* Posts by frank ly

6077 publicly visible posts • joined 10 Jun 2009

Warning to those who covet the data of Internet of Precious Things

frank ly

How can IoT stuff help me?

Apart from the 'convenience' of remotely read gas/electricity/water meters (no need to be there to let a meter reader in once a year), how can an IoT domestic thing actually make my life easier, in a noticeable way, than it already is?

(Note: I don't 'need' to contact my central heating system to get it to warm up early if I intend to arrive home early because I don't suffer from a low metabolism and I have wooly jumpers at home.)

It's Big, it's Blue... it's simply FABLESS! IBM's chip-free future

frank ly

It's not a metaphor

It's hyperbole.

Computer misuse: Brits could face LIFE IN PRISON for serious hacking offences

frank ly

If I 'hack' North Korea's military system ....

... and the North Korean government detects me and provides proof to the UK police, will I go to prison in the UK? Or, will the UK extradite me to North Korea?

Comet Siding Spring revealed as flying molehill

frank ly

First outgassing?

I've read that this is the first time in a very long time that Sliding Springs has gone for a Sol approach. Would this mean it has lots of volatile compounds and undisturbed dust to give off, hence the large and fat tail?

Innovation agenda's code for kids plan still a work in progress

frank ly

Algorithmic thinking for students

if source(statement) = Department_of_Education

then credibility(statement) = 0;

endif

How to get $542m from Google: Dress as a SPACEMAN with dayglo dancers – Magic Leap

frank ly

Re: No product or revenue?

It's a Magic Leap of Faith.

Lords take revenge on revenge porn publishers

frank ly

There are many people called Jonathan Marks, but there is only one Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames. A similar situation applies to Baroness (Sarah) Brinton. At least this way we know exactly who the article is about and what their 'job' is, no matter how (un)deserving anyone may feel they are of that 'job'.

UNIX greybeards threaten Debian fork over systemd plan

frank ly

@Numpty Scrub Re: the "fun" part about systemd

Why do you reboot after an update? I thought that wasn't needed with Linux generally. My MINT system never asks me to reboot after an update and I've seen no documentation or advice anywhere to say that I should.

ICO warns UK broadcasters over filming using drones

frank ly

Hypothetical situation:

If a flying 'thing' flies over my property (lower than a certain height) and it's not obviously a plane or helicopter and it's not a protected species, can I legally shoot at it with a legally held weapon?

That's PROFESSOR Woz to you from now on, young whippersnapper

frank ly

Re: brickmakers and bricklayers, among other tradies

If they'd made the bricks from recycled paper bags, I'd be impressed. I wonder what the bricklayers were actually thinking and saying as they built it.

Carders punch holes through Staples

frank ly

If they took it seriously, they'd have had a security audit and actual testing of their POS and other equipment as soon as high street retailers started to get hit by these attacks. That was how long ago?

FedEx helps deliver THOUSANDS of spam messages DIRECT to its Blighty customers

frank ly

Re: BCC?

Yes, but as a customer you belong to them and they're proud of their customers and like to wave them around so everyone can see.

Quantum key security steps outside the box

frank ly

Re: Why does Eve

I'm wondering what happened to Carol and Dave; they used to work closely with Alice and Bob.

Note: Eve is an eavesdropper, she's a victim of nominative determinism and we should feel sorry for her.

Whisper tracks its users. So we tracked down its LA office. This is what happened next

frank ly

Re: Phone Apps

I have two 6310i phones and they still work fine. I have one on PAYG in the glove compartment of my car for use in emergencies, the main battery lasts for months if it's turned off. I'd have thought that the PCB battery was just to save your settings and content so you could still use it as long as you kept the main battery topped up and the phone turned on? If you did that, you'd need to charge it every week or so, depending on use?

Redmond top man Satya Nadella: 'Microsoft LOVES Linux'

frank ly

My first thought. The time to worry is when they announce Microsoft Linux with updates coming from Redmond every Tuesday.

Ex-US Navy fighter pilot MIT prof: Drones beat humans - I should know

frank ly

That had me worried

" ... to develop autonomous aircraft that can position themselves around other aircraft in order to be service them or locate problems that need attention."

Until I'd read to the end of the next page, I had a mental image of passengers on Easy Jet flights looking out of the window to see a fleet of small drone aircraft moving closer and then tightening nuts and lubing aileron actuators, as they flew along.

