Posts by Ross Ryles

Freesat HD Channels

"according to the Daily Mail, three HD channels are currently available to Freesat viewers"

I don't know if you or the mail got it wrong, but there are only two HD channels currently on freesat. (BBC HD and ITV1 HD).

Source Code and Beards

"Stallman would like to see Javascript code for web services distributed with its original source code"

Have I missed something? Correct me if I'm wrong but JavaScript is a *scripting* Language and therefore is always distributed as source code. OK, that doesn't mean that you can change that code like you can with GPL'd stuff, but so what? I have a beard and I still don't care.

The unfortunate thing is that all this nonsense about JavaScript is detracting from the discussion on Silverlight - which is a valid concern.

Deceit or Incompetence?

Demon state here:

http://www.demon.net/helpdesk/networkstatus/serviceannouncements/announce07dec17.html

That if they block something because it is on the IWF list that they will serve a page like this:

http://www.demon.net/error/403-blocked.html

Don't rely on any single measure

Using non-standard ports is an easy and very effective measure. Combine it with something to catch port scans (portsentry is good) and you'll stop most attempts. Add in some of the other suggestions people have made and it becomes a very effective protection.

Microsoft Tax?

Generally a good article, although it would be nice to have a bit more detail. Details matter when you're looking at universal remotes. If the interface has any niggles then the whole thing is useless.

You failed to mention one item of great importance to your readership. Which OS's are supported by the 'PC' configurable devices?

Reinventing the wheel

"a tailgating alarm that actually works will become more important"

Have they never seen a turnstyle like the ones used on the entrance to a football match? Of course new technology is always better isn't it?

Mono vs Stereo

Going from stereo to mono only doubles the recording time if you are using an uncompressed format. The WMA format uses the high correlation between the two channels to achieve some of its compression. Therefore you won't get as much of a gain by going for mono.

Unfair

Either such banning would be a breach of contract or the contract is unfair.

EA suck, but that's not news.

Boring

I was much more impressed by the people who squeezed a GPS receiver into a SIM card a while back.

Scrap iPlayer. Improve Freeview +

Title says it all.

Many Reg Readers have probably heard of Freeview Playback, now rebranded Freeview+, but the general public hasn't. I keep seeing adverts for Sky+ with celebrities praising all the great features like series link. Guess what? I've already got all of that without paying sky or virgin. Only problem is that the broadcasters don't always send accurate info.

Why use all that network bandwidth to deliver a lower quality version of something that was broadcast within the last few days? If people can afford a £600 tele, a £300 PC and £120 licence fee then they can afford a £180 for a PVR.

So Aunty, scrap the iPlayer and spend the dosh on improving the Freeview+ datafeeds and advertising it. Oh, and hurry up with the "digital switchover" too. Even my grandmother has a digibox already.

Couldn't sign up when I tried!

I tried resistance but was forced to sign up when trying to buy a gift. However when I tried to sign up I was told my details were incorrect! I checked them all carefully which wasn't difficult as the only thing required that wasn't printed on the card was my date of birth. I think I know my date of birth. Apparently not. After several phone calls I was told that I had been born on 11th November 2011! At least it was obviously wrong and so I could get it corrected. Unfortunately the correction would take 2 working days to complete. By that time, the gift would have been too late. I'm Vexed by Visa.

In their defense, there is a feeble attempt to reassure users that the VbV page is authentic. You can set a custom greeting message that is displayed on the first page. At least that is the case with Barclays VbV. I also approve of the idea of card readers that produce a one time pass code. The implementation of it however doesn't fill me with trust. The first digit it returns is always 3 and I can usually guess the second digit! Cryptographically secure??? I think not.

Re: Easy answer... Ban motorbikes

"They are far more likely to speed, <snip /> They wait for the lights in ASL (Advance Stop Lines) which they should be fined £3000 for as the law stands, but aren't."

Yes, some bikers are guilty of a multitude of sins, but so are some drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Personally I think motorcycles should be allowed to use ASLs but I respect the law is currently against that. I'd also like to point out that the recently revised highway code suggests that filtering through slow moving traffic on a motorbike can be a legal and valid practice.

