Your comparison to the Interstate Highway System is laughable.
LOL: He's been sitting at home bemoaning the Information Highway and got hooked into the analogy good and proper! Guard Rails... yer! That's what we need. And Information bridges and tunnels to allow us to pass over the Porn Swamps and under Gambling Mountains with traffic light controlled off and on ramps to restrict access!
Obviously we'll need a Hard Shoulder for when your PC breaks down, and some sort of Central Reservation (or "Median Strip") to keep the upload and download data streams from crashing head-on!
Indeed, like a lot of security theatre (ID cards, etc) it is only the law abiding who will be inconvenienced by it. Once these become common place the bad guys will be able to spot them and/or stop them working (accurately) so they become basically useless apart from tracking Joe Schmo going off to bang someone else's wife.
Better yet... if you ARE up to no good and you spot the GPS device... remove it from your car and leave it on the drive... drive off to commit whatever heinous crime you're being tracked for (I dunno... copy an MP3 or something?), drive home and bung the GPS back on yer motor!
Me officer? Hell no. I've not driven anywhere all day, and your GPS logs PROVE IT!
Sweet as!
Without continual observation the results are potentially useless!
I'd say the Human Rights Act (or French equivalent)...
The French are ever so good at adhering to laws when it's good for them, and ignoring them totally when they aren't! Must be something deeply ingrained in the French psyche, and (anyone's)god how I wish we British could be more like them on this front at times! The number of times Britain has followed EC directives to the letter (straight bananas and cucumbers, etc) to the detriment of our country are innumerable, where the French would (and apparently do!) just shrug and carry on as before!
All that said I hope the guy screws them to the wall over this - bon chance mon amie!
The British government already has a hard-on for "road pricing schemes". You know what that means? GPS transmitters in every car, reporting positions to the government constantly. That's not paranoia, it's what's necessary to implement what they're saying they have in mind.
A very good (old school) friend of mine had a run in with some blackmailers a while back - the whole "give us money or we'll damage your family" thing - V. Unpleasent indeed. The thought that there may be a tracker in his cars that would allow anyone (Gov. included) to be able to track the whereabouts of his vehicles, which may contain his wife and kids, is something he isn't very keen on now.
Sure, it's a Gov system and we all know how secure they are, but even without the added pressure of the blackmailers, what if someone fancies burgling your house and can know when all your cars are out and are moving away from home. They could get a nice SMS message to inform them when the first of your vehicles starts heading home so they know when to vacate with the loot!
Perhaps a bit on the "tinfoil hat" side of things, but we've had people working at the DVLC selling info to people and the rewards for this info could be even higher!
If I drive to work I could simply reverse out of the drive, then drive straight back in again, but to take the train would involve driving to the station, paying to park, catching a train to presumably the next stop, changing to catch a train back again (as the station nearest my home is also the station nearest my workplace), then driving back home to where I work.
For me, the train is simply not an option, though I have considered taking a bus one stop and walking back to try and get some exercise and meet people.
That's the thing, they shouldn't have any sort of relationship.
I thought I'd seen and heard it all and would not, could not be shocked by ANYTHING our morally bankrupt Government gets up to anymore... and they manage to lower the bar again!
You have to admire them really, in the same way you admire a really clever criminal who pulls off some job against all the odds:-
Some friends of mine were in South America and were out for a nice walk when one of them got hit by an enormous bird-strike. Luckily some nice locals had some tissues and a bottle of water and were able to help clean the mess off. Hours later they discovered the "nice locals" had pulled their wallets (jacket pocket/handbag), removed the cash and _only_ the credit cards they wanted, and replaced the wallets without being noticed. All whilst cleaning up the faux-bird-shite they had squirted on them.
You know those people? They're our Government they are!
When I have a political argument with someone I like to ask them to name 5 (or 10?) things that they think the Party they support have got wrong, and 5 (or 10) things the Party(ies) they don't like have got right (when in power). This tends to be interesting for a number of reasons because I find it hard to think of any party than can get everything right or indeed, everything wrong.
If they come back with nothing then they simply don't know enough about the subject to have a rational argument and you might as well go get another round in and hope the subject has moved on to something else they don't know about when you return with the beers!
If they come back with a well reasoned list of things, against their party and/or for your party it nicely removes a lot of the animosity from the argument, as you now have some common ground and are talking about shades of grey rather than black and white issues.
All that said... our current Labour muppets... hmmmm... they MUST have done something right... surely... AHA...
1) 24 Hour Drinking!
2) Smoking ban in pubs
3)...
4) Profit
... ROFLMFAO... well, the MPs get profit I suppose, what with voting for their own pay rises and index linked final salary pensions and their noses well and truly welded to the bottom of the expenses trough!
