I was wondering this - I figured people were proposing to do something with a bunch of resistive loads and a slider arm, like the things that used to pass for speed controllers on old electric radio controlled cars... They weren't very reliable, efficient or compact.

The flip side of that is if you are staying until 2am and getting no recognition (financial or otherwise) then there comes a point where dealing with idiots who have clicked the 'sort by' heading and think all their new email has been deleted for the 5th time gets a bit much and staying polite is a tough gig. I always try and remember that we all make stupid mistakes. Then I belittle the user...

The alternative flip side is that if you are staying until 2am then you aren't doing your job properly - me I keep plenty of redundancy so I can switch over to keep critical services available and fix problems at my leisure. This means I don't stay until 2am, I fix problems during the day.

My experience is that managers want something when they ask for something - they rarely know the details. Give them a slimmed down version of the stuff you find useful - the overview section of most reports is enough. Once they see it a few times, unless it directly affects 'the bottom line' then they will lose interest, until the next bright shiny rolls past. Don't over complicate for your sake and theirs. Keep it simple and concise.

Surely the provision that the measures taken must be proportional is enough to stop any disconnections?

My residential broadband connection is used by other people as well, so if I am accused of some heinous and socially reprehensible crime such as using P2P (by the way, have 'they' figured out that bit torrent streams don't necessarily equate to copyright infringement?) and my internet connection is cut off or throttled, then that is disproportionate as it affects other people who are innocent of using dubious and encrypted transport streams...

How would 'they' be able to differentiate between users on the private side of the network? I have one public IP address and several internal computers...I don't see how they could identify, accuse and cut off me and my residential connection directly.

If 'they' could then what is to stop another member of my house hold from subscribing to broadband (which would give me access again). Or are they planning on putting a blanket 'don't supply' notice on my address?

If some injunction can be sought against others to prevent me from gaining access via their connection, what happens to my mobile subscription (which includes internet access)? I am able to tether my phone to a pc and access the internet through that.

If the result of 3 accusations results in all of the above, what's to stop me from buying a 'pay as you go' broadband dongle (with cash) and using that? If all of the above was somehow preventable I would have to use open Wifi AP's, which in itself is potentially illegal in the uk, http://www.out-law.com/page-10299 so I might as well just break the law now, download some tunes illegally and save all of this agro - Sod it, I would rather just use Spotify - it's quicker and less hassle than downloading music.

Aw didums...

So at some point you mustn't have known how to do all this stuff right? Or were you born with the knowledge?

I think the GP is on to a good thing and sounds like the kind of direction I would go if I were lucky enough to be working on the project.

A web server serving up pages and vids with kiosk mode firefox on Linux sounds like the way to go. I have worked on similar and seen various options for resetting things (the Kiosks) if they get messed up or abused, from simple restart scripts to hardware watchdog timers to automatic re-imaging. But don't get too hung up on the details - you would be amazed at what often lurks behind the public face of these sorts of things - some of the interactive TV systems I have worked on are a real eye opener. Cable runs aren't an issue at that length - if it gets over 100meters just chain a few strategically placed switches together.

There are plenty of Kiosk hardware manufacturers around the world and they should be able to provide some insight from installations they have worked on.

Might be worth talking to other museums to find out what they did and how.

I think I might know a Bitter Anonymous Multimedia Installation person who might be interested in a consulting role - there is a small introduction fee...

I have always assumed that at least 90% of the working population hated their jobs and that those of us working in IT are in the main more analytical and apply that to ourselves more and thus are less content than others who coast through life without thinking about their situation. Yes the shine has well and truly gone off IT. At least for now. Things may improve after the recession, but unless you have an idea of what you want to do or where you want to go, you are like me, in limbo. My career path started in electronics which I figured was a dying art so I went to uni to get a degree in computers/web/multimedia, then to multimedia developer to web developer to sys admin to project manager/pre sales (this last lot all within one company and often at the same time - including the assumption that I was at the end of a phone 24/7/365 regardless of where in the world I was) this was where I had enough and bailed. Only to find there weren't any IT jobs unless you were a kid with fresh IT certs. Worked as a handy man with a massive massive reduction in income (from £30k a year to just about paying all the bills each month) - that hurt but felt strangely right - doing enough to get by seemed a bit more real. To after a year having to take the first IT related job I was offered. It isn't exactly fun, pays £10k a year less, the management aren't exactly employee friendly, no benefits at all, plus the usual expectation that I am at the end of a phone 24/7/365. I really don't know what else to do. I have lots of other interests (snowboarding, restoring old cars, photography, music) and skills (electrics, plumbing, woodwork, plastering etc) but none of them I could (for various reasons) or would want to make into a career. I am good at keeping computers running and I can just about keep my cool with the stupider support calls. I guess until an opportunity presents itself I am stuck... If you can move I would say do it.

