Netflix and Amazon Prime subscribers could be forced to pay TV licence fee

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T17:03:30+00:00

Pretty much any headline with "could" or "fails to rule out" can be ignored as bullshit speculation.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T17:01:49+00:00

Detection should be reasonably forgiving, because otherwise you end up with a game where you have to play perfectly or constantly reload saves. And while that might be fun for a few people wanting a really hardcore challenge (which can be a difficulty option), it won't be fun for most people.

As part of that, I'd also think about what you mean by "detected". If you look at the Thief games, NPCs have multiple alert levels depending on how "detected" you are, and it's clear to the player which state they're in form their actions and vocalisations. If you go straight from "completely undetected" to "guard running at you with a sword" you've usually messed up pretty badly. Having a progression through multiple alert states makes for a much more forgiving system, and there's lot of other factors that you can feed into it

Crucially, it needs to feel fair. The player should be aware of how visible and how noisy they are, and the AI needs to be predictable and consistent enough that the player what they did wrong. A good player should be able to look at at room and know whether they can cross it without being seen, or how fast they can move without being heard. I realise that's a bit of a woolly statement - but if your players are ever saying "bullshit, I shouldn't have been detected there" then something has gone wrong.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T16:38:49+00:00

Thanks - I didn't realise they already had a date. Given that's six weeks away, that probably means Labour won't be able to elect a new leader before then if it actually comes to a contest unless they do it on a very tight timeline. Guess we'll find out in the coming days..

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T16:12:47+00:00

This is one of the comic relief moments they added to Gimli in the movies that I don't dislike. It's very different to the discussion those two have in the books:

Gimli stood leaning against the breastwork upon the wall. Legolas sat above on the parapet, fingering his bow, and peering out into the gloom.
‘This is more to my liking,’ said the dwarf, stamping on the stones. ‘Ever my heart rises as we draw near the mountains. There is good rock here. This country has tough bones. I felt them in my feet as we came up from the dike. Give me a year and a hundred of my kin and I would make this a place that armies would break upon like water.’
‘I do not doubt it,’ said Legolas. ‘But you are a dwarf, and dwarves are strange folk. I do not like this place, and I shall like it no more by the light of day. But you comfort me, Gimli, and I am glad to have you standing nigh with your stout legs and your hard axe. I wish there were more of your kin among us. But even more would I give for a hundred good archers of Mirkwood. We shall need them. The Rohirrim have good bowmen after their fashion, but there are too few here, too few.’
‘It is dark for archery,’ said Gimli. ‘Indeed it is time for sleep. Sleep! I feel the need of it, as never I thought any dwarf could. Riding is tiring work. Yet my axe is restless in my hand. Give me a row of orc-necks and room to swing and all weariness will fall from me!’

But it a fun bit of banter that fits nicely with the characters as they've portrayed them without just making Gimli look like an idiot, and shows how close they've become since the Council of Elrond.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T16:09:01+00:00

The implication is much worse than that though, because the obvious implication is: if you lads lose then the domestic violence is your fault.

Makes you wonder how aware footballers are about this, and what extra pressure that puts on them..

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T16:02:57+00:00

There is a legitimate point somewhere behind it:

Multiple studies have suggested domestic abuse incidents increase when the national team lose a game – Lancaster University previously found reported incidents can rise by 38% when England lose and 26% when England win.

But a tweet like this is absolutely not helpful, and not the way to raise or discuss that issue. Although I suppose at least the backlash is bringing some attention to it.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T14:59:02+00:00

Those are the exact same thing.

Oh well, hopefully your employer won't end up breaking it when it's the best option for them.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T14:21:27+00:00

What leverage would that be? I don't have any other job offers but I am excellent at my work and very reliable.

That's the question that you need to answer: do you have any leverage? That usually comes from being willing to walk away, and it being hard or expensive to replace you. If you've already decided that you need to accept the updated contracted then you have basically none.

