* Posts by Ash

993 publicly visible posts • joined 11 Apr 2007

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Riders line up for world's first e-bike race

Ash
Stop

A few issues with this

Firstly, electric bikes like disused concept art from an 80's sci-fi movie.

Secondly, what will spectators be treated to? There will be no thumping V twins, no screaming inline-4's, no open-pipe goodness... Just tyre roar and the whisper of an oversized Segway motor. Thrilling.

For a race like this, I'd expect the crowd to be wearing either anoraks and carrying clipboards, or wearing hemp and charging onto the track to save a squirrel from a rubber-based demise.

Pirate Party wins seat in European Parliament

Ash
Pirate

@AC (30%)

No, we can conclude that 2/3 were watching re-runs of the Britain's Got Talent final.

I've said it once, I'll say it again, we live in the United Kingdom of Great Apathy.

Met 'studies Chinese bugging tactics' for 2012 games

Ash
Joke

This is a wonderful idea!

Maybe we can have a speaker system so BB can tell Gordo's make-up artist to pick up his documents.

We need this for buses, trains, and the postal system too, hopefully with Abort and Fail options. "Are you sure you want to mail these 25m family benefit records 2nd class post? Abort, No, Fail."

Police deny targeting kids for DNA

Ash
Thumb Down

Anonymous?

Chicken.

Put your neck on the line and stand up and be counted, or shut up like the rest of the sheeple. "Somebody said someone is doing something wrong!" means nothing unless the source is identified, and the evidence is credible.

As a police officer this asshat should know that.

Johnson handed Home Office brief

Ash
Thumb Up

Want to be the new leader?

- Drop Biometric ID cards and the National ID Database

- Drop ContactPoint

- Drop IMP

- Boot out Gordo.

That should pretty much seal the deal :)

US mega retailer settles spyware charges

Ash
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54 pages, 2971 words? Really?

I've just written an essay for my Law degree which was 2000 words, and took up 5 pages in 11pt font. Privacy Policies / T's and C's are NOTORIOUS for being in smaller font size than that...

A small point, but one which seems like there's not a lot of common sense being applied to sources' information.

Judge backs Halifax in Chip and PIN clone case

Ash
Happy

He's suing a bank.

I want some of whatever he's on...

Airport ID cards only for the newbies

Ash
Thumb Down

"... have to have an ID card or they will lose their job."

It's a shame nobody stands up for their principles any more. I know principles don't put bread on the table or a roof over your head, but hey, TNSTAAFL. You have to pay for your liberty, and the favoured currency is personal comfort and convenience.

The trouble is that there are so many people who think "Oh, well nobody else will do it, so why should I bother?" These people need to meet up and chat about it.

I recommend an area in London, not that far from a very large Government building on the Thames... Lots of people to listen to us in there.

Microsoft takes hard line on Win 7 hardware

Ash
Thumb Down

Hahaha

I have no MS branded hardware at home, and it all works FINE with the RC.

Pull the other one, MS.

Phorm woos browsers with personalised web

Ash
Thumb Down

I've finally migrated!

Moved house, no longer with Virgin, on an ISP with a strong anti-Phorm / Webwise policy. One month contract, so if it ever changes I only ever have 30 days. I'll be sure to tell them every day of that 30 too, just to be sure they get the message.

Give up, Kent. We don't want it, and we'll bend over backwards to not have it.

Jailed Phil Spector wigs out on Twitter

Ash
Joke

"Need a crap"

I've seen this somewhere before...

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/4/23/

Gordon 'to sacky' Wacky Jacqui

Ash
Thumb Up

GOOD RIDDANCE!

Here's hoping that the National ID Database and IMP go with her!

ISPs frosty on Jacqui's comms surveillance plan

Ash
Thumb Up

@Danny

I... I...

I could cry right now.

Thank you.

BCS writes data Highway Code

Ash
Thumb Down

Where have you been living?!

"The code includes reminders that people or organisations holding data *should* be accountable..."

We all know they SHOULD be accountable! What we really need is them to be criminally LIABLE for data loss.

Submit this to the ICO to bring to the attention of the people in charge of the European Data Protection Directive, get it put into legislation, and we might be a little better off all round.

Boffins: Ordinary lightbulbs can be made efficient, cheaply

Ash
Joke

Yes yes yes, but when...

... will we be able to mount it to a shark?

Official next-gen PlayStation Portable details leaked

Ash
Heart

Pffft!

What rubbish! This is a proper handheld console!

http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/retro-gaming/ba65/

NES FOR THE WIN! (No Duck Hunt, i'm afraid.)

