Posts by Alex

@Chris

I'm just curious. Apart from the S Club 7 - Ronnie Hazlehurst business, what other examples of blog-sourced 'research' are you thinking of?

@Decryption not necessary

"Connect to "britney spear's greatest hit" torrent, find out all the other IP's that are seeding / leeching and then notify their ISP"

But why would ISPs be forced to believe an appointed BPI torrent-watchdog? Unless that watchdog contacts the ISP immediately, which is then compelled to check the torrent itself to catch that IP in the act.

@Name

Have you ever been to a 'school disco' themed-night at a club or similar? It cuts both ways, men and women are attracted to other men and women who dress in a way that reminds them of a highly sexualised time in their life.

And whilst it might go against some of your sensibilities and mine, a 16 year old girl is legally entitled to do what she wants to do and with whom. I think it's more hypocritical for the ASA to pretend she can't.

So, "why is it acceptable generally for us to be attracted to, and 'joke' about, women who are above school age but wear school uniforms"?

Because they are women who are above school age.

Now that Sony have confirmed that it's being released...

I'm more interested in what other features it might have beyond a bigger HDD and DS3. As so many have said, it's easy to upgrade the HDD yourself so that's not very interesting but since the 20GB/40GB/60GB/80GB all have different feature-sets (most readily recognisable from the HDD size), might this be a predictor that the 120GB/160GB are also different?

RE: RE: Change the law about who pays fees

I'm playing devil's advocate somewhat since I don't despise lawyers but if we extend your analogy: even if a rottweiller were encouraged to eat a baby, it would still be put down (and the owner arrested).

Possible evidence

I don't know about other sites but when I tried the youtube video yesterday, I was told it was no longer available due to a copyright claim by the Church of Scientology International. Lovingly uploaded by someone else:

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m144/zomgbbqlol/Whoa.jpg

Does youtube have a pretty tight system for avoiding any Joe under an assumed name telling them to pull a copyrighted clip? Anyway, it's back up there now and we can all enjoy the frighteningly bizzare ramblings of this 'confused' individual.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3orDPL-Q5eQ

Possibly restored because CoSI has no copyright just because it features one of its members talking about it?

Bated breath

"The film plays out as a science fiction story set in the near future, about a rebel who rises up against the Tekken Corp. to seize freedom for his people. It's a gladiator story, but the videogame has a complicated enough storyline that it provides the template for a martial arts spectacular"

That would make it f*ck-all to do with the game then apart from the use of the word "Tekken". It's a bit like that other film based on a game, 'Hero'. I gather it's inspired by Guitar Hero.

For the interested (or bored)

"The Register is a tabloid blog with a tiny audience and of virtually no importance outside a certain subculture" - Jimbo Wales

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Overstock.com

I...I can't get enough of this stuff...

Will reality adjust to suit Mr Wales' vision, please?

But

I'm no big fan of Brown but I can't see the bit that shows he knew about the security risk. In other words, can the Guardian, NotW or El Reg confirm that he was in the address list of this e-mail?

"He should have known, he was the chancellor" etc not withstanding.

@Matt Bryant

FACT1 - You get on the list because the police have credible evidence? Says who?

FACT2 - So, on the basis that that happened to a colleague of yours and the police say there are others, it would be sensible to assume that this specific 'suspect' is also lying about who he is?

FACT3 - Some would say there are alternatives to bad ideas implemented badly that would also be effective against violence.

Am I just feeding a troll here?

What's with all this 'alleged' business?

If they got fined by the Commision, surely this was because, in the eyes of the Commision, they engaged in cartel behaviour. Not because they were alleged to have engaged in cartel behaviour.

IAKAL but during an ongoing investigation or court case wouldn't you throw in the word at every opportunity to prevent prejudice (not to mention arrest for contempt of court)? Since they've been fined, the investigation has concluded; couldn't you call them mad, scheming b*st*rds if you so wish?

Makes it sound like you have reason to doubt the Commision's conclusion...

@Logically flawed

Actually, I'd say it's a shoot-to-kill policy that's logically flawed since it's trivially easy to make a dead-man switch. In this scenario, either the bomb goes off when the bomber chooses or when he's shot/killed. Horrible as it is, there is virtually no possibility of a bomber not detonating once his bomb has been armed.

Maybe the police have good reason to think that terrorists don't use these; I certainly hope so. However, terrorists KNOW that the Met has a shoot-to-kill policy so there's yet further incentive to incorporate dead-man switches. If someone has evidence as to why the police don't make this assumption, it would set my mind at rest:

@The ignorance of some commentators is becoming tiresome...

Pointing out a logical flaw in policy is not pouring scorn on the officers' motivation or integrity any more than criticising the tactics of First World War generals diminishes the heroes that died executing those tactics.

My apologies

The link for that quote is:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/08/0810_riaa_comment/comments/

Obligatory sarcasm

The US governments stated aim of promoting democracy in Iran surely sits well with limiting free speech in the country. And, as has already been said, it won't even make a difference if it only means Iranians have to pick another country to sign up. Or they can just go elsewhere.

@Andy B

I've noticed the lack of comments sections Mr Orlowski's articles too. The first time I it was puzzling. Now it just seems melodramatic. Oh well, they're his articles...

