* Posts by paulf

1250 publicly visible posts • joined 25 Aug 2009

'Every little helps'... unless you want email: Tesco to kill free service

paulf
Thumb Up

Re: Damn

@ A Non e-mouse @Stu J @JakeMS

Another +1 for Fastmail (run with my own domain) from me although with one reservation (see below). I have three accounts with them which replaced all my "Free but you are the product" accounts about 4 years ago. Yes it costs money but is good value and support is excellent. Twice now I've had a support ticket elevated to the top tech guy to investigate when the lower level techs couldn't sort it.

One thing I would note - AIUI although they're an Australian domiciled company they have their data centre in NYC so this could mean it's still subject to direct scanning by the Murricans. If they could move my account storage out of The Land of the Free that'd be ideal.

You'll like this: Facebook probed by US watchdog amid privacy storm

paulf
Holmes

Re: So why does the Daily Mail run a Facebook script?

@Jon Smit "Anyone going to the Daily Mail website..."

So don't go to the Daily Heil website. You will be a happier person with lower blood pressure as a result.

Foxconn embiggens footprint with nearly a BEEELLION for Belkin

paulf

Torygraph story about opening a GPU R&D office a few miles from former supplier Imagination Technologies would also back up the OP.

I did read a story a few months ago detailing about 10 times Apple had opened up a new office near their suppliers which are then used as a base to poach employees. Unfortunately I can't find it but they do have form in that game.

PwC: More redundos at HQ of UK 'leccy stuff shop Maplin

paulf
Unhappy

Re: Bummer....

I went into my local store on Saturday to see what their "deals" were like on writeable DVDs (the only thing I used to buy there to avoid them being regularly mangled by Amazon logistics). Caketin of 25*8.5GB DVD DL = £35 which became £28 after the closing down 20% off. Quick sanity check on Amazon: £23.50 for exactly the same branded stuff. I would have stomached £25 (including have it now premium) but I left empty handed. Kudos to the staff though who remained polite and friendly despite staring down the barrel of redundancy.

[Edit: ISTR the Comet closing down sale was the same - even with the Manic Street Preachers discount they were still more expensive than other places and you wouldn't have anywhere to go back to when your new gadget went wrong]

BOFH: Give me a lever long enough and a fool, I mean a fulcrum and ....

paulf
Happy

Re: cellphone?

@ Doctor Syntax "The BOFH has been around for a long time. Probably long enough to remember BT's System 4 which was a non-cellular mobile system. It overlapped with TACS. In BT terms TACS was 5th generation...."

Ah System 4. ISTR (among other things) that System 4 had no HLR (Handset Location Register) so you had to call the cell based on where you thought the suscriber was. Since the cells were massive that wasn't too difficult and probably explains why the system saturated at ~20k users.

User asked why CTRL-ALT-DEL restarted PC instead of opening apps

paulf
Facepalm

Re: Feeling Old...

@TonyJ "Remember wrangling with the order things loaded in autoexec.bat and config.sys too, just to be able to get a game or program to run properly. And I used to think that kind of thing was fun!"

I recall it very well. Back in the day my 486-DX2 50 laptop (the first with an integrated double speed CD-ROM drive no less!) had about 9 different configurations (selected at boot up) in the config.sys and autoexec.bat to either load full fat everything for Win 3.11 and applications or just load the bare minimum tailored for this or that game.

When I went to university I took up the option of a network connection in my Hall bedroom (a 10MBps always on 10baseT ja.net connection for £50 was incredible compared to the V.90 modems of the day). I left my computer with the config guys to install the network card and required software+drivers and returned after lectures to find machine all sorted and working. Then the config guy cheerfully told me he'd run "memmaker"* to ensure DOS loaded the network stuff optimally. I almost used his head to test how robust the solid metal display casing was (the CF-41 was an early Panasonic tough book).

