Posts by Aubry Thonon 292 publicly visible posts • joined 16 Feb 2007
In OZ, there's been an old adage floating around since time immemorial - "don't give red cordial to kids". Green or Yellow seems to be OK, but the Red stuff just sends them round the loop.
As for additive, I like my Diet Coke full of Phenylalanine... Hmmmmm Phenylalanine - the best way to make a long day seem so short. ^_^
(in case you didn't know, PA has been linked to short-term memory disruption under certain food combinations).
Do I believe a mobile phone will cause a computer to crash? No
Do I believe a mobile phone can introduce spurious spikes in a data line? Yes.
Come on - we are talking about an active device (unlike a pager which is passive) which tries to send digital information to a tower quite some distance away. It *will* induce interference to some degree, with the equipments' response varying from "not-noticeable" to "dance the fandango" based on manufacturing requirements. I have seen some computers not batt an eyelid (so to speak) when submitted to a mobile phone at close range. I have seen others BSOD (brand sounds like hell) after their speakers gave the usual "mobile pops".
But I do know that I for one will fight to keep the "turn off your mobile phone before take-offs/landings" rule on airplanes.
"Why not 'Neo' "
Beggin' your pardon, yerronour, but that's been my Net-monicker since about 1987 (contraction of Neoculture). Prior art. ^_-
And before anyone asks - ex-hacker, IT geek, strongly believes one's memories define one's self, decent shot with a handgun (on a target range at least)... and I look NOTHING like Keanu Reeves. (I kept on getting ribbed after Matrix came out, *&^%-it)
"People have got to find out about the opposite sex at some point, just not accidentally, and certainly not at the age of 5 just because my computer has spyware"
Dear Anonymous,
It might not have been your intention, but you realise that what you have just said is akin to "the government must control what people do because I can't keep my house in order". Tell you what - I don't want to have to check that I've locked my house in the morning, so I want the government to have people followed just in case they decide to rob my house. Same concept.
If you can't stop your kids from getting on the computer when you are not supervising (a decent password will do it in most OS) and if you can't keep your firewall/AV software up to date (which can be done automatically these days) then may I suggest you seriously reconsider having a computer in your house? Not only are *you* putting your child at risk of seeing porn, but you are putting *yourself* at risk of ID theft, bank fraud, etc...
If I don't want my godkids to watch certain types of movies or play certain types of games, I keep those movies/games away from them; I do NOT expect the Govt to do it for me.
My question is: how high were those forks if a fall from them wrecked a PACKED server? I know the stuff I buy (admittedly, not US$1.4m servers) generally have enough packaging around them so that they will comfortably survive a small fall of 1-2 feet.
So... since AFAIK you're supposed to LOWER the forks before you move the forklift around the warehouse, HOW did falling off the forks damage this server SO BADLY that it was "wrecked"?
Sounds to me like someone was hot-dogging around the warehouse.
..El Reg keeping current. But what it really needs is to amp it up so it can volt over all obstacles and objections. It's only a pity this boy was not contemplating a sex-change operation or I could also make a trans-sister joke in here. And it might be a good idea for this kid never to learn to drive - apparently, he's not that good a conductor.
<sigh> Ahhh, Monday mornings...
"Under copyright law, a DVD is not private property".
Actually, if you read the licence/legal blurb that deals with CDs and DVDs (both software/music/movies) you will find that you OWN the DVD itself... just not what's on it. That's right - while you now own a small piece of plastice, you are effectively only "renting" the software/music/movie on it until such time as the owners of that information (the RIAA, the MPAA, Microsoft) decide they want to revoke your right to use it.
And the most they have to do is provide you with a blank CD/DVD in return.
Really. Read the fine print. It's an eye-opener.
@Anon:
" I assume that in Australia, as elsewhere in the world, films are 1.5 to 2 hours long? And you eat THREE times during this period? Christ on a bike.
I assume these Gold Class seats are not only extra comfy but also extra large and come with a complimentary defibrillator...?"
