* Posts by The BigYin

3080 publicly visible posts • joined 25 Mar 2008

Randall Munroe: The root nerd talks to The Register

The BigYin

Re: Monetization!

Maybe he makes enough to be happy? Work-life balance and all that.

The BigYin
Joke

Re: Ring

El Reg: Tell me about your private life

Randall Munroe: [Proffers ring-finger, keeps schtum]

El Reg: sudo Tell me about your private life

Randall Munroe: Not in sudoers, this has been reported.

It's BLOCK FRIDAY: Britain in GREED-crazed bargain bonanza mob frenzy riot MELTDOWN

The BigYin

Re: Dear corporate Britain

The sale isn't the issue, the day is.

I also have the quaint idea that retail stores should open 1200-2000, rather than 0900-1700. This woyld give them better overlap with their customers. Also, it would partially alleviate rush hour.

I did look at a few black slaes after work, but anything of interest was either not on sales, or only a couple of pounds off; no mega-deals.

The BigYin
Mushroom

Dear corporate Britain

Take this Yank import and ram it up yer arse.

Today is a workday and it's bloody stupid to have a mega-sale when most of your customers are at work.

I have bought nothing today, nor do I intend to.

Blade Runner sequel might actually be good. Harrison Ford is in it

The BigYin

Who says Deckard is subject to the same rules of the other replicants? Deckard doesn't even know it's a replicant, perhaps the termination wasn't engineered in; or maybe the one we see is simply one of many Deckards.

The BigYin
Terminator

> is Deckard a replicant?

Yes.

UK PM Cameron says Internet must not 'be an ungoverned space'

The BigYin

First things first

Start by governing Westminster, the Lords, finance, tax evasion **AND THEN** the net (if you really must).

But no. That'd hit your paymasters too hard, wouldn't it?

Google will have to WAIT and SEE if I fine them - EU antitrust chief

The BigYin
Joke

We need...

Search Neutrality!

TalkTalk's 'unbeatable signal strength' and 'fastest Wi-Fi tech' FIBS silenced by ad watchdog

The BigYin

Re: ASA...

Government regulation isn't about actually doing anything, it's about being seen to do something.

Keeps the proles happy.

EU battles over 'anti-terrorist' passenger records slurper law

The BigYin

Re: Lesson from Yes Minister

"No self-respecting terrorist (well: one who hopes or expects to walk away from an "incident") would give up the goods that easily and therefore the only data they will collect will be from harmless individuals and private citizens with no nefarious intent."

AIUI, the terrorists who flow into the WTC made no effort to hide the identifies. So these measures would have been ineffective anyway as no one joined the dots.

Or maybe they did, and let it happen. /tin-foil-hat

The BigYin

Why ask?

Surely the security services have all the zero-days and hack in place, they can simply take the data they need.

Or just demand the data under secrecy.

Million Mask March: Anonymous' London Guy Fawkes protest a damp squib

The BigYin

Re: Morons

"Other Great Socialism"? You mean the USA? The banking bail out was probably the greatest socialist action for many decades.

A capitalist society would have let them fail.

Why Comrade Cameron went all Russell Brand on the UK’s mobile networks

The BigYin

Re: Kill two birds with one stone

They sort-of have those y'know; http://www.altaerosenergies.com/

Wouldn't take too much to bung some wireless connectivity in them as well.

The BigYin

"Most useful remedy might be to simply provide more information to the public on call quality."

You could probably use an FoI to OfCom to get that, whole will then refuse under "Commercial Confidentiality".

The one thing a Tory government does not want is more openness and the possibility of being scrutinised by the public. Not that Labour would be any better. Both cut from the same cloth.

The BigYin
Mushroom

So he admits he doesn't care about the public

People moan about the fractured nature of the mobile space in the UK, this upper-crust, Etonian old-boy doesn't give two damns.

He has a problem with one or two calls and all hell lets lose.

Maybe if his pension funds collapse or his back mis-sells him some insurance he'll begin to give a crap about regulating the financial sector.

Until then, it'll be the usual "Piss off, prole" attitude from the Tories.

Spaceplane fan sips sweet nectar from LOHAN's copious cup

The BigYin
Thumb Up

Re: Nice

Ah, thanks! Must need more coffee - really didn't follow the 5g thing.

The BigYin

Nice

But why does the recipe mention "Brewer's sugar" twice? 1kg and then 5g?

BBC clamps down on illicit iPlayer watchers

The BigYin

Re: Oh jesus feck BBC....

Everything that relied on the RSS feeds is broken. Everything. Your set-top box, your brand new Smart TV. Everything.

get_iplayer has been patched. Dunno about anything else.

https://github.com/dinkypumpkin/get_iplayer/releases

The BigYin

Re: Well get_iplayer has already worked around it

Jolly good. I shall await the updates hitting the repos.

The BigYin

Re: Smart TVs too

"but steadfastly refuses to produce a stable API that would allow connected device manufacturers (and everyone else) to build and maintain their own clients at their own expense."

