Posts by The BigYin
2771 posts • joined Tuesday 25th March 2008 12:38 GMT
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Posted in Beeb iPlayer blocked by Xbox velvet rope
I am sure...
...Tim has already paid for an internet connection. Why should he pay MS again to use the same connection and download content that would otherwise be free?
Here's a clue
A sample of one (yourself) is not statistically significant.
Ignoring...
...the fact that he should never have been deported under this one-side and deeply dangerous treaty in the first place. No ones should.
The USA should be forced to prove that they have a valid case before a UK judge (just as the UK has to do).
And in this case, they USA should be asked to explain why such secretive information was (basically) unsecured.
I'm not a supported of McKinnon, but I do not think their extradition treaty should received any support. Our government are a spineless bunch of wankers only interested in their next expenses claim and cushy directorship.
Bullshit?
If only the argument was so easy. Please either show your counter-data and argument, your differing analysis of the raw data or hold your tongue (well, fingers in this case).
Linux penetration remains at 1% (basically a rounding error) and it will continue to do so for a long, long time. This is, if I understand things correctly, because the Linux world is not focused on the desktop, but on the back-end (serves, clouds etc) and more "embedded" systems (set-top boxes, sat navs erc).
This explains a few things
1) Why Linux does so poorly on web state
2) Why basic features are missing/run poorly on a Linux distro (e.g. Flash, VPN, multi-head...)*
This may well change if Droid gains traction, but you can bet that Droid will be separated out and not counted as Linux (just as OSX is not counted as Unix).
*Yes, fanbois, I know these things *can* be done, but support is no where near as ubiquitous as it is on Windows and it is all hit-and-miss. I know - I've tried.**
**Yes, you may now say I'm too dumb to use Linux and I should go back to Windoze. Thank you for continuing to be the problem in the Linux community. You know where you can shove your pocket protector, don't you?
Surprised...
...that MS would allow this, surely they have a clause in their terms and conditions to prevent an OEM selling a competing OS, and if MS do permit it expect the hardware to be under-powered and generally a bit crap.
Or maybe Acer will still have to pay for a Windows license on every non-MS unit sold (just like Dell have to do).
Posted in Beeb iPlayer blocked by Xbox velvet rope
This...
...is why you hack/mod. If I am not using MS's network, I don't see why I should pay MS anything. It's *my* xBox and I will do with it as *I* see fit. Unless MS want to supply it for "free" on some kind of Sky-like subscription service...
iPlayer on the Wii was something I'd forgotten about, but seeing as how poorly Flash runs inside the Wii's version of Opera, I don't hold out much hope of it being usable.
It's pot luck
Lexmark printers won't work on Linux (OK, that's a bit over an over-generalisation, but the support really sucks).
Multi-head is a bit pot-luck. You might be lucky, you might just have to fiddle a bit with xrandr or you may enter the pain zone (gnome+intel graphics+multi-head = nightmare; that's been my experience anyway, yours may vary).
The way the corporate firewall is set up, it will only let in a CheckPoint client, and CheckPoint does not support Linux. OpenSwan etc are no-go (I'd be summarily dismissed if I tried).
I know all these things *can* be done, but it still hit-and-miss I'm afraid. I'm just hoping that the fanboi rush to droid will force companies to up their game (or open their code up so it can be ported).
Posted in Iomega ScreenPlay Director HD
Why have this...
...when you can just fit an extra drive to your PC and run MythTV or whatever?
Even if your TV is located away from the network (unlikely in an average, but easily solved with a bit of drill-time) and small form-factor PC acting as a media client may well work out cheaper and better.
To me this just looks like an over-rpiced hard drive and yet another remote control to use.
Posted in Sun VirtualBox gets live migration
Native speed?
Joys.
I use VB at home for study/dicking around with and it is simply the mutt's nuts. VMWare? You can keep it (although I am subjected to using that at work, shame).
Xen (and type 1 hypervisors in general) are interesting - just can't think of any reason to play with them at home.
Win7 offers nothing...
...and the only reason to upgrade will be the slow demise of any support for XP. Then again, what do you upgrade too? And does Win7 let you do anything better/faster than XP does?
