Posts by VinceH

Re: Simple solution

"Don't you have to tell the device to join your WiFi, rather than have the WiFi ask the device to join? Isn't that the whole principle of WiFi... so the fact it is WiFi enabled means as long as you never let it join your network, it's OK?"

I predict that the goal of adding internet connectivity to anything and everything, pointlessly or otherwise, could be so compelling to some manufacturers that they might take it a step too far - and if you don't connect it to your WiFi within a certain amount of time, it'll scan for open networks and, when it finds one, connect. Without asking.

Solutions: chivo243 has one above. Another would be to connect the Internet of Pointless Things device to your existing WiFi, giving it an IP address that is cut off from everything.

A few recommendations in one thread... now added to my Amazon wishlist. (No point buying yet given the number of unread books I have lying around here and in my Kindle app!)

Re: Not IAP's?

"Of course not IAP. Image the scenario [snip]

I would people would use their brains before typing.

Perhaps it would also help if people read the article before replying to a comment that appears to be responding to something in said article. It seems fairly obvious to me that Cliff read the article, and saw this bit:

Why the change? Perhaps Google is mindful of the refunds it has been forced to dish out for in-app purchases, and likes the idea of giving parents the chance to cancel their offspring’s unauthorised app purchases.

And he then decided to test it - seemingly doing a little more legwork than the writer.

Re: Oneplus One

The Oneplus looks okay... but they've instantly put me off by taking the fact that it's availability is still limited, and marketed that fact such that it becomes membership of some kind of exclusive club, with those who have one being able to send out a certain number of "invites"^* and it's receipt of an "invite"^* that allows you to buy one.

^{* Yeuck. Even if I knew someone who wanted to send me an invite, I routinely turn down invites, though I sometimes accept invitations. Except when it involves becoming a member of an exclusive (or, as in this case, faux-exclusive) club - whether it's an invite or an invitation, they always get binned. Wake me when the phone is more generally available, and I'll see how it compares to the competition and decide then.}

Re: I don't get why it's important to be first

I believe this is about the time I trot out this old post:

Calm down, dear, it's just a computer.

"Is trolling allowed for journalists? It wasn't like you offered any other options.."

Quite. The only options were:

• Two new phones, a watch, and unicorns for all
• I'm sorry, you assumed I even care

And the following three options were definitely not there, oh no, not at all, no siree (Siri?) no:

• A new phone and watch, but we'll have to wait months for either
• Just the phones. You waxed off all that wrist hair for nothing
• Only one new iPhone. Everyone will grumble and then buy it anyway

"I don't know much about cool, but what I do know is that if James Bond has a bunch of fans who follow him about, he will need to get a new job."

Okay, so he wasn't actually following Bond about, but I'll just leave this here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Q35Pj6cvBGs#t=39

Re: A true Roomba competitior..

"It can with the optional Chainsaw Attachment!"

Or make the version two a little more like this - both in appearance and what it does.

Re: Forget the article for a moment...

And there are probably thousands of cheap copies gathering dust there, too.

Re: Which samples were used?

"Do I choose my own security over that of Windows users?"

Bottom line: Yes.

You should trust that said Windows users are themselves adequately protected - or if you are in a position where you deal with or advise on their IT, you try to make sure they are - but on your computer, your security comes first.

Re: Why?

"The details of the deal between the Rays and the app developers aren't made clear, but there is more going on here than the Reg article suggests."

Indeed. Another important point El Reg neglected to mention was to whom they shelled out the $2,500, which was explained in the linked article: Two others who were there before them, and therefore seem to have found a neat way to make a few bucks (provided they get the timing right, and don't end up camping out too long to be the first in line to sell their places!)

Re: Mic on drone

"I'm wondering about the idea of putting a microphone on a drone. Would it ever record anything but engine noise?"

It's probably there simply as a result of being a standard feature of the camera - pointless, really, but it just is. If you (as the operator) are bothered, you can just replace the audio with a nice (suitably licenced) piece of music, or other audio.

"Google is blaming Apple here for an app that it wrote, whereas safari (written by apple) doesn't have this issue (yet uses the same web view). QED Google has written there app to the same standard as usual which is as water tight as sieve !!!"

WTF?

If the platform itself doesn't prevent this, then the platform itself - and therefore its provider/developer - is at fault. That's iOs, and therefore Apple.

Re: @Splodger

"Really? I've got a new laptop arriving this afternoon from a consumer oriented vendor, that offered me various flavours of Win 7 or 8 from a drop down list*"

I suspect that by "your average punter" he probably meant the type of person who will go to a shop and buy their computer off the shelf rather than confuse themselves with the options presented to them via drop down lists on a website.

