A Consuming Experience

Neil Gaiman on piracy vs obscurity, being a writer in the digital age, & e-books

2008-11-12T21:37:00.001Z

Below are some selected quotes from an excellent 28 October 2008 talk by science fiction / fantasy writer Neil Gaiman (pictured above) on piracy versus obscurity - given at a session for the Open Rights Group, of whom he's patron. (I've transcribed those bits in full for the benefit of those who like me much prefer, for things informational anyway, to have quickly-scannable text rather than slow, linear audio / video.) He made some very good points about copyright in the digital age, in the...

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Aeron, RH Logic review: chairs, computing & back

2008-11-07T09:45:00.001Z

?? If you spend lots of time in front of a computer, it's important to have a decent chair with proper lower back support if you want to preserve your back. You may not notice or care now, but you'll notice it in a few years! Prevention is better than cure & all that. In many offices in the City of London, it's quite common to see Aeron chairs (with mesh seat and back - public domain photo shown above), which are supposed to be ergonomic and have won design awards. But, a...

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YouTube: deeplink to exact time in video, & other improvements

2008-11-05T22:31:00.001Z

You can now link direct to a particular spot in a YouTube video, so that someone clicking the link will be taken to the video at that exact spot. I think this deeplinking is the best of the many enhancements which Google-owned video sharing site YouTube have been rolling out recently. How to deep link to YouTube video To deep link to the exact spot you want in a YouTube video, while watching the video just note down the desired time position, and then include the time position at the end...

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ISPs / mobile networks: top speeds, "unlimited" usage - & consumer rights

2008-10-29T23:39:00.000Z

Many ISPs in the UK try to win customers by claiming to offer: Broadband speeds - "up to" (some big number) Mbps download speeds, and Usage allowance / bandwidth - "unlimited" usage of their service i.e. downloads and uploads. In both cases claims like these, which are very commonly found in advertising, marketing or promotional material, are misleading to consumers, because in practice: Few customers can in fact achieve the top advertised "headline" speed trumpeted in the...

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Unfair commercial practices, consumer protection CPRs: internet shopping, restaurants - "free", "optional" & other misleading claims

2008-10-29T23:38:00.002Z

'If you sign up for this service or buy this product, you'll get this other stuff "free"!' 'The service charge in this restaurant is "optional"!' (And, perhaps, the good ol' 'Your broadband or mobile internet data usage allowance is "unlimited"'?) How often have we consumers been fed that sort of line in advertising or marketing material, when in fact it's misleading - and the "free" product is in fact "paid for" by doubling the price of the first one, or the service is limited, or there are...

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Windows RPC security hole: update your PC!

2008-10-29T09:27:00.000Z

If you use Windows on your computer, e.g. XP or Vista, it's best to immediately install a critical security update that was released last week, if you haven't already - see Security Bulletin MS08-067 for download links (click on the name of your version of Windows e.g. (direct links:) Windows XP Service Pack 3 or Windows Vista and Windows Vista Service Pack 1, to get to the download page for your operating system version). There's already malware out there called Gimmiv.A which will send your...

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Web form name fields: how to lose business & annoy customers

2008-10-23T22:20:00.000+01:00

Many Webform designers don't seem to realise (or maybe care?) that "name" boxes on many websites just don't work for some non-Anglo Saxon cultures. Site owners who aren't fussed about "political correctness", racial discrimination or cultural sensitivity should surely still consider that it's not just about respect for other cultures or not causing offence - it's also about money, i.e. the risk of losing potential customers: who in frustration give up trying to register because the site...

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Internet Explorer 8 beta: blank pages fix

2008-10-21T11:46:00.001+01:00

I've complained before about the issue that on many web sites IE 8 just shows a blank webpage or blank portions of the page, including interestingly the results section of certain (but not all) Google search results pages! Here's a tip. The solution is actually quite simple - no need to spend more time trying to troubleshoot this: When you get a blank page or partially blank page on viewing a website in IE8 beta 2, just click the "Compatibility mode" button (at the end of the address bar,...

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Google Translate: automatic translation of blog webpages

2008-10-17T11:14:00.000+01:00

I've just added the recently-released Google Translate gadget to my blog, which you can see at the top of the main page and also each post and archive page. This means a visitor to my blog can automatically translate any page they wish into their choice of, currently 34 different languages, just by selecting the language from the dropdown. (The translation may not extend to the last part of the page for a long page like my blog's main page, but it does most of it; you can also go to an...

