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* Posts by ElReg!comments!Pierre

2711 publicly visible posts • joined 22 Jun 2009

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'Phantom Eye' hydrogen strato-spy drone starts building

ElReg!comments!Pierre

Hydrogen engine? Not in MY car!

Gas (petrol): rather inexpensive, stable in air at room temperature, liquid at sea-level pressure (i. e. easy storage)..

Hydrogen: costs an arm and a leg, spontaneously ignite in a very wide range of oxygen concentrations (including atmosphere's 20% O2) even at low temperature (ensures cataclysmic consequences for the littlest leak), gaseous in any earth-surface conditions (i.e. a storage nightmare and delivery: requires hight-pressure tanks with regulators and NO LEAKS).

Cooking gasses like Butane or Propane are actually much safer than H2 as they will only ignite when in a well-defined mix with oxygen. H2 will ignite (read "explode", in non-controlled environments) in almost any mix with air.

You want widespread H2-powered vehicles? I say you keep your car away from my home.

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
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I wrote Porsche but I thought Ferrari...

....of course.

The "Ferrari" one stayed stuck in potholes, and thus failed the "high altitude" test. The Porsche prototype was perfect. But for its tendency to explode in slightly uneven weather conditions.

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Coat

Motor wars

Although the Toyota wouldn't stop, the Ford one can stay airborne for up to 4 days before it needs a complete overhaul at Ford-certified mechanist's. They tried a Porsche motor but the damn thing was flying so low that it stayed stuck in potholes, rather missing the «high-altitude» target. The BMV-equipped version kept tailgating airliners, with disastrous consequences (ever heard of the Bermuda Triangle?).

Etc etc etc

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Tablet maker threatens, then robs Apple

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Polically coorect answer: you're dumb

My voluntarily provocative answer was nixed by El Reg's iron-fisted mod team (I don't complain: it's fair game).

But the view you express are still the she sign of an incredibly dumd and mislead design sense. Apple's ans Shezen's tablets are identical as far as design goes, and bothe very different from the iPod touch or the iPhone. Just use your eyes. ( I would call you 'm?rk?n' just for the lulz but my post would probably be nixed again)

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Happy

I humbly apologise

"You said 'merkin' because we're all dumb redneck hicks with drawls here! Touche, my friend - there's no coming back to incisive wit like yours."

I humbly apologise to any US citizen who might have been hurt by my -apparently- derogatory use of the colloquialism "merkin". Except, of course for Mr David W. who vehemently demonstrated the validity of such derogatory terms.

Best

Pierre

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Well done

So you've established that the iPad i aimed at people who don't need an`electronic social interface` device. Which, given the OS and Apple's vicehold on the thing, is the only possible use of the iPad*. What was your point, again?

*sure, you could also -possibly- watch movies, if you felt like staring down at a small screen on your knees for 2 hrs.

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ElReg!comments!Pierre

Also, when are we getting a review for the TouchBook?

Tablet form-factor, real toch-driven OS, optionnal keyboard doubles battery life, ARM processor (at long last), we want to know what it's really worth!

http://alwaysinnovating.com/touchbook/

C'mon El Reg, fingers out of, erm, wherever they might have been all this time, this has been `available` for several month now. As far as tech is concernerned it's several orders of magnitude hotter than a dumb new x86 tablet PC -may it bear the bitten fruit brand- especially when the latter-mentionned device is only a glorified smartphone with no phone function.

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
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I too, know where my money is....

... or where it would be, if the P88 was available up here.

As it's sadly not ( and the lesser iPad won't be for a while, either) I'll content myself with my EEE900 until someone comes up with a real tablet -preferably an ARM one (say, like the the TouchBook but with a delivery date that doesn't beg for a time machine).

But then if I was somehow brainwashed into forgetting what `value for money` means, and if I needed a device that doesn`t do fuck all while costing more than my car, I might consider getting an iPad. Maybe.

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
Happy

I think it's called irony, not plagiarism

That's the most humorous -and logical-thing to do if they really think that Cuppertino stole their design (which, to be fair, appears quite likely, as the main point of that article of yours ridiculing the claim was that the devices don't run the same OS -which is, as the claim was about design, pretty far from the point -"several thousand light years appart"-style far).

