Posts by Dr. Mouse
961 posts • joined Tuesday 22nd May 2007 08:09 GMT
The simple answer
is to not hold any data on your laptop. Keep it all in a remote file store of some description, and access it when needed. Ensure you don't store passwords/keys to it on the laptop itself.
Then if they want, they can copy everything from the laptop. There is no 'data' there, nothing personal or private, just the apps needed to access it.
Posted in Oz pedestrians fall to 'Death by iPod'
It's Not About the Music (tm)
I have seen this many times. Most of the time I back off a bit and am more careful as soon as I see someone with headphones on.
It is not as much about the fact that they are listening to music. It is more that they end up in a trance, playing with their phone and listening to music, not even thinking about the world outside.
I have done similar in the past, nearly walking out into the road on the way home from school, because I was thinking about some school work.
I don't think education will work. Everyone sometimes drifts off, and kids will just take the opinion "why the hell shouldn't I listen to my music, you mean grownup!"
In general, things like this are going to happen, no matter what we do to try to prevent them, especially as more and more portable gadgets become available (businessmen speaking on their handsfree while looking at the pretty powerpoint slides are just as likely to step out into the road without looking, in my experience).
Live with it, or ban everything, lock people up in padded cells and let robots do all the work.
Good luck
Loving the P.A.R.I.S. project
Posted in How much aircraft fatigue is too much?
Not the issue
It doesn't really matter that the code is probably less efficient. It is realtime sensitive, so what matters is getting it done quickly, not efficiently.
Skip to the end...
To many comments to be arsed reading but...
As many have already said, the easiest method is put it all on fuel.
They could always sset this up so haulage firms can claim some back, similar to VAT, to stop them going out of business. Savings will be made in administration costs (e.g. DVLA). Motorists don't need the extra hassle of tax discs, nor is all that paper wasted.
I am not the first to say it, nor the first to think it. The idea, though, is a good one, simple and effective. Therefore it will be ruled out, and will never happen...
Yep Yep Yep
"The other useful feature they could add to any kitchen is a self cleaning one, some kind of roomba that cleans cookers, floors, worktops, fridges & everywhere else."
Cooking=Fun. Cleaning up after cooking, not so much. Looking at the cooker a week after it was last cleaned, covered in oil, bits of foor etc, rather unpleasant.
***GROAN***
"Ah, there's a green spin to this story"
Posted in UK scraps Fibre Tax review
Politicians
Don't know why anyone expected any different.
New politicians, new promises broken.
Simple
They were not compliant because they modified the code, distributed it, but did not make the modified source code available (to those they distributed it to).
The GPLv2 is very simple. Anyone can use the stuff, or modify it. But as soon as you distribute the modified code you MUST make the source code available to those you distribute it to, under the terms of the GPL (so they can then distibute the code freely or modify it).
It's not an unreasonable requirement. People are doing a lot of work and letting you use it for free. All they ask in return is that you follow the spirit of FOSS development. If you don't want to do that, use something else (same argument as with any software license really)
I share your pain
I feel exactly the same way.
Stories like this, and any other about those we elected to power being less than truthful, should be outrageous. The should whip up anger in the population that those who "represent" us would not be truthful with us. They should be the exception...
But they are not. We regularly hear stories of politicians having distorted the truth to fit their own agenda. The most common comment I hear about them is "What do you expect? They are politicians."
But that's the point. We *DO* expect it. But we *SHOULDN'T* expect it.
And occasionally, as with the expenses scandal, we do stand against it. But not very often. Mostly we just put it down to "the way things are" and get on with our lives.
Sad times indeed...
Posted in Broadband advertising speed gap widens
Too true
The ISP's quote the specifications of the service they will provide. In the case of ASL2+, the specs (at least as they are used in this country) allow up to 24MBits down, but this will vary dependant on line conditions. They advertise what their service does, hence are doing nothing wrong.
What OFCOM & ASA **SHOULD** be looking at is the "Unlimited" claims, which are blatantly false. If I have an unlimitted service, and am synced at 24MBit Downstream, I expect to be able to download 7.7TB of data each month, if I so choose. Putting a cap, hidden in an (un)Fair Usage Policy means the service is NOT unlimited, and should not be sold as such.
Erm...
"It's more expensive to ship food into the big cities yet you don't pay more."
We pay the distribution costs in our shopping bills. The farmers don't pay it, we pay it in the mark-ups the supermarkets charge. The only reason a farmer *would* pay is if it cost less to buy from a supermaket than their local shop. In that case, blame economies of scale, don't blurt out ridiculous "we subsidise your food" garbage!
Posted in Cable lays plan for graduate tax
Unbelievable
I was one of the lucky ones. I went to university when fees were still reasonable (I think about £1000/yr max, less based on parents income).
There were 2 points I heard on the news this morning: First was this "Graduate tax". This is not a fair idea. We already pay income tax, which is linked to how much you earn. If graduates earn more, they pay more tax already.