The 'fun-nification' of computer education – good idea?

frank ly

Lots of skills are needed

"To be good at Computer Science you need Maths and Physics,"

Maths and Physics would certainly be a big help when you're starting Computer Science. They are about how things work, why they work, what will happen if you do certain things, etc. All good stuff for the logical thought needed to get a program (do we say "app" nowadays?) to do what you want it to do. I'd suggest that they are not essential however and that an open mind and a willingness to learn and an enjoyment of learning are key factors to success.

What we need, in the industry, are people who can communicate with other people and understand their problems, needs and requirements - then implement those in a deliverable system, on time, within budget and to specification. Those abilities are woefully lacking in many industries.

How about a group of kids are put in contact with another group of kids, at a different school and given the task of producing a system for them, having regular meetings and trying to establish what is needed and then doing it. Initial guidance from teachers and a set of 'template projects' would be needed here. Regular progress meetings and test feedback would soon teach them the skills they will need in the real world. Experienced teachers would be needed to stop fights breaking out.

Police stats inflate the number of guns actually stolen in Blighty

frank ly

Capitalisation needed

"... figures compiled by ACPO where we don't know what data MADE UP the final numbers."

There, fixed it for you.

Microsoft pulls another dodgy patch

frank ly

@leexgx

As you say. What could be simpler and easier to sort out that that? It's almost intuitive.

Sysadmin with EBOLA? Gartner's issued advice to debug your biz

frank ly

re. "... scarifying fevers."

That would be a serious fever that you'd remember every time you looked in a mirror.

Origins of SEXUAL INTERCOURSE fished out of SCOTTISH LAKE

frank ly

I'm wondering

From the picture, it appears that the male has two apparently identical implantation appendages, so that in theory it could mate with two females simultaneously. I'm just exploring all possibilities here ......

Yahoo! finally! releases! Flickr! app! for! iPad! BUT! shuns! Windows! fans!

frank ly
Trollface

Don't the Windows people know how to use a browser?

Oh, it's IE .......

'Cowardly, venomous trolls' threatened with two-year sentences for menacing posts

frank ly

Re: Not necessary

Yes, the laws already exist to punish people who threaten and cause genuine fear for a person's life and safety. So why haven't more prosecutions been made at magistrate's court level, with fines and a couple of months in prison for the serious case?

The government, the courts and the police want more laws and more power, even though they don't use the powers they already have, unless it's convenient for them to do so of course.

Doctor Who's Flatline: Cool monsters, yes, but utterly limp subplots

frank ly

Re: Speculation...

Idiots often see the truth, because of their unblinkered innocence. (Only kidding; I'm sure you're not innocent.) We also had the scene (I forget which series and episode) where Clara directed an 'early' Doctor to a particular place, the implication being that she was nudging him into selecting a particular TARDIS when he ran away from Gallifrey. She certainly is well scattered through his timeline.

Then we have the bits with Matt Smith where the TARDIS seems to react against Clara in a passive-aggressive way.....

My personal opinion is that there may have been a long term 'arc' in someone's mind but it's all getting fragmented and too much trouble to develop and present in a coherent way. After the first two episodes of this series, I stopped watching (more in sorrow than anger) and now I just just read a few reviews on Sunday morning, none of which make me regret my decision.

NASA eyeballs solar heat bombs, mini-tornadoes and nanoflares on Sun

frank ly

Re: What about

It's an observation of anomolous X-ray levels that _could_ be explained by postulating axions from the sun interacting with the earth's magnetic field.

Sign off my IT project or I’ll PHONE your MUM

frank ly

Re: klingon software development: memo

You have made many enquiries about User Acceptance Testing. There will, of course, be User Acceptance Testing. When the software is ready and it has escaped from the development team, it will find you and it will test you, mercilessly. If it finds that you are worthy and acceptable, it will install itself on your computers. Do NOT try to interfere with that process, unless you wish to suffer serioius injury and possibly death.

frank ly

Re: Special

I've performed numerous UATs in formal circumstances on behalf of the user. On one side you get the supplier trying to pull the wool over your eyes and whispering to your higher level management that you're not up to the job or, even worse, you're being 'unreasonable'. On the other side, you get your own higher management blaming you if it doesn't pass because of 'minor and easily fixed' shortfalls. All this with a printed and agreed UAT procedure that has been available for weeks. Your immediate manager is sympathetic to you but he is under pressure too and so he slides the blame onto you - in a kind and regretful way.

It's not a job for anyone with a heart or a soul.

