries to patent "buying something at a retailer you saw listed in the phone book entries on the internet"! This and many other patents of the same nature are just a sick joke and should be knocked back completely.
"...only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia...".
How typically US-centric of M$, yet another example of how M$ doesn't really give a shit about the rest of the world. If it truly wanted universal appeal it would encompass all users, irrespective of geography.
Re:What about teachin them some math, physics and
on
Wi-Fi Woods
·
· Score: 2, Funny
Going by what some of the schools I know of, since when did real knowledge and skills come out of a school! 8-)
In Australia the charging system is much the same as Europe - the caller pays whether they send SMS or make a call, same principle as the land-line. Why anyone would sign up for a phone system where it costs to receive is beyond me, are all U.S. schemes like this? As a consequence of this caller pays approach, I've never received a single SMS spam message, it would costs the spammer too much - I only receive notifications from the voicemail system and messages from friends; even sending via web sites is charged to the sender (via whatever mechanism the site chooses). If you're being charged to receive, change your carrier.
Saab install these in order to further analyse real-life crash situations, situations which are not easily reproduced in the test bed. They were originally only installed (started quite some years ago I recall) in limited numbers in Sweden but proved so valuable that they widened the scheme.
"In the event of a crash, recording stops and the data can be retrieved. Saab says it will ask the owner for permission to retrieve the data, and that it is immediately 'de-personalised' and used only for research." - New Zealand Herald
As someone who has been driving Saab since '87 and who has been well protected in three major accidents (all the other driver's fault - drunks - I might add) I'm all in favour of using any tools to further improve my chance of survival. But then, since I don't drive like a prick, I've no concerns about my driving being recorded.
Slashdot Mirror
I won't use my two main cards over the phone, internet or out of my sight at restaurants, I also ask for the carbons if they ever have to hand-swipe the card.
For any purchase of that sort I have a debit card linked to an unrelated account with nothing in it - the credit union has explicit instructions never to allow it to be overdrawn. Whenever I want to buy anything via a 'suspect' route, I transfer just enough to the account/card to cover the cost then immediately complete the transaction. If anyone intercepts the information, the most I lose is that amount.
It's slightly inconvenient on occasion but I feel far more comfortable about my cards.
"High above Earth where seismic waves never reach..." ...except perhaps for the solar ones.
Only two weeks ago my current boss invited me to accompany him to an evening lecture... on solar seismology! Turns out the guy is not just a paper pusher but actually has some serious qualifications in nuclear physics (of the solar, not bomb, sort - albeit a fine line between). Gave me a fascinating insight into more of the complexities of our sun, how its quakes make ours seem like mere trembles and its potential effects on us.
Unfortunately, coming to Oz from an eastern european country meant he had little opportunity to use those skills, so now he's a frustrated project manager - there ain't no justice, eh?
"...they have jumbo coconut balls"
Just a bigger target and easier to kick!
IANAL. However, I do know (from personal experience) that in both the U.K. and Oz the law relating to the commercial sale of an item are essentially encompassed by the following. The item must be all of these:
1. Fit for the purpose for which it was sold.
2. Of merchantable quality.
3. As described.
How these are interpreted by the various parties involved is obviously variable but I have always found that stating these tenets as part of the "Consumer Protection Act" with sufficient confidence and presence (DON'T get angry) has yet to fail in achieving a refund / replacement / whatever.
Finally, don't be fobbed off to a third party - your contract of sale under law is with the party from whom you purchased the said item, unless specifically stated and agreed to as an agent of another party, and even that's not too rigid and intractible.
Perhaps it's different in the U.S. but I recall a case maaaaany years ago in the U.K. where a patent was refused because the idea had previously been seen in a children's comic.
The idea was for an automatic cat flap that opened when the trained cat pressed on a pad. Apparently the patent office clerk either saw a similar design on his son's comic (The Beano or The Dandy, U.K. comics for the under ten) or spoke of it and the son brought the comic to his attention.
Either way, the patent was knocked back for not being an original work - the idea had been presented before, albeit as an act of fiction in a comic. I'm fairly sure this is genuine, it made the headlines (mumble) years ago "when ah were just a nippa".