<sigh> Read what I wrote: the movies I go to see are of the 3+ hour mark. As for eating.. again, READ! I do not consider a small bag of Maltesers, a plate of nachos and a selection of cheese to be three meals... rather, it is a single meal spread over the 3+ hours (entree, main, desert).
It really pisses me off when someone makes a derogatory comment, not only anonymously, but also without having thought about what I actually wrote.
Bascially, unless I: 1) believe it's worth seeing on the big screen rather than on my wide-screen, and 2) can see it in Gold Class, I don't bother - I'll wait for the DVD to come out.
In case no-one outside of Australia understand the term "Gold Class", these are special screening rooms put out by some of the bigger cinema chains over here. They typically hold 20 or 40 people, have recliner seats widely positioned in pairs, no advertising before the movie, no kids/underaged allowed, and have one extra piece of kit which I enjoy: the ability to order all kind of food (from Maltesers to a complete steak lunch/dinner) and drinks (inc alcohol - hence the "no kids" rule) BEFORE the movie and specify WHEN they get delivered to you. My personal mix is coke + maltesers at the start, nachos in the middle and coffee and cheese platter about 2/3rds of the way through. ^_^ And if you go during the day, the price of the ticket is about AU$15 per person (That'd be, erm, ~US$12 or ~UK£6) - food extra.
It was PERFECT for LotR and Pirates. ^_-
Once agin, I am not surprised that a report which quoted both Linux and Windows has descended into comments of the "mine's better than yours" variety.
Give it up - you're not going to change the minds of the other evangelists.
My, that felt good to get off my chest... now, for what I wanted to actually say:
I always wondered how "they" gathered their statistics? Is it based on the OS that the machine is running when it walks out the manufacturer's door? Or do they query the "live" servers to ask them for OS information? If the latter, I can guarantee you that the info they are getting is WRONG. One of the first thing I was taught when setting up Apache was to modify its info files so it reported the wrong OS to make hacking that little bit harder.
Oh, BTW: my (home) web server runs Linux and reports itself as W2K. Considering it runs on a slow DSL line, it's perfectly believable. Right? ^_^
It's worse than that... look at the weasel wording BSA used: "300 UNLICENSED fonts" (my emphasys). The problem is, "unlicensed" != "illegal".
I checked my PC... ~270 fonts, including a LARGE number of unlicensed fonts. Yep, unlicensed - but not illegal... I sometimes go to the Font forge websites (call 'em what you will; the sites where you buy fonts) and peruse their "free download" section to see if there's anything there that looks interesting. Most of it is crap, but every once in a while you find something.
So yes, according to the BSA I *am* one of these people with *unlicensed* fonts, but they'd have a hard time finding *illegal* fonts.
"so would Bond (by the Russkies/Chinese/North Koreans/etc/etc/etc) but who would have had the best life up until that point?"
I vaguely remember a sequence in the original Casino Royale spoof, where M goes to see a retired agent who asks her how the new "James Bond" is going - yep, if a 007 agent gets killed or retires then the new agent inherits the number, the name, the fake back-story, etc... (or at least, they did in the spoof). ^_^
I always thought it was an elegant way of explaining away the multiple actors.
I don't know how many of the commenters are bike drivers, I am one, and I would guess that a large number of the commenters who *are* bikers would be riding a chopper (seems to be a US favourite) instead of a performance bike, which the poor sod (being nipponese) would have been riding. So... a few comments:
Any idiot who uses his front brakes to stop on a performance bike from speeds is asking to tip ass-over-feet. You use your back brakes to slow down and only bring in your fronts to increase the deceleration power if you have to. Period. Use your fronts for any other reason (or even have your fingers on the lever) and you'll get a dressing down from most Advance Riders teachers 'round here.
Back brakes serve a secondary purpose on a performance bike - if you need to take a corner at speeds, you lightly use your rear brakes on the start of the corner - this causes a slight lengthening (I'll skip the actual physics and use Pterry's patented "lies to children") of the base of the bike which helps in leaning the bike into the turn.
