Flatpackhamster

Based on longevity and hours gobbled up, I would guess either Pharaoh or Elite. Possibly Civ/Civ2

It's hard to argue with his analysis and I've often seen schools seduced by The Shiny without a consideration for the fact that you'll have to replace The Shiny in 3/4/5 years' time and where's the money going to come from? I am fighting the urge of the non-tech teachers to fit out the place with iPads at the moment. It does seem that the less they know about tech the keener they are to get iPads. Probably explains why the EU Parliament and UK parliament both voted themselves a free iPad.

No luck scanning the disk with GetDataBack? Acer might be able to send you a recovery CD, but it'll cost you about £80 IIRC.

Ask and ye shall receive: KeyFinder | Magical Jelly Bean The Magical Jellybean Keyfinder should allow you to retrieve the licence code.

Storage heaters are a crock. Electricity is only going to get more expensive as the Renewables Directive and the shutdown of our coal-fired power stations begins to bite. The flat seems to be all-electric, which means you might see a doubling of your bill over a 10-year period. GFCH really is the only way to travel. With storage heaters you'll be cold all winter, and you living in the Northlands, I don't reckon the winters end until about June. Also, by the railway lines? Mmmm. I would avoid if you can. I suppose it depends on your budget. How much does the £650 a month stretch you? I think that the house is a better option because it'll be quieter and more private but it depends on your funds. A couple of thoughts about renting a house (which I did for nearly 8 years while saving to buy): What does the contract say about maintenance? Is there a specified contractor for work? Get to know your letting agent. Take a look online at other houses which have been let through that agent, and go round to the houses and take a look at the outsides. Are the gutters in good order, the window sills painted and clean, the lawns mown, the brickwork in good condition? If this is the case, then the agent probably keeps the landlord on their toes with regard to maintenance. Check your contract to ensure that there are response times (SLA's basically) for fixing of stuff like electrical, gas problems. Our landlord had a British Gas 3* contract. See if the landlord will include something like that in the contract because that means you are independent of them for major faults which could leave you without hot water or power. Never accept a verbal agreement. Written down and witnessed is the only way to go. It isn't always good to have a fully-furnished place. The landlord will have bought the cheapest stuff they can find and they'll charge you over the odds to replace it. IMO, anyway.

Just as an anecdote, my mum (retired teacher) tutors and has had considerable success getting children who are uninterested in books to use an e-reader. It does depend on the child, of course.

My first question would be 'Does it have a keyboard'. I do an awful lot of writing on my Blackberry, and the thought of typing like a 4-year old and relying on predictive text to correct my fingerslips, as opposed to being able to churn out lots of WPM, brings me out in a cold sweat. Don't see what the fuss is about touchscreens. I do accept I'm probably not a typical phone user.

Agree, I don't consider a touchscreen makes a phone 'smart'.

NASA's Astronomy Picture Of The Day: Astronomy Picture of the Day

You can get a Ford Puma for about £1500. Buckets of fun.

You glossed over the important part about price. Cost matters here. Cheap energy is what counts, not theoretical abundance.

ENTJ, apparently. I have my doubts, though. It could just be that it came out that way because it's a sunny day.

There are vested interests on both sides. That doesn't mean that the information is invalid, it means that knowing about the vested interest is essential if you are to make a successful judgement on what's correct. The ecomentalist movement has 'vested interests', the wind energy lobby is incredibly powerful and rich. That said, IMO wind is a total waste of time. It isn't constant, it's incredibly expensive, it's bad for the environment and it's noisy and unattractive. If you were having a contest for 'Worst choice of energy solution', wind would be at the top. My energy mix for now would be shale gas for the next decade, followed by a rapid ramping up of our fission power, with research in to alternative nuclear solutions and fusion at the top of the tree, and renewables consigned to the fantasy bin of history where they belong.

I felt the show was a bit rushed. There wasn't a single picture of the original cannon or any historical information about it, when and how it was used. I'd have liked more information. They also seemed to race from one thing to the next.

His head is entirely self reliant and free of the shackles of corrupting, decadent capitalism, in accordance with the principles laid down by Our Dear Leader.

FTFY,

I didn't see much point taking apart a post that was entirely based in hyperbole.

Taxi for Dave Spart. Taxi for Dave Spart.

A stable, growing economy, migration under control, and no British army in Afghanistan or Iraq. Oh, and more gold. Oh, and much lower debt. Oh, and house prices which were under control. Oh, and private sector pensions. So yes, what have the Tories ever done for us, eh? That's a point of view, certainly. I disagree. It was Gordon Brown who agreed with the Americans that it was time to scrap the rules (I forget their name) which kept investment banking and retail banking separate. It was Gordon Brown who removed banking oversight from the Bank of England and handed it to the Financial Services Authority, which he then proceeded to stuff with his cronies. It was Gordon Brown who handed management of interest rates to the Bank of England's MPC, which he then proceeded to stuff with his cronies. The MPC kept interest rates too low, which fuelled the credit bubble. The FSA failed to control the investment banks, and the scrapping of the separation rules meant that the investment banks could gamble with our savings. As a consequence of these three decisions - all made by the Labour government - we, and our children and grandchildren, are in so much debt it will ruin the country for decades. That's easy. They're idiots. Osborne and Cameron are no different to Brown or Blair. Don't worry. In 2 years Cameron will be gone and a new, Thatcherite leader will replace him. Blessed be.

Well, you're the professional troll. Why don't you do it?

There haven't been cuts. Or at least, none that matter. You can see a breakdown of the UK's spending on ukpublicspending.co.uk . Nearly £60Bn a year - half the cost of the NHS - goes in to merely paying the interest on our debts. Not paying them off. Just keeping them going.

Still on XP, no plans to move, the Magic Money Tree is bare.

Funny, I think, that what used to be classified as conviction is now written off as arrogance and dithering and uncertainty are reclassified as broadmindedness. Part of the cultural marxism which classifies all points of view as equally valid. It goes without saying that such thinking is poisonous.

Misp'lac'ed apo'strophe's at it's be'st'. Seriously, tell me what the Guardian is right on. It's wrong on the economy, wrong on immigration, wrong on the EU, wrong on foreign policy, wrong on practically every social issue going. Tell me what they're getting right because I'd love to know.

So you hate tabloid-style 'benefit-bashing' which makes spurious claims with dubious figures, but tabloid-style 'tax-avoider bashing' which makes spurious claims with dubious figures is A-OK. PS - It's not a Tory government. I think your copy of the Morning Star is poking out from your pocket. Then it must have been quite a shock to you when you discovered they were wrong about literally every issue in the entire world. They haven't been on the correct side of an argument for 30 years.