Mon - August 8, 2011
Motorola ATRIX 4G Review...
This is an excellent 'phone and has useful
accessories. The unit is very functional, fast enough to assist with mobile
working and to permit the laptop to be left at home in many circumstances, and
has sufficient battery life for a long working day with plenty of calling and
e-mails/browsing between meetings. However, it has limitations, some of which
are fundamental limitations of the Android operating system and the way in which
applications are approved for use on the Android Market. Certainly worth a look
if you are considering an iPhone or an iPad and want something a little
different...
Brief review of the Motorola
ATRIX 4G after a month's use...
As a 'phone
This is my second Android 'smartphone' and my overall opinion is that it is a very useful device AND, crucially, a very good 'phone. It does have limitations, many of which are typical of smartphone devices.
First, contrary to the advertisements, the ATRIX is NOT a computer. The LapDock that has been widely advertised does not turn the 'phone into a laptop What it does do is to add a fully functional browser and file manager to the device which means that on-line or 'cloud' applications can be used when out and about. The Media Dock and the Car Dock – also have useful functionality which I shall explain later.
As a 'phone the device is more sensitive from a radio point of view than its predecessor (in my pocket), an LG GW620. It also has a more recent version of the Android operating system which comes with noticeably fewer bugs and idiosyncrasies. The biggest observation that I would make, however, is that the far faster processor means that pressing a 'button' actually results in the required activity before one is tempted to try to press the thing again. This was, I have to say, a significant disadvantage of the GW 620 and I have put that down to poor event handling by Android (as a slower processor in my iPod Touch still yields far better responsiveness!).
The audio is excellent and the speakerphone quality is good – very good for a mobile. The supplied stereo earphones with microphone is fine except that the lead is far too long, leading to all sorts of tangle and trip hazards.
Reports suggest that the audio received by other parties is also good quality.
As a SmartPhone
As a smartphone, the device is certainly fast, although Motorola rather complicate matters for themselves and for their users by including a form of screen-saver (read battery waster) application about which there is no documentation and which causes the processor to run and the screen to run whenever the device is idle with an animation which advertises the capabilities of the 'phone. The only way to prevent this is, it seems, to delete it. Thankfully this can be done easily from within the OS – but the lack of documentation rather made me feel that the 'phone itself was only made for shop displays.
Once that application was traced and deleted, and, sadly, T-Mobile UK's customer services were completely unable to assist with this, the battery life of the device has proved to be up to what has been predicted from other reviewers – ie a good 24 hours.
Synchronisation with google calendar and gmail contacts works well, unlike the earlier incarnation in the LG GW620. Updating a contact on-line reflects on the 'phone more or less immediately and vice versa. This makes using the google apps seamless and effective. One step closer to the level of integration that mac users expect with their iPhone. The speed of synchronisation can be slowed by various 'battery saving' techniques but what I report is what the device is capable of.
The HD Dock
The HD Dock allows the Atrix to be charged while acting as a room clock (!) and also connected to an HD TV (up to 720p resolution supported) by way of an HDMI connector. The dock is not necessary for this connection but it makes the living room a lot tidier.
What is useful is the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse which enables a docked Atrix to use the WebTop OS with your TV as a monitor. Again, the dock is not essential but it helps, providing a couple of USB 2.0 ports for access to external storage in addition to a convenient presentation.
The clever part here is that the Atrix recognises the dock as soon as it is plugged in. The same happens for the Mobile Dock and LapDock. This means that the device can effectively switch modes.
There is one disadvantage of the dock arrangement. While the 'phone can switch modes for the dock in use, it does not appear to support pre-set functions. Therefore, it cannot be made to, for example, switch off the GPS radio and switch on the WiFi and Bluetooth on connection to the dock. The user has to do this manually and this is fiddly.
When answering telephone calls while the unit is in the HD Dock, the device automatically operates as a hands-free speakerphone. This can be somewhat startling at first but it appears to work well.
A small remote control, about the size of a credit card folded in half lengthways, is supplied to access the media functions. This can be done from the user's armchair but the user has to switch the device into Media mode first. Merely operating the remote does not do this.
Playback of 'HD' video on a full HD television was impressive, as was the playback of audio tracks copied onto the device (free application 'DoubleTwist' assists here). However, audio recorded by the device when recording video is useless save for user commentary as it appears to use the 'phone microphone which is pointing away from the action when using the 'HD' camera.
Still images are also excellent. Note that the lens is fixed at a semi-wide-angle and I have not managed to find any 'digital zoom' functions yet. So for recording a riot in North London this might be useful. For recording specific scenes of your latest blockbuster movie, forget it. No surprises there then.
The Mobile Dock
This is perhaps the least well advertised accessory for the Atrix. It is available on eBay for around ￡35 and comprises a car window mounting bracket with a USB connector mount for the Atrix. There is a 'top' clamp to hold the device in place and in fact the unit can be oriented at any angle and within reasonable tolerances of horizontal or vertical the device flips to have an appropriately formatted screen.
There is a USB cable which plugs in to a (supplied) dual USB charger outlet that goes into the 12v (formerly cigarette lighter) socket.
The most surprising aspect of this unit is that more or less as soon as the 'phone is plugged in it 'knows' that it is in the mobile dock and a simplified menu of eight icons is presented with some pre-set activities such as dialling, navigation etc.
A disappointing feature of this (and, indeed, all of the docks) is that the unit does not (yet?) have any pre-set settings for each dock. For instance, one has to remember to turn on GPS (if one is being economical with power) before connecting the mobile dock. Additionally, one has to remember to turn on Bluetooth if one is using a bluetooth car kit too. I cannot seem to get used to this so my first task with the mobile dock was to 'add' the settings application to the front-screen. Rather like a Nintendo Wii the user can add applications and extend the screen if needed. This is probably unnecessary. With the settings menu in place, the user can reasonably quickly turn on GPS and bluetooth as required and revert to navigation mode.
The mobile dock will, it is claimed, act as a handsfree mobile 'phone of its own accord. I have not tried this as I have a visor mounting car kit that works well even in a very noisy car and I am sticking to that.
The navigation appears to be based on google maps. However, I have found it difficult to tell how much of the map data is stored on the device itself as the refresh has generally been very quick, even in areas where T-Mobile coverage is poor (ie where voice calls are normally dropped). The mobile dock does keep the device away from absorbing human bodies though and close to the windscreen and that gives its receiver a fighting chance.
The navigation itself is not up to TomTom standards. Velocity is only shown on the moving map display and cannot be displayed when navigating. This is sad as a real advantage in these days of average speed cameras is actually having an accurate speed readout. None of our cars have this. Further, it is not possible to change the route to, say, avoid a particular road now that we know that there has been a crash. You have to turn off and allow the thing to recalculate but, like any SatNav, it first of all tries to route you back on the best route that it first thought of (which we now know to be blocked). This may improve. For this device to replace a SatNav it will have to.
There is also supplied an optional USB cable with a stereo audio out, apparently for plugging into cars with an aux. in, so that the device can also run the car audio content as well. This sounds cool but is so far un-tested by me.
This device can receive a mobile inbound call while navigating and does appear to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. Impressive.
The really disappointing feature discovered when using the mobile dock, although it is a 'phone defect, is that it does not do Bluetooth re-pairing well. While in common with most Bluetooth experiences (in any flavour), I was disappointed that it still appears that only Apple can do this right. Why, oh why, do I have to first of all delete my mobile car kit before I can pair with it even though I have only been into the gas station to pay for my fuel. Hopeless. Bluetooth is, frankly, rubbish.
Another omission (design feature?) of the mobile dock is that it is not possible for the camera lens to see out of the front of the vehicle when in the dock – therefore use of this device as a bad-driving camera does not seem to be possible when it is in the dock. This is a pity. Perhaps a future incarnation from Motorola will cover this or maybe (and more likely) some Taiwanese company will look at this.
The LapDock
The LapDock is a laptop-like accessory for the Atrix comprising a keyboard, screen and two USB 2.0 sockets. Essentially, if you are on the move and are able to make use of web based applications and the limited on-device applications, this unit allows you to leave your laptop at home. With an around eight hour battery life and being incredibly thin, this is attractive for many business travellers.