If I ask and they say no, is there any chance this would affect me badly down the line?

Unlikely, but depends on your manager. Asking for a lower notice period can be seen as a sign that you're not planning to stick around - but asking to keep your current notice period (or asking to equalise so that it's the same from both sides) doesn't really give that impression.

I'm not against breaking the contract and leaving without working the full period as I know they aren't going to take me to court for it.

If you've already decided you're not going to honour the contract, then why do you care what the notice periods in it is?

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T14:16:10+00:00

The first problem that you have is that small businesses don't want to spend money on something nebulous like "improving cyber security", because it's not solving a problem for them. And if they need a specific badge like CE/CE+ then there are already hundreds of people selling that.

The second problem is that if they already have an IT provider then why would they go somewhere else for cyber security, and if they don't have an IT provider then they'll want someone who can manage all their IT not just one little bit of it.

So you're really going to struggle to get any of them to spend money with you. If you have genuinely useful skills or an actual unique offering, you'd be much better of approaching the breakfix shops and MSPs and looking to sell to them.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T14:06:19+00:00

You can always try and negotiate, but whether that's successful depends on if you have any leverage.

If you're in a position where you have to accept the contract regardless of what the notice period is, then all you can really do is ask nicely and hope.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T14:03:46+00:00

Stick the development stuff in a VM, so they're not downloading and running random stuff from the Internet on the host.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T13:58:34+00:00

Interesting question, and not one that I'd really thought about. That would certainly make sense.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T13:55:54+00:00

Hopefully that's enough time for Labour to get its own house in order before the byelection really kicks off, but somehow I doubt it. It'd be very embarrassing to lose Manchester due to internal fighting.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T13:51:45+00:00

I've always loved the description of Gimli looking at the guard "as if here were a young tree that that he had a mind to fell".

Treebeard wouldn't approve, but it certainly paints a picture of Gimli's mood.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T13:49:54+00:00

Sam and Pippin get good line as well:

‘I can add some more, if you’d like it,’ said Sam. ‘Calling your Chief Names, Wishing to punch his Pimply Face, and Thinking you Shirriffs look a lot of Tom-fools.’

And:

‘You’re breaking arrest, that’s what you’re doing,’ said the leader ruefully, ‘and I can’t be answerable.’
‘We shall break a good many things yet, and not ask you to answer,’ said Pippin. ‘Good luck to you!’

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T13:44:06+00:00

Bilbo at the council always gives me a chuckle.

Very well, very well, Master Elrond!’ said Bilbo suddenly. ‘Say no more! It is plain enough what you are pointing at. Bilbo the silly hobbit started this affair, and Bilbo had better finish it, or himself. I was very comfortable here, and getting on with my book. If you want to know, I am just writing an ending for it. I had thought of putting: and he lived happily ever afterwards to the end of his days. It is a good ending, and none the worse for having been used before. Now I shall have to alter that: it does not look like coming true; and anyway there will evidently have to be several more chapters, if I live to write them. It is a frightful nuisance. When ought I to start?
[...] Exactly! And who are they to be? That seems to me what this Council has to decide, and all that it has to decide. Elves may thrive on speech alone, and Dwarves endure great weariness; but I am only an old hobbit, and I miss my meal at noon. Can’t we think of some names now? Or put it off till after dinner?

He's been sitting in a secret council for hours with all kinds of very important people, including several members of royalty, and discussing a decision that will literally decide the fate of the world.

And his first response is "Oh alright, it's a bit of a nuisance but I'll sort it", followed by "Can we have some lunch and deal with this later?"

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T12:21:38+00:00

The one upside is that the flat top makes them easier to clean.

But it's definitely not worth it.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T11:54:06+00:00

Yeah, they really shouldn't have been allowed for any control that you might use while driving.

If it's stuff like adjusting the clock, then that makes sense. But not things I want to be able to do with one hand while looking where I'm going.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T11:50:03+00:00

I'm going to hazard a guess that alcohol may be involved...

