Posts by Bob Wheeler

Fix capitalism with floating cities on Venus says Charles Stross

Re: Weights and Measurements

"Now try climate modelling with particles (people)"

Was this not the basis of the Issac Azimov 'Foundation' books?

The IT Crowd tops BAFTA nominations with four nods

Re: Have you tried

and before that it was

"Go into BRS mode."

From the original IBM PC's era.

No, Minister. You CAN'T de-Kindle your eBooks!

Re: "in likelihood unconstitutional"

/joke section

I wonder if the any of the guys that wrote this was named Gordon? If so, there was asong about him – hint search for “Jilted John” circa 1978

/joke section off

Seriously, the use of “statutory instruments” is just a very lazy way of making law. There is no oversight or scrutiny before it hits the plebs.

If they want to change a law, repeal the old law and introduce a new Act under Primary Legislation.

/rant off

Just as well these guys aren’t running the country, oh wait……

Feds land first convictions over pirated mobile apps

Re: "fighting intellectual property crime a top priority"

Allowing for each country's view on "intellectual property rights" and the legal aspects of them differ greatly.

My own opinon is that they should be a civil matter rather than a criminal matter.

And yes, if I was a creative type, be it a application, or music, or anything else, I would not take it well if some other person, or company made use of my creation without my permission.

My point, maybe not well put over, was on the quote of the "top priority". If soneone was mugged, beaten up, their house was burgled, shot/stabbed etc, which of these should be a priority?

"fighting intellectual property crime a top priority"

Well, of course this is more important then fighting real crime........

Boffins working on debris float models to track MH370 wreckage

How do Autopilot systems work?

A general question.

If you set up a route on an AP, what happens when you get to the end point, assuming it does not auto-land?

Do you fly in a circle or just keep going in the same direction until you run out of fuel?

On my cay SatNav, once you get to where you are going, it basically stops giving directions even if you keep driving onwards. So in an aircraft, if the AP thinks you have 'arrived' would it stop controlling the aircraft?

Bob

Tony Benn, daddy of Brit IT biz ICL and pro-tech politician, dies at 88

TSR2/Concorde

If I remember rightly, the TSR2 super-sonic bomber was cancelled by Mr Benn. Much of the technology went on to be used in Concorde.

As mentioned by others above, while I did not like his politics, I do respect him for his intellect and honest approach. Something you can;t say oftern, if at all about many folks in the 'bubble' nowadays

RIP

Mt Gox fielded MASSIVE DDOS attack before collapse

Re: The headline is rather misleading...

Many years ago, on a holiday to the US, I was sitting at a bar and discussing with some of the locals the merits of different sports when I happened to mention that Baseball was played in the UK, known as Rounders and normally played my young girls.

My innocent comment nearly started a bar fight!

Florida bloke cuffed for pit bull shag outrage

What have tinkers ever done to El Reg?

Asteroid-hunting beauty AWAKENS, takes cheeky snaps of neighbours

"It has been sleeping for two-and-a-half years and was brought out of hibernation"

Give the cost of the equipment and shipping(!). Why haven't they found anything for it to do for the last 2 and half years?

Snowden latest: NSA stalks the human race using Google, ad cookies

WTF

Why don't they just print a bar code on us and put in RFID chips and be done with all this crap.

Thought of in-flight mobile calls fills you with dread? Never fear, US Dept of Transport is here

Re: Reminds me on that great scene from The West Wing

A great series, some of the best writing on TV on many a year.

Inside IBM's vomit-inducing, noise-free future chip lab

In our building, with large open plan seating for staff, the FM guys put up some 'sound deadening' material on one of the long walls. When you walk past this wall, the lack of reflected sound does give a distinct uneasy feeling. Not quiet as bad as the effect quoted in the article but decidedly unnerving.

Nuclear Mars tank prepares for 8-thruster dance

"onboard celestial navigation system, which was accidentally reset"

TomTom in space?

Greenland 'lurched upward' in 2010 as 100bn tons of ice melted

re:any el reg boffins out there?

GPS is used in Aircraft for navigation. It just needs a couple more satalite signles to do the maths to work out altitude.

The only question would be to what accuracy is the GPS working at. I seem to think that mill grade GPS is down to 10 or 20m at best. If so, how do you get down to 20mm?

Microsoft warns on support scams

Jolly Wizz Game

I wonder if the following approach might work well.

Them: "Hello this is the X corp support team"

Me: "Hi. This the MI5 Anti-Terrorism support Team. Thanks for returning my call so promtly, we are having problems with our 'phone traceing' software intergrating with the US Air Force Predator drone aircraft. It seems that when we trace a incoming phone call, which is done auotmatically by the way, the system passes the GPS location to the nearest Predator drone and instigates an air strike....."

What do you think?

US Army to issue Droid dev kit in July

What happens when..

the 'enemy' steals one, or just picks one up from a dead squadie. By any chance the app for showinf where friendly forces are, now becomes 'where targets are' mapping.

Massive US rocket sends top-secret cargo into space

Play Misty for me

How do you know there are stealth satellites up there? Easy you can't see them, so therfore they must be up there.

It's been a long liquid lunch today.

Beeb gets the measure of the London Eye

Re: Phone Book? What's that?