I mean, whether or not Apple stole their design -my take on this is "yes" but...- there is no way that this company could get justice from an US court (what with Apple pockets being bottomless and merkin IP system only recognizing merkin intellectual "property" -even when it's a blatant rip-off, when there's a metric ton of proven prior art or when the idea is so blindingly obvious that any 3-yo kid in human history probably came up with a similar idea).

So they choosed to flip the bird at Mighty Apple instead, probably making some cash in the process as I can totally see a lot of people parting cash for this, either for it's ironic value or not, especially in China. Mind you, I'm not even remotely Chinese and I would totally get one of those if they were available here, just fo' teh lulz. And chances are Shenzhen can get away with it, too. Which is the way it should be. Frankly that's hillarious, and it's only a skin (i.e. design) so it's appropriate retaliation, too.

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One-third of orphaned Zeus botnets find way home

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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FAIL

You know that the US are number one, right?

Apparently the US are the number one origin of computers attacks through the internet... and we don't need american websites anyway: all the good pr0n is hosted in Russia and Ukraine.

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Tories on cyber war: Waffle, mutter, waffle. Um, vote for us!

ElReg!comments!Pierre
Happy

Best. Jen. Subtitle. Evah.

I'm off for a shot of «have you tried turning it off and on again?» now.

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Password reset questions dead easy to guess

ElReg!comments!Pierre

Oh heck no you didn't

«Sending reset passwords via text messages to a mobile phone already associated with an account represents another step towards improved security.»

Good idea, because everyone owns a cell phone of five, ain't it?

Well, no they don't. Not to mention that text messages are not the most secure medium ever... plus a mobe is easily nicked, or borrowed.

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Bing shies away from gay-as-day search results in Arab countries

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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On the other hand...

We're talking Arabic countries here. Not 3rd world. We're talking Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and the like. Some of these countries are MORE democratic than the US with LESS irrelevant religious laws. None of these countries have 'Allahu Akbar` printed on their money, for starters. That would be the equivalent of `in god we trust`. What backward, uneducated country could possibly print that on their money or on their governmental agencies's seals? Certainly not arabic countries, it would take a seriously retarded country to do that. Anyone from the US listening?

Mind you, most arabic countries DO NOT outlaw search terms such as those banned by Bing ( I know, this contradicts my last comments, but I checked in the meantime. Only stupid people can't change their mind). Boo MS Booo!

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Unhappy

Human rights.... yeah sure

Human rights should supersede local laws. Sure. Human rights forbid the use of civilian-aimed landmines as used bythe US to blanket vietnam (these are still killing kids as we speak). Human rigths say that living conditions in some French prisons are unacceptable. Human rights point out that 2/3 of the death sentences in the US are at best dubious (and Human rights say that death penalty is the sign of of a barbarian system to begin with). Human rights were against murdering tens of thousands civilians during the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the US. Human rights are violated on a dayly basis by Israel with the blessing of almost the whole western world. Human rights forbid Guantanamo, and mobile CIA torture facilities. Human rights say that the UK ID sheme should go down the toilet. Human rights say that the police should not murder a plumber for no good reason, and that no-one should be kept in custody for several days, or even weeks, without even knowing why they are there.. Human rights. Right. They SHOULD supersede national laws, surely. But who are we to force them on other people if we don't respect them outselves?

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Or they could...

...type www.b ing.fr or www.b ing.co.uk or www.b ing.de instead of the .ma adress (or whatever country they are in) as MS apparently doesn´t filter by location...

Don´t take me wrong, I like to loathingly spit on the Redmondian pile of hypocritical turd as much as anyone (maybe even a bit more), but it´s not even remotely close to what you describe. After all, your (I don´t have any close family in this area of the globe) poor gay brothers in these countries did not have Bing untill very recently, so they probably used another search engine anyway and they can continue to do just that, can´t they?

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
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You´re entirely right but

You´re right about having to abide to the laws of the land. However, it´s still funny to see what MS does in Arabic countries considering their hollier-than-thou attitude regarding Google in China (although after bashing Google censoring searches to abide by Chinese law they gave it hell for menacing to leave China over similar concerns, which might suggest that in the matter MS stance is defined by «whatever Google does is evil and we disagree» rather than by any ethical consideration).

