Recent Posts

1476

Living Room / Re: I Finally Bought a Kindle Book...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 07, 2011, 03:23 AM »

An update to UK law is on the way, and I'd be surprised if the plan to legalise "format shifting" does not apply to ebooks as well as music and films. I think stripping DRM from legally purchased products will become as common as copying CDs. And the DRM debate will gently fade away...

-johnk (July 06, 2011, 08:46 PM)

Interesting article but the phrase 'believe it when I see it' springs to mind. The movie industry in particular had enough clout in the UK to make it illegal to even possess the means to break DRM on DVDs - you don't have to do it just have the means to, and it doesn't matter if you own a title and just want to make a backup (even if it still includes the DRM) that is now illegal.

A new framework will be proposed to parliament but I'll bet you anything it won't get passed if allowing the breaking of DRM is going to be included. The way the movie industry will get around that is to say you can buy another digital copy - and they are already selling combo DVD/BR/digital packs of new movies precisely to head of any changes in the law in the EU and US.

1477

Living Room / Re: I Finally Bought a Kindle Book...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 06, 2011, 08:10 PM »

My point is you shouldn't have to do that - when you buy a paperback it is yours to do what you like with. Kindle (and any other DRMed) books are legally restricted to the license. You can get round that if you want to break the law but why should you have to when you have paid for the product, but if you don't you could wake up any morning and find titles or even your whole library gone!

1478

Living Room / Re: I Finally Bought a Kindle Book...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 06, 2011, 04:55 PM »

A few questions, what happens in the future when you have invested in a large library and:

• Amazon goes bust (they have a tough time making profits - or they have in the recent past)
• Amazon sells out to another corporate entity that doesn't want the eBook market or has a very different policy/approach - a quick flick of the pen and all those T&Cs you agreed to can be changed, and you have probably signed that you agree to changes in T&Cs
• Kindle v.9 turns up that doesn't support the existing format (just like a lot of the digital mapping products in the UK where you have to pay to upgrade all your maps for the new software version, or VHS has become obsolete so everyone has to replace products with DVDs, whoops sorry replace again with BluRay ....)
• Amazon falls out with a major publisher and they withdraw their catalogue - the promised refunds on withdrawal of pulled products might be large enoygh to push Amazon over the edge ...

1479

General Software Discussion / Re: Sticking to TODO software

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 06, 2011, 06:17 AM »

I have tried most of these bits of software and always comeback to a pinboard and bits of paper!

Most of the 'organiser' software just adds an extra layer of 'work' to my mind.

1480

Living Room / Re: nearby lightning skrike kills neighbours computers (and mine)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 05, 2011, 04:22 AM »

I was under the impression that defrag wasn't advised on SSDs mainly because it was pretty pointless - no moving parts means there is no speed advantage after defragging so why bother.

Having never used an SSD I am not sure what actually comes as part of the package - do they have any internal diagnostics akin to SMART in conventional drives. If so reading that data should tell you if there is a likely problem with the device.

If you are worried about the SSD just run an in depth CHKDSK on the device - that will read and write to every location on the device and make sure it functions properly.

My own feelings are that if the replacement of a cable has fixed the symptoms then it was more than likely the cause of the problem in the first place and if you are still using the cable on another device without issue then it was probably just badly seated or just jogged loose in transit. Either way just get on with enjoying the new machine and don't agonise over the problem and miss out on the fun!!

1481

Living Room / Re: nearby lightning skrike kills neighbours computers (and mine)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 03, 2011, 03:13 PM »

Sorry to say it but it just wouldn't be worth a business building a machine for £50. It doesn't cover labour costs, national insurance, stock depreciation etc. and you also have to factor in providing warranty service, facilities for building (unless it is a small one person business), insurance etc..

I certainly couldn't/wouldn't build a computer for the price for a client.

If you look at off the shelf computers from the big boys I'd guess that over 75% of the cost is split in profits for the manufacturer and retailer (given the huge scale of bulk discounts they must get).

1482

Living Room / Re: nearby lightning skrike kills neighbours computers (and mine)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 03, 2011, 09:41 AM »

A more serious comment - have you invalidated the warranty by fixing their mess?

1483

Living Room / Re: nearby lightning skrike kills neighbours computers (and mine)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 03, 2011, 09:40 AM »

I am trying to convince myself that the problem is solved. I've not turned the machine on today.

