Posts by Frank

@Gilbert Wham re. @Nic Brough

Gilbert, sounds like fun. Can you post some videos of the last time you did this?

@DZ_Jay re. trial, try, tried

The use of try/tried for the old formal court case system (where the meaning is to test it to see if it is true) and for the common modern use (where the meaning is to give it a go and see if it works) are well established.

Formal testing of large (or small) systems and equipments (or new drugs, etc) is a relatively modern practice and it is common to use the verb 'trialled' to refer to this process; has been for many years.

If I was going to trust my life to an inflatable tent, I would not be happy if it had just been tried or even tested. I would want it to have been thoroughly trialled.

@Master Baker re.Party

It is the case that you can do some good dance moves to the theme music from Fraggle Rock. I'm not sure about the rest of your comment though.

I was ok....

...until he said that SF airport and public transport were closed for two hours - then I laughed.

Waits for a car

I'm waiting for a major car manufacturer to offer public beta release of new model cars. That will be a safe and enjoyable experience I'm sure.

I want a flying duck !!

I want the Duck Hunter. I want one, I want one!!!

It's fixable, so fix it

"..all VeriSign SSL products issued on or after December 30 were immune to the attack."

Presumably because they were created using the SHA1 hash? A previous article (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/07/ssl_security_survey/) states that most issued certificates nowadays use SHA1 instead of the problematic MD5 signatures.

"..If he's wrong and the internet suffers a crippling blow, we'll have VeriSign to thank."

Do we blame locksmiths if burglars develop lockpicking tools? No, we use multiple levels of security for our premises and we use the latest security products as they become available.

The problem will be web-site owners (large corporations, banks, etc) not getting off their fat backsides and upgrading their old MD5 based certificates to SHA1.

@Adrian Esdaile re. Just for.....

Adrian, are you feeling bitter and cynical about something?

But then again...

"..Evans also told the Guardian that the public would not want a society in which the security service monitors them all the time.."

But then again, what's that got to do with any decision making about security service powers?

@Simon Neill re.This reminds me

'..."planes should run on AA batteries....just pray the ribbon doesn't get stuck and you have to remove 5,000 batteries with a biro" '

I always use a teaspoon, they are easier to find in the house.

Despair? Amusement?

Looking at many of the comments above (and in other article comments), I don't know whether to feel despair or amusement at the number of (assumedly) literate people who don't understand the global carbon cycle and can't figure out gross energy/material budget concepts.

At least, overall, it's not as bad as the reader comments you get in the so-called quality newspapers. The governments and industry have been able to lie and cheat and mislead for so long because people really don't understand the subjects they are fed lies about.

What the world needs is more education. Unfortunately, what you can teach children in schools is controlled by politicians so they'll never learn to figure things out.

Broad Definitions

"..I'm naturally against the criminalisation of something that no society has ever managed to extinguish. "

Ever since Cain started it off, by murdering Abel, no society has managed to extinguish murder.

So, is it the case that you are against the criminalisation of murder?

Perhaps you need to tighten up your own definitions somewhat.

Future Feast

Get that pork barrel built up and inflated. Stake your place at the table for the future feast.

Designer?

Some time ago, there was a Reg article/survey questioning what we mean by the term 'architect'.

Can we have a similar discussion about the meaning of the word 'designer'?

@Nuno re. This is not a joke

"..It's a shame that you couldn't refrain yourself from mocking it..."

This is an article by Lewis Page on The Register. It's to be expected. You know he makes sense.

P.S. It's either '..refrain from mocking..' or '..restrain yourself from mocking..' You probably got confused there.

Father Ted

Ahhhhh, Father Ted.....many a happy time watching that. It was of course Father Jack who often said 'feck'.

SVS layer = Sandbox?

"..The SVS layer in the machine sits between the operating system and the application, and any changes that a program makes to the system as it is running are stored in this layer and wiped out when you stop the app."

Isn't this just the same as a Sandbox? I use Sandboxie for browser isolation and it seems to work very well. Perhaps they've applied the principle to the entire operating system, in which case you will need to learn to control it, so that changes you intended to make to the system are made permanent instead of being wiped out.

Not A Martinet

A 'martinet' is a person who imposes strict discipline by demanding adherence to rules and procedures.

'...he has "manipulated, withheld, or suppressed data, reports, and information.'

'...that Martin had "abused FCC procedures by manipulating or suppressing reports, data, and information" '

'..the "highly unusual" reduction by Martin to a mere $100,000 of a $1.3 million fine previously assessed to T-Mobile by the FCC's Enforcement Bureau for ..'

These are the actions of someone who breaks rules and procedures. If the allegations are true then he is a manipulative bully. He is not a martinet.

Is this correct?

"..a 300 watt device running in a data center requires 800 watts of input power. .."

I can readily believe this, what with the inefficiencies at each stage of the power supply chain and the large burden of providing power for the cooling systems. By 'input power', I assume this means total power supplied to the entire facility from the electricity provider.

The final statement of planned and calculated savings seems way too optimistic however:

"So to power up a 300-watt device in this data center will only take about 350 watts of input power. That's a very big improvement."

