In this rare instance the government did the right thing. They introduced a new law clarifying that personal use was ok. It was a recent court case brought by the Musicians' Union and industry representatives that caused a judge to repeal it.

Looks like I'll have to uninstall iTunes immediately...

With a horn and dog.

Indeed:

Just as I'd finished filling up there was a power cut. I presented my card - as I had no cash - and the clerk fished out a dusty old manual machine form under the counter. After being shown how to use it by her supervisor, she checked that my signature matched my card, and it was done. Yes my chip and pin contact-less card is backwards compatible for all occasions. Lucky really as I would not have been able to draw cash from an ATM.

Was he doing any harm, apart from the absolutely tiny amount of power consumed? I seems a waste of police time. If he hadn't been challenged, he wouldn't have reacted and therefore no further offence committed.

Language consists not of what is written in reference books, that is a mere snapshot of language use. Language is what is in daily use.

The UK government's use of "abstracting" fits the article exactly.

Please excuse my language

Why does nearly every article mention the type of phone?

Would it be any different if he was charging a cheap Nolkia - or even his shaver?

For all the good reasons already posted here. Which just goes to show how out of touch most politicians are.

What's really funny is that "Joe Poster" imagines that it will happen and thinks up endless ridiculous scenarios.

In the UK we have specific rules about this for broadcast TV (from OFCOM document ): http://stakeholders.ofcom.org....

A potentially harmful flash occurs when there is a pair of opposing changes in luminance (i.e., an increase in luminance followed by a decrease, or a decrease followed by an increase) of 20 candelas per square metre (cd.m-2) or more (see notes 1 and 2). This applies only when the screen luminance of the darker image is below 160 cd.m-2. Irrespective of luminance, a transition to or from a saturated red is also potentially harmful. 3.1.1. Isolated single, double, or triple flashes are acceptable, but a sequence of flashes is not permitted when both the following occur: i. the combined area of flashes occurring concurrently occupies more than one quarter of the displayed (see note 3) screen area; and ii. there are more than three flashes within any one-second period. For clarification, successive flashes for which the leading edges are separated by 9 frames or more are acceptable, irrespective of their brightness or screen area.

Nanny state or not, it makes no sense to have a set of rules for one screen and not another, within a household.

So you expected the service for free?

We are already at a point (in western countries) where most stuff is dirt cheap. If I didn't worry about style or location, I could re-start my life each month from almost nothing. What this means is that the thing that differentiates the rich from the average is not wealth but control. The powerful can control my access to stuff by setting the prices and rules/laws. The most powerful are the lawmakers - most got there (or were substantially helped to get there by wealth.

I hope so!

Gaussian distribution?

your ISP filtering your mail? I don't, and prefer to filter my own, for completely obvious reasons.

So HP are paying out even though they state the case has "no merit". Are they hoping that the other "no merit" case (against former Autonomy owners) will bring fruit?

Although I'm an avid reader of books and I believe in a free (as in freedoms) internet, it is a difficult balance between control and anarchy (the modern meaning of). Authors of books should have the incentive to earn a living from publishing their work but it seems that the few consumers who find a way to access works at no cost create an excuse for censorship. Censorship need have no limits, and in particular can be used as a method of control.

My original post was merely a jest of the Streisand effect; I'd not previously searched for sites for Ebook downloads but now I know - as do others - their URLs.