Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Come on guys, lets see you admit to some of these 20% and 30% scores.

:-)

72%

A couple looked dubious. Our moon is now technically a planet.

I read the following with curious interest:

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36854292

Where in the world is my data and how secure is it?
By Rob Crossley
Technology of Business reporter
9 August 2016

When Max Schrems, an Austrian privacy activist, requested to see his personal data that Facebook stored on its servers, he was mailed a CD-ROM containing a 1,222-page document.
That file, which would stretch nearly a quarter of a mile if printed and laid end-to-end, offered a glimpse into Facebook's appetite for the private details of its 1.65 billion users.
The information included phone numbers and email addresses of Mr Schrems' friends and family; a history of all the devices he used to log in to the service; all the events he had been invited to; everyone he had "friended" (and subsequently de-friended); and an archive of his private messages.
It even included transcripts of messages he'd deleted.
But Mr Schrems, who says he only used Facebook occasionally over a three-year period, believes a sizeable chunk of information was withheld from him.

(Max Schrems has so far filed two lawsuits against Facebook’s privacy policies)

He received data records for about 50 categories, but believes there are more than 100, he tells the BBC.
"They withheld my facial recognition data, which is a technology that can identify me through my pictures. They don't disclose tracking information either, which is the even creepier stuff they do - things like whether you've read a webpage about a sports car and how long you read it for."
Facebook can even track non-members' internet usage through the use of cookies place on their machines, as a recent legal decision in Belgium confirmed.

Facebook can even track non-members' internet usage

Mr Schrems' experience vividly illustrates the challenges we face in a digital age full of messaging apps, social networks, tailored search engines, email clients, and banking apps, all collecting personal data about us and storing it, somewhere, in the cloud.
But where is all this data exactly, how is it being used, and how secure is it?

The Big Four
More than half of the world's rentable cloud storage is controlled by four major corporations. Amazon is by far the biggest, with about a third of the market share and 13 massive data centres in the US, three in South America, five in Europe, 11 spread across Asia, and three in Australia.
The next three biggest providers are Microsoft, IBM and Google, and each of them adopts a similar global pattern of server farms.

(Prof Dan Svantesson says having data stored in multiple jurisdictions can cause legal issues)

These major public cloud providers habitually duplicate user data across their networks. It means that information uploaded to the cloud in, say, the UK or the US, is likely to be transferred at some point to servers in major cities around the world, from Sydney to Shanghai.
The problem with this, says Prof Dan Svantesson, an internet law specialist at Bond University, Australia, is that "there is always a risk that the country your data goes to doesn't have the same level of protection [as your own].
"If your data ends up in another country, it can be unclear who has access to it, be it network providers or law enforcement," he says.
Benjamin Caudill, a cybersecurity consultant at Rhino Security Labs in Seattle, also has concerns about how this data is distributed.

(Benjamin Caudill believes major cloud providers don’t always know where all your data is stored)

"No-one really quite knows how the sausage is made," says Mr Caudill, whose work includes testing firms' defences though "ethical hacking".
"It's very difficult to understand where your data is stored. A lot of times the companies themselves aren't sure where all the data could reside."
He says a client of his, who was using Microsoft's Azure cloud service, fell victim to a hack - all data and back-ups were deleted.

Google data centre pipes
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Google's data centre in Taiwan is not all computer servers - a lot of cooling is needed too
But after some digging, it emerged that a portion of the lost data had been stored elsewhere on Azure's servers. While that was a relief to Mr Caudill's client, the apparent random nature of data placement across Microsoft's servers didn't fill him with confidence.
"No-one really knows how secure the cloud services are from the major providers," says Mr Caudill, who suspects that "both Amazon and Azure have had major security compromises at some point."
Security breach?
For their part, all the big public cloud providers say security is a priority.
At Google's server facility in South Carolina, for example, guards patrol the doors and employ biometric iris scanners at the entrances to the inner sanctum. Underfloor laser beams detect intruders.
But none would say they've never had security breaches.
Google data centre FinlandImage copyrightGOOGLE
Image caption
Google's data centre in Finland underlines the sheer scale of such facilities
A Microsoft spokesperson told the BBC: "Microsoft has a customer commitment to help safeguard customer data and empower them to make decisions about that data. We recommend customers visit the Microsoft Trust Center to learn more about how their data is managed and kept secure."
Amazon emphasises that customers "retain ownership and control of their content. They choose which location to store their data and it doesn't move unless the customer decides to move it."
This ability to choose which region your data is stored in is proving increasingly popular with firms, particularly in the European Union where the new stringent General Data Protection Regulation is due to come into force in 2018.
Post at your peril
But we consumers often don't have this luxury.
"The data of your Gmail account is absolutely on more than one server. It's absolutely in more than one country," says Prof Svantesson.
But why should we care?

