Mark Kent wrote:
> begin oe_protect.scr
> Jim <james@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>> Mark Kent wrote:
>>
>>> begin oe_protect.scr
>>> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>>>> __/ [ Mark Kent ] on Wednesday 12 July 2006 23:14 \__
>>>>
>>>>> begin oe_protect.scr
>>>>> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>>>>>> Kent Police in switch to Linux
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>>>>>| Andy Barker, head of IT at Kent Police, says the architecture has
>>>>>>| allowed the force to double its infrastructure to more than 4,000
>>>>>>| desktops in the past two years without expanding support.
>>>>>> `----
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://www.vnunet.com/computing/news/2160217/kent-police-switch-linux
>>>>>
>>>>> Good to see my local taxpayer's cash being spent twice as carefully as
>>>>> before! Hey guys - I'm getting more police for my money, and I didnt'
>>>>> have to do /anything!/
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The other day I read about the fact that some terrorists use Open
>>>> Source because they cannot trust products from American companies. The
>>>> goddamn terrorists (not that I would endorse any of their filthy acts,
>>>> let alone existence their in our world) realise that the degree of
>>>> spying they are exposed to is high. Reminds me of:
>>>>
>>>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4713018.stm
>>>>
>>>> Either way, no police department, let alone state (or State) agency and
>>>> defence minitry, should use Windows. I know that Blair is all cocky
>>>> around Bill Gates, but it is no valid excuse on a national level. He is
>>>> also somewhat of a friend of George Bush, so...
>>>>
>>>> Speaking of security issues in government:
>>>>
>>>> http://trends.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=06/07/07/233257
>>>>
>>>> Back doors, right? See BBC article again.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Would you honestly want your own government to be able to spy on you in
>>> this way? Personally, I wouldn't trust them an inch. Not the intent of
>>> the government in general, but there's a much more fundamental problem -
>>> that is that the government is made of people, and people in police,
>>> government and other agencies are just as corruptable as any others are
>>> - a point which appears to be forgotten with distressing regularity.
>>>
>>> This is precisely the same problem as the (now abandoned, thank the
>>> lord) ID card and government central database - I cannot imagine a more
>>> juicy target for very rich criminals to bribe government officials into
>>> revealing information about individuals which they should not. The
>>> /only/ way to be sure that this cannot happen is to ensure that the
>>> government do /not/ have the information in the first place.
>>>
>>> Governments and police should focus on search tools which will get them
>>> the appropriately targeted information they need to do their jobs, and
>>> should certainly not look for "back doors" into the private affairs of
>>> the general public - this is not their role nor even is it their
>>> privilege.
>>>
>>
>> We're still subjects, Mark. Not citizens. That's the sad truth of it. The
>> only thing that's changed is the puppeteer. No longer a monarch, but a
>> democratically elected Government that rules over us. They're supposed to
>> working for /us/, not the other way round. Here's an example of what I
>> mean; one of my clients works six days a week, twelve hours a day. Makes
>> hardly enough to live on. YET, the HMRC makes more money out of his
>> business than he does. Whether he makes any money or not, they make 17.5%
>> of /everything/ he turns over. Regardless of whether or not he nets
>> anything.
>
> I presume you're talking about Vat there? Presumably he's vat
> registered, then, and gets to claim back vat on what he's bought? If
> the system is working properly, HMG should only be getting 17.5% of his
> margin, not his turnover, as far as I know (I'm not a tax lawyer!).
>
>>
>> And he still gets arseholes complaining that his (frankly rock-bottom and
>> I think /too/ low) prices* are still too high :\
>
> Yeah... I've managed the book stall for my school for several years at
> summer fetes, xmas bazaars and jumble sales. There're always some people
> who complain that the prices I'm charging for books are too high, to a
> point where I considered how much I was making from them (very little),
> and the grief they were causing me (lots) and responded appropriately.
>
> I've also always had some folks who would complain about how I'd set
> things up; the organisation was wrong, or the display was too difficult
> to get to, etc. etc. I actually had to explain to one younger lady that
> we were volunteers, and if she thought she could do a better job, she
> could jolly well do it herself.
>
>>
>> *2GB USB2.0 flash for Â34 anyone?
>>
>
> Not bad! What about SD cards?
>
um... dunno, but I got a 512MB CF for Â12 a few weeks ago. SD can't be that
much more. Get back to you on that by the weekend.
--
When all else fails...
Use a hammer.
http://www.dotware.co.uk
Some people are like Slinkies;
They serve no particular purpose,
But they bring a smile to your face
When you push them down the stairs.
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