Christ on a bike, before you know it people will be using real money to pay for travel, and having to look at real maps made of paper.

This is truly The End Of The World As We Know It.

Probably terrorists did it. The bastards !!

If myspace goes down too, does that mean it's all over for modern mankind?

Is this the first sign of the ROTM plan to render humanity helpless?

Insidiously insinuate themselves into the everyday fabric of life, then deny services at a crucial time once humankind has lost the ability to function without them?

Time for the NLRA to head for the resistance command centre - Oh B***er, the location was stored on my (now defunct) TomTom!

the Tom Tom thieves will try to update it and then it will direct them on to the tracks instead of my house!!

Users should be OK to use their new TomToms this weekend without the need to update it. I hear that the update simply sets your "home" location to that of your nearest local police station.

I'll get my coat (if I can find it with out my satnav)

Time to buy Tinned food and shotguns. it must be the end of the world.

I don't see what the problem is...

So don't update your tom tom, you'll have slightly out of date maps but (believe it or not) roads don't move THAT often, and other sat nav vendors don't update maps that often either. If you find a road that isn't there, either turn off and let it recalculate, or do a bit of off-roading.

Oh yeah, I forgot, you can't take that 4x4 any further off road than the kerb - it might get dirty.

As for the oyster cards, simple solution... don't go in to London. For those unfortunate souls who are already in London, I suggest leaving by the easiest route and going somewhere where the air is breathable. You never know, you might relax enough to realise that the world doesn't end when you can't add credit to your oyster card.

It costs £4 to go just one stop on the tube if you pay cash (good old Ken "Blackmailer" Livingstone). It's £1.50 if you use Oyster. So yes, this is a big deal to the poor sods who have run out of credit today.

The TomTom 'Plus' bit (maps and updates) has been down for four days now. The whole site went down for a few hours, then the other parts of the site came back up, but not maps, updates or services. Doesn't sound much like server migration to me...

See the importance of maps? Without them you are lost. Now think about the Roadmaps to Peace. Probably nobody has a map to follow or one that they are prepared to show, for there is no positive constructive movement and action. Lots and lots of chaos though and more and more by the day.

If you can't spend your money or find your way around, is someone looting the system virtually.....under the radar of software glitches and upgrades?

"It costs £4 to go just one stop on the tube"

Who the fuck goes 'one stop' on the tube ? Especially at this time of year when the foetid breeze of a thousand armpits oozes out of the maws of the underground stations.

I haven't been in London for a few months (thank christ), but the last time I was there I saw many people with legs, and the infrastructure (viz pavements, etc) is all there. And that way, you won't have to pay Ken anything.

If this is to difficult for you to figure out, consider moving somewhere with lower carbon monoxide levels. You may find your brain will start to work.

There's a simple solution to this "our site is down for upgrading" nonsense.

Don't upgrade the live site, create a fresh virtual server and upgrade that. And only when its FINISHED and TESTED do you set up redirects pointing to the new server.

No company the size of TFL or TomTom should need to down its servers in order to upgrade. At most there should be a very brief gap while you synchronise user data between the servers -- but even that shouldn't stop read-only access to any informational site content -- and if synchronising data takes more than a few minutes you probably ought to break it down into smaller pieces, use shared storage or whatever.

You should be able to use some of the ticket machines (or even ask at the ticket counter) in the tube stations to top up your Oyster. Though that does assume that you can get to a working machine or a working LU employee...

Seriously, though, what the hell use is a tinned shotgun in a time of crisis? By the time you've found the can opener, it'll be way too late.

Whilst it is inconvenient to not be able to update the TomTom with the latest maps, it is not the end of the world as we know it, but it is ALL plus services that are down, that means you can't check the traffic whilst you are on the move, you can't find out where the mobile cameras have been put etc etc, the list goes on.

Everyone is perfectly correct about the maps but the other services are what folk have paid for, I want to avoid traffic jams this Bank Holiday, but without the update service being available, I won't be able to do that and I will just get stuck like everyone else instead of going on a scenic detour that works !!!

Sorry, however, I am one of those old fashioned kind of folks who when he buys something from a shop, believes that it should work. I bought a TomTom that was supposed to be the latest and greatest and guess what, as soon as you put the software CD in, it says "This software is out of date, please download the latest version" and guess what again, when you do, the new software doesn't work, it has flaws in it that make it next to useless.

If folk are happy with this then fine, but I believe if you buy something it should be fit for the purpose you bought it for. Old fashioned kind of idea I know, but one I believe in :-)

"you can't check the traffic whilst you are on the move, you can't find out where the mobile cameras have been put etc etc"

Checking the traffic can easily be done by pushing that button on the old fashioned transistor radio that is fitted to most cars as standard by the manufacturers. Some of the higher end ones (eg VW) even RECORD the traffic announcements and allow you to play them back later.

The location of speed cameras can be easily determined by using things which most people (particularly drivers) own... eyes. Failing that you might have to stick to the speed limit (albeit with your eyes closed). I go with the eyes option personally.

This is not a personal dig, but seriously people, get real!

As for "I want to avoid traffic jams this Bank Holiday", well there is only one sure fire way to do that... stay at home. If that is not practical (although without an up-to-date sat nav, I can't see how you could go out anywhere!), use the above mentioned transistor radio and [dramatic pause] plan a route.

For reference, the highways agency website has very useful roadworks data on it, should you wish to plan in advance.

LOL Yep you'll be right there working / chatting / striking try and spot the difference!

how will I find my way to B&Q and Homebase now without a satnav? dammit I'll just have to let the wife down now over all that decorating she wanted me to do this weekend.

So tom tom has no "plus" services on a Bank Holiday,.

I just headed along thinking I might signup to traffic services, or give a trial a go (is there one) as I'm on a long drive likely to be affected by traffic.

Not a good advert tomtom.

Cheer up, old chap. Be consoled that you can still find your way to the local by the wafts of the brews !! Small consolation, I know but at least it'll keep you busy over the hols.