toble

I've always assumed that perks overload the viewer from a usability perspective. If your goal is to sell bleeding edge phones and you hide that ability with a load of miscellaneous merchandise, then you might end up losing those high value purchases.

Gimp's support for PSD is understandably poor for the more advanced/modern features, so I wouldn't rely on it without being able to compare the output to something else. I use Apple's Preview utility to manually compare results.

The idea to use the top level was rejected, thankfully. I like the way the domains are categorised, so you can tell when something is a school, government, etc. It gives domains a certain level of assurance and authority.

I can understand ending the call if they start asking for personal information, but if you get a call from the bank to take you through a suspected fraud case then all they do is ask you some 'pick-the-odd-one-out' style questions to verify your identity. They then list all your transactions, including the fraudulent ones and ask if you recognise them. After that they cancel the account and start a new one.

One thing to note: it's a "magazine" article. Those are the some of the most superficial articles on the BBC website. Even the material that is aimed at kids can be more hard hitting.

That's the part the alerted me the most. You are always told to destroy the card, not even throw it away.

Getting the customer to call a number is another, they could have transferred the customer. Instead, they wanted to provide a shot of confidence before extracting info that no one, not even the bank should ask for.

Medical equipment has to meet more rigorous standards. This reminds me of the news story where breast implants were being sold with low grade silicone in Europe:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16391522

I realise that suppliers are probably taking advantage due to limited competition, but at the same time, I hope the regulation helps to protect us from sub-standard products.

I bet the lack of a national curriculum - that banishes religion from everything except religious classes has something to do with the US results.

Here in the UK we are slowly degenerating by allowing schools to have more freedom, so religious groups are having increased influence on standard state schools.

We are in that phase where the current government has pretty much accepted that they are going to lose power. Like past governments before them, they are pushing through all the nasty stuff while they have the chance.

I agree with you about the Digital Economy Act. That was an eye opener for me. I no longer have an interest in politics. For minions like us, it's just wasted effort. Better to focus our time on things that we control and can change.

Couldn't there be lots of other reasons? Like the current owners may have been forced to do it? From reading the article, I got the impression that this business was being passed around like a toy. Are the previous owners indirectly linked to investors in the airlines that carry the catalogue? Or members of the same club? I think I have watched too many detective shows, but there you go.

This is more apt advice. At Hacker News we are swimming in a sea of start-ups, who are constantly evangelising the 'cloud' (it's often their bread and butter). But if you genuinely want privacy then keep it local and locked down. Stick to mainstream open source products and keep things as simple as possible.

Even on your local computer, it's probably a good idea to avoid operating systems that may be compromised by default. Also be careful about installing extra software, including browser plug-ins and addons. I am preaching to the converted though.

I wonder if they have arrangements for corporate donors to jump in and buy the top tier at scheduled times... I am thinking not, since it's through PayPal, but never know.

Older tools can be liberating because you have to work within their modest set of features. Choice isn't always a good thing etc.

These algorithms really do stand out when I order stuff for friends and relatives who aren't computer literate, which means I get all their marketing emails. The accounts that order infrequently are showered with discount codes and special offers, whereas the regular purchasers get nothing.

I don't think it can be that easily predicted. It all depends on Canonical's press efforts. There will also be a surge at the end of the project.

Fully understand that point. I can only suggest that lots of Western countries have slowly reduced their military budgets over decades. They seem to have adapted to the change.

It's only natural to act defensively when someone abruptly turns up and accuses you of removing some comments from code.

If you talk to people who aren't licensing and legal enthusiasts, most don't have an interest in those topics.

Problem is, the USA is geared towards those sorts of aggressive methods because of the huge military infrastructure. The solution is to constantly cut the budget and make that aspect less influential.

Way I look at it, there's fewer commercial games on the platform, so users are more grateful and focused on buying those games.

A single, idealistic phone like this will allow those users to focus and buy it - in much the same way as the games.

Ouch. That crimestoppers form has code for a Facebook like, Google Analytics, New Relic and Fonts.com.

Maybe you sounded like a salesperson? Piwik was unknown to me until I read it in this comment.

Can I just point out, there's some irony here. HN users are attempting to censor this comment by making it difficult to read because they don't agree with the opinion.

I am pretty sure an employer can't stop you working elsewhere, many of us are protected by human rights laws that void those sorts of terms.

I think that IP clause in the UK is the result of a boilerplate contract. I always get them to remove it. Employers should have no right to claim ownership of what you do as a hobby IMO.

I am so glad that I don't work under gag orders like that. It just doesn't seem ethical to be paid by a customer to spy on them. I understand why most would say nothing, but it must be so tempting to inform the customer.

It's all relative, including everyone's perception of ethics.

This 'game' sounds more like a fruit/slot machine, but much more sophisticated and accessible.

I think Last.fm support is pretty much a requirement for a music start-up - assuming the start-up wants to attract early adopters who are music enthusiasts.

Wouldn't it be anti-competitive to block spam, yet let your own spam through? The ads in that screenshot look like they are effectively imitating spam.

I seem to be giving up on modern technology after being totally enveloped in it for the past decade. Fountain pen, vinyl, feature phone, automatic watch etc.

Maybe it's a side effect of the recession, maybe I don't like what the internet/technology is becoming, but I'm realising that these older products are in many ways better.

A watch that doesn't run on a battery and is a work of art; an album that's collectable and real; a phone that lasts weeks on the same charge; a pen that feels more like I'm using some sort of artistic tool and so on.

If you don't like the idea of the 'cloud' and you check your email from a single device then POP's ideal - just depends on your requirements. I use IMAP though.