* Posts by Graham Marsden

6899 publicly visible posts • joined 19 Jan 2007

Honk if the car in front is connected

Graham Marsden
Pirate

Re: I see some potential in this...

And what happens when some miscreant figures out how to hack into the system and shut down your car whilst you're driving along a deserted country road...?

Twenty classic arcade games

Graham Marsden
Thumb Up

Another one for Tetris!

I've just read all the way through the comments and you seem to be the *only* person who's mentioned Tetris!!

A brilliantly simple but incredibly addictive game with nice touches like the little Russian figures in the windows who would applaud you when you completed a level.

They'd also do a little victory dance, but if you hit a button, a hook would come out from the side and snag them around the neck and drag them off! (If you timed it right, they'd duck it the first time, but get caught the second time :-) )

Graham Marsden

Re: Early Vector Graphics Cabinet

Yep, Tail Gunner, with the proportional joystick, so it needed precise fingertip control rather than just "shove it all the way in the direction you want to go..."

Graham Marsden
Thumb Up

Re: Dragons Lair

The best part about Dragon's Lair was the glitch whereby if you played two-player and player two finished before player one, player one would then get infinite lives to complete the game.

I used to get extra game money by offering to do this for others in my local arcade :-)

Graham Marsden
Thumb Up

Re: Vanguard (loved the music)

Did you know that the music that played when you got the Power Up in Vanguard was the Hawkmen Attack Theme by Queen from the movie of Flash Gordon!

Gordon's ALIVE!! :-)

Graham Marsden
Thumb Up

Xevious

A game I loved, becasue if you knew where all the bonus life Flags were and the towers etc, you could (like I once did) play for 1 1/2 hours on one 10p :-)

Graham Marsden

Re: Happy memories!

Outrun was great. One afternoon once, for the hell of it, I completed the game by every possible route and had all the high scores on the game in the Students' Union :-)

Samsung's next smartphone to scroll by watching your eyes

Graham Marsden
Thumb Down

Wouldn't work for me...

When I'm reading on a screen (eg El Reg!) I use the scroll wheel so the text I'm actually looking at is in the section between 1/3rd and 2/3rds the way down the screen because that is most comfortable for me.

Something like this would just annoy the hell out of me and would be switched off PDQ.

New Japanese craze: Knickers for iPhones' nether regions

Graham Marsden
Happy

Well it makes a change...

... from those knickers which have a section in front so you can put your phone into them and set it to vibrate...!

Storage glitch sends Curiosity into safe mode

Graham Marsden
Alert

Just a moment... Just a moment...

... I hope that's not the AE-35 unit that's developed a problem...!

Health pros: Alcohol is EVIL – raise its price, ban its ads

Graham Marsden
Boffin

Educate...

... Don't legislate.

That is all.

Apple, Facebook, Google: Same-sex marriage 'a business imperative'

Graham Marsden
Thumb Down

Re: Really

" From what I've heard, it's a "don't ask/don't tell" type of thing in the Arab world."

No, it's more a case of "Don't ask/ don't get assaulted, flogged, stoned or murdered" type of thing.

Brit firm PinPlus flogs another password 'n' PIN killer

Graham Marsden

Re: At least 15 years ago

On another forum I use there's someone from Denmark (I think) who posted a pic of a system they use.

You've got a 9 x 9 grid with thicker bars marking out 3 x 3 boxes (like Sudoku) and you write your PIN in four of these, then fill in the empty squares with the numbers 1-9. All you have to remember is that your PIN is eg the top left numbers in boxes 1, 2, 3 and 4 or the four corners of the middle box or the first four digits, reversed on the bottom row or...

Boffin shows pics of germs grown on SPOTTY STUDENTS' MOBES

Graham Marsden
Thumb Up

B-Ark....

... but think of all those new jobs that could be created for Telephone Sanitizers!

Razzie voters drive stake through Twilight

Graham Marsden
WTF?

@JDX Re: probably closer to the actual public's view of the commercial film scene

"The actual public's views are measured by bums in seats"

If that was the case, then Eastenders and Coronation Street should be winning BAFTAs...

What's NFC? PayPal lobs Chip and PIN readers at UK small biz

Graham Marsden
Thumb Down

@sugarbear Re: So...

"The worst that could happen is that the trader will know your PIN number. "

Yes and that's a prima facie excuse for the Card Company to deny liability for any fraud on the card.

And how difficult would it be to create a gizmo that, when you put the card in the slot, also reads the mag stripe?

And this doesn't even get near PayPal being so willing to reverse a transation and take money out of a Trader's account based on the say-so of a customer and *then* maybe start looking at whether the complaint was actually valid...

Official: More than 7 million Brits have NEVER accessed the interwebs

Graham Marsden
Coat

Are you over 75? Want some more information on how to use the internet?