Surely the same approach is used today in that, if an idea is already in general use, then it can't be an original work and therefore cannot be patented!?
...more bloody land-fill, courtesy of our great throw-away society, when are these people going to take responsibility for their actions? By creating something this cheap, whatever recycling opportunities are presented to appease the greens will still be ignored by the masses and the damned things will still get thrown away. God, it makes me fume!
Oh God... no! George Lazenby?!?! He was worse even than Roger "twitch eyebrow" Moore.
I have to say I support the poster's underlying point here. I'm a Psion user of some 17 years duration (I still have a Organiser II from 86) and have been spoilt by the set of inbuilt apps. that the Psions included.
I've recently been looking round at PDAs because the screen on my Series 5 packed up and I was thinking it might be time to change now that Psions aren't made any more. All I can say is that the current crop of Palm and Pocket PC based units made me suffer the loss of my Psion while it goes to Sydney for a week for repair.
I'm lucky that my current employer is looking at PDAs for a major project and we've got a variety to evaluate, both in their own right and for suitability for bespoke customisation. Frankly I was disappointed with the lot. None provided the full set of applications/features I've grown to love over the years, to say nothing of the limited input mechanisms in many cases.
To be fair though, this review and your post have raised my hopes that there is light at the end of my Psion tunnel. Obviously I won't be getting something new soon since I've now sent my 5 for repair but at least I can look more favourably on replacing it when the time finally comes, for which I thank you!
1. "...zooms from zero to 60 in four seconds" nuf sed.
2. " Working from a photo-shopped picture of a 1998 Mercedes A-Class hatchback..." and Mercedes seem to be doing ok with that style given how many I've seen around.
3. "... causing a jam in front of Spokane's Northtown Mall. Traffic stops, drivers gawk." nef sed.
4. "...leaving a puff of rubber smoke and conventional Corvettes and Porsches in the dust.". Sounds like most sets of traffic lights will do that part!
5. "... Three hours to completely recharge in a dryer socket" - in other words, at your home, your mate's, at work if they provide covered parking and a convenient socket or extension cable and technically any other location where they have a bloody main socket!
Did you actually bother to read the article before posting!?
It's that sort of short sighted attitude that is the very reason many cities in the states are choking to death on polution fumes from cars.
Go ahead... buy your gas-guzzler, but don't come bitching to the rest of us when you get nailed for higher fuel prices when a environmentally aware government gets in and slugs you at the pump. At current fuel prices it might seem a high cost investment but I'd bet that'll be very differnet picture five years from now.
Did you actually read the article or just look at the pretty pictures?
The weight of the lead acid batteries provide more than sufficient roll stability "...including 1,100 pounds of Yellow Top batteries under the floorboards as ballast, so it's not tippy on turns." FTFA!
Check the text, he says "Windows-based computers now crash more than twice each day". According to my understanding >2 is the same as >=3 for singular events.
Translation: "Windows-based computers now crash three times or more each day"
It's classical marketing speak, use the more acceptable term ("two") two and qualify it such that it sounds better than the real term ("three") would.
You're right, unfortunately. This method really can only work if you can justify a fee and have a clear target in your own country. It helps to have a business involved too in order to be able to invoice the charges more easily.
If you can get to that point, you should be able to find a collection agency that takes it's fee from the claim - if the method works, who cares if you get no money from it at the end if it reduces the spam just a little bit.
At the end of the day it's going to take a lot more effort but it's good for the little guy to get a win now and then.
Aw bugger! I use a boogie board, is that good enough?
FWIW I was cheering for the Aussies from the day I came back from Oz the first time and sent off for the migration doco. Let's face it, who'd cheer the English cricket team, except the barmy army?
Yeah, I know... flamebait! 8-)
I recently got on the mailing list of a surf company in Sydney, I've no idea how since I'm in Perth and can't surf (Ex-pom).
I started receiving almost weekly newsletters and updates and, despite numerous phone calls and e-mails with the usual promises to comply, I just couldn't get off the list... then they sent the 2.5 Mb Word document, you know the type!