Nice idea... and the other poster just above who suggests sending the Wake On LAN when the PC user swipes into the building. But doesn't that just boot the PC? It doesn't perform the initial login as well? For me, the boot takes seconds and the slow part is the login process that starts all the crap running (OK, mostly just Windoze, but swift it ain't!).
Sure, the current EV's (esp. the Tesla Roadster) is too expensive, and the range is perhaps too low (though a couple of hundred miles per charge is pretty good in the scheme of things), but I think you are missing the point. The fact that IC engines can usually drive further on a tank, and the tank much quicker to fill up is beside the point. What we have here is an emerging technology and it's been getting better pretty bloody slowly up until, apparently, now. Tesla are pushing the envelope and have an interesting product - if I had the money I'd have a Tesla Roadster in a heartbeat! - Other people do have the money, and the inclination, and this will encourage more innovation and lower prices.
Are Elective Cars the answer? Probably not, but they are an answer, and for short journey's like commuting or shopping they may well be ideal - drive to work or the shops and plug in!
Yeah. I wait until it's safe to pass and not kill myself, rather than risk my life and that of oncoming traffic (not to mention my $100k sports car) hoping that my awesome acceleration will fix that problem for me.
This is the problem with performance vehicles - they put stupid ideas in people's heads. Just because you might be able to pull off some sort of reckless stunt that you certainly couldn't in a normal vehicle doesn't mean you should.
No worries. Each to their own, and all that stuff. I do hope you leave a suitable gap between yourself and the SEMI (or whatever slow moving vehicle is in front) so that others may choose to "hop" past you safely and not have to try and overtake both you and the SEMI if, for whatever reason, they feel the need to "make like a towel", and press on.
That's certainly one of the things that annoys the hell out of me! I honestly have no issue with people who choose not to overtake, but please do consider those who do want to overtake and leave sufficient room to allow people to pull in.
If we are allowed to chose between existing products and future imagined products then I want a anti-gravity pod that can teleport and is fuelled by love and gravy.
Of course if it could be fuelled by your own love gravy you really would be beating everyone away from the lights!
I dunno, the LiPo batteries in Thinkpad X300 and X301 laptops seem to be doing their job very well.
... and don't forget that the LiPo batteries are much easier to change as, being gel based they can be extracted by the application of a vacuum thereby allowing you to simply book your car in for a service and LiPo suction.
Face it, the guys collecting "evidence" probably don't know what a cable modem is, they just grabbed anything that looks computerish.
Cops right? So not just anything "Computerish" but probably anything that looks vaguely electric!
For the Prosecution: I'd like to draw the attention of the jury to the following items:
item 3725: vacuum cleaner
item 3726: toaster
item 3727: kettle
items 3728-3755: Assorted light bulbs
Really? So in what countries can a person be denied access to public property while doing nothing illegal?
England, apparently. The Police prevented the protestors from leaving the City during the G20 march a day or so ago. No one was allowed to leave for several hours. Now I don't know about you, but that would certainly frost my shorts, and I can see how that would annoy some of the hotheads into scuffles with the cops. How are the cops allowed to detain hundreds/thousands of innocent people for 5 or 6 hours without anyone thinking it's a bad thing?
As one locksmith told me: "Locks are there to keep your peace of mind. It's an illusion. And there is nothing a person can't get into without a little determination....
Hey... you know you could almost certainly apply that to all the Security Theatre you have to go through to board a 'plane these days, the difference being that the Security Theatre Operatives wouldn't be so free with the information as your locksmith chap!
Slashdot Mirror
Me too, but it wasn't much fun. I never got asked to any of their parties or anything!
See also: [singing] ...
Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir
So that every mouth can be fed.
Poor me, the Meteorite. Aah.
I wonder if their last thoughts were - Wish I'd bought a lottery ticket!
LOL: He's been sitting at home bemoaning the Information Highway and got hooked into the analogy good and proper! Guard Rails ... yer! That's what we need. And Information bridges and tunnels to allow us to pass over the Porn Swamps and under Gambling Mountains with traffic light controlled off and on ramps to restrict access!
Obviously we'll need a Hard Shoulder for when your PC breaks down, and some sort of Central Reservation (or "Median Strip") to keep the upload and download data streams from crashing head-on!
Sheez! It's tubes all over again!
Rather than the ménage a un he's become far to accustomed too!
Hence the phrase:
Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb
Indeed, like a lot of security theatre (ID cards, etc) it is only the law abiding who will be inconvenienced by it. Once these become common place the bad guys will be able to spot them and/or stop them working (accurately) so they become basically useless apart from tracking Joe Schmo going off to bang someone else's wife.
Me officer? Hell no. I've not driven anywhere all day, and your GPS logs PROVE IT!
Sweet as!
Without continual observation the results are potentially useless!
