Posts by Daniel B.
1942 posts • joined Friday 12th October 2007 19:57 GMT
Page:
Posted in Intel badmouths Jesus Phone
Meh.
Heh. Dissing on the iPhone's experience based on the device using ARM processors is, well, stupid. In fact, I'd say its good *because* it isn't using Intel's crap!
Maybe they're mad that Apple didn't buy into them as they did with their stupid move with the Macs going from PPC to x86.
That said, most competent smartphones are using ARM, including my BlackBerry. I'll never let an Intel processor run my mobile!
Too much duplicated models...
... like my good old W300 was very similar to the W200, all the W8x0's, and really, they were spewing too many new models, too fast. I doubt even those with cash to follow the bling bling fashions weren't able to keep up with this.
However, I also think they should keep the good models; I loved my W300 but the following Wxxx models were hideous; no clamshell models after the 300 and well, I wanted a damn clamshell phone! I ended up switching to a BlackBerry. If I'm going to get a non-clamshell phone, it would have a QWERTY keyboard at least.
Tokens?
First, I wondered where was the high-tech hologram security when I first heard about "3DSecure". Because that's what it sounds like to the common punter, doesn't it?
Secondly, my own country (Mexico) has mandated those OTP tokens for e-banking since March 2007. However, MasterCard SecureCode and VbV don't use this, and it seems it can't, even if I already have my OTP token in that bank!
So basically, it is *less* secure for me to use VbV/MC SecureCode than to do stuff on my online banking site because of this. And I had to sign up for these schemes anyway, as my telco's gone "mandatory" on these schemes. Oh, and the card from the one bank that hasn't deployed SecureCode is being declined on 3DSec-enabled sites as well.
Something is wrong...
No, I don't mean about stating "theft of virtual goods". My concern is that they didn't charge them with "assault with deadly weapon" as well, being mugged is a much more serious threat than the theft itself!
Posted in Feds raid Miley Cyrus hack suspect
Tasteless hackers?
Come on, Hannah Montana? What was this "hacker", a 14 y/o teenager???
Then again, he did brag about his "hack", so meh.
Though I'd also wonder why do people think their free e-mail is secure...
Hey! You forgot Flickr!
They bought up Flickr, and killed their own Yahoo! Photos service.
They bought up Konfabulator, and changed its name to the lame Yahoo! Widgets.
Geeze, they bought up so much trash I'm surprised they have any money left. Looks like Web 2.0 is turning into Dotcom 2.0: Taking down those who didn't go down with Dotcom 1.0!!!
Posted in Sun claims super-skinny JavaFX milestone
Oh great!
"Sun claimed Java SE 6u10 has a 4.5Mb kernel compared to the previous 14.5Mb, with the environment retaining the VM, and core Abstract Widget Toolkit and Swing at the expense of less commonly used APIs like Corba, Remote Method Invocation, and a second garbage collector."
So ... all my apps will cease to run in 6u10, 'coz they use the "less commonly used" RMI stuff. How am I going to do client/server software, isn't that what all these "Internet apps" are all about?? Though I hope this isn't true, as one of the above posters noted with Corba.
Re: Curious
"People are swallowing the line 'Windows 7 will be better' before anyone has actually seen it."
But they *did* see Windows ME. You know, that thing MS released between win98 and XP, which was supposed to be the "home user" upgrade as win2000 was "business only". Except ME sucked hard, people preferred win2k so much that MS finally gave w2k DirectX support (they stated at the beginning that they would *never* do that) and hurried up XP's release.
Given how many Vista failings seem to be similar to the ME failures, it might be that everyone's betting on something like this happening all over again. Even MS now admits that WinME was a "stop-gap" project between Win98 and XP.
Oh my.
I can't believe it. The markets may be crashing down, but it seems like a lot of people don't care doshing out money for an expensive handset, even if it might be the last thing they buy. 6.1m Crackberries are believable, after all the business sector buys them; but the iPhone is a consumer device.
Anyway, Jobs does have a point: no-one will move to the competition ... because they're out of money and can't buy *any* smartphones right now. Not even another iPhone, as well. ;) Gotta see how the iPhone fares this quarter as well; this one will reflect how bad the economy goes.
Posted in BBC clarifies location of England
Other languages rarely use "UK"
In Spanish, "Inglaterra" (England) is more commonly used than "Reino Unido" (United Kingdom), though you can say that the UK is lucky in actually having a translated term for the proper country's name. The Netherlands are called "Holanda" (Holland)...
