Posts by AndyS

Re: Scaleable and Secure?

Ah, the usual comment on new tech:

"I bet they haven't thought of X," where X is an obvious topic I just though of, as a non expert.

I'll give you the answer: Yes, they have already considered that.

Re: But

> Is that a cake or a meringue?

No yer right, it's a cake.

> drones were a passing fad with consumers

Wow, there's a statement.

Reminds me of some other statements: "No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame." or "nobody will ever need more than 640k of ram"

Fact is DJI is doing extremely well, and other competitors are struggling to keep up.

Re: So they just roll their own

Very true. A basic quadcopter can be made cheaply and, and with none of the geofencing. If you want it a bit more capable (ie with GPS and autonomous flight modes) you are probably looking at a few hundred pounds each.

However, they could also just disable the geofencing in their existing fleet of phantoms (of which they seem to have a lot).

However, this move will have disrupted their immediate use, and appears to have been rolled out in a coordinated way, to target their use in Mosul during the drive to take it back. I guess if it worked at all (I wonder how often ISIS updates the firmware on their drones?), it will only work once - next time, they will have geofencing disabled already (if not previously).

> Although I'm not sure how this product is specialised to drones - there have been similar devices to this targeted at photographers for years

Look at the picture - it's branded dji. That alone is probably the whole point, as it allows dji to sell them along side their drones.

Re: Proof?

I guess that's what the court case is for. But bear with me for a while here.

I have worked in SQL development, but I'd be damned if I could get a random laptop to connect to a random company's network. Let's assume this guy is similar to me - knows a company laptop can connect to the company network, but wouldn't know where to start to get another laptop to. The file? Sure, it could be transferred, don't know why they would bother mentioning it, unless by "file" they actually mean it had an auto-log in system of some sort, or saved passwords, or something similar, more than just a .txt.

Now let's assume the company network keeps logs of what computers are connected (which seems reasonable), by what means (eg which wifi access point), and who those laptops were issued to. Let's also assume they have some CCTV, hence the accusation of trespassing. This all seems pretty likely.

We already know he used someone else's account, presumably for a test, before he left.

From those bits of information, it is pretty trivial to build a fairly damning case, and of course there may well be plenty of important bits of information missing.

Sure, any one of those could be explained away (mac spoofing, can't prove he has the laptop, maybe he stayed out of CCTV view, maybe he had a legit reason to use the other person's account leading up to his departure...) but together, it seems to paint a pretty obvious picture.

Re: It all sounds

You should probably take it with a pinch of salt.

Re: "[..] Admin Council chair Jesper Kongstad who is attempting to protect Battistelli .."

I imagine he has made a decision between two options: a) abandon him (and be sacked by him now), or b) attempt to prop him up for as long as possible (and be sacked along side him).

Re: If I were a judge, I'd call Alexa to testify as a witness...

"Alexa, place your hand on the Bible..."

"You have ordered a Bible."

"No Alexa, I need you to swear..."

"I don't know how to do that. Would you like to order another Bible?"

"No Alexa, I categorical..."

"Thank you for subscribing to Cat Facts! Did you know the average cat sleeps for 18 hours per day?"

Re: "Does the chip vendor publish enough to let someone write a driver?"

> And why should they? It's their IP, not yours

You're an idiot, right? The man was complaining that his wifi doesn't work on Linux. The response is that, the vast majority of time there are missing drivers, it's because the manufacturer hasn't published specs, making it impossible to write drivers. And you ask "why should they?"

So, are you on the side of the guy who wants his computer to work with Linux? Or the side of the people saying it's difficult to do without manufacturer support? At the moment it seems like you're just... stupid.

Re: Details

No, one is a perfectly normal reaction to current world events, the other is offensive. Unless they sneezed.

Re: Yes, the Windows 10 updates are pretty awful

I've left a laptop in a drawer for years before, pulled it out, turned it on, and it just worked. But it's running Linux, not some abomination love child of a pickpocket and a baby sitter.

Re: How about:

This whole article reads a bit like an attempt to make a pig farm kosher.

If the man at the top uses an outdated and unsecured Samsung Andorid phone to tweet insults about whatever bollocks is stopping him sleeping at 3am, what chance does any IT department have?

Re: For UK readers see Ladybower

For any other Northern Irish readers here, there's a rather beautiful example, with laminar flow, similar to the article, in the Silent Valley Reservoir. It's so close to the dam it makes it tempting to try and jump in - Google Maps link here, with it intimidatingly visible.

Re: EPA

@ a_yank_lurker

So, do you think the Repubs plan to replace it with something more fit for purpose?

Because honestly, the current drive is more like me burning your house down, because the toilet is dirty. Where are you going to sleep tomorrow? Not my problem.

Bear in mind, before answering, that the same group of lunatics are proposing to get rid of the department of education, and simultaneously defund any state-provided health care which can provide family planning and contraception.

@phuzz

Oh good grief.

Re: Exciting times.

How far through those 250 tonnes is it? Is it nearly finished? Is this a one-off, or is it going to do it again? Which planet is this happening on?

There are so many questions to answer. Someone should definitely send a probe.

Re: Mis-named Wireless

> The systems are not wireless as we know it, but ... need a power cable, power supply and power outlet.

What, unlike a wireless router? Do they run on magic fairy dust without any cables or power? I must need to upgrade, my current one has multiple plugs and wires coming out the back of it.

