LosOjos

Whatever the answer the problem is the same; the tax system is currently open to abuse so certain companies abuse it (like benefits!). Close the tax loop holes, solve (or at least reduce) the problem. Instead we just keep getting politicians banging on about what a disgrace it is without actually doing anything to stop it. Clearly, they have another agenda... In principal I agree but the reality is families are being billed for bedrooms "they don't need" (there's another argument there I'll skip) and at the same time being told there's nowhere else for them to go. They're willing but unable yet they get taxed anyway. It's a disgrace.

How? I can't see any way of giving negative rep any more

There used to be red, too, for those who had received more negative than positive feedback (i.e. trolls), but there was lots of petty squabbling whenever negative rep was left and it made partaking in any of the "big 2" topics (religion & politics) an almost guaranteed way to lose some rep. [i dare say I fell in to some of those squabbles, for shame!] It's better now that only positive rep can be given and sanctions are left to the mods

It genuinely worries me that some people have such a black and white view of the world... which fathers are we talking about here? The ones who were happily working away earning a living until budget cuts saw them laid off and those same cuts have meant they've struggled to find work since, scraping together what they can each day and trying to get their family through on the meager benefits they are given [compared to full time work], no doubt stressed to the hilt and feeling guilty, like they're failing their families and struggling to see a way out, all because someone high up in government [whose job and salary are just fine thankyouverymuch] decided to slash budgets putting him out of a job in the first place? No, I guessed you didn't mean those fathers. Come on people, things aren't that simple; they rarely are!

I'd be interested to know which suppliers provide an API for their systems and for those that do what kind of cost/licensing we are looking at. Might be a bit too specific a question for your needs though...

If I remember right, it won't show up if you search for it but it is on the Store homepage...

I honestly believe that most people in this country want to work for a living. There are those that don't and will find ways and means of not doing so but they are the minority and should be treated as such. My major issue with this whole debate is how exaggerated a problem it is. Here's an interesting article from Citizen's Advice Scotland (remember when they were state funded? my mistake, they still receive some funding just not as much as they once did): Myth-busting: the real figures on benefit fraud | Citizens Advice Scotland @HallX - yes, 2.1% for fraud and error i.e. overpayments due to mistakes in the application or administrative errors, all/most of which is recovered. Have a look at that article I just posted for more details.

OK, I accept that Stephen Hawking was just an example but it was a really bad example. Like I have said, there are people who game the system there's no denying that but do your research (and I don't mean in the tabloids) - official figures estimate just 1% of the total benefits budget is lost to fraud. One percent. What irritates me whenever this conversation comes up is that far too many people tar all benefit claimants with the "scrounger" brush when those that are defrauding the system make up a tiny minority of claimants. My point is, you cannot punish the 99% of honest benefits claimants just because 1% are taking advantage. To be honest, I think 1% is pretty good! There are much bigger problems in this country but benefit fraud is an easy scape goat that can be wheeled out to give the masses a common enemy while they ignore the bigger picture. The government must have thought Christmas had come early when "Benefits Street" hit the screen.

@alexbillbridgnorth - you cannot seriously believe that because Stephen Hawking didn't choose to stop pursuing his career as a world leading theoretical physicist when he found out that he had a motor neurone disease that every single person of every type of background and all kinds of disabilities should be put out to work, can you?

How would he have done that, exactly, without complex and expensive machinery to enable him to communicate with the world? Because he sure as hell wouldn't have gotten that on benefits... This idea that everyone is equal is a farce. I totally agree that you will get much further in life if you try hard but that doesn't mean everyone can do everything. Everyone should be treated equally, that's true. But we aren't all capable of becoming world class athletes and scholars.

That is an utterly ridiculous statement. Stephen Hawking is a genius, not your average Joe Bloggs. He was extremely successful even before he became seriously ill. A better (albeit potentially very sad) question would be, would he have been given the opportunities to get where he is today if he had fallen ill before his genius was realised? I suspect not.

Very mature response... If I wanted to, I could get signed off work with stress, then play on depression symptoms and get signed off for longer, hell I could probably find enough "unprovable" (or at least extremely difficult to prove) illnesses to make sure I never work again and live off the state. [EDIT: this is not meant to belittle those who suffer with depression (I have done myself) but to point out that I could do this] However, I won't do that because I believe that life is better this way. Yeah I moan about my job and daydream of that big lottery win, but I'd sooner do this until the day I drop than become a benefit thief; it was the way I was raised. The simple fact is, in any civilised society we have a duty to make sure those neediest within our society can live a decent life when circumstances mean they haven't found things as easy as some of us or simply can't do the things the rest of us can. Yes, some people take advantage of that system, there's no denying it, but you don't punish the majority to stop the minority. And it is a minority, despite what the tabloids would have you believe. It's also not as big a problem as they'd have you believe; approximately 1% of the £200bn total benefits bill is estimated to be lost to benefit cheats. I know people keep saying this isn't relevant in this thread but it really is; tax evasion costs this country approximately £32bn per year; or around 16 times more than benefit cheats. Why then do we constantly hear government banging on about benefit cheats when there are bigger problems that are easier to fix? You be the judge. TL;DR - don't believe everything you read.

