* Posts by Chris_B

38 publicly visible posts • joined 23 Oct 2009

Spaniard trousers €60,000 bank error, proceeds directly to jail

Chris_B

In Greece

this sort of thing is known a 'special' loan that doesn't need paying back.

What's the difference ? :)

Windows 10: Buy cheap, buy twice, right? Buy FREE ... buy FOREVER

Chris_B

Windows vs Linux

After being a Windows stalwart for many years I finally switched the family laptop over to Linux Mint after contemplating paying hundreds for a shiny new version of Windows. Not only are the updates and patches now handled quickly and easily but more importantly it actually passes the SWMBO test. Easily.

Haven't found anything I can't run under Mint that I need and the whole thing runs 100x faster.

No wonder MS are worried when Linux is reaching a fairly mature (as in family friendly) age. A tipping point for Linux will arrive soon which I think MS might be trying to counter.

Norks' internet goes TITSUP in possible DDoS attack

Chris_B

Free Internet for All

Perhaps the hackers should have opened up the internet for all Norks to see rather than shut down something most have no access to anyway.

Now that would have really pissed of Kimmy

So - you thought you knew all about the INSTANT COFFEE DUNES of TITAN?

Chris_B
Thumb Up

A record ?

You managed to get 4 "boffins" and one "boffinry" in that article. Way to go.

But I think you could have had a "chief boffin" in there too.

'Snoopers' Charter IS DEAD', Lib Dems claim as party waves through IP address-matching

Chris_B

"Any half competent defence lawyer should be able to mount a very robust defence against this sort of evidence along the lines of "prove it was my client using that IP address and not one of the dozen other people running through that NAT"."

Unfortunately that used to the be the original defence when speed cameras came in. "Prove it was me driving"

So what did they do? yup, they changed the law so that the car owner was liable.

Next step? You make the Router owner liable for all traffic.

I really don't like the way this is all going.

I wonder if the Houses of parliament have open WifFi ? :)

Smart meters in UK homes will only save folks a lousy £26 a year

Chris_B

Do smart meters work if I have solar cells and feed the energy back into the grid ?

If they do and they meters then run backbards won't someone sitting infront of a computer in some far flung call centre put a block on my energy because I must have cracked the system.

Either way let's all just get solar panels and bugger them up roaylly :)

US Copyright Office rules that monkeys CAN'T claim copyright over their selfies

Chris_B

"unless a human took the image, it cannot be registered and, thus, would be considered a public domain image freely available for use"

So If I set up a camera that has an infra-red trigger that is set off by an animal, that photo doesn't belong to me but to the animal that set it off and thus is in public domain?

Nuts

Brit celebs' homes VANISH from Google's Street View

Chris_B

Re: But, but, but...

@ You have not yet created a handle

The best bit is if you use Google's new service of looking at older Street View pics then Tony's house isn't blurred.

Own Goal ?

UK govt 'tearing up road laws' for Google's self-driving cars: The truth

Chris_B
Black Helicopters

I wonder if the NSA will help Google install the software into these cars ?

Google ECJ case: No commish, it means we don't need right-to-be-forgotten rewrite

Chris_B

The truth is still out there

Please correct me if I'm wrong but just deleting something from a search engine doesn't actually remove it from the source. So, it's still out there in the Interwebs ready to be found again later.

Also, does this just apply to the EU? So if I search on a US site or a Russin one for that matter will I still find the offending material ?

Five unbelievable headlines that claim Tim Berners-Lee 'INVENTED the INTERNET'

Chris_B
Coat

You're all wrong

It's called the Interweb

Thought you didn't need to show ID in the UK? Wrong

Chris_B

Re: I think we should become more European with this

So if all those european countries have ID cards, why is it so difficult for our government to establish whether or not a foreign national should be allowed into our country or not let alone whether or not they can rent a property ?

USA reverses iPhone, iPad sales ban

Chris_B

Straight faced ?

I wonder how they ever managed to get this quote out and keep a straight face ?

Apple welcomed the news and applauded Mr Obama "for standing up for innovation". It added: "Samsung was wrong to abuse the patent system in this way."

We want to put a KILL SWITCH into your PHONE, say Feds

Chris_B

Re: No more popular uprising

Not heard of walkie-talkies then and normal cameras?

Ed Miliband brands Google's UK tax avoidance 'WRONG'

Chris_B

Pot, kettle, black

Miliband added: "When Google goes to extraordinary lengths to avoid paying its taxes, I say it’s wrong."

Let me fix that for you

"When Politicians go to extraordinary lengths to hide their expenses, I say it’s wrong."

Ray Harryhausen, king of stop motion, takes final voyage

Chris_B

TTFN

R stop I stop P stop

BT inks 2 more gov-funded broadband deals

Chris_B

A real survey?

Has anyone actually published a proper survey of what speeds people actually get ? Not just what an ISP says you could get up to.

Do the likes of Speedtest.net publish their results on a map ?

I would love to see real world data put on a map.

How to build a BONKERS 7.5TB, 10GbE test lab for under £60,000

Chris_B

Re: First-degree burns treatment

I think it might be time for Eadon to put his money where his mouth is a write "that" article that he thinks is so missing from ElReg.

