* Posts by Identity

363 publicly visible posts • joined 20 Aug 2009

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BBC explains 'All your Twitter pics are belong to us' gaffe

Identity
Coat

Slight attitude adjustment

"If only all ownership worked this way, I would have an enviable collection of very expensive sports cars by now."

No, Andrew, you'd have the USE of several very expensive sports cars by now. As soon as you parked it in plain view, it's new 'owner' might drive it away. Unless you plan to keep them in a locked garage — that would be theft, man!

BTW, the Dutch tried this with bicycles — witte fietsen (white bicycles: Google translation of description at http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&u=http://uitvindingen.nationaalarchief.nl/uitvinding/witte-fietsenplan&ei=Fm9KTsyWJunz0gGf7p3rBw&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=11&ved=0CGUQ7gEwCg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dwitte%2Bfiets%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dseamonkey-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:unofficial%26prmd%3Divns). Unfortunately, people kept stealing them and repainting them...

Ik heb de vieze regenjas....

LinkedIn U-turns to appease peeved users

Identity
FAIL

Don't see why...

they couldn't have notified everyone by e-mail. After all, they send out network updates and such to all and sundry every day! Laziness, duplicity or stupidity?

Xpress yourself: Quark sold to M&A outfit

Identity
Meh

Just a small word of kindness

I have to agree with all the above assessments of Quark the company, up until very recently. Every aspect was customer-unfriendly (one story: I taught it on the college level, which required dongles. Needless to say, kids would occasionally walk off with them. You could not buy one replacement — you had to buy a bag of 50!)

But with the advent of InDesign eating their lunch (and dinner), the have shaped up Quark the application, and it is now quite capable, doing interactive and web as well as print, and works well if a tad quirkily. Even the people are nicer.

Shagbook won't take Facebook thrust lying down

Identity
Facepalm

What is to become of the English language?

now that it is to be subdivided and owned by our Corporate Overlords? What with Apple owning "i" and "pod" and Facebook owning "face" and "book?" What's next? And do I have to pay them for using their words in this post?

Apple eyes phallic iPhone, iPod charger

Identity
FAIL

Think of the dogs!

""Note that the vibrations can be generated in a non-audible frequency range (...greater than 20K Hz) to prevent users from hearing the acoustic charging signal,"

Four illegal ways to sort out the Euro finance crisis

Identity
FAIL

Too late now, but...

I said from the inception that the Euro was misconceived, because it would lead to exactly the problem faced today. It would have been far better to create the Euro as an overlay currency, backed by the underlying currencies. That way, exchange rates between, say, the drachma and the Euro could fluctuate, bringing poor management home to roost and making the Euro a more stable currency.

On first day, Apple sells 50 Lions for every lion

Identity
Terminator

I beg to differ

People are quite genocidal, and we seem intent on a long term plan to extinct our species!

Chinese coal blamed for global warming er... cooling

Identity
Holmes

Memory problem

How quickly they forget! I remember the 70's, when we were worried that particulates in the atmosphere were going to cause a new ice age (if over-population didn't get us first). We would go out in a blaze of glory, as those emissions would create magnificent sunsets.

Then, in the 80's, we realized that those particulates were not just cooling and beautifying the Earth, but they were causing acid raid, acidifying and killing lakes, trees, etc. Here, in the States, we largely got a handle on that and the effect moderated to ignorability.

Now we worry about climate change (or, as the uninformed and self-interested like to call it, global warming). Even though we can say with certainty that anomalous conditions with ominous portents have become more and more apparent in recent years, and that man has pumped an extra large dose of unnatural emissions into the atmosphere for around 150 years, with no sign of genuinely slacking off, "the level of scientific understanding [is] low."

The fact is, we're dealing with a complex system, here — more complex than anything we've had to deal with before. The idea that we're dealing with a simple problem (ie: warming vs. cooling) misses the point entirely. We are dealing with multiple variables, folks, and you know that you can solve such problems only in terms that incorporate one or more variables — no perfect solution that answers all questions is likely possible.

