In the UK, we are taxed _far_ more heavily than pretty much anywhere else on fuel. There's even a website (can't remember link, any UK KH's out there?) & movement after our government gouged motorists again in his last budget, people are getting cheesed off globally about this. The fact of the matter is - oil companies don't want to change the status quo. And they can collectively buy any working innovation out there to hedge against a future when we have raped the planet of oil. Think about it - oil companies have billions of beer vouchers to invest in buying new fuel engines, and sitting on them. Think I'm paranoid? Look at the way OPEC et al are conducting themseleves recently, and you'll understand. Also, read Ben Elton's "Gridlock" for a scary ride...
Yes, I am prepared to pay. Two things need to happen first, though - secure online micro payments, and for the record companies to realise that the glory days are long gone. Kind of like the mining unions in 80's UK - they wouldn't bow to the new way of doing things, so they were destroyed.
I can see this is going to go one way... These "cuckoo's eggs" will proliferate, so people will start renaming their MP3's "NotACuckooEggShitneyBrears_PopDrivel.mp3" to get around this. Then the cuckoo egg producers will do the same... And it'll be a huge dynamic mish mash; what is the "genuine" prefix this week? And as more & more people get faster internet at home, there will be more, and more, and more MP3's and egg mp3s out there... Eating disk space and bandwidth. I cannot wait for a reasonable settlement to this whole digital music thing... I'm not holding my breath, though..
your pretence that having an operating system on your computer is some sort of revolutionary act Actually, I just threw the Linux reference in as a gradual decay of "crimes" in the list for comedy effect/karma whore points/to confuse microcephallic self-abusers like yourself. I was implying that once the kit is in place, you can start all sorts of intrusion into people's lives. And that's not funny/karma whore/difficult to understand.
Nobody cares that you choose to use a difficult, cheap, under-developed OS with few drivers, I don't. I use Linux when I can...
least of all the Government. Hmm, have you been _blind_ to the RIP bill in Great Britain recently? Oh, you're probably not from GB, so it can't matter... "They came for the weenies, and I did not speak up, for I was not a weenie..." Who'll be batting for you when they come for the trolls, streetlawyer? Just becase you expect to see Linux fanatics on/. does not mean/. is full of them.
Have you not noticed that numerous Linux companies have actually had IPOs? Yes I have, by which your logic that I think I am the next Che Guevara, is flawed at best. So, it's a guerrlia OS run by corporations then? Hmm, time for your next hit from the crack pipe...
Oooh, rebel rebel, your hair is a mess. But at least I managed to tie both my own shoelaces this morning, can you say you did any better? Oh, and your mother forgot to tuck your shirt in... Quit the fashion advice, turdboy.
Look around you on Slashdot. Are these the kind of people that The Man fears for their independent thinking and free hearts? Yes, I do think that, actually. Because we are connected to the Internet; even the most stupid MBA knows that the internet is a seething hotbed of bomb making recipes, nuclear warhead blueprints and goat porn. You fumduck. Again, go read The Register, search for RIP, and come back to the table with a better argument. Legislation is being passed - is that the work of an unthreatened organisation?
I think you ought to be going back to your original troll nature, streetlawyer; start trying to buy those crack ho's outa jail.
Another scary innovation. As with all scientific advances, this throws up a whole load of interesting situations... Depending on how sensitive and correct this device is, I can see some being installed in London, UK. Mention "terrorist" in England and you get some pretty draconian legal powers (such as extended questioning periods etc) to use and abuse. So these are set up at airports... "To trap the terrorists" Then set up at train stations... "To trap the terrorists" Then set up at tube stations... "To trap the terrorists" Before you know it, the terrorist threat has disappeared. Do they remove these machines? Hell, no lets have them sniff for drugs/homosexuality/Linux! Think I'm paranoid? Then on my way to work, how come I drive through 3 manned police CCTV cameras left over from the "anti terrorist" Ring of Steel?