-nudone (July 03, 2011, 07:00 AM)

Remember the occasion when your old machine was flaky and you turned it off for a while? When you went to turn it on again you tripped over the cat, spilt a can of pop all over the carpet, fell and banged your head on the case whereupon the cat turned around and scratched you? Remember how, then, the old machine worked okay after you turned it on?

Have you tried that this time?   

-cranioscopical (July 03, 2011, 08:17 AM)

Hey that was me - failing that I kill a chicken and examine its entrails. Usually works.

1484

Living Room / Re: nearby lightning skrike kills neighbours computers (and mine)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 03, 2011, 05:39 AM »

It is inconceivable that the computer wasn't switched on to check it worked ... but then it is overclockers and they are ALWAYS right (arrogant bastards) - which is why I don't shop with them any more.

Try getting warranty support from them. I had an ASUS board go bad (with 3 year warranty). ASUS don't deal with the public (which is illegal) - you have to send stuff through the dealer (though what you do when the supplier has gone out of business I don't know).

Anyway OC refused to send the mobo back to ASUS for a replacement (even though ASUS told me they had stocks of the same board for warranty claims) and instead they gave me 30% refund since it was 2 years old. They refused to be budged on this and I couldn't be arsed to take it to court.

Moral of the story - if you want a reliable supplier that actually gives a crap don't use overclockers.co.uk

1485

Living Room / Re: nearby lightning skrike kills neighbours computers (and mine)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 01, 2011, 02:46 AM »

Yes, good point about unplugging the reserve machine - I had already thought about it and taken it one step further in my head:

only one machine is ever allowed to be plugged in at any one time, i.e. there will always be a machine safe from a power spike. Therefore data transfer between the two machines will have to done via a third storage device, which could just be a hard drive.


Sound advice about the psu being damaged from shades; I will try to test it.

-nudone (June 30, 2011, 11:45 PM)

Sounds like a case for NAS with good synchronisation software.

Actually this is what I do with my laptop - I keep all important data synced with my desktop.

1486

Living Room / Re: nearby lightning skrike kills neighbours computers (and mine)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 30, 2011, 11:59 AM »

When we were last in the U.K. my Canadian wife was astonished to find summertime sunshine and clear skies morph into a full-blown run-for-cover-storm and back again within about 30 minutes.

-cranioscopical (June 30, 2011, 11:12 AM)

You should try Scotland - I remember one May holiday a few years back were I was suffering from dehydration from heat exhaustion, had the campsite demolished by storm force wind and rain and woke up to snow - all in under 24 hours!

1487

Living Room / Re: nearby lightning skrike kills neighbours computers (and mine)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 30, 2011, 07:33 AM »

Pretty much what I had heard about Belkin warranties - not worth the paper they are written on.

1488

Living Room / Re: nearby lightning skrike kills neighbours computers (and mine)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 30, 2011, 04:17 AM »

In theory a good quality UPS should prevent this - but how long is a piece of string ?

Presumably if the strike is sufficiently sever to melt power sockets it is likely to destroy a UPS too - whether there will be sufficient protection to stop it zapping the computer too is a case of 'suck it and see'.

If you have household insurance it looks like a good time to fill out a form!

1489

Living Room / Re: RESOLVED: Halp! BSOD during boot up.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 29, 2011, 12:57 PM »

Moral - buy a decent UPS to stop it happening again!

1490

Living Room / Re: The law is for YOUR protection. Honest!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 29, 2011, 12:56 PM »

True - but if you read the notes section it also says that British Subjects have no right to live in the UK.

Actually the wording was changed with the introduction of the EU passport - the old black ones said British Subject (I still have one).

I suspect the wording was changed because of the EU rather than because of a change of status.

Did a bit of looking here is the Home Office Opinion:

http://www.ukba.home...ity/britishsubjects/

It doesn't alter the fact that as we have no Constitution or Bill of Rights UK Citizenship is pretty meaningless because we are all at the whim of the courts, politicians and ultimately the monarchy.

1491

Living Room / Re: Website abuse and spam - any suggestions how to deal with it?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 29, 2011, 10:42 AM »

Pretty much the conclusion I thought too.