If Linux gets decent printer support (I'm looking at YOU Lexmark/Dell), multi-head support (a few Gnome bug fixes and Intel/ATI given a slap - thank god I'm Nvidia on the big box) and VPN support (hello CheckPoint, this is the 21st century calling) then it could well be a viable alternative. Ooo yeah, and you can get Flash to actually run with out it becoming jumpy-jerk fest.
With the rise of Droid and the whole Googley love-fest, some of those might actually get fixed. Which would be nice.
My Chrimbo project: have another look at MythTV and see if it has got anywhere near MediaCenter (which, apart from notepad, is about the best thing MS has ever written. Hmm, add the calculator to the list; that's pretty good too).
How secure?
Just how secure are these? How long before someone hacks them and then uses for mischief or to cause trouble by buggering the grid?
Is the security under my control? Does it sit behind my firewall? Does it pose any threat to my own network?
I have seen adverts for the meters here, and it will be a cold day in hell before I fit one without finding out A LOT more about how they work and ensuring they are secure.
Hmm
The treaty is totally one sided. The USA can demand anyone be taken from the UK and they do not have to show evidence of any crime or anything. Even if the person's actions are not a crime under UK law, they can still be taken. It's legalised kidnap.
The UK, in contrast, must show evidence and effectively prove their case in the USA before the USA will even consider extradtion and even then they can refuse. The UK can not refuse ANY request from the USA.*
If it totally one sided and quite why signing it was not considered an act of treason is beyond me.
McKinnon is an idiot (Asperger's or no). He deliberately attacked and penetrated computers in the USA. The fact that they were poorly secured does not changed the fact that McKinnon committed a crime. I rather doubt he did any damage and for the electronic equivalent of shacking a look loose and shouting "Coo-ee! Anyone home?" he should be give...oh, 3 months at a local open prison?
The even bigger idiots are the USA military who obviously have no learnt ANYTHING since Clifford Stoll's time (go look him up kids) and seem more intent on denial and shooting the messenger than anything else.
Yes, McKinnon is guily (he has admitted to it).
Yes, he should serve time.
No, he should not be extraditied.
No, he should not be made the scapegoat for the USA's negligence.
We should never have signed this treaty.
Our MPs (our supposed "servants") have let the nation down again and are a bunch od self-serving assholes (almost without exception).
*And if you think this is bad, read up on European Arrest Warrants. The UK can be forced to deport you to any EU country for any reason and without any proof. That means you can be deported to an EU state that engages in abuse of witness and has dubious legal process (e.g. Greece).
Once again, our MPs are too concerned about the gravy train and boosting their expenses claims to give two shits about the UK public.
The Germans, by contrast, have some balls and have told the EU where they can go shove EAWs.
Could it also induce a...
..."That's not a hack, THIS is a hack!" type of response?
Posted in TomTom iPhone Car Kit
Oh course they are used...
...to paying over-the-odds. They're Apple users!
(Sorry, someone had to say it)
Huh?
"Though older PCs with pre-D3D10 graphics cards and WDDM 1.0 drivers will not show significant improvements, going into the future most PCs will support DirectX 10+."
So DirectX is being ported to Unix, Linux etc? Wow.
Tell me now, why do I need Direct2D for a browser? And will anything be back-ported to XP?
Hmm...another reason to look at the Linux migration again in a few months; or just buy Win7.
The EU should butt-out...
...when the USA butts-ouit of trying to tell the rest of the world what to do and stops impeding free-trade.
STOP PRESS!
US Navy finds that US Navy is not to blame!
Next story: Bankers say that banks are not to blame for poor economy
So chnage the measure
Out with "food miles" (surely it should have been "food kilometres" anyway?) and in with "food mega/giga/exajoules" or "food co2" (how much energy, roughly, was used to get the food from source to shop).
Moving anything by ship is the most efficient way if most cases. This is why we need the canals open again. So long as the items are not time-critical (which is an anathema to JIT processes) they can come by barge.