*Those who didn't know what a TSR is, probably won't be familiar with memmaker - a DOS tool for "optimising" the stuff loaded at boot up. Fine for simple configs but it totally mangled setups like mine

Addicts of Facebook and pals are easy prey for manipulative scumbags – thanks to tech giants' 'extraordinary reach'

paulf
Boffin

A mandate can be either democratic or irreversible, but it cannot be both – an argument

Selective excerpt: "...in certain circumstances, a government can abandon and reverse policies where there is a mandate without waiting for a general election. A classic illustration is the poll tax, for which a Conservative government had a detailed mandate from the 1987 general election. Few sensible people, if any, would have argued that the Tories were bound to keep this tax in 1990 because of “democracy” when it came to be seen widely as wrong in principle and unworkable in practice."

Fancy a viaduct? We have a wrought Victorian iron marvel to sell you

paulf
Go

Re: Nice piccies as well.

It does look like two 20s in multiple. Fine locos and (I’m lucky to say) rather nice to drive too!

paulf
Thumb Up

Re: Wonderful!

Fascinating article - thank you. This article made me think of the viaduct at Meldon Quarry very early on, so I'm glad the author has mentioned this. For those that don't know, it's on the former LSWR/SR route from Exeter to Plymouth that ran around the north of Dartmoor (the SDR/GWR ran along the south of Dartmoor and includes the well known section along the coast at Dawlish). It's now at the end of the route from Crediton to Okehampton which sees services in the Summer by mainline operator GWR. Since it's not far from the A30 it's worth a visit although, sadly, it's hardly visible from the road. It now forms part of a Sustrans route so you can cycle across it and I'm glad to say it's in much better condition than Bennerley Viaduct is at present.

Sustrans have been gifted a lot of former railway property and assets in preference to other groups, in some cases. There are instances where railway preservation groups wanted to acquire old lines from the former BR and were told the cost would be tens of thousands. When they declined the lines were then gifted to Sustrans for a nominal (i.e. £1) cost. Considering this head start they don't really have much excuse and should have been in a position to do more with assets like Bennerley Viaduct.

Brit retailer Currys PC World says sorry for Know How scam

paulf
WTF?

Re: Can't work out who is thicker

@ Graham Jordan "...(the latest included an £1800 laptop with a faulty motherboard KnowHow had back at their workshop 6 times and put the wrong screen on 4 times), and yet - despite many promises not to shop there any more, still do because it's bloody convenient and cheap."

Back the truck up a moment. You've just said you returned your lappy 6 times, of which 4 included the wrong screen being attached, leading to self inflicted returns. I'm guessing that incurred at least 6 weeks (likely 12 weeks plus) loss of use then the various phone calls or store visits to return it and get it back; but you still claim they're convenient? This must be a new use of the word convenient I'm not familiar with.

Openreach hiring thousands more engineers

paulf
Boffin

I’d also suggest that while 4G is all fine and dandy for browsing and streaming it’s a bit crappy for anything that needs a low latency connection (hello gaming) because it has a much higher ping than the equivalent wireline.

IME my best 4G ping at home is around 30ms (100ms+ on 3G) whereas FTTC is usually around 8ms.

Maplin shutdown sale prices still HIGHER than rivals

paulf
Thumb Up

@d3vy Perhaps. I expect them to last long enough so that cost per charge over the life of the battery is significantly lower than disposable batteries. That's probably not happened with some of them I bought whereas the Uniross ones work out at fractions of a penny per charge. IIRC the Maplin ones worked out at about £1.25-£1.50 each to buy whereas you can get 30 branded AA batteries in one of the DIY sheds for less than £9 (and probably cheaper elsewhere). While I respect your attempts to avoid disposable batteries, considering your lossy use case you'd probably be better off with the disposable ones in the kiddie toys?

paulf
FAIL

@ d3vy "That said, their AA rechargeable batteries were always good value - I might go and stock up!"

Did I miss a <sarc> tag? Their Rechargeables (IME, YMMV) were a bunch of crap which was unfortunate as it was one of the few things I went in there for. I bought loads of them over the years but stopped when the occasional failure became a routine thing. I found they lasted perhaps 4-6 years from purchase but no more than 100 or so charge cycles (if that!). You might think 4-6 years is about right for a NiMH but I have Uniross rechargeables from about 2000 (yes 18 years old) still working in daily use and I'm sure they've long exceeded their specified limit of 1000 cycles.

A ghoulish tale of pigs, devs and docs revived from the dead

paulf
Terminator

Re: Love it!