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US spreads Web2.0rhea to Iran, Sudan, Cuba

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Yeah that's my point

This is my point entirely.. The ban ban was lifted only to allow US companies to make money. No added `freedom` here. One could reasonably argue the getting Merkin software in these `enemy` countries could even serve intelligence purposes. But that's probably me being paranoid -again.

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
Coffee/keyboard

'US tries to convince world that they're still relevant'

So the US was not selling communication software to some 'evil' countries, and now does, in the hope to get a few more dollars into its moribund economy. I bet no-one in the aforementioned countries will notice the difference. I mean it never stopped them from coming online in the first place. Clinton's comments are just insulting. Sure, them 3rd-world retards are incapable of developing software of their own, ain't they? As is the whole world but for the US, surely.

In a nutshell, just the US opening new markets to itself before they get completely infected by good software instead.

Keyboard ruined not from laughter but from an overdose of WTF.

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Exiled iPhone Wi-Fi apps move to Cydia

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Wrong discussion

That's the problem with too many tabs: you're bound to post something in the wrong debate. Please disregard this post ( As I can't seem to be able to cancel it)

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
Coat

Developpers! Developpers! Developpers! Developpers!

I´ll be going now.

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Florida woman prangs car while shaving her privates

ElReg!comments!Pierre
Happy

Most amazing thing is...

... it was not even in Oz.

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SeaWorld killer killer whale must die, Bible insists

ElReg!comments!Pierre

Aha! But wait, if...

... SeaWorld had put the whale to death the first time they would probably have been paint-bombed and boycotted into oblivion by PETA...

@Jay

Low orbit won't cut it, and it's too complicated anyway.

Just use lodestone in a railgun.

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French poised to seize Port of Dover

ElReg!comments!Pierre
Coat

Vee don't afraid of ze locals

Vee vill just send a few monkeys in military uniforms, and vhen the locals are finished 'anging 'em vee vill quietly take control unnoticed.

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Do Google's search warrant police run IE6?

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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What he said

Section intentionally left blank.

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
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re: Hardly surprising.

"Well, you don't get the Win updates if you're running a bent copy."

Joke appart, yes you do. Unless you also installed MS' wicked piracy detector (WGA). But in that case you might not get the updates for a legit copy, either...

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
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RE:RE: I might have missed sumfin

"I think that means it was accessing data related to these customers, stored on Google's systems."

Yeah, that's what _this_ article seems to imply. However, from what I had gathered previously, I thought that the attackers, using the spook-system as an entry point, injected code in selected accounts that would root the end-user machines using an IE6 hole (on end-user machines). That was actually much, much scarier. And that would explain why they stop supporting IE6 for their online apps. However I failed to find any definitive statement about what really happened (technically). Which also smelled like some Oompa-Loompas trying to hide the fact that the spook-system was used to penetrate Google servers and plant malicious code on selected accounts.

Never mind that was probably me being paranoid again.

I still would like a definitive answer though.

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
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RE

Google is a huge globo-corp (and by "huge" I mean "freaking bloody _HUGE_, mon"), so it's fair to assume that they might have absorbed smaller outfits with IE6-only policies. Hence there might be some of the beast's tentagoogles that have not fully migrated out of their misled IE6 ways...

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ElReg!comments!Pierre

I might have missed sumfin

But as far as the newsreports go, the attack was targeting Google "customers" using IE6, with Google being merely used as a vector fo end-user targeted exploits. The article you link to does reinforce this understanding. Sure, Google staff do use IE6 for QA purposes but did the attack actually compromise Google internal systems via this IE exploit? or was it (as journo-tech reports would suggest) an end-user exploit with Google services being mere vectors?

For example, and among others, the Reg article covering this (and linked from here) stated: "The attack that hit Google in mid-December originated in China and was aimed at accessing the Gmail accounts of human rights activists"

So which is it? If the attack only affected end users with Google as a medium -as stated in the reference-, this article is a waste of 3 perfectly good www pages. If not, we need more info!

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Medion E54009 touch monitor

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Yep.

Greasy fingers on monitors. The bane of the modern world. Now why would one want a device that _requires_ you to cover your monitor with fingerprints, stains and smears is beyond me.