Sims 3 pirated 180,000 times in three days

Ash
Stop

EA screwed the customer

Mass Effect, Spore, Crysis, and innumerable other titles from their catalogue were sold with DRM cripplewear which adversely affected their image with the hardcore PC gaming community; Broken software with draconian restrictions on use and activation policies which were beyond unreasonable (I bought Mirror's Edge 3 weeks ago just after I'd moved house for something to play while the internet connection was set up. Considering this game has no online component, I was amazed at the audacity to REQUIRE online activation before you can play it. Last EA game I buy.)

You make your bed, you lay in it. I hope SIMS 3 doesn't sell a single licensed copy.

Microsoft breaks Windows 7 three-apps netbook handicap

Ash
Thumb Up

Can I put this on my regular PC?

Aero Glass? Don't need.

Windows Media Centre? Don't need.

No DVD Playback? I'm sure VLC can change that.

No Theme changing? So what?

If it supports DirectX 10, this seems like the ideal operating system for a Windows gaming PC.

BT rejects wholesale price changes

Ash
Flame

What, will children DIE if things don't change?

"The regulator set maximum prices in 2006, but there was no way to adjust them for inflation or other changes."

SO CHANGE THE WORDING OF THE REGULATION.

Seriously, you'd think that law was set in stone. It's not. It evolves and changes.

DHS to field Star Trek 'Tricorder' medscanner

Ash
Thumb Up

First rule of triage is...

... You do not talk... Wait, no that's something else.

People that are screaming are aware of the situation. They know it hurts, where it hurts, and to not move it. Aversion to pain does a lot of the work for you.

People who are quiet are unconscious or in shock, and need help a lot quicker than the screamers (If you've enough blood to keep you lucid, you can afford to lose a little more while we lay this guy down so blood returns to his brain, or stem the flow of a guy with a pole through his neck).

Not a Responder, but someone who takes an interest. If this tech works, it'll be extremely useful.

Women coppers eager to drop trousers

Ash
Thumb Up

Change the unofirm

This gent looks comfortable enough. http://www.polease.co.uk/bstone/d/127-9/aru22.jpg

We all know it's what Gordo wants! Still, I do think that the police need a new uniform.

Sony eyes smile, smirk-controlled music phone

Ash
Joke

Westlife

Will these phones come with an automatic screen-cleaning system for when you barf violently all over it after realising your daughter has "treated" you to the latest Britney Spears aural-abuse track?

IR35 tax is a huge failure

Ash
Joke

Outrageous!

"Surely the Government will have to drop IR35 too, now that the cat is out of the bag."

How DARE you bring logic and common sense to a story regarding politics! I'm afraid you're going to have to re-read the appendix of your Press Dictionary, the 11th Commandment especially:

"Thou shalt not apply critical thinking to a story related to current political climate, lest ye be mocked publicly for stating the obvious while knowing that nothing will change."

Spielberg: Games consoles doomed

Ash

What's he been smokin'?

Same thing as 3DRealms, by the sound of it.

Worldwide GPS may die in 2010, say US gov

Ash
Thumb Down

GPS as a navigational AID

GPS is NOT navigation. There's nothing wrong with an up to date road atlas / A to Z.

I teach 16 year olds to navigate from OS maps for D of Es' Award. They stop when they don't know where they are, find out where they are, and navigate away.

If they can navigate featureless peat bogs without GPS, the world can find Telford without it too.

(Not considering other applications other than consumer navigation here, folks.)

More doubts on ID card readers

Ash
Thumb Down

The new Terrorism

I am now petrified of my government.

This seals the deal; I'll vote Tory just to get rid of this scheme. I don't care what else they do.

Government rejects Lords' surveillance criticism

Ash

Gov ignores Peers?

Write to your MPs, folks. If they don't get anything done, write to your MEP. ECJ can help.

NebuAd knocks at death's door

Ash
Go

UKFSN.ORG

An ADSL ISP which has a *very* clear statement that they won't have anything to do with Phorm, DPI, or traffic shaping.

Migrate now. Hit your old ISP in the wallet.

Home Office: IPS to hang onto snaps of fingerprints

Ash
Thumb Down

EU stop non-conviction data retention

Gov give them same data from passport database.

I don't believe in "lesser of two evils" in general, but I may well vote Tory just to get Labour out in the next election.

Police force eBay scammer to cough up ill-gotten gains

Ash
Joke

@Whinging and moaning above

Well, yes, sir, the payout will be £900, but there are many other factors to be considered: window tax, swamp insurance, hen food, dog biscuits, cow ointment -- the expenses are endless.

Duke Nukem developer answers Take-Two suit

Ash
Thumb Up

I'd buy it

I don't care how long it has been.

It's done when it's done.

"My name's 3DRealms. After some few days of R&R, I'll be ready for more action! "

Take-Two sues over death of Duke Nukem Forever

Ash
Joke

@Michael (Fool and money

I thought of this last week. Duke Nukem Forever = DNF = Do Not Fund.

Spooky...