Of course shipping things misses out one vital part. Getting it to the shop. Our rail infrastructure is a laughing stock* and even if you bring the stuff here by the most efficient ship ever built, all the trucks tearing up the motorway to move the goods kinda makes a mockery of the whole thing. Why aren't the ports also railway freight terminals**? Goods from ship, to warehouse, sort, then on to the train (or even, straight from the ship to the train). That way the only trucks needed are a few to cover the last few miles to the shops.
But, of course, that takes joined up thinking; something the EU and our government aren't good at. They'd rather waste millions bringing us under the heel of total observation than do the jobs for which they were elected. Well, OK, in the case of the EU they weren't elected, but you know what I mean.
Anyway, back on topic. There are other concerns with net fishing than just the fuel used. There's the number of fish caught and thrown away and the number of young caught. Over fishing is a serious problem and even if line fishing is less efficient, if it helps preserve stocks in it might actually be the better option.
This study does point out one thing though - why one must be very careful about the dogma spouted by the greenies. They are now responsible for perfectly good cars being scrapped and new "efficient" ones being bought - new ones that have to be built and consume way more resources than they could possible save. Well done greenies! Another pyrrhic victory for you!
*Just look at the fiasco over the half-arsed attempts to electrify the lines. If one section isn't electrified, then you either need
** On that note, why don't airports have their own rail hubs? Who needs a third railway at Heathrow if you could take a hi-speed train from their straight to another airport? Greatly reduced need for domestic flights, so no need for a third runway. From the airport if should only take a few minutes to get to the city. Imagine getting on at Newcastle and being at Heathrow check-in (say) in two hours. If the French can do it, why can't Britain. Did Napoleon beat us after all?
@The guy brought it on himself
To just pick up on one poin that show how much drivel the rest of your post is
"The fact is that we are living in the modern world, and terrorists and other criminals now have many ways to communicate and hide their information."
We have *ALWAYS* lived in the modern world. In 1,000BC *that* was the "modern world" and means of hiding information/encryption-of-sorts have been around since then. People have always had ways to secretly communicate and pass on information, this is nothing new and only the means has changed.
There is no need to compel and innocent citizen to give up any information. They are innocent UNTIL the state proves guilt. End of discussion. In many cases said citizen may just give up the info as they know it might cut out a bunch of hassle, but what if that info also contains deeply private information or they simply don't want to divulge?
That is their choice. They are innocent.
If you want to live in a state that presumes guilt, then kindly move to one that does. Stop supporting the transformations of Britain into to some fascistic state.
"Idiot. No sympathy for him."
Idiot. I do pity you.
Start at the top
All MPs, their partners and their children should be added.
All civil servants (regardless of grade), their partners and their children should be added.
All serving and ex-police officers, their partners and their children should be added.
Once that's done, then we can look at adding the innocent public to the system. The above should give them a big enough dataset to work the kinks out. If they have nothing to hide...
As to "proving you are innocent" in a post above. I hope the officer meant "to discount you from further inquiry" rather than prove your innocence in court. If he meant the latter (and did in fact say it) then he needs to be removed from his job.
Simple answer
Apple should just give the networks a utility to detect jailbroken phones and then to ban them from their networks. Why do people need to run jailbroken phones anyway? For "backup" games or something?
People think that once they buy something it's theirs. MS is leading the way in showing that this is not the case. Apple should simply copy MS. Again*.
*Just to annoy the fanbois. :-P
@AC 10:39 GMT
Use OSS? I'd love to, but I can't.
Boss: So it all runs in the browser?
Me: Yup.
Boss: Any browser?
Me: Within reason, any modern one would do. FF, Safari, Opera...
Boss: Will it run in IE?
Me: IE7 & 8? Yes.
Boss: What about IE6?
Me: Err...
Boss: Oh, and do they need to install anything?
Me: Well, they need to install the plug-ins so the software works.
Boss: Nope, can't have that. It must work OOTB based on their standard deployment, which is IE6 by the way, and we can't demand they install anything else.
Me: Err...crap.
This is what we have to live with. It *MUST* run in IE6 and if it needs to use anything more than a PDF plug-in, you're S.O.L. I'd love it if customers would use a proper browser (even IE7 would do) but it just doesn't happen. I know people who are still rolling out XP with that abomination IE6!