Be clear that you cannot straightforwardly install any additional software onto the 'phone to use the LapDock. If you are going somewhere with limited wireless internet connectivity, this will not really be of much use. The user forums suggest otherwise but I doubt whether the 'phone processor has the horsepower for, say, Open Office.
Having said that, the dual core Atrix processor is way faster than the typical NetBook computer. The display is superb and the keyboard is useable. I have used the lightweight unit on trains and in public areas and find it effective.
There is one problem, and this problem is not noticed by all Atrix users, which is that the Atrix does not seem to work well on WiFi. It does not automatically switch between WiFi and the 3G radio and seems to settle in an intermediate 'no internet connectivity' state. I loaded an application to force the unused radio to turn off (JuiceDefender (free)) which helps but then the Atrix loses connectivity with the WiFi after about 90s, taking some minutes to regain connectivity and then losing it again. The WiFi radio remains connected to the WiFi router at all times. This is an internal software problem in my view.
This issue can be noticed when using the Atrix on its own or in the LapDock but in the LapDock it is far more of an issue as one really only uses that to actually do work.
This problem has been reported and it is hoped that a future software update will correct it as it is rather fundamental.
The hands-free 'phone operation works in the LapDock too but is not as useful as when it is in the HD Dock. This is because the 'phone speaker is shielded from the user by the screen of the LapDock. Doh! One very simple error causes a rather silly effect where the sound is reflected away from the user. Other sounds from the device are redirected to the LapDock's speakers. The 'phone appears to use a microphone in the LapDock, so why didn't they put the 'phone audio through the normal speakers? Using the earpiece/microphone set solves this problem. For me this is satisfactory as I generally use the unit on trains or in relatively busy public areas where I do not want every passer by to know my business.
Android Market
It is apparent almost immediately that the Android Market is nowhere near as reliable as the iTunes App Store. For starters, while the user can only see applications that are supposed to work with his particular version of the OS, there is little to assure the user that it has been tested with his handset. As a result, loading a vast number of applications in a short period of time can cause problems. It is tricky to find out what application is causing the device to crash when it was functioning perfectly well just the other day. Let this be a warning to you – do not trust the Android Market to provide well tested software. It doesn't.
This lesson follows from an early experience with the Atrix that was caused by 'recommended' software which was supposed to detect malware. It worked fine save for the fact that the 'phone re-booted itself about eight times per day while the software was installed. Good software (in principle) but poor testing. This would not have happened with the iTunes App Store and the iPod/iPhone stable of hardware.
Shame on T-Mobile for not recognising this and for immediately condemning the 'phone as faulty when a call was made reporting the frequent re-boots. Actually this breaks the second lesson of call centre script writing which is never condemn the product you sold until exhaustive diagnostics have been done. They failed. The Second Lesson of the Android Market is, therefore, that you should not trust your provider to be able to recognise difficulties with your 'phone that are not very straightforward. Be prepared to test the device yourself.
I would recommend any user populating a new Android device for the first time to install only one application per week. That way the effect of the application on battery life, responsiveness and reliability can be assessed in some degree of isolation. This is the sort of testing that you would hope that your mobile operator does, but they do not.
Summary
This is an excellent 'phone and has useful accessories. In fact, be careful when reading the above review as I have only once before had a mobile 'phone and bought so many accessories and that was a Nokia 2110 for which I had a datacard and a car kit (late 1990s). The unit is very functional, fast enough to assist with mobile working and to permit the laptop to be left at home in many circumstances, and has sufficient battery life for a long working day with plenty of calling and e-mails/browsing between meetings.
I would recommend this device with two caveats:
1/ The apparent bug in the network communications software is annoying and ought to be fixed;
2/ Users who are not sufficiently tech-savvy to sort out their own debugging of dud applications should steer clear of Android altogether.
Posted at 09:55 AM
Wed - April 30, 2008
Mr Miserable
In the current crisis (rising
food and fuel prices coupled with credit crunch) what this country needs is a
person at the helm who demonstrates that a) he understands the problems, b) has
a clear handle on how to resolve them and c) makes it clear that he is in
charge.
Our great unelected Prime Minister was on the BBC
Today programme this morning
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7374860.stm)
- boy did he sound miserable. In the current crisis (rising food and fuel
prices coupled with credit crunch) what this country needs is a person at the
helm who demonstrates that a) he understands the problems, b) has a clear handle
on how to resolve them and c) makes it clear that he is in charge. What we had
was a miserable wretch admitting mistakes, avoiding answering simple questions
and sounding like he would rather have stayed in
bed.
A lamentable performance.
Mr Brown, the sooner you go, the better off we'll all be.
A lamentable performance.
Mr Brown, the sooner you go, the better off we'll all be.
Posted at 11:18 AM
Fri - April 18, 2008
Running a mooting competition is HARD WORK...
I've been really shocked at how
many students, keen on the law, allegedly passionate mooters, and very
interested in putting something additional on their CV, have tossed an e-mail
over the wall within hours of the contest to say that they cannot or will not
attend, often citing poor organisation for their failure to get a grip on what
is usually a tricky but far from insurmountable
problem.
...Moreover, this swapping around was possible without disrupting the preparation in our case because the grounds of appeal that were used for the first round problem were independent between Lead and Junior positions so no agreement or discussion was required between the Lead and Junior entrants (note that the term Lead and Junior is only a traditional term and that the problems were intended to be of equal complexity).
...Moreover, this swapping around was possible without disrupting the preparation in our case because the grounds of appeal that were used for the first round problem were independent between Lead and Junior positions so no agreement or discussion was required between the Lead and Junior entrants (note that the term Lead and Junior is only a traditional term and that the problems were intended to be of equal complexity).
I've been running a mooting competition for the
past few months. This is not easy. If you've ever mooted you'll know that it
involves some work to examine the problem set and to prepare a cogent argument
that you can deliver in a short and fixed period of time - and then you have to
be familiar enough with the material to respond to the judge's questions, which
can be fearsome.
However, the most difficult aspect of mooting, I have found out, is just turning up at all. I've been really shocked at how many students, keen on the law, allegedly passionate mooters, and very interested in putting something additional on their CV, have tossed an e-mail over the wall within hours of the contest to say that they cannot or will not attend, often citing poor organisation for their failure to get a grip on what is usually a tricky but far from insurmountable problem.
Organising a mooting competition is straightforward in principle:
1/ You have to decide how many rounds to hold;
2/ You have to decide how many moots you can support in each round (this is more important for the earlier rounds) and any entry criteria;
3/ You have to decide on the rules of the contest (be assured, law students will read these carefully); and
4/ You have to have sufficient support and influence to get good quality judges for each round.
In our case, we had originally planned four rounds with the objective of giving as many people as possible who put their hand up the opportunity to moot in at least the first round. However, we were plagued by drop-outs in the first round, probably 40% of those who originally wanted to moot dropped out - some as late as the afternoon of the moot.
This was profoundly disappointing but there was an easy to execute plan-B which was that we could move contestants around between moots if the drop-outs were of the same position (ie Lead Appellant, Junior Appellant, Lead Respondent or Junior Respondent) that a contestant had prepared for. The ONLY (and I say this with some reservation) advantage of having a lot of drop-outs is that it is relatively easy to get people to move around as there are plenty of open positions to fill. Moreover, this swapping around was possible without disrupting the preparation in our case because the grounds of appeal that were used for the first round problem were independent between Lead and Junior positions so no agreement or discussion was required between the Lead and Junior entrants (note that the term Lead and Junior is only a traditional term and that the problems were intended to be of equal complexity).
In the event the moots took place and everyone who wanted to moot and could be bothered to do the preparation had the chance to moot - this meant a lot of work behind the scenes but, hell, it just had to be done. Our judges for the first round were last year's students who were nearing the end of their first six months of pupillage - and we are very grateful to them for giving up their time.
The really nice thing about the first round was the feedback that the judges took the time to give to each mooter, in both written form and orally. Feedback received has been that this was a very useful outcome of entering the competition.
