Draw Breath

If ever people need an incentive to upgrade to firefox (3?) or to Internet Explorer 7, it's the British Banking Code. As LSN news points out (behind LexisNexis's paywall), section 12.11 of the code (here, pdf) tells you, regarding online banking. that "If you act without reasonable care, and this causes losses, you may be responsible for them. (This may apply, for example, if you do not follow section 12.5 or 12.9 or you do not keep to your account’s terms and conditions.)" Amongst other things, section 12.9 says "Keep your PC secure. Use up-to-date anti-virus and spyware software and a personal firewall" and "Treat e-mails you receive from senders claiming to be from your bank or building society with caution."

Apparently this policy has been in the code for a while, although it was updated in April just gone. While no bank seems to have invoked the clauses, you can pretty much bet that they will at some stage. Which will be bad news for the elderly and the ignorant when they discover that, having been pushed out of branches to save the banks money, they are also responsible for the security of the banks' alternative offerings.

While I of course recommend ditching dodgy Windows for altogether better operating systems, and while I find it perplexing that I still get hits from people using IE6 and IE5, I do think we ought to be sympathetic with people who simply don't know how the software on their machines works and who don't read the latest missives on internet security. If fraud does become sufficiently problematic as to make banks consider invoking the responsibility clause, there's an easy solution: publicly acknowledge that the internet, Windows-style, is not an appropriate venue for financial transactions and take steps to encourage people back into branches. In other words: the banks should just swallow whatever is the cheaper alternative.

Good to see an interview with Mark Shuttleworth on BBC Online, who is touting the next release of Ubuntu Linux. We've been running Ubuntu for quite a few years now and have upgraded to the beta of the new version in the last couple of weeks. It's lovely - I'm obviously entirely taken with open-source software (including running this site on Drupal).Ubuntu's strength, to a degree appeals to my impatience. It takes my relatively new Windows machine in the office six or so minutes to boot up whereas I can be running a linux machine within a couple of minutes. It's not that I have a hectic day. I'm just a git who hates waiting.  That said, I also really enjoy taking peeks at the various bits of software out there and - though I have no technical nous - seeing how they are put together as best I can. And of course, nothing beats the price...

Isabel, from what I can tell, also seems to enjoy using Linux. She is the perfect example of the sort of people Shuttleworth is interested in, although she's pretty proficient, she does not want to spend her time messing with machines. If it's secure, stable and flexible, she's happy. And with Ubuntu, that I know of anyway, there's no complaints! 

What a thoroughly depressing piece on tonight's Channel 4 news about the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 45,000 people a being killed each month in the continuing war. Let those mobiles and PCs go obsolete before you change them...

I'm supposed to be writing a paper for a workshop in May (hence the disturbing tick tock sound inside my head) so, as well as reading interesting papers on accountability, privatisation and Aer Lingus, I'm messing arounds with new ways of organising myself online.

There's an interesting snippet in today's FT suggesting that Sony, manufacturer of the Blu-Ray disk, is winning the battle against the MS/Toshiba HD format. Personally I don't care too much (though some are antipathetic either way), being the sort of ignoramous who could probably not tell the difference but who knows enough to make do with an ancient DVD player until one format or other is obsolete. Let the impatient early-adopters take the risks...

Strangely, though, there seems to be a slight consensus that the best disk-we-don't-need will win this time (unlike the VHS/Betamax saga). Oh joy. 

We could soon have the ability to be walking solar panels according to a new fashion initiative previewed in the Siggraph 2007 show and featured in yesterday's Guardian. Smart clothes have been with us in bulky form for quite a while now. However, technology has been honed to produce ever smaller and more lightweight garments. Take for example the solar bikini. A perfect way of keeping both skin tone and ipod charged. Just don't forget the factor 50!

Good to see RTÉ Radio finally catching up with the podcasting phenomenon. Their site has been a pain for a while so the new look is a breath of fresh air.

That said: what to listen to? Much of RTÉ Radio is most definitely for the background. It's not really hold-back-for-later stuff. That said, there are some real gems here. For instance the wonderful Icons of Irish Science. Also, I haven't listened to Speaking Ill of the Dead but might give it a go. The only criticism is that high quality programmes are missing from the podcasts page. Most unfortunate to miss the trick of making the thing comprehensive.

I'm not one for close readings of terms of use pages on websites, but I do tend to take a look for the various key ingredients: who will pay for what and the like. And fun reading they certainly don't make! Anyway, courtesy of Simsor, I've just come across a marvellous twist on this most obscure of literary genres: a German language terms of use page squeezed through the piping bag that is Babel Fish.

Try...

mindcom is responsible for easy negligence only, if a contract obligation substantial for reaching the contract goal and the fulfilment of the contract purpose was hurt.

Or indeed

The use of the Web service for commercial purposes, particularly for dispatching of advertising material, is not permitted. Among them falls in particular sucked. "Spamming", i.e. inconsiderate and massive recruiting.

I wonder: does computer-generated nonsense have any legal bearing? How's about if you kind of can see what they're getting at, which isn't far off non-translated terms of use agreements come to think of it...