* Posts by Shaha Alam

268 publicly visible posts • joined 2 Jun 2009

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Microsoft: IE11 for Windows Phone 8.1 is TOO GOOD. So we'll cripple it like Safari

Shaha Alam

Re: Mobile-specific web pages are usually a UI travesty

"Even El Reg is guilty of this. See those giant empty bands on either side of your widescreen display? Those are there because web designers are too stupid to make the content pane dynamically resize to fit the screen. So readers have to scroll more and read less at a time, because most sites are still based on a horribly ill-fitting fixed-width model of the antiquated print industry."

there has to be an upper limit to how wide a text column will go. have you tried reading text that goes from one edge of a the screen to the other? it's a nightmare. it's what column were invented for in the first place - so the eyes can track where you are in the text easier.

Tor attack nodes RIPPED MASKS off users for 6 MONTHS

Shaha Alam

Re: No ACs Allowed

"when anonymous surfing is made illegal, only criminals will surf anonymously."

don't you mean:

"when anonymous surfing is made illegal, anonymous usage will be criminalised."

the former suggests the service is used by someone with history of criminality. the latter implies the use of the service is what criminalises them. massive distinction in the context of pervasive government spying, curtailments to free speech, Big Brother politics and all the over overbearing laws the government uses to control the population.

not sure if this was the point you were already making...

Multipath TCP speeds up the internet so much that security breaks

Shaha Alam
Facepalm

kudos to the artist who drew the network diagram

clearly they are one of the only two muppets to have purchased an O2 XDA Exec.

myself being the other muppet :(

YES, iPhones ARE getting slower with each new release of iOS

Shaha Alam

this is not the update you're looking for.

*jedi hand wave*

Malware gets your Android blabbering to HACKERS

Shaha Alam

why is there no permissions to control access to the speaker?

oh right, the fart apps.

TV rudeboy and Outsourcery boss Linney joins Gov.UK SME panel

Shaha Alam
Thumb Up

http://govstore.service.gov.uk/

403 Forbidden

nginx/1.2.7

great start lads, keep up the good work.

14 antivirus apps found to have security problems

Shaha Alam

Re: Problems with virus?

"Well, if you will click on random irrelevant links from a forum post..."

on the contrary. aren't the links intended to appear to be specific and relevant? how else would spoofing work if it wasn't geared to the mark's interests?

Senate introduces USA FREEDOM Act to curb NSA spying excesses

Shaha Alam

USA FREEDOM Act

catchy name. sounds like it comes with inspiring background music.

Just TWO climate committee MPs contradict IPCC: The two with SCIENCE degrees

Shaha Alam

Re: No Surprise

"We (the scientific community) came to consensus decades ago."

i might've missed something in the conversation, but if, as the article states:

"About one third of all the CO2 emitted by mankind since the industrial revolution has been put into the atmosphere since 1997; yet there has been no statistically significant increase in the mean global temperature since then,"

...then surely the decades old 'consensus' is out of date, no?

am i missing something obvious here?

UK gov rushes through emergency law on data retention

Shaha Alam
Big Brother

"The consequences of not acting are grave"

why can't the consequences ever just be "whimsical"?

BlackBerry claims ugly duckling Passport mobe is a swan in the offing

Shaha Alam

"That in turn makes it easier to create documents on the Passport, he said, and the large screen real estate also makes the device appropriate for viewing documents like architectural plans and schematics."

who's looking at architecture plans on their phone??

NSA dragnet mostly slurped innocents' traffic

Shaha Alam

Re: A small fly in the ointment

"All this is just so much digital noise in the system increasing the number of potential false warnings generated. These have to be sorted out by human analysts, a labor-intensive and expensive process. It is also time consuming, increasing the time it takes for a response."

and the typical response to this. as always, will be higher budgets to employ more people to sort through more rubbish.

India’s Karbonn launches £26 Android phone

Shaha Alam

Re: Trickle Down

"It wouldn't have mattered if Win8, 'E', gave you a blowjob every time you used that disjointed menu screen. Taken as a whole 'E' created problems where none existed before."

i'd happily accept the disjointed menu system in exchange for a daily...

Microsoft thumbs nose at NSA, hardens crypto for Outlook, OneDrive

Shaha Alam

Re: So?

they'll still investigate everyone. the government will simply 'preapprove' all requests using some legal slight of hand and then transfer the increase in operational costs to the tax payer.

so you'll still get screwed. you'll just pay a bit more for the privilege now.

Google spaffs $50 MILLION on 'get girls coding' campaign

Shaha Alam

recruiter > you there, yes you.

candidate > who me?

recruiter > why, yes. you. aren't you a delightful thing. Did you know you could work with computers?

candidate > why thank you, kind sir. But aren't those the befuddling machines that only a man understands.

recruiter > why yes. but you too can learn.