Last night we held the semi finals. Sadly we still had drop-outs, five in total. Nevertheless the standard of mooting was excellent - those who could be bothered gave the judges (tutors on the BVC course, kindly giving up their evening) quite a hard time to differentiate between them.
It really surprises me that anyone should drop out at the semi-final stage, especially since two of the five had done the preparatory work. What a waste of time.
My lasting memory of running this competition is certainly going to be the drop-outs, after people have worked so hard to get here and then to turn down an opportunity to practice for free and get feedback from practitioners. Folks are weird, I'm afraid.
However, the most difficult aspect of mooting, I have found out, is just turning up at all. I've been really shocked at how many students, keen on the law, allegedly passionate mooters, and very interested in putting something additional on their CV, have tossed an e-mail over the wall within hours of the contest to say that they cannot or will not attend, often citing poor organisation for their failure to get a grip on what is usually a tricky but far from insurmountable problem.
Organising a mooting competition is straightforward in principle:
1/ You have to decide how many rounds to hold;
2/ You have to decide how many moots you can support in each round (this is more important for the earlier rounds) and any entry criteria;
3/ You have to decide on the rules of the contest (be assured, law students will read these carefully); and
4/ You have to have sufficient support and influence to get good quality judges for each round.
In our case, we had originally planned four rounds with the objective of giving as many people as possible who put their hand up the opportunity to moot in at least the first round. However, we were plagued by drop-outs in the first round, probably 40% of those who originally wanted to moot dropped out - some as late as the afternoon of the moot.
This was profoundly disappointing but there was an easy to execute plan-B which was that we could move contestants around between moots if the drop-outs were of the same position (ie Lead Appellant, Junior Appellant, Lead Respondent or Junior Respondent) that a contestant had prepared for. The ONLY (and I say this with some reservation) advantage of having a lot of drop-outs is that it is relatively easy to get people to move around as there are plenty of open positions to fill. Moreover, this swapping around was possible without disrupting the preparation in our case because the grounds of appeal that were used for the first round problem were independent between Lead and Junior positions so no agreement or discussion was required between the Lead and Junior entrants (note that the term Lead and Junior is only a traditional term and that the problems were intended to be of equal complexity).
In the event the moots took place and everyone who wanted to moot and could be bothered to do the preparation had the chance to moot - this meant a lot of work behind the scenes but, hell, it just had to be done. Our judges for the first round were last year's students who were nearing the end of their first six months of pupillage - and we are very grateful to them for giving up their time.
The really nice thing about the first round was the feedback that the judges took the time to give to each mooter, in both written form and orally. Feedback received has been that this was a very useful outcome of entering the competition.
Last night we held the semi finals. Sadly we still had drop-outs, five in total. Nevertheless the standard of mooting was excellent - those who could be bothered gave the judges (tutors on the BVC course, kindly giving up their evening) quite a hard time to differentiate between them.
It really surprises me that anyone should drop out at the semi-final stage, especially since two of the five had done the preparatory work. What a waste of time.
My lasting memory of running this competition is certainly going to be the drop-outs, after people have worked so hard to get here and then to turn down an opportunity to practice for free and get feedback from practitioners. Folks are weird, I'm afraid.
Posted at 05:15 PM
Sun - February 10, 2008
I have eaten 'lawyer'!
I have eaten 'lawyer'.
Does that make me a cannibal?
Marrakech in the winter is a great place to
be - we went there over Christmas to chill out. It is very relaxing and a
thoroughly pleasant
environment.
Although English is spoken after a fashion, the local tongues are Arabic and French. Many restaurants and bars have an English menu (although more do not) although we found evidence that these are probably created by students or, in one spectacular example, by Babelfish. One of the places that we ate at was a café that offered a special salad for not much money.
On the menu was the following:
As you can see - 'lawyer' was on the menu and I ate it!
Does that make me a cannibal?
Although English is spoken after a fashion, the local tongues are Arabic and French. Many restaurants and bars have an English menu (although more do not) although we found evidence that these are probably created by students or, in one spectacular example, by Babelfish. One of the places that we ate at was a café that offered a special salad for not much money.
On the menu was the following:
As you can see - 'lawyer' was on the menu and I ate it!
Does that make me a cannibal?
Posted at 10:39 AM
Tue - December 18, 2007
Data protection - what a nonsense situation...
Because BA say that they
have to provide 'Advance Passenger Information' to our destination country and
they do this by pre-loading a form with data trawled from the Executive Club
database.
...So it is not an infringement to retain and use old data for years after its sell-by date for a purpose that it was never intended for?
...This comes at a time when the British Government is (rightly) being lambasted for sending the confidential information of millions of people through the ordinary postal services without any encryption or, worse, sending the key along with the data.
...So it is not an infringement to retain and use old data for years after its sell-by date for a purpose that it was never intended for?
...This comes at a time when the British Government is (rightly) being lambasted for sending the confidential information of millions of people through the ordinary postal services without any encryption or, worse, sending the key along with the data.
The modern world has got itself into a
really difficult
position.
Transactions must, in some cases, now be carried out only on-line. Like buying an airline ticket from BA. The alternative is to pay a punitive fee for not doing so. Banks are going the same way.
At least the on-line travel agency or bank is open 24*7 - or is it?
Today I've been checking myself and my wife in to a BA flight for our Christmas vacation. It has been a very hard process, involving over an hour of telephone calls. This despite the fact that the check-in is 'on-line'. Why? Because BA say that they have to provide 'Advance Passenger Information' to our destination country and they do this by pre-loading a form with data trawled from the Executive Club database.
For me this is just fine. As a regular traveller with BA I keep my information up to date and I have my browser loaded with my log-in information. For my wife, who seldom travels with BA these days, this is not straightforward at all. Basically the data that the BA Executive Club holds on her is ten years old. Wrong passport number, wrong e-mail address, wrong company, wrong almost everything.
Could I get BA to change their records on her behalf? NO - on the grounds that it would infringe data protection regulations. So it is not an infringement to retain and use old data for years after its sell-by date for a purpose that it was never intended for? No, apparently not.
This comes at a time when the British Government is (rightly) being lambasted for sending the confidential information of millions of people through the ordinary postal services without any encryption or, worse, sending the key along with the data. Surprise, then, when the data goes missing. Bigger surprise when ministers retain their jobs.
We need a reset on personal information. It is getting too hard to keep track of who holds what. Data protection regulations protect nobody but the process. They certainly don't protect my data or that of my wife from misuse or wide-area distribution.
In the 21st Century, we need to have a serious re-think about what the purpose is behind these regulations and re-arrange the priorities in these process-bound institutions. Ministers should be fired too.
Transactions must, in some cases, now be carried out only on-line. Like buying an airline ticket from BA. The alternative is to pay a punitive fee for not doing so. Banks are going the same way.
At least the on-line travel agency or bank is open 24*7 - or is it?
Today I've been checking myself and my wife in to a BA flight for our Christmas vacation. It has been a very hard process, involving over an hour of telephone calls. This despite the fact that the check-in is 'on-line'. Why? Because BA say that they have to provide 'Advance Passenger Information' to our destination country and they do this by pre-loading a form with data trawled from the Executive Club database.
For me this is just fine. As a regular traveller with BA I keep my information up to date and I have my browser loaded with my log-in information. For my wife, who seldom travels with BA these days, this is not straightforward at all. Basically the data that the BA Executive Club holds on her is ten years old. Wrong passport number, wrong e-mail address, wrong company, wrong almost everything.
Could I get BA to change their records on her behalf? NO - on the grounds that it would infringe data protection regulations. So it is not an infringement to retain and use old data for years after its sell-by date for a purpose that it was never intended for? No, apparently not.
This comes at a time when the British Government is (rightly) being lambasted for sending the confidential information of millions of people through the ordinary postal services without any encryption or, worse, sending the key along with the data. Surprise, then, when the data goes missing. Bigger surprise when ministers retain their jobs.
We need a reset on personal information. It is getting too hard to keep track of who holds what. Data protection regulations protect nobody but the process. They certainly don't protect my data or that of my wife from misuse or wide-area distribution.
