So, all four upgrades completed, with absolutely no problems or hitches (at least none that have manifest themselves so far).  Now, I'm fairly competent at running my computers, but I wouldn't class myself as a serious "under-the-hood" mechanic.  That's to say, I'm happy enough to mess around with config files, set up hardware and all that, but I don't have the sophisticated understanding that would allow me to appreciate subtle changes between Ubuntu releases. That being said, presumably there must be some evidence of an upgrade?

Gnome - this is my preferred desktop environment, and with Compiz effects is quite flashy enough for me.  (I've always found KDE a little garish for my tastes.  I did give KDE4 a whirl when it was released, but it seemed a bit flaky at that time.  I'll try it again in the coming months as I hear it's  a bit more stable now, and it's quite possible that it offers a fresh new way of using the desktop.)  Gnome seems to be characterised by small incremental changes - here we have version 2.26, which on the faceof it seems pretty much the same as before.  You can read about the main changes at the gnome website.

Henry Porter's written in The Guardian on the growing desire of the present UK Government for data control...and the spiralling costs (Paying billions for our database state).  There are two frightening aspects.

Firstly, the evident desire of our Government to find out what we are all up to - innocent or under suspicion, we are all targets for the prying eyes of the State.

Today dawned gloriously sunny, so Mrs Grumpy and I decided to cycle over to Brill on the Longstaff tandem.  This tandem is a bit lighter and more sprightly than the Dawes touring tandem we use for commuting and cycle touring.  Brill is most famous for its old windmill, of a type known as a "pin mill": the entire superstructure pivots into the wind on a pin.

This is a picture of the mill - it's not been used for milling since about 1902, and is a bit decrepit (it dates from the 17th century).  However, after climbing the hill, it provides a pleasant backdeop to some splendid views.  Unfortunately today the mill was shrouded in scaffolding and plastic sheeting for restoration by English heritage.

The latest release of Ubuntu linux (Ubuntu 9.04 - Jaunty Jackalope) was released a couple of days ago.  In case you were wondering, this is a jackalope (by "Albrecht Durer" - published here on April 1st, 2008): 

We had a splendid evening for this North Bucks RC club event, once again held up at the Astwood circuit - sunny, and with not much more than a breath of wind.  This event was designated as a "Come and Try It" event, and riders were requested to be there by 6.30pm (also, starts were limited to 30 due to the failing light as this is still early season for an evening event).  I had brought along a couple of guys along from work, but sadly we were thwarted.  By the time we arrived, there appeared to be hundreds of riders milling around and all 30 slots had unfortunately been allocated.  Fortunately, this didn't seem to disappoint my two new acquaintances, and Ian Stokes kindly suggested I ask someone of they'd be interested in riding a 2-up.  At this point my beady eye cast around and spotted Lindz Barrall, with whom I had ridden a 2-up at Astwood earlier in the season.

Fortunately for me, Lindz was up for a two up, and set his Garmin for a 23:30 pace.  Last time we had finished in 24:19, so that was quite a proposed improvement.  But then again, this was a lovely evening...  The only strategic discussion we had was to decide that this time I would lead off from the start.  Once out on the road, we didn't exchange a single word - all chanegovers (bar one) were accomplished smoothly, and all in all we rode very well.

We were promised consultation on the Interception Modernisation Programme (IMP) by early in 2009, but as far as I can see this hasn't happened yet.  Of course, in that time, we've seen considerable discussion of communication interception technologies (such as those devised and proposed by Phorm for commercial purposes) and the data retention directive emanating from the EC.

Now, The Register reports that developments in eavesdropping capacity are moving ahead (Spy chiefs size up net snoop gear):

After all the accusations of conflicts of interests (see for example 80/20 Thinking drops advisory work, after accusations of conflict of interest), Privacy International have apparently made a public statement concerning the implications of deep packet inspection on privacy.  Oddly, you can read the statement at the nodpi website (Privacy International's Official Reponse on Deep Packet Inspection), but I can't see a mention yet at Privacy International's website.  Perhaps the announcement at nodpi.org is connected with the announcement in the statement that the driving force behind nodpi, Alex Hanff, has joined the PI team on this matter:

To this end, we are pleased to announce a new addition to our team. Alexander Hanff, a social scientist and technologist who has led a long campaign against the use of Deep Packet Inspection for behavioural advertising models in the UK, will be taking the lead for Privacy International on these issues. 

Wind: ENE 14mph; Hum: 48%

Another nice day forecast for this event, which I normally ride as part of a Team Grumpy 2-up entry.  This year, I entered as a solo rider, but due to a misunderstanding with the organiser, ended up starting in the 2-up field. Team MK use a version of the Astwood circuit course that differs from that used by the North Bucks Road Club because the start/finish are located nearer Cranfield.  The event once again used Cranfield University's new sports centre as its HQ, and Ian had managed once again to arrange pretty good weather: on the day, cool and cloudy condition changed to sunny, cool and surprisingly windy conditions which, while I had no trouble with the front trispoke, did make the going quite tough.

Wikimedia, who manage Wikipedia among other sites have announced via their blog that they have officially opted out of Phorm's deep packet inspection system.  In their blog article, they indicate that one of their concerns is that by opting out, they might somehow legitimise Phorm's system.  After due consideration, they decided the appropriate action would be to opt out of the system, and they show an extensive list of URLs that have been removed.