Add to this the student load system, which "taxes" (IIRC) you at 9% on earnings above a threshold (16k ish?) until the loan is repaid, and you already have a fair system. This tax would, if what I hear is true, be paid for life, not until the "loan" is repaid.
I do not think it is a good or fair idea.
The second point was bringing in 2-year degrees. I think this is a mistake too. There are only 2 options with this: Teach less or teach quicker. Teach less and you devalue, even further, the degree. Teaching quicker is, IMHO, nigh on impossible.
They CAN
The fact is they CAN get high-speed broadband already. The problem is that it COSTS them a hell of a lot.
There was a recent article on here where a rural council paid towards the cost of getting FTTC installed to a village. This shows it can be done, the question is funding.
I do not see why I should pay for it, it's them who want it, let 'em pay! The councils could pay the initial costs, then whack it on their council tax bills, or else a group of them could get together and chip in for it. If they want it they can get it themselves. If they aren't prepared to pay for it, they don't get it.
Personal opinion:
Those setting up the groups have every right to do so. Anyone even saying they agree with Moat killing cops has a right to do so. Cameron has a right to say he disagrees with what they are saying. Cameron, as a person, has a right to complain to Facebook about it. Cameron AS PRIME MINISTER does NOT have a right to put that weight behind the complaint, as this amounts to government-sanctioned censorship.
I am also disgusted that this point has not been raised by Clegg. Although I have slowly lost my support for the LibDems since the formation of the coalition, due to them doing what all politicians have done and put aside personal and party values in order to maintain power, he should at least show some Cojones and challenge Dave on the fundamental right to free speech.
Come on Nick, show the country you are not just a lap dog and stand up for your parties supposed principals AT LEAST ONCE!
Posted in El Reg marks Steve Jobs for termination
Hmm
Sounds like a cultural misunderstanding. It doesn't suggest anything of the sort to me.
Posted in Europe approves mass data transfer to US
Shome mishtake, shurely
Surely you mean European and US governments, not firms/businesses?
I'm sure the US government would *never* pass this information on to their bosses^H^H^H^H^H^Hbusinesses so they could gain an advantage over their European rivals...
So how long
before El Reg get a "cease and disist" letter from 'em?
Brand new Symbian devices, you heard it here first!!
"affects Series 3 and % Symbian devices"
If I had to guess, I would say you mean "affects Series 3 and 5 Symbian devices", unless I have missed an anouncement about the new "Series %" devices :)
No,
Playmobil reconstruction or it didn't happen!
Easy answer...
Don't buy a brand new, over priced fashion accessory if you want a working, stable tool.
Don't get me wrong, the phones should not be doing this, and Apple should admit it, but you did buy a fashion accessory, not a phone...
I have always thought so
I always called 1024x768 1024 res, 800x600 800 res, 640x480 640 res etc (as did my friends)
When I first saw 1080p I assumed it would be ITRO 1080x800, but no, "they" count the lines as more important. Therefore this 2Kx4K is probably right for "them", and will likely become known as something like "2Ki"
Posted in Amazon punts Kindleware for Androids
Hmmm
"Requires Android OS 1.6 or greater"
Bummer! On 1.5 on my Moto Dext :(
Posted in Redback spiders provoke BAE lock-down
OK I didn't see that
At least not until you pointed it out. You owe me a keyboard Thorsten!
Posted in Apple's fresh Mac mini stripped naked
Too true
A cars voltage normally sits around 14V while the car is running, with spikes under certain conditions and severe drops when cranking.
At the very least you'd need a decent regulator. I'm looking at this myself to convert a Marvel Guruplug into a car PC, and it aint as easy as you'd think (although this runs off 5V). You need to supply a smooth, regulated voltage to any electronic device, and the higher the current and the higher the *range* of draw, the more difficult it becomes.
The mini here draws between approx 0.8A at idle and 7A. 7A is enough to make it either hard work to DIY or pretty expensive to buy.
Just something to be aware of before you start complaining that you blew up your brand new shiney overpriced Mac and blow it up
Posted in Apple's fresh Mac mini stripped naked
Ah the good ol' screw!
We geeks love a good screw!
Ms Bee: Do you prefer a screw? :P
Paris... Well isn't it obvious?
Posted in Hybrid CD vinyl unites warring tribes
Not much difference then
"but remember, if you're putting it on a vinyl player, it's shiny side down"
Shirley it'll be "shiny side down" on both?
Posted in Gartner expects big jump in chip sales
I know
"Analyst group Gartner reckons chip sales will grow 27 per cent this year compared to 2009"
It's coz I got me a bigga deep fata fryer, init.
Damn!
You beat me to it!
OK, my appologies
I am not infullable*, I made an assumption about the plural of virus.
If it's not virii, then it's a common mistake to make. I'll look into it.
* you may notice the Red Dwarf reference... then again you may not. :)
Not in the wild...
but I had a friend 10-15yrs ago who wrote one. It did no damage, was never released into the wild and was just a bit of fun for him, but it existed.
