BT wants to steal bandwidth - again!

Yet again BT is flogging its FON servicve to customers without warning them that they lose part of their bandwidth. FON dellivers free access to mobile users via existing BT subscribers with wi-fi routers across the country and is a very good idea BUT. The but is that if you have 8meg giving up 200k is flea bite. But out here in carrot land we get 400k if we are lucky. Handing back to BT up to 200k strikes me as a bad deal. Worse the ad that drops through as UCE (Spam) does not make this clear. Seems to me misleading at the very least.

Lyng to get broadband at last

Just received this from my colleague on the Lyng Broadband group - hooray!

Hello All,

I am delighted to tell you that Norfolk County Council has now formally approved the plans for the wi-fi broadband service in Lyng as part of a three-village pilot project. Work is now underway to acquire planning permission and draw up a timescale for the roll-out of the service. This is a major and important stage in the development of what has been and continues to be a complex project. As soon as we have been given the details of the timescale we shall be able to move towards pricing the options that Lyng people will have for purchasing and fitting receivers. These will involve NO monthly charges – the service offered by the County is similar to the library service ie free to use. There will however be set-up costs involved for receiving equipment and installation. The action group is working to provide suitable options to suit the community. The next stage will be to publish the timescale and confirm the people who are registering a firm intention to take up the service. I would just like to say thank you to all the people who have worked on, or actively supported, this project,  and look forward to being able to tell you more soon. Paddy McHugh, Lyng Broadband Action Group 

A brighter day thanks to science

One about me and the wonders of science. Yesterday I let someone cut two holes in my eyes. It did not hurt and I am glad I had it done.
It's like this. My mum had glaucoma and when I showed an uppish pressure at Specsavers a while back they had to refer me to the hospital.
And now I have new drainage holes that will stop me going blind. Well effectively. 'Cos the glaucoma I had was called narrow angle and could/would have closed up the light entry if pressure got too high. Which glaucoma means it would/could.
So they do an iridotomy with a laser gun which this charming eastern lady fired at my eye. A lot. But it did not hurt. It scared OK but without rational cause! They give various unguents to make it possible and painless. Eventually the tiny bursts of laser light get through the iris and you feel a kind of tug in the middle of your head. Weird but harmless. And that's it. The higher pressure eye took a bit more: "I am just going to widen the hole" she said casually and I quaked but it was OK.
Apparently it does not heal up and if I start to get any problem as the glaucoma worsens in later life they can make the holes bigger.
What a wonder science is. And hopefully, as they treat more and more, they will save the NHS and the welfare state billions. Virtuous circle. But Cameron and co note - it takes investment in research and development and equipment and training to get this far. Think on chaps, think on.