If so, head on over to this BBC article that details the possible confusion that will arise when carry on (hand) luggage rules are relaxed in SOME circumstances in the coming weeks. With our trip back from Britain to Kazakhstan, we will need to find out in advance whether Heathrow, and our airline specifically will be allowing more than one piece of hand luggage, and exactly which restrictions will still be applied.
I really do recommend you read the article, but if you want the ultra-short version, don’t assume you can take more luggage, just because the airport has publicized changes, unless your airline has the extra security hardware required, you will still be limited to one piece per passenger. Something to remember when considering how to pack any presents you get this year…
Dec 19 2007
Flying Soon From Britain?
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Dec 19 2007
Internet Reports
The ISP we now have our internet connection with is called Megaline. Unfortunately, since swapping to their service, everyday sees some downtime for connectivity. Even when all is apparently working, packets are often lost, and I can no longer as open as many simultaneous pages, without time outs occurring. That said, it is a lot cheaper, and although only 1/2 the speed, I do get an allowance of 10Gb/month before they throttle me down to 32Kbit/sec, from 128Kbit/sec.
Anyway, we first have a report on the UK’s lagginess (puns will stop now, sorry), when it comes to very fast internet connection availability. This is no great surprise really, given our history with BT’s (formerly part of the GPO) previous monopoly at nearly all stages of communications. Great investment will be needed to push beyond the current 24Mbps ceiling, and even that sort of connection is only really possibly if you live on top of your local exchange. Until we drop twisted pair copper lines as acceptable, the days of fibre optics into every home are a long way off, unless someone like Richard Branson decides that it is economically viable in areas when other Cable TV operators have avoided.
On a more positive note, here we have an article detailing how broadband internet connectivity (even if it isn’t globally breath-takingly fast) has rapidly become the preferred speed, compared to just four years ago, when most people considered dial up speeds acceptable. No pretty table to illustrate the point this time, sorry.
Finally, on a semi-related matter, the BBC News site had details on how some European nation’s citizens are rejecting land lines altogether, in favour of mobile phones. Although this may sound surprising at first, if you take into account that some of the nations, that were unable to develop as quickly under USSR rule, never had high rates for phone lines into every house, and how competitive some mobile phone network companies are in these markets, to try and get, then keep loyal customers, you can begin to see why having no land line number is becoming more common in some areas. Whether these figures include those that only use phone lines for internet usage, and use mobiles for cheaper evening calls etc, I couldn’t ascertain.
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Dec 19 2007
Free Press?Always Best???
First off, we have an article over at the BBC web site (I should probably learn to broaden my horizons, or at least add a few new RSS feeds 🙂 ).
Anyway, a survey recently carried out revealed that 40% of some 11,000 people from 14 different countries believed that a press free from the shackles of governmental or military censorship was not as important for society, compared to social harmony and peace. Just as interesting, for me at least, was that news that Russians (as well as Egyptians and Germans) believed that state run media was more likely to give an unbiased account of events, compared to private owned media companies.
For a quick summary, see the BBC’s graph below…
Although it is sometimes difficult to discuss political matters in this country, especially as I am a relatively inexperienced foreigner in a different culture to that I grew up in, I have to admit I do not have a great deal of respect for the vast majority of local TV stations and newspapers, when it comes to reporting Kazakh-based news that has a political slant. Would I feel any differently if I had lived through the years of even heavier repression? Quite possibly, but in knowing what can be achieved by a free press, it can be frustrating to watch the personality-based ego feeding that often occurs on the news reports around here.
The world does not revolve around one man, no matter how great his achievements… if a balance is not achieved between respect and kowtowing, then disillusionment will eventually form.
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Dec 10 2007
Don’t Go Giving Gwen Nightmares…
For anyone who doesn’t remember, or is perhaps new to this blog, Gwen is the name of Mum and John’s dog, and I would like to ask them to make sure she does not read this post…
The reason? Head on over to this article, for details on how a pack of hungry squirrels allegedly attacked a stray dog that was bothering them. I am not too sure if this story is more of an exaggerated chinese whispers incident, much like the nicotine addicted (and therefore ciggy stealing) squirrels that we allegedly had back down in Bournemouth, but whatever the case, the BBC seem to see fit to treat it as news, and it is not every day you hear of such small rodents taking on a serious foe, so I thought I’d throw the link out, and see what people thought.