Actually, I was kidding, thanks. Humour sometimes depends on taking a false assumption and expanding on it, and the joke is we all understand the underlying premise is absurd, but imagine the assumption being real. You want a pissing contest on how 1337 you are at physics? Now _that's_ funny! Lighten up, dude! Drink a beer!!! Or even better, drag your skinny arse over here to London, and have a beer _with_ me!:)
This could cheapen the Helium3 mining operation from the moon!!! You could leap 100m in a go! Better make sure they are properly fitted, though, or quite a few lunar miners could end up in the Sun...
If there'es _ever_ one statement by the media on the 'net that _really_ annoys the living shit out of me, it's , as tens of millions come online, popular awareness of an "information explosion" There is _NOT_ an information explosion going on, there is a DATA explosion going on. Data is defined as raw facts, information is those facts sorted, collated and presented in a useful form. In fact, I'd say there is an "information implosion" going on right now - there is more data, but information is harder to find, as there is more chaff being added to the wheat of the internet. Do a web search on just about anything these days; you'll be guaranteed at least one pr0n link, a whole bunch of useless sites put up to carry banner ads, and somewhere, finally, the information you wanted. I'm really looking forward to the next set of search engines; curren "innovations" such as Google are making progress, but there have been no real leaps and bounds made to turn raw data into information.
Intrepid Fox, near Leicester Square... The Complex in Angel used to have some kicking metal nights; shame they pulled it down...:( Joe Satriani at Shepherds Bush Empire last Wednesday kicked _arse_ !!!:)
London isn't too bad for a geek to live in. Cable modems are being rolled out (should be there by the end of the year see here, and the heavy preponderance of banking gives a very lucrative market. The downside is not much internet/web stuff is going out to the internet in general, but the intranet business is booming. The best thing about working in the city is that a lot of the banks have a very cutting edge policy of taking on new ideas quickly. If you can justify a business case, you're there. And that includes training, lots of it. London _is_ one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in, but as an IT professional, you can afford it. Or you can live a bit further out if you can handle the commute. I work with a guy who lives on a farm with 40 acres; takes him about an hour each way to commute. Forget owning a car unless you have a _big_ selection of MP3's to listen to as you're stuck in traffic. Socially, there's an active London Linux group, lots of cybercafes (ranging from basic surf & email to massive Quake fragathon setups), London also has one of the most kicking club scenes out. Pretty much everything is catered for, from rawk to hardcore techno. And there's _loads_ of really nice pubs, ranging from winebars to country pubs. You can also go to just about any sort of restaurant, too, and the curry in Brick Lane is nothing less than excellent. And the beer is always decent; think microbrewery quality... Oh, yeah, and on Thursday nights, there is _always_ a bunch of Essex girls looking for a bit of company.... >;)
BZZZZZT! The U in UDP is actually Unreliable - TCPIP makes a one shot fire-off-the-packet-and-cross-my-fingers stab at sending it. If it doesn't get to where it should, unlucky. The concept of a "socket" introduces a "sliding window" concept over the stream of UDP packets which provides error control and recovery. That is why UDP is quicker than a socket based connection, although it's use is limited because you never know if your packet got there. Anyway, back on the topic of your comment - what "nice laws" do you think the UK needs, from Scandinavia? This is not a troll, I'm a UK resident & interested in what you think.
I wonder how old some of these projects are. Because I'm sure one or two of them have been subsumed into other projects along the way; they have been obviated by newer, more integrated projects. Besides which, programmers don't get that "my baby" feeling from solely developing code. What _really_ makes us buzz is writing from scratch. Still, there might be one or two projects still in there that aren't being redeveloped or implemented in other projects. And these may benefit from looking at how old they are, and whether or nor better technology (compilers, window managers etc) exists so these projects can be reimplemented with a more modern approach.
I am so delighted with your description of NHS that I will encourage my elected representatives to enact it here in the States!
I think you ought to. That way, you won't have medical staff checking your pockets for medical insurance documents when you arrive unconcious and bleeding at the A&E... Or be put second in line to someone with a small cut when you're critical condition, just because they're insured and you're not...
"wonderful, equal, free government supported health care systems of Europe".