The French are ever so good at adhering to laws when it's good for them, and ignoring them totally when they aren't! Must be something deeply ingrained in the French psyche, and (anyone's)god how I wish we British could be more like them on this front at times! The number of times Britain has followed EC directives to the letter (straight bananas and cucumbers, etc) to the detriment of our country are innumerable, where the French would (and apparently do!) just shrug and carry on as before!
All that said I hope the guy screws them to the wall over this - bon chance mon amie!
A very good (old school) friend of mine had a run in with some blackmailers a while back - the whole "give us money or we'll damage your family" thing - V. Unpleasent indeed. The thought that there may be a tracker in his cars that would allow anyone (Gov. included) to be able to track the whereabouts of his vehicles, which may contain his wife and kids, is something he isn't very keen on now.
Sure, it's a Gov system and we all know how secure they are, but even without the added pressure of the blackmailers, what if someone fancies burgling your house and can know when all your cars are out and are moving away from home. They could get a nice SMS message to inform them when the first of your vehicles starts heading home so they know when to vacate with the loot!
Perhaps a bit on the "tinfoil hat" side of things, but we've had people working at the DVLC selling info to people and the rewards for this info could be even higher!
For me, the train is simply not an option, though I have considered taking a bus one stop and walking back to try and get some exercise and meet people.
I thought I'd seen and heard it all and would not, could not be shocked by ANYTHING our morally bankrupt Government gets up to anymore ... and they manage to lower the bar again!
You have to admire them really, in the same way you admire a really clever criminal who pulls off some job against all the odds :-
Some friends of mine were in South America and were out for a nice walk when one of them got hit by an enormous bird-strike. Luckily some nice locals had some tissues and a bottle of water and were able to help clean the mess off. Hours later they discovered the "nice locals" had pulled their wallets (jacket pocket/handbag), removed the cash and _only_ the credit cards they wanted, and replaced the wallets without being noticed. All whilst cleaning up the faux-bird-shite they had squirted on them.
You know those people? They're our Government they are!
If they come back with nothing then they simply don't know enough about the subject to have a rational argument and you might as well go get another round in and hope the subject has moved on to something else they don't know about when you return with the beers!
If they come back with a well reasoned list of things, against their party and/or for your party it nicely removes a lot of the animosity from the argument, as you now have some common ground and are talking about shades of grey rather than black and white issues.
All that said ... our current Labour muppets ... hmmmm ... they MUST have done something right ... surely ... AHA ...
1) 24 Hour Drinking! ...
2) Smoking ban in pubs
3)
4) Profit
Nice idea ... and the other poster just above who suggests sending the Wake On LAN when the PC user swipes into the building. But doesn't that just boot the PC? It doesn't perform the initial login as well? For me, the boot takes seconds and the slow part is the login process that starts all the crap running (OK, mostly just Windoze, but swift it ain't!).
Are Elective Cars the answer? Probably not, but they are an answer, and for short journey's like commuting or shopping they may well be ideal - drive to work or the shops and plug in!
Not even Ethel?
Look, all I said was that this bit of hallibut was good enough for jehova!
Where's the "-1: Figures pull out of my arse" moderation when you want one eh!
This is the problem with performance vehicles - they put stupid ideas in people's heads. Just because you might be able to pull off some sort of reckless stunt that you certainly couldn't in a normal vehicle doesn't mean you should.
No worries. Each to their own, and all that stuff. I do hope you leave a suitable gap between yourself and the SEMI (or whatever slow moving vehicle is in front) so that others may choose to "hop" past you safely and not have to try and overtake both you and the SEMI if, for whatever reason, they feel the need to "make like a towel", and press on.
That's certainly one of the things that annoys the hell out of me! I honestly have no issue with people who choose not to overtake, but please do consider those who do want to overtake and leave sufficient room to allow people to pull in.
Of course if it could be fuelled by your own love gravy you really would be beating everyone away from the lights!
[backing away slowly] ... could I calmly suggest that "Don't Try This," would be a better bet.
Er
Cops right? So not just anything "Computerish" but probably anything that looks vaguely electric!
For the Prosecution: I'd like to draw the attention of the jury to the following items:
item 3725: vacuum cleaner
item 3726: toaster
item 3727: kettle
items 3728-3755: Assorted light bulbs
er?
-4 Profit?
Well you started it ...
England, apparently. The Police prevented the protestors from leaving the City during the G20 march a day or so ago. No one was allowed to leave for several hours. Now I don't know about you, but that would certainly frost my shorts, and I can see how that would annoy some of the hotheads into scuffles with the cops. How are the cops allowed to detain hundreds/thousands of innocent people for 5 or 6 hours without anyone thinking it's a bad thing?
Hey ... you know you could almost certainly apply that to all the Security Theatre you have to go through to board a 'plane these days, the difference being that the Security Theatre Operatives wouldn't be so free with the information as your locksmith chap!