Tag: .uk
The BBC's TV detector vans are simply a form of psychological warfare
The UK’s Information Commissioner, who’s been a very busy man/department recently, declined a freedom of information request to reveal how many TV license detector vans the BBC operates – because it might stop people believing they exist.
The shadowy fleet of TV-detecting vans is supposed to be able to pick up tell-tale signs that a TV’s being used inside a house, but the ICO ruled that revealing how many vans the BBC actually operates – and the technology they use – might undermine the level of threat they pose. And lead to us not bothering to pay our licence fees any more…
Security watchdog the ICO is currently looking at 277 "data breaches" in the UK
At the moment it’s all about banking crisis and how shares aren’t even worth wasting a match on burning the certificates, but cast you minds back a year or so ago. Back when there was only one issue on our minds – data privacy.
Since the numerous high-profile cases of last year, when the government couldn’t stop leaving discs, laptops and USB drives all over the place, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office has received 277 new complaints and warnings about people’s personal data possibly being held in insecure fashions.
The NHS is the biggest culprit, with 75 outstanding cases of possible embarrassing fact-disclosure currently on the books of the ICO…
ATTENTION NINTENDO: Half of all people in the UK are planning on buying a Wii this Christmas
Whoever’s in charge of Nintendo’s manufacturing facilities needs to get themselves a big stick and start poking – Nintendo’s Wii looks almost certain to be a sell-out across the UK again this Christmas.
A survey by the bean-management specialists at Moneysupermarket Shipping has found that more than half of people who’ve already decided what they’re buying this year are going to go through the LIVING HELL of trying to track down an in-stock Wii….
UK government not making democracy easy or fun – no "e-voting" for the UK
If you want to exercise your demographic right to say you’d rather have a blue politician representing you than a red one, you’re going to have to carry on with the tiresome old ‘ticking boxes with a pen’ system – there will be no “e-voting” for the likes of us any time soon.
Michael Wills, the minister for justice, told parliament that “The Government does not plan to introduce e-voting for the 2009 European or local elections,” meaning it’s off to the local primary school with your little postcard of power…
HTC Touch HD coming to UK on Orange in early November
Orange has announced that it has exclusive UK rights to the HTC Touch HD, arriving here in early November.
Featuring a 3.8-inch high-res (480 x 800) widescreen touch screen, it’s built for multimedia. It offer access to Orange’s own mobile TV service, comes with a five megapixel auto-focus camera, has a full Internet browser, and uses HTC’s TouchFLO 3D user interface (bolted on to Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional).
Other features include a second VGA camera, 512MB of internal memory and SDHC/microSD expansion card slot, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS…
10% of web users take SICK PLEASURE from browsing while on the toilet
What is WRONG with you people? A survey by leading UK internet facilitator Plusnet has found that one-in-ten people have done some web browsing while on the toilet, either at work or risking a written warning by endangering company equipment in the workplace loo.
35% of users regularly go online from the comfort of bed, preferring to anonymously slag a few people off on the internet as a happy and relaxing way to end the day, with 85% of all web users currently hooked up via wi-fi and able to use their PCs wherever they damn well like and TO HELL with public perception…
Sony launches VAIO TT Blu-ray notebook and new customisation service in UK
Sony has announced that its VAIO TT Blu-ray notebook, which it claims is the lightest portable PC containing a high-def optical drive, is now available in the UK.
It sports a modest 11.1-inch widescreen LED-backlit display offering 1,366 x 768 resolution, Intel Core 2 Duo SU9300 processor, Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD, 4GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, plus WWAN technology offering 7.2Mbps HSDPA and 2Mbps HSUPA where service is available.
A DVD superdrive comes as standard with the laptop, with the option to add Blu-ray. A 128GB solid state drive can also be fitted instead of the hard drive. Sony is being suitably stingy with pricing information, but we’ll get it to you as soon as we find out…
Mobile phones about to become electronic tags – a passport might be required to buy one
If you’re one of those people who likes to get angry about possible privacy invasions, this should get you nicely red-faced until well after lunchtime.
As part of the vague, all-encompassing crackdown on anything to do with “terrorism,” the government is considering adding mobile phones to its national database of who owns what – so you could be asked to hand over your passport in exchange for buying a cheap pay-as-you-go job…
The Queen visits Google
Visiting Google.co.uk today, you’ll see a particular celebrity adorning the logo – Queen Elizabeth II. Her Royal Highness is visiting Google UK today and, along with Prince Phillip, will be meeting staff, competition winners, and selected YouTube users. She’ll be shown demonstrations of Google’s technology, as well as meeting local schoolchildren who’ve been designing new Google logos.
