Exactly. The mess of different and incompatible "services" offered on TVs are a matter of supreme indifference to me. I have a computer hooked up to my TV and sound system; that's where my old computer goes when I buy a new one. It's much more capable than the built-in software on any TV; it's a general-purpose device that I can configure any way I like. My TV doesn't need to do anything more than display the image it's told to.

I'm concerned about both genuine mistakes and deliberate abuse. Remember that clause in the UK ID card bill which would have given the Home Secretary the power to invalidate any person's card for any arbitrary reason - no charge, no evidence, no due process at all, just a "switching off" of that person's legal right to walk the street? How long before the government decides it needs the power to just switch off a person's right to buy petrol with a similar lack of due process?

I'm waiting for the first Raspberry Pi colocation company to open - along the lines of Mac Mini Colo. But outside the USA, so there's less risk of my major hardware investment being seized by the feds - you know, for being creative on a Sunday without permission or something...

Seriously, colo could get pretty damn cheap with these little beasties.

C:\>_

That looks like Mohammed holding a gun to me.

*Vat* is zis man doing here?

"While I might think my country can make some pretty stupid choices, they aren't the kind that would destroy civilization."

Three more, more words: Mutually Assured Destruction.

Allow me to second the recommendation; Kismot is an excellent curry house. If you're ever in Edinburgh and fancy a curry, check it out. There's also a good pub - The Auld Hoose - just round the corner. The two combined make for an excellent evening out, and an awful morning after. :)

"CCTV does work"

No, it doesn't - ask all the researchers who did actual studies on behalf of the Home Office: CCTV systems 'fail to cut crime'

...or google 'home office study cctv'

"Researchers have identified the genetic mutation behind the condition."

Good. Can the rest of us have it now, please?

Good. Next story please...

Too bloody right. Tom Baker *is* the Doctor. And Daleks do *not* fly. Trust me; I'm British, and the uni I went to was well posh...

He's establishing his DNA as "prior art".

Exactly. And this needs to be done before commercial ownership of our genetic makeup gets any further out of control.

I'm on Facebook. How do I find out if Lovely Faces has "profiled" me?

...if they'll use footage from Dr. Strangelove?