Is duplication of data across multiple sites make hacking more or less likely?
The more of our data that's out there scattered throughout the world, the more vulnerable it is to hackers, argues Mr Caudill - a supposition borne out by the fact that identity fraud is on the rise.
As people continue to upload their digital information online, into a marsh of territorial legal complexities and undisclosed national security protocols, Prof Svantesson offers some practical advice - which many people still do not follow.
"I would suggest never putting anything sensitive on the cloud, such as credit card information, or personal images that you don't want others to see.
"Some things you should just leave to yourself," he advises.

Europe[edit]
Macmillan worked with states outside the European Economic Community (EEC) to form the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which from 3 May 1960 established a free-trade area. Macmillan also saw the value of rapprochement with the EEC, to which his government sought belated entry, but Britain's application was vetoed by French president Charles de Gaulle on 29 January 1963. De Gaulle was always strongly opposed to British entry for many reasons. He sensed the British were inevitably closely linked to the Americans. He saw the EEC as a continental arrangement primarily between France and Germany, and if Britain joined France's role would diminish.[1

Exec , why would anybody use Facebook , if you want to speak to your friends ,pick up the phone . I have never and never will use any social media .

WhatsApp is good for many reasons

44% sec mod school no 0 levels , left school age 15. history my subject, Magna Carta signed 12.15 , not sure what year

Friends send you this kind of stuff when you are on Facebook. I'll share it with you:

Just seen the Speedy Hire RNS from Tosca Fund asking in an open letter for the Chairman to resign as he isn't up to the job basically . Is this a rare thing , wish it was more common personally .

Frederick Forsyth tells us that Tom Hiddleston will not be the next Bond. Quite right, we need a man of the people, a true english gent who we can relate to. Who will never be mistaken as other than english. Who dresses just like us. Ruskies beware. :)

Such class and timeless elegance .

Yes. The dress and appearance, landscaped garden gate and perimeter fencing of a truly successful man (yes, you can tell he is a man from his beard).

Obviously he is a real winner. Someone who can easily command the respect of, not only the political party he leads, but also the country as a whole, as well as other international leaders from around the world.

Forgotten his name for the minute. Damn! Is it Reg? Or Colin? No. Got it! It's Jeremy. Hmmm? I could have sworn it was Reg.

Hope he doesn't trip up over that litter, that might have spilled out of next door's bin. I see there's more of that spilled litter too but it managed to stay put in next door's garden.

Yes, he does need a little better wrapping paper.

Mind the wrapping paper and contents are more often than not thrown away after the party.

But, I suppose, it is what you value.

Tesco value range probably .

Well, that explains it. No wonder the remainders lost.
Do your favourite brands show how divided brexit Britain is?

Top 10 brands: Leave voters

HP Sauce
Bisto
ITV News
The Health Lottery
Birds Eye
Iceland
Sky News
Cathedral City
PG Tips
Richmond sausages

Top 10 brands: Remain voters

BBC.co.uk
BBC iPlayer
Instagram
London Underground
Spotify
Airbnb
LinkedIn
Virgin Trains
Twitter
EasyJet

The Remoaners do have the better brands

Just had a call from the local Merc' garage where my car is in for a 'B' service:

"We have detected a 'warning error' on your dashboard. The error code tells us that the Mass Air Flow Sensor needs replacing. The normal cost for this sensor is £728.90 but Mercedes have offered to pay 'blah blah blah' of this for you which leaves you with £254.65 to find yourself. Would you therefore like us to replace this sensor? The labour charge for this is very small and this job can be done whilst we are servicing the vehicle."

"Hmmm? Well, yes, I suppose you had better go ahead with it then."

Now, I'm an avid watcher of "Wheeler Dealers" so I just wondered if there is an 'after market' availability for this sensor (1) and I also had a look on YouTube to see how hard a job it would be to swap this sensor out (2).

Ans for 1: £54 - £160 depending.

Ans for 2: Hmmm? I might get my hands a bit dirty (Marigolds?) but I reckon a monkey could easily do the swap labour task. On YouTube it looks pretty straightforwards and needs the minimum of tools.

Problem, though: Cancelling the Warning Error on the dashboard. This needs a mechanic with a Code Reading Machine.

Fortunately, I have the car Warrantied with Warranty Direct and only have to pay the first £50. It's just a bit over 3.5 yrs old now and so out of the Merc' Warranty.

Apparently, sometimes these Mass Air Flow Sensors can be cleaned with, say, WD40. I dare bet the Merc' mechanics didn't bother to try that though.

So why post this stuff on here?
Well, my cynical mind is telling me this stuff is all a bit of a scam. What do you think?

dealerships often stiff you
if you're out of warranty, your local garage may fix for a fraction of the price
however, you then may need to get mercedes to boot it up

You can buy a merc scanner on eBay for less than £15. It will give you any fault codes and clear the engine check message. Just check the scanner protocol for your motor.