Actually, I _do_ live there. And some of the state healthcare systems are _really_ good. At least, when Europeans do finally get to hospital, then they are there until they're cured or dead, as opposed to when the insurance runs out... An Oregon friend of mine's Dad was sent home to die of stomach cancer once his insurance cash ran out... The NHS is an excellent system, but it needs cash, badly. I'd gladly pay an extra 10% tax on my grossly inflated earnings, if that was what it took. Sadly, now that the age of conviction politics has given way to soundbite politics, that will never happen.
...it will make a top place for gigs or something Hmm, last I heard, it was to be torn down in 2001. And call me cynical, but that's a whole lot of prime land there ready for the sale once the Dome has been removed...
Bah, I bet you don't spend all of *your* money on 'useful' things! No, I don't. But before I buy my indulgences and techno fripperies, I make damn sure that I've paid my rent, bills and put food on the table. I can regale you with countless tales of family members and friends who have waited forever trying to get medical treatment for severe conditions. Or you can look at how healthcare in the UK racks up to the rest of Europe and the world - the NHS sucks. Maybe one medical centre of excellence won't help this overnight, but I'm pretty sure my mother won't feel any improvement of her condition by going to the Dome. I wonder how you'd feel if you lived where I'm from, and needed emergency medical attention. They closed down the local A&E ward 3 miles from my home village; nearest is 15 miles. 12 miles extra is a long way for a defibrillator to travel if your heart has stopped...
pointlessly giving people arts degrees, for example That is an entirely different argument, but I'll take a nibble - the government is not funding higher education as much as it was. I am _still_ paying my student loans off (been working 5 years on _good_ money), and I read Computer Science. So I doubt many people are burdoning the state as much as you think with "pointless" degress
I've been to the Dome. This is about the only thing worth going to in the entire place. Only expect to wait for 4 hours to get a go on this - tourists, tourists, tourists, and schoolchildren everywhere. I wish they'd used the money instead to create the "Millenium Hospital" or "Millenium Digital Library" instead of this one off pile of shit they wasted our tax money on. (Note to US moderators - check the BBC news site for old articles about how most of the UK populace _really_ didn't want this folly.) It's cool tech, but wasn't worth the effort.
I seem to recall that you could copy games just by tape-to-taping them when they were on those audio style cassettes... Some stereos always had to play the actual "input" deck. And always, the software manufacturers were crying "these pirates will put us out of business!"... History repeating itself? BTW, any one know what happened to the C64 great programmers? Jeff Minter, Andrew Braybrook, Shaun Southern, Archer Maclean?
mark something meant to be funny as TROLL that is bad moderation Like this.... One moderator pulled it down (troll), another pulled it back (funny). Sig11 is OK, it's the segfault overspill on/. that is the problem... Go ahead, 5kr1p7 k1dd135 with moderator points, have this down as -1 flamebait or troll because you can't take the sound of free speech. I'm posting at +2 because I at least defend Sig11's right to try & be funny. Did I laugh? No. But what I find funny and what other people find funny are two different things, and I'm sure Sig11's post gave someone a chuckle somewhere. And yes, there is a karma cost of posting at +2... You can lose 1 more point if modded down...
Hmm, to each his own. Refer to the first line again, AC... I rest my case... And posting at +2 because I am prepared to be counted by my words... I could get snotty here but... You're not worth it.
Is it just me, or are there more & more viruses/trojans crawling out of the woodwork of late? Is it an underground effort by the Linux zealots to undermine Windows? Is it a cunning ploy by Micro$lop to get people to buy W2K? Or is it the anti-virus vendors drumming up sales? Or am I just paranoid, and it's all coincidence?
Hmm, interesting. The AC author has not attached any other licence apart from (c) to the source... Yet still releases the code... Actually, it's quite well written (except the goto... use atexit()...), and could be considered a useful intro to web/proxy programming. And it's written in C, not perl!:)
And AC - here is my prediction - you also program Java...
Heh! Where, where? I work 10 minutes walk from London Bridge!!!