Maybe if it sat horizontally aside the real monitor, to be used as a kind of giant trackpad?

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El Reg space bureau firms up PARIS kit list

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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You must be kidding

And your electromechanical device and barometer will be more resistant to extreme cold than a glass syringe how, exactly?

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US gov's emptying of vast Texan helium-tank dome 'wrong'

ElReg!comments!Pierre

Atomic fusion reactor?

No-one investigate new sources? I think that's wrong. If things go according to plan, we should have hydrogen fusion reactors within the next couple decades. Appart from rather clean leccy, these produce a fair amount of helium. Probably not enough to be relied on as the only source, but it should help.

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iPhone App Store bars mention of Google Android

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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"finalist in Google’s Android Developer Challenge"

"finalist in Google’s Android Developer Challenge".

Not "runs well in Android". "finalist in [a] Developper Challenge". The "Google Android" part hardly matters, only they have to include it because "finalist in a big-ass Developper Challenge, but we cannot tell you which one because Steve Jobs doesn't like the hosting company" sounds a bit silly don't you think? Actually it's on par with Apple's silliness on this case, so they might as well have tried the latter. They would probably have been banned for life from even looking at an Apple product again though.

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Google yanks IE6 love from web apps

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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erm, exactly

"This doesn't mean they should not try their products with other browsers, or design their products with other browsers in mind"

To do that wouldn't they have to, erm, _use_ said other browsers? And quite extensively, even? Do not forget that I would expect a company _making_ a browser to study the competition's products rather closely. This includes using them a lot to discover any kind of undocumented flaws or features. Of course the use of Google's own Chrome might be recommended for any in-house non-tech browsing. But it wouldn't necessarily be a good idea.

"Could you imagine a percentage of MS's employees happily working on Linux or Mac OS computers while at MS?"

Not to mention Google OS. No-one want to be on the receiving end of a chair-throwing marathon. But the problem is very different: Windows is not supposed to run primarily on Mac OS or Linux machines. Google products are designed to run primarily on IE (even though FF market share is on the rise, the various versions of IE still have a very large advantage on the market front).

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
Dead Vulture

"Yes, this means Google employees were running IE6 "

No, it doesn't. It means that some Google service users were running IE6.

And by the way, of course Google employees are most probably using IE6 -though probably not from "live" systems. Google core business is based on the www in case you did not notice. So they are probably running all the web browsers they can get their mitts on, including the whole range of IEs, of course. Running only their own browser would be incredibly stupid.

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Windows 7 upgrades Vista laptops to lower battery life

ElReg!comments!Pierre

the last 20 years

Yep, that nicely sums up the last 20 years of MS history: "But the company also says that in some cases, the new tool may be working properly."

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Home Office spawns new unit to expand internet surveillance

ElReg!comments!Pierre

Re: TOR

The problem with TOR is that it's inherently insecure. By design. You do not know who is relaying your traffic, and the exit node might or might not be run by baddies (or spooks), who would therefore have access to your unencrypted data. That's OK as long as they do not know where the traffic originated. Which rules out any traffic requiring identification without end-to-end encryption (i.e. they can spy on your FaceBook habits).

On the other hand, real terr'rist wanting to share nefarious plots can post encrypted messages on Usenet so they won't be bothered. The whole system's aim is to fabricate "guilty by association" evidence, not to catch the real bad guys. This is dangerous, as we can _ALL_ be linked to terrorists _and_ paedo circles by association, with a much lower number of associations than most of the people would think (I would guess 3 to 4 degrees max for the most e-recluse, probably first degree for the most avid bloggers; but it just came out of my headwear).

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'Tightly bound' stars seen locked in 'diabolic strip waltz'

ElReg!comments!Pierre
Coat

'Tightly bound' stars seen locked in 'diabolic strip waltz'

Doesn't the title make the picture highly illegal extreme porn?

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Regulator sniffs around stonking iPhone game bills

ElReg!comments!Pierre
Paris Hilton

"despite Apple's fabled control, the unexpected can still happen"

You probably mean _because of_, not despite. These things happen because the Church of Jobs' opaque and secretive control-freakery, not despite it.

