Posts by Richard 22 228 publicly visible posts • joined 26 Jun 2009
Entirely novel and new are distinct concepts.
The first wristwatch was an entirely novel thing. The Apple Watch is a new thing.
The first democratic election was an entirely novel thing. The recent UK general election is a new thing.
The first use of time smearing to compensate for leap seconds (who ever did it) was an entirely novel thing. Amazon using in this specific case is a new thing.
So News only encompasses entirely novel things? By that logic all news bulletins would be extremely short - we had an election 5 years ago, so why report on the one this year? People are murdered all the time - why bother to report on a new one? Reporting of things which haven't happened yet, even if they are similar to things which have happened before seems valid, and may be useful to users of the service in this case - at the very least it appears that there is relevant information in the article to EC2 users.
As mentioned in this years annual shareholder letter, Amazon does use robotics in their fulfilment centres to increase densities;
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000119312515144741/d895323dex991.htm
"Our worldwide network of fulfillment centers has expanded from 13 in 2005, when we launched Prime, to 109 this year. We are now on our eighth generation of fulfillment center design, employing proprietary software to manage receipt, stowing, picking, and shipment. Amazon Robotics, which began with our acquisition of Kiva in 2012, has now deployed more than 15,000 robots to support the stowing and retrieval of products at a higher density and lower cost than ever before"
Not fully robotic, but robot assisted.
Jailbreaking and carrier unlocking are 2 completely separate things. The former involves hacking the OS - one reason being to allow pirated content to be played, but there are many other reasons.
Carrier unlocking is what is under discussion here, and that simply allows mobile phones to be used on networks other than the one on which they were originally purchased. Carrier locking of phones has been going on since the early days of GSM. It has always been possible to buy (carrier) unlocked phones - that doesn't mean you can play pirated content on them.
I think you misunderstand - he's saying that the data is not of direct use to the Genius Bar tech support in their day-to-day activities of supporting users. He's not saying that they (or anyone else) would be incapable of putting together a tool to extract said data and use it for other purposes, rather that there doesn't seem to be a legitimate use for the data for tech support.
That's how I read it anyway.
The text is ambiguous at best. remove/reinstall could indicate that it is talking about removing and then reinstalling, or it could mean remove _or_ reinstall.
It's not really clear why you'd want to (permanently) uninstall .net. The fact that it is used by so much of the system means that unless you don't want those bits you shouldn't uninstall it. That would be like uninstalling Microsoft Office because it was too big and then complaining you couldn't open Word documents. Presumably it would be possible to write an alternative set of APIs, GUI shell, command line etc and run it on the Windows kernel. But why bother when it's all there in .net and it's _dependent_ utilities.
No I think you misunderstand. The vulnerability allows _all_ the memory on the device to be leaked (albeit in 64kb chunks). There could be _anything_ in there - I guess any web traffic sent in plain text will be visible (presumably anything encrypted in the browser would be fine)
"The half-dozen or so people I know running XP on home computers haven't applied patches for years / ever. Nor have they been hacked."
Interested to know how you know they haven't been hacked? The type of people who don't apply security updates probably aren't likely to be the best at determining if silent keyloggers etc are installed on their machine, or their machine is being used as a spambot etc. We're well past the days of viruses making themselves known to the user by printing messages and randomly deleting files.
I assume that the downvotes were because of the implication in the comment that the research in any way proved that 6 year olds were looking at porn. Even if the figures are accurate, they are for the 6-11 age-range. It's highly likely that most if not all of those would be at the upper end of that range (10/11 year olds).
And their surveying techniques have to be called into question. They indicate the figures are partially drawn from tracking online usage - how do they know who was using the computer? How do they know it wasn't an older sibling or their Dad (surely not).
IP67 can survive being dropped in a sink or a swimming pool. Not designed for prolonged submersion.
I have an Xperia Z1 Compact (IP55/58) and before that had a Xperia V (IP57 - ie same waterproof capabilities as the S5, but less dust resistant), and it's very useful to be able to wash your phone in the sink if it gets a bit dirty, and to not have to worry about getting caught in an unexpected rainstorm (which is what killed my Nokia N8).