IE6?
Most business apps will only run on IE6.
So client only run IE6.
So I have to deal with IE6.
As for not fully supporting HTML5 and "special" doo-hikey APIs, the pain will just continue.
Posted in Write haiku, win home server
Haiku?
There's a rather sweet little desktop OS called "Haiku" inspired by BeOS. It's still gestating and rough round the ages, but it seems to hold promise as it doesn't suffer from all the bloat of Linux (let alone Windows), so might be good for older/lower spec units.
The comment from Dave Harris is very close (identical?) to one of Haiku's error messages.
You can find out about Haiku here: http://www.haiku-os.org/
And I strongly suggest you muck around with it under virtualisation repeating the haiku
"Haiku is not Linux,
And neither of them are Windows.
Oh thank god!"
Posted in Arkansas cop tasers 10-year-old girl
Hmm...
Could a cop physically restrain a 10 year old? Yes.
Is that "safer" and less "traumatic" than a taser bolt? Good question.
Restraint holds can hurt. A lot. That's the point of them, they make you want to stop whatever you are doing and for the pain to go away. They also have to be kept on and there is the risk of tendon damage, dislocation, breakage and even death*. Is that risk lower than a taser bolt? I dunno, I'm no expert and neither are you Dunning-Kruger fools.
The preferable action (maybe) would have been to have the child removed by social services. If she has enough mental problems to throw a violent wobbly when asked to take a shower, she probably needs to be in care (or perhaps simply removed from her (feckless?) parents?). There again, we would then be reading some story about how the rozzers had a child taken away and the mother jailed just because the kid didn't want a shower.
Like making peoples life hard much?
*Either as a direct result of the restraint (if a choke/strangle is employed) or from positional asphyxia if a pin is used and kept on for too long.
@AC - Tuesday 14:34
So my argument still stands. Because the "thing" can be used for illegal activities in one way, the "thing" is now illegal. If you can't install it, you still can't use it. The end result is the same.
This is madness, utter madness. So many "things" are dual purpose (mod chips included, despite the frothing on here). The examples people are giving of guns doesn't go into the detail.
Some guns are only fit for target shooting, their ability to kill is slight but they can still be sued for threats.
Some guns are primarily intended for hunting, although they could kill people.
Other guns are only intended for killing.
Taking this legal argument to it's conclusion, picking up a gun ("installing" it) is now illegal in the UK because it *COULD* be used for an illegal act. That is all that is need.
I *COULD* use my motorcycle to kill someone (and probably kill/serious injure myself in the process but that's beside the point). If that now illegal?
I *COULD* break a CD in half and use the broken edge as a weapon. Is breaking CDs in half now a illegal?
I'll say it again. It's not the "thing", it's not the people who sell/make/supply the "thing" it is the purpose the end-user puts the "thing" o. Go after the end-users *IF* they commit a crime. The only exception is when the "thing" is single purpose and that purpose is to commit a crime (so that's the sale of fully operational assault rifles in the UK...oh, wait, no...that's not illegal; that's positively encourage with government funding! Hey ho).
On a happier note: I am now thinking of plonking a Linux distro on this old xBox. Someone come and arrest me!
Backups: That right was effectively rescinded a while back in memory serves. You should contact the publisher for a new copy which will be supplied "at a reasonable price". I think Sony has claimed they do this with their CDs.
Posted in T-Mobile coughs to data theft
That expalins...
...why I kept getting calls, despite being on TPS.
I hope they do get the jail.
2016 you say?
Should be enough time for me to bone up on crypto/TORs/whatever and protect myself from intrusion by the State. Assuming I am still in the country by than and haven't buggered off to somewhere less draconian.
Posted in UK.gov hoovers up data on five-year-olds
What do these citizens have to hide?
Labour merely want to care for and protect their offspring, They with to ensure that Right-thinking children are brought you to think Right thoughts and act in Right ways and not destabilise this Great Nation with Wrong Thoughts.
Not filling out this form is a clear indication that something is Wrong and these people kept udner watch, or even their children removed For the Greater Good.