====================

job done. is it can b payday nao pl0x?

Ohio man cuffed again for shagging inflatable pool raft

Shaha Alam

"Wonder how these people develop such obsessions?"

male + time + boredom

'CAPTAIN CYBORG': The wild-eyed prof behind 'machines have become human' claims

Shaha Alam

Re: Not Turing's finest hour

true. only a human could devise a test for intelligence that allowed blaggers and charlatans to pass.

maybe that's the real test for an ai - the ability to devise a test that can't discriminate between intelligence and clever mimicry.

Everyone can and should learn to code? RUBBISH, says Torvalds

Shaha Alam

Re: arehole

You're getting a lot of grief but i for one kind of see your point. kind of.

i think in this day and age, coding is fast becoming an essential skill, like how calculator/telephone/tv remote use was/is.

the world is changing. and whilst it's not important for everyone to be a coder or understand code right now, i suspect it'll seen be ubiquitous and common knowledge. maybe not so much knowledge of compilers and kernels and memory heaps and what not. but thinking in an algorithmic and/or functional sense. being confident in the use of abstract symbols to express logical thought.

technology will drive the future. it's about whether we want kids to be in the driving seat or not. we need to stop thinking of coding as a specialised skill. it'll very soon become essential for anyone that wants to get ahead. just as computer use is practically essential, even in jobs you wouldn't expect to need any knowledge of computers.

First iOS, now Android to get fondleslab Office ahead of Windows

Shaha Alam

"If Google Apps is good enough for your needs, you were never in Microsoft's target market for Office in the first place. Why would you even buy an Office 365 subscription?"

nice try. Microsoft's target market for office has always included:

- anyone willing to pay*

- those who're unaware of free alternatives

*get fleeced

Fantastic fantasy four-way fling – and family-friendly fun

Shaha Alam

Re: Alternatives

My 2 year old insists that his foot is an essential part of the game. He therefore insists on displacing other game pieces with a staunch placement of said foot, at any opportunity.

Euro judges: Copyright has NOT changed, you WON'T get sued for browsing the web

Shaha Alam

wait, is the temporary data part of the plumbing of the internet (in which case i'm not responsible for it) or is it part of the content (which i am responsible for).

cos i think we can all trot off a few examples of "content" if found in the browser cache of your computer that could get you in serious trouble.

can someone please explain this apparent inconsistency?

TANGO DOWN! Google presents its 3D non-fondle slab to the world

Shaha Alam

sounds great for getting a general feel for what furniture would look like in your home. By that i mean helping a salesman sell you that 4 grand sofa suite by showing you how great it looks like in front of that 60" tele - that he's also selling you.

but you're still gonna need a tape measure to make sure stuff fits.

Marc Andreessen: Edward Snowden is a 'textbook traitor'

Shaha Alam

There's a delicious irony in all the AC's talking up the need for NSA to break the law to do their jobs.

what're you afraid of, the NSA already know who you are. they can see behind the AC mask, don't you know?

Evidence of ancient WORLD SMASHER planet Theia - FOUND ON MOON

Shaha Alam

Re: Back and forth

I like when supposed myths turn out to maybe have a kernel of truth.

It suggests there's some ancient knowledge that's been lost to time. or that from-to-time, ancient people did some pretty good guesswork.

Freeview's rumoured '£100m YouView killer' is real – and it's yet another digital TV thing

Shaha Alam

"Now can we get something worth buying?"

there're lots of things worth buying. It's just that your use case seems rather unique.

Seriously, you're complaining about not finding tv programs from the mid 80s???

Oh, wow. US Secret Service wants a Twitter sarcasm-spotter

Shaha Alam

Re: Do terrorists really tweet about their intended acts?

they do. but the apparent sarchasm in their posts meant noone was taking the threats seriously.

Queen's Speech: Computer Misuse Act to be amended, tougher sentences planned

Shaha Alam

"you'll know it when you see it"

there. that's all the wording you'll need for any of these laws. no need for costly legal consultations.

Monster croc 'the BALROG' tussles with mighty Titanoboa snake

Shaha Alam

Titanoboa?

tnetennba, surely.

Revealed: GCHQ's beyond top secret Middle Eastern internet spy base

Shaha Alam

Re: Jim 59 TRAITORS

you're expecting that big brother will implement the sort of tyranny where jackboots press down on your neck and you have to show your 'papers' to an 'official' every time you walk down the street.

not all tyrannies are like that.

maybe ours is the sort where people no longer question why so much of our lives is spent "working" and so little "playing". in that sense, Big Brother has thoroughly done his job.

Shaha Alam

Re: TRAITORS

if anything, the Snowden revelations have shown that:

- the agencies *do not* notice important information

- *do* probe information about spouses and lovers

Android is a BURNING 'hellstew' of malware, cackles Apple's Cook

Shaha Alam

Re: Really?