I wonder if there's any chance they'll produce a Here maps for (generic) Android. The ability to get mapping and routing without a data connection is something Google maps is sadly missing, and most (all?) of the decent full-blown satnav replacements are too expensive for my infrequent usage requirements.
Can someone explain to me how 2 factor authentication is of _any_ use if the second factor of authentication is sent to the device you're logging in from?
2 factor authentication relies on not only knowing a secret, but also having access to a distinct physical device which only you should have access to. If you're logging in from that device in the first place then it becomes useless as a distinct physical device - only the secret provides any security in this case. The fact that the facebook app then automatically reads the second factor kind of highlights how pointless this is. Better to disable 2FA on that device and therefore not require the READ_SMS permission.
Unless I've missed something about how the 2FA works in this case (I've never used it for facebook).
noscript is great for only blocking the more annoying ads. I don't allow any Javascript on the Reg and it all functions pretty well. I reckon non-intrusive ads on here ought to be a) semi-relevant to me and b) pay for the site, so I haven't used ABP for a while.
However the company I work for has recently implemented a corporate ad-blocker due to security concerns, so I no longer see ads on any site from work (I get a red and white "Ad Blocked" image instead, which is actually more annoying than the ads)
I was told by somebody who knows these things that HDMI2.0 doubles the data rate over HDMI 1.4, and also introduces a YUV420 option, which halves the bitrate (at the expense of some colour depth I guess). So potentially 4k at 120Hz would be do-able with HDMI 2.0. Might be good for sporting events, where colour depth probably isn't that important.
Take a look at the linux kernel code - the enforced coding style for the kernel virtually mandates the use of gotos (80 char max line width, 8 char tab indentation). It forces a style without excessive nesting, and gotos are commonly used as a way of jumping to some end-of-function cleanup (in a similar way to how exceptions might be used).
Takes some getting used to at first, but you learn to love it in the end... (though 40 char+ function names don't help - wait_for_completion_interruptible_timeout I'm looking at you...)
I wonder how much of this works out as a profit for Apple? I imagine that there's a fairly large cost associated with running an app store (storage, bandwidth etc) - and the majority of apps are free and therefore don't contribute to that cost.
Even if the App store was run at a loss I guess it would still be worthwhile for Apple to have it, as it drives hardware sales. I doubt it's run at a loss though.
I use Yahoo mail and I'm in the UK, but I don't think I was affected (I don't often log into yahoo mail on the web - I use pop3 download to my gmail account). I run noscript, but I did have all of yahoo.com and yimg.com allowed in noscript - I've just updated that to be only mail.yahoo.com, ucs.query.yahoo.com and https://s.yimg.com, and mail still seems to be functional.
So how are these filters switched on/off? Is there just a switch on the account pages on the website? Or do you have to phone them up and ask them to turn it on/off. If it's the latter I can't see myself agreeing to have it enabled when Virgin Media bring theirs in. If it's easily switchable on the website then it might have some uses - even better if you could have your own whitelist of sites which they block by default but which you'd like to allow.
> Seagate on the other hand, understates the capabilities of their hdd so people that want NAS or enterprise specs, don't go and buy cheaper desktop hdds.
I was about to reply to this saying that I picked up 2x 3TB Seagate NAS drives yesterday from ebuyer for the same price as their standard 3TB Barracuda drives (£89.99 each). Which I did. However I note that today the NAS drives are £112.72 from ebuyer, so it appears that I got lucky and your point about excess pricing of NAS drives remains valid...
Every network has shit coverage somewhere. The trick is finding one that has good coverage in the places you usually need it.
I'm on 3 because their prices are great, and their data speeds (with DC-HSDPA) and coverage are great in the places I normally go. There's no indoor coverage at my parents' house - but then EE doesn't manage that either.