It's always the last place you look for it. Unless you're insane and keep looking for it after that.

No problem, thanks for letting me know anyway

presumably that means some function of the site was broken, so that means nobody did any testing before it went live then? Absolute joke.

Thankfully, I discovered Guru3D's DDU tool will post the card tomorrow, await refund (hopefully before the end of next week...) then order a 760 Come to think of it, I don't suppose any EG supporters could do me a deal on a 760? Obviously can't order through the school as it's a personal purchase... @VeryPC @Millgate

Just as an update for anyone interested; the BSODs started again, less frequent but still there. Then I updated to the latest beta drivers and got more BSODs than ever! Going to phone Overclockers and explain the situation, a new card isn't going to help as it's the drivers causing the issue, so hoping to do a swap for an NVidia card (preferably looking to get some kind of deal on a 760, obviously paying the difference) EDIT: well it took some arguing to get a refund and even then it was only because I pointed out I opened the RMA within their 14 day guarantee period, they just weren't having it that their tests would not necessarily be relevant as they don't have my exact system, especially as it's a driver problem. Going to return for a refund and then pay the £50 difference for a 760 from eBuyer (got an ASUS model for £194 at the moment). I suspect I may have issues with my PSU and a 760, but I should be able to swap out the 600w from my main PC. Nightmare!

Thanks yeah getting up this morning was tough and as I was doing the run I had convinced myself I wouldn't make it. Once the pounding chest, jelly legs and breathlessness passed though lol I felt good for it Next run is Thursday, hoping to eventually build up to a point I can participate in the Park Runs people have been posting, I'm only 5 minutes away from Walsall Arboretum where they've recently started doing it

Just about to do the first run... I haven't seen this side of 7am (without pulling an all nighter) in a very long time... EDIT: I think my heart is going to come out of my mouth... that's normal, right?

Academy or not though, teacher's unions are still involved. The point that Gove is seemingly missing is that there are multiple reasons private schools traditionally fare better than state; it stands to reason that if parents are paying for their child's education, they'll take more of an interest in it (that is not to say that all parents who send their children to state school don't care, but that parents who don't care most likely do send their children to state schools). Class sizes are smaller, allowing more one to one time and less distractions. Staff pay is higher allowing the schools to pick the cream of the crop in terms of teachers. There's generally an entrance exam meaning the worst performing students don't get through the door in the first place. There are so many reasons that this latest dribble from Gove makes no sense, but I don't think anyone outside his office is even questioning that.

The difference is, they can't close and outsource the schools

It won't happen and there's one very good reason I say that: teacher's unions.

@matt40k - I know what you're saying and I have already pointed out some of these issues to our SLT. Initially, it was a tool only I used as it made producing my analysis much, much easier. As it gained complexity and staff demands grew, I ported the system (originally a VBA fuelled Access DB) to ASP/SQL and popped it on an AD integrated intranet site to allow staff to interrogate the data themselves. SLT loved it and started showing visiting heads who wanted to know where they could buy the system - it was only at this point (!) that our SLT realised that I had developed the system as they wanted to know who's contact details they could pass to visiting heads Now, the idea of the school selling it to other schools was floated at that point and I pointed out the very real fact that it would take significant redevelopment for that to be feasible, plus there would be an ongoing support and update plan to think of not to mention that I'm the only person in school AFAIK who knows how to code in C# so if I were to leave, they'd either have to cut off support and accept updates aren't going to happen any more or employ a C# developer on considerably more money than they pay me. For now, it's unlikely the system will be sold. I think I got through to SLT just how much of a time and monetary investment that would entail, but they are always looking for new ways to bring in revenue, so it's still a potential avenue for them. We are currently and LA school, but it looks likely we will become an Academy. All that aside, I simply wish to "play" with the BOs to see what I can do with them; they may make some jobs easier, I may never use them beyond initial testing, but I won't know how useful they'll be to me until I do something with them.

Yeah I imagine that for the majority of things I'll do the same but as a programmer I'm sure you understand that I'd like to be able to weigh it up for myself It's only for our own use, though I can envisage the school wanting to resell it at some point in the future. Obviously if I were to use BOs that would entail either paying Capita's partner fee or rewriting it to use CR again (if they do decide they want to sell it, it'll need rewriting anyway, it's very much a patch together job with zero GUI for configuration)

@vikpaw - problem is I'm not part of the IT team here and the NM (understandably) doesn't want to give me access to the SQL DB. Don't get me wrong, not using BO isn't the end of the world but I like to at least try all the tools available to me as you just never know when they'll come in handy.