Some ramblings on Amendment 120A

The Digital Economy Bill is broken. I really hope it doesn't make it through before parliament is dissolved for the general election. More specifically I wish that in Lord Mandelson's case the dissolve was more literal.

The latest debacle is amendment 120A which has been passed by the Lords. The good part of this is that it strikes clause 17 from the Digital Economy Bill. However it inserts a new clause in the Copyright, Designs and Patents act 1988 which has some very loose terms and could be quite damaging.

This has been covered in the blogosphere and even mainstream media already in more depth than I can give it but I have spent a little while digging through the various acts / bills / amendments to try and get a better handle on it and thought I would share.

First there is the original Digital economy amendment.

120A adds clause 97B to the Copyright, Designs and Patents act 1988 after 97A. 97A itself is an amendment available as part of Statutory Instrument SI 2003/2498. This Statutory Instrument adds the EU Copyright Directive. 97B defers definition of a service provider to 97A. 97A defers definition of service provider to SI 2002/2013 covering the EC Electronic Commerce Directive. The definition of service provider here refers to provision of a nebulous "information society service".

Further searches give this definition:

"information society service" shall mean a service normally provided in return

for consideration electronically by distance selling at the individual retrieval of

the recipient (§ 1(1)2 of the Notification Act of 1999), particularly the online

marketing of goods and services, online information offers, online advertising

electronic search engines and data enquiry options as well as services which

transmit information via an electronic network and provide access to such a

network or store the information of a user; […]

Most of the press I have seen focuses on the non specific nature of the word "substantial" in clause 97B. Most comments I have seen have merely equated service provider to ISP. From my reading of the definitions, a service provider is someone providing an information society service which could be anyone from an ISP to a blogger.

I'm not sure if this makes me more or less happy about the amendments. My take on the whole kneejerk "Britain is banning YouTube!" is that under this definition Google is definitely a service provider. In that context then this clause merely asks them to remove content if asked to by the copyright holder. Given that they already do this and have established appeal processes this doesn't change much.

An Interesting Evening

Well that was fun.

I got back to St Albans station this evening to a bit of a conundrum. When I went to the bike racks to collect my bike I find that there are two D locks connecting it to the frame, rather than the one I attached in the morning.

After spending a couple of minutes in "WTF??!?!?" mode I went back to speak to the station staff.

I explained myself to the guy at the ticket office and he recommended that I speak to the supervisor over at the information desk on platform one.

After explaining the situation he asks "Do you have any proof of ownership?". This was a bit of a problem. I don't tend to carry that sort of thing with me (and I imagine no-one else does either). I can open one of the locks attached to my bike, but not the other, so that doesn't help much.

Fortunately I have my passport in my bag and the guy is willing to take a copy of that along with a written statement of consent as sufficient excuse to get the bolt cutters out. He finds cover for the information office and we head over to the bike racks.

Of course the bolt cutters would have been up to the task if it had been a chain or cable lock. Not for a D lock though. After about 10-15 of fruitless effort we managed to get through the rubber sheath on the lock.

My main concern was that someone had put the lock on hoping that I would go home and leave the bike locked there; leaving them free to come back in the early hours of the morning and nick it. This thought didn't leave me with a good feeling about giving up on cutting the lock, even though it seemed pointless.

As we were struggling away a guy comes up to collect his bike which is locked up near mine (not on the same rail). He realises that his bike isn't locked up.

Somehow he managed to put his bike in the rack and then put his lock onto a completely different bike. Mine.

There were embarrassed apologies and statements of relief then we all went our separate ways.

I have come away with increased respect for the staff at St Albans station. Everyone there was very polite and helpful. Much kudos.

Now back to your normal bitter and cynical programming...

The Journey Home.

So I'm on my way back.

The problems started last night.  When we verified the flight info we realised that we had got the times wrong and that instead of needing to be at the airport at 5 for an 8am flight the flight was actually due to depart at 6am, so we had to be there at 3am for check-in.

The alarm went off no problem at 1:45. Lex was fast asleep but I gave him a hug anyway and took a picture. We got to the airport dead on 3:00.  We found the check in desk which hadn't opened and I joined the queue.

My flight (AK415 to Dubai) was actually the first departure of the day which meant no built up delays or holding patterns; however it also meant that most of the shops in the food court and duty free hadn't opened yet.  We managed to find a pie shop and said our tearful goodbyes.

Once through security I found that there was even less open in duty free than there was in the main concourse.  So it was time to sit and wait at the gate.

While waiting I thought I would avail myself of the airport wifi only to find that SYD has no free airport wifi. After recent experiences in LHR, PRG and DXB this was a bit of a shock.

I still had some data allowance left on my Optus PAYG though so posted a couple of status updates and pictures with that.

I am currently sat in a 777-200. Not quite as roomy as the A380 we arrived in and the woman next to me has wandering elbows but I got some headphones from an attendant (Taking quite a while because they were preparing breakfast and not paying much attention to the call lights) and plugged into the excellent "ICE" entertainment system provided by Emirates.