Google offers sweet new SDK to let Android devs join 'Lollipop' guild

frank ly

Re: Not sure about this

I'm sure they don't offer 'bug fixes' or minor functionality updates for old running versions. They and other device makers push an OTA update and then nag you to accept it. The attitude seems to be "it's new and we made it so it's good and you must have it."

The last 'minor update' to KitKat made it ask me if I really wanted to use the third-party phone dialler app that I have, every time I try to make a phone call. Even if I press the 'Always' option after selecting my third-party dialler app, it still asks me on the next phone call. I suspect that if I selected the built in Google phone app, then presses 'Always', I wouldn't have that annoyance.

frank ly

Not sure about this

I think I'll avoid this for my Nexus 4. My experience of previous updates, going back over four years and three Android phones is that Google change things because they can - from the point of view of 'look and feel'. Updates have also slowed my phones down and have removed functionality in the past. I've spent nearly two years getting used to my Nexus 4 as it is. It works fine and I don't want any changes to it.

US government fines Intel's Wind River over crypto exports

frank ly

re. " ... the renal original turf ..."

That's where someone has marked their turf by pissing on it. It's primitive but effective.

Apple's new iPADS have begun the WAR that will OVERTURN the NETWORK WORLD

frank ly

Re: Only unlicked devices should ever be allowed....

Any device running Android Lollipop wouldn't remain unlicked for long.

Torvalds CONFESSES: 'I'm pretty good at alienating devs'

frank ly
Headmaster

re. metric ****load

The correct expression is "****load, since there is no difference between a metric ****load and an imperial ****load, both being a qualitative rather that a quantitative measure.

For the ****ton, whether it is metric or imperial needs to be specified in speech, since the words 'ton and 'tonne' sound identical. In writing, the spelling is different and so the word 'metric' is not needed.

It's not always about you: Why the Apple Watch is all about China

frank ly

Please explain

"And that is how Chinese characters work – it is not the finished picture that relays the information but the individual strokes built on top of one another. Do the strokes in a different order and they mean something completely different."

How do Chinese people read books and newspapers and e-mail and websites, if all they can see is the 'finished picture' with no information about the order in which the 'strokes' were made?

Auntie hires API firm to manage new online BBC Store

frank ly

Re: Fact alert!

BBC Worldwide is a wholly owed subsidiary of the BBC. Its entire purpose is to sell BBC and other British TV programming abroad. In the last financial year, it generated headline profits of £157.4m and headline sales of £1,042.3m and returned £173.8m to the BBC. I'm wondering how it managed to generate such poor profits on sales of TV shows from the BBC, unless it pays the BBC (and ITV comnpanies maybe) large amounts of IP fees for those TV shows.

In 2013-14, BBC income from license fees was £3.7 billion, with a total income of £5 billion. I assume some of the extra £1.3 billion came from IP fees from BBC Worldwide?

So, BBC Worldwide is a corporate front to let the BBC get more money (and why not) and it mostly relies on the license fee to get a product to sell.

Will.i.am gets CUFFED as he announces his new wristjob, the PULS

frank ly

Re: i.amPULS

Puffed Up Loquacious Singer?

Adobe CSO offers Oracle security lesson: Go click-to-play

frank ly

Reactive instead of proactive?

""Finding and fixing bugs isn't the way to go, ..."

" ... organisations should follow suit and stop "patching every vulnerability" ..."

Then, later:

"That strategy has .... , and sped the time to patch from 10 weeks ....... to a recent record of 36 hours"

Apart from the apparent logical disconnect, this seems to say we should wait until somebody bad finds a weakness, then defend as hard as we can. Don't bother fixing any faults, flaws or weaknesses; just wait until the bad guys find it then work hard and claim rapid success.

On Nov 12, a human-made space lab will try to HARPOON a COMET and land on it

frank ly

re. " ... a human-made space lab ... "

Is there any other kind of space lab in our solar system? Do the Reg team know something we don't?

Martha Lane Fox: Yeuch! The Internet is made by men?!?

frank ly

Do I remember correctly?

Wasn't she the one who sold her shares in Lastminute.com just before the, er, last minute when the share price crashed? That was lucky for her, many people didn't sell or they bought before the last minute and were left holding losses.

Facebook, Apple: LADIES! Why not FREEZE your EGGS? It's on the company!

frank ly

Re: You are confused.

