UK (Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill) 2009 – Update August 2009

UK Borders Agency has just published the consultation documents for the new route to gaining citizenship titled “Earning the right to stay”. You can give  your comments and opinions for 12 weeks from 3rd August 2009.

Documents can be downloaded from here.

You can also respond to the consultation online by using their online survey.

This consultation will help shape the earned citizenship in the new Immigration Bill 2009, which passed through parliament and gained Royal Assent on 20th July 2009.

Microsoft + Yahoo. What a bad mistake.

The web is raving about the merging of Microsoft and Yahoo and how it can take on mighty Google. Are they kidding themselves? Everyone knows Live Search or Bing as it is called now is only “accidentally” used when the user opens IE or stumbles upon one of those Bing supported websites. Yahoo? Maybe when you need some answers you would visit them while “Googling” your question.

So, when they combine will that make everyone start “BingYahoo-ing”. I doubt it.

Zii Egg. What a name.

Creative has just launched a new product. Its called Zii Egg. Why? Why not Yii Egg or Xii Egg? Why Z? copying Zune? or the Wii? Trying to be “Creative”? Those marketing people needs to go back to school and reflect on how to come up with a good name.

and its menus look awful. they seriously need to re-hire their graphics design team.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (6th film)

Just watched Harry Potter last night, the 6th film in the series and thought what a great film it was! I’ve watched all the previous 5 films and this certainly didn’t fail to impress.

Harry Potter and his friends has certainly come of age since the Philosopher’s Stone and I must agree with Dumbledore that i still remember Potter to be the small kid waiting to run into platform 9 3/4 to catch his first train to Hogwarts.

The position of this film is unique as it’s based on the penultimate book, the inevitable of how Potter squares up with Voldermort will be seen in the next two Potter films.

UK (Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill) 2009

Finally! Common sense has prevailed with the government setting the transitional arrangements for the start of the bill in July 2011. It would have been so unfair and unjustified if any arrangements of sorts wasn’t introduced. I believe there are many hardworking and law-abiding migrants like me who have been wondering for months what this will come down to. Finally, we know!

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In summary, the transitional arrangements as outlined by Phil Woolas are:

1) People who apply for citizenship before the earned citizenship provisions are commenced will be treated under the current system (not be subject to the earned citizenship provisions).

2) People who already have indefinite leave to remain when the earned citizenship provisions commence, will be eligible to apply for citizenship under the current system, provided that they apply within two years of commencement.

3) People who apply for ILR before the provisions commence and whose application is successful, will be eligible to apply for citizenship under the current system, provided that they apply within two years of commencement.

4) The commencement date for the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill 2009 will be July 2011.

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Please find text from House of Commons confirming the date:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmtoday/cmdebate/16.htm#hddr_1

” I trust that Government amendment 17, tabled in the name of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, alongside assurances that I intend to give the House will address the concerns raised by hon. Members about transitional arrangements. I am also announcing today that, as part of our package of transitional measures, we have decided that to give those who are currently in the UK on a route to settlement time to adjust to the new system, we will allow the earned citizenship provisions to commence in July 2011.”

also:,

“Government amendment 17 requires the commencement order giving effect to the earned citizenship provisions in the Bill to set out transitional arrangements for certain groups. We have made clear in legislation that people who apply for citizenship before the earned citizenship provisions are commenced will be treated under the current system—that is, they will not be subject to the earned citizenship provisions. We have also made it clear that people who already have indefinite leave to remain when the earned citizenship provisions commence, and people who apply for ILR before the provisions commence and whose application is successful, will be eligible to apply for citizenship under the current system, provided that they apply within two years of commencement. That deals with the point made by the hon. Gentleman in Committee.”

the law is here:

the date of commencement is July 2011 as stated above:

