* Posts by The BigYin

3080 publicly visible posts • joined 25 Mar 2008

US judge greenlights case against Google Wi-Fi slurp

The BigYin

@Battsman

Oh know! Car analogy! But yes I agree, that is theft. What would not be a crime would be someone opening the door, having a wee seat, and then leaving the car unharmed. Heck, they could even rummage through your glove box. As I said to Turtle, IRL example rarely translate.

No data was taken, that's where it IRL analogies break down. The "in the clear" transmission was merely listened to. I, to this day, do not conduct certain transaction via web/email because of that exact risk. I do them IRL to ensure security.

And I'll reiterate in case people think I'm some fanboi, I wouldn't trust Google to boil an egg!

The BigYin

@Turtle

From around 2006 it was a daily spurt of data back to Redmond on a per-boot/daily basis (later changed to bi-weekly). What data was sent? IP address, machine manufacturer, locale etc. Enought to be uniquely identifiable. The WGA was sometimes installed without consent, could download extra software and morph its own behaviour; this led many to label WGA as "spyware at the time.

---

"It is no different from saying that anyone who fails to lock their door is giving permission to any passer-by to come in and remove all their possessions.."

That's theft. However a stranger walking through said door is would hardly a surprise would it? And depending on where you live it wouldn't even constitute trespass. The stranger having to kick the door down is a different matter. IRL analogies rarely work, but congrats for not picking a car analogy!

---

Reid Kuhn's (any relation to Bradley?) is interesting, but that does not stop it being a PR stunt, not does it exonerate MS from past or future actions and people should not trust them. Nor Google, nor...

The BigYin

MS bashing?

Nope, just showing up their PR stunt for what it is. MS, Google, Facebook ect are not advocates for consumer privacy, no matter what the PR wonks may claim. Their business model (wholly or partially) depends on "invading your privacy" and targeting you.

And how can Google "steal" what people are giving away for free?

The BigYin

Oh...

...and wasn't there some hoo-hah a few years ago about "phone home" features in Windows? A spy-on-your desk is a lot worse than a time-limited data slurp IMHO.

The BigYin

Slightly different

BT we providing a service to their customers, so there was an actual relationship there. BT deserve a serious kicking for Phorm.

If Google had been providing such a service (or mined this data and linked it back to a users GMail/search account) *then* they'd deserve a similar kicking.

Of course, if Google have done that; kick away!

The BigYin

A do I

But only because MS don't have my data (or very little of it).

Google have slighty more (e.g. some emails) but not much.

Motto of the Internet is: Trust no one.

The BigYin
Thumb Down

I get it

Google captured the network data. No question.

Google /could/ mine, index and cross-reference that data.

Google /could/ release that data and someone else /could/ do the mining etc.

This all /could/ lead to a massive loss of privacy.

I get that, I really do. And it raises many questions about how society and the law deal with such things.

But....

Is it really (really, really) a criminal offence to do little more than record what people are publicly blasting into the air? If I record on a dictaphone what someone in a public place is shouting, have I now broken some law? If someone put personal information on a billboard, are you guilty of a crime just for looking? These people are *giving* their information away.

Is Google the whipping-boy? I'm not so sure. Is it a PR disaster? Oh my yes. Should they have done it? I don't think so. Was it malicious or with bad intent? Probably not - I'm going with cock-up.

If YOU d not secure YOUR data on YOUR network, don't be too surprised when it goes AWOL.

Microsoft floats 'site-ready' IE10 preview

The BigYin

@Wortel

They don't need to produce a special browser per enterprise, they need to make it possible to manage FF in an enterprise environment in general.

If you want to stop enterprises "attaching themselves upside down and sideways onto one of it's branches with their proprietary deprecated crap", then you have to make it possible for them to use something else.

One can do this with IE, the fact one cannot do it with FF is a fail of epic proportions.

The BigYin

Idiots

Mozilla are a bunch of cocks for not getting why they need to support the enterprise.