@ Chairman of the Bored "Problem is the guy who sent it - one nasty piece of work - had died shortly after sending me that."

Was the death, cough, an accident? Did you go all BOFH on him by the top floor windows that have the broken catch as retribution for him typing all in caps?

DVLA denies driving licence processing site is a security 'car crash'

paulf
Facepalm

Funny Story about their ruddy Driving Licence website

When I moved house a few years ago I had to do all the address change stuff which included my driving licence. Normally I would have put my new address on the back of the paper license* and send it to them in the post; job done. This time I thought I'd be clever** and use the DVLA website so it would all be sorted online to minimise the paperwork. I had to go through all sorts of steps including entering all my personal details, (IIRC) my NI number*** and my passport details. But it all went through, they accepted my new address and promised to issue updated documents.

Then on the last screen it said: You're obliged by law to return both parts of your old licence in the post so we can cancel it. So it was a complete waste of time for me (but not for them as it handily linked my passport to my driving licence and NI number). Sigh - icon ->

* It was back when the licence consisted of both a photo card and paper part

** Yes, I know!

*** Social security number for Left Pondian types. The DVLA isn't quite as bad as the DMV is reported to be, but I think the promised trade deal with your current small handed incumbent may include completing the job of dragging the DVLA down to DMV levels.

Administrator PwC chops Maplin staff

paulf
Pirate

Re: Debt

@Steve Davies 3

I’d say you’re being generous with that ‘1’ but it depends how long you give them. The longest lived after a debt fuelled acquisition is probably Debenhams after their ownership by Permira (?) about 10 years ago although that’s a case of 1. To the best of my knowledge and 2. Watch this space...

paulf
Alert

Re: PwC

I note from the CH page the entry "Incorporated on 22 June 1976". I suspect this means it is the actual original operating company that runs the shops etc, and isn't one of the various entities further up the chain created as part of the various PE ownerships - but I don't have a copy of the corporate structure to be sure.

paulf
Boffin

Re: PwC

Carillion = KPMG

EDIT: Maplin Electronics Ltd was audied by KPMG according to this from Companies house but I don't know where that fits in the complex corporate structure

Maplin - I couldn't get a definitive answer although I did find this opinion article which gives lots of accounting type information on how a company with good cashflow became a "zombie":

"The company that has been placed into administration is MEL Topco, which is the top layer of a complex corporate structure created by Rutland Partners in 2014 when Rutland purchased Maplin Electronics Group (Holdings) Ltd. from its previous owner Montagu Private Capital. Maplin Electronics Group (Holdings) Ltd. still exists, however; its 2017 accounts say that it is a "non-trading intermediary holding company". Its sole owner is MEL Bidco. MEL Bidco is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MEL Midco, which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MEL Topco. The corporate structure below Maplin Electronics Group (Holdings) is similarly complex."

"Quite why Rutland has created such a complex corporate structure for Maplin is not immediately apparent, but I suspect it may have something to do with tax, or rather avoiding it."

"When Rutland Partners acquired Maplin in 2014 it funded the purchase with debt. That debt was loaded in its entirety on to the books of MEL Topco, in the form of £15m of bank loans at Libor + 7.5% and £72m of shareholders' loan notes at 15%."

HPE to cut technician jobs as field work outsourced to Unisys

paulf
Terminator

Re: out of curiosity

@ John Brown (no body) "I wonder why the bean counters never seem to see HR as a cost centre ripe for cuts?"

Simply because there's a kind of MAD that exists between the bean counters and the HR droids. The BCs know where the money is and control who gets what; while HR know all the dirt on everyone and where the bodies are buried. Thus one lot gets their unchecked expanding empire plus juicy bonuses for reducing the empires (and costs) of others; while the other lot are confident the finer, more questionable aspects of their employee records never see the light of day so they aren't subject to closer inspection.

'A sledgehammer to crack a nut': Charities slam UK voter ID trials

paulf
Coat

FTA: "...individual votes only hold any value when thousands of others are cast in the same way – meaning "it's simply impractical to steal enough votes to make a tangible difference"."