Are they suggesting their survey shows that 4G encourages people to download more, surf more etc? I'm not sure how they can draw that conclusion definitively - surely people more inclined to do those things are the ones who would have jumped on the 4G bandwagon. People who use their phone less would be happy with 3G.
The conclusion I would draw is - people who use their phone more get 4G contracts and continue to use their phone more than people who have 3G.
"I'd say this isn't right - though it may be I'm slightly older than Chris"
It's your age I'd guess. I'm 35. All BBCs were replaced by Archimedes before I got to secondary school (we still had a BBC B at my primary school as the only computer). We had a couple of Windows PCs looking lonely and unloved in the corner by the time I left secondary school. I don't think Windows PCs were widely used in education until after Win95 came out (what with it being a much more familiar interface to those used to RiscOS than the god-awful Win3.1, and with the general dominance of "IBM compatible" PCs by then).
"There is a difference here. At least in terms of the F35 software example. The authors of Stuxnet went to considerable trouble to not cause accidents, which they could have and might well have been dangerous. Whereas if you play with flight control software, real aeroplanes are going to fall out of the sky, and land on peoples' heads. Not to mention what it does to the pilots. That is a different quality of interference."
This argument doesn't hold water. Playing with a nuclear reactors safety systems is potentially a lot more dangerous to a lot more people than playing with an aircraft flight system. Yes they were careful - but equally you could be careful in the aircraft system scenario. Make the fuel gauge under-read amount of fuel left, for example, thus reducing their effective flight range. Make warning lights go on more than they should - give the aircraft an undeserved reputation for unreliability, causing an expensive and unnecessary re-procurement. That sort of thing.
But it's also capable of running downloadable software. Such as Google maps. Which is, one would hazard a guess approximately as good as the original software before the iOS update. Many things featured on Apple adverts for their iDevices don't come as part of the original package, they have to be downloaded extra (sometimes at cost).
I don't see that this lawsuit can have any merit, but then I'm not a lawyer. I hope it gets rejected in fairly short order to save everyone time (and expense). Yes, people are angry about Maps. Yes, it has had (still does have?) some laughable errors. Yes, alternatives are available - many are free, some are not.
I disagree that the wrist is a poor place to put information you want to be easily accessible, but not permanently visible. I can't honestly think of a better place in fact.
However, I agree with the above posters that the target market is probably not that huge. People who are willing to pay that kind of price (or more) for a watch probably already have one which they're not going to replace with a device which looks awful, and which has additional problems (how many wristwatches need charging weekly?). If you don't wear a watch then you're not likely to be that keen to start.
I do think that Garmin might be worried about the rise of smartwatches though. Their forerunner sports watches are quite common (and almost universally cursed in my experience) amongst gadget-prone runners/cyclists. One of the biggest issues with their watches seems to be GPS lock time - something which smartphones neatly avoid by having AGPS and wifi positioning to help gain initial lock. A smartwatch worn only during exercise for linking to one of the myriad sports tracking apps does seem to be one of the most compelling usecases - I'd consider one myself, but not until they've come down significantly in price.
"I use my tablet all the time, but can't say I've ever had occasion to hold it with one hand for prolonged periods, what exactly would you be doing that you require the second ?"
Well the obvious clean answer would be to use the other hand to prod the screen for web browsing/gaming etc. Crazy, I know...
I wonder if this could mean that they'll consider a HERE maps Android app, if that bit is still owned by Nokia. That's something I'd consider buying if they could sell it for a reasonable price. Nokia maps is something I miss from my Symbian-powered N8 - downloadable maps, and better driving navigation than google maps (I don't need nav software very often, but whenever I do I seem to get misdirected by google maps at least once per journey - never had a problem with Nokia maps).
I like the concept of apps acting as remote control for everything, except in general they suck.
First problem - an app for each box, each with it's own UI, is almost as annoying as a remote control for each box. Finding the correct app to do the right thing often takes longer than reaching for the table and picking up the correct remote control (particularly for commonly used devices).