Eurofighter Tranche 3: Oh please, God, no

Ash
Pirate

I know what I'm voting for

G'ingTFO of here.

This place is messed up.

Beeb tech boss seeks to expand TV licence online

Ash
Thumb Down

That's fine

In which case, he can pay my fucking ISP for the bandwidth iPlayer uses.

Dick.

Wi-Fi finds its way into park bench

Ash
Flame

So not only can we boil our top brain

But we can irradiate the little brain too!

Warming.

Virgin Media to add 500k homes to cable network

Ash
Thumb Down

Realign objectives

Start delivering the connections you've promised to existing subscribers.

I'm glad I don't have cable where I currently live; No chance of Virgin Media getting anywhere near my house.

Further, it makes me Phorm-Phree Phorever! :-D

Patches bring zero-day relief from PDF and PowerPoint flaws

Ash
Heart

Yet one more string to the bow

OpenOffice.org and Foxit Reader both seem to be immune.

Funny, that.

Intel hit with largest ever EU fine

Ash
Thumb Up

Shame, that

Had I known about this, I'd have avoided C2 and other Intel platforms for personal use when I upgraded last year.

My next upgrade will be AMD :)

Film industry turns up P2P heat on Carter

Ash
Thumb Up

Europe is the way and the light

The ECHR is the best thing to ever come out of Europe.

Excluding Finish goth-metal.

Greece grounds Google's Street View fleet

Ash
Thumb Down

Privacy Inconsequential

'This didn't go down too well with campaigners. London-based Privacy International called for a complete overhaul of the ICO, and thundered: "The gloves are now off. After ten years of failed complaints and undermining by that office of the core data protection principles, we have decided that there is no further point in trying to educate the officials there."'

I don't know about you, but to me that sounds like "We give up." thinly glazed with impotent frustration.

Chip cooler launches liquid nitro at CPUs

Ash

@AC (Low end)

A lot of enthusiasts run the CPU to well under -100°C. The 2003 "5GHz Project" from Toms' Hardware (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/5-ghz-project,731.html) used Liquid Nitrogen to cool a Pentium 4 down to -196°C. Old hat now, but at the time was a real achievement.

London cab & bus trials for satnav speed-governor kit

Ash
Stop

Fantastic!

Now I can race around with my foot to the floor with immunity from prosecution!

What, the speed limit was recently changed and the kit isn't up to date? Not my fault.

[/humour]

Asda clamps down on killer teaspoons

Ash
Joke

Compact Discs

Snap one in half and you get an edge sharp enough to do some VERY serious damage. Something the Security Services (both sides of all ponds) don't seem to concerned with.

HMV should be investigated for arming 1st World nations.

Ofcom works out why Wi-Fi doesn't work

Ash

@Andus McCoatover (Microwave ovens)

Take a look at the door on your microwave oven, and you'll see a mesh inside the glass. This is a small Faraday cage to prevent leakage of microwave radiation from the unit.

Want to see how effective it is? Take your laptop and wireless access point to your microwave oven, unplug the oven (don't want to nuke your electronics), and slip the access point inside. Shut the door as much as you can without damaging the cable powering the access point. You just try any get a connection to that access point.

You can try the same thing by again unplugging your microwave, and placing your mobile phone inside and shutting the door. The signal strength will drop to zero.

Ireland bucks trend with anti-blasphemy law

Ash

Wooo!

I'm an athiest and I am insulted by the very IDEA of religion.

I offend EVERYBODY!

Guess I'll be sticking away from O'Neills' this evening.

Ash
Thumb Down

Heathen!

BURN THE NON BELIEVER!

No-one expect the Irish Inquisition.

Call for heads to roll over failed spook IT system

Ash
Thumb Down

Forget the officials

Sack Jacqui Smith.

EU calls for tougher data laws

Ash
Thumb Up

I wonder...

... if "Europe" is accepting immigrants. I don't want to be part of any one nation, just the whole place.

These folk sound like they actually have their head screwed on.

Home Office to keep innocent DNA samples

Ash
Stop

All are guilty.

When reporting crimes you witness, you become a suspect.

Suspects get arrested and put on the database for six years, just in case you re-offend.

What was that? You didn't commit a crime in the first place? You were reporting a crime you witnessed, being a concerned citizen?

Tough.

I'll be writing to my MP to bring a vote of no confidence against Jaqui.

Aussie censors implement six degrees of separation policy

Ash
Thumb Down

Difficult example

I agree with the sentiment; Filtering *is* bad.

However, maybe these "political" websites need to become a little more than just shocksites (snuffx anyone?) and stop showing pictures of aborted foetuses, or animals with chemical burns from cosmetics, or any other horrifying image. They should instead concentrate on getting their point across more eloquently, perhaps through debate. Like they do in all democratic societies.

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