Labour will know what you think.
Labour will control how you think.
Obey the machine, citizen.
It is there to set you free.
For the avoidance of doubt: the Tories are no better and the Lib Dems useless. Is open revolt the only option left?
Idiots
A mod chip can be used to play pirated games. Mod chips can also be used for lots of other things (like unlocking the full potential of a device), but lets ignore that for now.
So because "a thing" can be used in one way to break the law, this "thing" is now illegal?
That strikes me as a very dangerous legal precedent and one that must be overthrown.
Crowbars - can be used in burglaries. Now illegal.
Crash helmets - can be used as a disguise in robberies. Now illegal.
Cars - can be used for getaways. Now illegal.
And so on.
Mod chips and the people who sell them are not the issue, the people who use them are. If people *USE* mod chips to break the law, then pursue *THOSE PEOPLE*. Leave the rest of us who want to mod kit so it can fulfil a new function well alone, thankyouverymuch.
I will now go back to watching iPlayer on my old xBox.....
Posted in EU sweeps up dodgy ringtone companies
They looked at airline tickets?
So why is it still so damned hard to find a fair price with no hidden charges?
Of course it's essential.
Without it Labour cannot monitor you 24/7.
Why do Labour want to monitor you?
To keep you safe from those who would speak out/act against Labour...err...this great nation.
Ergo the infomation is required.
What do you have to hide, citizen?
Posted in BBC publishes Freeview HD timetable
I see
So "HD Ready" != "HD Ready"?
Boy, I am glad I have not joined the HD bandwagon yet. Mostly because I can't see what all the fuss is about. I still can't see any difference between a decent SD picture and an HD one. Broadcast TV does not count as they are compressed to buggery and that is what is ruining the picture, not the definition.
I have yet to find any store showing a side-by-side comparison of (say) the same movie from a DVD vs Blue-ray. And even then I'd want to see lots of movement on the screen to prove that the player and the TV can push the data. Even on a DVD player you can sometimes see it struggle with the amount of information and HD is meant to be pushing more.
Posted in Channel 4 to become Channel 3D tonight
Glasses *ARE NOT* available in Sainsburys
So don't bother yer arse trying. I am not sure if they ever had any, but all the stores I have tried have none.
Epic fail from C4.
@Ben Bonsall
Although I think someone in Australia did manage to patent the wheel.
Ah yes, here we go:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn965-wheel-patented-in-australia.html
Funny old world, innit?
No major issues?
That's a larf. Had to drop the ATI drivers down to the previous version and there are still major problems.
If Ubuntu has proved one thing, it's that Linux is not now (and willnot be for the next 5 years or so) ready for prime-time.
@pengwyn
xorg.conf is deprecated - the file is no no longer needed nor used. X will try an respected it if it finds it...but you shouldn't really use it any more.
That is my understanding anyway...how the hell you're meant to configure things that don't work OOTB is a good question!
Posted in Europe welcomes Dell's Mac Mini Zino HD
Shame
It is lumbered with that Windows malarky. Would seem to be the perfect platform for Myth
"Education"?
Not needed. People will not listen. The owners of the drones should be made to foot the bill for this operation.
Ignorance is no defence, with anything else you are still liable if you are ignorant (negligent) and held liable. Why should computers be any different?
Posted in Kingston SSD Now V 40GB boot drive
@The Original Steve
Very good. You have moved "My Documents".; now what about everything else, hmm? That is my point.
Almost all software I have encountered insists on installed some crap to c: (where "Application Data" etc live).
@AC 15:28
Not for a few years actually. Now I use Synergy+ over SSH.
And seeing as OOo is a desktop app, I don't see that you'd really be using this monstrosity of a pointing device in an area where you'd need a KVM, or where something like Synergy+ wouldn't actually be better.
My dislike of wired mice is my personal choice; you are free to have your own choice.
No need to get all upset about it.
Posted in Ofcom balks at Beeb's HD DRM dream
Eh?