Tesco exec brands UltraViolet 'too complicated' for Brits

Chris_B
Pint

Which Ultraviolet ?

Is that Ultraviolet the film or Ultraviolet the service. I'm confused already . Back to the pub

Spy under your car bonnet 'worth billions by 2016'

Chris_B
FAIL

Re: Decades of road safety research

A few points taken from the study you pointed to :-

Page iv is titled "Some limitations of the study"

1. 77 out of 175, could not be included in the meta-analysis

2. There is a possibility of publication bias in the data

3. The results may to some extent reflect the effects of other road safety measures, not just changes in speed

4. Data concerning speed and/or accidents can be unreliable

5. A number of studies contain multiple estimates of effect.

6. The study does not state what the relationship between speed and accidents is for specific types of accidents or in specific types of traffic environment.

It also states that "The Power Model applies to injury accidents only, and not to accidents at large."

So it's saying that speed is related to the severity of the accident not whether speeding is safe or not.

All of that kind of puts the report in the bin really in this context.

It also mentions other studies that show that cars travelling slower or faster than the mean speed of traffic are more often involved in accidents

So, slow speed also kills to coin a phrase.

There's lies, damn lies and statistics.

Apple 'iTV' looks like Cinema Display, says Throat

Chris_B

The lawyers are lining up as we speak

What with Apples propensity to sue the stuffing out of everything it will be interesting to see what ITV make of this

That Brit-built £22 computer: Yours for just £1,900 or more

Chris_B

Great idea

I'll certainly be buying a couple of these. One for me to play with and one to teach the kids on.

And to all those saying the schools won't be using them, learning isn't something that's just done at school you know!

Sony off the hook for killing Linux on PS3

Chris_B

As advertised ?

How about a screen shot of the option that allows you to install another OS ?

I'd call that a feature and seeing as it's not now there then it's a feature that's been removed.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/12/13/ps3-other-os-class-action-dismissed/

How would you feel if they removed the BluRay player because it allows you to play pirated movies.

A peek inside Apple's iCloud data center

Chris_B

Top quality pictures those

All taken using the magical iPad2 ? :-)

Sandi Toksvig puts the 'n' into cuts - on the Beeb

Chris_B

Cut it out !

Typical response from an MP who as we all know are pushing though a load of 'cuts' right now.

Nissan Leaf electric car

Chris_B

Overnight charging

If this is aimed primarily at city dwellers where space is at a premium and most don't have drive-ways (as the writer alluded to) how do you charge the thing overnight ?

Dutch astronaut unleashes 155 mph 'Superbus'

Chris_B

"Hi can you pick me up?"

Where do I live?

Oh, in a Cul-de-sac

Click

Hello? hello ?

Great for transporting overpaid Footballers on the motorways though.

Ford cars get draconian parental controls

Chris_B
FAIL

Pointless system ?

Ford are assuming that the beloved first borns are honest enough not to borrow their parents keys.

If they are sensible enough not to do this then they are probably sensible enough not to need this system in the first place.

If they are of the boy racer mentality then they can just circumvented the 'system' anyway by using their parents keys.

Greenland ice loss rates 'one-third' of what was thought

Chris_B
Flame

How to save the planet

What I can't understand is if all these people want to 'save the planet' why don't they just turn their computers off ? Would save everyone a lot of bother.

Sony updates PS3 system software

Chris_B
FAIL

Crippled again

For something that has the potential to be so much more, Sony are doing a damn fine job of crippling it. And no I don't condone pirating at all but I'd like to be able to turn my PS3 into a much better media player and to add the ting i'd like to add.

Miracle-tech that could fix almost everything: Major advance

Chris_B

Well Boffin'd

You managed to use Boffin 6 times in that article. Got to be a record. And one of those was even a 'Chief Boffin'

Way to go

Aussies rage at 'strings attached' iPad sales

Chris_B
Paris Hilton

iFondle down under

Not that you'd be able to use the iFondle down-under anyway. The internet is so censored there's nothing worth looking at anyway :)

Blunkett threatens to sue for £30 ID card refund

Chris_B

Expenses?

Did he actually buy the card with his own money or did it go through on expenses I wonder ?

O2 limits unlimited broadband packages

Chris_B
FAIL

Damn and blast

Just moved from PlusNet to O2 because of their unlimited policy. Used to blow PN's 15Gb limit in 3 weeks every month.

With 3 teenages in the house and the school holidays looming I'm stuffed.

10Gb is absolutely pants in this day and age. Jeez even the French are ahead of us !

Tories put ID cards, Contactpoint on manifesto hit list

Chris_B

Manifesto's

Wouldn't it be good if the law was changed to make any promises made in a manifesto legally binding within a certain timeframe. Might make them a bit more wooly and light though.

Lords: Analogue radio must die

Chris_B

Pirate Radio?

I can see a lot of pirate radios popping up again to fill the FM void.

Long live Radio Caroline

Giant iPhones invade Florida

Chris_B

Does it blend ?

Wonder if these would blend as well as the originals ?

WTF is this country called America?

Chris_B
Grenade

French or American?

Would that be French Canadia or North Amiercan Canadia ?