Anyway, anyone who has seen "Braveheart" and *doesn't* know that Scotland is a country must've been sleeping during the movie. Sheesh.
Posted in This SSD thing is really catching
SSD good for cache
While I do admit that SSD has helped a lot in having big storage capacities in small mediums (there are microSD cards with more capacity than my 1998 laptop's HDD!), I don't think SSD is reliable enough to serve as an outright replacement of the spindle-HDD. I've had weird stuff happen with SSD from time to time; I once had one mp3 file "fusing" with another one for reasons unknown.
However, using SSD as cache for large storage appliances sounds good, as it has fast read access compared with spindle-drives. But SSD as main storage is currently only needed in the small device market.
Re:Cowards, Agnosticism
As others have pointed out, translating "Allah" translated to English means "God". In fact, "Allah Ackbar" actually means either "God is great", "God is good", or even "Praise God". Notice any similarities?
Anyway, the phrase is Agnostic, as it is 'probably'; which means we can't prove/disprove the existance of a God. Incidentally, it also shouldn't inflame anyone but the most religious zealots, as it isn't mocking or offending any beliefs. Its a nice counter to the religious propaganda out there anyway.
@Scott
"Oh goody, so it gets opened up and then every fucktard in the universe builds some ropey machine from parts they found in there shed and OS X becomes bloatware like Vista as it tries to support every single configuration under the sun."
The thing is, it's already running on shite hardware: the Intel x86 platform. Apple did a stupid decision by completely ditching PPC, its kind of trading in your Ferrari for a Ford Pinto. Ironically, they also opened up the possibility for MacOS X to run in common hardware, so it's only the Apple EFI stopping the average Joe from plucking MacOS X on a PC. Oh wait, a "Mac" is also a "PC" anyways, that'll be a "non-Apple PC" then.
I'd really like to see Psystar win this thing; the monopoly argument might hold water, as the hardware restriction seems to be like AT&T's "only use Ma Bell's phones on my line", and we know how that ended up. If they win, the possible outcomes are either Apple releases Mac OS X for any PC, or they switch back to PPC. Any of those two outcomes will be good for consumers.
Oh, and supporting a zillion components shouldn't turn OSX into "bloatware". Linux seems to manage pretty well...
Posted in Times: US about to deploy Space Marines
Come on you apes...
do you want to live forever???
Me thinks someone has read/watched Starship Troopers, or played Quake 2. Though if it works, it definitely sounds like a nice idea!
Better idea: Station the troops in orbit, and then just send 'em down when needed. Oh, zero-G affects the body ... nevermind.
Posted in Hubble's 486 back-up springs into life
Computers last a long time
I can attest to that.
Our 1986 Mac Plus was fully operational, and running System 7.1 way after its value had fallen below a Big Mac's price tag: 1999. The only reason it actually died was because of a power supply fault.
Our 1996 Performa is *still* chugging happily at my mom's home, running MacOS 8.
My only quirk with NASA using a 486 is that they used Intel. For that kind of stuff, shouldn't they had gone down the ARM way? Or maybe even MIPS...
Posted in MS hit with Red Ring of Death lawsuit
Bring 'em on!
This needs to be done. MS has been able to fudge Windows users with crappy code, but fortunately in the electronics device market, the rules are clear: defective crap should be replaced; deceitful marketing *will* be punished.
Selling expensive stuff with well-known flaws is pretty much scamming the consumers. Of course, if MS had conceded that its games console was defective, it might have lost ground against the PS3/Wii as many would-be buyers would've held off. So it does make sense to sue 'em!
@Matt: Ever heard of the Apple Pippin? It tanked.
Re: I don't really understand these numbers
I also don't understand. Windfarms produce electricity, so I'd suppose that only electricity consumptions would be relevant, wouldn't they?
Torture Porn?
Am I the only one that finds this "genre" misleading? I don't see most (sane) people whacking off at the sight of someone hacking his own foot off. If they're referring to "shock exploitation of torture scenes", I think we already had "Grindhouse/exploitation films" as a genre since the 70's.
As for a "Saw Ride", we already had something similar in Mexico City last Halloween; some kind of "reality game" where you're put in an underground maze with a bunch of "serial killers" on the loose. You have to find your way out, so it does add to the creepiness. I don't think a plain old ride would top that...
M?
