BBC Blog Network

User Profile

stuartjreid

Listed below are comments made by stuartjreid between Wednesday, 19th November 2008 and Monday, 9th March 2009.

«Newer
Older»

Broadband: Are you being served? 7:18pm on 09 Mar 2009 Interesting comment from Otelo themselves there. I've never heard of them before, either - but then I've never really had to complain and my ISP seems fine (Virgin Media).

But it does seem to be a bit of a regulatory minefield with different bodies responsible for different aspects of the broadband market. I feel this blog post deserves to be written up as a larger feature, perhaps with Rory or someone else taking up Otelo's invitation.

There's obviously a problem with ISPs in this country. Eventually the free market will ensure only the best survive, but there still needs to be support for the consumer.
Convincing the rebels 3:44pm on 24 Feb 2009 Royal Mails pension troubles are partly the fall in the stockmarket revenue, partly an historical "payment holiday" that was taken a few years ago, and partly the fact it was a final salary scheme until very recently - and everyone knows how those have faired.

LDV, sadly, doesn't deserve a "bail out" because it has been in trouble for a while, since nobody wants their vans. Interestingly, one of their big contracts was Royal Mail vans - but they don't use them anymore. I'm all for giving them a loan or something similar, but not really a bail out per se. Their rather well off russian parent should be doing more.

I see lots of companies using the recession/credit crunch as an excuse to grab money from the treasury, but it's both the treasury and the CEOs of these companies who are to blame.

Back to Royal Mail - the best solution is to take it in house, re-nationalize it, and keep it and the post office network as a service. Surely the Government can find some use for a facility that can reach every person in the United Kingdom and that has an unrivalled property network of shops and delivery/sorting offices in every town and city... :-)
E-tailing - has the revolution arrived? 9:00pm on 13 Jan 2009 As one form of spending falls, bringing with it suppliers and side-industries (just witness the mess that Woolworths DVD distribution subsidiary brought to Zavvi) - other sectors benefit with the online spending boom. The Royal Mail and the other courier companies are also getting more packets to deliver!
Looking back - tech in 2008 1:31pm on 24 Dec 2008 It was also the year in which the price of technology became increasingly affordable, with average costs of powerful PCs and Hardware dropping across the board - but to be fair, it does that every year.

We also saw the Wii cement it's now almost unassailable lead over it's rivals Xbox 360 and PS3 - even though it's often dismissed as a casual system, with casual games, and with a nintendo-dominated software chart.

But there were also bad points to this supposedly recession-proof industry. Job losses at many major games studios, some going to the ground entirely.

But then, gaming is now on par with the movie industry in many areas, which millions ploughed in to develop top games and top titles making record-breaking profits such as Grand Theft Auto.

2009? It seems game studios are going for quality over quantity.

And in the Mobile Phone market we saw a new OS - Android - and I guess we'll be hearing a lot more about that in the future, too, competing with Symbian (now in some kind of open-source offering) and Windows Mobile (which will have a facelift, and be much more touch-screen friendly).

As for the big companies, expect more mergers and takeovers, but again - this happens every year. Will AMD survive against INTEL? Will Nvidia bounce back against ATI (another AMD brand)? Will Yahoo go?

The best thing about Technology is no-one knows what is really around the corner. The most interesting technology is far-off, but existing but expensive technologies should drop in price, so more Oled, cheaper eBook Readers, cheaper SSD Disks, and the rest.

I'm looking forward to it!
What really 'beggars belief' 10:59pm on 19 Dec 2008 While the letters business is obviously falling due to e-mails and the like, advertising material and billing are rising. As are packets, in a big way, due to Internet Shopping.

You have to decide whether you want the Royal Mail to operate as a business, or as a public service.

Luckily - as it's currently a strange amalgamation of business/service the unprofitable parts are subsidised by the profitable ones.

Splitting Royal Mail piecemeal will never work. There was already a plan for more automation, but that is as far as I know on hold because of financing issues.

Royal Mail is actually a highly efficient country-wide organisation that can deliver a letter or package to any address successfully. It's just the issue of current cost-cutting - for investment - that forced it to reduce to one single delivery, one collection, per day. Cost-cutting is usually brought in as a solution by an unimaginative management. Raise prices, or cut costs, what could be simpler?