Because the BBC is run by technology ignorant middle managers who are only interested in expanding their fiefdoms than providing an actual service to the public.

iPlayer could become a reference implementation and the community could pick up the slack. This would allow any OS, any device to be supported that the community saw fit.

As to unflashable TVs...that's a matter for OEMs. Consumers can help by simply not buying a TV that they can't upgrade or install new software on. Which is all of them at the moment!

The BigYin

Re: Sad...

I would like to posit that tools such as "get_iplayer" actually reduced piracy. People simply used the community tool to connect to the legitimate service.

Now what is the easiest option for the dedicated BBC viewer going to be?

Fart around in a browser or with the specific desktop application (no available for all OSs)....or use a plug-in for their current media front-end that pulls content from other sources?

The BigYin

Re: Smart TVs too

The answer is simple: buy a new TV.

Welcome to the future, please ensure your wallet it open and ready to be emptied.

The BigYin
Mushroom

Oh jesus feck BBC....

...I am an avid user of XBMC (now "Kodi") as it is *the best* media front-end bar none. Why don't I use a browser? Because a browser on the TV is feckin' crap, that's why!

Why don't I use the "Smart" features of my TV? I don't have a "Smart" TV, but even if I did I would still use XBMC as it link to the other content on my network.

Why don't I use iPlayer on the set-top box? Because for some STUPID reason, it doesn't allow me to watch films.

Do I download videos via the iPlayer plug-in? No, I just watch 'em and move one.

If you are upset with "get_iplayer" etc, why not take some of the energies you just wasted in going and write something better for XBMC et al.

edit: There are workarounds it seems. Hopefully the community will deliver what the BBC refuses to (despite the BBC being paid millions to provide a service).

I wonder when the BBC will start trying to detect VPN usage....

‘For the love of Pete, America, learn about decent chocolate’

The BigYin

Spotted Hershey's in a shop recently

Whatever you do, don't buy it. Buy a candle instead.

The candle will taste nicer.

Doctors urged to adopt default opt-out approach to care.data scheme

The BigYin

Opt-out?

No, won't happen. There's no profit in an opt-out default for the Tory's and Labour's pay masters.

Next you'll be expecting the Tories and Labour to put the needs of the country before the needs of tax evading multinationals!

Son of Hudl: Tesco flogs new Atom-powered 8.3-inch Android tablet

The BigYin

Rootable

Can it be rooted/jailbroken? I wonder if there is a new ROM for it.....

Apple, Google mobe encryption good news... for TERRORISTS – EU top cop

The BigYin

Screw him

He and his cronies made people fear their own governments, now he reaps the response.

Data entry REAR-END SNAFU: Weighty ballsup leads to plane take-off flap

The BigYin

87kg?

Feck me. Does that include carry on?

I'm just shy of 2m, so taller than average, and I'm 85kg, not exactly trim either. Are we really becoming so obese that 87kg is the normal weight?

Racing Post escapes ICO fine after leaking info of 677K punters

The BigYin

Re: It was a commercial company that screwed up...

Indeed, just like banking. Can't interrupt criminals at work.

Why there isn't a flat fee per individual I don't know.

Non-identifying info - £1 per record

Communication info [cyber] - £2 per address

Communication info [real] - £5 per number

Identifying info [minor] - £10 per record (e.g. name and city - probably not enough to be truly unique)

Identifying info [reversible] - £50 per record (e.g. when combined with another readily available dataset, it become trivial to uniquely identify a person; name, postcode, d.o.b)

Identifying info [full] - £100 per record (without reference to any other dataset, it is possible to uniquely identify someone)

Add in some other entries for financial etc and you can simply calculate a fine, which could well be ruinous even for a small breach (e.g. "Racing Post" could have been on to a £6.7million pound fine). AND THAT'S A GOOD THING!

Why?

Well, it will make companies seriously consider if they need to collect that information at all; rather than just doing the data-rape land-grab they do now.

Pay to play: The hidden cost of software defined everything

The BigYin

Re: You have bought the device

The disc is yours, the movie/song on it isn't.

The BigYin

Re: This is real "free" software

I know you put free in quotes, but as "Free Software" is already an actual thing (and not as restrictive as "Open Software" can sometimes be) I think we need a new term for this.

The BigYin

> If the agreement you have committed to with a supplier includes limitations

Which is an argument for Free Software, no limitations can be imposed.

In fact the only "limitation" (if you want to call it that) is to preserve the freedom of any subsequent derivatives you release.

> for example, some "free" software disallows its use for military purposes.

Then, by definition, it's not free software.

Redmond stall means IE Java axe won't swing till September

The BigYin

Re: Dear Microsoft / Oracle

"No you shouldn't - port everything to .Net and forever say good bye to dozens of security flaws every update. And gain a performance increase and better UIs."

So you're saying "Ram portability up yer arse, go Windows only and say hello to a whole slew of NEW security flaws every update."

BT FON fail: Telco CHARGES customers for FREE Wi-Fi usage

The BigYin

"Also works for Virgin"

Err..no. You still need to use the Virgin kit, but just in modem mode.

