Posts by Turtle

@Mark 85 Re: The seem to be going in an unsavory direction...

"I guess it's time to go have a look at the various flavors of Linux."

Guess again., If none of Microsoft's Win 10 shenanigans up to this point haven't gotten you to actually move to Linux then there's no reason why this particular shenanigan should be the deciding factor.

If Win10's "updates are installed without your consent or even knowledge" feature hasn't put you off, then why should *this*? Because you want full information about updates that you have no choice about having installed? And because you need detailed knowledge about updates that you won't know about at all?

Or, to put it another way: If you swallowed everything up to now, you will have no trouble swallowing this too.

Re: "The Ashley Madison files – are people really this stupid?"

"If I had to guess I would say the majority never cheated on anyone using this site."

Considering that 90 to 95% of the sites users were men, I'd have to figure that very few of the men were successful at all - and if a woman needed to register here, I expect that, unless she was shall we say a professional and this was a way of finding new clients, then she was nothing worth bragging about, either. I feel kinda bad for such.

I wonder if the site's owners can be sued by people whose names showed up in the database but who never actually registered but rather who were registered by someone else using their name and email. And by people who paid to have their information deleted yet wasn't deleted - they'd seem to have a good case too.

Also waiting to see if this turns out to be an inside job.

@John Savard Re: Uh

"If Rambus manufactures components that are compatible with current memory standards, won't they have to enter a patent cross-licensing pool?"

No, not if they manufacture standards-compliant devices which by definition require the use standard-essential patents, which patents must turn be licensed by the patent-holder to anyone who wants to implement the standard which requires those patents, on a FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) basis, meaning basically that anyone who wants a license to use the patent can get one, and everyone pays roughly the same very nominal rate for its use, and those royalty rates usually have cap to them, so that no one will pay a total of more than a certain amount for using the patent.

A patent will only become part of a standard if the patent-holder agrees to license it on a FRAND basis.

There is no requirement that the licensee agree to cross-license any IP to the holder of standards-essential patents nor is there any implicit agreement the the licensee agree to forfeit any right to sue the license-granter for using the licensee's patents etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasonable_and_non-discriminatory_licensing

@Paul Crawford Re: new technology...

"I hope some commentards will check, but I figure that if you had a 2km rail gun on some suitable mountain and were running at 3g sustained acceleration your meat-sacks would survive fine and you would be doing about Mach 1 at the exit point where (hopefully!) the chemical rockets take over 11 seconds or so in to the whole process."

I don't know if this is either feasible or useful but one could launch a vehicle via this method without a crew, and then send the crew up separately in a roman-candle type rocket or whatever other mode of conveyance won't necessarily kill them. Doing so would allow the rail-gun launched vehicle to be optimized for the strengths and survivability of the hardware as opposed to the weaknesses and survivability of the flesh and blood crew, who would rendezvous with their vehicle in space. This might enable the launch of larger vehicles and cargoes although economies of scale (budgetary and/or engineering) might or might apply.

Of course there would be a need to engineer the rail-launched vehicle for the launch itself as opposed to being engineered for space-travel proper - two profoundly different sets of engineering requirements. But as a cargo carrier to get materials into space to build a large space-faring ship, it might be useful.

@Pascal Monett Re: ‘fishing in a cesspool’

"Do they really think that people searching for wank fodder are going to pay attention to ads ?"

No, of course not, but if the ads are there then the ad networks and the websites get paid just the same.

Lexus might be a luxury car but clearly they're not smart enough to indulge themselves with the luxury of having admen who know how to spend money wisely.

Re: Redmond's not been super-responsive of late.

"Who really owns your copy of W10 then?"

(Let's assume that we all know that the question is...) "Who really owns your license to use W10 then?"

Basically, anyone who pays for a copy or is granted a copy for having met the conditions for receiving a free copy. That Microsoft can revoke anyone's license on a whim might be enjoyable to write, say, or think, but doesn't have anything to do with events in the real world, where revoking someone's license to use Windows without really, really good reasons will mainly net Microsoft various lawsuits. I can't imagine that it could be done on any basis other than case by case.

This is essentially independent of anything in the EULA - because commerce is commerce and the EULA takes precedence of no laws whatsoever.

Additionally, in spite of anything in the EULA to the contrary, tech companies can not unilaterally, fundamentally, and substantively change the terms and conditions in the EULA. The EULA is (or perhaps it would be better to say "may in fact be") a contract but only insofar as it is binding for both sides. If they can broadly and substantively change the terms and conditions at will, the EULA becomes binding only on the end-user, and therefore can not be a valid contract.

Furthermore, while some terms and conditions in a EULA might be enforceable, others might not. No EULA is 100% enforceable merely in virtue of having been agreed to. Each provision must be enforceable and no provision of a EULA can conflict with the laws of the relevant jurisdictions. (Conversely, invalid clauses in a EULA do not necessarily invalidate the entire EULA.)