"I've never been into silly-ass games, or any of that find-your-friends-and-tell-them-what-bar-you're-hanging-out-at bullshit. I have a grand total of 1 (count 'em) 1 third-party app on my 4S -- Twitter. That's it."

you seem to have purchased the wrong kind of phone.

TrueCrypt considered HARMFUL – downloads, website meddled to warn: 'It's not secure'

Shaha Alam

very, very triksy.

just goes to show, you can have the best safe in the world, but it's no good if someone can replace it without you knowing.

security isn't about locks and safe and encryption. it's a state of mind. a mind constantly on the edge of paranoia.

ARG! A GHOST SHIP! Pirates sunk by UK cops return from watery grave

Shaha Alam

we in the uk pay police to protect copyrighted material held by private individuals and corporations. then pay again when we want to watch/listen to it.

and given that we're in the UK, we probably pay a higher price for the privilege.

totally makes sense.

Still using e-mail? Marketers say you're part of DARK SOCIAL

Shaha Alam

Re: For added irony, on the story's page

you paint it white and call it a baby swan.

It's Google's no-wheel car. OMG... there aren't any BRAKES

Shaha Alam

so you can see the bmw/audi driver tailgating you.

iPhone-stroker-turned-fandroid sues Apple over iMessage text-slurpery

Shaha Alam

can the class-action be extended to include existing imessage users who're finding that their messages aren't being delivered to ex-imessage users?

that sounds like a "failure to deliver service" breach of contract.

Brits to vote: Which pressing scientific challenge should get £10m thrown at it?

Shaha Alam

Methods and Processes to understand why government spent £6 beeeeeelion on it's IT over the next 4 years.

Wanna slice of £6bn? Set up an IT supplier and apply to the UK.gov

Shaha Alam

bucket and stools at the ready, lads, this cows ready to milked.

World loses mind: Uber valued at TEN BEEELLION DOLLARS, Pinterest pegged at $5bn

Shaha Alam

None of these sums of money are real, right?

i mean, if these were actual amounts of money surely we'd have more crazy billionaires building moon bases or reanimating corpses of dead pop stars or sitting on beaches ordering the sea to stay back, right? you know, the kind of crazy shit actual ultra wealthy people do.

Charity: Ta for the free Win 8.1, Microsoft – we'll use it to install Win 7

Shaha Alam

wow these charities spend a lot of money on their computers

as above

Hey, does your Smart TV have a mic? Enjoy your surveillance, bro

Shaha Alam

Re: Which is why…

"When the first big "hack" of a TV or similar happens due to a security flaw in the "supplied at point of sale" firmware, I foresee the consumer protection laws getting a good workout."

really? snowden reveals huge intrusions into our privacy and the government barely utters a squeek and you think anything will happen as a result of some dodgy tellies?

highly optimistic i'd say.

Gimme a high S5: Samsung Galaxy S5 puts substance over style

Shaha Alam

Re: Back to basics?

"2.. form HAS to be driven by function not fashion."

"fashionable" is one of the functions for a top of the range smart phone.

Dropbox defends fantastically badly timed Condoleezza Rice appointment

Shaha Alam

'Nothing is going to change with Dr. Rice's appointment'

that would also be true of a brick wall. or a potato.

Microsoft Research adds interactivity to Windows 8 Live Tiles

Shaha Alam

maybe it's just me...

...but that is one heck of an ugly UI.

i mean, just look at that green calculator!

Video games make you NASTY AND VIOLENT

Shaha Alam

Re: Sounds a lot like those...no, not really

"Someone needs to investigate the relationship between frustration and stupidity, i.e. how many people become frustrated because of their own inability to think ahead or plan ways of doing things."

stupid people don't frustrate themselves. the problem is they frustrate others.

incidentally there was a tv program not long ago about road rage. it showed various people getting irate when other people did "stupid" things on the road. the solution was to give other people more space and anticipate their stupidity. all the people who suffered rage were less angry when they gave the driver in front more space. it meant that regardless of how stupid the driver in front was, the extra space meant there was less chance of it affecting them.

so i suggest you take the same advice. give yourself more time to do your shopping. you can't change other people's stupidity. but you can reduce the impact it has on you.

Beat it, freetards! Dyn to shut down no-cost dynamic DNS next month

Shaha Alam
Windows

$25 per year sounds really cheap to me...

...for a service that just works, without me having to think about it. that's around $2 a month.

those of you who consider that pricey must be in serious financial dire straits. it's worrying to think IT professionals are so poorly paid! :\

The IT Crowd tops BAFTA nominations with four nods

Shaha Alam

tnetennba

Tesla in 'Ethernet port carries data' SCANDAL

Shaha Alam

Re: "Because ethernet and wireless are the same."

if they're willing to go through all that, maybe it's not the car they're interested in.

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