PhoneBook - It's like FaceBook but not quite the same.

Ok, I'm going back to the pub now.

Attachmate gobbles up Novell for $2.2bn

++1

"Microsoft, on the other hand, could chop out the core of Windows, and replace it with a proper Unix"

That is essentailly what Novell did with OES, wrap their Novell services around the Suse kernel

'Phantom Ray' robot warjet to ride atop NASA shuttle-carrier 747

Two minor points....

Fristly what does this robo-jet do that a cruise missle can't?

Secondly, how long will it take for some script kiddie to hack into USAF and re-program the 'planned mission' and click on the 'fly now' button?

Flying gyrocopter jump-jeep gets $3m from DARPA

Hmm, Let's think about this.

OK, so your in the middle of a war zone, A number of different ways of thinking about this.

1) The folks on the other side are shoting at you. So you call out "Hey, can ya stop shoting for five minutes while I put the wings on?"

2) You already have your wings & rotors in place and need to drive though a narrow gap. So you call out, "Hay can ya stop shoting for five minutes while I take the wings off?"

3) Driving at speed on rough/hilly gound - and the added weight of the rotors/wings do what to the centra of gravtity of the jeep?

Holiday snaps? Er, no - criminal porn

Spot On

Hey feller, I think your spot on with this.

Some folks like football, some go to church, other get the whips and chains out - a big so what as long as you don't come around to my house to watch football etc.

Certainly since the advent of digital camrars it is now so easy to take your holiday snaps by the thousand rather then the old fashioned roll of 36 kodak moments. I could not say how many holiday/party/family photos I have now but in the best prat of 10 years it is in thousands. Almost without fail I could name just about every one on those photos, or at least put the photo into social context.

However, I'm a building freak - I love odd/quaint/unusal buildings and I take a photo of a house or building as and when I see one I like. But and this is the point, I have about 2 or 3 dozen assorted photos of buildings, not 25,000. But I guess I don't have to worry as I've never seen a building posing yet!

Would You

If you have a set of photos etc on your computer, that you have no problem showing to your wife/gf/mother then it's a safe bet the pic's are dodgy.

If on the other hand you'd never want your wife/gf let alone your mother seeing them. then hit the big DELETE key etc etc etc.

ISPA slams Mandy's copyright land grab

Statutory Instrument

The consent use of "statutory instrument" by government is just pure laziness. If they want to make a new law then they should do it the correct way, of using primary legislation, that allows a full debate and convincing people on the merit of their ideas.

Labour party unveils Tweeter-in-chief

Preaching to the converted

OK, I'm dumb, I've never used or looked at twatter, or twitter whatever it's called. But is this not "communicating" only with those that actually already want to hear your message?

So this helps how?

Electropulse weapon fear spreads to UK politicos

Do these people think about what they are saying before hand?

The bit that got me laughing the most was: -

"a giant time machine that would move us back in technology a century"

So OK, a EMP blast will knock out the computers etc, but will it destory forever all of our knowledge gained over the last 100 years?

FFS where do these people live - I wont to move far away from them.

Designers conjure up wacky 'car of the future'

Why seven seats?

When on average most car's on the road's only have a single driver. At weekends is when the family go out, but then how many familes need to seat seven adults.

Home Office ditches compulsory ID card trial

Two Points

1) My local Tesco's now displays a sign stating "any one looking under the age of 25 will be asked for a photo id to prove they are over 18 to buy..."

2) If only forgien nationals are 'required' to have (not the same as carry) the ID Card - what does this do for anyone? If stopped on the street or whatever, and asked to prove who they are, "I'm a EU/British citizen guv, honest guv" - how is plod/imiigration officer/etc susposed to know they arn't?

Battle of Britain pilots actually crap shots

Time to train a pilot

A few years ago, I got myself a Private Pilots Licence.

My PPL took around 65 flying hours in total to complete. This covers the basics of actual flying, navigating by map, compass and stopwatch - no electronics or GPS used. Radio communication, flight/route planing and meteorology. In effect the very basics. A PPL allows me to fly a 'single engine aircraft, in good weather, during daylight and in sight of the ground (not above or in the clouds). For myself, I had done about 11 or 12 hours before I was able to fly circuit solo - that is to take off, fly around in a circle and land all on my lonesome. The kind of aircraft I leant on, a PA-28, is similar in size to a Spitfire or a Hurricane, just the engine is about a quarter or a fifth of it's power of a fighter aircraft circa 1940.

The Spitfire had such a powerful engine that if not careful on preparing for take off if too much power was used to quickly the whole aircraft would flip over on to it's back. If someone with too much time on their hands and wants to research how many 'flying' accidents destroyed aircraft or killed crew I'm sure it would make dull reading!

As many people have pointed out, the Battle of Britain was not won or lost due to one single element, but a vast range of different things on both sides. It was the end result that mattered.

For me, I am, and have always been in awe of the guys that flew during the war.

Bob

Judge rules Gore's film an inconvenient catalogue of errors

How good are predictions?

A general question on all the different claims and counter claims. Given they Met Officer can't predict with any accuracy what the weather is going to be next week, let alone in 10 years plus is my guess any better then anyone elses? If so, I predict that the world temperture (whatever that means!) will be 0.7825634892456841 C higher then it was on my last birthday.