Second problem - the apps take too long to connect. And sometimes they don't connect, for no apparent reason. The sky+ app and my onkyo receiver app have both these issues occasionally. When they are connected and working, great (though switching to the right bit of the interface is often a pain) - I generally use the Onkyo app for browsing spotify rather than having to turn the TV on to do it, but for all other features I use the Onkyo physical remote (it helps that this also acts as a universal remote for the TV and sky box).
In general remote apps are a useful addition to the physical remote, but one which gets used far less (at least in my house).
I went with the cheap remote speakers option (£80 UHF speakers) rather than Sonos - and they work remarkably well, and have a better usable range than Wi-fi or bluetooth. I use them for zone 2 on my amp rather than as rear speakers - I doubt they sound anywhere near as good as my wired remote speakers (or the Play:1).
iPads can lose power when plugged into a laptop port too (my iPad2 does). Being plugged in via USB generally means the device can't sleep fully as it's expecting USB comms, so it's in a relatively high power state. If the laptop is only providing 500mA consumption may exceed supply.
You could try using a USB charge-only cable (ie one with no data wires) and see if the charging works better from a laptop, as the device may be able to enter a lower power state.
I wish I could upvote and downvote your post.
I agree with the version numbering comments, but not the comment "The worst possible outcome would be to adopt a FIrefox-style new major version every 4 months."
Why? Linus has made it quite clear his numbering scheme is based on assigning a new version number when he feels like it. How would every 4 months/ 2 years/6 days/decade really be significantly different to that? I think you're assigning more importance to version numbers than they deserve (in both the Linux and Firefox cases).
Cinnamon has had automatic tiling/snapping for ages too. The specific "new" features here (I have no idea of their uniqueness, but they are new to Cinnamon) are;
- The ability to resize snapped windows - ie if a window is dragged to the edge it will automatically take up half the screen, but you can then resize it while retaining it's "snappedness". Win 7 behaves like this, Cinnamon didn't.
- You can have a window snapped to one edge, and then other windows can't be dragged on top of it and won't maximise on top of it. I haven't seen this feature in Windows (no doubt there's add-ons which enable it).
First, let me say I'm a Mint user (though I haven't tried Cinnamon 2.0 yet - I'll probably wait the next LTS release before I upgrade as I'm happy with Cinnamon 1.8 on Mint 14). But I can't let that criticism of Windows pass - changing file associations on Windows isn't hard. Right click->Open With... find the desired application and tick the "Always use selected program" option.
"Linked-in is sh*t anyway. Not using it is more valuable than been know to have a profile."
But.. but.. but.. if you don't use linked in how can all those recruiters with those ever-so-interesting job opportunities mine your information, I mean individually read your profile and match a potential candidate with their ideal job?
RDP is pretty good - but I'd say remote X forwarding is a much better solution (and renders fine - at least on a Linux client, I don't often use it on Windows). I use both at work every day. I don't need another PC's desktop when I just want to run one app. I'm aware of Remote app - but that's only available from Windows server, cutting out many useful use-cases.
The power consumption difference for the phone overall will be so minimal with this part it seems highly unlikely to be that reason. More likely cost, or the required voltage - if they don't need 2.5V anywhere else there may be another component saved, or it might make routing the PCB easier etc.
Sky movies (on it's own) seems to be £8.99 a month through (Sky-owned/run) nowtv. I thought it was more like £15 a month last time I checked - so either they're hiding the true price or they've reduced the price somewhat (or I made the £15 a month up).
So, significantly less than £50 a month, and with a lot more choice of new movies than freeview. You pays your money (or not), you takes your choice...
I think you've misunderstood what it's for. It seems to be a replacement for "think of a question you'd like to be asked when you want your password reset" - Mother's maiden name or similar. You supply your set of tags for the image when you generate your password, and they show you the same image again when you want to retrieve/reset your password. You have to come up with (some of?) the same tags.
So although it's something used at account generation, it's not used by the server to verify that whoever is registering is a person - I guess you'd still need a CAPTCHA for that.
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