IMS_Blog

This is cool (not just the resizing bit—wait until the end for the object removal part, which is what really impressed me):

And not directly related, but while on the subject, some cool SVG stuff:

Well, not actually this site (anymore), but its a timely representation. Like an old friend returning, Suprnova.org

So the great laptop saga comes to an end. Basically it’s so falling apart and failing in so many ways that rescue begins to produce diminishing benefits. So, it’s been sort of abandoned, leading to…shiny new toy!

Continue reading the rest of this post

Alternatively titled “Things Wrong With My Laptop, #7668”…

Sigh. Windows now totally refuses to boot. Blue Screen of Death! Oh, and remember that DVD drive that’s tempremental? The laptop refuses to boot from CD, even when I’ve swapped in another drive (yes, I’ve checked the BIOS settings; yes I’ve checked the CD is bootable in another machine). That makes getting anywhere near recovering from a BSoD somewhat more interesting….

The BBC report on BBC policies being attacked, specifically a letter sent by the Open Source Consortium to various regulatory bodies pointed out the problems with the BBC’s closed platform, DRM laden approach to their new iPlayer technology. [I’d swear I blogged about this at the time of the BBC Trusts consultation period, to which I responded making many of the points the OSC make—including the analogy to restricting content to certain brands of TV—but I can’t find any post). The problem is that the BBC, for all their “it’s just a start, we’ll get there” response, seem to simply not “get it”. Read carefully that BBC story (or other BBC stories and statements on the same subject) and see what sort of mentality to “make it work for everyone” they are taking. Specifically note statements like:

The BBC aims to make its content as widely available as possible and has always taken a platform agnostic approach to its internet services.

“It is not possible to put an exact timeframe on when BBC iPlayer will be available for Mac users. However, we are working to ensure this happens as soon as possible and the BBC Trust will be monitoring progress on a six monthly basis.”

The news article

They talk about as widely available as possible but very, very specifically only ever seem to mention Macs (maybe just to stop Apple suing over that iPlayer name!). I have a simple question for the BBC: What is your proposed solution for Linux (and other *nix based) platforms? Surely the BBC has a public duty to support such platforms as much as the big two commercial competitors (after all, there is an argument that Linux offers an effective tool in helping to bridge the digital divide to those technologically disadvantaged for financial reasons). Until they can give some sort of direct answer to that question they are no making things widely available as possible in a platform agnostic way at all.