Two things:
1) I have yet to see any benefit to HD. Who the hell wants to pay for a new TV that consumes more power and yet fails to deliver a better picture than your current set*. I not that no shops EVER have a side-by-side comparison of a movie SD playing on a SD TV and an HD version on an HD telly.
All they have are the split-screen fake-ups as and they were made by the manufacturers....I wouldn't trust them.
2) DRM...are you feckin' kidding me? I have already paid for BBC content via my TV Tax (license fee). If I want to tape it and copy it around for my own personal use, then that is my choice. It has been paid for. You can go and shove your DRM up yer arse.
If I start distributing said content to all and sundry (possibly even charging for it) then I believe there are laws against that. I can be found, charged, brought before a judge and they can state their case with evidence to back it up. Not that I am about to start doing this.
DRM is the presumption of guilt and has no place in a modern democracy.
*Well, me; seems our old (free, second-hand) telly is on the way out.
Phase One - Embrace
Phase Two - Extend
Phase Three - Extinguish
Hopefully there will be a F/OSS answer to this.
Simple defence
Play.com should just say what the government would say: "We are sorry for the distress cause, but employing proper data control would not be practical. Now shut up and get back to paying your taxes, citizen."
Posted in Kingston SSD Now V 40GB boot drive
I see a problem
Windows will still put "Documents and Settings" crap on C.
Programs written my morons will still put crap in "Documents and Settings" on C.
This is a *very* good idea for Linux boxes that have proper hadling of user prefs and whilst it may help lardy Windows units, they won't be able to extract maximum performance.
Whit?
If it is not encrypted, then all reasonable steps have not been taken! Encryption is not hard. Any moron can do it! And I should know, I am one of those encrypting moron.
No
That's all "No". It looks shit, will probably feel shit and is has a wire. Urgh. Like their interface, this mouse looks like "Attack of the Worst of the 90s". They should spend less time feckin' around with crap like this and more time ironing all the simple, and bloody annoying, bugs in their software.
Posted in Swedish cyborg gets haptic hand
Reg Headline from 2025
"Robo-hand worm strikes!"
"Users of the Robo-matic Tug-Master series were waking up today to the first ever cyborg worm. Those foolish enough to jailbreak their neural adaptors so that they can connect to non Robo-matic devices (such as the Ann Summers "CyberRabbit" [see reg: The Rabinator has come]) and forgot to change their default SSH password discovered that their limb was no longer under their control.
"The worm causes the rampant limb to give the on-fingered-salute every thirty seconds. Attempts by the user to remove the worm prompt a back-hack into their own brains causing them to speak like they are on the set of a Carry On Film. Ooo, matron.
J. Q. Jackbadger of MS's Cyborg 9 OS team said 'This is why it is dangerous to use opensource for such crucial systems. With everyone knowing the default passwords it is too easy for this kind of attack to happen. This would never happen with close, proprietary code'
"Of course not J. Q., users of MS Cyborg 9 would be too busy punching themselves in the head for paying the the $1,750 upgrade; assuming their limbs had't crashed."
Posted in Nutt sacking row deepens
Respect?
Look, there are only three types of epople Labour will treat with respect
1) Big business with loads of money and a bribe/directorship in the offing
2) A foreign power (e.g. EU) with loads of money and a bribe/consultancy in the offing
3) Another Labour MP
That's it. Not scientists, not the general public. No one. Show them the money!
Pretty much the same holds true for the Tories.
Scum the lot of them, without exception.
Mandy is a moron
Thieves use cars. BAN ALL CARS!
Rapists wear clothes. BAN ALL CLOTHES!
All paedophiles are addicted to hydric acid. BAN HYDRIC ACID!
The failure of the record industry to monetise file-sharing is squarely the fault of said records industry. The porn industry seems to have found way to rake it in using various means (and rather radical ones from a business viewpoint).
Just because a technology/device CAN be used for an illegal act does not mean it IS being used for an illegal act in all cases. If someone is doing something illegal; gather the evidence, go to court, prove your case. Job done.
Ah, wait. This is Labour. I forgot. They are moving to presumption of guilt and you have to foot the costs of proving your innocence even if you win (and no, that is not a joke; it's real, and it is happening).