In the 21st Century, we need to have a serious re-think about what the purpose is behind these regulations and re-arrange the priorities in these process-bound institutions. Ministers should be fired too.
Posted at 09:42 AM
Wed - December 5, 2007
Side lights, parking lights, no lights...
What is worse is that the
lazy drivers that use only side lights are the same ones that seem to consider
the speed limit and red traffic lights to be merely advisory in nature,
optional, something that can be disregarded when they are in a
hurry.
...The reason for driving with side lights was, historically, and I am referring to ancient history here, cars with small batteries and dynamo charging systems would find that the battery would not get a proper charge after dark.
...The reason for driving with side lights was, historically, and I am referring to ancient history here, cars with small batteries and dynamo charging systems would find that the battery would not get a proper charge after dark.
I am beginning to dislike wretched London
drivers. Sadly, many of them drive like Taxi drivers at night - with side
lights, otherwise known as parking lights, once the sun has
set.
This is disturbing for one reason, as a pedestrian, their vehicles are often hardly visible at night, particularly since there appears to be another sad fashion, for very dark coloured cars.
What is worse is that the lazy drivers that use only side lights are the same ones that seem to consider the speed limit and red traffic lights to be merely advisory in nature, optional, something that can be disregarded when they are in a hurry.
For a pedestrian, this is dangerous.
For some reason it is still lawful to drive in London with a vehicle that is poorly lit. Anywhere else in the country it is unlawful. Why on earth has no one put a stop to it?
The reason for driving with side lights was that, historically, and I am referring to ancient history here, cars with small batteries and dynamo charging systems would find that the battery would not get a proper charge after dark. Driving with side lights reduces the drain on the battery and, therefore, reduces the likelihood of the car not starting at the end of the day or in the morning. With a dynamo. Today's cars use alternators. Alternators can and do deliver very high current to the battery. The battery in a large vehicle can be charged within a few miles, at more or less any speed above walking speed. The issue of battery discharge when driving after dark is no longer particularly significant. Therefore no need to drive with side lights.
So why do they do it?
To get at pedestrians?
Why do the authorities not do anything about this menace?
I dread to think...
This is disturbing for one reason, as a pedestrian, their vehicles are often hardly visible at night, particularly since there appears to be another sad fashion, for very dark coloured cars.
What is worse is that the lazy drivers that use only side lights are the same ones that seem to consider the speed limit and red traffic lights to be merely advisory in nature, optional, something that can be disregarded when they are in a hurry.
For a pedestrian, this is dangerous.
For some reason it is still lawful to drive in London with a vehicle that is poorly lit. Anywhere else in the country it is unlawful. Why on earth has no one put a stop to it?
The reason for driving with side lights was that, historically, and I am referring to ancient history here, cars with small batteries and dynamo charging systems would find that the battery would not get a proper charge after dark. Driving with side lights reduces the drain on the battery and, therefore, reduces the likelihood of the car not starting at the end of the day or in the morning. With a dynamo. Today's cars use alternators. Alternators can and do deliver very high current to the battery. The battery in a large vehicle can be charged within a few miles, at more or less any speed above walking speed. The issue of battery discharge when driving after dark is no longer particularly significant. Therefore no need to drive with side lights.
So why do they do it?
To get at pedestrians?
Why do the authorities not do anything about this menace?
I dread to think...
Posted at 09:05 PM
Tue - November 20, 2007
Smokers are lurking like vampires in alleyways...
Moving towards the other
side, I had to again change direction in order to avoid a further two people
lurking under the other side of the arch. Had it been any darker I should have
felt no further reaction had Buffy the Vampire Slayer come rushing out of the
shadows and stuck them through the heart with a pointed
stick.
Following the (welcome) implementation of
the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces in England in July life has changed
for all of us.
A foreseeable but, perhaps, not well discussed consequence of the ban on smoking has been a considerable increase in the number of people smoking in the street. In London this has become quite hopeless as so many smokers try to find shelter while destroying their own health and blowing a component of that destruction in the faces of innocent passers by.
It is also noticeable how many smokers, having had a brief look at the regulations, fail to notice the provisions preventing them from huddling in doorways or in mostly covered public spaces. Scotland at least made it absolutely clear that a bus shelter was also a smoke free zone, England seems to have left that bit out.
The worst part, however, is only becoming clear now, as winter darkness descends and rainy days force smokers ever deeper into the shadows. Walking back from a nearby Tesco Metro this afternoon through London's surprisingly picturesque St. John's Gate, I noticed two shadowy figures under the right side of the covered gateway. Moving towards the other side, I had to again change direction in order to avoid a further two people lurking under the other side of the arch. Had it been any darker I should have felt no further reaction had Buffy the Vampire Slayer come rushing out of the shadows and stuck them through the heart with a pointed stick.
Smokers have become the modern day vampire. They lurk, avoiding the light, in the shadows, doorways and alleyways of our towns and cities. Their breath can kill, their teeth and fingers are stained grubby brown, and they have a haunted look about them.
Come back Buffy and slay these urban vampires and London will be a better place.
A foreseeable but, perhaps, not well discussed consequence of the ban on smoking has been a considerable increase in the number of people smoking in the street. In London this has become quite hopeless as so many smokers try to find shelter while destroying their own health and blowing a component of that destruction in the faces of innocent passers by.
It is also noticeable how many smokers, having had a brief look at the regulations, fail to notice the provisions preventing them from huddling in doorways or in mostly covered public spaces. Scotland at least made it absolutely clear that a bus shelter was also a smoke free zone, England seems to have left that bit out.
The worst part, however, is only becoming clear now, as winter darkness descends and rainy days force smokers ever deeper into the shadows. Walking back from a nearby Tesco Metro this afternoon through London's surprisingly picturesque St. John's Gate, I noticed two shadowy figures under the right side of the covered gateway. Moving towards the other side, I had to again change direction in order to avoid a further two people lurking under the other side of the arch. Had it been any darker I should have felt no further reaction had Buffy the Vampire Slayer come rushing out of the shadows and stuck them through the heart with a pointed stick.
Smokers have become the modern day vampire. They lurk, avoiding the light, in the shadows, doorways and alleyways of our towns and cities. Their breath can kill, their teeth and fingers are stained grubby brown, and they have a haunted look about them.
Come back Buffy and slay these urban vampires and London will be a better place.
Posted at 04:51 PM
Wed - October 10, 2007
Royal Mail Strikes...
It is clear to me that
the proper business reaction to the strikes that are seriously, if not
catastrophically, affecting the Royal Mail services at the moment should be to
find any means possible to avoid reliance on the service in the
future.
...The union thugs that are currently holding the country to ransom should take a small amount of time to reflect on the comparable positions of dock workers in the 1980s and mine workers over the past 50 years - in both cases lengthy strike action which was damaging to their industry in the short term resulted in substantially changed industry with dramatically reduced workforce.
...The union thugs that are currently holding the country to ransom should take a small amount of time to reflect on the comparable positions of dock workers in the 1980s and mine workers over the past 50 years - in both cases lengthy strike action which was damaging to their industry in the short term resulted in substantially changed industry with dramatically reduced workforce.
It is clear to me that the proper business
reaction to the strikes that are seriously, if not catastrophically, affecting
the Royal Mail services at the moment should be to find any means possible to
avoid reliance on the service in the
future.
Certainly I shall be making further efforts to do this. Already my business uses electronic banking, sends invoices by e-mail and receives them by e-mail by agreement with clients and the last remaining reliance on the post service is the payment of taxes.
The union thugs that are currently holding the country to ransom should take a small amount of time to reflect on the comparable positions of dock workers in the 1980s and mine workers over the past 50 years - in both cases lengthy strike action which was damaging to their industry in the short term resulted in substantially changed industry with dramatically reduced workforce. In short, they shot their foot off above the knee! When I started at University in Southampton in the early 1980s the dock workers were already on strike and they remained on strike for so long that subsequently only the container port was viable - and as a result the number of people employed is now a fraction of what it was before. It is possible, indeed correct, to argue that this progress would have happened anyway. But it is my opinion that the strikes accelerated the progress beyond management's wildest dreams.
