Readers’ comments
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Fire in the hole
Lee Grant’s column ( see issue 321, p114) and Philip Le Riche’s letter ( see issue 322, p24) about data destruction reminded me of an incident a few years ago.
Looking for my next IT job, I was talking to another candidate while waiting for my interview. We got around to data destruction and he described a project he’d been involved with for the Ministry of Defence (MOD). It was looking for ways to irretrievably delete the data on computer drives in the command and control vehicles, should it look like the position was going to be overrun. It spent a great deal of money writing routines and then finding ways to reverse the destruction. In every case, given the time available and some forensic attention afterwards, most of the data could be recovered.
In the end, the team presented its solution to the MOD: blow it up! In the final implementation, it wasn’t as spectacular as it sounds – these were the days of large platters, platters so a small ll amount of plastic explosive explos in the casing of the drive was enough en to shatter the platters.
It just goes to show, sometimes the simplest solutions are the fastest and best.
Regarding Jonathan Bray’s Bray review of the DJI Air 2S ( see issue 322, p74) ) and the le legal issues mentioned, his comments co might have given readers the wrong impression regarding flying restrictions.
Leaving aside the particular flying restrictions mentioned with regard to closeness to people, infrastructure, no-fly zones and so on, the CAA Drone and Model Aircraft Code ( register-drones.caa. co.uk/drone-code) states that it’s against the law to fly a drone without having the required IDs. These will generally fall into two Stuar t Daley Pre-flight checks classes, which at present, with few drones having class marks, is delineated by flying weight.
If your drone has a flying weight of under 250g and a camera, you’ll need an operator ID, which is issued annually for £9. If your drone is under 250g and doesn’t have a camera, you don’t need this operator ID.
If the drone is over 250g – which the DJI Air 2S is at 595g – the flyer will need both an operator ID and a flyer ID. The latter is free and lasts for five years, but you have to pass an online test to get this ID.
It’s important that anyone who is considering buying a drone is aware of the new laws, as fines can be issued. If anything serious happens – such as injury to third persons or damage – you could receive a prison sentence.
All of the information regarding the legal aspects and how to obtain the required IDs is contained in the link mentioned above. Colin Lloyd
Jonathan Bray replies: Thanks, Colin. We have previously covered the current laws regarding operator and flyer IDs at length, but you’re quite right to call attention to them. In the review, I was talking about the laws that come in at the beginning of 2023, which will restrict what you can do with this drone, unless it’s retrospectively classified.
A notspot of bother
I read Barry Collins’ article about “The Great British Switch-Off” ( see issue 322, p36) with a slightly uneasy feeling in my stomach. Like many hobbyist IT support people, I worry for the elderly.
My grandparents live in North Wales in the middle of nowhere. Despite repeated sales calls from BT saying they can sign them up to the latest and fastest broadband deals,
when the Openreach engineer comes visiting and sees how far from nearest exchange they are, he shakes his head in amazement that anyone even tried to sell them broadband.
The last engineer who came got a 87Kbits/sec download speed, which is below the 0.5Mbits/sec advertised by BT for the basic landline package.
A few years ago, I got them a grant through the Access Broadband Cymru scheme to install a satellite broadband connection. This has many limits and constraints, but it serves the function of very basic internet browsing.
I once attempted to connect a VoIP phone over this connection, but the delay was so bad that this solution had to be abandoned. The area also has no mobile coverage whatsoever.
Progress and innovation must occur, but I just wish it didn’t result in me having to scramble around for alternate half-baked solutions, which I then have to explain to people who are still amazed when the printer connects to their laptop wirelessly. Reuben Clarke Telephony MOT
Barry Collins’ recent article ( see issue
322, p36) about the evolution of the UK’s ageing copper-based telephone service, and what will be happening as we approach the 2025 change over to an IP-based system, was great. An Openreach engineer informed me that a lot of the local deployment will be done by reusing the existing ducts and poles to cut down on the amount of digging, making it cheaper and easier.
If your business is moving to a new premises in an urban area, the majority of the new installs won’t be copper but will be full fibre to the premises (FTTP). I found this out after taking my car to my local garage for a minor repair. The garage was in the midst of moving and it was told this by Openreach, so I got the following question from the owner: “You know about computers. How do we get a workshop bell to ring when we get a call?” There seems to be few of these about so we wired a car horn to the new phone’s ringing tone speaker.
The next problem was the card machine, although this is one that has already been solved many years ago: just ask your card machine provider for a Wi-Fi version or for one with an Ethernet port on it. The garage owner only charged me for parts for the repair as he reckoned our labour cost was the same. Michael Ashworth