I was playing with true crypts hidden partition within a partition option and actually did forget the key (both of them). The hidden partition contained a copy of my mp3 collection and some ebooks, but then I remembered about this law and decided that it would be best if I deleted the encrypted file just incase I was ever involved in a case of mistaken identity or was in the wrong place at the wrong time and someone decided that they wanted to see what was in the file...

'...no I forgot the password. I can't open it. It's just a few mp3s and some ebooks on computer stuff'

'Computers? Are you some kind of computer terrorist? Password or you go to gaol... your choice'

This and a handful of other laws passed in the last few years, plus a lot of liberties repealed have made the uk a weird place to live.

It has just occurred to me that they called a bill RIP (Regulatory Investigative Powers bill) - do you think they were saying RIP (Rest in Peace) to British justice?

If you can find a copy of a film called Taking Liberties then it makes for interesting/worrying watching ( Trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUsNQkV6o04 ) especially to those who blindly support justice and think the police can do no wrong.

...it could all end in a Geek Tragedy! I'm sorry...

I did an Engineering degree in 'Multimedia Communication' worked bloody hard, got a first that was then 'moderated' to a 2:1 due to restrictions on the number of firsts the university could give out, and have ended up in pretty much the same situation, getting seriously underpaid for what I do, I'm not earning much more now then when I graduated. I have also worked for a number of employers who didn't believe in the value of on-going certification and have the same problem with prospective employers now questioning my ability due to lack of recent certification (which I am now addressing very slowly as it takes so much time & money).

I also find that employment agencies don't have a clue what an engineering degree actually means. I get lumped in with those who graduated with Bachelors degrees in computer science. I sometimes want to scream 'I can design fucking microchips you idiot', but I don't. If someone failed a year in our course they could 'drop out' and into the Computer Science Bachelors degree course as they would almost certainly have enough credit from the work they did pass, to count as a year on a lesser degree. So I agree that the sheer volume of graduates these days has watered down the value of any degree.

A couple of years ago it took me 9 months to find a job. I was honest about what I could and couldn't do, though I explained that I can learn most things as I have a solid grounding in software dev, infrastructure support, design, dev team management etc etc. I wasn't able to get a similar position so had to take a few steps down the ladder to a support role. It seems that you have to lie about your ability to keep moving up the ladder. However I wouldn't sue over not getting a job. But then this is in the UK and some of us still believe that we are responsible (to some degree) for our own circumstances.

We aren't willing to give up our freedoms but they are systematically whittled away by successive governments because they sneak legislation in on the QT or on the back of the latest 'threat' to public safety. I.e. the 'this will stop pedophiles and terrorists' line that Daily Mirror & Sun readers lap up.

(see the recent Coroners and Justice Bill ( http://www.irr.org.uk/2009/february/ha000026.html ) that attempted to sneak in wide ranging powers that would allow the UK government to share personal information (why should the governement have access to my medical records or the police for that matter?) or hide the facts surrounding death in suspicious circumstances under the tag of 'national security' - 'whopps! Looks like we shot the wrong man in that last ill informed security raid, better hide this one from the public!')

I don't want the government to waste £15 billion on the National Identity Card Scheme (as its both a waste of money and a step too far) and have told my MP and signed the epetition to that effect but I fully expect it to be implemented anyway. I will just refuse to carry it and risk the consequences.

Tell me what more I can do legally to stop my government from doing stuff I don't like.

And no I didn't vote for them...

Some UK G1 users are reporting that they are getting Latitude while others are not. No explanation as yet...