The same is happening to Royal Mail. Its a great shame but there it is - the service is no longer essential and the reputation for reliability has been permanently undermined. RIP Royal Mail.
Certainly I shall be making further efforts to do this. Already my business uses electronic banking, sends invoices by e-mail and receives them by e-mail by agreement with clients and the last remaining reliance on the post service is the payment of taxes.
The union thugs that are currently holding the country to ransom should take a small amount of time to reflect on the comparable positions of dock workers in the 1980s and mine workers over the past 50 years - in both cases lengthy strike action which was damaging to their industry in the short term resulted in substantially changed industry with dramatically reduced workforce. In short, they shot their foot off above the knee! When I started at University in Southampton in the early 1980s the dock workers were already on strike and they remained on strike for so long that subsequently only the container port was viable - and as a result the number of people employed is now a fraction of what it was before. It is possible, indeed correct, to argue that this progress would have happened anyway. But it is my opinion that the strikes accelerated the progress beyond management's wildest dreams.
The same is happening to Royal Mail. Its a great shame but there it is - the service is no longer essential and the reputation for reliability has been permanently undermined. RIP Royal Mail.
Posted at 07:45 AM
Mon - September 10, 2007
Eek - I'm a student again!
Wow! I've actually become a student again!
Luckily I was quick off the mark and managed to secure a place in a University
postgraduate hall of residence almost as soon as I was offered the place - so I
don't have the anguish of trying to find (and afford) a shared flat or, worse,
commute in to London each day.
With regard to affordability, I have to say that the whole position of students in England has deteriorated dramatically since I was first an undergraduate in the early 1980s. Although the course that I am doing is a postgraduate course, and would always have cost more money than an undergraduate course, the pay, pay, pay mentality has reached epidemic proportions with students accumulating very high debts with actually a rather lower likelihood of achieving a well enough paying job to get rid of the debt in an acceptable time.
This is all completely independent of my position, however, as the Bar is in an even more serious situation from the student's point of view. There are many, many more students taking the Bar Vocational Course than there are available pupillages or, worse, tenancies in chambers. As a result chambers are being (understandably) very selective (albeit based on narrow criteria) and it is now considered to be not-abnormal to fail to secure a pupillage until a year (or more) after taking the BVC. For an impoverished straight-out-of-school student, this raises the real risk that candidates will simply give up because they cannot secure the required funds to develop their postgraduate skills and then wait for a year or more before progressing to the next stage. It seems to me that many of these students will simply wander off to paying jobs, their ambitions dashed.
Some practitioners that I have spoken to have suggested that it is the fault of the institutions for offering too many BVC places. This may indeed be the case.
Nevertheless, I am excited at the prospect of being a full-time student again and having the opportunity to really focus on the law rather than trying to fit it in with other activities (since I did my Law degree part time whilst running my business).
Today was really an easy day, with only registration to cope with, but I did manage to get one step ahead and register for IT services before actually registering for the course (since the key to doing that was only knowing my registration number) so that I now have broadband in my room...
I'm saddened to note that there is no common area in the hall of residence. Although our little flat with four rooms (only three occupied so far...) has a sort of kitchen/diner, there is little prospect of meeting other students socially. This is a big change from my experience in the early '80s.
More soon - tomorrow we have our first 'lectures' and collect the first of several packages of books and materials...
With regard to affordability, I have to say that the whole position of students in England has deteriorated dramatically since I was first an undergraduate in the early 1980s. Although the course that I am doing is a postgraduate course, and would always have cost more money than an undergraduate course, the pay, pay, pay mentality has reached epidemic proportions with students accumulating very high debts with actually a rather lower likelihood of achieving a well enough paying job to get rid of the debt in an acceptable time.
This is all completely independent of my position, however, as the Bar is in an even more serious situation from the student's point of view. There are many, many more students taking the Bar Vocational Course than there are available pupillages or, worse, tenancies in chambers. As a result chambers are being (understandably) very selective (albeit based on narrow criteria) and it is now considered to be not-abnormal to fail to secure a pupillage until a year (or more) after taking the BVC. For an impoverished straight-out-of-school student, this raises the real risk that candidates will simply give up because they cannot secure the required funds to develop their postgraduate skills and then wait for a year or more before progressing to the next stage. It seems to me that many of these students will simply wander off to paying jobs, their ambitions dashed.
Some practitioners that I have spoken to have suggested that it is the fault of the institutions for offering too many BVC places. This may indeed be the case.
Nevertheless, I am excited at the prospect of being a full-time student again and having the opportunity to really focus on the law rather than trying to fit it in with other activities (since I did my Law degree part time whilst running my business).
Today was really an easy day, with only registration to cope with, but I did manage to get one step ahead and register for IT services before actually registering for the course (since the key to doing that was only knowing my registration number) so that I now have broadband in my room...
I'm saddened to note that there is no common area in the hall of residence. Although our little flat with four rooms (only three occupied so far...) has a sort of kitchen/diner, there is little prospect of meeting other students socially. This is a big change from my experience in the early '80s.
More soon - tomorrow we have our first 'lectures' and collect the first of several packages of books and materials...
Posted at 08:20 AM
Wed - July 18, 2007
London's peace destroyed...
I've been travelling to London more or less every
week for most of this year and it is surprising how much noise comes from sirens
used by the emergency services.
...In fact, in the last two months, I can count the occasions when I have seen emergency services vehicles travelling in London without their sirens wailing on the fingers of one hand.
...Worse, various vehicles appear to be experimentally using continental style sirens rather than the more conventional type normally deployed in the UK - this may be a sign that other road users are not moving out of their way fast enough having become rather fatigued by the number of emergence services vehicles pushing their way through traffic.
Additionally, the generall rule in England is that sirens and horns should not be used between 11:00 and 06:00 - yet in London the sirens wail all night.
...In fact, in the last two months, I can count the occasions when I have seen emergency services vehicles travelling in London without their sirens wailing on the fingers of one hand.
...Worse, various vehicles appear to be experimentally using continental style sirens rather than the more conventional type normally deployed in the UK - this may be a sign that other road users are not moving out of their way fast enough having become rather fatigued by the number of emergence services vehicles pushing their way through traffic.
Additionally, the generall rule in England is that sirens and horns should not be used between 11:00 and 06:00 - yet in London the sirens wail all night.
I've been travelling to London more or less every
week for most of this year and it is surprising how much noise comes from sirens
used by the emergency services. Any walk down a London street, day or night,
will be disturbed by the wailing of sirens, even if there is little or no
traffic.
In fact, in the last two months, I can count the occasions when I have seen emergency services vehicles travelling in London without their sirens wailing on the fingers of one hand.
Is this a problem of resources? Are London's emergency services so stretched that they have to make every vehicle movement an emergency in order to just keep things running?
Is this a cynical attempt to 'remind' the populace that there are threats that have to be kept under control and that everyone should be vigilent?
Alternatively, are the drivers just over-keen on the use of their emergency warning sirens and lights?
The latter point is certainly arguable when you consider that many of these vehicles are rushing around with almost no traffic in the way - so use of sirens is entirely avoidable, especially at night. Worse, various vehicles appear to be experimentally using continental style sirens rather than the more conventional type normally deployed in the UK - this may be a sign that other road users are not moving out of their way fast enough having become rather fatigued by the number of emergence services vehicles pushing their way through traffic.
Additionally, the generall rule in England is that sirens and horns should not be used between 11:00 and 06:00 - yet in London the sirens wail all night.
This all smacks of sloppy resourcing, poor training and over zealous use of the term emergency. The sooner it quiets down the better.
In fact, in the last two months, I can count the occasions when I have seen emergency services vehicles travelling in London without their sirens wailing on the fingers of one hand.
Is this a problem of resources? Are London's emergency services so stretched that they have to make every vehicle movement an emergency in order to just keep things running?
Is this a cynical attempt to 'remind' the populace that there are threats that have to be kept under control and that everyone should be vigilent?
Alternatively, are the drivers just over-keen on the use of their emergency warning sirens and lights?