Secretary Alan Johnson
		17
	Page 48, line 11 [Clause 59], at end insert—
		‘(8A) An order commencing sections 39 to 41 (acquisition of British citizenship by
		naturalisation) must include provision that the amendments made by those
		sections do not have effect in relation to an application for naturalisation as a
		British citizen if—
		(a) the date of the application is before the date on which those sections come
		into force in accordance with the order (“the date of commencement”), or
		(b) the date of the application is before the end of the period of 24 months
		beginning with the date of commencement and the application is made
		by a person who falls within subsection (8B) or (8C).
		(8B) A person falls within this subsection if on the date of commencement the person
		has indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom.
		(8C) A person falls within this subsection if the person is given indefinite leave to
		remain in the United Kingdom on an application—
		(a) the date of which is before the date of commencement, and
		(b) which is decided after the date of commencement.
		(8D) The reference in subsection (8A) to an order commencing sections 39 to 41 does
		not include an order commencing those sections for the purpose only of enabling
		regulations to be made under the British Nationality Act 1981 (c. 61).’.

iPhone SDK. The only thing that matters now.

This will possibly be the most important news of 2008. How and what developers(ie 3rd party) can do on the iPhone will thoroughly depends on how this SDK is released and what powers are given to programmers. Will they get full access to the iPhone system natively? Or will it be just another wrap round shell with tonnes or restrictions that will make the iPhone not worth programming for?

Will we see a Windows vs Mac OS re-match in the form of the mobile phone? Although this time, its Symbian, Windows Mobile, Android as the other players.

I think it’ll be much open ended this time but this will at least give the iPhone an opportunity to mature and more ideas coming to it will never be a bad thing. The Mac OS gave birth to M’soft Office and productivity. The NeXT OS gave birth to internet browsers and the internet. The Windows OS gave birth to widespread computer adoption and viruses. The iPhone SDK will……..

New iPhone Firmware 1.1.4 Released. Together with new beast 04.04.05_G baseband.

As Apple as Apple can get, Apple has released firmware 1.1.4 for the iPhone. What comes with this update?

“Bug Fixes”.

Excellent.

Compared to most other companies, which spews out a bible of fixes that no one ever reads anyway, they have just put two words to their update. So, what to expect? No new features, just bug fixes, easy enough isn’t it.

Until…

Uh huh! Wait a minute, its late february and the SDK is suppose to be out but that is no where in sight. So, what else can they possibly fix here.

The iPhone unlock obviously. Here, we have a new beast for hackers around the world to start cracking their brains to crack. The 04.04.05_G baseband. Wow. Sounds like a jump to me, from 04.03.13_G in firmware 1.1.3 to 04.04.05_G! I wonder what’s the reason for the change from xx.xx.13 to xx.xx.05 for.

Xserve RAID. It was the best-looking RAID system. Period.

It was great while it lasted. The Xserve RAID, probably the best looking RAID system out there for “fashion-conscious” geeks in server rooms.

Just compare the two RAID system below, surely, the Promise people could have tried a little harder?

anySIM Unlock available for 04.03.13_G, 1.1.3, BL 3.9 combination. BL 4.6 iPhones have to wait.

Engadget’s just reporting today that anySIM unlock is now available for firmware 1.1.3 on baseband 04.03.13_G running on an iPhone with Bootloader 3.9.

Yupz. That’s only for bootloader 3.9. All iPhones with bootloader 4.6 like mine will have to wait……

unless of course you are brave enough to crack your case open and do a h/w bootloader downgrade.

New iPhone and iPod Touch. Now available in 16GB & 32GB.

Its Apple Tuesday once again! New releases and this time, a much welcomed storage increase on both the iPhone and iPod Touch for those of us who forever needs more space!

I think this will just sway those sitting on the fence to get one or others who will be renting loads of movies from the new iTunes Movie Rental service and need to put them all on the iPhone/iPod Touch.

Personally though, I’m still struggling to fill my 8GB up. With iTunes sync at a touch of a button, I can easily change my iTunes playlists or photo albums. I still have all my music on an old trusty iPod Photo 30GB, but its struggling to compete against the versatile iPhone.

Looks like having it all in your pocket doesn’t apply in 2008 anymore. Not for the average Joe user like myself anyway.

Are you needing the extra GBs? Is it a necessity or just a matter of “its better to have just in case”?

• iPhone 8GB – £269
• iPhone 16GB – £329

• iPod Touch 8GB – £199
• iPod Touch 16GB – £269
• iPod Touch 32GB -  £329