The only other thing I thought of doing was adding hidden text to my pages so that anyone harvesting pages for this sort of thing would be sending out a message that undermines the spam! Trouble is I can't help feeling that will impact on search engine results!

1492

Living Room / Re: Halp! BSOD during boot up.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 29, 2011, 05:01 AM »

Have a look at:

http://www.partition...ery.com/download.htm

you could try the demo boot CDROM from that page which should at least be able to tell you if the disk is recoverable:

http://download2.lso....net/boot-cd-iso.zip

I haven't tried this software - and if you need to buy it it isn't cheap (at $80) but at least the demo may give you a clue what is going on.

1493

Living Room / Re: Halp! BSOD during boot up.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 29, 2011, 04:56 AM »

Mouser I agree with points 1 and 2 if possible but not necessarily 3. If the power outage damaged only the partition table the disk may well be recoverable in its entirety (I have don't this before on systems and they worked fine afterwards).

Having said that if you can extract the data (though that isn't necessarily easy if the partition cannot be read - esp. if any files are encrypted) it may be quicker to do a format and reinstall!

1494

Living Room / Re: Halp! BSOD during boot up.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 29, 2011, 04:48 AM »

Sounds like the partition table has become corrupted. Have you tried starting in safe mode and running chkdsk - if the table is badly damaged it probably won't work but it is obviously seeing at least the windows 7 boot partition if you can get to the repair tools.

I had a tool for fixing such issues for XP setups but it doesn't work for Windows 7 partitions for some reason.

You could try looking through http://www.ntfs.com/...ecovery-concepts.htm for some help on how to repair the table.

Basically I think you need something to scan the disk and recover the partition table and then do a full "chkdsk /r" from safe mode.

1495

Living Room / Website abuse and spam - any suggestions how to deal with it?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 29, 2011, 04:31 AM »

I have a somewhat irritating problem at the moment and am at a loss on how to deal with it ...

A number of bogus adverts have started appearing offering jobs to people who want to work from home. Here is one example:

text included because I hope carigslist will be removing this

ACCOUNTING FOR BUSY OFFICE (Southwest Michigan)
Date: 2011-06-18, 10:08PM EDT
Reply to: [email protected] [Errors when replying to ads?]
We are in need of an accountant to handle almost everything in the accounting department. Accounts payable and receivable, payroll, bank reconciliations, general ledger, day to day posting of incoming checks, visa, cash, day to day posting of all invoices recieved. Person needs to be very proficient in all areas of accounting. If interested, please send resume with salary history here. Must also have an bachelor degree or equivalent work experience to be considered.
Please no spamming.
Only serious inquiries please.


    Location: Southwest Michigan
    Compensation: $20 to $25 per hour
    Telecommuting is ok.
    This is a contract job.
    This is an internship job
    OK to highlight this job opening for persons with disabilities
    Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
    Please, no phone calls about this job!
    Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

   
   
PostingID: 2449089178

see http://swmi.craigsli.../acc/2449089178.html

Apart from the poor grammar and spelling it looks plausible but is actually a fake job.

When someone responds to this sort of thing they are getting an email which has whole pages listed from my website (including my name) and a number of people have googled me and found my website as a result.

These people are obviously distressed and asking me about jobs. Below is one such conversation that a potential employee had with this scammer (name of the person applying is the only thing I changed) and whilst to you or me this looks like an obvious scam quite a few people have been drawn in. I suspect that at some point they would be asked for some sort of payment or bank details so that the scam pays off.

My question is what can I do about it (I contacted craigslist and am awaiting a reply - but I suspect that is only the tip of the iceberg). Deos anyone know of a way of stopping people lifting whole chunks of websites? I presume this is automated as they made such a bad job of it! They did a cut and paste job with my business name and the fake business name which only adds the confusion and stupidity.

Quoted correspondence

Here is everything that has transpired between us and the individual (Anthony Cole). I am appalled by this behavior. My husband has been looking for a job for a while now and this was the first break we've had. I hope that there is something that can be done to stop this. My husband will be reporting them to the BBB in the hopes that this will help stop things.
Once again, sorry that you have to be in this position. It is a sad world that we live in that we can't even trust our own websites out there! I hope this all helps.

J.