Then visit our website for details...!

US woman cuffed for 'booking strippers for 16th birthday bash'

Graham Marsden
Boffin

" likely to be injurious...

"...to the physical, mental or moral welfare of a child younger than 17"

So how is this "likelihood" determined? What studies have *actually* demonstrated that such behaviour is "likely" to cause this? Or is it just based on supposition and narrow belief that "we think this is wrong, so it should be illegal" without any proof?

What do you think, boys and girls? (If you're old enough to be allowed to think about this, of course...!)

Curiosity drills into Mars

Graham Marsden
Alien

Re: 'Drop' blunt bits?

Well exactly! Bits of parachute, heat-shields, dead landers and rovers, not to mention deflated airbags ...

Honestly, how is an alien suposed to keep their planet tidy??

The cheap 3D craft pen that scribbles over 3D printing hype

Graham Marsden
Thumb Up

Re: Printer to pen ratio?

"When one day an expedition was sent to the spatial coordinates that Voojagig had claimed for this planet they discovered only a small asteroid inhabited by a solitary old man who claimed repeatedly that nothing was true, though he was later discovered to be lying.

"There did, however, remain the question of both the mysterious 60,000 Altairian dollars paid yearly into his Brantisvogan bank account, and of course Zaphod Beeblebrox's highly profitable second-hand biro business."

Iceland thinks long and hard over extreme smut web ban law

Graham Marsden

@veti Re: Parental Responsibility

You're taking a big leap from parents being responsible for what their kids see to society being responsible for ensuring that that happens and, by inference, everyone else's rights being restricted to "think of the children".

As for your other Straw Man arguments, I'll treat them with the contempt they deserve.

Graham Marsden
FAIL

Re: Parental Responsibility

"What about the children who have parents who don't give a shit about them?"

So *your* subtext here is that we should *ALL* be treated as children in the vague hope that, somehow, it will help protect those who have crap parents...

Graham Marsden
Facepalm

Re: About this proposed ban

Ah, he's obviously someone from the Icelandic branch of the "I don't like this, so you shouldn't be allowed to see it" brigade...

Graham Marsden
Thumb Down

"a 2010 study by the Icelandic government...

"...which concluded that kids exposed to footage of extreme hardcore action and youngsters actually physically abused shared the same signs of trauma."

And did they study any and all *other* groups of children who had not been exposed to this footage, nor who had been actually physically abused to see if *they* also shared the same "signs of trauma"?

(And what were these "signs" anyway? Remember "shaken baby syndrome"??)

Graham Marsden
Boffin

Re: Parental Responsibility

"Why is it always parental responsibility rather than societal responsibility?"

Because they are not MY children. They are not HIS children. They are not SOCIETY'S children.

They are *YOUR* children. YOU brought them into this world, it is YOUR responsibility to bring them up properly, NOBODY ELSE'S!

Google misses privacy-policy deadline, incurs EU wrath

Graham Marsden
Coat

Help! Help!

I'm being repressed!

Nursing watchdog fined £150k for confidential unencrypted DVD loss

Graham Marsden
Facepalm

What to do with the money...

A simple fine like this is pointless, taking money from one organisation and sending it to another one isn't going to make a difference.

What the ICO should do is say "You will budget this money to conduct a comprehensive review of your data security procedures and ensure that proper measures are implemented to ensure that it does not happen again".

That way the money will actually do some good.

Dutch MP must cough €750 for hacking into medical lab

Graham Marsden
FAIL

Punishing whistle-blowers??

Fining this guy, let alone fining the patient who gave him the information is ridiculously stupid and counter-productive because the only thing it's going to deter is someone else exposing completely inadequate security procedures!

These are people's health records, they should be kept completely confidential and only be individually accessible to those who have a need to view them for a specific purpose, not "log in and cruise around until you find something you like"!

HYPERSONIC METEOR smashes into Russia, injuring hundreds

Graham Marsden
Pirate

Don't you mean...

... how it all ends?!

Graham Marsden
Mushroom

ITYM...

... "Put your head between your knees and kiss your arse goodbye!"

Irony alert: Pirate Bay accuses anti-piracy group of illegal copying

Graham Marsden
Big Brother

Irony...?

... ITYM Hypocrisy from the people who are trying to enforce laws which are to the benefit of the Media Companies' obsolete business models.

Google Play privacy SNAFU sends app buyers' details to devs

Graham Marsden
Devil

Re: Permissions probably

Not forgetting that that legalese is most likely presented in a tiny little window that shows about four lines making it virtually unreadable and meaning you have to scroll manually through it.

Not that they'd do that deliberately so you'll just click on "I accept" of course...

Shocked jocks' O2 calls crossed with Brummies, now everyone's cross

Graham Marsden
Big Brother

"able to listen in to what should be private communications...