I e-mailed back and told them that they'd filled up my e-mail account and caused me to miss some important e-mails, plus cost me time and money due to the download costs. I advised them that, as they were now affecting my business, I'd be invoicing them $25+GST administration fee for each and every e-mail I received from then on and that if they didn't pay, I'd hand the account to a debt collection agency - one that takes a cut of the recovery value.
I cautioned them that it would not concern me if I received nothing from the agency but that such action could affect their credit rating. What a surprise(!), I've received nothing since.
If you can justify charging a fee to the spammer for administration or storage or anything like that, sufficient to stand up reasonably in a small claims court, then you should threaten to invoice the spammer and use a debt collection agency - it just might work for you too.
And so it the Australian one, so your point is...?
I simply used the term "citizens" because the original poster used it, you could equally use corporations, businesses, entities or any other term of choice. The point I was making is that the Australian government is correctly (for once) acting for the benefit of those to whom it is directly accountable and not for the foreign power, in this case the U.S. from where the questionable patent appears to originate.
The original poster seemed to take exception at a foreign government seemingly acting against U.S. interests for the benefit of its own interests, while at the same time supporting the U.S. for doing just that - sheer hypocracy.
...I took out with a colleague three years ago.
I said that within five years Linux would be a tangible, realistic desktop option for the mainstream and a true challenger to M$ - he disagreed. I can't remember just now what percentage inroad I stated (my p.d.a. knows) but it looks like I'm going to be getting that posh dinner for me and the missus after all.
Ah, sweet victory is in sight.
"using safe havens for server keeping"
Oh look, new patent opportunity, first one to the patent office gets it!
"It's the duty of a goverment to act for the benefit of all citizens"
By this I presume you mean all its own citizens, in which case that's precisely what the Australian government it trying to do for its citizens, instead of bowing yet again to our big friendly(!) U.S. dictatorship (oops, sorry) ally whose sole objective is to exploit everybody else for its own benefit - guess the high I.Q. overlooked that!
This is about the first time of late I've agreed with something the Howard govt. has done. How long is it going to be before someone tries to patent "buying something at a retailer you saw listed in the phone book entries on the internet"! This and many other patents of the same nature are just a sick joke and should be knocked back completely.
"...only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia...".
How typically US-centric of M$, yet another example of how M$ doesn't really give a shit about the rest of the world. If it truly wanted universal appeal it would encompass all users, irrespective of geography.
Going by what some of the schools I know of, since when did real knowledge and skills come out of a school! 8-)
In Australia the charging system is much the same as Europe - the caller pays whether they send SMS or make a call, same principle as the land-line. Why anyone would sign up for a phone system where it costs to receive is beyond me, are all U.S. schemes like this?
As a consequence of this caller pays approach, I've never received a single SMS spam message, it would costs the spammer too much - I only receive notifications from the voicemail system and messages from friends; even sending via web sites is charged to the sender (via whatever mechanism the site chooses).
If you're being charged to receive, change your carrier.
Saab install these in order to further analyse real-life crash situations, situations which are not easily reproduced in the test bed. They were originally only installed (started quite some years ago I recall) in limited numbers in Sweden but proved so valuable that they widened the scheme.
"In the event of a crash, recording stops and the data can be retrieved. Saab says it will ask the owner for permission to retrieve the data, and that it is immediately 'de-personalised' and used only for research." - New Zealand Herald
As someone who has been driving Saab since '87 and who has been well protected in three major accidents (all the other driver's fault - drunks - I might add) I'm all in favour of using any tools to further improve my chance of survival. But then, since I don't drive like a prick, I've no concerns about my driving being recorded.
"... define spam broadly enough to outlaw it, but narrowly enough to avoid..."
Yeah, right! These are legislators and lawyers, etc. Like they're not going to get that bit arse about and make it illegal not to send spam! 8-)
Since when have a government ever got it right on technology, you just have to look at the D.M.C.A. to see what's coming here.
If I remember correctly, we also got you at Darts about a year ago, too! 8-)) (ExPat)