THE whole world is watching the progress of London鈥檚 pioneering congestion charging scheme, which relies on video cameras and computers to recognise car number plates. We recently asked the organisers, Transport for London, a simple question: how do drivers change their payment details on the TfL computer?
TfL encourages electronic communication, so we sent a plain text email. Back came a prompt reply, unfortunately without an actual answer. Instead it contained the instruction to download a large HTML attachment containing the said answer.
Unskilled users often do not know how to download and open attachments, and some simple or mobile email systems cannot handle them. Skilled users worry about the viruses they might contain, and office systems sometimes block them. So we asked TfL鈥檚 customer services manager, Maggi Corby, why she couldn鈥檛 just send simple text replies. Instead of answering, she told us we would need Acrobat software available from Adobe鈥檚 website to download and read the attachment. 鈥淏ut you may not be able to open an attachment if your virus checker is set too high.鈥�
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So instead of sending easy-to-read, virus-safe plain text emails, the computer wizards at TfL prefer to bury their simple replies in big computer files readable only with the help of more big computer files. Even then you may be foiled if your virus checker takes fright and rejects the file.
All of which brings to mind the consumer electronics industry adage: 鈥淜ISS 鈥� keep it simple, stupid.鈥�
THE copyright and terms of use information found on websites rarely make riveting reading, generally causing the eyes to glaze over and the mouse to click onto the next page. No surprise then that plagiarism on the web is so common.
But a colleague was positively gripped by a warning on a website offering graphics and photos. At the foot of the usual legal boilerplate he read, 鈥淢y intellectual property attorney is a scary-smart guy. He was the youngest person to ever pass the bar exam in his state. Plus he put himself through law school by working as a professional wrestler. I am not making this up.鈥� Plagiarise this site at your peril.
THE regulations for getting married in the Bahamas are quite stringent. Reader Francis Banks was glancing through Air Currents, the in-flight magazine for Gulfstream International Airlines. His attention was caught by an article on 鈥淩equirements for obtaining a marriage licence in the Bahamas鈥�. Among the more usual requirements was the following: 鈥淚f either party is widowed, an original or certified copy of the deceased spouse must be obtained.鈥�
Banks suspects that some people might have difficulty in complying with this, at least until cloning technology is greatly improved.
OUR piece last week about the confusion caused by Ford naming one of its cars Ka prompted reader Dominic Gill to tell us about the attractive bush of knot marjoram outside the front door of his home. Friends who come round often ask him, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 that?鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 knot marjoram,鈥� he replies.
鈥淵es, yes, OK,鈥� they say, looking irritated.
鈥淏ut what is it?鈥�
FROM the department of all-inclusiveness. Reader Noam Weingarten tells us that on the packaging for a tube of Eumo base concentrated rehydration cream manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, it states: 鈥淪uitable for adults, including the elderly, children and babies.鈥�
Meanwhile, the packet of Floradix tonic bought by Peter Miller told him: 鈥淔loradix is especially suitable for women (including expectant mothers), men, growing children and persons whose diet is lacking in natural iron and vitamins.鈥�
And, most inclusive of all, Sean Dougherty points us to the website summarising the UK National Institute for Clinical Excellence鈥檚 guidance on pioglitazone treatment for type 2 diabetes. It advises that the guidance applies to 鈥渁ll patients between 0 months (0 years) and 3060 months (255 years) old鈥�.
UNLUCKY enough to have been sent two faulty Maxtor hard drives in succession, reader Thomas Turner decided to investigate the company鈥檚 warranty period and its limitations. He was disconcerted to find that the Maxtor limited warranty does not cover 鈥渄rives that are determined to be stolen鈥�.
Turner immediately began eyeing his drive suspiciously, but as it showed no signs of making a break for it he felt able to return it to Maxtor.
FINALLY, on the topic of abbreviated titles (see last week鈥檚 Feedback), reader Jane Thompson asks if anyone can guess what 鈥淔riends of the Ear鈥� means on a bank statement she received.
A package on display in the window of an art-and-craft shop in north London caught reader Rebecca Smith鈥檚 attention. Its bold claim: 鈥淪ix-dimensional fabric paints.鈥� For the creative theoretical physicist perhaps?