More good news on a week of exceptionally good news on the Phorm phront.

Chris Williams of The Register certainly has been working hard, and this in a week that's absolutely stuffed with stories relating to Phorm's violation of internet privacy!  Today, he reports (Tory 'terror' affair shows danger of ubiquitous surveillance) on the circumstances surrounding the arrest a few months ago of Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green:

The "national security" justification offered by Jacqui Smith for the warrantless counter-terror police raid on a fellow member of Parliament's offices was trumped up by officials embarrassed by a series of leaks, we've now learned. The information about immigration failures fed to the Tories was politically damaging to the Labour government, but arguably in the public interest, and certainly no threat to national security.

The first evening event of the NBRC club time trial series! It was also the first event on the F5d/10 since the New Year's Day'10'.

Somewhat ominously, I woke to the sound of a 5am thunderstorm.  Still, I reckoned, over 12 hours before the event, plenty of time for the weather to clear up (the BBC forecast was for sunshine)!  Indeed, when I turned up to the club room at about 6.20, it was not only sunny, but very warm. 

More good news on the Phorm phront.  Alex Hanff over at nodpi.org reports that Amazon exclude all their domains from Phorm's WebWise.  It has long seemed to me that it's the commercial angle that would sink Phorm's devious and parasitic plans.  Hot on the heels of the news that LiveJournal have requested exclusion from the Phorm dpi system, comes the news that Amazon, possibly the biggest internet retailer is to do likewise.

This may the the beginning of an unstoppable momentum, and follows a lengthy (and it would seem effective) campaign led by the likes of Alex Hanff, who has worked tirelessly, with more energy than I have available to work towards the extinction of Phorm's dpi.

Richard Clayton has a nice, very clearly written article on what is wrong with Phorm, over at The Guardian (Whitehall's got Phorm).  This should be required reading by news reporters who fail to grasp the real issue is the interception issue, and not the targeted adverts.

Meanwhile, Simon Davies of 80/20 Thinking and Privacy International, who has failed to make meaningful statements about Phorm (but who works as advisor to Phorm via 80/200, is quoted in an Independent report on the EC action (Internet privacy: Britain in the dock) as saying:

I blogged the other day that there might be an interesting conflict of interest in Lord Carter's office (Why Lord Carter is pro-Phorm?).  Lord Carter of course wrote the Digital Britain report, and is a bit of a mover and shaker in Government circles when it comes to digital issues such as broadband rollout (remember Phorm claim their technology will help fund broadband expansion).  The news revolved around the fact that among other activities, Phorm's Kip Meeks works as an advisor to Lord Carter.

Chris Williams of The Register has been digging (The Register - Phorm director advises UK.gov broadband minister):

The news that police have raided a meeting of climate campaigners on suspicion of plotting a protest at a power station near Nottingham (BBC News - Police hold 114 in power protest) doesn't seem to have been questioned - isn't this a bit odd? After the arrested hadn't actually protested, nor had they even set of to start their protest.

Now it transpires (BBC News -  Power station protesters released) that all 114 protesters (or should I say, would-be protesters) have been on bail, but without charge.  At least an MP has now questioned whether this was a proportionate response: Nottingham South MP Alan Simpson has reportedly raised concerns over the nature of the policing operation, and whether it was really proportionate:"

The BBC is reporting that the European Commission have launched an action against Britain over the Phorm phiasco (EC starts legal action on Phorm):

All action on the Phorm phront today.  Hot on the heels of the EC press release revealing they are taking action against the UK over Phorm comes the news that 80/20 Thinking will no longer undertake advisory work for companies (BBC News - Privacy firm drops advisory work).  This follows accusations that one of the firms founders, Simon Davies, also works for the privacy lobby group Privacy International.  The conflict of interest revolves around Davies association with Phorm - many commentators have remarked how lukewarm PI's response to the many issues of privacy that have been raised by Phorm's ISP level deep packet inspection system.

The Open Rights Group have set up a spiffy site, Statebook,  to illustrate the dangers of the burgeoning Database State in the UK. 

It's an effectve illustration of how the UK's intrusive data collection habits threaten our liberties and freedom, and how the future looks to be mapped out.  The recent report from the Joseph Rowntree Trust revealed that not only is our government remarkably keen to get their dibs on considerable quantities of data on us and our movements, but that it's equally inept in obeying data protection regulations.

Lord Carter is the author of a report for the UK Government, Digital Britain.  The UK Government, its Departments and other agencies have been remarkably ineffective over the fracas about Phorm's deep packet inspection technology, its covert testing by BT in 2006 and 2007, and its more open testing by BT on 2008.

Well, what's this in a Guardian report (Government's broadband-for-all pledge in jeopardy)?

A year or so on after Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, coauthor of Dungeons & Dragons has died (Ars Technica: Between battles, the story: Dave Arneson has passed on).  Dungeons and Dragons (and subsequently several other roleplaying games) played a hugeand very important part in my life from my teens into my late 20s. 

Arneson had some sort of falling out with Gary Gygax and left TSR (the publishers of D&D) in 1975, but apparently he was at least partially back in the fold for the third edition of the game.  The Ars Technica review says it better than I can.