* Posts by caffeine addict

898 publicly visible posts • joined 6 Jun 2007

Oz cops investigating screams of 'why don't you die?' find bloke in battle with spider

caffeine addict

I don't believe in firearms for the general public, but that huntsman would have me reaching for a shotgun. Maybe something like a shotgun with beanbag rounds, but with bigger rounds...

I may have just re-invented the canon...

London's Gatwick airport suspends all flights after 'multiple' reports of drones

caffeine addict

Re: bbc quotes

don't need to launch anything, other than 50 - 100 drones controlled remotely, or pre-programmed,

This is a very good point. Compared to the price of a missile, a couple of dozen drones with big batteries, programmed to take off at 30 minute intervals from locations within a mile of the airfield. You could bugger up any airport for days.

What's the best power/weight ratio for something like that anyway? For a one off disruption that doesn't need to worry about recharging. Is it still liOn?

caffeine addict

Re: I wonder if...

This is what confuses me - you'd have thought that a combination of standard issue eyeballs and various tech at an airport (plus any gadgetry that has been brought in over the last 24h) would be able to spot where it was coming down. Even if the operator is moving around, it's got to be fairly easy to track.

Failing that, stick a helicopter up next to it and make the operator abandon it or show their location.

caffeine addict

Would that be a Eider or Eider duck?

Your choice. Eider one is fine with me.

A year after Logitech screwed over Harmony users, it, um, screws over Harmony users: Device API killed off

caffeine addict

Re: A bridge too many

The door is over there. Please feel free to use it.

Microsoft flings untested Windows 10 updates to users! (Oh no it doesn't!)

caffeine addict

Re: @Phil O'Sophical

Well if it is Franco-German controlled, it's because...

No, it's Franco German controlled because it always has been and they understand how it works. The Germans implement the rules they want and the French ignore the rules they don't want. Everyone else gets towed along. That's not a "woe is UK" - it's the same for everyone. To be honest, I'm surprised we were ever allowed to join the then EEC because France was always against our membership.

Dev's telnet tinkering lands him on out-of-hour conference call with CEO, CTO, MD

caffeine addict

Re: About a billion years ago in internet time (call it 1986) ...@ Obligatory xkcd:

I thought we'd lost amanfromMars. Have I just been unobservant?

The fastest, most secure browser? Microsoft Edge apparently

caffeine addict

Re: JAB

less than 1% of the screen real estate.

That'll be fun on a mobile device. On an iPhone 8 it would be less than 14 pixels high...

Windows 10 can carry on slurping even when you're sure you yelled STOP!

caffeine addict

What advertising?

On the front screen it loves showing you photos of pretty places around the world with strangely clickbait-y texts that reveal where it is or what it's called. But it also occasionally decides to tout apps or services that it thinks you might like. Off the top of my head, the Microsoft store and some photo sharing thing were its last suggestions.

caffeine addict

So - what's the current favourite for automating turning off all the Win10 crap?

Bonus marks if it also disables the advertising that appears on the lock screen.

Bloodhound SSC reaches the end of the road for want of £25m

caffeine addict

Re: Bu**eration!

I (kinda) see a point in making ever faster wheel driven cars

This. A thousand times, this. The aerodynamics involved in 1000mph is mind bending, but that's about it. Getting an internal combustion engine up to 450mph through powered wheels is (IMO) a massively more impressive feat. The wheels, the drive, the rubber, the challenge of actually getting enough air into the engine? That's much cooler than a jet or rocket on wheels.

Expired cert... Really? #O2down meltdown shows we should fear bungles and bugs more than hackers

caffeine addict

Re: The wrong day

Technically that's quitting too, after all , you won't be doing any more will you?

I'm not sure I'd consider a hit that lasts the entire of the rest of your life quitting. That's the holy grain of getting high.

caffeine addict

blamesplaining

There are currently 30 google results for that abomination for a word.

If it becomes popular, we're holding you directly responsible. The tar is already being warmed and the chickens are being plucked...

Keen for much-hyped quantum computing to finally land? Don't expect it for a decade

caffeine addict

The original concept of AI i.e a robot brain as or of greater intelligence than person is still a long way off. However in certain limited applications we already have AI. The google search engine for example

about 15 years ago I did a degree level course about AI. There were only really two things I remember about it:

* Strong AI is about ten years away

* Strong AI will never happen, because whenever you get close to it, people will dismiss it as algorithms and brute force, not intelligence.

Anything much short of Star Trek's Data isn't Strong AI (IMO). Google self driving cars are very clever, but they aren't AI. It'll weave its way through time square, but stick it in the middle of a cattle ranch or on the moon and it won't know what the hell to do, even though it's still basically the same job.

caffeine addict

Things that have always been a decade away

* quantum computing

* strong AI

* flying cars

* driverless cars

* cure to cancer

* fusion power generation

All six have made their spot in headlines this year...

Take my advice and stop using Rubik's Cubes to prove your intelligence

caffeine addict

Re: Do they have to be in his mouth at the time?

Well played, sir or madam. Well played.