Someone at Microsoft hasn't researched quite well about that name. It's the "alternative" name for MUMPS.
However, if MS's M is going to be anything like MUMPS, maybe it would deserve such a name, as MUMPS is the worst abomination of a language ever!
Posted in Vista scrabbles for X Factor
It'd work...
But it'll have to change a bit:
"Hi, I'm a Mac"
"And I'm a WC."
Where else does crap go, other than a WC???
Posted in Laptops to blame for Qantas jet plunge?
Re: Laptops? Blackberry users morelike
Nice flame, but the BB devices have a "Turn off wireless" option that disables the "cellphone" bit of the device. Its one of the few cellphones that actually can be turned on inside a plane and not interfere with anything else. (And they can be turned off.)
I do wonder however how one cellphone would work while flying over international waters and high enough to not be able to get a signal though...
I wonder ... does all of this mean that if you fire up Flight Simulator, you might take over the plane?
Posted in Autopilot blamed for Qantas plunge
Autopilot diving
Sharp altitude changes may happen in some cases, and actually have happened. I remember that another flight did a sharp roll to the left? right? for 20 seconds while the pilots disengaged the autopilot.
This case may have been caused by a software bug, but the case the autopilot detected *did* deserve a sharp climb: if you're about to hit the ground, a fraction of a second is the difference between "phew!" and "OH SHIT!".
@Walkmans, inner-ear headphones
"It wasn't so much of a problem for the Walkman etc. because of the type of headsets."
My Walkman (circa 1998) had the traditional headphones, but I could get the inner-ear headphones for $9 bucks even then. The earbud-type headphones have been out there since at least 1994, still inside the Walkman era.
Oh, and by the way, my Walkman *still works*. I wonder how many iPods actually live that long...
Posted in Linux distros lead jumps from Sun
No Java?
"But it is Java and well, not many people really like to code in Java do they."
Do they? I'd rather go back to C++ than jump to C# or (god forbid) VB. Java is pretty much the only multi-platform compiled language, as the alternatives (PHP, Ruby, Python) are usually scripting/interpretative languages. The MS solution doesn't count, even with Mono, as it isn't really complete on the non-MS platforms.
Posted in iPhone squares up to Android
Re: Push disabled?
"... the push service that'll allow app store programs to receive push information without running in the background, for example, IM programs can receive IMs without having to be running."
So, a service that is basically a cheap hack to solve a nonexistant problem, except Apple decided to ban background apps; which they did for the same reason this "service" is also down.
Anyway ... "push" email is supposed to be server->client, isn't it? Polling the server every 10 minutes isn't push email, that's more like inbox-scraping, which Eudora already did back in 1996. Bleh.
@Damn Yank
"It had Roger Moore and was terrible, as I recall...."
GAAAAH! Heresy!!! Thunderball was a Sean Connery-era movie!
Anyway, that airplane didn't quite work like a sub, more like dropped to the bottom like a stone. Oh, and you'd better remove your seatbelt *before* sinking!
@Webster Phreaky
Dude, did you take your meds today? "Osama Obama" made me chuckle... I find the whole Phreaky posts funny. Come on, Webster is the first person I know that thinks that "Latin America" is composed by former Italian colonies! (Hint: there aren't any.)
Anyway, I doubt any Democrat conspiracy did this. "Doing a Watergate" isn't even in their league, that would be more Republican-ish of them to do...
So that's why the economy's like that
If you're running the damn sim on an Intel x86, no wonder the model won't work correctly!
I just can't believe these kind of things are no longer running on real supercomputer hardware like, say, Cray XMP's.
Posted in Artist to smoke Cobain's ashes
Smells like...
Never mind the idea of smoking someone's ashes ... but do those remains smell like Teen Spirit???
@Christopher
"Knowing that the report is false and that the price will recover, buying low is a smarter investment than shorting beforehand."
Actually, I think that with that knowledge, there's even a better strategy than that one: mixing both operations.
1 - Short sell before the price goes down.
2 - News breaks, share price goes down
3 - Buy all possible shares during this time, using *all* the short sell money
4 - Give short-sold stocks to buyer, keep the rest
5 - Either keep the stocks, or sell 'em when stock price returns to normal.
At the end, you'd get 2x the profits from the price differential, though you might also get the SEC to look at you suspiciously.
Posted in Finally launched: Nokia's iPhone beater
Re: No multitouch
Um... I was under the impression that Apple had hogged a patent precisely on multi-touchscreens, so I doubt you'll see any non-Apple devices with multi-touch.