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Re:But here's a question...Plse help
on
Universal Access
·
· Score: 1
UUNet/Pipex is OK for international stuff. You need a bit of twiddling so that your execs have a drop down list of where they're at locality wise so the modem can dial a local POP, assuming a WinX box. It does come with a PIPEX dialler, but once you're connected, there is a very good support page with all the settings you need to know, so you can throw the dialler away. Linux support is minimal, but there is a page on their website that at least tries to help you connect with Linux. (I'm still battering away at this; trying to get my Linux box ready so I can run it as a proxy/firewall/file server for my flat - a UK Geek Compound, if you will... If anyone else has done this, pleeeease email your experiences, or some good links, because I'm rapidly losing patience with it!) My execs are not very tech savvy, and they can use it fine. 'Specially after I hacked up a BO2K special edition for remote admin - haven't had to use it in anger yet (crosses fingers). Try here for more details. #include "stddisclaimer.h" IANAL, IANA employee of Pipex, or have any relation with Pipex other than that of a customer. The above reflects my personal experience of Pipex; YMMV. Damn, don't you just love the Age of Litigation...:(
Slashdot Mirror
The fact of the matter is - oil companies don't want to change the status quo. And they can collectively buy any working innovation out there to hedge against a future when we have raped the planet of oil.
Think about it - oil companies have billions of beer vouchers to invest in buying new fuel engines, and sitting on them. Think I'm paranoid? Look at the way OPEC et al are conducting themseleves recently, and you'll understand. Also, read Ben Elton's "Gridlock" for a scary ride...
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Two things need to happen first, though - secure online micro payments, and for the record companies to realise that the glory days are long gone. Kind of like the mining unions in 80's UK - they wouldn't bow to the new way of doing things, so they were destroyed.
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
These "cuckoo's eggs" will proliferate, so people will start renaming their MP3's "NotACuckooEggShitneyBrears_PopDrivel.mp3" to get around this.
Then the cuckoo egg producers will do the same... And it'll be a huge dynamic mish mash; what is the "genuine" prefix this week?
And as more & more people get faster internet at home, there will be more, and more, and more MP3's and egg mp3s out there... Eating disk space and bandwidth.
I cannot wait for a reasonable settlement to this whole digital music thing... I'm not holding my breath, though..
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
your pretence that having an operating system on your computer is some sort of revolutionary act
Actually, I just threw the Linux reference in as a gradual decay of "crimes" in the list for comedy effect/karma whore points/to confuse microcephallic self-abusers like yourself. I was implying that once the kit is in place, you can start all sorts of intrusion into people's lives. And that's not funny/karma whore/difficult to understand.
Nobody cares that you choose to use a difficult, cheap, under-developed OS with few drivers,
I don't. I use Linux when I can...
least of all the Government.
Hmm, have you been _blind_ to the RIP bill in Great Britain recently? Oh, you're probably not from GB, so it can't matter... "They came for the weenies, and I did not speak up, for I was not a weenie..." Who'll be batting for you when they come for the trolls, streetlawyer? Just becase you expect to see Linux fanatics on
Have you not noticed that numerous Linux companies have actually had IPOs?
Yes I have, by which your logic that I think I am the next Che Guevara, is flawed at best. So, it's a guerrlia OS run by corporations then? Hmm, time for your next hit from the crack pipe...
Oooh, rebel rebel, your hair is a mess.
But at least I managed to tie both my own shoelaces this morning, can you say you did any better? Oh, and your mother forgot to tuck your shirt in... Quit the fashion advice, turdboy.
Look around you on Slashdot. Are these the kind of people that The Man fears for their independent thinking and free hearts?
Yes, I do think that, actually. Because we are connected to the Internet; even the most stupid MBA knows that the internet is a seething hotbed of bomb making recipes, nuclear warhead blueprints and goat porn. You fumduck.
Again, go read The Register, search for RIP, and come back to the table with a better argument. Legislation is being passed - is that the work of an unthreatened organisation?
I think you ought to be going back to your original troll nature, streetlawyer; start trying to buy those crack ho's outa jail.
Punk.
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
As with all scientific advances, this throws up a whole load of interesting situations...
Depending on how sensitive and correct this device is, I can see some being installed in London, UK. Mention "terrorist" in England and you get some pretty draconian legal powers (such as extended questioning periods etc) to use and abuse.
So these are set up at airports... "To trap the terrorists"
Then set up at train stations... "To trap the terrorists"
Then set up at tube stations... "To trap the terrorists"
Before you know it, the terrorist threat has disappeared. Do they remove these machines? Hell, no lets have them sniff for drugs/homosexuality/Linux!