Thank you. I like to keep my options open.

caffeine addict

Do they have to be in his mouth at the time?

Australia to build a pirate-proof fence: Brace yourselves, Google

caffeine addict

Can we have a sweepstake on how long it takes from implementation to a 14 year old blowing a hole through it you could sail the pirate bay galleon through?

Montezuma's Revenge can finally be laid to rest as Uber AI researchers crack the classic game

caffeine addict

Re: Confused.

That confused me too.

If it's "play game. if that worked replay what you did last time" then this isn't AI, it's brute force.

iPhone XS: Just another £300 for a better cam- Wait, come back!

caffeine addict

Re: Not me

Don't clip a curb or they'll explode...

Alphabet gives bipedal robots the Schaft 'cos no one wants to buy its creepy machine maker

caffeine addict

Re: all tasks likely to be beyond the capability of a Google executive

Aaaand now I'm imagining Boston Dynamics trying to make a sex robot...

Time to go find beer.

Want to hack a hole-in-the-wall cash machine for free dosh? It's as easy as Windows XP

caffeine addict

There's nothing special about Lincolnshire. It's basically your good old fashioned ram-raiding.

Round my parts they prefer Landies and JCBs to smash the wall or the front door, then a Subaru to scarper with it. Earlier in the year they hit three local Aldi's on three consecutive nights...

The other one I've heard is basically filling the machine with gas, although I don't recall if that's to use the gas pressure directly or to ignite it and blast the things open.

caffeine addict

Re: Physical access is quite easy

Many years ago (mid 70s maybe) my father ended up trapped airside at Heathrow pretty much by accident because he was holding a clipboard and people kept holding doors open for him... :/

caffeine addict

And they are probably NOT running Windows XP. Instead they are likely to be running Windows XP Embedded or Windows Embedded Standard 2009, which is still under extended support, and both of which have much less attack area than vanilla XP.

Came here to say the exact same thing. I'd expect that kind of cockup from the Daily Mail not El Reg...

iPhone XR guts reveal sizzle of the XS without the excessive price tag

caffeine addict

"I love lamp."

Do you really love the lamp, or are you just saying it because you saw it?

I love Wamp? *shrug* I love lamp!

caffeine addict

I love lamp.

Hi there, Hubble, glad to hear you're doing okay

caffeine addict

Sorry, what? Hubble is in a decaying orbit that needs to be regularly pulled up out of the atmosphere?

Is this intentional (and why) or is it in the wrong place?

Sorry friends, I'm afraid I just can't quite afford the Bitcoin to stop that vid from leaking everywhere

caffeine addict

Re: I've seen a definite uptick in these

TonyJ : "Had a few land in my spam folder this week."

We've moved on to euphemisms for the women now, have we?

Motorola: Oops, phone busted? Grab a spudger and go get 'em, champ

caffeine addict

Re: "You are responsible for ensuring the roadworthiness of your own vehicle"

the report of the state of the vehicle involved was damming.

As was the Land Rover. Assuming it was a small enough river...

Silent running: Computer sounds are so '90s

caffeine addict

Re: Sage 50!

Sage 200 was worse than Sage 50 is? Are Sage numbering backwards or was that a typo?

Still, it worked for XBox...

Take my advice: The only safe ID is a fake ID

caffeine addict

Re: Kyden-Titty, Fay

Oh, FFS...

Yeah, okay, I feel dense now.

caffeine addict

Can someone explain to my friend the "Kyden-Titty, Fay" name? I he gets the "fayk" bit but doesn't get the "yden" bit.

Personally, I often use Burton, Ernie...

HP Ink CEO: That $550m Apogee buy was to stop rivals slurping it

caffeine addict

It's friday and I'm hard of thinking. Is this article about the A3 home/office market? Or a professional grade thing?

Because I'm sure they made an A3 inkjet around 2000...

Apache OpenOffice, the Schrodinger's app: No one knows if it's dead or alive, no one really wants to look inside

caffeine addict

Re: Team Lotus

Okay, tabs within Excel I can understand, but is that really tabs across the entire Office Suite?

What do Zuck, Sergey, @Jack and Bezos have in common? They don't want encryption broken

caffeine addict

Dear Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, and Google.

If encryption in Australia is broken, it is your moral duty to block all traffic coming from Australian IP addresses. The data can't be trusted. You can't trust that it's correct coming in, and you can't trust that any response you give won't be compromised.

Same goes for any international financial service - block all Australian traffic.

It's one thing standing there with your hand in the air. It's another thing to actually stand by it. Do it.

Don't get THAT personal, says personalised cards firm Moonpig. Dick pics. They mean dick pics

caffeine addict

I tried to get cards of my junk for 144 family and friends. Moonpig sent me some bull about the Royal Mail and gross indecency...

Perfect timing for a two-bank TITSUP: Totally Inexcusable They've Stuffed Up Payday

caffeine addict

Doesn't First Direct use HSBC's infrastructure? Does this mean that their smug video has bitten them in the arse?

Nameless Right To Be Forgotten Google sueball man tries Court of Appeal – yet again

caffeine addict

Re: squaremilenews.blogspot.com

You can. But the general effect will be the same, even if Bong haven't deliberately removed him from their results....