@"No VoIP": So, you want to freeload calls on your mobile carrier? I admit my cellphone bills are high, but that doesn't mean I'd go out and rip 'em off with VoIP. Anyway, I'd be surprised on getting VoIP to work in a mobile connection without high latency!
This Nokia sounds interesting, but for me the "killer" feature is a physical QWERTY keyboard, which my Blackberry happily provides. I think I'll pass... but I will recommend this one over the iBone to potential iPhone victim^W buyers.
Posted in Stratus tolerates faults on Windows HPC
@Solomon
Hm... I doubt we'd be still using command-line systems even if MS had never existed. We already had ISPF, that Xerox graphical environment, the X Window System and even Macintosh. (Note: It wasn't called "MacOS" until sometime around 7.5)
Hell, some large organizations still use ISPF to this day, including my local telco and some banks. Even the web basically works as a glorified 3270 terminal!
I somehow doubt MS would get any significant traction in the HPC business, HPC users are more of the scientific type, not the "average Joe Bloggs" user they're used to. Its bad enough that the RISC architecture and vector processors have been mostly displaced by el-cheapo x86 junk; now trying to put Windows on top of that is even uglier. I really hope that actual HPC users don't go down this road.
Re: Surprised noone's mentioned
And me thinking that every sensible framework used one-time sessionid's. At least Java's JSESSIONID is only used once.
Heh, it may be expensive, but Tivoli Access Manager WebSEAL does this and more: it can keep all the backend cookies on its side, and only send its own session cookie. This cookie keeps tabs on session id, IP address, and *bytes sent/received*. So it is pretty hard to tamper with these cookies, even if they aren't going through SSL, and the session's active. If you have this well configured, it doesn't even matter if your backend's running broken PHP sessions, as the actual session management is done by this "reverse proxy". Nice stuff.
Bush Veto
Hmmmm. If Bush vetoes this, it would be like Opposite Day. Shooting down oppressive laws is something I didn't think the Bush Administration wanted.
Re: What I dont understand is....
"...if normal planes can reach altitudes that are on the edge of space, why cant they just go that extra few feet?"
Maybe because conventional planes have an operating ceiling, after which the plane stops flying, and just starts going down, down, down!!! The X-15's used rockets to get up there, but no conventional airplane will get that way up and stay there.
Those who have tried to break the operational ceiling specs have ended up like these guys: http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2004-11.html
Re: Adams did want to do another
Basically this would be the reason I'd actually buy a sixth H2G2 book. I just didn't like the 6th book, it wasn't that DA was tired of the series, it was more about DA being in "Marvin mode" when he wrote Mostly Harmless. Too bad the 6th one (NOT a Dirk Gentle book, even DA said it!) didn't quite make it before DA's death...
Re: Not "hacking" as such
This is why I absolutely HATE these "security question" systems. It used to be "put your own question", so I could put weird riddles or some insane gibberish only I would know; but now the systems just force you to use stupid questions like "what's my pet's name", "what's my birthday" and that "mother's maiden name" question ... which by the way, is rubbish in some countries where the wife *doesn't* lose her last name.
Anyway, its stupid to use free e-mail services for serious stuff... it seems this Republican lot haven't yet grasped that, but then again, these guys put Exchange instead of Notes in the Whitehouse. Bleh.
Posted in Reg readers rage at comment icon outrage
Re: BRING BACK THE DEAD VULTURE! (please)
I second that! How are we going to put the "vulture shot by the Met" jokes now??
Posted in Lenovo drops web sales of Linux machines
Re: RAID without a hardware adapter
I think the reasoning behind the winraid rants are that you're supposedly paying for hardware RAID, but getting stuck with something that basically does what your OS can already do! BSD has SW RAID, Linux has it too, and hell, even Windows has it!
However, as expected; the Windows RAID solution requires using the "dynamic disk" option, which changes the partition table format and basically turns it into a "windows only" HDD.
Posted in BlackBerry redoubles iPhone challenge
@Norfolk Enchants Paris
"- they are still 'Look at me' devices to bolster egos or make up for inadequacies on other areas
-they are still over-hyped
- they are not as good as many other offerings"
Are you talking about the BlackBerry? That sounds more like the iPhone. The only other smartphone I like is the Treo (PalmOS, please!) and, oh yeah, it has the same BlackBerry keyboard.