Think I'm paranoid? Then on my way to work, how come I drive through 3 manned police CCTV cameras left over from the "anti terrorist" Ring of Steel?
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Humour sometimes depends on taking a false assumption and expanding on it, and the joke is we all understand the underlying premise is absurd, but imagine the assumption being real.
You want a pissing contest on how 1337 you are at physics? Now _that's_ funny!
Lighten up, dude! Drink a beer!!! Or even better, drag your skinny arse over here to London, and have a beer _with_ me!
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
There is _NOT_ an information explosion going on, there is a DATA explosion going on. Data is defined as raw facts, information is those facts sorted, collated and presented in a useful form.
In fact, I'd say there is an "information implosion" going on right now - there is more data, but information is harder to find, as there is more chaff being added to the wheat of the internet.
Do a web search on just about anything these days; you'll be guaranteed at least one pr0n link, a whole bunch of useless sites put up to carry banner ads, and somewhere, finally, the information you wanted.
I'm really looking forward to the next set of search engines; curren "innovations" such as Google are making progress, but there have been no real leaps and bounds made to turn raw data into information.
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
The Complex in Angel used to have some kicking metal nights; shame they pulled it down...
Joe Satriani at Shepherds Bush Empire last Wednesday kicked _arse_ !!!
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
London _is_ one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in, but as an IT professional, you can afford it. Or you can live a bit further out if you can handle the commute. I work with a guy who lives on a farm with 40 acres; takes him about an hour each way to commute.
Forget owning a car unless you have a _big_ selection of MP3's to listen to as you're stuck in traffic.
Socially, there's an active London Linux group, lots of cybercafes (ranging from basic surf & email to massive Quake fragathon setups), London also has one of the most kicking club scenes out. Pretty much everything is catered for, from rawk to hardcore techno. And there's _loads_ of really nice pubs, ranging from winebars to country pubs. You can also go to just about any sort of restaurant, too, and the curry in Brick Lane is nothing less than excellent.
And the beer is always decent; think microbrewery quality...
Oh, yeah, and on Thursday nights, there is _always_ a bunch of Essex girls looking for a bit of company.... >;)
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
"In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is ostracised as a troublemaker" - Deefer
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
The U in UDP is actually Unreliable - TCPIP makes a one shot fire-off-the-packet-and-cross-my-fingers stab at sending it. If it doesn't get to where it should, unlucky.
The concept of a "socket" introduces a "sliding window" concept over the stream of UDP packets which provides error control and recovery. That is why UDP is quicker than a socket based connection, although it's use is limited because you never know if your packet got there.
Anyway, back on the topic of your comment - what "nice laws" do you think the UK needs, from Scandinavia? This is not a troll, I'm a UK resident & interested in what you think.
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Because I'm sure one or two of them have been subsumed into other projects along the way; they have been obviated by newer, more integrated projects.
Besides which, programmers don't get that "my baby" feeling from solely developing code. What _really_ makes us buzz is writing from scratch.
Still, there might be one or two projects still in there that aren't being redeveloped or implemented in other projects. And these may benefit from looking at how old they are, and whether or nor better technology (compilers, window managers etc) exists so these projects can be reimplemented with a more modern approach.
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
I think you ought to. That way, you won't have medical staff checking your pockets for medical insurance documents when you arrive unconcious and bleeding at the A&E... Or be put second in line to someone with a small cut when you're critical condition, just because they're insured and you're not...
"wonderful, equal, free government supported health care systems of Europe".
Actually, I _do_ live there. And some of the state healthcare systems are _really_ good.
At least, when Europeans do finally get to hospital, then they are there until they're cured or dead, as opposed to when the insurance runs out... An Oregon friend of mine's Dad was sent home to die of stomach cancer once his insurance cash ran out...
The NHS is an excellent system, but it needs cash, badly. I'd gladly pay an extra 10% tax on my grossly inflated earnings, if that was what it took. Sadly, now that the age of conviction politics has given way to soundbite politics, that will never happen.
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Hmm, last I heard, it was to be torn down in 2001.