That said, if we are to live up to the name 'homo sapiens,' we ought to proceed with prudence over self-interest and immediate gratification. There are ways to arrange things so we can get most of what we want and need without being so wasteful.

EFF backs away from Bitcoin

Identity

It's not dead

— it's just pinin' for the fjords!

Intel teaches machines to build own device drivers

Identity
Stop

I'm always amazed

at the dchotomy between developing cool new automation tech and the need of the workforce to have jobs. Don't fire your coders *yet* indeed!

We really need to think ahead about how we will deal with an economy where having a paying job in order to eat is no longer something everyone can do, as jobs from supermarket clerk to computer programmer go to machines...

Gordon Ramsay menaced by enormous TURKEY

Identity
Childcatcher

Seems just like...

"Chef," only without the humor, acting or writing.

German boffins win prize for 'MP3 for phones'

Identity
Facepalm

I like the fact...

that the guy who was so unsatisfied with the speed of the existing codec is named Schnell! And Markus (Mark?), to boot!

This page has been left intentionally blank

Identity
Coat

But what can she do?

With a little help, she can stand up!

Royal Weddings, PCs and Cameron's brass balls

Identity
FAIL

Just stopped by to say...

In the middle of my reading of the article I had to stop to comment because of a notably faulty assumption:

"This isn't just a function of greater population either, as that second chart shows. Real production (and therefore real incomes) per capita have been rising as well."

In point of fact (in the US, at least) productivity has risen steadlily since at least 1974. In that same period, incomes (unless your happen to be a corporate officer or one of the top 10% in wealth) have remained stagnant. While this means that advances in technology has given us better toys, and thus in some ways a higher standard of living (if you can call it that — are we really happier watching our flat screens than we were sitting on the steps taliking to our neighbors [who?]?) Medicine has gotten better (for those who can afford it, here) but we didn't have AIDS, legionnaires disease, SARS nor ebola.

Using money to measure such things is a tricky business at best. Consider: we used to make a lot of things from asbestos (thank-you Johns-Manville) and much GDP was generated. Then, we discovered it was distinctly unhealthy. Workers and ordinary folk needed medical treatment, and much GDP was generated. Those who were harmed brought the lawyers in, and much GDP was generated.Then, the asbestos had to be removed, and much GDP was generated.

I worry when a discussion, however cogently argued, is based faulty assumptions. I'm not throwing out the whole thing, but remember that old computer dictum?

GIGO

Pope says gravity proves technology can't supplant God

Identity
Grenade

OK, let's start an argument...

No problem reconciling for me. I believe in "God by definition:" everything that exists and the organizing principle thereof is God. We try to understand this via science. As such, God does not micromanage the affairs of a few puny mammals in some corner of the Universe.(cf: religion)

BTW, "a red rag might when waved before the proverbial bull" — presumably a Papal bull?

One-armed Maine residents whip out switchblades

Identity

Not in the US

Fed, y'know...

US gov 'transparency' websites targeted for big, fat budget cuts

Identity
FAIL

What a great saving that'll be!

Now we can pay for approximately 1 hour 50 minutes of war in Iraq and Afghanistan! (SOURCE: Dept. of Defense)

WTF is... 3D printing

Identity

Seems to me...

I remember reading on these very pages a couple of years back about an 'Ozzie gel' who'd invented a way to print solar panels.

Jesus Phone brings the DEAD back to LIFE

Identity
Coat

Irrelevantly...

<i>"these fanboi and fangirl medics were split equally between the two groups."</i>

To keep up the insulting tone, shouldn't that be 'fangrrl" or "fangurl?"

Kogan turns consumers into working capital

Identity

Not at all new

This is how retail giant Sears started. Sears went to a trouser manufacturer and ordered something like six gross of trousers. "Are you sure you can sell all of those?" asked the kindly factory owner. "I already have," answered Sears.

This really seems like just an evolution of the 'just in time' principle. It's interesting to note that there's a name for people who use this system when it all goes wrong: JITheads

Judge offs ivi.tv

Identity
Stop

Shape of things to come?