A quick word on ICE.  I managed to crash my terminal on the way out which was annoying for a while but became quite interesting when system did a watchdog reboot and revealed that the system is based around RedHat Linux.

Hats off to Emirates for a pretty cool touch screen X windows interface with custom controller.

The USB doesn't recognise my G1 as a mass storage device though so while I can charge it in flight (and write this post) I can't listen to my own music selection.  There are a couple of new movies since last time though so I should be able to keep myself occupied.

Well lunch was a serious disappointment.  A nice grill for breakfast and then lunch is a single snack sized pie.  Just enough to get me hungry :( It is going to be a long time until dinner...

Damn. Nearly 11 hours into the flight (5pm by my body clock) they finally bring out lunch. And immediately take it back to be stowed away while we go through turbulence.  I need food! My gut is being eaten from the inside since the mini pie 5 hours ago.

2 hours to go.  Food has finally been served and although it wasn't really anything special (veg ravioli) it has finally calmed the heartburn.  Will soon be in dubai where I can post this entry and try and get hold of Charlotte.

Not sure if I'll have many movies to choose from by that point.

Will be good to change planes. Although I have a window seat on the next one which will probably be a squash. At least at the moment I can lean into the aisle. Even if it does mean leaning toward the bogan with his feet resting on the armrest of the guy in front.

Merry Christmas Commuters

Christmas eve is not a public holiday here in the UK. Sure there are plenty of people with the day off but many of us still need to get to work on time.

For the past few days the 7:44 has been advertised as having 8 cars then arriving with 4. The 7:18 has been cancelled the past 2 days. 7:32 was cancelled this morning and from memory its not the first time this week. The 7:44 was advertised as being on time up until 7:45. Then suddenly its running 15 minutes late? Wtf?

So I'm on the 7:50. Now to see what time I arrive at West Hampstead so I can get off the wind up version and onto a real train to complete the journey...

Platform Ping-pong

Damn. My rant has been deflated just as I was starting it...

Arrived in Wet Hamster just after 18:00. Board reporting that the 17:36 was due at 18:29.  I learnt my lesson yesterday and didn't assume that I would have time to grab some food.

Today's picture shows the crowd on the footbridge.  Many people have learnt how much they can trust the boards and wait until they can see the train before commiting to a platform.

So at 18:19 a train pulls into platform 4. I can see it is full, as are the platform and the stairs.  I don't even make it past the top step before the train pulls away at 18:22.

Just afterwards (within a minute) a train arrives on platform 2.  Of course platform 2 has just been drained by people trying unsuccesfully trying to get the train that just left.  I am towards the front of the crowd when I get down to the platform and even manage to get on the train quick enough to snag the last seat in the carriage.

As I write we are stood still after having just left the platform with no clues when we might move, but I'm in the warm and have a seat which is pretty good going.

While I'm waiting I'll backtrack a little.  I have been checking the live departure boards online which I hoped would give me an edge.  The boards at the station had been disabled and were just displaying an "Dear flock, our trains are screwed.  Wait patiently like the sheep you are." message.  The online info wasn't looking quite so bleak.

Tonight's excuse?  A broken down train at Farringdon stopping all through London services.  Yes, that's right, a single faulty train has managed to bring one of the busiest commuter lines to a standstill. Again.

Has it been snowing recently? Not for nearly 24 hours.  This must be another case of a train with a leak. This is England.  This is outside.  Wet should be standard procedure.

I did a bit of research earlier.  The injury claim vultures reckon that neglecting to grit in stations, carparks, etc is a carcass worth circling around. There are long standing regulations that can be leveraged for litigation. The grit embargo on the platforms has the potential to blow up in their faces but no matter how much I want them to suffer, there are two problems: people would need to slip badly enough to get hurt and any penalties they pay would end up coming out of the cattle's pockets.

Back in st albans at 19:00. Amazing how such a screwed up system can get me back home so quickly.

Is there a right kind of Snow?

 

Aaah, the joys of rail travel in the Snow.

What excuses did they roll out this time? Broken down trains. Signalling faults. Translation: "Our kit is worn out and isn't waterproof any more".

Overall this morning wasn't actually too bad. Sure the train was running late, and was tremendously overcrowded. At Elstree there was a guy who had taken all he could of waiting in the snow and physically forced his way onto the train. Uncomfortable for those of us already aboard, but I can understand his frustration. It took 20 minutes to go two stops; however when I finally got into Canary Wharf I found that I was actually back on schedule and wasn't late into the office at all. Bit of a result really.

Then comes the trip back.

Around 4:30, when the snow was coming down hard again, the boss gave us an out, so I was a little early leaving. I had a phone call to make on the way to the station so didn't wear my gloves. By the time I got across the footbridge and indoors my fingers had pretty much seized up. When I got down onto the Jubilee Line platform the crowd was immediately apparent. I considered changing at London Bridge and getting the Northern line up to St Pancake but decided against that. It turns out that was a good plan, as I saw a little while later on Twitter that London Bridge station was closed for safety reasons due to overcrowding.

So I got the Jubilee straight through to Wet Hamster. Arrived at the Thameslink station to see a board full of delays (surprise!). There was about half an hour to the next departure northbound according to the board so I grabbed myself a kebab while I was waiting.