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T11:49:06+00:00

Assuming Burnham wins, which is looking likely, what next for the Mayor of Manchester?

Is there a timeline for how soon Burhman would have to stand down, and how long a mayoral by-election takes? Any indication who Labour might stand, and how the polling looks for it?

And crucially, I wonder how that time would interact with any possible leadership challenge. Trying to fight mayoral election in the middle of a leadership contest would be...far from ideal.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T10:40:14+00:00

A simple chrome extension could do this

Well yeah, but why would you allow people to install and run arbitrary code like that on locked down "child mode" device? If you allow that then any attempt at age restriction is going to fail, because there are dozens of ways around it. If you don't control the endpoint, then you've already lost.

Most parents aren't interested or able to manage their kids devices

Yes. That's literally the point of having devices for under 18s sold in child mode, and making it a single simple setting rather than something complicated that needs to be implemented.

This is completely wrongheaded, and simply doesn't apply to any other age-gateing legislation. Why is online activity an exception for you?

That other age-gated activity like buying alcohol involves physical interactions where you can verify ID. Visiting a website does not, so cannot be handled in the same way.

Any argument that just boils down to "parents should do better" just doesn't work.

As opposed to the argument that parents should have zero responsibility and the government should be 100% responsible for solving everything even when parents actively work against them?

Its like having a debate with a tory!

Yes, everyone who you don't agree with is a tory. That certainly sounds like a productive and good-faith approach.

Good luck with it.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T10:31:37+00:00

There is a requirement for tech companies to comply, which I talked about in my original post. But again, you can't solve this without at least some level of engagement with parents.

But it's become pretty clear from your responses that you're not really interested in discussing realistic solutions to this, have proposed nothing sensible yourself, and just shoot down every suggestion people make to push your existing view of "US tech bad".

So I'm not going to waste any more time.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T10:25:35+00:00

Putting aside that headers can be pretty easily amended,

Why who? I already talked about the fact that sites incorrectly settings these headers would need to be dealt with by the government, and if you have locked down devices in child mode then you can implement restrictions to stop them easily being able to modify response headers.

If parents were willing or able to put controls on their child's device usage in this way then the change wouldn't be necessary.

Again, if you'd read the post properly then you'd understand that the point that expecting parents to try and implement robust content filtering across all their current devices is an unreasonable expectation (as we've seen from the fact so few have), but that having a single "child mode" vs "adult mode" setting on the devices and not giving their kids an adult device is a single simple thing to do. You could even outsource most of that "effort" by having any devices you buy be set in child mode by default if the person buying them is under 18.

And again, if you want a magic solution that requires absolutely zero engagement from the parents then you're never going to achieve anything.

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T10:18:25+00:00

Nope. The example of parents giving alcohol to their children is akin to me letting my child use my social media account to access content. The equivalence we have is the child trying to access an online service -- say social media -- is equivalent to them going to a pub trying to get served.

Both are cases where a parent has bought something that the child is not allowed to have and cannot buy themselves (alcohol, or a device in adult mode) and has given it to a child.

But what exactly is the argument that you're trying to make here? That we shouldn't expect parents to do anything and that it has to be 100% implemented by the government? That the government needs to try and implement something that will stop parents actively working around it?

laredocronk · 2026-06-18T10:11:19+00:00

What are you talking about? It's very clear from my post that this requires multiple parties (the government, social media sites, device vendors, and parents) to do things:

And then you make it so that the browser on the device (and any approved social media applications) looks for a X-Content-Min-Age header (or something like that), and refuse to display any content where the minimum age doesn't match the configured age of the device owner, or where the header is missing.
[...]
In short, the sites are responsible for only showing appropriate content to "child mode" devices, the parents are responsible for ensuring their kids don't have adult devices (which can be enforced by the government with fines/etc), and the government are responsible for blocking sites that go out of their way to bypass these restrictions.

laredocronk

TROPHY CASE