There would be a significant amount of work involved which probably explains why there were only 44 allegations. To make any tangible difference you'd have to implement fraud on an industrial scale as you'd need to steal perhaps a few hundred (local authority) or more (GE) votes, assuming it's not a marginal. To do that you'd need to organise lots of different "thieves" to go and vote early before the real people showed up as the polling station staff will likely get suspicious when one person votes repeatedly. You'd also have to avoid the returning officer declaring the poll void due to repeated people showing up wondering why their vote has already been unexpectedly cast. This is already a helluva lot of work to make any difference and even then it may possibly sway the outcome of only one constituency (out of 650 parliamentary constituencies in the UK) so you'd need a serious reason to do it.

It's much easier to persuade the electorate with a fat pack of demonstrable lies while getting your mates in the media to run repeated stories that back up your claims; then let the more credulous elements of the electorate do the hard work for you. Red bus anyone?

Apple's new 'spaceship' HQ brings the pane for unobservant workers

paulf
Gimp

Re: The Resurrection is under way

"The casualty toll is set to increase once the building achieves sentience, and targets employees who have under-performed in their review."

I wonder if the building will achieve sentience before Apple Manglement? Perhaps the building can target the bean counter(s) that decided against increasing the Software Q&A budget first?

UK data watchdog's inaugural tech strategy was written with... *drumroll* Word 2010

paulf
Alert

Re: Really?

I'm still using Word and Excel from Office XP (2002). Fuck this Ribbon shit.

Oh and regarding "The ICO is widely seen as cash-strapped..." perhaps if they had the powers to make sure their pocket change fines were actually paid before the convicted shell company was liquidated maybe the chocolate teapot would have some more cash knocking around to fund their melting operations.

Swiss see Telly Tax as a Big Plus, vote against scrapping it

paulf
Facepalm

Re: Commercial TV is also a mandatory tax...

@ Cynic_999 "But that would be true regardless of whether the TV licence fee existed or not, so I'm not sure what point you are making."

The OP isn't advocating abolition of commercial broadcaster. The point (I think) the OP is making is that it's relatively easy to choose not to fund the BBC by not paying the TV licence; providing you adhere to the consequent restrictions of not watching live TV as it is broadcast and not using iPlayer.

On the other hand choosing not to fund media outlets that are financed in any part by advertising is one helluva lot trickier as you'd have to avoid buying anything (and from anywhere) that advertises. Take your weekly grocery spend as one example - Even if you limited it to own brand products at your local owner operated corner shop which doesn't even advertise in the local rag you'll probably find their wholesale/supplier organisation (e.g. Happy Shopper, Booker/Budgens, Costcutter etc) do advertising of some form.

Comcast offers £22bn to snatch Sky from Rupert Murdoch

paulf
Coat

Which is which?

RIP... almost: Brit high street gadget shack Maplin Electronics

paulf

Re: Well at least

I'm sad to see them go (and never happy to see people lose their jobs) but not surprised - like most other commentards here. 10-15 years ago I used to visit their stores and just browse at all the stuff I could get hooked into a project. Their cables covered every possibility I needed and were reasonably priced too (I'm talking 10m optical and phono cables among other adaptors etc). Slowly the good stuff evaporated until I was only going in for

1. (Re-)Writable optical disks (same price as Amazon and unlike Amazon weren't being delivered broken)

2. Batteries

3. Jewel cases for 1.

In the end I don't write as many disks as I used to, their batteries are expensive and/or crap so I only ever went in there for Jewel cases which tended to have one broken one per pack.

I did buy a lot of their rechargeable batteries but they tend to fail completely within a few years and not many charge cycles. That compares unfavourably to the Uniross rechargeables I have from 2001 which are still going strong long beyond their specified life; so I gave up on those. Then when I wanted button cells my choices were £3 for one at Maplin or 10 for £1.50 inc postage via an Amazon trader. I don't mind paying a "Get it today" premium so £1 each isn't too bad but not 20x more!

EE: Data goes TITSUP* for Brit mobile customers

paulf
Unhappy

On a tenuously related issue EE have just closed down the old Orange online account servicing portal. This allowed you to download your bill as PDF, check old bills, check usage so far in the current month - all the usual stuff. It was summarily closed at the end of 2017 pushing people like me, with old Orange branded plans, back on to paper billing. How's that for progress?