"...and most importantly they stink and have their exhausts pointing upwards at an angle towards people's faces!"

Are you suggesting that the odours present in the exhaust of a motorbike are worse than those of a car? and that they leave the exhaust with such a velocity that the angle causes them to be fired directly into the faces of pedestrians and cyclists? Can't say that tallies with my experience.

"by comparison to other motor vehicles they are (per seat) the least efficient users of fuel."

The number of seats is only of relevance if it is a choice between a single vehicle and multiple bikes. If there are only 1 or 2 people then a single bike will do. If there is only 1 adult then multiple bikes is not a legal option. For the circumstances where you have at least two adults and a child all going to the same place a single vehicle may well be better than multiple bikes for fuel efficiency. Just because motorbikes don't solve every transport problem doesn't make them useless.

For the record I have in recent years frequently traveled round a city using a car, motorbike, bus, train and bicycle and on foot. I have clocked up thousands of miles on each of these modes of transport. There are pros and cons to each but I think they all have their place. If you find that someone else has made a better choice than you with there mode of transport, then try not to be too envious. You're chosen mode will be better in other circumstances (and if it isn't then maybe you should switch).

Layered Security

Anyone with a basic knowledge of security knows not to rely on a single layer of protection. Handy as DenyHosts is, it won't protect you completely. For ssh on my internet exposed linux server I:

1)run on a non-standard port

2)run DenyHosts, with blacklist sharing

3)run PortSentry on the standard ssh port (and many others)

4)Disable ssh login for all but one user that is completely unprivileged and with a non-standard user name.

That's in addition to security measures that don't relate directly to ssh protection.

Video not good enough?

"You can't really see if the ball is in or out on a video replay"

To quote the ever reliable wikipedia:

"All Hawk-Eye systems are based on the principles of triangulation using the visual images and timing data provided by at least four high speed video cameras located at different locations and angles around the area of play."

So why can't they show the footage that is used as the source data for hawkeye? If those are blurry too then that rather suggests the system isn't too accurate.

Re: These commenters have never been on the shop owner's side

"Employees should be allowed access to the database, and means to contest its content, with reasonable proof."

But no proof required to put them on the database in the first place?

Can you prove you didn't browse questionable content on company computers at your last job?

The first you are likely to know of a false entry on the database will be when you are rejected for a job you would otherwise have secured. By the time you've proven your innocence the job has already gone to someone else.

I've read your suggestions and it still wouldn't work.

@Luke Wells

"I can access the ECU, the stereo, the bluetooth, the door locks, immobilizer, alarm and security features, the dash board, and the abs/tcs/esp modules."

The stereo and bluetooth shouldn't be on the CAN with the rest of those. They certainly aren't in my car (VAG manufactured). The others are all safety related systems and need to communicate with each other. Please don't be offended by this but are you sure the stereo is on the CAN? What does it use the connection for? Can you replace it with an after market system?

@Steven Hewittt

"The USB stick contains imaging software for a start - which takes a whole image of the HD's on the system."

You mean it's got enough free space on the drive to store an image of a multi TB array? I doubt it!

The largest USB memory sticks ~16GB

The the smallest HDDs installed in a new system ~ 150GB

See the problem?

Re: User Agent

That would actually work! The Phorm/Webwise system currently uses a whitelist of user agent strings. (At least that's what we've been told... for now...)

However it would cause you problems as some websites (google included) alter there content based on user agent strings. You might well end up with the "mobile version".

That's not a knife!

They've had this policy in store for months. I bought a cheap set of 5 teaspoons (about as offensive as a banana) and went through the self serve checkout. It wouldn't let me buy them until someone came and verified I was over 18. The examples you have in your article at least include knives. Reminds me of an episode of the Simpsons:

"That's not a knife. *This* is a knife!"

"That's not a knife. That's a spoon!"

"Oh. I see you've played knifey, spoony before."