TV Out Cable: Time to Mass produce! (2013-06-22)

[slaeshjag]

 ^ I seriously doubt he would've bought that 3D printer using OpenPandora Ltd.

The fact that he is so desperate to get rid of the rest of the OpenPandora stock suggests he needs to clear out space for some reason. I did mail him about potentially being interested when/if he considered binning anything. He said

Email me in a week and you're welcome to whatever is left if you pay the shipping

That was almost two weeks ago.

 

[WizardStan]

I seriously doubt he would've bought that 3D printer using OpenPandora Ltd.

Doesn't matter what he bought it for, if he used it for something OpenPandora Ltd specific it might still be considered a company asset.This is to close a loophole wherein the owner of an LLC pays himself a huge salary, uses "personal funds" to buy equipment, and then "lends" that equipment to the company for an indefinite length of time. The loophole is that the company did not purchase the equipment, it doesn't own it, therefore it cannot be taken away if it goes bankrupt. Except it can. If Craig has been using personal equipment to run OpenPandora Ltd he's at risk of losing it. I'm not saying that it will happen that way, just that it could.

 

[elwing]

 ^ I seriously doubt he would've bought that 3D printer using OpenPandora Ltd.

The fact that he is so desperate to get rid of the rest of the OpenPandora stock suggests he needs to clear out space for some reason. I did mail him about potentially being interested when/if he considered binning anything. He said

Email me in a week and you're welcome to whatever is left if you pay the shipping

That was almost two weeks ago.

don't worry, you'll get a response in two months

 

[slaeshjag]

I never mailed back, couldn't be bothered with more broken pandora stuff than I already got.

 

[RobeeJay]

Doesn't matter what he bought it for, if he used it for something OpenPandora Ltd specific it might still be considered a company asset.

It doesn't matter what he uses it for, it matters who paid for it.

You friends with craig or something?

No, I'm a first batch pre-order that still hasn't got theirs and doesn't want people with obviously no understanding or first hand experience of company law screwing up any remaining chance of them getting it.

Which is also why I'm very grateful to EvilDragon for his attempts to get me and the other remaining people their Pandoras. He really genuinely has no legal obligation to do so whatsoever.

 

[WizardStan]

It doesn't matter what he uses it for, it matters who paid for it.

I already explained why it is important that it doesn't matter who paid for it.

 

[calc84maniac]

Just received my cable from Ithic today, works great! (The composite image is a bit blurry, but there's not much I can do about that with an LCD TV that doesn't support S-Video.) Do I have to worry about anything breaking from the weight of the cables? It seems a bit bendy.

 

[comradekingu]

s-video has component (rgb) signaling, so you can get an adaptor

 

[RobeeJay]

I already explained why it is important that it doesn't matter who paid for it.

No, you didn't, you said a bunch of stuff of which is irrelevant to UK law.

 

[Rockthesmurf]

I got my cable hooked up yesterday, using Pandora breakout box -> s-video cable -> s-video to scart adater -> TV. Picture seems pretty reasonable on a 50" Plasma TV.

Being from the UK, I have never used svideo before, and made the amateur mistake of thinking it sent both audio and video over svideo. It turns out it doesn't, so I'll need to have another couple of phono/RCA leads in order to get audio too.

With the break out box, with long wires connected, hanging off the back of the Pandora (whilst I am holding the Pandora in my hands, playing a game), I can't help but feel there is quite a bit of stress on the Pandora/break out cable. I found myself looping the cable back and holding it with my hands (under the Pandora). Maybe I am being paranoid, but like a lot of people I treasure my little Pandora device and don't want to take any unnecessary risks of damage!

I tried Picodrive with a few different scalers, it seemed like the full screen one worked quite nicely with my set up. I don't know if anyone else has done much experimenting to see what the best settings are for the main emulators?

 

[WizardStan]

No, you didn't, you said a bunch of stuff of which is irrelevant to UK law.

So what you're saying is that the UK does still allow the loophole I mentioned? You're not just guessing because that's how you think it should work? Because if so I am legitimately surprised that more companies aren't taking advantage of it. I could literally make millions of dollarspounds in a day if what you say were true. It'd only work once and then people would stop giving me money but it would only have to work once.
edit: also "millions" would be a best case scenario to be fair, unless you come up with a really good idea you're probably only looking at a few hundred thousand.

 

[Morn]

Being from the UK, I have never used svideo before, and made the amateur mistake of thinking it sent both audio and video over svideo. It turns out it doesn't, so I'll need to have another couple of phono/RCA leads in order to get audio too.

You can send audio trough SCART so at least you don't need full length cable to your TV, just a short inter-connector.

 

[levi]

True, but then you'd need to have the SCART adaptor off the TV-out cable which is even more weight. The TV-out cable does have a fair bit of strain relief built in with the ext-connector moving flexibly in its gromet, but still in using it I did consider a way to hang the cable off the edge of the lid, transferring much of the weight from the ext-connector to the screen hinge. Not sure if it's the best idea given the Pandora case's history, mind you


Also, apparently, s-video over SCART was an unofficial enhancement, so while it works on my TV and every TV I've tried it on, it may not work on yours. You'll be limited to composite+audio with the Pandora.