And call me cynical, but that's a whole lot of prime land there ready for the sale once the Dome has been removed...
Bah, I bet you don't spend all of *your* money on 'useful' things!
No, I don't. But before I buy my indulgences and techno fripperies, I make damn sure that I've paid my rent, bills and put food on the table.
I can regale you with countless tales of family members and friends who have waited forever trying to get medical treatment for severe conditions. Or you can look at how healthcare in the UK racks up to the rest of Europe and the world - the NHS sucks. Maybe one medical centre of excellence won't help this overnight, but I'm pretty sure my mother won't feel any improvement of her condition by going to the Dome.
I wonder how you'd feel if you lived where I'm from, and needed emergency medical attention.
They closed down the local A&E ward 3 miles from my home village; nearest is 15 miles. 12 miles extra is a long way for a defibrillator to travel if your heart has stopped...
pointlessly giving people arts degrees, for example
That is an entirely different argument, but I'll take a nibble - the government is not funding higher education as much as it was. I am _still_ paying my student loans off (been working 5 years on _good_ money), and I read Computer Science. So I doubt many people are burdoning the state as much as you think with "pointless" degress
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
This is about the only thing worth going to in the entire place. Only expect to wait for 4 hours to get a go on this - tourists, tourists, tourists, and schoolchildren everywhere.
I wish they'd used the money instead to create the "Millenium Hospital" or "Millenium Digital Library" instead of this one off pile of shit they wasted our tax money on.
(Note to US moderators - check the BBC news site for old articles about how most of the UK populace _really_ didn't want this folly.)
It's cool tech, but wasn't worth the effort.
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
And always, the software manufacturers were crying "these pirates will put us out of business!"... History repeating itself?
BTW, any one know what happened to the C64 great programmers? Jeff Minter, Andrew Braybrook, Shaun Southern, Archer Maclean?
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Like this.... One moderator pulled it down (troll), another pulled it back (funny).
Sig11 is OK, it's the segfault overspill on
Go ahead, 5kr1p7 k1dd135 with moderator points, have this down as -1 flamebait or troll because you can't take the sound of free speech. I'm posting at +2 because I at least defend Sig11's right to try & be funny. Did I laugh? No. But what I find funny and what other people find funny are two different things, and I'm sure Sig11's post gave someone a chuckle somewhere.
And yes, there is a karma cost of posting at +2... You can lose 1 more point if modded down...
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Refer to the first line again, AC...
I rest my case...
And posting at +2 because I am prepared to be counted by my words... I could get snotty here but... You're not worth it.
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
W17h m1 31337 h@xx0r 5k1ll2, I c4n 533 j00 0n 127.0.0.1, Signal_11 !!!
S74nd 8y 4 53r10u5 h@xx0r1n9!!! 1 w1ll 8r1n9 joo d0wn 4nd MSDOS j00!!!
For the humour-impaired, I'm kidding, OK?
Don't you wish we lived in a world where disclaimers like this weren't necessary?
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Is it an underground effort by the Linux zealots to undermine Windows? Is it a cunning ploy by Micro$lop to get people to buy W2K?
Or is it the anti-virus vendors drumming up sales?
Or am I just paranoid, and it's all coincidence?
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Actually, it's quite well written (except the goto... use atexit()...), and could be considered a useful intro to web/proxy programming.
And it's written in C, not perl!
And AC - here is my prediction - you also program Java...
Score -1 offtopic here we go...
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
Linux support is minimal, but there is a page on their website that at least tries to help you connect with Linux. (I'm still battering away at this; trying to get my Linux box ready so I can run it as a proxy/firewall/file server for my flat - a UK Geek Compound, if you will... If anyone else has done this, pleeeease email your experiences, or some good links, because I'm rapidly losing patience with it!)
My execs are not very tech savvy, and they can use it fine. 'Specially after I hacked up a BO2K special edition for remote admin - haven't had to use it in anger yet (crosses fingers).
Try here for more details.
#include "stddisclaimer.h" IANAL, IANA employee of Pipex, or have any relation with Pipex other than that of a customer. The above reflects my personal experience of Pipex; YMMV.
Damn, don't you just love the Age of Litigation...
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.