I'd call anything wireless which connects to reference device without needing plugged in. And in this case, placing a phone/tablet/watch/mouse etc on a pad (and not plugging it in) is clearly wireless.

Re: Looks bad for Wikipedia

You say that, but the difference is intention. The Mail strives for sensationalist bullshit to sell to the prejudices of small minded Little Englanders, and occasionally slips in something resembling a retelling of current affairs to convince them it is educating them. Wikipedia strives for independence, balance and accuracy, and occasionally makes a mistake. The two are simply not on the same level.

Did you see the Mail article recently about the poor lady who went into early labour while on a plane to London? She had an emergency delivery of quadruplets, two of whom died shortly afterwards. How did the Mail treat this woman? Well, I'll give you a hint. She was black, and Nigerian.

Show me anything in Wikipedia that compares to that, or to the "Enemies of the People" bullshit, and I'll listen.

Re: Fake News

Pat, li-ion batteries don't go on fire when they get wet, and the recommended action in the case of a li-ion fire is to douse it with large amounts of water (or place it in a bucket) to cool the surrounding cells and any other combustibles and stop the fire spreading. See the FAA document here.

There is this odd urban myth that just because it has lithium in it, it will spontaneously combust when it gets wet, but this simply isn't true. The quantities of metallic lithium are very small, and very well sealed in plastic etc.

Re: Too little too late

Moan moan moan.

Yes, I think in this case you're right. The interests of the largest shareholders (who will be in for the long haul) and smaller ones (who can come and go more easily) _should_ be aligned, but if they are not, it is likely that the larger shareholders have the interest of the company at heart, while the smaller ones only the short term profit.

Re: Oh perleees...

> And the evidence for this assertion is what exactly

Simple. People running phishing attacks are looking for idiots.

Middle of the year, Brexit happened, which let them know the UK is a ripe target - attacks increased.

Later in the year, Trump happened, which showed them an even riper one - attacks declined.

Re: Alternatively...

> the 11 countries that totally ban people with an Israel passport entering their countries

Sorry, which of those 11 countries is he hosting a conference it?

Oh, none? Then in what way is "other countries are worse" a defence?

Re: Cue the Mobile companies

> £80B contract cancellation charges

In 2 years, that will be worth, what, about £3.20 in today's money? Sounds like a pretty good deal.

Re: 30 year career? Ha ha... seriously, she should be so lucky.

So... You fancy her, is that what you're saying?

I guess she defined a period, in the same sense as the Spice Girls and Take That after her. The difference is that, being a solo act, she still exists, and is still in charge of, and actively managing, her own image.

Re: Back to MD5, et. al.

Bob, you really are a bit simple, aren't you?

Re: Almost wonder if he has some sort of deal with Trump

That's a nice theory.

Sadly I'm beginning to suspect the reality is much duller - he's not an American, he's not in America, and he's not the source of the leaks he published. So perhaps the Americans simply don't care as much about him as he (and many of us) assumed a few years ago?

Re: Bah!

"It is disturbing to think that one of the world's most profitable corporations would try to make even more money by deceiving parents and taking advantage of Mississippi school children,"

Isn't it more disturbing to think of an entire state auctioning off the education of their children to the highest bidder, bringing one of the most profitable commercial advertising companies in the world into contact with one of the richest, most profitable markets (American children), and then acting all surprised and upset when they try and push some adverts?

Bloody corrupt idiots.

Re: Clarification

The answer might be in the translation in the second link at the foot of the article?

> Button (おしり) --> Water spray to clean your bum

> Button (ムーブ) --> Have the spray move in a forward and backwards manner

> Except pilots have a seperate oxygen supply for just such an eventuallity and besides, none of those would have caused the plane to do an almost 180 degree course reversal in stages over a period of a couple of hours

Please, read the link about the Helios flight - you'd be amazed at how badly people function with low-level hypoxia. I've been there, and it is extremely strange - despite acknowledging the symptoms, my reaction was a shrug, "oh well," and carry on with what I was doing - no remedial action.

Oxygen deprivation isn't an on/off switch. Let's say, for example, that cabin pressurisation failed for whatever reason, and the pilots were using their oxygen, but didn't realise they were suffering hypoxia. Maybe the bottles were low, maybe there was a leak, maybe they just weren't using it correctly if at all. Or maybe there was a slow enough depressurisation that they just didn't react correctly, and took a long period to decline to unconsciousness. Re-routing would be a perfectly believable action. Who knows what was going through their heads.

Maybe these scenarios seem unlikely, but something very unlikely has happened - so the explanation is also bound to be pretty unlikely.

I still agree that a deliberate act seems likely, perhaps more so than the scenario above, but unfounded statements of one explanation being the "only" logical one are simply wrong. As above, it is a tragedy the plane won't be found, primarily for the families of those involved but also for the lack of ability to learn from the accident and, potentially, to prevent a repeat.

Re: @ AndyS

@ Eric Olson

The interesting thing about Republican voters, who put Trump in power, but don't know that repealing Obamacare will leave them without insurance (they're insured through ACA after all - totally different thing) is the reaction of the rest of the world to the harm that these people will suffer.

It goes like this:

Oh well.

The harm Trump will do to the rest of the world, and the 50% of America that resembles a 1st world country, is everyone's concern, and the duty of every sane person to stand up against. But the self-defeating, uneducated, mouth breathing, racist rednecks? Never mind. Let them get their benefits cut, the insurance stopped, and their jobs exported, that's what they've voted for.