Brits stung for up to £625 when they try to cancel broadband

The BigYin

Re: cost no more than outstanding contract

£52pm is reasonable, in fact that's cheap!

KDE releases ice-cream coloured Plasma 5 just in time for summer

The BigYin
FAIL

Re: KDE

Pre-loaded modules/libraries is not bloat or wasted memory.

RAM sat empty doing nothing *IS* a waste.

Stick a 4K in them: Super high-res TVs are DONE

The BigYin

Re: Speaking as a CRT user...

"You could just not plug it into the network?"

So I should pay for crap I don't use? No. How's about they just don't put the crap in there? I have no issue with the TV showing me local network content; it's the reporting back to big-brother and only letting consume specific on-line services I don't want.

The BigYin

Won't happen for some time. If you could "roll your own" the major labels and providers wouldn't be able to gouge your pockets at every turn.

The BigYin
FAIL

Speaking as a CRT user...

...I'm more interested in the quality of the programming rather than the number of shiny dots in front of my eyes. Cease the race to the bottom and deliver good shows (be that drama, documentary or whatever). Even the likes of Horizon are now little more than dumbed-down vacuous bullshit; hell, Nat Geo has "Ancient Nazi Alien Ghosts" or such cobblers on it as serious programming. Pathetic.

When I can find a HD TV that is *JUST* a TV with not walled-garden, spying on your network "SMART" TV wank; I'll buy it. Or a SMART TV where I can install a new OS and make it actually SMART and serving me, rather than the OEM.

'Apple is terrified of women’s bodies and women’s pleasure' – fresh tech sex storm

The BigYin

The simplest solutions...

...would be to not censor anything. Let people engrave sex organs, hate speech, whatever.

If they want to pay over the odds to make themselves look like monumental dobbers, then who is Apple to stop them?

Reminds me of the story where Nike (I think) banned the word "sweatshop" from its customer embroidery service.

Microsoft joins Qualcomm's gang in Internet of Stuff standards fight

The BigYin
Coffee/keyboard

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Microsoft...standards...bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Oh gods, that's a good one!

Standards! Har-har-har-har-har!

Oh my sides...

Cambridge Assessment exams CHAOS: Computing students' work may be BINNED

The BigYin

Re: Ironic though...

> Perhaps a GCSE in "finding it on Google" is needed.

Being able to do a web search, sift out the cruft and find the nugget of useful information/guidance is an important skill.

Almost every coder I know spends part of their day trawling blogs/updating wikis etc.

The BigYin

Yes. Because those aren't Microsoft.

We'll have to wait for Microsoft Exam Room 2018 to be released before our government does shit about it.

The BigYin
Mushroom

Re: GCSE Computing still a joke????

It's because they are applying the business strategy of "just pump-up the numbers" to a diverse, and hard to acquire competence in, set of skills. PowerPoint/Word etc are basic office admin skills. They have little-to-nothing to do with actual computing.

Having done manys a computing course, nothing pissed me off more than busting my ass to deliver projects on time, only for the slackers to get an extension. And another. And another. And then to be given the answer just so they'd pass.

Numbers make the college look good, quality be damned.

I say; fail the bastards!

MIT and CERN's secure webmail plan stumped by PayPal freeze

The BigYin
FAIL

The USA again

"if [Proton Mail has] government approval to encrypt emails"

So in the USA you need to get state approval to encrypt your stuff, or offer encryption as a service?

USA - destroying freedom one regulation at a time.

Microsoft compliance police to NHS: We want your money

The BigYin

Re: Time to say you're looking at those RedHat/SUSE/Ubuntu install DVDs?

"That would be your printer vendor's crappy drivers then."

For not working? Yes. That is the vendor's issue.

"Not a Microsoft issue."

Allowing an external module to crash the kernel? That is very much a Microsoft issue.

EFF wants you to open your Wi-Fi to IMPROVE privacy

The BigYin

Laws?

The state could just make the operator responsible for all activity on their network. I think that may already be the case in Germany.

I run segregated guest network on my home router already using DD-WRT. I haven't applied any bandwidth limits as you need to know the password (QR code on the side of the router) and it was a bit of an arse to set-up; but it can be done. If this project makes it easier, then great.

What I'd like to see is something akin to a "Citizen mesh network". Won't solve every problem and would need significant density to be workable.

Neither solve the issue of someone abusing your network, then you having your door kicked-in and all computers seized (not to be returned for years). If that happened to me, I'd be fired in an instant.

Tor is '90 per cent of the net' claims City of London Police Commish – and he's dead wrong

The BigYin

45 minutes

TOR users are 45 minutes away from firing chemical rockets from their super-gun.

Time to invade TORistan and bring it freedom the the democractic use of weapons!

Missiles-on-rooftops Brit spy Farr: UK gov can slurp your Facebook, Twitter ... What of it?

The BigYin

Re: Why is this any surprise?

"Anything that is posted on line is accessible to the sys admin or law enforcement with or perhaps without a warrant."

And this is what people (like Andrew Fernie it seems) completely fail to understand.