Whats wrong with Canadians? I for one am happy that these fine devices aren't from the US, at least that means my BIS isn't stuck with draconian US rights to read all my e-mail thinking I'm "Terry Wrist".
@AC FaceBerry - the icon that appears on your main screen isn't the app itself; it just means your service books have been updated and now include the app. Clicking on it will direct you to the "download link". I'm not about to bloat my BB with that thing!
Nice examples....
"...once you have learned the letters, you know how to spell, so it would be ludicrous to hold spelling tests. In countries like Italy and Spain it's similar."
I suppose this guy doesn't know about the complexities of Spanish then. y and ll sound the same, so do s, c and z; h has no sound, b and v same sound ... and that's without adding up that the Spaniards talk like snakes when using the s/c/z letters.
Oh, and may I add that Spainiards insist on writing Mexico as "Mejico", when they were the guys who decided to mash up the x, j and sh sounds into the "x" letter! Weeee!!!
Chrome OS? Yeah, right.
Even taking away every argument that notes the thing is only an app, not an OS (and definitely Windows-dependent at the moment), they might have even won Microsoft in the fail game.
Try typing the following "URL" into the Address Bar:
:%
and watch what happens!
Posted in MySQL daddy quitting Sun?
@Chris
Man, you're spot-on with the very things that made me go back to PostgreSQL after the MySQL craze faded on me. I hated how the MyISAM backend was still being pushed, and the 3.x documentation insisted on telling us referential integrity and transactions were useless.
The funny thing is that the guy who actually pushed on this agenda of "no transactions" is the same guy who seems to be resigning. Maybe he's doing the whole MySQL team a favor?? I mean, the only other modern RDBMS that doesn't support transactions is MS Access, and you'd expect something like MySQL to be better than that! (And Access *does* have referential integrity!)
Even with the InnoDB engine, there are some quirks with MySQL that simply keep me off the thing. The day MyISAM tables turn into transactional, FK-supporting tables is the day that I *might* turn back to MySQL.
Posted in Owner alleges iPhone 3G became red hot
iBurn
Phones running hot are not new, my dad's Toshiba TCP-9000 (circa 1994) did get hot after about 10-15 minutes into a call. But red hot? That's really something!
I would usually dismiss this, but then, the Jobs-controlled Apple has a trend on not caring about overheating devices. Not even the post-1997 "kewl" Apple, either. Our 1986 Mac Plus used to overheat because God Jobs thought that fans were not "stylish" for these computers. And given how hot MacBooks run these days, it seems he still thinks so!
Flames, 'coz that's whats happening to the german's iPhone.
Re: Flags
Hey! I actually took time to translate those flags!
Though I admit, I had to send the piece of paper into the trashcan... I think a note saying "BEND OVER" is definitely *not* work safe!
Mars in 39 Days!
I think we have a winner here. With a 39-day voyage, manned flight to Mars suddenly turns into something much more feasible!
All we need now is to get a smallish nuclear reactor in space.
Posted in Bloomberg kills Steve Jobs
Re: It's happened before.
One of our news sites in Mexico did something like this a couple of years ago. We found an article saying that Pope John Paul II had died from [something] at [time] yesterday.
Looks like someone had put the template into the live system, as the placeholders were still in place, just like this obit.
Oops!
Arrrr!!
The seamen action was funny enough, but oh my, right below it I get the "Don't mess with the Moderatrix" ad as well!!!
Posted in US made to wait for Quantum of Solace
re: Stupid move
"(that said, i hope it does make a massive impact on the box office sales so that the studios might wake-up and realise that in this day and age it only makes sense to do a worldwide simultaneous release - THAT's something else that contributed to the Dark Knight's success)"
Worldwide simultaneous releases have been here since, well, Matrix Revolutions. Thing is, it seems to only be done for movies the execs think are "good" enough to get this kind of treatment. Some were good: Star Wars Ep 3 was one of those given this treatment.
GO, 'coz the movie execs should GO and release worldwide all movies now!!!
re: massacre of students
Kent State was one, but I'd say that for the full "coverup" thing, the Mexican government had a very good try at this with the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre.
Official death count: 20.
Real death count: 400+
Add up that some recently declassified documents from the Pentagon show that the US was involved at some level with this. So yeah, the Chinese aren't exactly the only ones covering up a massacre.
The vulture flew too close to the Chihuahua building...