It seems the old T-Mobile portal is still active which suggests to me EE was built on the T-Mobile billing platform (in the same way you found the T-Mobile network was used as the foundation for the merged network). As new customers were routed to the new T-Mobile EE billing platform the old Orange platform withered as customers migrated to EE or others, to the point they figured it was cheaper to send bills in the post than keep it running. Also it acts as an incentive to shift off those old orange plans and shifting people over to the T-Mobile platform would just be too helpful.

In case you were wondering I have an old Orange Value Promise tariff - one of the old Virgin plans with no monthly charge so you just pay for calls. It's a bit like PAYG but with monthly billing instead of topups. I suspect it won't be long until they just get rid of all the old Orange plans completely.

Cali cops' Clue caper: Apple technicans, in an iPhone repair lab, with the 1,600 silent 911 calls

paulf
Headmaster

Re: Anyone remember 0990 premium numbers?

Yes, but it wasn't quite premium rate in the naughty sex chat line sense, although it was expensive to call (and still is).

0990 was BT's National-call product - a non-geographic number but charged as if a call to a national rated call. 0345 was the local call rated equivalent (Lo-call). 0990 became 08705 while 0345 became 08457.

Vatican sets up dedicated exorcism training course

paulf
Thumb Up

Re: @sisk

@Inventor of the Marmite Laser "Which, of course, begs the question: are there any Jewish ghosts...?"

There must be as they were popular enough to spawn a sitcom called So Haunt Me in 1992 about, "A suburban family find their new home is still occupied by the ghost of its previous owner, a middle-aged Jewish woman."

Nokia tribute band HMD revives another hit

paulf
Happy

Re: I still have a 7110...

Not entirely forgotten - I found both of mine (7110 and 8110) in a random box in the garage over Christmas. Didn't stop Orange marketing the 7110 as The Matrix Phone. I'd like to think they both still work but they're both still locked to Orange and I no longer have a working Orange mini SIM.

Intellisense was off and developer learned you can't code in Canadian

paulf
Coat

Windows 8.0 Metro?

Surely TIFKAM? (that also seems to not have a "U").

That microchipped e-passport you've got? US border cops still can't verify the data in it

paulf
Go

Re: Just a TSA anecdote

"You should have claimed to be French, that would have fooled them..."

That would probably have worked. I wonder how many Americans think all Frenchmen speak with a perfect English Shakespearian accent thanks to Star Trek TNG...?

paulf
Facepalm

Re: Just a TSA anecdote

@DNTP "...she closed my passport without even looking at the picture or comparing my name to my boarding pass,..."

I recall having a Miami Twice* moment when I was checking in at an airport in the Land of the Free. The agent "checked" my fine brown British passport, "Dieu et mon Droit" proudly emblazoned in gold letters across the bottom of the majestic royal coat of arms.

And then proceeded to ask me if I was Australian.

Icon is how I would have responded if I didn't have an aversion to intimate inspections.

*One of the running jokes through this Only Fools and Horses special is everyone thinks these two chancers from South London are from Australia.

RIP, Swype: Thanks for all the sor--speec--speedy texting

paulf
Unhappy

Re: Familar pattern

@ Orv "See also the long, slow death of WinAmp."

That was truly sad and it's kinda happened again as the new owner has spent something like three years getting ready to re-launch Winamp "soon (sic)". It was an even more sad day when Gracenote terminated access to CD info for the ripping engine.

I'm still using the last version 5.666 on all my machines - as a background music player it's still the best for me.

Lloyds Banking Group to splash £3bn on tech

paulf
Alert

Re: TUPE

AIUI TUPE protections only last for 2 years after transfer, but the contract between LBG and IBM is for 10 years. That translates to me as, 2 years training your replacements in Mumbai then the RA consultation starts exactly 2 years and one day after TUPE transfer was closed (sooner if they can get away with it).

Farewell, Android Pay. We hardly tapped you

paulf
Go

Re: What could possibly...?

@Lee D, "Keep your debit card in an RFID blocking wallet or sleeve."

