Matthew1471's ASP BlogX

File-sharing sanctions 'unfair'
 (Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:39:06 GMT)
Illegal file-sharers should be fined, rather than have their internet connection cut off, says the boss of BT.

Facebook calls for 'iconic games'
 (Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:19:13 GMT)
Facebook calls on game designers to make an iconic title, such as Mario or Halo, specifically for the social network.

Hard drive evolution could hit XP
 (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:29:38 GMT)
Hard drives are about to undergo one of the biggest format shifts in 30 years but it could cause problems for Windows XP users.

Porn net domain name plan revived
 (Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:51:07 GMT)
A plan to create a .xxx net domain for adult content will be revisited three years after it was rejected by internet regulators.

Banking fraud 'moves to internet'
 (Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:12:37 GMT)
Fraudsters are continuing their switch from traditional card fraud to raiding online bank accounts, research suggests.

Economic storm not over, says PM
 (Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:01:07 GMT)
Gordon Brown warns of economic storms ahead but vows not to "let you down" as the date of the Budget is announced.

Berezovsky wins poison libel case
 (Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:10:12 GMT)
Oligarch Boris Berezovsky wins his libel case over claims he was behind the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.

Collider to shut down for a year
 (Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:19:18 GMT)
The Large Hadron Collider must be shut down for a year starting in late 2011 to address design flaws, the BBC has learned.

US 'hid terror suspect treatment'
 (Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:19:15 GMT)
A former head of MI5 says she did not know US intelligence services were mistreating terror suspects until after she retired.

More schools fail Ofsted checks
 (Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:19:26 GMT)
More schools in England are being judged as inadequate in Ofsted's new-style inspections, according to figures just released.

Dell Studio 1735 Laptop
 (Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:21:21 +0000)
I recently purchased a new laptop - a Dell Studio 1735. Its price tag of £1250 is high, but acceptable given the specification and options I added: 2.1GHz T8100 Core2Duo CPU 3GB RAM 320GB 5400 rpm hard disk ATI/AMD Radeon HD Mobility 3650 256MB 17...

UTF-8 Support
 (Sun, 30 Sep 2007 11:54:50 +0000)
After spending ages working with UTF-8 the other day, as I mentioned in my previous post, I've finally added UTF-8 support to this site. Both comments and posts by me are now able to contain all kinds of crazy characters without resorting to complex HTML ...

UTF-8 in PHP and MySQL
 (Sat, 22 Sep 2007 21:44:59 +0000)
I spent the best part of today researching how to properly handle Unicode - specifically UTF-8 - with PHP and MySQL for Web applications. Since this is something that has stumped me for a while, I decided to make this post about it. This will be as much ...

My Xbox 360 Died Again!
 (Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:28:57 +0000)
Update (2007/09/22): I should probably update this to say that on the 30th August I received a refurbished Xbox 360 from Microsoft that not only works (no problems thus far, and I've had many a 5-hour gaming session on it), but it also considerably quiete...

More Spooky Occurrences
 (Fri, 09 Feb 2007 23:53:50 +0000)
What the hell is this? A CAD comic containing both a character whose name contains "lorddeath", but also a character named Andrew in the same panel. People are out to get me, I swear it :P

Second Clever Quote Of The Week
 (Sun, 7 Mar 2010 14:25 -0000)
"Solve the obvious problems - no matter what it takes" James Dyson

New Workplace Quote
 (Tue, 2 Mar 2010 13:23 -0000)
"If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play." John Cleese

Asterisk UK DTMF Lock-up
 (Sat, 30 Jan 2010 15:10 -0000)
Google searched for problems relating to Asterisk sometimes not recognising some DTMF keys, tried all sorts of funky combinations client side.. even though they used to work. Observed even pressing # on the echo test (*43) was not being recognised (this... Read More (464 Characters)

Windows 7 Black Screen on Resume?
 (Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:14 -0000)
Had an odd problem with Windows 7 displaying a black screen instead of unlocking the computer (particularly after resuming from sleep).. Updating the graphics card drivers fixed the problem instantly.

Quote
 (Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:32 -0000)
"I rate enthusiasm even above professional skill." Sir Edward Appleton

Pelosi faces biggest test on healthcare vote
 (Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:12:59 -0500)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The leader of the House of Representatives -- a persuasive arm-twister and deal maker -- faces her toughest challenge yet in the coming weeks: getting 216 votes to pass final legislation revamping the U.S. healthcare system.

Brown says UK to maintain AAA credit rating
 (Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:26:50 -0500)
LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday he believed Britain would maintain its coveted top credit rating and announced a pay freeze for senior civil servants and military officers to help tame a record deficit.

Palestinians complain to Biden about settlement plan
 (Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:48:25 -0500)
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinians told U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday that Israel's new plan to build 1,600 homes for Jewish settlers challenged Washington's efforts to get indirect peace talks underway.

First Iraq vote results expected by Thursday: U.N.
 (Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:59:48 -0500)
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Preliminary results of Iraq's parliamentary election, a vote seen as a litmus test of its young democracy, are likely to be released by Thursday, a United Nations official said Wednesday.

Iceland opposition toughens on new "Icesave" talks
 (Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:39:57 -0500)
REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland's opposition turned up the heat on the center-left government on Wednesday to hold out for a tough new "Icesave" debt accord with Britain and the Netherlands, after a referendum rejection of its previous deal.

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Fire-breathing Dragon Melts Snow…
 (Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:33:36 +0000)
Shoveling snow sucks. This solution is so much more badass! Check out this homemade dragon flamethrower built by a Maryland couple to clear driveways and scare neighbors. Awesome! Via TechEBlog

Dolph Lundgren’s Swedish Award Show Appearance is EPIC
 (Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:25:51 +0000)
Captain Ivan Drago. Frank Castle. He-Man. Dolph Lundgren has played fanboy icons on the big screen (and is enjoying a career resurgence with the forthcoming The Expendables and Universal Soldier sequel), but he has achieved a whole new level of genius thanks to his appearance on a Swedish award show this past weekend. The flamboyant singing and [...]

Heads Up with Nar Williams – Season Highlights!
 (Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:15:57 +0000)
In case you missed the CraveOnline web series I had the pleasure of hosting, writing, and producing — here are some of my favorite moments from the show! “Heads Up with Nar Williams” was produced by EnjoyHuman and sponsored by AT&T.

Picture(s) of the Week: Robot with Giant Baby Head FAIL
 (Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:38:34 +0000)
Via Botjunkie, here are some seriously creepy photos of a robot baby called Diego-San from the November 2009 edition of Kokoro News… …Yeah. This is a horror movie waiting to happen.

Robot Dances to Polka
 (Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:33:40 +0000)
So, what’s creepier: the dance, the doll costume, or the music?