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Thunderbird won't open or launch in XP?

2008-10-15T19:57:00.000+01:00

Are you having problems trying out the free open source Mozilla Thunderbird email software on Windows XP - in that you can't open Thunderbird at all? If, when you attempt to launch or open Thunderbird after installation, either nothing seems to happen at all or else the Import box (offering to import your settings from Outlook etc) pops up but then vanishes when you select an option, and Thunderbird still won't come up - well you're not alone. I had this problem too. Nothing happened at all...

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Pink elephants, numbers, & the spaces in between...

2008-10-13T07:30:00.001+01:00

A confession: the single hardest thing for me in trying to learn computer programming, specifically loops, is one very, very basic issue - counting. That's right. I can't count properly. All my life, I've had problems with the difference between numbers, and the intervals between numbers. Even though I have A's in A Level Mathematics and Further Maths, and I passed the Mensa IQ test. It just shows how meaningful test results are, eh? 1, 2, 3. That's 3 numbers. But, there are 2 steps...

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Eggcorns 3

2008-10-12T11:51:00.000+01:00

I generally like "eggcorns" - apt wrong phrases, e.g. "nerve-wrecking" (correct phrase: nerve wracking). However, I am really starting to hate the following two eggcorns because I now see them everywhere, and I'm starting to mutter or scream "Get it right, willya?!" more often than is probably good for me, or anyone else in my vicinity: "free reign" (it should be free rein, dammit! though according to the Eggcorns Database it's so commonly misused that it's effectively now mainstream) "vocal...

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Girl with A One-Track Mind: "Social Media - How Not To Get Fucked"

2008-10-09T00:06:00.000+01:00

Zoe Margolis aka sex blogger Abby Lee ran a presentation / discussion on "Social Media - How Not To Get Fucked", at Social Media Camp London 2008 (see the Wikipedia entry on Zoe and her blog Girl with A One-Track Mind; her blog and "outing" led to many changes in her life). I was delighted by the way that Zoe came to my presentation on How to be Pseudonymous, and remarked that she wished she'd known some of the points before. Here's my video of part of Zoe's session (I only starting...

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How to be pseudonymous online (& off): tips

2008-10-09T00:05:00.003+01:00

This summarises (with links) my presentation on practical tips for staying pseudonymous, which I gave at BarCampLondon5 and Social Media Camp London 08. I was surprised but pleased that Zoe Margolis (Abby Lee / Girl with a One Track Mind) came to my #smclondon08 session, agreed with my key points and said she wished she'd known some of these points before! (See my separate post on her session "Social Media - How Not to Get Fucked".) Here's an edited version of my slides: How to Stay...

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How to speed up Internet Explorer 8 beta 2

2008-10-03T12:49:00.000+01:00

A tip: it seems that the registry hacks to make Internet Explorer 7 go faster on Windows XP (including making new tabs open faster) also work on IE 8 beta 2. They did when I tried them anyway, being a speed, optimisation and productivity freak! So if you want to speed up IE8, you could try the IE 7 registry hacks on IE8 - I've produced some .reg files which you can use as a shortcut instead of having to open the Registry Editor yourself, see the previous post which has full instructions on how...

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UK Police National Legal Database: is it legal, what to do etc

2008-09-29T20:28:00.001+01:00

Do you sometimes wonder if something is legal or not, or what to do in relation to an incident? I just found a very useful searchable Police National Legal Database (by area), for the UK only, when I was trying to find out info for a friend whose wing mirror got clipped by some b*^%&*# who tailgated my friend first, overtook in a single lane, but didn't stop, not even to see if his own car had been damaged. (The answer: report it to police in 24 hours if there was damage. It was only a...

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Cyberbass helps singers learn choral parts more easily

2008-09-27T10:00:00.000+01:00

If you sing in a choir, Cyberbass is a useful growing online "note bashing" resource for choral singers to study and learn their own part more easily. It provides free MIDI files (playable automatically on most modern computers, but their FAQ includes troubleshooting tips for Windows) which will play out each individual section's part or line against a metronome click, in some cases with the accompaniment in the background. You really need to listen to it in stereo - the selected part will...

