* Posts by Edward

29 publicly visible posts • joined 30 Jun 2008

US telco: 'Public broadband is illegal'

Edward
Dead Vulture

@Rob Fisher

I think you might fundamentally misunderstand how bonds work.

In this case, the public are given the choice to buy bonds in the new cable endeavour, or not. If they do, they can cash in those bonds at any point for at least the original investment (they can then be bought by another member of the public).

If they don't buy bonds, they can still use the cable network, they just dont part own it.

Sergey Brin descends from Mount Sinai with Android API

Edward
Flame

You've changed man! You used to be cool.

So Google have released a free, open source SDK so far superior to MIDP that it's not comparable, got it onto a reasonable priced device in a reasonable amount of time and got that out onto the shelves. They're using a popular, powerful, concise language, with no legal restrictions.

They have provided great docs, given us Eclipse to develop in (which is incidentally the greatest IDE ever, didn't El Reg review it recently and loved it?), provided several good samples including one rather fun sounding one written by the company CEO, all the while being open and responsive to the community. There are no stupid Applesque licensing issues, no usage restrictions to speak of, no picky App store, no expensive certification process.

You then spend thirty seconds reading Apple fanboy blogs and discover (much to our surprise) that you're not only the formost authority on all of the above, but a fucking funny guy as well.

Perhaps you might spend more than four minutes with the product. Perhaps if you didn't approach a brand new SDK, for a new OS, designed to run on a new device like it was VB6 then you might not get so cross when you, through nobodies fault but your own, fail to grasp it.

As it is you seemed to have had a little tantrum and spent longer writing the article denouncing it, then you did reviewing the actual product.

Strangly enough, I've just taken a half hour to look at the SDK, and (for example) the ways to create an application that runs background are well documented, the first reference to it on the first page you SHOULD have read (http://code.google.com/android/intro/lifecycle.html)

This article teaches us very little about the SDK, but a whole lot about your skills as a writer and programmer.

Before I get accused of the same kind of Zealotry, but merely pro-Google, I will remind those that care that I am a professional C# programmer, and as such carry no prejudice toward any language/company. These things should be judged on their individual merit.

Today be talk like a pirate day

Edward
Unhappy

Idiots.

...and you tell us this at 4pm? This article is next to useless.

El Reg has been crap recently. Really bad. Never thought I'd end up missing Otto, but...

IT pay jumps as skills gap widens

Edward

Bah! Entry level indeed.

I quit school at 16 to go an work as a programmer. I got a job on a support desk for a year, before going to work for a web design company. Since then I have changed jobs twice, and dispite my age, each time was a major step up. I now hold a senior position in a company specialising in bespoke financial software.

So I came in at an "entry level", and have never had a problem advancing my career, not once did I lose a job to an outsourced firm. So from my perspective, there is no problem.

Over the years, I've worked with a great many graduates, on their first year out of Uni. Now of course there are exceptions, but I have found that the vast majority are not particularly good at their jobs.

It is little wonder employers insist on commercial experiance, because from what I've seen Uni doesn't prepare you for the commercial world and I'm not talking about business procedures here, I'm talking about basic programming skills. Sure they might be able to draw a tree in Matlab, but ask them to write a CMS system and they'll reel off some barely-related-jargon and disappear for a week before admitting defeat.

My point is, I don't think there is so much a problem with entry level IT in this country, as there is with entry level programmers in this country.

Cops cuff anti-drug ninja vigilantes

Edward

Nutters...

They want to thank God for the police.

Seriously, sending C&D letters to drug dealers? Threatening them? Out here (UK) you might get some laughs, in the US they'll just shoot you and move down a block.

ISO rejects Office Open XML appeal (redux)

Edward

Bah, sellouts...

Wouldn't wanna piss off your advertisers eh El Reg. Next time write a proper article.

Read http://ooxmlisdefectivebydesign.blogspot.com/, it explains HOW the format works, I would be very surprised if ISO had actually read the spec, or made any effort to understand it.

Tasing of unarmed opposition peaks among firearms cops

Edward

When will we realize...

...if it can be abused, if there is ANY oppotunity for misuse, it will be.

It's about time we learned that and realized that we're about to give away the last vestiges of our most basic freedoms.

Knights Templar to Vatican: Give us back our assets

Edward

Good!

"We are not trying to cause the economic collapse of the Roman Catholic Church, but to illustrate to the court the magnitude of the plot against our Order."