The latter point is certainly arguable when you consider that many of these vehicles are rushing around with almost no traffic in the way - so use of sirens is entirely avoidable, especially at night. Worse, various vehicles appear to be experimentally using continental style sirens rather than the more conventional type normally deployed in the UK - this may be a sign that other road users are not moving out of their way fast enough having become rather fatigued by the number of emergence services vehicles pushing their way through traffic.
Additionally, the generall rule in England is that sirens and horns should not be used between 11:00 and 06:00 - yet in London the sirens wail all night.
This all smacks of sloppy resourcing, poor training and over zealous use of the term emergency. The sooner it quiets down the better.
Posted at 08:14 AM
Wed - May 3, 2006
The Blue Frog - its war out there...
When Blue Security developed their active
deterrence approach to fighting e-mail spam, little did anyone know how
effective it would be, or how annoyed the spammers would eventually get! This
user will continue to use, and recommend, the Blue Security approach - it really
does work and it really does feel good to actually be able to get back at the
spammers.
Blue
Security came up with a bright idea - fight spam by actually
contacting the companies that benefit from spam to request that they cease and
desist. Their approach works, put simply, as
follows:
i/ The user joins the Blue Security 'Do Not Include' registry (free) and his or her e-mail address(es) is (are) added to the list that is made available to spammers to exclude from their attacks;
ii/ The user (optionally) runs a small program on his computer called the Blue Frog, which communicates securely with Blue Security's servers;
iii/ On receipt of e-mail deemed to be spam, the user forwards the unwanted message to Blue Security for processing;
iv/ When Blue Security develops an opt-out script for the spammer in question, the Blue Frog is activated to post an opt-out for each instance of spam received from that sender. As far as I understand it, there is a one-to-one mapping here - this is not a denial of service attack by another name.
The effect is that a spammer failing to remove e-mail addresses from his list will suffer a deluge of opt-out requests from those registered with Blue Security. The requests come from the affected person's computer, not from Blue Security. If it is a denial of service attack then it is self-inflicted and no less justifiable than if the spammer had posted his telephone number and received a deluge of angry 'phone calls (all night). Under those circumstances, a person can always leave his 'phone off the hook, you might argue. The same applies to the spammer's computer.
The Blue Frog is very effective. It can be downloaded (free) from SourceForge and installs on Win XP, Win 2000 or most flavours of Linux. Sadly the Frog is not yet available for Mac OS X so I have a dedicated Linux machine running the Frog for myself, a not-for-profit organisation of which I am webmaster, and a charity. So far the collective spam has decreased by over 95%, to only a few e-mails per day over nearly a dozen e-mail accounts. Job done?
Not quite: in the last few days the spammers have started fighting back by sending threatening and malicious e-mails to those they believe are on Blue Security's registry (because, in fact, the registry can only be accessed in such a way that the spammer can not see the whole list). This has meant a local increase in spam for some accounts (one of mine received 20 messages yesterday, up from about four). Some users report having discontinued use of the Blue Frog. Blue Security's own web site was hit by a massive denial of service attack. Nevertheless, the Blue Frog servers have continued to work and the Frog continues to post (now even more) opt-outs. Today the deluge seems to be over - and even with the 20 extra messages the situation was still a vast improvement - and some accounts have now received no spam for days. So the battle has been joined and almost won. At this site for sure, we'll keep on supporting the Blue Frog and the community that it has engendered.
i/ The user joins the Blue Security 'Do Not Include' registry (free) and his or her e-mail address(es) is (are) added to the list that is made available to spammers to exclude from their attacks;
ii/ The user (optionally) runs a small program on his computer called the Blue Frog, which communicates securely with Blue Security's servers;
iii/ On receipt of e-mail deemed to be spam, the user forwards the unwanted message to Blue Security for processing;
iv/ When Blue Security develops an opt-out script for the spammer in question, the Blue Frog is activated to post an opt-out for each instance of spam received from that sender. As far as I understand it, there is a one-to-one mapping here - this is not a denial of service attack by another name.
The effect is that a spammer failing to remove e-mail addresses from his list will suffer a deluge of opt-out requests from those registered with Blue Security. The requests come from the affected person's computer, not from Blue Security. If it is a denial of service attack then it is self-inflicted and no less justifiable than if the spammer had posted his telephone number and received a deluge of angry 'phone calls (all night). Under those circumstances, a person can always leave his 'phone off the hook, you might argue. The same applies to the spammer's computer.
The Blue Frog is very effective. It can be downloaded (free) from SourceForge and installs on Win XP, Win 2000 or most flavours of Linux. Sadly the Frog is not yet available for Mac OS X so I have a dedicated Linux machine running the Frog for myself, a not-for-profit organisation of which I am webmaster, and a charity. So far the collective spam has decreased by over 95%, to only a few e-mails per day over nearly a dozen e-mail accounts. Job done?
Not quite: in the last few days the spammers have started fighting back by sending threatening and malicious e-mails to those they believe are on Blue Security's registry (because, in fact, the registry can only be accessed in such a way that the spammer can not see the whole list). This has meant a local increase in spam for some accounts (one of mine received 20 messages yesterday, up from about four). Some users report having discontinued use of the Blue Frog. Blue Security's own web site was hit by a massive denial of service attack. Nevertheless, the Blue Frog servers have continued to work and the Frog continues to post (now even more) opt-outs. Today the deluge seems to be over - and even with the 20 extra messages the situation was still a vast improvement - and some accounts have now received no spam for days. So the battle has been joined and almost won. At this site for sure, we'll keep on supporting the Blue Frog and the community that it has engendered.
Posted at 09:33 AM
Sat - April 22, 2006
The incredible importance of literacy...
Travel to a country where I understand neither
the language nor the alphabet has illustrated the degree to which literacy is
truly an essential element in today's society.
As I write this I have been in a country where
Russian is a dominant language for two weeks. I don't speak a word of Russian
(well, I can't put a sentence together which is what really counts) and I cannot
read the cyrillic alphabet. Effectively, despite several years of education and
two degrees, I am illiterate in this country. The feeling is very
humbling.
I have often come across illiterate people at home, perhaps once per year. Very often they are delivery drivers who are looking for an address - if they have not properly understood the verbal instructions that they have received and get lost, all they can do to describe where they are looking for is to thrust the delivery note at someone trying to help. Nevertheless, I had always thought that being illiterate could only be a moderate handicap. It is possible to work out how to use most equipment by watching and learning and following pictograms on the instruction manual; if you can at least read the numbers then making telephone calls is pretty straightforward.
However, I've changed my view after these two weeks. Wandering around unfamiliar streets in an unfamiliar town it is not possible for me to tell what most shops sell - in particular shops here don't always showcase their wares in a large window and few have English descriptions as to what they sell. I have been reduced to looking at the pictures in the window, where they exist, to determine what the shop might sell (a shop with a picture of a woman's head with hair blowing in the wind emblazened 'Wella' is a sure sign of a hairdressers!) or, worse, hanging back to see what sort of people are going in and out and also getting a glance through the door to see inside. I've felt rather odd doing this, as you might understand, but the first 'shopping centre; that I found sold only lingeré and I beat a hasty retreat.
The last time I was here I was whisked about from hotel to office to meeting to dinner and the menu was translated for me - so I hardly noticed. This time I have been pretty much left to my own devices and while I have not put on any weight (fewer corporate dinners) it has certainly been an eye opener. As very few people here speak English I have been forced to attempt some sign language to ensure that what I was buying was what I thought it was (imaging 'fish' etc). Its been pretty hard work.
The bottom line is that I've certainly resolved to at least get the hang of the cyrillic alphabet so that I can work out what the signs are saying and the menus - but also it has made me even more aware of the value of literacy in my own environment and thank goodness that I payed attention at school.
I have often come across illiterate people at home, perhaps once per year. Very often they are delivery drivers who are looking for an address - if they have not properly understood the verbal instructions that they have received and get lost, all they can do to describe where they are looking for is to thrust the delivery note at someone trying to help. Nevertheless, I had always thought that being illiterate could only be a moderate handicap. It is possible to work out how to use most equipment by watching and learning and following pictograms on the instruction manual; if you can at least read the numbers then making telephone calls is pretty straightforward.