As much as I malign MS for also being a bunch of cocks, they are (in some places) actually supporting [emerging] standards and not poisoning the well for others. IE9 is the best browser they have ever produced and is arguably the best browser available. Certainly for the enterprise now that Mozilla have finally admitted they don't give two shits.

Royal Mail tells The Register how it's using private cloud

The BigYin
FAIL

No thanks

What is the point of listening to someone flap their gums when their own websites proscribe that you use a Windows as your OS? Got OS X? Parcelforce don't care. Got Droid? Parcelforce don't care. Got a Linux? Parcelforce don't care. What non-Windows peeps will get is a big, fat warning that you must run Windows or your order may fail.

Don't believe me? Go here and try for yourself (don't use Windows, obviously): http://www.parcelforce.com/

1. Click any red "Buy" button

2. Click "Continue"

3. Wait....

4. See nice big warning message, Parcelforce do not want your business!

And why is this a fail? Well, so long as the browser support HTML/CSS standards, the web app should not care what OS you are on. Really, for a browser based application that is (or should be) standards compliant, who give a flying crap what the OS is? It runs in the browser!

Oh yeah, and they demand you have Adobe Acrobat too. Why? Search me. It's not the only PDF game in town.

McAfee to wipe mess off .xxx pr0n sites

The BigYin

This won't be a problem...

...in the UK (and probably no in Oz either). ISPs will just be told to block all ".xxx" sites. Why? To protect the children, dammit! </daily mail>

Samsung NC110 matte-screen netbook

The BigYin
Joke

Is there an edition...

...of Windows that isn't shit?

Google battles MicroSkype with 'open' VoIP protocol

The BigYin

@AC

<pedant>

And it will never use one Kb. Not ever. I leave it to you to figure out why.

</pedant>

BT wary of rights holders' site-blocking proposal

The BigYin

So...

...Big Music is represented, Big ISP is represented; where is the public voice?

Oh wait, the public can't buy the expensive junkets, so don't matter.

Virgin Media blames Activision for Call of Duty lag problems

The BigYin

VM seems fine to me

There again, I'm usually only playing Sauerbraten.

Faking reviews? You should fret about more than illegality

The BigYin

Not just web forums

There is a long history in publishing of authors for the same house giving each other glowing reviews. Will that now be stamped on?

Bluetooth goes 3D with Apple

The BigYin

Would the RF...

...ionising enough to damage the cells? I wouldn't have thought so (being below light), but what do I know.

The BigYin
WTF?

"Wellness industry"

WTF is that?

FBI fat-thumbs data centre raid

The BigYin

If ones "cloud"...

...is in one location, then one really isn't getting the point.

Programmers urged to code with their tootsies

The BigYin

Real programmers...

...use butterflies. http://xkcd.com/378/

BT, TalkTalk refused appeal against Digital Economy Act

The BigYin

It's simple

On the one hand you have the public. You know, the whining sods who cause problems.

On the other hand you have the BPI, MPAA, RIAA etc. You know, the very nice people who bought that sumptuous dinner, tickets for football games and promised you that nice job if the public boot you out on your ear.

Who do you think they are voting in favour of?

BMW intros revamped Mini as sporty MG-alike

The BigYin

False advertising?

Is it just me or is the "Mini" now actually a "Maxi"?

Has anyone told Austin?

Firefox web 3D engine fosters image theft bug

The BigYin

My mistakes

It was "Context Information Security" who published the big report, MS who did some light-weight review.

But the question remains - Did they report it to Khronos/Mozilla/Google and give them time to fix before they went public?

The BigYin

Probably the same

Assuming Linux suffers from this issue, by the sounds of it it would.

Just checked FF and the options are the same on a Linux.

The BigYin

Here's a thing

MS found a vulnerability, jolly good. Did they report it to Khronos/Mozilla/Google and give them time to fix before they went public? Or did they just publish? (And only a short while after IE9 was spunked out - curious).

The story does not say, and it's an important question. Or should zero-days on MS products now be made public as a matter of course?

Panasonic preps outdoor Android slate

The BigYin
Thumb Up

Matt display!