You blatently are you greedy bastards, and I'm with you all the way. Well played.

Home Office minister gets tough, then gets stuck

Edward

Legally, you must obay the law.

"The tough new approach will require all migrants to speak English and obey the law..."

Best sentence this month. We're forcing immigrants to obay the law now? Whatever will this government come up with next...

Cybercrooks get faster, further and sneakier

Edward
Black Helicopters

@for those of us

These 'crims' are highly structured organisations, each member has a specialised role, and does not go outside his/her remit. For instance the people you'd contact to rent/buy zombies, are just "salesmen", they had nothing to do with spreading of the malware. In the same respect the programmers/exploit writers will have nothing to do with the sales process, and in most cases will have no involvement after infection, as consolidation would be another, distinct job.

Make no mistake, these are highly organised, well funded and well connected people we're talking about.

These organisations bear more resemblance to small multinational corporations than to the social networks of misunderstood teenagers from the old school of hacking. The vast majority of the malware/fraud groups are based out of Russia and China, but with people the world over working for them, they are truely international.

So, the simple answer is no. Unless you have prior dealings with these people (and have something to offer), you will have no luck going into direct competition. They are now, in every sense of the word, professionals, and they WILL do their job better then you.

UK comms intercepts up by half - and it isn't the council

Edward

On my way...

Roger Lancefield: Beautifully put.

Dangermouse: I'll be there, so will PartyVan.

UK BOFHs face psychometric dissection

Edward

Condensed...

"Cognitive Style Differences Between IT Support Staff and Computer Users as Causes of Stress in the Workplace"

==

"Why people without a clue annoy those who do"

BT updates Home Hub Wi-Fi box with 802.11n

Edward

Details?

Anybody?

Can somebody with one of these new boxes post up some details for me please?

Serial Number, Wireless SSID, Default key

Fugitive spammer in murder-suicide

Edward

Thanks...

...for reporting this in a tasteful way. I've been following this story on The Register, and I have to say I was really shocked to see this.

A well reported article, thanks John,

Convicted spammer goes AWOL from federal prison

Edward

WTF???

How the fuck do you just walk out of federal prison? I've been grossly misinformed.

Rogue SF sysadmin coughs up passwords

Edward
Thumb Down

Password Recovery.

Assuming the Hard Disks aren't encrypted, with physical access to the machines you can:

Windows:

Reset the Local Machine and Active Directory passwords by modifiying SAM

Extract hashes from SAM and crack the passes using Rainbow Tables.

*nix:

Reset the passes by modifying /etc/shadow.

Crack /etc/shadow to get plain-text passwords.

I'd put money on the HDs not being encrypted, its a drawn out, expensive process with very little actual ROI.

Who wants to bet this chap is one of, if not the only person managing the system. He probably set it up as well. This is a storm in a teacup, exacerbated by the City's unwillingness to properly staff their infrastructure.

Tiscali sues BT for 'defamation and falsehood'

Edward

What??? Sue the bastards.

Normally I'm the first to accuse Tiscali of dumbfuckary, but in this case BT really has behaved scandalously.

How did BT get the Tiscali customer data? BT Wholesale is supposed to be a totally separate entity, if they're sharing data it is in direct contravention of the Anti-Trust ruling made against them...

Dangerous mobe chargers flood UK

Edward

Why do we need cheap-o chargers?

Because If I go into a phone shop and ask for the official charger, they're going to try and charge me £50. I did this the other day, and the guy in the shop VERY kindly told me to nip round the corner, and buy one from the Chinky fellow; ended up costing me just under a tenner.

Industry: If you don't want cheap, counterfeit, low quality goods flooding the market, then FOR GOD'S SAKE lower your prices, because currently your markup is TOTALLY unreasonable.

Inflation is about to become a REAL problem again and unless we sort out the cost of living in this country, things are really going to fuck up.

Dutch university can publish controversial Oyster research

Edward

Re: Crypto Info.

http://eprint.iacr.org/2008/166

Edward

Come on El Reg, let me post it...

For those who want to read the paper: http://eprint.iacr.org/2008/166

Come on El Reg: Let me post it already!

Relay server attack tactic dupes auto-reporting

Edward

Much better off...

You're much better off using key based authentication, its seamless, easier to use, and much more secure.

PermitRootLogin should be off too,

Court advisor says poem list infringed database right

Edward
Flame

I have no doubt...