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Dec 10 2007
GPS Alternative
As you may remember from my previous posts re. the HTC TyTn II, I already use a Global Positioning System device when I am in Britain. Although there are of course the usual horror stories of little old grannies mindlessly following instructions and driving their Nissan Sunny into a pond, or of being taken on 250 mile detours, I find the ability to chill out about exactly which junction I need to exit from on the motorway, or the location of speed cameras very useful. According to an article over at BBC News, Europe is planning the launch of a system to offer an alternative to America’s GPS. The table at the end of the article is the sort of thing I really like from the BBC – a neat summary of exactly what is on the table, and in this case at least, who each section will be aimed at.
Dec 10 2007
If It Worked In The 80s…
I would have put this post in the ‘Aware Or Conspiracy Nut?’ category as well, but it is pretty obvious what Dubbya’s motivation was for the memory loss…
Anyway, head on over to the BBC’s article on President Bush’s revelation that he has ‘no memory of the CIA videos of their torturing interrogating suspected terrorists’. I really hope that the American public will have had their fill of ‘no clear recollection of those events’ type answers/excuses after the Iran/Contra scandal in the 80s. I doubt it will raise much attention though. Funny how an act of consensual oral sex can end up with a Democrat being impeached, and how blatant lies, bloodshed, bullshit and abuse of power and influence end up in no action being taken. Bunch of frigging wuck fits…
Dec 05 2007
Facebook Capitulates To Public Pressure
I have recently being using Facebook more than in the past, and noticed a few new groups that were formed to try and influence Facebook’s policies on a few matters – members’ browsing & purchasing habits being sold on to 3rd parties, and all rights§ being signed over when photos are uploaded. In the first case, there appears to have been a change of heart, at least according to the BBC article over here. I really should go through my profile sometime, to check if there is anything in there I would prefer not to be publicly viewable, or potentially sold on to marketeers, but for now, I’ll try and see if any of my ongoing scrabulous games have progressed 🙂 .
§ OK, so that is an exaggeration, but basically, photos uploaded could be used for promotional purposes without the express consent of the member. Others have already pointed out that many photos would simply not be of high enough resolution and too compressed to be of use commercially, but I can forsee a situation where a montage of members’ photos are used, without any problem quality wise.
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Nov 29 2007
France Gets Innovative
Whilst I am against the punishing of Peer To Peer users in general, it is interesting to see that France has tried a (slightly) different route in persuading people to stay legal when it comes to music, movies, games and applications. Check out the BBC’s article on it here. Monsieur Sarkozy has announced a scheme where ‘casual’ pirates will receive warnings, and eventually have their internet access removed if they continue to download copyrighted materials. The manner in which they catch these people is a little worrying though, making the ISP’s role a lot more pro-active, rather than simply serving them with requests to trace IP address and date/time combinations to customers, the companies will be expected to actively monitor what people are doing, and report the customers.
No financial or prison sentences is a move in the right direction, but the method of getting there is what worries me greatly. If ISPs accept this new policing role, who knows where it will end. Although different companies definitely have differing policies on this sort of matter, I can’t help wondering if it is the beginning of a slippery slope into an oppressive future.
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Nov 28 2007
UKIP – Ignorant Or Manipulative?
To get a bit of background information for this post, head on over to this BBC News article. For those unwilling, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) are broadly anti-EU, and favour Britain isolating itself from the European Union more. In the past they have never shied away from playing on people’s fears, and blowing things out of proportion.
In this particular case, they presented a question within a Europe-wide census as asking citizens about their sexual activities. The question was referring to what is sometimes called common-law husband/wife relationships. This is when people live together but do not actually get married.
The tone used by a UKIP representative is toned down in this article, compared to the previous one that was issued before the EU decided to drop the question altogether. The UKIP member now appears to concede that the meaning they attributed to ‘consensual union’ may have been incorrect.
Anyway, I don’t know for certain, but it is unlikely that an entire party could mis-understand a term…
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Nov 28 2007
Told Off By YouTube
Ooops, the BBC have complained to YouTube about my Top Gear upload. Never mind. It received around 6000 views last time I checked. Hope you all managed to view the clip of various motor homes being raced around an oval circuit. If not, keep an eye out on YouTube, there are still a few versions floating around. In the mean time, I apparently need to check through all my other videos, and remove any that also infringe copyrights. Either that, or wait for them to close my account and lose all the other vids.
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