Peter Roberts, full credit to you. Your road pricing petition has put the issue headfirst into the national media. That’s no small feat.

But let’s still face facts. Had, as one of my Micro Mart colleagues pointed out, these 1.8m chosen to register their opposition to the scheme via pretty much any other method, then there’s no way in hell that a simple 1200 word e-mail from the Prime Minister would be accepted. As it stands, signing a digital petition is perhaps the laziest way to bring an issue to national prominence, and perhaps it’s right that it’s not given quite the same credence as something that involves a little more effort.

After all, as my colleague pointed out, what if 1.8m had written a physical letter? Or been to see their MP? Perhaps sent their MP a personal e-mail? Or stood outside Parliament? An e-mail from Tony then simply wouldn’t have cut it.

Peter Roberts’ petition was a useful and important tool, and likewise using the Internet for levelling out democracy is important and necessary. But it is, and will remain for some time, a blunt instrument, sitting in the shadow of ways of protest that involve something more than ten seconds’ worth of effort.

£12.

That’s what I was charged last week for Internet access in a hotel for a day. £12. Or, to put it in context, some 66% of my monthly broadband costs at home. In this instance, I didn’t have much choice as I needed the access, but even by the standards I’ve experienced over the past six months of hotel dwelling, that’s a crazy amount. Even room service is cheaper. Hmmph.

And praise too to Virgin Trains. Once more I sat on one of their trains and found they’d installed wireless Internet access on it. Once more, when the ‘this is a trial, e-mail here to declare your interest’ screen popped up I sent my mail off to them. And once more it bounced. It leaves me salivating for the real thing…

First things first, blatant plug for my feature - The Billion Pound software piracy problem:
http://www.itpro.co.uk/features/104711/

There’s not really a second thing, other than a curiosity. FAST, it seems, are tamer than their America counterparts, but with the Gowers Report opening up some tangible new powers, we can expect crackdowns, and soon. Interested in people’s thoughts…

Last week, as part of my ongoing Palin-esque quest to stop in every cheap hotel in London, I made an error. I decided to fork out for the in-room web access.

The following day, someone took my newly acquired card number and used it to spend £2500 on online gambling.

Coincidence? I think not.

Thankfully, my bank has been swift to sort it out (although I wonder if they have much choice in a situation like this?), but a note to the rancid little oik who spent my money at the bookies: I hope you lost the whole bleedin’ lot. And got your fingers cut off by a madman bookie.

Interesting story cropped up overnight regarding Microsoft in the US bumping up their support charges.

As a student of Keynesian economics once upon a time (albeit not a great student, but that’s not the point here), the two variables of supply and demand are supposed to be used when setting prices. If MS are one of the few supplying full and proper support to the new Windows and Office products, then supply is limited, while I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions over where demand is heading!

I particularly loved, from Arstechnica’s report, this quote, where they quizzed an MS spokesperson on the reasons for the rises…

“”The new assisted support pricing model is in-line with industry standards and has been set globally in reference to GDP (gross domestic product) per capita to more accurately reflect the value of and Microsoft’s investment in the customer support experience with Windows and Office products,” the Microsoft spokesperson said. “These prices reflect new technology usage and customer implementation, which is paramount as Microsoft customers use more integrated technology solutions.”"

That’s cleared that up, then…

Can I, I wonder, start a revolution? Can I be the one who declares that social networking is not the greatest thing the world has seen since Darren Carter’s penalty took Birmingham City into the Premiership back in 2002 (and, bluntly, we all know how good that was)?

I avidly consume technology, and both rely on and choose to utilise it for both work and entertainment. But, in what surely has me pinned already as a fuddy-duddy or an outcast in the modern ‘Web 2.0’ (and don’t get me started on that) world, I actually don’t need every minute of my waking life, every thought I have and every movement I make documented in some form.

 As such:

• I don’t have a MySpace page!
• I’ve never uploaded anything to YouTube!
• I despair at Twitter!
• I pride myself on being ‘Not’ rather than ‘Hot’!

As you can see, I clearly reject everything in the ‘Web 2.0’ sphere.

Er, enjoy the rest of my blog… Oh, and the Micro Mart podcasts are back soon. Perhaps I’d better give up while I’m only several miles behind?