Yay! Can we get laptops with a matt display too, please? PUH-LEEZE!!!!!!

States consider saner 'sexting' penalties for teens

The BigYin
Thumb Up

Depends...

...on how the picture were taken, who took them and who they get sent to. We don't want to reduce the ability to apply the law to paedos (yes, I know this is getting very close to the "think of the children" argument). I guess one could provide advice to the courts (can they do that in the USA?) that says something like "If the sending party was between 14-18 and the act of sending/receipt was consensual, then send them away with a flea in their ear."

Actually, give that advice to the cops. Much better that the teens get some education on privacy; before they find their bits plastered all over Facebook or something.

You are quite right about the puritanical furore that grips the USA at times. Look at the "Hot Coffee" hack. It's OK for a 14 year old to play a game where they can machine-gun down passers-by ("Hell yeah! Ah gots ah raht to mah guns, commie!") but simulated sex? Oh dear.

The BigYin

I blame...

...the Daily Mail. "Fixing" these laws is political suicide *until* enough people have been crushed by them. That's happened in the USA, so the law can be sorted. Not sure if the same problems have happened here yet.

Google Instant Pages: Search sites rendered before you click

The BigYin

So...

...the browser reads-ahead on the results links to give you that "instant page"? That's Old Skool that is.

Watch your bandwidth caps and fair-usage clauses, people.

Video vigilantes in trouble again

The BigYin

There may be more to it

That bloke fell over in a public place.

The inside of a shop is not public.

Did I just defend The Sun? I feel dirty.

Creationists are infiltrating US geology circles

The BigYin
Mushroom

Having met

A couple of devout scientists, I quickly formed the conclusion that it is not possible to be a scientist and to follow a faith. Well....maybe Bhuddism or something similar, but certainly not any Abrahamic faith or anything remotely like it.

Why? Well, a scientist must (crudely) have a theory, make a prediction, test that prediction and then publish results. Other scientists will then confirm/refute and we take a small step forward. Wall the time their is evidence, proof, invalidation, refinement etc. It all follows logical thought and it all must be supported by evidence an everything constantly questioned.

Faith? It's in a book. You must accept the book in totality. You may not question the book. The book is a translation of a translation of a translation of a.....but it is still the WORD and must be OBEYED UTTERLY WITHOUT QUESTION!

These two are, I put it to you, opposed and mutually exclusive. if you are a theistic scientist, then you are either a very bad scientist or a very bad theist. You cannot have it both way.

The BigYin

It's not just there

It's in the UK too. At least they have separation of church and state. Meanwhile our government continues to throw public money at faith schools.

Bitcoin slump follows senators’ threats

The BigYin
FAIL

@David Hicks

"its image isn't helped by the fanbase of people who don't think they should have to pay any taxes, ever"

WHAT? It's backed by football players, music & movie stars, banks, supermarkets and mobile phone companies? Wow. That's some serious backing!

The BigYin

Seems like...

...it is stabilising around the USA$19. For now.

Taxman recruits fricking tax-collecting robots

The BigYin
Mushroom

I've been trying...

...to call Mr. taxman about my new income, and I can't get through. ARGH!

I want to pay you Mr. HRMC. I have this misguided idea it might make a difference and I accept that I am too small to get cushy deals like Vodafone. I want to pay you - pick up the goddamned phone already!

Cabinet Office talks to Facebook & co about new ID system

The BigYin

No.

No, no, no, no!

Going to let a private corporation own our legal identity? Feck that for a game of soldiers.

My on-line identities do not equate to my legal identity nor should they IMHO. Sure, my bank can match my login to my legal-self, but I trust my bank slightly more than I trust FB. Why would somewhere that I may post picture of kittens doing somersaults have any need to equate to my legal self?

Microsoft loses Supreme patent fight over Word

The BigYin

Unless you are in the USA...

...where they are.

The BigYin
Mushroom

Schadenfreude

And buckets of it. After decades of using patents as a weapon to crush opposition and stifle innovation, MS have just got bitten on the ass by their own tactic. I can't say I am sorry.