Of course, tech companies puts those terms and conditions in the EULA in the hopes that most people will be fooled. And although most people never even read them, there are plenty of people who fall for them. As we see.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconscionability

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_proferentem

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_form_contract

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_promise

Comic Relief:

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-ridiculous-eula-clauses-agreed/

@Joey M0usepad Re: @Mage Lotteries

My Original Post: "'A tax on the poorer people usually.' The problem with calling it a "tax" is that no one is obligated to play."

Your Reply: "'The problem with calling it a "tax" is that no one is obligated to play.' ok so some metaphors don't bear close examination" - Neil Pye"

I've actually rethought my position on this. I've decided that it *is* a tax - but not necessarily on the poor. It is a tax on stupidity and magical thinking - which are not necessarily related and are not necessarily found together.

Re: Talk about risky locations..

"There's a good reason many operations should be well-away from residences... but this routinely gets ignored by companies and planners alike in europe, let alone other parts of the world which are more cavalier about safety standards."

If I correctly recall, one of the factors involved in the Bhopal Catastrophe was that the plant was built in a safe (i.e. non-populated) area that later became populated - a shanty town grew up around the plant.

@Tim Worstal Re: Social agenda

"Pay or conditions a bit over market average will enable you to pick and choose who you employ. Henry Ford got it with his $5 a day (nope, it were nowt to do with the workers buying the cars) and the tech companies all get it with those ever spiralling wages for engineers."

From what I've read (if I am recalling correctly) the actual problem that faced Ford was the very high turnover in his workforce and he realized that that was costing him far more than increased wages would cost. I believe that the "pick and choose" aspect / advantage was secondary to the high turnover in the workforce problem.

@Slacker@work Re: "Brain"

"You're forgetting the press release was for the American market..."

...from the American space agency. So perhaps you'd be so good as to give us some examples of kind of press releases that the UK space program issues. For example, I can't for the life of me recall the press release they issued when the first Brit walked on the moon. Perhaps you could refresh my memory?

@DrXym Re: Start handing out fines

"The FDA should be slapping her with a hefty fine instead of a stern warning. "

She could go to court to have the fine quashed, especially as she has a defense that would guarantee her victory: she could plead ignorance.

Food Pyramid.

"Theobromine is an essential nutrient!"

That's why chocolate is at the very top of the food pyramid, along with fried potatoes and ice cream.

@aBloke FromEarth Re: Probably air con fear

"Germans are notoriously anti air con -- they say it 'makes you sick'. Although I've never managed to elicit exactly which illness that is."

Fan Death. The compressor makes the fan in the unit even more lethal than it would otherwise be. So their ability to recognize the increased danger of air conditioners as compared to mere fans shows a very good understanding of bio-mechanics. Kinda.

@David 132 Re: This comments thread is missing something

"But less facetiously... is there anyone around who would care to offer a thoughtful, reasoned, non ad-hominem argument as to why this data-gathering behavior of Windows 10 is no big deal?"

Here it is: Because everything that you want to protect has already been compromised by your smartphone and your favorite search engine, and by whatever web-based apps and email services and "social media" that you and your friends use. Yes indeed: you didn't do this all on your own: you've had some help from your friends. Because that's what friends are for.

I'm still on XP and all that I know about Win 10 has gotten me thinking that maybe I ought to upgrade to Win 8.1 for the sake of running the latest games and the two mission-critical apps that I need and for which there are no alternatives. I use no social media whatsoever and do not have Facebook or Twitter accounts. I don't use a smartphone either.

I haven't like the way the IT world it going since Windows Media Player 9 attempted to introduce a marketplace into my OS. (Oddly - to me at least - when Apple turned their desktops into storefronts via iTunes, Mac users loved it.)

I might use Steam occasionally but I always use the Offline feature. Some years ago, EA tried to give themselves the right to index the contents of my hard drives and sell that information to third parties, so I have never and will never use Origin. Ever.

For enterprise the matter might be different but the fact is that the privacy that most people will forfeit by using Win 10 has already been willingly abandoned long, long ago.

Re: Laugh all you want..

" ...billionaire boy could not have asked for a better marketing campaign."

Or maybe not. I wonder if Luckey can sue for defamation of character.

@Dan Paul Re: Only to be expected (For good reasons)

If she wasn't corrupt and dishonest, she'd be a complete non-entity.

@Stumpy Re: Easily solved.

"Easily solved ... just don't buy a smart TV."

The name tells it all: they are called smart TVs because they can so easily outsmart their users.

@Ole Juul Re: remember a strong 30-char pw?

"only 10 years sounds like negotiation."

Well it ought to - the article says it was the result of a plea-bargain and there's a link to a pdf of the actual agreement.

@Charles Manning

"How is it that the medical profession managed to transition well, but others have not?"

Malpractice lawyers. Because... they make it impossible to hire the incompetent - irrespective of the gender, race, ethnicity, to which the incompetents might belong. The cost of malpractice insurance and the size of the awards frequently given by juries make it too expensive to hire them.