The board had said the train was due at 18:28. I got there 10 minutes before that to see a train on the platform and ready to leave. Annoyance one: The primary source of information for the cattle/product (previously known as people) on the station is the information board. It would be nice if the delay predictions were based on reality rather than guesswork. FCC arrival times are similar to Windows file transfer estimates and seem to have no connection to actual events. Sure I will be pissed about the delays either way, but if the time estimates on the boards are accurate at least it gives me a chance to do something other than wait around on a freezing cold platform.

The next one on the board was due at 18:58. I settled in for a long cold wait on platform two. Annoyance two: I am not sure whether this is true or not. When I tweeted a few days back about a lack of gritting on the platform causing me to slip on ice, someone I know informed me that current health and safety guidelines are to not use grit on walkways. The reasoning being that if you grit then people expect the surface to be ice free (and presumably are able to sue you if you have missed a bit). Whether this is the reason or not, I have not seen any gritting of rail platforms taking place this year. I can see how some H&S womble may come up with this sort of reasoning; however when I have to regularly walk along long lengths of rail platform covered in compacted snow and ice I find it hard to believe that this is in any way better for the end user. Personally I always wear military issue combat boots which have decent traction on most surfaces. Sheet ice causes problems but I rarely slip on the compacted snow. Watching other people in smooth leather soled slip ons shows that other people don't have it so easy.

About 15 minutes later I notice a train pull in behind me at platform 4. No announcement was made until the train was already at the platform. Take this last minute alteration alongside the state of the platforms and you have a scene reminiscent of a Japanese game show. 200 frozen commuters must walk 200 yards across ice to reach their train and then see how well they can convince people already on the train to sacrifice their personal space. No thanks. Annoyance three: last minute platform alterations. Are we supposed to believe that the control centre don't know which platform the trains are going to end up at? That they just can't be arsed to inform the station staff so that they can make an announcement? Or are the station staff up in the box waiting until the last minute to announce the change so they can get a laugh watching the chaos?

So after letting that train go, I decide that waiting on the platform is a bad idea. I make my way back to the footbridge and settle in midway between platforms 3 and 4. The boards show the next train arriving on 4, but I have lost all confidence. More and more people gather on 4 and I start to think I should get down there so I can be sure of squeezing on. I hold out on the bridge with a number of other people (there are enough of us waiting up there that there is little chance of people getting past and onto the platform). A few minutes after the train was due on platform 4 it finally shows up. On platform 2. Again the announcement is only made as the train is pulling into the station and the boards are updated at about the same time. My gamble paid off this time and I am one of the first couple of dozen down onto the platform. The train is already running full but there is enough room for me to squeeze on. I thought I was going to be one of the last but then some of the people from platform 4 arrive and decide enough is enough. There is a sudden push and I find myself propped at a 30 degree angle as my body is forced forward while my legs are stopped by some luggage in the aisle. I manage to retain my balance and after a couple of minutes people manage to jiggle about and while I am still pushed up against a metal pole, I am at least upright. One of the spearhead of shovers jokes "it will get better after Elstree"... which is about 6 stops away at this point.

After one of the most crowded train journeys I have had on an overground service (I have had worse on the underground though) I finally get off at St Albans only about half an hour later than usual. Which given that I left nearly 30 minutes early certainly isn't a good trip; however it isn't that bad either.

I have voluntarily let trains go past, so am not entitled to any compensation. I have heard that FCC may give 5 free trip scratch cards as a compensation measure when season ticket holders renew. There are not many details of this scheme available yet. Given that I am off to Australia on Jan 1st, and will not be renewing my season ticket until around the 20th, I doubt there will be much chance of seeing one of these cards.

Bringing Contextual Advertising into Real Life

OK.  So I'm standing at Wet Hamster zoned out waiting for my delayed (surprise) train when I realise what I'm looking at.  An ad for Google Chrome.

I love Chrome.  In development circles chrome refers to all the fancy bells and whistles in the user interface.  All the bells and whistles that Google have got rid of in their bare bones lightning fast browser.

Given that Chrome's promise (which it delivers) is speed, it seems ironic that this ad has been put on the platform of the worst performing train franchise in th UK.  The first thought is ironic coincidence, then the next thought is "what if this is deliberate?".  We are used  to stupid billboards. Any relevance is purely coincidental.  But this is Google. These guys know a scary amount about who we are, what we like and where we live.  These are the guys that put personally targeted advertising in front of us every day.  These are the one company in the world that I feel actually have the smarts to be behind a conspiracy theory.

If they have deliberately put these ads up on First Capital Connect platforms to target pissed off commuters experiencing real world delays every day, providing us with a promise of reduced delays in the virtual world, then I salute them.

Hats off to you Google.  You are the smartest guys around.  My earlier tweet "Google: pumping shit into the intertubes and seeing what sticks" is intended as a compliment.  Google foster innovation and produce good ideas at the speed of light.  Many of them fail, but some do not and if that leads to gmail, maps, reader, wave, etc then I say Bravo.