The fact that they are trying to spin this into them being the wounded party and now a fighter for patent reform is laughable. These are the very same people who are blowing a gasket about the attempt to reverse-engineer the Skype protocol (to pick one example) and continue to use patent threats (Android, Linux, MPEG....).

Bend over and take your medicine, MS. You were part of making this problem, you are still part of this problem and you can never be part of the solution unless you walk the walk and much as you talk the talk.

Council fined for randomly emailing personal data

The BigYin
Flame

Err...

...I think you mean "Taxpayers punished for civil servants' ineptitude", after all it's us who pay these fines to...err...ourselves in cases like this. Those who failed (if anyone) need to face the music, not our collective wallet.

Oh, wait, this is the civil service. I forgot.

Carry on!

Adobe rushes out patch for all-platform Flash vuln

The BigYin
FAIL

@peter 45

No system is 100% secure. None. So a system will always starts out with, say W problems. Over time X more are found for any given time period t. So the total number of faults is W + Xt. This number grows with t.

Fixes, Y, for those problems are released. So the total number of faults is now W + t(X - Y).

Ah, but wait, those fixes may introduce some other issues, Z, so the total number of faults is W + t(X -Y +Z) where Z is some fraction of Y...say f, so Y is fY

W + t(X -Y + fY) which si W + t(X -Y(1-f))

So long as Y(1-f) > Z then a patched system actually gets more secure as time goes on rather than an un-patched one, because more are holes are getting plugged than are being discovered/created.

Just because Windows makes keeping a system up to date a raging pile of ball-ache does not make a highly patched system a bad thing. So long as those patches fix more problems than they cause.

The BigYin
Linux

I see no issue

Regular updates mean a secure system. The more the better.

Just let your package manager handle the updates for your OS and installed apps, authenticate once, all done. You don't even need to reboot unless the kernel changes.

Skype reverse-engineered and open sourced

The BigYin

AIUI

The rules change depending on where one is. I think the rules in the article are for the USA and don't apply to the EU. Anyone know what the EU rules are? Can the article be updated with the EU rules?

If he did all this legally, I hope MS do respond and I hope they get told where to shove their complaint.

Microsoft eyes Ubuntu and Debian love on Hyper-V

The BigYin

I see...

...Project Embrace is proceeding well.

We all know which two projects follow.

Russian computer programmer buries himself alive

The BigYin

@Loyal Commentator

Aye, I am well aware that some herbs do have pharmaceutical properties. To quote Dara O'Brien:

"The good bits of herbal medicine became....MEDICINE!"

Although if the herb is potent enough for what ails you...may as well use that I guess.

Now where did I put those ginger pills.....?

The BigYin

What is it...

...with seemingly intelligent people buying into happy-clappy, unproven BS these days? Homeopathy, chiropracty, cults of all shapes and sizes, crystal healing, reiki, etc.

Depressing. I best take some St. John's Wort.....

Tesco pricing cock-up provokes beer stampede

The BigYin

Great marketing campaign

Tesco is all over the press, on the front page of the Beeb. A cheap way to get your name plastered all over.

Oracle drops OpenOffice on Apache, shuns forkers

The BigYin

An enemy...

...divided is an enemy defeated. Hopefully Apache can heal the rift between OpenOffice and LibreOffice. We need two competing versions like we need a hole in the head just now.

Yes, choice is good, freedom is great; but division of labour won't do anything to help O/L-Office take on MS.

Think PCs will drop in price? Think again, warns Intel

The BigYin

Translation:

"There is no viable competitor, we have the lock-in, we can charge what we want".

That about right? Intel - the MS of the chip world.

Rumbled benefits cheats offer sensational excuses

The BigYin

Benefit fraud is a joke

Just look at how our MPs/MEPs treat their benefits....

Vatican crackdown at Rome's Playboy Mansion-style monastery

The BigYin
Childcatcher

Christians...

...are human too. Who'd a thunk it?

Give up the dogma, recant the hypocrisy and start enjoying life.