Barclays and RBS on naughty step: Banks told to explain service meltdown to UK politicos

caffeine addict

I understand why the treasury gets involved if data leaks, banks look dodgy, or they shutdown key infrastructure, but what business is it of theirs if the online banking app goes down for a few hours? The money was still there and accessible, just not through one particular channel.

I get why *we* are annoyed by it, but I don't see what the hell it has to do with the treasury...

Fat chance: Cholesterol leads boffins to discover world's oldest animal fossil – 558m years old

caffeine addict

Should have said - yeah, I got that. It just seemed a rather weird joke for our wonderfully childish, pun loving hacks. I'd have expected it the other way round...

Just reminds me of the Tyson Gay headlines...

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2008/jun/30/computerautocorrectssurname

caffeine addict

Why does the subheader refer to "Richardinsonia"?

Is it a joke more subtle than most, or has a bawlderising script/editor got involved somewhere it shouldn't?

( Since this is about rocks and fossils, should that be boulderising? )

30-up: You know what? Those really weren't the days

caffeine addict

Re: Ligatures in editors

That ligature font looked really nice at first. Then I saw their code samples and I realised just how awful an idea it was. I'd quite like to be able to *see* === not have to guess it from it's relative width...

I have to admit that I've been tempted by ligatures on the web. Mainly because I quite like the idea of using the word "menu" but have it ligature to the hamburger icon. Strikes me as a nice accessibility wossit.

Deliveroo to bike food to hungry fanbois queuing to buy iPhones

caffeine addict

Re: Idea for a new company :

Now I'm wondering what Mitchell & Webb's "Diddlidee" adverts were actually for...

caffeine addict

Re: Why anyone would do business with Apple is a mystery.

I told them they could either take it back & give me my refund, or I could place it on the hood of my sighted helper's car & plow it through their front doors in a shower of broken bodies, shattered glass, & chunks of brick. They opted to give me my refund.

Nicely done. I have a strange respect for people who know the right thing to say at the right time, and not 30 minutes later fuming in a local coffee shop.

Oz government rushes its anti-crypto legislation into parliament

caffeine addict

Re: Interesting take on the legislation

There's only one possible safe option. Refuse to serve any web traffic from Australia, and refuse to accept any encrypted data from Australia.

Man cuffed for testing fruit with bum cheek pre-purchase

caffeine addict

There's no suggestion in the police ledger that he was checking the freshness. Anyone want to research what he claimed he was doing?

Quick goggle reveals "Senior Police Officer Charles Sharp told USA TODAY he does not believe the incident was mental health related."

Are you sure about that...?

Google's 'other' phone platform turns up in post-apocalyptic mobe

caffeine addict

It must be. I mean, it's impossible to put a phone down in under 59 seconds...

HTTPS crypto-shame: TV Licensing website pulled offline

caffeine addict

Re: TV licensing agency

You don't need a license for a TV.

You need a license to receive TV signals at the time of broadcast. That covers TVs (all channels, possibly including satellite, not just BBC content), computers, and recording devices.

It caused an interesting edge case where it was illegal to watch iPlayer live, but not five minutes after the broadcast ended. They've now closed this loophole and you need a license for all iPlayer content, regardless of when (or if) it was broadcast. That's why you need a login for iPlayer nowadays. (That statement has been downvoted in the past, but contacts in Capita & BBC have assured me it was the driving force behind BBCID).

You don't need a license to have a TV for gaming, computer use, watching purchased prerecord (films, tv, etc), or streaming services like Netflix. Pretty certain you can watch the iPlayer equivalents from ITV/C4/C5 freely, but I haven't checked. I believe that watching broadcast TV that someone else recorded for you is against the rules, but god knows how they'd know.

I believe there used to be a few places where you didn't need a license if you only watched ITV/C4 but that was because BBC signals weren't available in those areas (presumably coastal areas with high cliffs or something. Those dark spots no longer exist.

'World's favorite airline' favorite among hackers: British Airways site, app hacked for two weeks

caffeine addict

Bloke on Radio4 this morning sounded like he wanted to go into details of what happened but had been told not to.

He said that the "very sophisticated" attack got card numbers and CVC codes but that encryption hadn't been broken. He also said that they hadn't spotted it, rather one of their trusted partner security firms (presumably one of those sites that verifies other sites are secure - in which case they suck) which suggests that maybe it was something hiding on a form page.

I've not checked the app out. Is it anything more than a wrapper for some html pages? If it is, it sounds like someone actually got in to their system and listened in there, which is quite a lot worse.

Interestingly, Radio4 said (and wasn't contradicted by blokey) that passports numbers had been taken too, but everything since has said otherwise.

Official: Google Chrome 69 kills off the World Wide Web (in URLs)

caffeine addict

Re: Reg -- AMP technology

Okay. I didn't mean that's all it does. I meant that's the main reason I normally realise I'm on an amp version. As in it doesn't seem to create (visually) anything that an averagely competent web developer couldn't have done without Google's input.