I hope not...

Global warming will not cause 'permanent El Niño'

Identity

Let me get this straight...

We're going back to the Cretaceous period, when I believe there were no humans about, to show that climate has huge cycles? Mastery of the obvious, I call it. BUT, 100 years (an insignificant amount of time, geologically) is pretty well permanent for any given human...

Evil grain-speculating OVERLORDS will starve us ALL

Identity

Where the rubber meets the road

All well and good, from an economics and monetary point of view, but reality has a harsh way of dealing with (some) people who mistake the map (money) for the territory (food, etc.). Others profit handsomely.

There is no way to accurately predict, say, a drought in Russia, floods in Australia, political turmoil in Ivory Coast (re: chocolate), etc. ttuk speaks of hedgers, as opposed to speculators, who (IMHO) do provide that valuable economic service. The rest are just trying to run up the price, so as to profit. In the US, the price of wheat has little effect, since it's a very small part of processed food (other costs include other ingredients, packaging, distribution and advertising). But if you are living on, say $300/year, such price rises affect you deeply. The profit of someone in Chicago matters not to you, and you will see such a person as hurting you — despite other natural causes, diversion to other uses (biofuels, etc.), demand growth, etc.

Supply, as regards food especially, is not infinitely elastic. (Reminds me of a client of mine who learned that virtual memory can increase usable RAM space. He converted his whole drive to VM and then wondered why his system ceased to function.)

Perhaps we should add Malthus to our reading list, along with Smith...

Identity
Unhappy

Humpf!

Nobel prize-winning imbecile, to you. But of course, you know better than everybody --especially those Scandanavian boobs .

AOL buys Huffington Post

Identity
Terminator

Regardless of content...

As a charter subscriber to AOL (the financial pages are pretty good and it makes a great spam trap), I rarely read their political coverage as it strikes me as right-wing propaganda a la Faux News. While HuffPo was originally deemed pro-Democratic and leftist, they've taken to going after Obama (and not without reason, IMHO), so I wonder what effect Ariana's tenure is going to have on AOL's political slant. BTW, AOL says they're currently neutral...

Who are the biggest electric car liars - the BBC, or Tesla Motors?

Identity

Isn't that

groinal?

Identity
Stop

All that notwithstanding...

In future, stunts like this will have to become irrelevant. Present tech means the only viable solution is to exchange batteries if one must make a long, electric trip. Next gen batteries may change all that, but really, what's the goal here? Seems to me we all know that oil-powered cars have many drawbacks, especially in terms of expense and the environment (considering drilling, refining and driving). One assist I have proposed to (and been ignored by) the US Government is to offer tax credits to businesses that replace commuters with telecommuters. The many benefits include less pollution, fewer road accidents, less wear-and-tear on the roads (hence less maintenance expense, hence lower taxes), easier travel for those on the roads and people in their neighborhoods able to watch out for crime and other mishaps.

While this doesn't answer the electric car question, it seems logical to try every mechanism from new personal transport means to public transport to making such transport unnecessary. Not that it is a wholly good thing, but in the US, retailers are closing due to online shopping and the Post Office is struggling due to e-mail. One thing is nearly certain: despite the fervent desires of certain Reg hacks, we cannot continue as we have, world without end.

Top CEOs agree: US is down the crapper

Identity
Black Helicopters

This kind of myopia may not be a *wholly* American disease, but...

To paraphrase Harlan Cleveland, we're trying to solve twenty year problems with five year plans staffed by two year personnel with one year appropriations based on quarterly results. It's no wonder we're heading for disaster — our priorities are hopelessly screwed up. In fact, we barely have any! This country seems to "function" on what I call bumper-sticker thinking (as in, it's not a philosophy if it doesn't fit on a bumper sticker). Demagogues are quick to offer sound bites (which by the way, a recent study shows are getting *shorter*!), but long-range problems require long-range plans AND implementation. Meanwhile, our short term needs and wants trump them (Can't deprive fishermen of jobs, so [according to Pew research] over 92% of large ocean-going fish are extinct. Can't have 'furriners' takin' our jobs — keep 'em out, so immigration raids deprive farmers of labor so apples rot on the ground as no Americans want to work so hard for so little (and pay raises are out of the question due to international competition). Can't pay so much for goods (or lose profit) so offshore manufacturing to China, et al, and then complain about where all the jobs went.)