Here's the response we got:

(this email was from a Dawn Longley with this email address: [email protected])

Dear Applicant,

We have reviewed your resume on www.craiglist.com and believe you could qualify for this position. We have forwarded your resume to the Head of Operation. Mr Anthony Cole of Anthony Boxer Computer Consultant . He would like to conduct an online interview with you on Tuesday 28th June ,2011 between 9:00AM -2:00 PM EST to discuss more about the Accounting Clerk Position that you are yet to occupy.

Set Up a Screen name with the yahoo Instant Messenger online at www.messenger.yahoo.com and add up the Head of Operation screen name:acole001 to your buddy list.

His Screen Name with Yahoo Instant Messenger is: acole001

Email Address: [email protected]

He will be waiting to talk to you on yahoo messenger right away.Endeavor to get online ASAP.

I Wish you the best of Luck on the Interview. If you have any problem, Please feel free to email back .

Human Resource Dept-


Here's the info he sent during the interview:

Anthony Boxer Computer Consultant is located in California USA.


With nearly 30 years of experience working with computers in business and education, Carol Haynes established Anthony Boxer Computer Consultant at the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park to provide computer repairs, upgrades, system setup and installation and web design and web hosting to local computer users in the home, at school and in small businesses. See the Services pages for a list of some of what is offered.


With an up to date knowledge of modern hardware, wired and wireless small office and home office (SOHO) networks and most desktop operating systems, Anthony Boxer Computer Consultant aims to provide an affordable, timely, friendly and professional service for all your computing needs.


Anthony Boxer Computer Consultant's commitments to customers are:

 appointment times (usually within 48 hours) are kept,  prices are clearly stated in advance,

 work will only be carried out after full consultation, and wherever possible onsite,

if parts are required you have the option of supplying them yourself or DCS will supply them at the best price possible.



SERVICE=============


Anthony Boxer Computer Consultant offer a range of services including:


    supplying new computers, printers and other peripherals to order

    hand built computers to your own specification

    repairs and upgrades

    software recommendations

    full website design and hosting

    specification and installation of small office and home computer networks

    set up internet access and suggest alternative ways to distribute internet securely throughout your home or office to multiple computers

    troubleshoot hardware and software problems and removing viruses and other malware

    advice, support and training

    system health checks and clean system reinstalls


For further information please select options from the menu on the right.


Something else you need? Just ask.


If it can be done it will be ... professionally and with a smile!


Whatever your needs Anthony Boxer Computer Consultant is here to help.



JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Entering all checks vouchers and payment in appropriate account ;Maintains accurate records of all Receivable's and Payable's Developing, analyzing, and maintaining financial reporting systems in general accounting, budget or cost systems.Responsible forcompiling amounts owed from purchase orders, charge slips, sales tickets etc



BRIEFING SUMMARY

You will be enlisted for 2 weeks training programme. Find Training programme details below:


*You will have to be online from 9am to 12pm daily for training programmes as you will be given series of tasks during training.


*You will resume work fully after training and your working hours will be 8am - 4pm your time zone.


*Whether or not you have an assignment or task to carry out you will be paid for $18/hr and for 6hrs a day as long as you are online during the stated hours.


*You have to keep strict record of time and activities. A time sheet should be sent in every Friday's days for monitoring (In your own format).


*In carrying out any assignment or task a progress report has to be emailed every Friday to me.


*You are paid weekly.


*There is no start up cost, the training would be administered on line, this is an Internet based position, and the base pay is $18 per hour During training and $23 per hour after training.


*Either party is free to terminate at any time with notice.


*At the end of your training, you will receive a 1099 form at the end of the year as you are listed as an Independent contractor.


*Benefits include: 401k, health and dental, paid vacation and 2 weeks sick leave you will be enrolled for this benefits after 2months after which you would become a regular employee of company.


WORKING EQUIPMENTS

Equipments will be provided for you by the Company asap. This includes a Hp Laptop/Notebook for mobility and some other software for accuracy, Speed of data processing, Time Monitoring and Effectiveness,(4 in one Zebra ZM 400vvBarcode Printer and Cards,Fax Machine,Scanner,Photocopier Machine, 4Drawer Cabinet and Office Desk).


Details on the Uses and delivery of these equipments would be provided to you ASAP.