Throw in the highly unfair competition, where competitors simply hand the bulk of the work to Royal Mail for delivery, and you'll see why the business is in dire straits.

The solution?

Give it capital investment. Return it to it's "Public Service" goal, and set achievable targets.

Unfortunately, that is against current EU legislation. That's where the ultimate stumbling block lies.
Is it safe to Explore? 12:37pm on 17 Dec 2008 Wow - lots of comments on this one!

I use Firefox 3 - mainly because it's more customisable, quicker, and has a lot of plugins you can play with.

You'll never be 100% secure with any internet app unless that app is so obscure even the virus/scamware/spyware authors won't bother it.

In one respect, Internet Explorer is probably one of the most patched browsers around because the MS engineers are in a constant battle with the criminals. A good firewall and virus program (save money - go avg or avast) will help you a lot.

It is mostly the "extras" on websites that cause problems. Fake "click here to..." boxes, Java and Javascript apps, and Flash - but without those the web would be a much more boring place.

Macs are not immune, a recent report on this very site (albeit from a virus company) mentioned a "download codec" scam, and they will surely grow. As will Firefox threats. The only real solution is to stay off the web altogether, but then you wouldn't be reading this :)

One last point: MS Messenger doesn't lauch IE on my computer, it will load the links into Firefox, unless Firefox won't run directly because it has to add an update, continue browsing from the last page, or whatever.

If people are happy with IE because it's out of the box let them be. Just ensure automatic updates are carried out - be careful what you click when requested to update or download something - and check the link location is the same as that displayed in the page.
Challenging the Budget 6:44pm on 20 Nov 2008 I just like to say #62 and #70 very entertaining and informative comments. Sometimes the comments to these blog posts by Nick Robinson are far more interesting than the main article!

It's nice to see what people think. Well done the commenters, the editors, and the BBC for allowing them :)
Challenging the Budget 5:50pm on 20 Nov 2008 The Conservatives have been wildly misrepresented in the media - especially the BBC. At every turn they have stood against Team Brown's wanton populist and vote hungry policies.

The Conservatives are the true "Party for the People". They want to help the pound in your pocket, while ensuring the country as a whole has a strong future.

Where New Labour seems intent on destroying the economy, the Conservatives seek to preserve it. They will eliminate waste and put the money saved to good use.

Margaret Thatcher - whose policies still haunt and define the party - was also misunderstood. Market based economies and a strong public sector have been proven to be the defining political system of the rich West.

Call an election now. The Conservatives will win by a landslide and get this country back on track. They have the policies that will save the UK and only the need to chance to implement them.

And yes - all that is indended to be sarcastic!
A nationalised national bank? 6:58pm on 19 Nov 2008 Lots of good points here, but a National Bank of some kind is definitely a good idea.

But why stop at businesses? Perhaps they could offer mortgages too - ideal to slow down or even halt the housing slump and a way to let those who can afford to take advantage of realistic house prices.

I know what people here would think about that, but if someone is a proven payer and has an income and a good enough credit rating surely a nationally provided mortgage could work, and earn money for the government or the BOE. The government could even bundle in their part-ownership and key worker schemes, too.

If the new bank is run on commercial terms and has a directly accountable, and non-governmental administration that would do away with the naysayers who claim goverment incompetence.

I remember the 80s. Thacherism, privatisation, and wantant capitalism hurt those of us who weren't middle class enough. Then again, I don't remember the 70s, and the other approach :-)
A nationalised national bank? 3:54pm on 19 Nov 2008 #3 and others, good idea. The Post Office network is an ideal place from which to run the "proposed" national banks shopfront.

However a national bank doesn't really need a counter service per se since a lot of transactions are performed electronically and via transfers etc.

The Government hasn't supported Royal Mail much to date - the only just about won a contract to keep benefits payments against PayPoint - so this would also be a good vote for the service.

Now time for another 150+ comments that go completely off topic, lambast Nick Robinson for Labour bias, ask for General Election, and say how great the Tories are! :-)

«Newer
Older»

^ Back to top

BBC MMVI

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

BBC.co.uk

BBC Blog Network

Find and talk to the BBC's bloggers.

User Profile

stuartjreid