Frankly, the lack of a sense of irony from CEOs who helped fuel the current state of affairs would be laughable if it weren't so dire. Negative feedback loop, indeed!

My own crackpot scheme (once we've managed to destroy society and maim civilization beyond recovery — which we're working hard to do — is to try it without money. Money and profit has added an irrational secondary (but controlling) layer to human activity that is inimical to survival and sustainability. As Douglas Adams put it, "On the planet Earth, happenings of humans revolve mainly around little pieces of paper – and these little pieces of paper had a lot to do with the happiness and sadness of humans, which is strange because the pieces of paper were neither happy nor sad. In fact, the most they did was suffer in silence as they were passed around, torn, and occasionally used to light cigars."

There is a long argument to be made about why incentive and competition a) don't work like it says on the box and b) should be as passé as Westward Expansion (which also worked and favored progress — for a while.) So as not to go on for pages and pages, if you want to see my reasoning, go to http://www.lulu.com/product/file-download/the-root-of-all-evil/6525035

DARPA working on eyes-in-the-back-of-your-head hat

Identity
Coat

Hmmf

My mother always claimed to have this function, and that was 50 years ago!

OTOH, I can certainly wait for, "Oh God, my eyes have crashed!"

Mine's the one hanging next to the white cane...

Prof to drill camera into own skull

Identity
Big Brother

My mom

always used to talk about having eyes in the back of her head...

Sony soars, sinks, soars on Apple buyout rumor

Identity
Terminator

Does no one remember

that pre-Return of Steve, the rumors flying around about Sony buying Apple?

Artist crafts Kevin Bacon bacon bust

Identity
FAIL

Sadly(?), for baconlovers everywhere

"bacon bits" stateside are usually a textured soy product...

Google search index splits with MapReduce

Identity
Terminator

Trivia

Does anybody remember the 1970 movie "Colossus: The Forbin Project"? <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064177/> A giant AI supercomputer (2 actually) attempt to take over the world...

VW to eliminate worst road hazard: drivers

Identity

Some additional info

See:

http://www.woehr.de/en/projekte/budapest_m730/index.htm

[automated garage]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0097tld

[hydrogen powered vehicles]

Google, Verizon offer net neutrality proposal

Identity
WTF?

@Eh?

And just how do you propose we regulate, if necessary? Our system requires hearings to get the facts. When those hearings are blocked by bad acts it seems prima facie evidence that the actors are doing something wrong they don't want to get out or be challenged. If, indeed, their so-called 'network management' is justified, legal and in the interest of the public, it shouldn't be hard to prove that in a public hearing. Why are you defending Comcast?

Identity
Stop

Actually...

Google is offering a public DNS service and trialling fiber to the home.

Identity
Stop

Whitewash

Andrew, your description of Comcast's antics minimizes what happened. If not a 'conspiracy,' why did they pay people to sleep in the seats at a Boston FCC hearing? Charity for the homeless or blocking criticism?

As for no harm yet, the reason l'affaire Comcast made a stink, is it is now not done — whether by rule or custom. I refer you to the man who jumped out of a skyscraper window and said, at every floor, "So far, so good."

Nude trampolinist bounces free from court

Identity
Coat

Britain's Got Talent

Where's Simon now that we need him?

The Camel: Nokia unveils user designed phone

Identity
FAIL

Taken from history

The (in)famous Edsel was created by polling people as to what they wanted in a car. Thing is, I understand by all accounts (I was WAY too young to drive), it was a pretty good car — it's just that no one bought them!

