Onion van man

[quote user="Gyn_Paul"]But all the rest is hearsay, or 'news' as the Daily Mail would call it. [/quote] It is hearsay as such from what was written but, It does make me wonder if there was any truth in it why could they take it?  Anyway, Everyone here seems to have confirmed what I thought.

[quote user="Bob T"]These stories always start with a friend of a friend, or I read it on the net so it must be true. [/quote] Well, I wondered myself but, I do know that radar detectors are illegal in France.

Here http://static.forum.rac.co.uk/showthread.php?t=11641

I have just been reading about someone from the UK that was on holiday / travelling through France and had their Tomtom confiscated, Is this possible and on what grounds ?

Well done Ernie. Very swiftly done! Reminds me of my MGB, Can't believe its 15 years since I sold it [:'(]

[quote user="ErnieY"]I have been using ROBOFORM PW Manager for about 3 years and find it indispensible. There is also a Portable version which you can install onto a USB stick and carry around with you. [/quote] I use this and find it pretty good too. You can do the 30 day trial and after that I think it limits you to 10 passwords IIRC. Unless of course you pay the fee. As Ernie said you can have a portable version and it cleans all traces of details from the machine when you remove the USB pen, Which is very useful if you are using someone elses machine i.e. Internet cafe etc.

For an OSK to work it sends an event message to the program that requires the text, almost all keyloggers can read the text sent in event messages from one program to another. Also, some keylogger programs have screen shot recorders too. As Ernie said a password manager is a good way to go.

I can't see them ever getting a Certificate of Conformity for european use.  Even if they did, you can be certain that the price would be increased for us europeans. Anyway we already have a small pathetic car like that, Its called the Chevrolet Matiz ! Our local vauxhall dealer did a deal a while back, If you bought a top of the range Astra you got a Matiz for free to go with it!

[quote user="Maricopa"].......No one ever complains about Onion man van using the same software?  Although that is normally completely wrong as well.[:P][/quote] I have removed it from my signature after being alerted to people being unhappy about it, I'm sorry if anyone felt that it was an invasion of their privacy.

well, I knew you would like it Ernie once you had tried it! I'm surprised that you had not been using it during the MS Beta tester trials. I had a Beta version of Vista about a year ago and although it was not perfect at that time it was interesting to try. MS don't advertise the Beta testers program, so most people are completely unaware of its existance. I still can't decide which version of Vista would suit be best and then do I go 64bit or 32bit ? Too many choices.

I believe it is not so much the laws governing old vehicles but, more to do with cost. The Shaken starts on a cars third birthday and is then every 2 years after that. The Shaken (Japan's equivalent of CT/MOT) is very expensive as it includes a compulsory insurance and a weight tax, It costs between 437 and 874 GBP plus the cost of any remedial work needed for the car to pass the inspection. How many people would want to spend more than a cars worth or even half of it's value on a compulsory inspection ?

[quote user="f1steveuk"]Many of the bargains listed on Ebay are Japanese imports. The way they work there is that hardly anyone drives a car over 2 years old, and so a trade has developed bringing low milage Japanese cars to the UK. There are differences some times (MR2s with smaller dia brake discs) but most are exactly as the UK without underseal and a different name. [/quote] Well, that is interesting. It's amazing how many stories there are about Japanese second hand vehicle exports. Used Japanese cars is something that I have been involved in and I can assure you that most Jap imports brought to the UK are nearer to 10 years old. I would agree that they do give excellent value for money and now the car manufacturers are more willing to supply spare parts for them which makes life a lot easier than in the early days of grey imports. They can be a pain to get insurance on and for home market cars, workshop manuals are hard to obtain and are only in Japanese at best.

175Nm is the correct torque for the rear hub nut.

[quote user="ErnieY"]Didn't realise that OVM, rather unusual for such things these days. Why I wonder, to save $0.1 ? [/quote] It seems strange to me too but, It is probably so that you have to buy a complete PSU if the cable gets damaged. (or so they think [;-)])

[quote user="ErnieY"]I'd much rather pay for one of THESE @ £2.98 [;-)][/quote] That won't work with the Wii. The mains cable is hard wired into the power supply. Those adaptors I showed can be found cheaper with a quick google. They are very well made and incorporate a fuse.

[quote]Just for information. the Wii just bought from Super-U comes with a moulded-on 2 pin mains plug and no sign of any UK adaptor in the box.  It needs a UK plug or a travel adaptor to work in the UK. [/quote] You can get very neat adaptors like this

It is only you that can see the information on your PC.

[quote user="Alan Zoff"] Just to demonstrate my ignorance, what does the message mean in the box at the end of your post, Onion Van Man, apparently from Danasoft.com? [/quote] It does not actually do anything apart from tell you what your IP address, Operating system and Browser are.  It's good to make people security aware though.

