Reform the banks - NOW

Our banks are still playing the same old game. They need a solid kick up the pants to change their ways.

Between 1997 and 2009, almost a third of lending was between banks. Half went to individuals, mainly on mortgages that fuelled the housing bubble; manufacturing received just 3% of the pie; other business loans accounted for only 17%. Since the crash, net lending to business has fallen by £40bn.

To summarise

1. 1/3rd of lending is bank-to-bank to cover gambling positions

2. 1/2 is loans to individuals (mortgages, credit cards)

3. Manufacturing gets just 3% of bank loans. No wonder they are screaming for help

4. Business loans are another 17%, but lending to business has fallen £40bn. So our only salvation, manufacturing and profitable business is ignored by the greedy, casino, banks

Tax?

Neither can the finance sector credibly claim to be the major source of tax revenue in the UK. It contributed just 6.8% of tax revenues between 2002 and 2008, just over half the amount paid by manufacturers; the reason traditional industry generates more is because it is labour-intensive.

Using Bank of England figures, it is reckoned it could take the finance sector 25 years to repay the £1 trillion costs of bailing it out. Bring it on, NOW.

Radical restructuring is needed to separate their genuine utility functions need from their gambling activities.

BBC & Ofcom cave in to HD studios - implement DRM

BBC HD

I give up, I despair, we have no guts in the UK. We are all lazy dimwits and lack understanding of the issues that concern us all.

The big studios have tried to force TV companies in the USA to implement DRM for HD shows, but this was refused and still they show them... but in UK the BBC and Ofcom have conspired to allow DRM on HD TV. The DRM is placed on your program guide and implemented at your home by the box you buy to receive Freeview and Freesat.

This is ridiculous.

UK has caved in. Our own laws of copyright are to be re-written and enforced by large, mainly USA companies. And politicians are doing nothing about it. In fact they are conniving by turning their backs and ignoring the problem.

It means you have to have a UK-only TV and box, incompatible with any other EU country (expect BIG price hikes). And it means you are restricted in what you can do in your own home, with public broadcast shows that you have paid for. This is what the system looks like, all imposed on you in your own home by USA studios and the BBC...



"This technology would control the way HD films and TV shows are copied on to, for example Blu-ray DVDs and shared with others over the internet," Ofcom said. Ofcom have no evidence to support the opinion that people will record and copy to friends shows, or put them on the internet. Anyway those pirates who want to can easily circumvent this DRM. It will only affect ordinary users and force them to buy new boxes.

"Ofcom have taken a decision which pushes technology further towards a copyright-centric model of control, where only copyright holders have the right to decide how everyday devices are allowed work."

"In this new regime, people with hearing problems will be prevented from modifying their equipment to deal with their problems. Software developers will be stopped from making your TV, computer and mobile phone properly working with each other.

"HD devices will have to built to work in the UK alone, reducing competition and pushing prices up."

The complete absurdity and deception being promoted by Ofcom and the BBC is that any DVB-T2 receiver can receive the HD broadcasts without DRM, its just the program guide that gets encrypted!

Let all go out and buy decent DVB-T2 receivers which can receive Freesat perfectly well as the programs them selves are transmitted without DRM

STOP hounding politicians over pay

Stop this stupid hounding of politicians, stop it NOW.

They have a country to run, they need to be in the public eye, for all the right reasons - for example to let us know what is happening to our deficit, and the restoration of our human freedoms - not because they took advantage of the loose, ill-defined, previous rules about expenses.

Double pay - small allowances, no homes

There is for sure a lot to be sorted out about pay scales both for politicians and for lots and lots of civil servants. What I believe is that politician should get at least double their current pay, government as well. Then they should have small allowances, no second homes.

Applies to everyone

All, and I mean all, civil servants, and public bodies like the BBC, should earn less than the prime minister.

There needs to be sweeping changes throughout local government, regional government and at all quangos. Do not hit me with the argument that if we don't pay enough we will not get the people we need. That is stuff and nonsense. We will define a pay grade and get the best we can for that, and set about doing the best job we can. If there are failures then there will be dismissals.