Or just ask your card issuer for a non-contactless card. I'm not a tin foil hat type, but I wanted non-contactless versions of my credit and debit cards. I asked my card issuers and they happily sent out non-contactless replacements for the pay by bonk cards they normally send.

UK mobile customers face inflation-busting price hike

paulf
Facepalm

Re: Abuse

@ARGO, "If O2 or Voda offer [WiFi calling] they are keeping it quiet."

Yeah Vodafone are doing all they can to keep their Wifi calling service quiet.. It's native on the Jesus-Mobe, plus various Droids.

Life's a beach – then you're the comms nexus of the British Empire and Marconi-baiting hax0rs

paulf
Alert

Re: if you receive any significant benefit in exchange

@SkippyBing "Ahh I see it's in section 3.39.4, although I can't see what the difference for the donor is between paras a and b, in both cases you get a years re-admittance but in para b you're 10% worse off. I've also never seen the advantage of paying 10% on the normal price advertised at places that charge it, but that may just be me."

This in 3.39.4 concurs with my understanding - for a general admission fee to be treated as Gift Aid it has to be 10% more than the standard admission. Yes, nominally you've paid 10% more for your admission which is the obvious downside BUT:

1. The Charity can now claim back Gift Aid on the full admission fee (not just the additional 10%), in addition to you having paid the extra 10%. That's great news for them.

2. As the admission fee is now a Gift Aid donation it means you can claim it against your tax bill if you're a higher rate tax payer which you wouldn't have been able to do if it was a standard admission fee. My understanding is that works out to a rebate of 20% of the total Gift Aid amount which is more than the 10% extra you paid so If you pay HRT that's good news for you. (If you don't then the Charity still benefits which is still good for them).

Like others, I'm not a tax lawyer.

Brit regulator pats self on back over nuisance call reduction: It's just 4 billion now!

paulf
Gimp

Re: I've recently started amusing myself thus:

Superb.

As for, "I honestly don't know what I would have done next, if they had, for instance, actually described their clothing." get creative with your wildest imagination - the Internet has much to offer in the way of inspiration, see Icon! For good measure, place an old Marigold glove* by the phone in case you need sound effects.

*These are branded rubber gloves usually used for washing dishes and other household chores, if anyone isn't aware.

paulf
Angel

Re: So how come I don't get any?

Serious reply.

Our landline was a new number in 2013 when we moved, there is a chance it was used before. It's been given to two close family members only otherwise people are told to call our mobiles. The line is only really there for VDSL. It does get occasional calls (perhaps once a month) but since we don't answer it I've no idea whether they're spam or not. If they are junk it's likely an auto dialler block dialling every number in our STD code than because someone has that number from a previous subscriber.

My mobile number is from 2005 so likely new and unused before, but I'm also picky who I give it to (I have an older burner number to give to companies who demand one). It gets about 5 spam texts a year which are reported to my network but otherwise most of the spam I get on that is from my sodding network operator!

So I agree with you - not sure if it's me but I don't get many and consider myself lucky.

TalkTalk to splash £1.5bn laying full fibre on 3 million doorsteps

paulf
Terminator

Re: Sooooo Talk Talk are looking to do more than OpenReach

FTA: "TalkTalk plans to bring full fibre speeds of 1Gbps to three million premises in the UK..."

Openreach: Openreach ups investment plans: Will shoot out full fibre to 3 million premises

I wonder if they'll target [largely] the same 3 million properties or completely separate sets of 3 million properties?

paulf
Boffin

Re: Good Idea.. but..

@AC: "I doubt TalkTalk will Wholesale as it makes the case to invest way, way harder. No-one would unless forced to by regulation."

Not sure I agree with you. If they were forced by regulation to wholesale at the levels applied to Openretch then, yes, it probably wouldn't be worth the investment. If they choose their own wholesale price (which they probably could do as they don't have market dominance, unlike Openretch) they could make a profitable product - they supply the line and someone else does the customer stuff (signing customers, support, billing &c).

The TT board discussion would more likely be - if we keep this to ourselves and don't wholesale, will we make more money having it as a selling point than if we wholesale to others and have multiple ISPs getting Bums on seats?