...that the University will lose this, to award them damages would set a VERY dangerous precedent.

Out of interest: When the University released the list, did they do so under a particular license?

Sun unfolds 1TB of tape

Edward

@Trygve Henriksen

"(A lot of binary files - including 3TB of .jpg - doesn't compress that much... )"

Thats because JPG is already compressed, as are almost all media files nowdays.

Compression 101:

AAAAABBBBBBCCCCCC => 5A6B6C

5A6B6C => 5A6B6C

Can't compress the compressed....

British drivers face jail for causing death by dangerous driving

Edward

Yet another...

...highly interpretive law they can use to kick you when you're down.

Its either murder, manslaughter or an accident. Stop trying to blur the very well defined lines, this an attempt to gain yet more power over the legal system.

"So we can't get him on manslaughter, because it's looking like it was an accident. Don't worry though, we can still get him..."

Rebellious BT computers refuse to take orders

Edward

@I wonder if they'll finally bill me

Yeah good luck with that, call them to your hearts content, write them letters, they'll still slap you with a four grand bill two years down the line, plus 500 for late payment.

Smut pop-up teacher retrial stuck in delay loop

Edward

@The judge on the first trial needs to be locked away.

If that really is true, and is public knowledge, then it's quite terrifying. Sadly, I'm not in the least bit surprised, where we go so wrong?

Fasthosts brings down Edugeek - and leaves it there

Edward

Leave em...

# Fasthosts' dedicated servers go titsup (15 April 2008)

# Fasthosts primes another password reset (13 December 2007)

# Fasthosts customers still frozen out of websites (5 December 2007)

# Fasthosts customers blindsided by emergency password reset (30 November 2007)

# Fasthosts customer? Change your password now (18 October 2007)

# Fasthosts admits email destruction fiasco (17 October 2007)

# Fasthosts floored by Telewest cable cut (26 June 2006)

"If ever our internet connectivity fails to meet the 99.9% up-time guarantee for your dedicated server, you'll be eligible to claim a refund of one day's service fee for every hour that your server is unavailable."

Fucking ripoff, move to a different host, I've NEVER experiance such apalling service. Do what I did, threaten them with legal action (mock up a solicitor's letter) and get your year's money back.

Microsoft pledges to fight Vista 'myths'

Edward
Thumb Down

Vista is NOT good.

This isn't an irrational opinion, I'm that guy in a group of friends who's good with computers, and as a result every one of their friends, family members, golf partners and casual acquaintances come to me to fix their machines when they're broken or running slow.

Having spent a while listening to all their issues, I now just install XP and let them get on with it. Vista is slow, and quite obviously an unfinished product.

There are still MANY UI bugs, not game-over type bugs, but annoyances. There are also plenty of more serious ones which end in you having to restart the machine.

My main gripe with Vista (apart from those widly discussed) is that like with XP, the machine fills with bloat VERY fast. You may have a reasonable quick computer when its a fresh install, but set your average user loose on the it for 6 months with an internet connection, and come back and see how fast its running.

iPhone will ship in green packaging

Edward
Flame

Pathetic. Rant ahead.

Come on El Reg, what has happened to you recently...

Why on EARTH would I care what box the iPhone is going be be shipped in? Should I expect similar reports for Ericsson and Nokia's? No? Oh! Because It's an iPhone I'm expected to give a shit? Here, watch me caring...

Seriously, its just a fucking phone, nothing more. End of fucking story. Move on. I'm sick and fucking tired of hearing about it. It's not even that good a phone. Even if it was, even if it was the BEST fucking phone EVER made, had a GUI controlled by thought alone, ran on fucking cold fusion technology, got you higher than crack and made you irresistible to the opposite sex, even then, I'd be bored of fucking hearing about it by now.

Remeber when Paris Hilton was the ONLY thing you reported on for about two months? This is MUCH MUCH worse. Please for the love of GOD just shut the fuck up about the iPhone, let Apple do their own promotion for the first time in 10 years.

Am I the only one who feels this way? Either way, rant over. I'm fed up with El Reg and I'm off to Slashdot for a few months.

Cue the fucking HILARIOUS coat/hilton references. Really, go on. No, honest! They're still funny! PLEASE make sure you explain your icon. I'm serious, don't forget. I'm writing them all down and if just one of you doesn't let me know, it'll fuck up my dataset FOREVER and I shall just cry and cry and cry.