That's not a 'very big improvement', it's an unbelievably enormous improvement. I would ask if this compares like with like. The initial figure of 800W to run a 300W box referred to total power provided to the facility, with all ancilliary equipment (power chain, cooling, etc).

If it is the case that this level of improvement can be achieved with simple design and usage techniques, then why on earth hasn't it been done before in other data centres, resulting in massive running cost savings (as well as saving the planet etc). ?

It's probably too much to ask but I'd like to see a follow up study done on this centre when it's completed and in normal operation. That would be interesting.

What??

I had a look at that picture, as provided by link in the article. Here is a true record of my immediate thoughts.....

'Woman tries to fight her way past a giant spider's web'......no, probably not.

'Woman tries on silk nightie in a strong wind and gets all tangled up in it'.....hmmmm, no, silly.

'Dead woman in oversize body bag comes back to life and tries to get out.'.......eeeeww, but maybe.

Where is the 'sexuality' in this picture? How can it possibly be regarded as obscene in any way?

Possibilities.....

A long range munition commanded and controlled over a radio datalink -- the possibilities are amazing, as well as being frightening in some cases :)

Weasel Words-worth

"I would strongly refute that I or any senior officer...."

To 'refute' is to prove wrong. So, he claims that he would (future possibility) prove the allegations wrong. He does not DENY the allegations, he merely states his belief (un-demonstrable) that he would be able to prove the allegations to be wrong.

"...would allow any improper influence ..."

since (i'm sure) there is no written definition of 'improper' influence covering this situation, he can claim that any influence was proper (in his opinion).

@Michelle Knight re.Best Exports

"....."beer and sex were some of the best things to come out of the region" - that'll be the Karma Sutra, then.

I don't remember beer featuring in the Karma Sutra. If it had, then I certainly wouldn't have thrown away my tatty and dog-eared old copy Can you provide a link so I can check this out?

Pathetic

"..but Javelin’s exclusive UK retailer – Carphone Warehouse – told Register Hardware that it’s actually smaller than both the Bold and Curve. By how much, CW wouldn’t say."

More likely to be -couldn't- say, because they haven't got a clue.

"..CW told us that Javelin has “the sharpest screen” to give brighter and crisper icons."

Probably an assumption based on their knowledge that a javelin is sharp, pointed object. I bet they didn't know how much 'sharper' it is or how much 'crisper' the icons are either.

Am I cynical about CW? -yes I am.

Why not......

....use subspace transmission. It would avoid all the long delays.

@alzain re. STALKER

"..it breaks every rule of privacy there is.it must be delt with seriously ..."

Since you 'know' that every rule has been broken, you must therefore know what these rules are.

I'm not aware of these 'rules of privacy' and I suspect that many other people have never seen them either. Can you please provide a link or some reference to where they are written down, under what authority they were created and what organisation they were issued by?

(I think Tracer R. Spence is possibly an admirer of Spencer Tracy)?

@ Evil Graham re. @question

You need to consider the entire process...

"For those interested, the satellite's launch won't itself involve any significant CO2 emissions. However, as it is to go up on an all-solid-fuel Taurus stack, there will be a good deal of aluminium oxide and hydrogen chloride. These chemicals are generally seen as rather nastier than ordinary old carbon dioxide, if not such a pressing global issue."

Aluminium oxide is an inert white powder, messy but not nasty. Hydrogen chloride is nasty but reacts with just about anything it touches to form some other fairly inert substances.

To make the satellite and launcher and to run the chemical plants that produce the chemical for the solid fuel rockets does involve a lot of industrial activity. Guess what....this involves burning fossil fuels. Yep, you can't make satellite and launch vehicle without producing carbon dioxide.

You can't even go to the toilet in a modern country without a carbon dioxide burden because the sewage plants are built using concrete and steel (massive furnaces used in their production) and they run on electricity (coal or gas fired turbines).

Hopefully, the studies that will be aided by the satellite instruments will help us to understand the atmospheric processes and direct any changes in our behaviour in a most appropriate manner. (Yeah, fat chance, I know).

More Seriously

"..Shortly after the order was issued, whois records for many of the domains showed they were the property of Kentucky. Interestingly, the handful of addresses we checked at the time of writing appeared to have reverted back to their rightful owner. It's not clear who made the changes or why they were made..."

That is the paragraph that should worry people. What the Kentucky courts do and decide is known (eventually) and also the court officials are public officials who can be challenged.

The people who seem to really control the domain names act in the shadows, with no oversight and no explanation.

Option Overload?

I thought people used their mobile phone to listen to .mp3 files nowadays? The advantage being that you can also use it as a mobile phone :)

Customisable?

This is an old idea and I'm surprised that the manufacturers have only just picked up on it. Apart from obvious safety considerations, it's a good marketing move since who wants to drive a 'sports car' that sounds like a milk float?

The next stage is customisable sound generators, maybe using a plug in SD card or USB stick, then you can have a leccy Mini that sounds like a Ferrari as you howl down the street to the supermarket.

Independent cartoon

I recommend that you have a look at this.....

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/the-daily-cartoon-760940.html