Teknovis

There was an interesting story in the news today about a man who was sentenced to a two year jail term for possession of child pornography images. See Father jailed over child pornography for further details.

In particular, the article states:

Defence counsel said the case was unusual as 24 of the 27 images were virtual images – no actual children were used to create the images.

I wonder if all 27 images had been “virtual images”, would he still have received a prison sentence? Indeed, would it even be a crime to posses such images?

I am going to be controversial here, but in my opinion the possession of virtual images definitely should not be a crime.

I must admit that I am also uncomfortable with the idea that the possession (or distribution) of any types of images is a crime. It seems illogical to me to say that if you arrange your 1s and 0s in this order it is a crime, but it is perfectly legal to rearrange them in a different order (to produce a different image).

For the sake of clarity, I believe that it definitely should be illegal to produce such images.

Tags: Ireland, Pornography

AT&T‘s CEO envisages that that mobile phone plans could be data-only within the next 24 months! For more details see Cellphone Plans Could Be Data-Only in 2 Years, Says AT&T CEO [VIDEO] and AT&T CEO Calls Data-Only Smartphone Plans ‘Inevitable’.

This makes sense to me! I do not see why voice services cannot become services that you obtain using an app on your mobile device – just like any other service!

I guess that the biggest counter argument is that it consigns the mobile network operator to being a “dumb pipe” supplier :o

Tags: AT&T

The Irish Government’s spending watchdog (the Comptroller and Auditor General) has reported on the staff overspending in Irish Universities, and some of the findings are reported in University staff paid €8.1m in excess of approved rates – Comptroller & Auditor General.

The breakdown is as follows:

• UCD – 3,600,000€
• UCC – 1,640,000€
• TCD – 1,500,000€
• UCG – 578,000€
• UL – 448,000
• NUI Maynooth – 272,000€
• DCU – 53,000€

However, it is not all good news regarding DCU – it bailed out two of its subsidiary companies. I do not understand why these companies were created as commercial ventures in the first place.

WIT (not a university) also receives criticism:

It cites breaches of spending policy on subsistence and hospitality – including €18,452 spent on flowers and €3,067 on gifts.

Unfortunately, I am not surprised by this :o It is not the first time that WIT has been found misappropriating funds (see How WIT Spends the Taxpayers’ Money). WIT seems to have the worst reputation in Ireland based upon the people whom I have met!

I would like to think that the institutions involved have repaid the money, and that the relevant people have been demoted or fired.

Tags: DCU, NUIM, TCD, UCC, UCD, UCG, UL, WIT

I came across this interesting article comparing payment methods – Comparing All The New Payment Methods – NFC, Mobile Wallet, Self Checkout, and More. It is a little dated, but still very relevant!

I must admit that I still find it weird that I never need to use my credit card PIN number in the US! All that is ever required is a pathetic attempt to repeat my signature on a touchscreen with a digital pen that feels as accurate as a hammer! Another weird thing in the US is the way that the waiter/waitress disappears for ages with my credit card when I am paying in restaurants!

It is Friday afternoon, so I think that a bit of humour would be appropriate ;)

I came across If you do this in an email, I hate you during the week, and I must admit that I can empathise with a lot of these scenarios!

There are also several other very funny cartoons there!

Enjoy the weekend!

I read an interesting article today describing how Yahoo basically killed Flickr since taking it over! The article is How Yahoo Killed Flickr and Lost the Internet.

I never liked Flickr due to its old-fashioned interfaces, and its lack of usability. Also, I associate it more with low quality and high volume photo sharing. Everybody whom I know that is serious about photography uses other newer photos sharing web sites!

Tags: Flickr, Yahoo

There is another indictment of  our failing third level education system described in Digital Marketing Institute says Ireland has ‘unemployable’ marketing graduates.

This time it relates to marketing graduates, and their lack of digital marketing skills.

The institute’s Ian Dodson said that 100% of marketing jobs now involve digital marketing, but that just 10% of third level graduates have those skills.

I think that digital marketing should be a mandatory requirement!

“Unfortunately, third level students are coming out, not just with poor digital literacy in Office applications, but with woeful levels of literacy when it comes to using the more modern tools and technologies, like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, to promote and market business,” he added.

I often think that academics in Irish universities become lazy, and simply regurgitate the same material despite it often being many years out of date!

It really makes a farce out of the government promoting Ireland as a knowledge economy :|

Tags: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter

A slightly worrying review of the Renault Fluence ZE – Seeking a surge but suffering range anxiety.

I am still not convinced about leasing the battery, but at least the first two years are now free!

Tags: Renault

I came across Mick O’Pedia today! It is like Wikipedia, but it is tailored for Irish people :)

Friday afternoon silliness ;)

Tags: Wikipedia

Telefónica has launched a new mobile app that allows free calls and messages to other users! The app is TU Me (I do not “get” the name), and it is described in Introducing TU Me: the free all-in-one communications app from Telefónica.

It is an interesting move, because it would appear to be an over-the-top app launched by a mobile network operator!

Tags: Telefónica