"...without the knowledge of those making them"

And, of course, it's only the Government and Security Services who should be able to do that...

Zombie CISPA cybersecurity bill rises from Congressional grave

Graham Marsden
WTF?

"The Republican-controlled House of Representatives...

"...may be willing to overlook the privacy failings of the bill in exchange for a chance to put one over on Obama."

So they're anti-Big Government and state snooping and all that sort of stuff, apart from when they can play partisan political games...

Google exec defends search snooping, location tracking

Graham Marsden
Big Brother

"unless you've been searching for tips on how to suffocate someone"

Oh really?

And what if you wish to experiment with erotic asphyxiation?

It's dangerous, certainly, so the best thing you can do is to find out as much information about it, but if something goes wrong in a consensual scene (cf the Jane Longhurst case) how is google going to know whether you were planning on killing them or it was just a tragic accident? Answer, they can't.

Forget about presumption of innocence, forget about privacy, forget about due process, google says you've looked at this, so obviously you're guilty!

EU: We'll force power plants, Apple and pals to admit hack attacks

Graham Marsden
Boffin

Point Missed: Re: More work for Mr Jobsworth

The idea is not to "frighten the criminals" the idea is to get businesses and organisations to actually admit that they have flaws in their security and *DO* something about them instead of just trying to sweep it under the carpet for fear that it might affect their share prices (and thus bonuses).

Astronomers unravel solar system's strange energy 'ribbon'

Graham Marsden
Happy

Re: Am I the only one

Star Trek... what?

Jammy b*stards: Admen flog chocolate bars with 'Wi-Fi-free' zones

Graham Marsden
Devil

Blocking wi-fi legally...

... just get a crappy old microwave oven with poor shielding and leave it running!

Kids as young as FIVE need lessons in online safety - NSPCC

Graham Marsden
Boffin

"ChildLine is sending workers to every primary school in Britain...

"...to talk about the issues affecting each age group"

I hope the parents are going to be there, because *THEY* are the ones who are responsible for their childrens' safety. Not the schools, not the ISPs, not the Government, not you or me, but *THE PARENTS*!!

Still, there's one possible good outcome of this, perhaps when this generation of kids grows up and some of them go into Government, we'll start getting rid of some of the ludicrous laws that have been introduced by the "We don't like this, so you aren't allowed to see it" brigade...

Kirk to beam up chat with ISS astronaut on Thursday

Graham Marsden

Re: Look, lets sort this out...

And when they're voted off...

... Look out, Captain... AAAARRRGH!

FTC issues new privacy guidelines for mobile firms

Graham Marsden
Big Brother

"Wanted: a Do Not Track for mobile"

Unless you're the government (any government) of course.

Snooping on movement can reveal smartphone PINs

Graham Marsden

@Martin Budden

"I've seen this done on a website. Not sure what the point was there"

Was it an online banking site? If so, the point is to stop the possibility of a trojan monitoring the position of your mouse pointer when you click on the characters of your password on screen.

RIM ends Reg headline pun filth (and launches two new phones)

Graham Marsden
Joke

Angry Birds not available?

Well that's a deal-breaker right there...

Hacker faces 105 years inside after FBI 'sexploitation' arrest

Graham Marsden
WTF?

Re: Duh!

Yes, of course, because nobody should have *any* such "saucy snaps" just in case someone else gets their hands on them...

City heat leak can disrupt high-altitude winds

Graham Marsden
Trollface

Sshhh!!

There's a couple of El Reg staff writers who wouldn't want to hear this sort of thing...

Mozilla blocks auto-loading of plug-ins by Firefox

Graham Marsden
Happy

Well that's ok...

... since I have Flash Block installed meaning *I* get to choose when and if Flash content plays!

Revealing new pics of galactic princess Andromeda

Graham Marsden
Alien

I can see...

... my house!

Iran develops working ICBM: Intercontinental Ballistic Monkey

Graham Marsden

Re: Muslims in Space

I read some years ago about a Muslim who was in the US Navy and who had the problem that, since the ship could often be manoeuvring, it was very difficult for him to pray towards Mecca.

He asked his Imam who apparently told him "Which is more important? That you pray towards Mecca or just that you pray?"

Oh and to some of the posters above, I don't share his faith, I don't have any religious beliefs, but I'm willing to respect his Right to hold those beliefs in the hope that he will reciprocate and not say "You must think the same way as me" as certain fanatics do...

Japan promised Ultra HD TV broadcasts two years early

Graham Marsden
Meh

Re: Meh!

And wonderfully detailed replays of an over-priced prima-donna collapsing in feigned agony when they get the slightest touch on their ankle...

Filter Great Firewall of China's architects at US borders - petition

Graham Marsden

Re: Oxymoron?

Ah, but you see it's *different* when we do it...!