However, I've changed my view after these two weeks. Wandering around unfamiliar streets in an unfamiliar town it is not possible for me to tell what most shops sell - in particular shops here don't always showcase their wares in a large window and few have English descriptions as to what they sell. I have been reduced to looking at the pictures in the window, where they exist, to determine what the shop might sell (a shop with a picture of a woman's head with hair blowing in the wind emblazened 'Wella' is a sure sign of a hairdressers!) or, worse, hanging back to see what sort of people are going in and out and also getting a glance through the door to see inside. I've felt rather odd doing this, as you might understand, but the first 'shopping centre; that I found sold only lingeré and I beat a hasty retreat.
The last time I was here I was whisked about from hotel to office to meeting to dinner and the menu was translated for me - so I hardly noticed. This time I have been pretty much left to my own devices and while I have not put on any weight (fewer corporate dinners) it has certainly been an eye opener. As very few people here speak English I have been forced to attempt some sign language to ensure that what I was buying was what I thought it was (imaging 'fish' etc). Its been pretty hard work.
The bottom line is that I've certainly resolved to at least get the hang of the cyrillic alphabet so that I can work out what the signs are saying and the menus - but also it has made me even more aware of the value of literacy in my own environment and thank goodness that I payed attention at school.
Posted at 11:29 AM
Thu - April 21, 2005
So what is the big deal about the small format?
It seems like only a few weeks since The
Independent moved to its new tabloid format, followed soon afterwards by that
stalwart of broadsheet newspapers, The Times. There was an outcry from the man
on the 08:27 that the papers were 'dumbing down', a euphamism for a mean attempt
to make the content more accessible for a less discerning audience. The
experience of this writer suggests that it may not have dumbed down as such but
the reduction in quality of presentation of the paper leaves a lot to be
desired, and the reader was not impressed.
Arriving at Derby railway station this morning on
the 06:01 from Matlock I was in need of news. The news-agent had not yet opened
his doors in Matlock when I left and I was too awake, and the branch line to
darned bumpy, to be able to get any more sleep. In the First lounge at Derby
station, apparently the only part of Derby station that does not seem to be
permanently under siege from a cold Arctic wind all year round, the choice of
papers was The Times or The Guardian.
I cannot read the Guardian. Although its broad range of articles on a variety of subjects of interest to me exceeds the other quality papers by a considerable margin, I cannot stomach the political bias. In addition, I cannot tolerate the incredibly poor production with a thsepkh of skmhrfbg msidtnca. You got it - the old days of 'The Grauniad' are still with us.
So I chose The Times in its new (for me) 'tabloid' format.
What a mistake.
The paper was really very poorly put together. It looked rather like it had been cut at an angle. The fold was not in the middle of the page and each page seemed to be a different size. Those of us used to broadsheet newspapers have had years of perfecting the finger-separation of pages and the quick flick of the wrists to enable the pages to be turned and the paper flipped over were comfortable with the additional agility required to enable the paper to be read from cover to cover in a crowded bus or train, even while standing up. However, this new offering was slated to be extra convenient, handy and generally easier to use. What rot! The paper, for one thing, is thicker than that used in the old broadsheet format, making it feel heavier and more bulky. Second, the poor cutting edge and extreme mis-alignment means that the finger-flick to turn pages just doesn't work. Actually handling the paper to turn from page 1 to page 2 was difficult.
I was not impressed. Others in the lounge were apparently satisfied so I presumed that the paper that I had chosen was a bad example. I left it behind and caught my train.
I was then, as you might imagine, somewhat shocked that the copy of The Times handed to me by the train staff was remarkably similar to the poor example that I had left behind in Derby. No matter, the train started out in Leeds, or was it Sheffield; perhaps the Northern editions (are these early editions or editions printed in Manchester?) are all faulty. I left the second bad example on the train.
I have to say that I was not prepared for the next example - note that at no stage have I had to actually pay for these papers - which was in the British Airways lounge at Heathrow. This wretched paper was as bad as the two previous examples - just plain difficult to read. The on-plane version was similarly mis-shapen and poorly put together.
All in all, unless someone can tell me that today was a particularly bad day at the press, is to assume that The Times no longer takes much care of its presentation. The copies of Metro that had, by the time I got on to the Circle Line at South Kensington, been well-thumbed by countless commuters already, were in better shape than four fresh copies of The Times sampled from Derby to Heathrow. The presentation of The Daily Mail is also, from a sample of one, substantially better. What is it about Times readers that makes them put up with such appalling quality.
Come on folks, get real, don't buy The Times unless it passes inspection at the news stand first. Make a stand for quality, at any size.
I cannot read the Guardian. Although its broad range of articles on a variety of subjects of interest to me exceeds the other quality papers by a considerable margin, I cannot stomach the political bias. In addition, I cannot tolerate the incredibly poor production with a thsepkh of skmhrfbg msidtnca. You got it - the old days of 'The Grauniad' are still with us.
So I chose The Times in its new (for me) 'tabloid' format.
What a mistake.
The paper was really very poorly put together. It looked rather like it had been cut at an angle. The fold was not in the middle of the page and each page seemed to be a different size. Those of us used to broadsheet newspapers have had years of perfecting the finger-separation of pages and the quick flick of the wrists to enable the pages to be turned and the paper flipped over were comfortable with the additional agility required to enable the paper to be read from cover to cover in a crowded bus or train, even while standing up. However, this new offering was slated to be extra convenient, handy and generally easier to use. What rot! The paper, for one thing, is thicker than that used in the old broadsheet format, making it feel heavier and more bulky. Second, the poor cutting edge and extreme mis-alignment means that the finger-flick to turn pages just doesn't work. Actually handling the paper to turn from page 1 to page 2 was difficult.
I was not impressed. Others in the lounge were apparently satisfied so I presumed that the paper that I had chosen was a bad example. I left it behind and caught my train.
I was then, as you might imagine, somewhat shocked that the copy of The Times handed to me by the train staff was remarkably similar to the poor example that I had left behind in Derby. No matter, the train started out in Leeds, or was it Sheffield; perhaps the Northern editions (are these early editions or editions printed in Manchester?) are all faulty. I left the second bad example on the train.
I have to say that I was not prepared for the next example - note that at no stage have I had to actually pay for these papers - which was in the British Airways lounge at Heathrow. This wretched paper was as bad as the two previous examples - just plain difficult to read. The on-plane version was similarly mis-shapen and poorly put together.
All in all, unless someone can tell me that today was a particularly bad day at the press, is to assume that The Times no longer takes much care of its presentation. The copies of Metro that had, by the time I got on to the Circle Line at South Kensington, been well-thumbed by countless commuters already, were in better shape than four fresh copies of The Times sampled from Derby to Heathrow. The presentation of The Daily Mail is also, from a sample of one, substantially better. What is it about Times readers that makes them put up with such appalling quality.
Come on folks, get real, don't buy The Times unless it passes inspection at the news stand first. Make a stand for quality, at any size.
Posted at 03:48 PM
Sat - April 16, 2005
Is the law being made an ass by politics?
A quick review of a recent new regulation on
motoring reveals that it may be having only limited effect on the drivers whose
behaviour it was intended to change. The resulting question goes to the heart
of our society - which comes first, the general lawlessness or the
over-regulation?
Some years ago one of the UK motoring
organisations made the claim that the average driver is likely to be stopped by
the police for speeding only once in a driving lifetime. Even then it was quite
a frequent occurrence for a driver on a journey of reasonable length to see a
police car with flashing lights parked behind some alleged miscreant's car, the
driver being talked to by one or more
officers.
I have not seen this for a couple of years in UK. Contrast my occasional visits to the USA and Canada when it is quite a thing not to see any traffic police in action even when driving from the airport to the nearest hotel.