And you use your LEFT foot to steady the bike when stopped. The reason? That's also the side the kickstand is positioned on performance bikes (can't speak for choppers), so the bike naturally leans in that direction when you get on/get off it. Also, since you're supposed to have ALREADY down-shifted to first gear while stopping, you do not need your left foot while taking off... while you might need your brakes NOW because some f*kwit in a SUV didn't stop at the lights.
This concept of ionising the air sounded familar, so I dug around.
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/36424,boffins-build-tiny-onchip-cooling-system.aspx
or
http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=BD4566FF-B02E-4360-ACA8-3CA61EB90CFB
Yep... about a year ago, the University of Washington announced the same thing. And according to them, they didn't even need a fan, which is something these new boffins required for their test.
Having seen the idiots on the road and the petrol-heads who modify their cars to the point where they're actually dangerous to be on the road... and let's not forget the "joy riders" who wouldn't know their left from their right....
It's bad enough having them on the ROADS where they have few options in terms of carnage... do you REALLY want these people to have a capability of flying over your house?
And let's not forget that the top two reasons for plane crashes these days are 1) pilot error; and 2) maintenance f*-up by the airline company. Do you *really* trust the average teenager to maintain this vehicle properly?
No thanks... I'll forgo the pleasures of the flying car if it means I can sleep at night.
Damn cyberquatters... nothing worse than companies which buy up domain names and then expect you to fork out upwards of USD8,000 to buy it off them.
If you register and park a domain because you mean to use it later on, fine and more luck to you... but if you register and park it with the express purpose of extorting money for it, I have no pity for you... especially since -according to ICANN - you don't OWN the domain, you only lease it.
There is a simpler explanation the the Oz Government's "sudden" policy - there's a Federal election coming up later this year.
Which is also why we are innundated by new adverts telling us about our rights under the new Labour Laws (which were supposed to be so simple we wouldn't need help understanding them), about this, that the other... just about *anything* the Federal Government can think of to make themselves look better and justify paying for by using public monies.
We recently had an Indian Doctor held in prison without being charged for an indecent number of days... now, he may or may not have been guilty... I can't say for sure... the only thing I *can* say is that the Federal Gov milked it for all it was worth and left me with a "boat people" taste in my mouth... remember them from the last election? Shades of "wag the dog" in both cases.
Which is why this voter - who was undecided until a few weeks ago - will be voting *against* the current government. Note the emphasis.
Let's see some of the previous attempts by big companies to limit what I can watch...
1) Audio cassettes... well, it didn't take long for someone to introduce the "record button", and even less time to a dual-deck to arrive to make copying even easier.
2) Video casettes... took longer, but once again that little "record" button arrived, and if you could afford two VCRs, you were in business.
3) DVDs... My favourite was the Zoning on the disks. Didn't take long for people to realise that most of these zones were a pain in the ass programmed into the players at the last moment. Result? In Australia at least, you'd have a hard time BUYING a zoned player, even from the big brands.
4) PS/PS2/games... another "zoned" product. Result? Again in Australia, the courts ruled that it was legal to mod-chip your PS/PS2 for the express purpose of playing oversea games. The fact that you could ALSO play copied games was a different kettle of fish and you'd have to catch someone in the act - the chipping itself was legal.
I won't even mention the various ripping options...
I have a very large collection of DVDs and CDs (although I haven't bought a CD in a while... nothing interesting out there lately). I buy DVDs on a weekly basis. Why? Cause it's still easier - I might have to buy them overseas (because some idiots sitting in a boardroom in Melbourne has decided the Aussie public does not want that particualr title), but in the long run the storage of the data is easier that way.
So I refuse to upgrade to Vista, I refuse to buy a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD piece of kit. Eventually, the companies will realise the stupidity of their actions... some of them may even do so before filling for bankruptcy.
"Microsoft has argued that its "Vista Capable" marketing campaign also included a "Vista Premium Ready" component that explained the differences between various versions of the OS"
Well, if that's MS's response then as far as I'm concerned they've lost: If they felt the need to have a specific "Vista Premium Ready" sticker, then the generic "Vista Capable" sticker is not good enough - at minimum, it should have stated "Vista Home Basic Capable".
If you feel the need to be specific on one, you need to be specific on ALL, otherwise the generic sticker implies that it can run ALL Vista versions.