Life on Earth gets wiped out every 27 million years, say boffins

Identity
Coat

Unscheduled disaster?

Should we schedule them, then?

Antarctic glacier melt maybe 'not due to climate change'

Identity
Boffin

Hmmph...

Once again, the Reg denial desk is in action. (I echo those who note that El Reg's climate stories are always on the denialist side — this isn't objective journalism, it's bias.) As I've said before, this is an incredibly complex system, of which our understanding is merely scratching the surface. In the current case, it might be useful to compare a similar outflow in Greenland, where it's been shown to be fed by a feedback loop — the more it melts, the more it melts and the faster the flow. Isn't it just possible that, even though geologic forces would have resulted in increased outflow sometime in the future, that event has been sped up human interaction with the environment?

Pacific islands growing not shrinking, says old study

Identity

Ah, complexity!

As a veteran cynic, I have no objection to the idea people will try to aggrandize themselves by any means. And yet...

As any one who's followed the spam wars can attest, let there be a disaster, and someone will try to profit from it — but that doesn't mean the disaster doesn't exist!

These systems are so complex that, frankly, we don't really know what's going on. We're more like the seven blind men and the elephant. For instance, no one has mentioned that with increased CO2 comes increased ocean acidification, which is deleterious to coral (note coral is dying in places the world over). Even if coral build-up is mitigating tidal effects, there's no guarantee this will continue into the future, and it would be foolish to depend on it.

Plainly there's lots of symptomatic evidence that something is happening that will change the way and where we live. And it doesn't look like an improvement.

Picking at the bits is like saying, 'Look how it snowed in Washington! Where's your global warming? Climate change is bunk!' (as in, weather does not equal climate) Throw in a bit of selfishness and you've got yourself a real recipe!

But, you know, argue all you want. It doesn't matter to nature or physics. We'll just have to deal with the consequences...

Identity
Grenade

also

because fraud requires intent to defraud. Apparently Andrew believes these people are laughing up their sleeves and snickering, instead of believing that their homes are in danger. I think they are convinced of the danger, whether correctly or not.

Prince Charles, Stephen Fry and IBM to save the planet

Identity
WTF?

Think first

What is growth? As we think of it today, growth is either increased productivity or profit. Using up a resource and replacing it with another is not growth. In aggregate, it more resembles Agent Smith's assessment of humans:

"Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment. But you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area.

"There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus."

On the other hand, stability refers to more of a steady-state phenomenon — where society is not rocked economic vagaries. The search for growth (in terms of profits) has led in no uncertain terms to the current economic debacle.

There is no reason why we can't have sustainable prosperity, with invention and discovery, but without profiteering.

Identity
FAIL

Faulty assumptions lead to bad results

"Economic stability requires growth," stated Taylor.

—Only if the whole economy is a Ponzi scheme!

74 Democrats defy Obama man's net neut plans

Identity
Stop

Not true

Actually, "financial reform" is no more than a PR ploy, and the financial industry is relieved. See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/financial-reform-a-win-fo_b_587728.html.

No, indeed, pols are pols...

Feds seize $143m worth of bogus networking gear

Identity
FAIL

Evidence

"Cisco officials said they had no evidence that any of the counterfeit networking gear contained backdoors."

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

New drug spray 'makes men as soppy as girls'

Identity
Boffin

Sorry for the lack of humor

but this is old news. Oxytocin is also known as "the trust drug." People (men AND women) when subjected to it tend to trust and love everybody. (I know, some imbibers react like this, but others get nasty, morose or just fall asleep.) This would be dangerous stuff for someone with bad intent to have!

Oracle charges $90 for Sun's free ODF plug-in

Identity
Pirate

Not at all surprising

This is the same business model used by schoolyard drug dealers -- give 'em a little something for free, and then when they're hooked, charge 'em up the wazoo. But that's capitalism for you. At least you wont have to go cold turkey...

Memristors can maybe learn like synapses

Identity

Interesting...

Seems consistent with the unproven-but-generally-observable tenet of chaos theory called entrainment.

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