You would be Given the Following to start work with after training:

* Staff User Name and Password for Our Website Link ( For easy access to company data and task for each day )



Employment Supervisor

 

And here's the conversation between my husband and Anthony Cole:
(He was talking to me until my husband could get to the computer)
Anthony Cole: Hi J

Anthony Cole: Let me know when he is ready

Anthony Cole: i will be here

JJ: Sounds good. I just sent him a text. He only works about 10 minutes from our house.

Anthony Cole: ok

JJ: My husband just sent me a text saying he was on his way home. He should be here in about 15 minutes tops.

Anthony Cole: Ok

JJ: Hello, This is JJ.  I am here now.

Anthony Cole: Hello

JJ: I am interested to hear more about the position.

Anthony Cole: My name is Anthony Cole  from Anthony Boxer Computer Consultant and you are?

JJ: JJ

Anthony Cole: Nice to meet you JJ

Anthony Cole: I will send you the job details and company profile to read and get more familiar with what we do.

JJ: Nice to meet you too.  Thank you.

Anthony Cole: Accept the file and read

You have received 1 file from Anthony Cole.
DSC JOB DETAILS.txt
Open (Alt+Shift+O)

Anthony Cole: Got it?

JJ: Yes and I am currently reading it.  Thank you.

Anthony Cole: Ok Read and let me know when to proceed with the online interview

JJ: So, this is entirely an online position?  Would I ever have to report to any office physically?

JJ: I am looking to work this position in the evening.  Would that be possible?

Anthony Cole: Yes the hours are flexible

JJ: I am looking to work this job from 4 - 11 p.m.  Would that be possible.  

Anthony Cole: YEs sure .

Anthony Cole: Read and let me know when to proceed with the online interview

JJ: I read it and am ready to proceed.

Anthony Cole: ok

Anthony Cole: I have a couple of questions to ask you before i make the employment decision

JJ: Ok.  Go ahead when you are ready.

Anthony Cole: Are you capable of handling this position?

JJ: Yes, I believe I am.

Anthony Cole: How well do you work under pressure?

JJ: Pretty well.  When I am under pressure I go into a "Get It Done" mentality until I am done with the task at hand.

Anthony Cole: What do you understand by privacy and code of conduct relates to employees?

JJ: As far as privacy goes, I understand that when working with any financial data, I am to use the information only to do my job and not for anything else.  As far as code
of conduct goes...I understand that I will be a remote employee and therefore you are trusting me to be honest with what I am doing for you.

Anthony Cole: Do you have any form of disability?

JJ: No.

Anthony Cole: How well do you relate with people?

JJ: I believe I relate decently well with people.

Anthony Cole: What is your stongest point as an individual?

JJ: I am a self starter and will do whatever it takes to get a job done that I have set out to do as long as it does not go against my morals or values.

Anthony Cole: Rate your self on a scale of 1-5 based on the following MATHEMATICAL ACCURACY, SPELLING ACCURACY,TYPING SPEED,STATISTICAL ACCURACY?

JJ: I would rate myself a 4 for all of those.

Anthony Cole: Will you be able to dedicate 7hours of your time to this position Mon-Fri?

JJ: I believe so, as long as long as those hourse would be able to be from 4 p.m. - 11 p.m. weekdays.

JJ: (hours) Excuse my typo.

Anthony Cole: Congratulations......This is to confirm that you have been approved to be a staff of ANTHONY BOXER COMPUTER CONSILTANT, having reached the requirements,
passed the interview and recommended for the Job by the Board of Director on employment.

JJ: Thank you very much!!!  I am looking forward to serving your company to the best of my ability.  How long has your company been outsourcing accounting?  How many other accountants do you have working for you?  
Anthony Cole: As for your duties, they will be as follows: Your Primary duties include: Preparation of Balance sheets (Mini), account balancing, invoicing recording,proper data analysis of sales records and recording pay slips into accounting database all these will be done through the use of the Accounting Software.

Secondary duties: Now, your secondary daily duties would be to report to your Supervisor, who would be attached to you online, He/She would assign logs of duty daily and you would be required to work according to instructions, using the Microsoft Office tools and the Accounting software. Now the function of the Accounting software is to arrange, formalize and manage the data you have processed, sent to your supervisor via E-mail.

Can you handle the job duties ?

JJ: Yes.

Anthony Cole: I want you to send me your full name address and phone number to [email protected] so i  can send you the employment letter to sign and also create an employee profile for you.