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Oxford Paper Show digital pen: review / preview & tips - presentation tool

2008-09-26T17:43:00.006+01:00

This is a review and user guide to the Oxford PaperShow Bluetooth digital pen with Bluetooth USB key for PC users, which launches in mid-October 2008 in the UK, January 2009 in the USA (and for Mac users from end 2009). It's a potentially useful bit of kit, effectively providing a digital whiteboard substitute and slides annotation, which may be of interest to you if: you give presentations, lectures or talks, to promote interest and interaction - whether you use a handwritten flipchart or...

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Security, data protection, proof of identity: daft questions, measures, implementation

2008-09-25T20:54:00.008+01:00

You have to answer a raft of security questions when trying to manage your account at your bank, credit card company or other financial institution. But, are they the right questions? And are they asked appropriately? What about other "security measures" used or insisted upon by institutions - are they commensurate with the risks they're supposed to address, do they even make sense in some cases? Insecure security policies Security questions - too easy! Tom Morris has written an...

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Stupid Aid: misuse of "security", "data protection", "health & safety"

2008-09-25T20:54:00.007+01:00

In a separate post I had a moan about security questions asked by banks and the like being too easy for bad guys to answer, and identification requirements not making much sense. But, many of us have also experienced the opposite syndrome. Unnecessary security questions Most of us have had to deal with organisations whose security policies (or their implementation) result in unnecessary security measures, insisted upon by jobsworth staff in certain businesses, who seem to delight in...

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Immobilise: recover lost / stolen mobiles, iPods etc, & check before buying second hand goods

2008-09-25T16:19:00.001+01:00

Registering your stuff free, for easier recovery You can register make, model, serial number and photos of some of your portable possessions online (laptops / notebook computers / UMPCs, PDAs, mobile phones etc) in order to help get them back if they're recovered after being stolen or lost. I'd previously covered MendUK (now called Immobilise or the Immobilise National Property Register); it's recently been revamped so I thought this was worth a reminder. As they put it, "it's supported...

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Banks and postal security (not!): "disguised mail"

2008-09-23T14:02:00.001+01:00

I just received a new bank credit card in the post - in an envelope which had "Disguised mail" stamped on it (the serial / ID number in the photo of the envelope is obscured to prevent possible identification of recipient!) Talk about silly "security measures". I thought the whole point of "disguised mail" was to conceal the fact that there was something valuable in the envelope, by making it look like an average boring letter. Shurely printing "Disguised mail" on the outside of the...

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Virtual Worlds: Serious Applications - free talk

2008-09-23T10:19:00.000+01:00

I notice the Imperial College Internet Centre (ICIC) are hosting a free session Serious Applications of Virtual Worlds - ICIC Tuesday Talk on Tuesday 30 September 2008 from 4-6 pm. From the blurb: "Dave Taylor, Programme Lead for the Medical Media and Design Laboratory (MMDL), will deliver a talk entitled "Serious Applications of Virtual Worlds" including a live tour of the SciLands (Science and Technology Continent) and Imperial College's new Medical School in Second Life. Dave will also...

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Google Search goes Pirate, aarrrr!

2008-09-20T17:53:00.001+01:00

While I'm probably the only person who managed to resist the urge to go Aarrr on Twitter yesterday, 19 September, I see that Google at least have marked the occasion of International Talk Like A Pirate Day by making their search interface available in yet another language - yes, you guessed it, Pirate! Pirate thus joins the illustrious ranks of Bork, bork, bork!, Elmer Fudd, Hacker, Klingon and Pig Latin as a fun "language" you can use for your Google search interface. So g'wan, try it:...

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Attend Neil Gaiman discussion for free!

2008-09-17T09:33:00.004+01:00

If you're a fan of writer Neil Gaiman (as I am, I rarely buy books but I have nearly all of his), you can get a free ticket to a discussion Piracy vs Obscurity - An audience with Neil Gaiman on Friday 24 Octoher 2008, 7-9 pm in London, just by joining the Open Rights Group between now and the event. It may particularly be of interest to writers and authors. But you need to be quick - as I write there's only 7 free tickets left for new supporters (and 7 for existing ones who can attend for a...

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