Pyjamanating

Save the Internet

Originally uploaded by Squirmelia

In Australia, the government want to introduce compulsory internet censorship.

Of course we already have this in the UK since 2004

Winter Eurostar Deals from St Pancras to Paris or Brussels

It’s worth checking out Eurostar Deals in the winter for last minute Paris Breaks or shopping trips.

• Choose Paris, Lille Europe or Brussels
• Be flexible with dates and times
• Consider an upgrade to Eurostar Leisure direct

Or it’s always possible to take a few days in Amsterdam by combining Eurostar deals with a further train and hotel package.

Linda asks Am I a crofter now, after coming across the term to depict the new style of worker, aiming for self sufficiency working from home on the internet.

Am I a crofter now? Are you? at Acting to Improve
I agree we need to find a better term for this mixed way of working but for me crofting isn’t it

As you can see, Linda rejects the term crofter because of the special meaning which the word has in Scottish heritage and I agree. Taking a word which means one thing and then using it for something a bit similar but really quite different is a bad thing to do with language.

Forth Bridge

Originally uploaded by Andyrob

This magnificent historic rail bridge spans a wide section of the river Forth just north of Edinburgh. It’s high and long as well as large in structure, with huge stone pylons and massive steel or iron spans under both compression and tension to hold up the railway tracks with long goods trains passing through regularly decade after decade.
This doesn’t exactly dwarf Brunel’s earlier bridge over the Tamar, but it took engineering up to the maximum level for its time.

Looking through some articles about eurostar deals:

How to Find Eurostar Deals for London to Paris by Train

How to Find Eurostar Deals for London to Paris by Train

Eurostar deals take you by high speed train from London to Paris which is ideal for short breaks but it can cost more than the air fare. Tips for booking the best deal Eurostar tickets with or without Hotel reservations included.

Postman Pat delivers MOO cards at MOO Party

Originally uploaded by Andyrob

Moo cards seem to be a pretty good way of promoting an online business in the offline world. People collect them, exchange them, leave them lying about on tables…

But do they ever look a the small print on the back and type in that email address or website url?

I’ve no idea really. It always seems important at the time, but the next day?

Good news for the industry as well as the customers:

Code agreed on broadband ads | Technology | The Guardian
More than 30 broadband providers including BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk have signed up to a voluntary code of conduct designed to prevent consumers being mis-sold high-speed internet access packages.

Broadband advertising has become increasingly controversial because internet service providers ISPs often promote the theoretical maximum speeds achievable on their networks rather than the speed most customers can actually get.

A recent survey by the comparison website Broadband Expert found that actual speeds were often less than half those advertised, leading Ofcom to warn that it was prepared to enforce regulation if the industry did not fall into line. Just this week a further study found that there are also big discrepancies between speeds in large cities and rural areas.

Under the code, ISPs will have to give customers an accurate measure of the speed of their broadband service, offer a lower-speed package if those estimates are inaccurate and help resolve any technical issues slowing down connections. They will also need to give clear information about the limits of services and tell customers if they breach those limits.

Ofcom is also planning a comprehensive survey of broadband speeds as part of an attempt to determine the accuracy of advertising.

The chairwoman of Ofcoms consumer panel, Anna Bradley, welcomed the code, adding that the panel would scrutinise the results of the Ofcom study. “If they show that ISPs are not in compliance, it will clearly be time to call for a mandatory code of practice,” she said.

National Statistics Online – Product – Internet Connectivity
E-commerce is having a huge impact on the way we do business. It can lead to dramatic growth in trade, increase markets, improve efficiency and effectiveness and can transform business processes. ONS developed the Index of Internet Connectivity as part of a package of measures to help monitor the UKs use of the Internet and the growth of e-commerce.

This inquiry surveys a panel of Internet Service Providers ISPs, collecting data on the number and type of active Internet subscriptions. Publication of the index commenced in 2001. The publication shows the change in the overall level of connections to the Internet and also for dial-up and broadband connections separately.

National Work from Home Day is this Thursday, 15th May.

So what do the people who already work from home do to celebrate such a day? Go out and evangelise about the benefits of homeworking perhaps. Or get together for a social event like the Social Media Cafe in London.

Stay at home and make use of the broadband wifi by sitting in the garden and answering the occasional email.

Taking part in National Work From Home Day

Many people can easily do their jobs from home. Apart from enhancing work-life balance for staff, with added health and leisure benefits, and reducing the need to travel, working from home significantly improves productivity, enabling businesses to be more competitive.

Many smarter working practices are very simple to implement, and it is these that organisations are being encouraged to try during Work Wise Week:

* Allowing staff to come in either an hour later or an hour earlier, with a reciprocal hour shift at the end of the day. This would enable staff to avoid the busiest travel times, effectively staggering the rush hour and making the journey far more tolerable for everyone.
* Allowing staff to take a half hour lunch break each day, and then let them leave at 3.00pm on the last day.
* Allowing staff to work from home on Thursday May 15, National Work from Home Day. Even a small reduction in the number of people travelling on the roads or by public transport on that day will have a significant effect on congestion and overcrowding.
* During Work Wise Week, ask staff to cancel all external face-to-face staff meetings, and instead hold them by conference call, either video or telephone. This would save time and resources, and reduce congestion and pollution.
* Where appropriate, allow staff to roster their own shifts during the week.

How Much is a Top Google Ranking Worth to Your Business? : SEO Book.com
In the UK Google not only has nearly 90% of the search market, but – according to Hitwise – Google controls a full 36.55% of the traffic going to UK websites. And, due to how search works, that 36.55% of traffic is generally more targeted and more valuable than the remaining pool of traffic.