Email that and get back to me online to proceed.

JJ: Just sent you the e-mail.

Anthony Cole: You will be undergoing a 2 day orientation which will commence as soon as you have all working materials and you are rest assured that you will be paid for it okay ?

JJ: Sounds good.  Is this information being mailed today?

Anthony Cole: Yes we will send you funds to purchase the materials.

Anthony Cole: You will need some Data entry/Accounting software and also a time tarcker to commence your training and orientation and also you need the software to get started with work...the work of the time tarcker is to calculate your hours worked since this is an online work from home.

The funds for the software will be provided for you by the company via check ..... make sure you use them as instructed for the software okay ?

JJ: I certainly will.  Thank you!

Anthony Cole: As soon as the check its been issued out to you i will notify you and provide you with the tracking number so you can keep track and know when it will get to you okay ?

JJ: OK.  Great!

Anthony Cole: Please do not play with our time and our money, you can decline now if you are not able to perform the simple tasks,or if you are not okay with recieving company funds in other to purchase the needed software to start work with okay ?

JJ: I am not interested in playing with your time or money.  I want to confirm that my hours would be from 4 to 11 p.m.  This is important as I have a day job that I am keeping.

JJ: I also would like to know one thing: Why do you send company funds to purchase software as opposed to providing me with the software itself?

Anthony Cole: Yes because we like to test employee on how capable they can handle the company funds .

JJ: That sounds like a very good answer.  Because we have never physically met, you would want to make sure I would handle company funds properly.

JJ: I will look for the materials to come within the next couple of days and once I have purchased the software with the company funds I will be able to log on at 4 p.m. Eastern any time this week to begin.  

JJ: Thank you, once again.

Anthony Cole: Yes sure but please i need you to be online tomorrow morning in the morning so i can brief you on what to do with the check when it arrives and i should have the tracking number by tomorrow .

JJ: What time would you need me online tomorrow morning.  As I have before stated, I am available to work after 4.  If the morning is the only time that would be available for you, around this time tomorrow would work (I will simply take a lunch again).

Anthony Cole: Ok good.

Anthony Cole: This time is fine .

JJ: Thanks again.  Bye.  And I will talk to you tomorrow.

Anthony Cole: Talk to you tomorrow

Here is the conversation I had once I figured out this was a fake:
Anthony Cole: Excuse   me
(this is in response to me saying that I was not interested in working for him because I discovered it was a fake)

JJ: I google searched Carol Haynes and found her website that talks about fake job offers being sent out.

Anthony Cole: With our company name?

JJ: Here is the link....http://www.dalescomp...ces.com/contact.html

Anthony Cole: That is not our company

JJ: No. But with all the exact wording you sent me in the file you wanted me to read.

JJ: Here is the link to what I am speaking of: http://www.dalescomp...vices.com/about.html

Anthony Cole: it is possible that thesame website design company  made our site

Anthony Cole: but i have never heard of dales computer services

JJ: Well. It's in the about me section. Please take the time to look at it. It's about Carol Haynes who started your company.

JJ: I don't understand why that information would be on a website that you designed.

JJ: I mean no offense. I'm just trying to look out for the well being of my family.

Anthony Cole: Yes i understand and i am very suprised you think we are illegal

Anthony Cole: Because i have never heard of dalescompuetservices or what ever

JJ: Well, I'm struggling with the fact that the information in the file that you sent me is also on a computer services website in Europe and they are saying that someone is putting out fake jobs using their information.

JJ: Did you look at the site to see what I am referring to?

Anthony Cole: Yes i did but i swear i have never heard of them

Anthony Cole: and we dont have thesame company name

JJ: No. But in the file you sent me it refers to DCS which is not short for Anthony Boxer Computer Consultant and I couldn't figure out what that was referring to.

JJ: That's how I came across Carol Haynes and Yorkshire National Park and the information about fake jobs.

Anthony Cole: Oh know i understand what you mean that you searched for the name carol Haynes ...but that could a coincident of names .

JJ: Well. And I would agree with you, BUT, all the information about your company is EXACTLY the SAME as on her computer services website AND it's actually based in Europe where she supposedly originated her ideas.

Anthony Cole: DCS on the file name mean Desktop Secure Configuration.