I know that surrogacy is not adoption. Note that I said "... would cover ..." and "... associated legal issues ..." and " ... where this is going ...". I'm trying to imply a future scenario ....... don't you get it?

frank ly

"Unfortunately the main limiting factor are not the eggs, it is the uterus. After reaching 40 or so, ...."

Yes, but read on .....

"We also offer an Adoption Assistance program, where Apple reimburses eligible expenses associated with the legal adoption of a child."

This would cover the 'rent a womb' arrangements that happen, with associated legal issues. You can see where this is going.

Radiohead(ache): BBC wants dead duck tech in sexy new mobes

frank ly

Swings and something else

"Since the transmission began as IP, and a smartphone already has a high bandwidth IP path, why not just miss out the bit in the middle? "

If they tried that now, there would be many independent data streams, to individual mobiles, many carrying identical data. To reduce that, there would need to be special, additional, mobile data broadcast channels to be supported by the mobile operator and by each mobile phone. Maybe that could be the 'new DAB'?

Finnish PM: Apple has DESTROYED FINLAND

frank ly

Re: "The Finnish language is difficult, especially if you are trying to make yourself sound sexy"

Fur clad .... mmmmm ... I don't care what they sound like.

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

frank ly

"There’s also no 4G version ... "

Is it a mobile phone as well? I thought it was just a WiFi tablet.

Mobile coverage on trains really is pants

frank ly

An old man writes

In the mid to late '70s, I used to use buses, underground and trains for all my travel. Then, the idea that there could be a phone on a train was the stuff of science fiction. I didn't even have a phone in my small rented flat (or a television or a computer). If I tell that to youngsters nowadays, they don't believe me.

NSA Sentry Eagle placed spies in private companies

frank ly

When it left the aviary ....

... a sparrow snowed on them.

Apple's iPhone bonk to 'Pay' app launches on Monday

frank ly

@AC Re: If I understand the technology correctly

The initial registration of your card does need the credit card number and CC code (suitably encryted, etc) to be sent via Apple to the credit card company, so they can associate the token with your credit card account. After that, Apple don't need to store what was sent via iTunes and their servers. Even better, the data could go direct from iTunes to the credit card company servers and Apple would never see even the encrypted version of your data.

Kmart apologizes to customers after month-long security breach

frank ly
Happy

Re: NSA's job

"After all, they pay their taxes."

Up to a point, maybe.

Lies, damn pies and obesity statistics: We're NOT a nation of fatties

frank ly

Re: Moving the goals?

"If a given shape, proportionate to size, were ideal -- then you would want to divide by the *cube* of your height."

That would be true if the human body could be aproximated by a sphere, but it is more closely approximated by a cylinder, hence the square is used. Maybe the height raised to the power 2.3 would be more 'fair'?

frank ly

Always more questions

In the average intake per person per day chart, there are two distinct and identicaly shaped dips for 2004-5 and 2008. I can't remember any national food shortages during those years or any national advertising campaign to eat less - so why the dips?

BMI: " ... there is no distinction between pure rippling muscle and unadulterated flab."

True, so BMI is not a good indicator of 'obesity' if you're a boxer, rugby player or a lumberjack, or very tall or very short. However, for the majority of the 'ordinary' population it is a reasonable and easy measure to take. So, unless the height or muscle development of the average population has changed much, it should be fine for long term use. If the average height does change then it should be easy enough to apply correction factors so as to make valid comparisons.

"Crucially, there is no measure there of waist circumference, which is what most of us use to make a judgement .."

What 'most of us' use to make a judgement is not medically uselful. From what I've read, the waist circumference in relation to chest and hip sizes can be a good indicator of future cardiac problems, so maybe these should be measured as part of the standard GP type of examination.

In the BMI category graph, there is a period of notable change between 1993 and 2001, then not much change after that to 2012. The BMI changes (for the worse) seem to coincide with the period of decreased calorie intake, though there are no figures for calorie intake after 2001. Does anyone know why this might be?

It all raises more questions than it answers, as do many of these types of studies.

Be Your Own Big Brother: Peeking at pussy

frank ly

Video taken by pet - copyright

You need to get its pawprint on a single sheet agreement giving you full rights to any image or sound recordings made during its time wearing the camera supplied by you. It's important to state that it can spend time with its own camera, outside the scope of the agreement, to ensure that the agreement couldn't be interpreted as unfair or onerous by a court (if it ever came to that). A few lines about undertaking to obey all applicable privacy laws would also be a good idea.