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Comment Re:Another reason to boycott the big 4 banks (Score 1) 112

Considering that Citibank is part of the gang of big US banks directly responsible for the Global Financial Crisis through their dodgy practices and considering they are just as bad as the big 4 when it comes to doing evil crap, I wouldn't go with them either.

I used to be with the National once, then I switched to P&N Bank (formerly Police & Nurses credit society) who were really really good (and are the only WA based bank left). Then I moved to Queensland and wanted to switch banks to one that had branches here. After checking all my options (including a number of credit unions) I ended up with an account from the Bank of Queensland because they have both a GREAT zero-fee everyday bank account (with attached Visa Debit card) AND the best customer service I have ever gotten from ANY financial institution.

Comment Another reason to boycott the big 4 banks (Score 2) 112

Anyone in Australia who hasn't at least considered one of the many smaller (and better) financial institutions instead of the big 4 banks (or one of their subsidiaries) is stupid, the smaller guys are just as good (if not better) than the big 4 when it comes to service, products etc and they dont do a lot of the crap the big 4 do.

Comment Re:Uber is quite retarded (Score 1) 341

Plenty of people on the roads who only have licenses because the cops haven't caught them yet (driving dangerously, hooning, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, driving unsafe or un-roadworthy cars or otherwise doing things that put the lives of other road users at risk)

Comment Re:great idea (Score 2) 81

Don't know where you come from but in Australia (and presumably in the various European countries mentioned in the summary as well) there are free-to-air TV channels broadcasting in DVB-T standard that do not require any special cards.

Comment There has to be a middle ground... (Score 1) 218

There has to be a middle ground between the super-heavy regulation the taxi industry gets in most cities and the zero regulation that entities like Uber and such are currently subject to.

Bring in regulations that require:
All drivers driving for these companies must pass a background/driving history check (to make sure you dont have criminals driving for these companies or people with too many bad marks against their driving records).
All cars being used must pass a comprehensive safety inspection and roadworthy check before they can be used and then undergo annual inspections after that (to make sure the cars being used are safe and you dont have drivers driving with bald tyres or other faulty kits).
Companies must provide insurance coverage (with the minimum amounts set down in the regulations) for drivers (insurance that is active at all times when the driver is "on the clock" regardless of whether they are taking a passenger, heading to their next pickup or waiting around for a job)

Don't limit the number of cars or drivers.
Don't limit which vehicle models can be used for
Don't try and regulate the prices ride sharing entities can charge or the places they can operate to (including airports). Oh and don't require them to pay more money than anyone else either (e.g. requiring them to pay higher tolls than normal drivers or special surcharges at airports or other locations)
Don't require drivers to have expensive equipment (e.g. government-approved meters) in their cars.
Don't require drivers to have special paint schemes or logos or markings on their cars.
Don't require drivers to have special licenses.

With the companies dropping drivers who get bad reviews and the requirements for background checks to weed out the genuinely bad apples before things start, the risk of bad drivers is low (a driver who was driving erratically or speeding or driving whilst drunk would be quickly identified and given bad reviews/pushed out of the system. Same with a driver who e.g. threatened a passenger or tried to rob them)

If a passenger causes trouble (or worse tries to rob a driver or steal their car or beat them up) the driver can give the passenger a negative review or for more serious cases, report the passenger to the cops (who can find out the passengers details since all passengers are tracked through the ride-share systems)

Comment Re:Sorry, but... why? (Score 1) 180

I did programming at school and I didn't find it boring in the least.

To be fair I was already super-interested in computers and programming by the time I started those classes and was easily writing programs above the level of the classwork even before I started. And the teachers knew what they were doing and how to teach things.

Heck, I still remember getting in trouble for trying to pirate VB4 off the machines in the computer labs or spending every lunch break in the labs using Netscape 3/4 to access the Internet over the schools ISDN line.

Or hosting my first website on the school servers (and getting to know the people in the school labs quite well). Or not knowing the ways of the world and putting my photograph (taken with an Apple QuickTake digital camera no less) on said website and seeing other students mess with that photograph in Photoshop.

Then again, this was a nice private school and these weren't government employees with some central bureaucracy telling them how things were going to be done, what they should teach and how they should teach it.

Comment Re:So glad I still have my Nokia N900 (Score 1) 544

The Neo900 is even better than anything those guys may come up with.

Basically its the same case, screen, keyboard, slider and bits as a N900 but with a newer CPU, more RAM/Flash, a cellular modem that can do LTE and a more up-to-date software stack. Oh and its got a USB port that wont break off if you look at it funny :)

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