I'd agree with MS's stance (down boys) if it wasn't for the fact that they have a poor track record at publishing their "standards"... and even when they do, they have a tendency to keep the good bits to themselves.
Anyone remember the myriads of hidden APIs that MS used to make its product respond better than the competition? And they want us to believe they won't repeat this oft-done tactic in the future? Does Amanfrommars use proper punctiuation?
I thought not.
"But the town of Champaign (pop. ~ 65K) is twice the size and population of Urbana (pop. ~35K), and thus is traditionally named first."
Thanks for clearing out a point for me (well, two points really). I always thought that Chambana was named in that order because on the maps Champaign's on the left and Urbana on the right... hence it reads "Champaign... Urbana". ^_^ But the population bit makes more sense.
While I deplore China's actions against those who disagree with the Chinese government...
Let's see:
The US Government orders SWIFT (a European company) to hand over data about European citizens (in breach of European laws).
The Chinese Government orders Yahoo! (a US company) to hand over data about Chinese citizens (in breach of US laws).
Hmmm... I don't know... it looks the same to me, the only change is in the name of those involved.
<slaps head> Oh, I forgot. This must be the US government "Do as I say, not as I do" policy in action.
First of all, let me introduce myself... I am an application programmer (well, now I am an analyst, but I still get my hands dirty ^_^ ). I am *very* good at writing applications for database, large and small, and at extracting the last erg of power out of the table designs and SQL that run on it. Why? Because I also took every DB-related class available at my university - I *know* how a DBMS works, I know about Z-sets and Optimising tables and that while perfect optimisation is desirable in theory, it is never advisable in practice.
For this reason, I am able to straddle the EDBD and TDBD camp - Yes, there should be a central repository of the database schema with people who make sure the schema is still correct for the OVERALL business. However, life (and project development) is made much easier when your programmers understand database design and can make educated suggestions to the DBA teams. I have never had a schema change rejected (though I did have one returned because of a spelling error in one of the column names.)
Funny thing is, I do not think of myself as exceptional - as far as I am concerned, you should NOT be working as an AP/DB unless you unserstand both sides of the equation (you don't have to be an expert at it). It annoyes me to no end to have to train "professionals" who turn up and tell me flatly "I'm an application programmer - I don't need to know how the database works, that's the DBA's job". Idiots. That's like saying you don't need to understand the basics of how a car works to drive it - let's see how smart you are the first time your car stops and your "understanding" is so lacking you have no idea that you've run out of fuel, what fuel is for, and how to resupply.
Long rant. Sorry. Sore point.
One last thing before I post this - I know ER is the preferred methodology out there, but I personally find it lacking... it implies that the person creating the diagram is good at figuring out what should go into an entity based (mostly) on gut feel. Personally (and I admit it's a personal choice) I tend to use ORM. It is based on each individual piece of information (ie, columns) and by the time you've finished your diagram, the *table* designs naturally fall out of it. It's not a very popular methodology, I admit, but it works for me.
"Are they so thick that they couldn't give a reasonable description to a police sketch artist?"
This has nothing with being thick - it has to do with facial recognition and memory. I, for one, make a very good living as an IT analyst which requires me to have a pretty lively brain... but I dread ever having to describe someone to a sketch-artist, especially someone whom I'd have only met briefly. I am *terrible* at remembering people's faces... I'll recognise them once I see them, but ask me to describe them from memory? <shudder>
How about this for a quick fix to avoid Trolls: anyone granted a patent must either actively use it in one of their products or licence it out to someone who actively uses it in a product.
Any patent not in either of these conditions, or if said products have not sold significant units in a quarter (to stop trolls from "creating" vapourware) is immediately revoked.
In other words, use the patent for a product that sells or loose the patent.
"There are many free alternatives which can correctly decode h264 in .mov container. Coreavc, ffdshow, CCCP..."
CCCP (complete community codec pack) + MPC (media player classic)
After years of trying alternatives, it's *still* the best combination. ^_^ Now if only they would port this to Windows Mobile 5, I'd be in hog heaven.
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