On the other hand, if a software company hires a few incompetents and organizes them into a committee to - just to take an example at random! - redesign a Start Menu, and they mess it up, there are no real consequences. So a software company can hire incompetents. And some software companies take full advantage of this by hiring no one except incompetents.

@Stephen Leslie Re: Some steps

"You might feel the thing is almost an extension of Microsoft servers, rather than its own operating system. But with some adjustments, you can reclaim your own computer."

Thanks for the post; that's some very useful stuff there..

What I need to know, and will require, I suspect, more time from more tech-competent people than myself, is the degree to which it is possible to disable the constant surveillance, and, simultaneously, what remains in force no matter what the user does. If it *all* can be disabled, then I don't much care what Microsoft has put in there; it's the undefeatable mechanisms that concern me. I doubt that the final word has been said on this matter.

@Danny 4

"The guy deserves neither girlfriend nor cat."

Right on both counts.

"Or even access to bacon."

Now that's harsh.

"wearing a helmet while riding a bike"

"wearing a helmet while riding a bike. There are some nuts that want to make it compulsory and frankly I'm having a hard time understanding their effort to protect me. If they think there is a risk of injury then for God's sake they should start wearing a helmet and just leave me alone."

That's fine if, and only if, you have already paid insurance premiums such that it will be your money and only your money that will be spent on both immediate and long-tern rehabilitative medical care if you suffer a head injury whilst riding without a helmet.

Since that's unlikely to be the case, and since, thanks to the miracle of compulsory medical insurance, many, many other people's money will be spent cleaning up the mess of a head injury incurred while riding without a helmet, your decision to wear or not wear a helmet becomes a matter of public concern.

Once any type of insurance, public or private, enters the picture, and the money being spent on the injury is not 100% your own, things get... complicated. Note that this has nothing to do with your opinion on. or support of, or desire or lack of desire to be covered by. any sort of compulsory or non-compulsory medical insurance or public health insurance whatsoever. Other people have to pay the costs, and are therefore concerned about how and - especially - why their money is being spent.

@Dr_N Re: He should go free...

"In France 'hunters' are allowed to chase and kill virtually anything they please, on any property."

If, as you imply, hunters actually are allowed to chase and kill drone operators - and also, hopefully, Google Street View Car drivers, then they've hit on an ideal measure for insuring at least some bit of people's personal privacy!

@Spot Re: 2,217,000

"That's a snapshot figure of those in US jails within the Homeland. No Internet in jail."

Very perspicacious. But not, however, correct. So maybe not so very perspicacious.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_prisons :

Much like the use of telephones in prisons, the use of the internet under supervision, for various purposes, is approved in 49 U.S. correctional systems and five Canadian provinces. Each of the reporting U.S. systems, except Hawaii, Iowa, Nebraska and Nevada, use computers to employ inmate educational programs, as do all five reporting provinces in Canada. There are 36 reporting U.S. systems to handle inmate health issues via telemedicine.[1] However much like the use of mobile phones in prison, internet access without supervision, via a smartphone, is banned for all inmates.

@JeffyPoooh

"We can send a spaceship to the edge of the solar system and beyond, but we can't avoid the copyright lawyers."

So your idea is that, if Carl Sagan picks some music to be put on a disk and sent into deep space, then the rightsholders to that music somehow forfeit their rights here on earth? How does that work, exactly?

Re: American Exceptionalism

"It was Margaret Thatcher who invented 'American exceptionalism'"

There are fundamentalist Christians who believe that the world is 6000 years old. And there are some people on this forum who seem to believe that the world is about 40 years old.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Exceptionalism:

The theory of the exceptionalism of the U.S. can be traced to Alexis de Tocqueville, the first writer to describe the country as "exceptional" in 1831 and 1840. The exact term "American exceptionalism" has been in use since at least the 1920s and saw more common use after Soviet leader Joseph Stalin allegedly chastised members of the Jay Lovestone-led faction of the American Communist Party for their belief that America was independent of the Marxist laws of history 'thanks to its natural resources, industrial capacity, and absence of rigid class distinctions'. However, this story has been challenged because the expression "American exceptionalism" was already used by Brouder & Zack in Daily Worker (N.Y.) on the 29th of January 1929, before Lovestone's visit to Moscow. In addition, Fred Shapiro, editor of The Yale Book of Quotations, has noted that "exceptionalism" was used to refer to the United States and its self-image during the Civil War by The Times on August 20, 1861.

The idea of "American exceptionalism" is actually useful when counterposed to the highly self-absorbed European-Marxist idea that Europe somehow embodies a universally-applicable template of historical development.

@Howard Hanek Re: Define 'Stability'

John McAfee thinks that the Ashley Madison hack might "destabilize society" but will it become as unstable as... John McAfee?

Is that even possible?

@ Erik4872

"our politicians have a pretty bad habit of using social media irresponsibly - a few are forced to quit over it; see the very-appropriately-named Anthony Wiener who is not only a dick himself but whose idea of courting a woman is to send her pictures of his dick..."

FFY.