Well, I could quite see that someone may elect for cable to get decent net access and not actually make any use of the other services.
(not sure whether one rates Virgin and "decent" for internet access these days!)
Don't have much problem with it. Quite reliable. Reasonably fast. But then I am not exactly a heavy user (in volume terms). Tend to have transient oddities rather than big problems.
Might not have made it clear, Virgin provide access to a version of iPlayer within the set top box. So you view it on your television.
Its called having you cake an eating it... draft sloppy, and you can change the interpretation as you see fit later, not only that it keeps the lawyers in business!
Are you saying that they can do just one job well?
Dave
*applause*
My wife reckons they have to talk to one another on the radio because of their poor personal hygiene.
and many politicians are.....
mine seems to work OK, not impressed with response to support emails though.
Well LO does leak, but a lot less than it used to as better designs with more stages between antenna and LO keep it to a minimum.
Remember detector vans date from the days of valve sets: valves were expensive, and using as few as possible was a design goal.
>
funny that ;-)
They used to be ok certainly, not had much experience lately. It might be one's experience varies depending on if you are on the original virgin network, or one a part belonging to one of the other ISPs they have swallowed over time.
I had cable for internet only for seven years. Then BG dug up the road, cut through the cable and, seven months and many calls and promises from No-effin Media later, the cable still wasn't fixed. (I recommend it's the only language that will persuade them they owe you money not you owe them). I have yet to get round to getting home broadband from elsewhere; I get more done at home that way.
We've not had a licence for 25 years and still keep on getting the letters!!! I used to scrawl all manner of abuse on them and send them back - now they just go straight in the recycling bin. A few years ago we got 'The Visit'. The guy wanted to see if we had a TV in the front room. I suggested that we could have a TV in any of the other rooms but he said that most people have them in their front room. So he had a look and went away empty handed.
We were even honoured when they did an poster ad campaign a few years back. The big black poster with white writing... There are 2 households in T****n Street without a TV licence. I was dead chuffed and then thought... Well who's the other one then?
It was a very small wall and just a first coat to disguise the extremely bad taste in room colours of the previous occupant.
I'd not call anyone from HMCE, the IR or just about any other area of the civil service as competent in anything.
Sounds like what I read many moons ago. Quite detailed info on the operation and technology of the detector vans were published in the Post Office Engineering Journal - that's when they had things inside the vans rather than just a roof rack with a Yagi bolted on.
The issue was somewhere from the mid 70's to the mid 80's. Not sure if a local reference library will still have them and I'll bet no one has got round to scanning them and putting them online.
It was in "British Telecommunications Engineering", Oct 1984, entitled "Television Detector Vans". I have that edition in front of me, but my scanner's playing up at the mo... (Of course the article will be copyrighted anyway!).
The van described looks for local oscillator radiation, using "two connected and identical fixed aerials, adding in phase the received signals, produce a polar diagram that is the result of multiplying together trhe two expressions for their individual polar diagrams; this gives a multi-lobed pattern, which is dependent upon the spacing between the two aerials. Electronic adjustment maintains the lobe pattern for changes of frequencies. "The aerials used are broadband narrow-beam reflector type, each with four broadband elements and a panel reflector. Four of these aerials are mounted on the roof of the vehicle, two facing each side."
There's a panoramic display unit, and recording facilities linked to take into account vehicle movement as it drives along the street.
Quite complex stuff really :-)
If you don't stream much you can get 3g mobile broadband for about £10 pm. You can even get WiFi 3g routers if you want to connect more than one computer or use linux.
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Tim S saying something like:
For about five years, from the mid-80s, I had no telly. Didn't need it, didn't want it. Didn't stop the tossers at the TVLA (or whatever it was then) sending me letters and eventually, a bloke round to my door.
"I have no telly" I told him on the doorstep.
"I'll just come in and have a look then" said he, preparing to step into my house.
"Bugger off" I said, as I shut the door firmly in his face.
I heard no more about it.
About two years later I bought another telly and a licence, but had no further trouble from them on the previous score.
A 3G router certainly sounds attractive to keep things simple (cheers, I didn't know they existed) but it's not actually necessary just to use Linux. Several of my colleagues use 3G dongles (not sure about cards) with Linux; I've heard the latest Ubuntus Just Work.
Pete
Work, yes. Fast, no.
The bloke at work who has 3G internet says it's 'about 3 times as fast as dialup'.
Depends on where you are.
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