Posts by Peter Simpson 1

Re: brilliant

His scheme has a BOFH quality to it

Re: How can this be viable

"You could paint it to look like a cloud..."

Henceforth to be known as "Winnie-ther-Pooh" camouflage.

Re: So why isn't the Mayan civilisation still around?

The Catholic church, or its agents, are to blame for that.

All that genocide was done in God's name...

(as it almost always is)

Re: I almost died in Australia

Australia doesn't have a lock on bad mapping data -- took me years to convince Google, TeleAtlas and Navtech to stop sending people to our house via the mudpit that masquerades as the middle portion of our road. You can only travel it end-to-end if you have an off-road vehicle!

Now that I have the data correct in the three major data suppliers' databases, I just have to wait until it gets rolled out to the in-vehicle systems.

//tired of getting calls from delivery folks unable to find my house

Re: Z-80

Nowhere near as wonderful as the 68K!

//no antique computing icon???

Re: Whatever it is up there, it's a lump...

No, it's a spy satellite.

A cabbage with a DSLR (with wi-fi card) duct-taped to it. Polar orbit so it can take pictures of the US.

Re: Licence server

My company's IT folks do just that -- they have an inventory tool that enumerates the software installed on each PC, so they know (plus or minus one or two) which PCs have what software on them. They seem to have a pretty good handle on the Microsoft products they have (and a good relationship with Microsoft regarding the licenses, from what I hear)

Maybe Microsoft sees that we have hard data to back up our claims and seeks greener, less well documented, pastures in which to graze?

Re: Ballmer Babes

Security's too good at the Apple stores?

Sometimes ya gotta settle for second best.

The original

Big Iron?

Re: He was a bit

That's what makes him interesting. Odd and intelligent is a great combination.

RIP

Many wall warts wouldn't pass EU tests if you tested them.

But they have CE marks on them!

Oh, sorry...that would be the confusingly similar (read: identical except for microscopic differences invisible to the untrained eye) "China Export" mark.

(indicating that the article in question was exported from China?)

I tend to view any and all certification marks on Chinese manufactured products with the greatest of skepticism.

Re: Hackers would go after Windows phones...

Windows, Linux, Macs, Android -- they *can* all get malware. What differentiates them is:

- market share -- is writing the malware worth the effort?

- defenses -- what tools are available to block/combat the malware?

Microsoft (the market leader) have anti-malware software available but choose not to include it or enable it by default in their OS. If you're committed to fighting malware, why would you not ship your product with anti-malware tools installed and enabled by default?

Re: Low end?

"The cheapo tablets are generally compromised in some way..."

Usually, in my experience, that way is basic function -- as in "they don't work". But what did you expect from Chinese white box tablets for under $100?

Re: Sanitary Engineering

A well designed toilet is a work of art.

Some day, the British will have the opportunity to see one.

//seriously -- British toilets could use a redesign

Re: Another idea

Shame you couldn't get some kind of Royal Charter or something...I hear one of Them is an SAR pilot. If you'd made the extra effort to get him interested in the project, maybe...oh, wait -- he's got something else on his mind right now, doesn't he?

Well, it was a good idea. Better luck next time, guys!

(and thanks for the stroy, tracking, photos, videos, etc, so we could follow along)

Re: Total bollocks, all right

"The innovative bit about the patent is the re-radiating of power from one device to another"

Let me get this straight: "re-radiating" is somehow better than just letting the end device pick up the power on its own? Recovery of radiated power by the re-radiator is necessarily inefficient, as is the process of "re-radiation" (whatever that may be). I guess it'll work as long as the battery in the "re-radiator" holds out.

Up to a meter, huh? I'll believe it when I see it work without something melting or the disc on my electric meter spinning faster than light.

//it's the one with "Secrets of Free Power" in the pocket, thanks

Re: Or on Three network

Hmm - interesting. It's the exact same process on the AT&T network here in the US. I wonder if they're all using the same 7726 software? Typing in the sending number is a pain, but I try to remember I'm helping to build a database to shut down these b@stards.

Maybe there is hope after all. It seems to be working here, I haven't gotten SMS spam for a while now. It does seem to come in bursts for several months, then dies out. I'm currently getting robocalls offering me [lower interest rates, free alarm systems, or dead air!)

Re: The Newton was not a technology failure

I beg to disagree. Jimbo seems quite displeased with the performance of its handwriting recognition:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxZJsGuUfew

//one of my favorite Simpsons moments

Re: clarification for foreigners and the young

I believe the Honorable Gentleman was attempting to cram a large number of currency notes into his suitcoat at the time he made that statement.

"legitimately CE marked..."

Call me a sceptic, but in my mind, the probablility that a no-name PSU has legitimate CE and/or UL markings is so small as not to be worth mentioning.

//"China Export", my Aunt Sally...

A "friend"...

....acquired a corporate WinXP Pro install disk. No more crapware on "his" PC, and "he" can wipe and reinstall any time without any pesky activation requirements. Works under VirtualBox as well.

Re: Spot on

"have they started selling Tasers to mebers of the public yet???"

No, but you can make one easily from the guts of a disposable flash camera :-)

Re: Is that really???

It does appear to be one of HP's greatest. I still have mine, though nowadays I tend to use its virtual version on my iPhone (i41CX) and my desktop (V41)

RPN forever!

Re: Once upon a time they might have been able to kill Skype

" People use Skype because everyone else uses Skype. "

And everyone else uses Skype because it's the only available cross-platform audio/video chat app (that works).

It even works on Linux...

Re: I wonder how he feels

Made in Worcester, MA, I understand (not 30 miles from my own abode). So, his space suit has actually put money in the pockets of my neighbors, which could be considered saving a small portion of the planet['s population]...

//point stretched to the breaking point, I believe

Re: If they didn't have all their electricity cables above ground...

You folks in the UK may not have it, but over here in the colonies (New England, specifically), we have this stuff called 'bedrock". I invite you to try burying cables (or anything else) in it.