 

[Morn]

True, but then you'd need to have the SCART adaptor off the TV-out cable which is even more weight. The TV-out cable does have a fair bit of strain relief built in with the ext-connector moving flexibly in its gromet

I have an old s-video + audio -> scart cable I used to use with my old PC and TV, similar to this one. The most heavy part is the socket which is fortunately on the TV side. Still the cable is a bit thicker than just s-video one.

but still in using it I did consider a way to hang the cable off the edge of the lid, transferring much of the weight from the ext-connector to the screen hinge. Not sure if it's the best idea given the Pandora case's history, mind you

Plastic case is at least replaceable while the ext socket is soldered directly to the board.

 

[RobeeJay]

No, you didn't, you said a bunch of stuff of which is irrelevant to UK law.

So what you're saying is that the UK does still allow the loophole I mentioned? You're not just guessing because that's how you think it should work? Because if so I am legitimately surprised that more companies aren't taking advantage of it. I could literally make millions of dollarspounds in a day if what you say were true. It'd only work once and then people would stop giving me money but it would only have to work once.

edit: also "millions" would be a best case scenario to be fair, unless you come up with a really good idea you're probably only looking at a few hundred thousand.

I can't see any "loophole" in anything you mentioned. I suspect whatever you think is a loophole either you completely misunderstand or aren't thinking through properly.

Under UK law, a limited company is pretty much considered to be an individual virtual person. If his company buys things, they are its assets (which depreciate over time), if it uses Craig's (or another company's) personal assets, it doesn't in any way own them or earn any right to claim them as an asset, unless ownership is signed over to that company in exchange for an amount of money (which may be nominal).

It cannot just give assets it has purchased away to employees either, so it could not buy a car, or furniture and then give it to an employee, it all has to be accounted for. It can sell them to employees for a fair current value, or transfer them as payment (which needs to be taxed and accounted for properly both sides).

There is absolutely no evidence that the company set up to deal with Pandora bought any of the things people keep mentioning that Craig has and are its assets. And any claims that by merely using things owned by Craig or other companies (which may or may not be owned by Craig) somehow makes these assets of the company are wrong, and just plain stupid.

This is not Craig's first company, so the idea it went out and bought office furniture and such like is also highly likely to be fantasy.

His company has no assets, or money. Unless anybody has any actual evidence to the contrary, its just pointless speculation.

 

[WizardStan]

I can't see any "loophole" in anything you mentioned. I suspect whatever you think is a loophole either you completely misunderstand or aren't thinking through properly.

That's entirely possible.The loophole I'm referring to is in paying yourself a large wage and then using personal effects to manage your company. If a person starts a company, awards themselves a bonus, buys a car, and then uses that car for company business, that car cannot be said to be purchased by the company and therefore not considered an asset, but (at least in Canada and the US) should the person's company go into bankruptcy, even if it is a Ltd, it might be deemed that the car was actually integral to the companies operation and therefore candidate for seizure. Or it might not, it's a case by case thing. If you start a home business and use personal finances to purchase a desk for your home and that desk is where you do all your work for the company then it has the potential to be considered a company asset and may be seized.

 

[fusion_power]

My Cable finaly has arrived. Preordered in 2008, after 5 Years by the way. Sadly, I can't use it yet, I have no cinch male to male extention cables so I first have to buy them (3 I guess).

 

[Asmo]

I have no cinch male to male extention cables so I first have to buy them (3 I guess).

Careful when ordering, male - male is the standard cable you need, if you ask for an 'extension' cable that'll be male - female!

 

[aatu]

IANAL, this is just how I've always understood how the system works here in Finland, and I don't see the loophole in it:

To give bonuses in the first place, you first have to get money from somewhere. And whatever source a company is getting the money from, it would be wise for the source to make definite preconditions for the loan money. And if that money is still used for something else entirely (like say, CEO bonuses), then it's a breach of contract, and thus could give a basis for a personal liability.

In other words, if I started a company, took customers' money that they paid for products, then ignored running the business and instead used that said money directly to give myself bonuses, I would be a viable target for fraud charges, as I would be simply siphoning money under the pretense of a company.

If, on the other hand, the business is booming, I can collect sizeable bonuses. And if I buy something extra for myself with my bonus money (that's already on my own bank account), and decide to freely loan it back to the company's benefit, then no biggie. But on the contrary, if I bought a car under the company's name, and didn't register it as a "job perk" (fringe benefit, counted as taxable form of income), but still used it mainly for personal stuff, it could fall under a scrutiny. Main reason for this is that the companies can deduct part of the purchases in taxation. Using this for your own personal benefit is illegal. There are also comparable rules for bribery; if you're working for a big company, and you're the one choosing a supplier from a group of five companies, you can't legally accept any sizeable gifts from these companies (pens or a cup of coffee are OK, opera tickets are already on the edge).

And sure enough, if there are some oddities in the accounting (which are mandatory to file), they will be under a stricter scrutnity. For example, if I sell an office building for 500€ to myself or a friend, some alarms might set off with the authorities.

Though related to this: if you're under an investigation, then your personal property (like a work desk or briefcase with the company stuff in it) can be seized for the duration of the investigation, if it can be seen as a likely evidence.

 

[God Ginrai]

I'm still waiting for an email about the vouchers. EvilDragon, have you sent the information to GBAX yet?

-God Ginrai