Meanwhile, we now have a plethora of motoring laws that can only reasonably be enforced by the diligence of a police officer. For instance, the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2003 introduced a new regulation making it a specific offence to operate a hand-held mobile 'phone while driving (see http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2003/20032695.htm) and there was a great deal of publicity surrounding the coming into force of this regulation on 1st December 2003. No driver can reasonably claim not to know about this new regulation. They bored us nearly to death with it. Nevertheless, I still see drivers deep in conversation on their mobile 'phones on a daily basis. Some of these are running around town at relatively low speeds (but where the likelihood of colliding with a stray pedestrian is, of course, all the greater) and others are hauling down the motorway at breakneck speed.
Why bother to introduce a law that criminalises this sort of behaviour if there is no intention to enforce it?
There have been other laws and regulations introduced in the last few years that are similarly ineffective. The question has to be asked - what is the effect of introducing laws and regulations that cannot, for reason of police resources or the nature of the offence, be policed or even detected? I imagine that some sociology students and academics will eventually point out the very obvious answer (but with better than a gut-feel that I have when writing this - which I believe is that it has the effect of lowering the overall respect for the law held by the general population. People are gradually becoming more and more lawless. There is more speeding in areas not heavily policed by speed cameras (which will have the effect of encouraging the speed camera bodies to deploy them more and more widely of course). There is more and more illegal parking in areas where parking controls are loose because the authority cannot afford to pay the attendants. There is more and more litter being thrown from vehicles in areas of natural beauty (actually I don't believe that people that do this really discriminate where they throw their trash - but it is certainly more noticeable). There is more and more chewing gum on the streets.
The question is, what is the cause and what is the effect. Is the cause the lack of discipline amongst members of our society and the effect the state bodies doing their best to control these actions or is the cause the state introducing ever more petty legislation and the populace rebelling by doing more of what they like when out of sight of the agents of the state?
I don't know but I have to say that I do not much like it. Sometimes driving along a road with a 40 mph speed limit I feel like the odd one out because I am driving at 40 mph. I certainly feel like the odd one out when putting my sandwich wrapper into a public litter container. I don't much care for Singapore style authoritarianism but I have to say that my mind is not so set against it as it was ten years ago.
I have not seen this for a couple of years in UK. Contrast my occasional visits to the USA and Canada when it is quite a thing not to see any traffic police in action even when driving from the airport to the nearest hotel.
Meanwhile, we now have a plethora of motoring laws that can only reasonably be enforced by the diligence of a police officer. For instance, the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2003 introduced a new regulation making it a specific offence to operate a hand-held mobile 'phone while driving (see http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2003/20032695.htm) and there was a great deal of publicity surrounding the coming into force of this regulation on 1st December 2003. No driver can reasonably claim not to know about this new regulation. They bored us nearly to death with it. Nevertheless, I still see drivers deep in conversation on their mobile 'phones on a daily basis. Some of these are running around town at relatively low speeds (but where the likelihood of colliding with a stray pedestrian is, of course, all the greater) and others are hauling down the motorway at breakneck speed.
Why bother to introduce a law that criminalises this sort of behaviour if there is no intention to enforce it?
There have been other laws and regulations introduced in the last few years that are similarly ineffective. The question has to be asked - what is the effect of introducing laws and regulations that cannot, for reason of police resources or the nature of the offence, be policed or even detected? I imagine that some sociology students and academics will eventually point out the very obvious answer (but with better than a gut-feel that I have when writing this - which I believe is that it has the effect of lowering the overall respect for the law held by the general population. People are gradually becoming more and more lawless. There is more speeding in areas not heavily policed by speed cameras (which will have the effect of encouraging the speed camera bodies to deploy them more and more widely of course). There is more and more illegal parking in areas where parking controls are loose because the authority cannot afford to pay the attendants. There is more and more litter being thrown from vehicles in areas of natural beauty (actually I don't believe that people that do this really discriminate where they throw their trash - but it is certainly more noticeable). There is more and more chewing gum on the streets.
The question is, what is the cause and what is the effect. Is the cause the lack of discipline amongst members of our society and the effect the state bodies doing their best to control these actions or is the cause the state introducing ever more petty legislation and the populace rebelling by doing more of what they like when out of sight of the agents of the state?
I don't know but I have to say that I do not much like it. Sometimes driving along a road with a 40 mph speed limit I feel like the odd one out because I am driving at 40 mph. I certainly feel like the odd one out when putting my sandwich wrapper into a public litter container. I don't much care for Singapore style authoritarianism but I have to say that my mind is not so set against it as it was ten years ago.
Posted at 06:52 PM
Sun - February 13, 2005
Do corporations really understand security?
Major e-mail clients reject digitally signed
e-mail, major banks issue Chip-and-PIN credit cards but do not activate them.
Does this mean that these corporations don't really understand security at
all?
The AOL e-mail client rejects mail sent with a
digital signature. Outlook (as opposed to Outlook Express) also puts up a
message that frightens users into thinking that there is something wrong with
that message. All that a digital signature does is to give the recipient some
confidence that the person who sent the message is who he says he
is.
I also shudder to have to report that for the two (of five) cards issued by a major UK bank that I have that now have a Chip & PIN device fitted (the remainder, being means of access to accounts that hold my money as opposed to the means by which I might take out a small loan using _their_ money), the wretched bank failed to remind or inform any customer of the PIN at all and, despite many shops (but by no means all) locally being equipped to deal with these new fangled devices, I note that the cards from this particular bank still do not require me to enter my PIN. They are also, apparently, currently not compatible with the European systems. The words 'worse than useless' spring to mind.
I wonder if this is symptomatic of high-level incompetence at these companies or whether, in reality, they do not really understand security at all. In the former case I suspect that this is indeed the case. Companies who make e-mail clients that actually refuse to display digitally signed e-mail are clearly doing so deliberately. Old e-mail clients seem to pass the messages without difficulty - so there must be something designed into the AOL client that prevents a signed message from being read. Shame on them.
However, in the case of the banks I suspect a combination of the 'not invented here' syndrome and basic incompetence. It hardly seems credible that after investing a huge amount of money on issuing new cards, sharing TV advertising costs with other banks (to raise awareness) and a national fanfare at the beginning of 2005, to fail to activate the cards can only be a blunder, albeit one of some seriousness. The Chip & PIN was introduced to prevent cards from being 'cloned'. If the chip is not used in the transaction process it has no value and the card can still be cloned in the apparently usual manner (copying the magnetic strip using a $5 device). Shame on the bank, however, for not getting this fixed yet (it is the middle of February) and I do hope that they get sued by someone whose card is cloned as a result of this screw-up.
I am looking for a new bank.
I also shudder to have to report that for the two (of five) cards issued by a major UK bank that I have that now have a Chip & PIN device fitted (the remainder, being means of access to accounts that hold my money as opposed to the means by which I might take out a small loan using _their_ money), the wretched bank failed to remind or inform any customer of the PIN at all and, despite many shops (but by no means all) locally being equipped to deal with these new fangled devices, I note that the cards from this particular bank still do not require me to enter my PIN. They are also, apparently, currently not compatible with the European systems. The words 'worse than useless' spring to mind.
I wonder if this is symptomatic of high-level incompetence at these companies or whether, in reality, they do not really understand security at all. In the former case I suspect that this is indeed the case. Companies who make e-mail clients that actually refuse to display digitally signed e-mail are clearly doing so deliberately. Old e-mail clients seem to pass the messages without difficulty - so there must be something designed into the AOL client that prevents a signed message from being read. Shame on them.
However, in the case of the banks I suspect a combination of the 'not invented here' syndrome and basic incompetence. It hardly seems credible that after investing a huge amount of money on issuing new cards, sharing TV advertising costs with other banks (to raise awareness) and a national fanfare at the beginning of 2005, to fail to activate the cards can only be a blunder, albeit one of some seriousness. The Chip & PIN was introduced to prevent cards from being 'cloned'. If the chip is not used in the transaction process it has no value and the card can still be cloned in the apparently usual manner (copying the magnetic strip using a $5 device). Shame on the bank, however, for not getting this fixed yet (it is the middle of February) and I do hope that they get sued by someone whose card is cloned as a result of this screw-up.
I am looking for a new bank.
Posted at 04:43 PM
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Published On: Aug 08, 2011 09:55 AM
Published On: Aug 08, 2011 09:55 AM