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Paddy Power takes bets on iPad shipments

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Oh it will sell alright, don't worry

Even though the units will be played with for 2 weeks an then used as photo frames, they will sell nicely. It is Apple, and it is shiny.

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Windows 8 possible July 2011 release?

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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6.2 != 7.0

The reason why Win7 reports its version as 6.2 is that Windows seven is a slightly revamped Vista, so why the heck would they change version numbers? The reason why they changed the name is that Vista was such an epic marketing failure that a related name would have scared customers off.

The compatibility thing you mention, while technically true, is a _consequence_ of Windows7 being essentially Vista at heart.

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Next from Apple: The Pocket iPad

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Not at all

"wouldn't a pocket sized version fo the iPad otherwise be known as the iPhone??!!"

On the contrary, dear sir, on the contrary...

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Apple's iPad - fat iPhone without the phone

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Optical drive

external USB one. Duh.

Having an optical drive on that thing would be a terrible idea (not to mention the engineering nightmare)

The lack of cam and lack of multitasking are really bad for a device whose main would be e-communication.

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Chavez decries evils of PlayStation

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Matt, are you for real?

"hnnp://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=518904"

I mean, seriously?

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NASA pegs Noughties as hottest decade on record

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Debate

You seem to have a strange view on science. Science is no religion. Science is all about debate.

As every scientist on the planet I am paid mainly to debate over scientific data. That's actually the very basis of science. That's why data and protocols should be available to anyone. What do we have here? Data collected over a small percentage of the surface of the globe. The raw data actually shows a remarquably steady temperature. The increase touted is only due to a "correction" factor applied by people whose funding depend on the warming being real. Now I'm sure the correction factor must be justified somehow, and the data might even be representative of a global trend, but it at least needs to be debated.... not religiously believed.

It doesn't help that the other big dataset on global temperature trends was deleted for "storage reasons". Any scientist worth his salt knows that if you have to keep only one thing, keep the raw data. Everything else can be derived from that, but you will never find the original data back. Suspicious.

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Precision: not backed up == deleted

Before y'all jump on my answer saying that raw data on climate was deleted, I want to remind the less tech-litterate folks that in IT terms "not backed up" is an almost exact synonymous for "willingly deleted". El Reg's readership is supposed to be tech-litterate enough to know that as a fact, but a reminder never hurts.

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ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Boffin

And you're good HOW?

Well To be honest you describe an acceptable protocol, but you miserably fail with the last two sentences. "I then go back and look at my original assumptions and refine my experiments. With each iteration my predictions will come closer to matching the data."

The idea behind science is that you make working hypothesis based on lousy data, then design a good experiment (i.e. one that _will_ give you an answer no matter what), go back on the field for more data, and then rework your _hypothesis_, not your experiment. Reworking the experiment is how frauds do it. If you are not good enough to design a proper experiment you shouldn't be allowed to get anywhere near science. Almost half of any science report is (and should be) discussion over the methods and interpretations. That's where you discuss the shortcomings of the experimental methods, should the need arise. Changing the experimental protocol to get data matching your initial hypothesis is _terrible_ practice. Unfortunately that's what happens routinely in climate science (as well as in most other politically- or financially-pressured scientific fields). That's also one of my pet peeves, in case you didn't notice. It's _BAD_. _BAD_, I tell you.

Yes, experiment design _is_ the hardest thing about science, and the most overlooked, sadly enough.

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ElReg!comments!Pierre

unabated != undebated

nuff said

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Opera and Firefox downloads soar after IE alerts

ElReg!comments!Pierre
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Nah

"you use Firfox for your pornographics but keep it not default so wife never see history when she click to browse?"

Nah, that's what different _accounts_ are for.

I meant I use FF (well, on most of my system it's called Iceweasel, but same/diff...) for general purpose, w3m or Lynx for anything potentially harmful, hv3 or Dillo for FreeNet, and Konqueror for TOR and banking (spot the errors... but you get the idea).

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Oil companies hit by 'state' cyber attacks, says report

ElReg!comments!Pierre

"value to state-owned energy companies"?

Or to any energy company? Or any state? Or any investor or group of investors?

The 3 companies might even have sent the emails to each other for what we know. But if "The Christian Science Monitor" says it's China, then it must be, right?

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