JJ: This is the section I'm referring to:

JJ: Anthony Boxer Computer Consultant's commitments to customers are:
appointment times (usually within 48 hours) are kept,  prices are clearly stated in advance,
work will only be carried out after full consultation, and wherever possible onsite,
if parts are required you have the option of supplying them yourself or DCS will supply them at the best price possible.

Anthony Cole: Its a security configuration used to save files without virus risk

JJ: DCS as "desktop secure configuration" does not fit!

JJ: The sentence "if parts are required you have the option of supplying then yourself or DCS will supply them at the best price possible"

JJ: does not make sense using desktop secure configuration

Anthony Cole: you meant the DSC on the file name

JJ: It doesn't say DSC in your file it says DCS.

Anthony Cole: I am sure you are just being curious but the position is 100% legal and risk free
Last message received on 6/28 at 8:32 PM

JJ: I think it's best that we part ways. I do not feel comfortable with this position. Sorry to waste your time and I'm also sorry that my time was wasted. Have a good night.

1496

Living Room / Re: I Finally Bought a Kindle Book...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 28, 2011, 01:51 PM »

All the dead trees of my grandfather are still readable, even though their publishers are mostly out of business. What will happen to the books I "purchase" from amazon

-eleman (June 28, 2011, 01:30 AM)

I presume one of two things:

1) Amazon maintain copies so that you can access your book
2) Amazon don't and refund your money.

By the way before Kindle when eBooks were in their infancy I bought three Adobe eBooks from Amazon - I can't read any of them now (they are no longer stocked by Amazon and are probably no longer in print) and I didn't get a refund.

That is precisely why I don't trust Amazon for eCommerce like this (I use them all the time for physical goods but not downloadables).

It is precisely why I don't really trust DRMed products from any eTailer

It is precisely why I don't trust publishers of eBooks.

1497

Living Room / Re: The law is for YOUR protection. Honest!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 28, 2011, 05:39 AM »

Patent laws should have a sanity clause that allows anyone to challenge a patent on the grounds that it is patently bonkers.

There should also be a 'public good' clause that says no patent can be granted where it will infringe on public welfare - and that should include all bio-patents which to me are the very worst of all the patent stupidity foisted on the world by a barmy US system!

1498

Living Room / Re: The law is for YOUR protection. Honest!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 27, 2011, 04:12 PM »

An earlier argument of mine from a lost thread applies - get the Alan Turing Estate to patent the Turing machine and since it is mathematically provable that ALL computers and algorithms are functionally equivalent to a Turning machine no one else would be allowed any patent for any technological 'breakthrough' as it would be covered under the Turning patent. It would also go some way to compensate him for the hideously nasty way he was treated by the UK government.

1499

Living Room / Re: The law is for YOUR protection. Honest!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 26, 2011, 04:31 PM »

It's easy to rant.

-rjbull (June 26, 2011, 04:13 PM)

Yes true

Some people seem to talk as if patents were deliberately created by government as a bureaucratic tool for big companies to stifle progress, especially if it's made by the small guy.

That is very true - but like most legal tools the people/companies with the big bucks can pervert and destroy the original concepts (laws, patents, trademarks)  to their own ends. That seems to be the order of the day these days in software companies.

It's more a case of big companies warily circling round each other.  They quite naturally want commercial advantage and don't want their concepts making money for the competition too early.

That is also true - but another truth is that they all claim to have invented things they never did - and usually the little people who did the hard work in the first place either get screwed or paid money to shut up.

Where is Xerox in all this? They invented the windowed interface - why aren't they suing Apple and Microsoft and Linux?

To me the perfect illustration of this distortion of legal intent is the companies trying to make trademarks out of normal everyday English and then having the audacity to sue people for daring to use that language themselves! App Store is only the recent tip of the iceberg.

It still doesn't negate my argument that the current patents and trademark systems are not there to protect anyone but rather to allow the wealthy and powerful to abuse smaller companies and individuals with impunity.

The whole legal framework needs to be rewritten for the model world 'cos it certainly ain't working as intended now!

1500

Living Room / Re: The law is for YOUR protection. Honest!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 26, 2011, 01:43 PM »

If I follow the usual course of action I should apply for ultimate power and then start raking in the lolly ... can't be arsed, rather have principles and be poor.