http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20968886

Over here at least the police can do a computer check in under a minute

You know what, I think I had notice to renew my license. At the time, I had to send my license off for a speeding ticket so I assumed the latter was more important. Will try to get time to rummage around and find it but I'm gonna send off a pic from about ten years ago and see if they notice any difference.

(Before I went to uni, I had to provide numerous photos so I had something like 16 passport photos, 8 in one set of clothes and 8 in another).

Renewed mine late last year. DVLA send a reminder about a month before the existing licence expires (provided you've kept the address up to date, which is another thing you can get fined for not doing).
Did it at the Post office. Entire thing was electronic - the take a digital picture and you sign your name on a graphics tablet type slate (that took a few goes as the pen isn't exactly responsive). Still, it means you don't go 'out of the lines'.

I still have a paper license and still no endorsements. It looks like I will have to buy one in 2015.

I had to replace my licence a couple of years ago and I thought the prospect of doing it all online was great. I was told that I would have to submit a new photo if my appearance had changed. It hadn't so I went ahead with the one they had on record.

Got the new licence promptly, and yet 6 months down the line they told me I had to do the whole thing again as the photo had now expired (10 years).

I also replaced my Queensland licence in July. They have upgraded from a laminated style (easy to counterfeit) to a digitised credit card style. Welcome to the 21st Century.

I'm wondering whether to get a kiwi licence as well, It lowers the insurance excess.

This reminds me of when I had a ID pass to enter an RAF base to get a pic of me on the ID, it expired and I think about 7-8 years later I updated my ID I showed my old ID and they were insistant that it was a fraudulant fake forged one, because when I got my photo updated and when you looked at the old and new pics of me I look exactly the same and when I showed etc he couldnt stop laughing

Annoyingly, I'm now on a photo one as I had to replace when my paper one was stolen. Still, at least I can drive all sorts of interesting things my sister can't without taking extra tests.

I have a paper one
I still can't decide to give away my French license for a UK one as I've not driven in the UK in the last 6 years :S

Thankfully the address updates are free, I would not be happy if I had to update pay to update my address when my licence was valid, had to do it once and will have to do it again in another few months when I have to move again

Do you have to hand over your UK licence? In Germany, if you stay here for more than 6 months, you have to get a German licence and hand over your old licence. Failure to do so will get you a 1 year driving ban in Germany.

When I leave Germany, I can go back to the equivalent of the DVLA and hand over my German licence and I get back my UK licence.

In Oz to get a driving licence I just had to submit my UK licence rather than passing any theory or practical tests. They punched a hole in it so I wouldn't be able to produce it to a police officer, and would have to use my Oz licence instead. However my new UK licence had no punched hole, and as Oz has different licences per state it is easy to circumvent the bureacracy they impose.

I did mine on-line as had recently replaced my passport so was able to use the picture on file for that

It's a bugger getting changed in those little cubicles, isn't it?!

No I did them on two separate days.