Openreach turns up the heat to force laggards off legacy copper

 

Openreach is warning British businesses that the old phone network shuts down in less than a year, with half a million commercial lines still unmigrated.

BT Group's infrastructure arm is switching to an all-digital, IP-based service over fibre. To speed migration, it's hiking charges on legacy products.

Deadlines for the cutoff have slipped several times, but the telecoms giant is now bent on finally burying the copper-based public switched telephone network (PSTN) by January 31, 2027, and Openreach is already working to kill off any services that use it.

Those products come under the umbrella term of Wholesale Line Rental (WLR), and Openreach stopped selling them nationwide in 2023 to prepare the way.

Openreach claims all technical barriers to migration – including protections for vulnerable telecare users – are resolved and the deadline is "locked in," so BT customers need to make sure they are ready.

www.theregister.com

Bikers Wanted: Help prove riding is good for you

Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) is inviting motorcycle riders to take part in a new research study exploring the mental and physical health benefits of motorcycling. If you’ve ever said that riding clears your head, sharpens your focus, or just makes life feel better, this study wants to hear from you.

Who can take part? The research is open to anyone aged 18 or over who rides a motorcycle, whether you’re a daily commuter, seasoned tourer, or weekend tinkerer. Taking part starts with a 15-minute online questionnaire covering your riding habits, how motorcycling affects you, and some basic details about your physical and mental wellbeing.

For those who fancy going a step further, there’s an optional lab-based session. This involves light physical activities and a cognitive assessment, helping researchers dig deeper into how riding may influence brain health and ageing.

Why take part? The goal of the study is to better understand the unique benefits motorcycling may offer, particularly as we get older. It’s officially approved by the Brighton and Sussex Medical School Research Governance & Ethics Committee (RGEC approval No. 0302), so your data is in safe hands.

How to get involved Interested? Scan the QR code below or follow this link to learn more and take part.

For further information, you can contact Mariglen Meta, Research Assistant (m.meta1@uni.bsms.ac.uk), or Professor Dorina Cadar (d.cadar@bsms.ac.uk).

www.bennetts.co.uk

Reading for today: what God wants from us

 For it is not so much of our time and so much of our attention that God demands; it is not even all our time and all our attention; it is ourselves. For each of us the Baptist's words are true: “He must increase and I decrease.” He will be infinitely merciful to our repeated failures; I know no promise that He will accept a deliberate compromise. For He has, in the last resort, nothing to give us but Himself; and He can give that only insofar as our self-affirming will retires and makes room for Him in our souls. Let us make up our minds to it; there will be nothing “of our own” left over to live on, no “ordinary” life. 

I do not mean that each of us will necessarily be called to be a martyr or even an ascetic. That’s as may be. For some (nobody knows which) the Christian life will include much leisure, many occupations we naturally like. But these will be received from God’s hands. In a perfect Christian they would be as much part of his “religion,” his “service,” as his hardest duties, and his feasts would be as Christian as his fasts. What cannot be admitted - what must exist only as an undefeated but daily resisted enemy - is the idea of something that is “our own,” some area in which we are to be “out of school,” on which God has no claim.

For He claims all, because He is love and must bless. He cannot bless us unless He has us. When we try to keep within us an area that is our own, we try to keep an area of death. Therefore, in love, He claims all. There’s no bargaining with Him.

By C.S. Lewis

From The Weight of Glory

Donline is 20 years old today!

 

The 1st February 2006 was day one for Donline Computer Consultancy - here we are today on my business' 20th anniversary! Over those years I've amassed 875 clients, posted 2822 Blog articles (with well over 600k hits), placed 4057 purchase orders, & raised 6671 invoices 👍. 

It's such a great Blessing to have so many wonderful clients. Apart from the work (very much appreciated!), we have forged some great relationships & friendships along the way. So a huge thank you to all those who have travelled this journey with me. Good Lord willing: here's to many more years!

AND TO CELEBRATE: a competition! I'll be logging phone calls from Monday 2nd Feb. The 20th unique client caller will get a Donline goodie bag full of some very nice merch. Good luck!

UPDATE: We have a winner! CL from Farnham wins the goodie bag - well done to you!

www.donline.co.uk

A bit of fun for a damp Monday morning: guide to biker slang and terminology

So you’ve just joined a motorcycle club or bought your first motorbike and you’ve had a rude awakening: you don’t understand what your peers are saying. We don’t blame you. There’s plenty of biker slang that often finds its way into everyday conversations among motorcyclists.

We’re digging into biker lingo as part of Bikesure’s ‘Ride On’ campaign, which aims to get people on the road and celebrate their freedom, whether they’re getting back into biking after a break or taking up two wheels for the first time.

So if you’re feeling a little lost, take a look at our guide to biker slang. FIND OUT MORE HERE.

I'm a member of Waterlooville MCC, The 59 club, IAM RoadSmart Solent, and others - but deffo not one of those dodgy 1% outfits LOL! BTW - the pic above is my brother Dave & me on my dad's old moped! My very 1st MC club?... Hope you keep the shiny side up :0)

www.bikesure.co.uk

All Honda CB1000 Hornets to be recalled in the UK following investigation into oil consumption

 

All standard and SP versions of Honda’s CB1000 Hornet naked are to be recalled in the UK, following reports of excessive oil consumption by owners.

The announcement impacts all of the four-cylinder naked machines sold since their inception in late 2024, with customers now set to be contacted directly for the work.

“We are aware that concerns have been raised by a number of customers relating to excessive oil consumption in the CB1000 Hornet,” a statement from Honda UK read.

“Following a thorough investigation in collaboration with Honda Motor Co., Ltd (Japan), we are now instigating a safety recall. Customers will be contacted by direct mail with all relevant information.”

A spokesperson for the UK arm of the business went on to say that the cause of the problem was still under investigation however is believed to be related to the piston rings and piston specifications – potentially resulting in oil entering the combustion chamber.

www.motorcyclenews.com

Microsoft says uninstall Windows 11 KB5074109 to fix Outlook POP, PST hang, as 2026’s first update causes havoc

If your Outlook Classic freezes or hangs when you use POP accounts or deal with PST files, you’ll need to remove Windows 11 KB5074109 or use webmail. In some cases, third-party apps can also become unresponsive if they save files to cloud storage, such as OneDrive. These two issues are apparently related to a single core problem.

It’s very rare for Microsoft to admit that it messed up, but the January 2026 Update is a disaster, as it continues to break features in Windows 11, including something as basic as Sleep mode (S3) on older PCs. In our tests, Windows Latest found that the update causes a black screen, resets the desktop background, breaks File Explorer customization, among other problems.

KB5074109 is a mandatory update that began rolling out on January 13, 2026 and it installed automatically on our PCs. Your PC is using this update if you see OS Build 26200.7623 / 26100.7623 / in Settings > System > About or winver.

Meanwhile in other news: Windows 11 continues to lose market share to Windows 10. Oh dear Microsoft - when you go for a cash grab, and your code is garbage - you reap what you sow!

UPDATE TheRegister 260126: Microsoft probes Windows 11 boot failures tied to January security updates. Some machines are failing to start after security updates, prompting yet another Microsoft investigation

www.windowslatest.com