[quote user="pcwhizz"] Oh and never buy a cheap PSU, you get what you pay for as with all things, cheap PSUs are just that.  You'll be replacing  it again just out of warranty and a cheapy will probably fail taking out other hardware. [/quote] I agree, Cheap PSU's are not worth considering. Apart from taking half your system with them when they blow up, They are always claimed to be a much higher rating than they actually are i.e. marked 500W means just about 350W. As for noisy fans, the smaller they are the more noise they make. If you have a Northbridge fan change it for a Zalman heatsink and a 120mm fan mounted on a bracket to supply an airflow in the case. The Akasa amber/orange fans are cheap and quiet. If your PSU's internal fan is noisy you can change them, Just be careful as those large capacitors hold a charge for a long time.

For some strange reason they are in very short supply in the UK. People have been selling them on Ebay for well over £300 even though the RRP is £179-99. There is one internet retailer that has somehow managed to get supplies of them and has sold them very quickly for £296. Get your trailer loaded up Ernie and be prepared for the rush of people desperate to buy them.

[quote user="Kalyn Computers"]As Timco has said, you can re-register if you go through a couple of hoops, I do it at least once a week on behalf of my customers, more often during the storm season when bits get fried and systems have to be rebuilt with new motherboards or hard disks.[/quote] Thats normal isn't it ? If you get a replacement motherboard or even in some cases just updating the BIOS will cause the need to re-activate. [quote user="Kalyn Computers"]What is technically illegal is to buy an OEM copy of, e.g. XP home and then re-use it when you buy a new computer, but in practice, how can Microsoft stop this happening? When you install XP, an inventory is done of certain parts in the computer, motherboard type, CPU type, hard disk suze and type, whether there is a network card or not. This data in then used to generate the activation code which is used for the registration. Everytime the computer boots, the inventory is checked. If it changes, you may be asked to re-activate. In practice the MS EULA (End User Licence Agreement) is unenforceable in the EU and I don't think MS has ever tried to prosecute someone for re-using an OEM version of XP on a new computer.[/quote] They might not enforce it with a fist of iron but, its still against the EULA and its still illegal use of the software. The problem is the rate at which hardware changes makes a 'grey' area. Say for example a motherboard failure, the exact model of motherboard you had is no longer available so straight away your in  the 'grey' area. They can't argue that your upgrading or even if its the same machine so they will issue  you with a re-activation code and just because they have still does not make it legal.

[quote user="tel"]Hi, Just for info.  (UK only I am afraid)  If you build or upgrade your own P.C. you can buy an O.E.M. version of the operating system.   The cost differences are worth it. i.e.  Microsoft Vista Home Premium - O.E.M. £64.61  -- Retail £219.99 (PC World- the last place I would consider buying anything)  I would never recommend using an Upgrade version as it can cause so many problems, clean install only. The definition of O.E.M software. OEM Software When in the context of software it means that the software is sold only with a certain piece of hardware and/or the software manufacturer provides no technical support. You will also find that OEM software usually doesn't come with a manual (or a box), if it's software you are experienced in using then having no manual won't be a problem, although most OEM software does still come with the built-in help system. The price difference between OEM software and full retail software can be huge, so if having no box, no manual and no technical support is not a problem then it can be a bargain. [/quote] Don't forgot that OEM is also locked to use on the first machine it was installed on, So if you upgrade your motherboard you need to buy another OEM version to be legal. Its part of the OEM EULA that it can only be used on one machine ever (non- transferable)!  Retail versions are expensive but, can be reinstalled on any number of different machines as long as its been removed from the previous machine (its transferable). There is also the support issue, OEM versions are not supported directly by Microsoft other than online help. IMHO I would go for the OEM version everytime. you could buy 3 OEM versions of home premium for the price of retail (approx. £185 if you shop around)

[quote user="LyndaandRichard"] I used my old xp disk on it and it works a treat. Why can't you use your old xp os onto any new pc you buy? [/quote] Because if your old 'XP' os is an OEM version you will be breaking the contract you made with Microsoft under the EULA. In short "OEM versions can only be used with the machine they were bought with. In general they class the motherboard as the heart of the machine for this contract."

[quote user="spg"][quote user="Onion van man"]Even WPA can be cracked in a matter of minutes. Usually within the first 4 packets of data transfer or so. [/quote] But presumably you have to have a strong signal from the wifi spread over a reasonable area for you to be able to intercept any data at all. The wifi signal from my Livebox only transmits over a short distance outside the house, certainly not as far as the garden gate or nearest hedge. So, am I right in thinking I am safe with WEP/WPA in these circumstances? Concerned of Morbihan [/quote] I think its like everything, You have to be realistic and do the best you can. Use the best encrytion your devices offer, Use a good length complex key (there are some good key gens you can download to help you), Use MAC filtering, Don't broadcast your SSID and reduce the range so it just gives you a full signal where you need it. I live in a built up area and I can find several unsecured wifi connections, Unless someone has a specific interest in you or your info I would think they would go for easier prey. As has been said, Objects metalic or otherwise can reduce signal strength.

Even WPA can be cracked in a matter of minutes. Usually within the first 4 packets of data transfer or so.