I have also heard stories of them. I could be wrong, but as there is no technical reason they could not exist, I beleive they do.
I know for a fact that at least one exists, if not in the wild, hence my comment is almost correct. The rest of my argument, I believe, would still be valid even if no Linux virii exist.
Sorry...
...but that's just retarded.
I am a Linux man myself, but no system is invulnerable. It is insane not to use the firewall system provided to secure your PC. There are security vulnerabilities discovered regularly for all pieces of software, including FOSS.
I admit that their are few Linux virii in the wild, but they do exist. Also, you could potentially forward on an email containing an infected attachment to one of your mates unknowingly. When a free AV (such as Clam) could scan your email, and use very few resources doing so, I don't see why you would not do it. In adition, Linux virii will likely become more commonplace as it gains more of a following, so as time goes on your chances of infection will increase (and they are not zero right now).
Anti-spyware, I'll grant you, is not as big a deal. But the others... I must point out the huge FAIL in your decision.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with the argument that Linux is "more secure"* than Windows, but only providing you use the security facilities available.
* "more secure" in quotes because it isn't the right phrase to use, but ICBA, it'll do, take it with a pinch of salt
This is the very reason...
... there should be a Darwin's Law.
If you do anything which is so stupid that you SHOULD have been killed, we will remove you from the gene pool ourselves. Firing squad at dawn.
To be a little more serious, why do people not just use a generalised disclaimer: "Stupid people may not enter/use our product etc.." If she is so stupid that she cannot figure out that it is dangerous to walk on what seems to be similar to a motorway, she deserves everything she gets! It's worse than the guy who got his car stuck on that dirt track following his satnav. Unbeleivable!
Simples
may be easier to understand as "with built-in support for Windows came with the introduction of Windows Vista", but as written is still valid in common usage.
LOL
I love the rationale. Perhaps a little misguided, but it all fits logically, explains much, and would be worth further study. Also, it's hillarious and I'd love to argue this point with an ultra-feminist-bra-burner just for the fun of it :D
Unfortunately if I tried to explain this to the missus, I'd get one or more of the following (probably all of them):
a) a slap/kick/general harm done to body parts
b) an earache (and likely with the volume of her voice, a headache)
c) a nookie ban (although this is probably the most unlikely, if you know what I mean)
d) she'd quit her job saying "I didn't evolve for this, so YOU can provide for me", and start nagging me more, all the while leaving us both in a worse position. AND I'd still have to do the cooking if I wanted anything decent.
Think I'll keep this argument to myself just in case...
Huh?
"As part of an earlier plea bargaining agreement, Mettenbrink admitted..."
"Mettenbrink... was jailed for a year and ordered to pay $20,000 in compensation"
What would the sentence have been if he HADN'T accepted the plea bargain? Sounds like a bad deal to me, but then again I don't know the alternative...
I have the answer!
Power the balloon using hydrogen, and fill the balloon with hydrogen. As fuel (hydrogen) is used, Gas (hydrogen) is removed from the balloon. Win win!!
Hindenburg? What's that? Basic understanding of what now?
Totally agree
See title
Posted in iPad to become inflight fatcat fun-slab
The title is required, and must contain letters and/or digits.
You guys owe me a new keyboard!!
"showering the little blighter in glass might sound like a good idea, but the airlines will feel differently"
The point...
"the flash part could be accessed independently, like a separate device... but what's the point in that? we have usb for that"
Maybe that it is faster flash, on a faster interface?
IF that was how they did it, the flash benefits from the 300MB/s interface of SATA-II and the RAM Cache, and would work much better than using a USB stick for the data.
Posted in Non-Flash video surges onto the web
Beg to differ...
Have you ever tried to watch Video in Flash on Linux? It's bad enough on Windows, where it's almost acceptable in terms of load times & frame rates (I'll ignore stability) but their Linux offering is shocking.
So I'm then forced to use "illegal" tools to allow me to play the video in my own player just to get a decent frame rate. Lo and behold, even streaming (rather than dling to mpeg) I get flawless, smoothe video.
So I would modify your comment to "Flash is doing a fair job of making Windows video streaming and rich UI implementations accross browsers possible" (definitely not a good job, and certainly not practical).
Posted in Sony sued for dropping Linux from PS3
lol
Love it! Sarcasm at it's finest (or at least I hope it is...)
Posted in Microsoft's FUD goes mobile
Bored now
I am simply bored of this now.
Note to Microsoft: put up or shut up. If you have valid patent claims, tell us what they are. If you don't, FOAD!
That is all.
Posted in OCZ's low price Onyx SSD
You miss the point
Your HDD will produce better peak streaming transfers, but I doubt it will come close to the access time on an SSD. For random IO, the SSD will likely be better, hence it is probably a good choice for a system drive (at a low enough price point 2 in RAID0 will be a possibility)
Posted in BOFH: The PFY Chronicles part 2
I'm not so sure
'A postcard with the words "Hi from KiwiFoo" crudely pasted from letters cut out of a magazine'
You forgot
Phase 3: Profit