Micron cranks revenue forecast up by $275m amid flash, DRAM boom

paulf
Meh

FTA: "Demand for flash and DRAM has benefitted all the foundry operators...giving him a comparatively easy ride revenue-wise at Micron. The real test for his exec team will come when demand wanes. Then we'll see if they have what it takes. ®"

That'll be when they blame the weather, a change in demand from their customers, the refresh rate, a lack of compelling products from smartphone vendors (i.e. their customers), Easter being early/late (its timing is always predictable but it's never considered on time), discounting, &c. IOW all the trite excuses trotted out by the retail sector when things don't hit targets and the guys at the top want to pretend they weren't to blame.

Wish you could log into someone's Netgear box without a password? Summon a &genie=1

paulf
Meh

Re: Name me one home network device maker we can trust nowadays

If someone can*, it certainly won't be Netgear. I bought one of their top spec'd consumer routers (£120) back in 2012 and it was EOL'd within 9 months (barely 12 months after release). The ADSL bugs were never fixed and I bet it's very quickly became a swiss cheese for security holes that have been found in the years since. The only reason mine was bearable to use was because support sent me a Firmware beta that was never released to the unwashed masses. Official fixes were only available if you dropped (£140) on the v2 HW (£140) which was released about the time my v1 HW was EOLd; i.e. Netgear were happy for me to junk HW still in warranty to get updates. That's when I swore off Netgear ever again for anything.

*I have one name in mind because I have one but I can see the OP was posing a rhetorical question (plus I don't want to be accused of being a shill).

‘I crashed a rack full of servers with my butt’

paulf
Coat

Re: VIP visitors

@Alan J. Wylie

Suggested caption for the second photo:

"Hahaha I've found the shutdown button!"

Billionaire bros Bezos, Buffett become bonkers bio brokers: Swap W in AWS for H for healthcare

paulf
Pirate

Re: America Fuck Yeah

@Blank Reg, "They have said this would be not for profit, but if it reduces health insurance costs for their companies then it would certainly help their profits."

Perhaps not directly profitable, but can you really see a scenario where all that juicy personal health care information doesn't somehow trickle its way back to your Amazon account?

"Items inspired by your last Doctor visit: High fibre cereal from 'Amazon Whole Foods', Soft cushions, Preparation H (Subscribe and Save!)"

Firefox to emit ‘occasional sponsored story’ in ads test

paulf
Unhappy

FTA: "Mozilla reckons the fact all its products are open source will help give users confidence that their privacy has been respected and protected,"

Will there be any processing outside the browser involved in serving those ads? Will that serverside code be open sourced like the browser? I'm guessing if the answer to the first question is "yes' then the answer to that second question is "No".

IBM UK's pre-Xmas GTS head-chop: THWACK! Is that it?

paulf
Coat

Re: Nearshore?

@AC, "After we Brexit where will near shore be located?"

The Rockall part of South Harris Parish.

Electric cars to create new peak hour when they all need a charge

paulf
Thumb Up

Re: I've been pointing this out for years.

@AC

"If you care to do a bit of research yourself, you could see how much of our electricity generation is coming from which source in real time."

If you want to see the realtime UK electricity demand and what is supplying it this is an excellent resource:

G.B. National Grid Status. It also has links to historical data as well.

Right now (10.01 Wed 24 Jan) Wind is supplying 9.94GW of the 39.5GW demand, which is more than nuclear (6.65GW), far more than Coal (1.14GW) but less than CCGT Gas (16.12GW). For context there are strong winds in the South of England at the moment.

"There are a number of companies out there that sell 100% Renewably generated Electricity. Go look at Ecotricity.com and see for yourself. (there are other Green Energy Companies)"

OVO Energy is another company that offers 100% renewable tariffs - usually costs about 1.5p/kWh more but YMMV and others are available.

Ads watchdog to BT: We say your itsy bitsy, teeny weeny Ts&Cs too small for screeny

paulf

Re: I see what you did there

@commswork I thought the same - seeing that in the news recently must have given ideas to a sub-ed at El Reg.

paulf
Pint

I see what you did there

Headline: "Ads watchdog to BT: We say your itsy bitsy, teeny weeny Ts&Cs too small for screeny"

Does this indicate the start of a new punny headline template along the lines of "Super Cali goes balistic..."?