Re: Optimisation missing

"Since it's doing substring matching there's no need to include both "poof" and "poofter", "shit" and "shite" etc. (Incidentally there are several three-letter strings there which will also match all sorts of innocuous stuff)"

Actually, El Reg's report has that a little wrong. In the article, they've said:

"And while we're forced to agree that “bollocks” is far too weak a word to use as a password, the code is clear that you can't even use bollocks within a password: if (password.match(/\s+/g,'')) then you'll get marked down."

Well, that quoted line:

if (password.match(/\s+/g,''))

Is actually checking for whitespace.

The list of naughty words is done next, by first putting them in an array (badpassarray) and then turning that array into a single string, with each word separated by a vertical bar:

var re = new RegExp(badPassArray.join("|"), "i");

It's then using this:

return(pwd.match(re) != null);

To return true if the password is contained in the list, false if it isn't.

(So it is checking for substrings, but in exactly the opposite way that the report says. AFAICS. So 'scunthorpe' is a perfectly acceptable password to that bunch of silly scunthorpes at Virgin Media.)

Re: VinceH - a fair point

"I write software as well, I'm fairly sure that some of the assembler I write has been written before (and I've been doing it since the late 70's), just how many combinations of 0's and 1's can you get, jeez I just want the value on a pin."

I think that's best answered with a well known quote from Aristotle: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

"Give us a clue then, how much of your stuff has been used (without your permission) by others ?"

There have been a few isolated instances, which have been resolved.

One case with software was a result of a misunderstanding between me and two other parties.

Another was with some photographs, and I had to get a bit threatening with the organisation involved, but faced with legal action they removed the pictures from their website. I could have pushed for some payment for the time they had them online, but I'm satisfied they were removed.

The first example, though, which left me rather bemused at the time (1991/2ish?), involved some budget games I sold at the time - not realising I was the programmer, and person behind the software company selling them, someone actually offered to give me copies of the games that he had bought... from me! I was very restrained and polite, and we had a good laugh about it - but I've no way of knowing if he (or anyone else) ever copied them for others.

"'I doubt I would have ever bothered' isn't evidence, in fact I think you would have persevered (and succeeded) whatever obstacles were put in your way."

That's just an assumption, though, and not something either you or I can say with any certainty. It's possible, sure - but I think that for it to have been practical, there would need to be some way to legally protect what I've created, to ensure some means of making an income for it. Such as a legally protected right to copy and sell what I produce; a right that nobody else has unless I bestow such a right upon them. We could call this right to copy a copyright.

If not that, there would need to be something else in place - and, right now, I can't imagine what that could possibly be. So as far as I'm concerned, if you want to argue against copyright, a part of that argument needs to include an alternative.

I will add that I am not opposed to making the life of copyright protection much shorter than it currently is - because it is too long. And more protection needs to be given to individuals rather than corporate entities, because its the latter who take the piddle.

"You want to protest about secrecy laws invasion of privacy etc while trying to keep your faces secret?

Doesn't seem such a reasonable question with that fix, does it?

Re: I fear for the future

"It's too bad the comments are being voted against; I was hoping to nominate such luminaries as:"

I would definitely have offered up the Shadows as a suggestion.

Oh, and why are so many uninformed crazy folk suggesting that Daleks should be lumped in with robots? Don't you crazy people realise that there is a living creature inside a Dalek?

[On why Old Who is better than New Who...]

" yes, it was science fiction but it also attempted at times to explain the science of the time.

Why does that comment suddenly cause me to conjour up an image of Jon Pertwee sat at a table on which he has constructed something from a tea cup and some coat hangers, and other odd things just lying around, to act as some kind of sensor. I wish I could remember what episode it was, but I can't.

You're a tinfoil hatter. :p

More seriously, if those concerns are valid (not that Google has any form, of course... ahem) then it doesn't make a single jot of difference if you say "no thanks" - the problem is other people saying "yes please".

Re: The title is too long

"Should start the review with that."

And end it there, too.

Re: this sounds like a "you won a $1M dollar, just sign here" deal

"Agree with the "start of a b movie" comment above :P"

Or the start of a classic Carry On Caper!

Re: @VinceH

"The shuffling of the programmes down was something that was done way before the B+ or B+128."

Yes, it was - but with the extra memory to play with, it could be done differently. I wrote a fairly generic¹ bit of 6502 code for the purpose - which, I'd guess, probably did similar things to the ROMs you mentioned. Not that I can remember in any great detail now.

I wish I still had that computer.

^{1. Fairly generic for the stuff I had, tweaked slightly for some which were a little nastier, IIRC.}

Re: Maybe...

A very underrated movie, IIRC. I might watch it again soon.

Re: Well

"Talking to your watch is only uncool now because Apple hasn't got one outtoday's yoof don't know about Knight Rider."

FTFY!

Re: Meanwhile, laser light appears

Don't worry, they'll be mounting them on frikkin' sharks first, for testing purposes.

Re: Copyright aping nature.

"Looks like the simians are alive and well working at the various copyright offices of the world."

Well, we already know they work at the USPTO, so why not the copyright office as well?