Damp squib, with a possible joyful outcome

So 25,000 of us made a huge noise about the Digital Economy Bill - which is now law.

Let's see a summary of what is involved for the protection of copyright.

1. Copyright owners allege abuse and within one month send a copyright infringement report to the ISP.

2. Within another month the ISP has to notify its subscriber, by letter, giving

- the extent of the infringement
- the copyright owners efforts to provide a legal alternative
- the appeal & legal issues

So what?

Well there are some interesting issues here;

How does the copyright owner come to find out about abuse? I guess they try abusing the web themselves and see if they can download copyright material...

What is the extent of the 'legal alternatives' that the copyright owner must provide - I mean is this a valid, legal source of the alleged infringing material. Wow, if it is this is a BIG step. You see the internet is global, but most copyright infringement takes place because music, movies, CDs, DVD, are released in one country before another: a sure way to entice people to file share on the global internet! But now if the copyright owners have to show how anyone can get a legal download, they will have to release their media globally, all at one time. A true revolution and a wonderful breakdown of the use of copyright to control 'distribution right', which is was never intended to do.

Could I be wrong? Yes, probably Ofcom hasn't the guts to write the 'code' this way, but just to insist on listing a few irrelevant legal download sites. Not containing the one thing you wanted.

Added later

Ofcom has issued its code, there is NOTHING in it about the obligation for copyright owners to provide details about how to get legal downloads of the material they claim is infringing...

This is simply not good enough, they have to meet their side of the bargain.

Three things wrong with media industry

Quite simply there are three things wrong with the media industry (Books, Films, Music).

1 They have lots of stuff locked up in their vaults which they hold copyright for, and which people want to purchase, but they do not have open access to it.

2 They impose severe restrictions not on copyright as such (i.e. permission to copy a work), but on the distribution channels, like region codes, DVD vs download, limited release, tim erelated release, etc etc

3 They block users from transcoding purchases (like a valid DVD) to their computers by using encryption/DRM. If material is actually purchased on-line, then this DRM blocks user rights copy for personal use, or re-sell 2nd hand.

This has all to stop. It is unreasonable and simply lead to file sharing.

I have one!! Faulty 20p piece, £20 anyone?

I have just come across in my pocket one of those faulty 20p pieces, where the lions on the back are stamped offset to one side. News reports say they could be worth £20, but I con't find anyone to buy it!!!

It looks like this

I love Apple, but please...

Dear Apple,

Can you sort out your products input/output? For example,

- Apple TV has HDMI audio/video output, MacBooks do not, they have MiniDVI which no one uses and for which you have to buy converters all the time.

- MacBooks have Bluetooth (KB, Audio I/O and networking PAN). iPods/iPads have Bluetooth (audio I/O, but no networking, so you can't sync using Bluetooth)

- MacBooks have Wifi, so do iPods/iPads, but you can't wirelessly sync, why not?.

- iPods and iPads have some sort of USB, but on the multi-pin conector. Why not have a standard USB port? Also used for charging. All mobile phone makers have agreed to have standard USB charging very soon an all products.

What I suggest is:

1 WiFi becomes the main 'port' for all fast communications (audio, HD audio, Video, network, share, sync)
Have a new Apple TV box with WiFi to HDMI/HDCP handling including audio, and audio S/PDIF I/O and audio I/O Also a new Airport Express with the same features of WiFi networking and HDMI/HDCP output and S/PDIF I/O and audio I/O.
2 Bluetooth handles slow IO (low quality audio, KB, mouse)
3 Printing either direct to a WiFi printer, or via MacBooks from other computers or iPad
4 Update Apple TV to have browser for VOD and apps for other internet services
5 Break iTunes up, please, into two parts
- A general sync program, all the current sync - mobiles, iPods, iPads... mobile me.
- A media database, to include documents, music, video, books. And integrate this with the finder

Lastly lets have overnight ipad auto-sync using wifi from MacBook and/or mobile me.