Sanity has prevailed

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071102-esrb-president-rockstar-complied-with-our-guidelines.html

@Richard Neill

Yes, indeed!

I have to admit I'm still confused by the Met's shoot-to-kill policy (assuming it hasn't been quietly changed in the aftermath of this poor man's shooting). In fact, in a world of dead-man switches, a shoot-to-anything policy seems incredibly risky given how easy such switches are to design and make.

I came up with a design for such a switch with 5 minutes of idle thought and I'm hardly an engineer. A terrorist capable of making a whole bomb should have no trouble with a button that completes a circuit when it's depressed rather than pressed.

I suspect I've added nothing to your original comment but I think it was worth reiterating...

Before I jump into the shark-infested waters

How's their uncensored image hosting site doing?

Or The Video Bay?

It's not that I don't think a PB p2p protocol would be successful if they released one. It's just that they probably won't release one.

He used a word, the meaning of which was obvious in context

Get over it?

Not really analogous

I don't think this situation is like saying you can get Heinz baked beans at www.tesco.com since Heinz gives Tesco permission to sell their beans.

A better analogy might be that it's like telling people you can get flawless copies of Heinz baked beans without paying Heinz (or anyone) from www.allurbeans.com.

Ditto with Hovis ;)

Quick note

Fans of "The Bell Curve" might want to read Stephen Jay Gould's "Mismeasure of Man" before claiming that there is solid evidence for differences in intelligence along racial lines.

Well

I'll be damned, never thought it would turn out to be true.

I'll take my word-filled slice of humble pie on the patio, thanks.

@Jack

That would explain it! I'm pretty sure that auto-spam wasn't a "feature" when I signed up to facebook. That sets my mind at rest; thought I might have been quietly infuriating some people who'd rather not hear from me again. :-p

But

Aren't Bungie entirely owned by Microsoft? In which case this rumour is dead in the water.

I suppose there could be a developer exodus from Bungie, leading to the formation of separate studio similar to the Rare/Free Radical situation, but that's hardly the same.

RE: The RIAA can't lose

"If they win, they get a legal precedent, even if the defendant is only fined one cent per song"

True, but if they lose then future defendants get a legal precendent as well. The prosecution will apparently involve many of the standard arguments the RIAA has used in the past to obtain settlements. If the court finds these to be big hairy ones then the RIAA has to find a new revenue stream.

You seem to have already formed your conclusion despite the fact that the case has only just started; I am respectfully hopeful that you are not on the jury. ;)

Also

"a WiMax-compatible games console which it claimed is the world's first online games console. Perhaps it forgot about both the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS..."

Also preceded by the Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Gamecube and PS2 (technically) and Dreamcast (IIRC).

Perhaps the phrase "online-only" and "handheld" was lost in translation?

Thou shalt

refer to "frickin' laser beams" whenever lasers are mentioned in an article.

"Change"

I can't see Antigua getting invaded or labelled as part of the Axis of evil (but then what do I know?) on the back of this but can someone convince me that a covert coup in Antigua a la Operation Ajax would not end this problem for the US?

FF7/FEAR

Actually, both are legal and totally safe. They just sat on my HD for years until one day they were flagged as viruses/virii. AVG aknowledged them as genuine false positives.

They were good enough to contact me after I'd e-mailed a password protected zip with the "malicious" file to them for examination. It IS free so I'm not massively fussed but since this software has worked with AVG for years, it's a bit much to put the burden on the publishers to predict when one particular anti-virus decides (albeit as a blip) to go silly.

I take your point that software ought to be tested and proven to be compatible with a pool of common AV software before release but as soon as an AV updates its definitions, it becomes a two-way street and GRIsoft et al. have to take some responsibility (which, happily, they do).

Not that this is anything but moot anyway; I doubt Adobe Reader is still getting flagged as I type this.

Maybe the answer's obvious but...

How could Sony know where I live?

Do they think they'll obtain a court order to get my address from my ISP (via my IP)?

Do they want to do the same to get my address from the company that delivered it (if it's not bought in store)?

Do they take my address when I register with the service (Nowhere Street, Anytown or just fake a real one)?

Or do they have sophisticated transmitters that connect to Sony's spy satellite network and relay the location of every PS3 in world back to central HQ as part of their efforts to make their customers more hostile towards them?

Interesting first point.

Sorry, the authors of this study have lost me with their first point...They're saying that increasing the cost would mean fewer people buy the product..?

My head hurts.

Hehehe

We all have the luxury of access to a computer. Not every person does and some of those people will nevertheless be license payers.

They can't access the BBC website that they help to pay for, they deserve a rebate, right?

They might not have a freeview box, so they miss out on BBC3 etc. They deserve another rebate, right?

They might not own a radio, or may ONLY own a radio, they deserve yet another rebate, right?

Not all BBC services are available for all license payers who can't/won't pay for the necessary kit and never have been. Obviously, that’s not entirely fair but it's the only pragmatic way to roll-out the services that the majority of us can enjoy.

Bah...

I wish I'd added mine. I think it would have been in with a shot...

"Max Hyde"

Oh, yah.