Posts by Chris G

Hell hath no fury like a radar engineer scorned

2.5MW

Sounds a little high for airborne radar but clarification would be interesting.

UK Home Secretary doubles down on cops' deeply flawed facial recognition trials

I always get the feeling that Sajid Javid keeps shouting about anything even slightly controversial, because if he didn't, we would all forget he was there and ignore him.

And he's right!

Facebook: The future is private! So private, we designed some handy new fingercams for y'all!

Re: Talk about reality distortion

To advertisers, it's a great benefit.

The New Digital Photography

I wonder where this is going?

Now that's just offal: Heap of pig guts hog road after truck spills load in Kansas City

The emergency services must have been gutted when they turned up.

We have the best trade wars: US investigating French tech tax plan over fears it unfairly targets American biz

Re: Taking a cut?

A lot of the Chinese sellers on eBay, AliExpress and Amazon ship from HongKong, Dutch or Other warehouses out side of mainland China so they are paying local taxes to some degree.

Whether or not it is full whack I don't know. I know many of them also maintain stock within the US so are paying some kind of local tax there too.

Presumably some states offer better options than others.

Let's join the sanctions club

The way it's going, any country that does something the jaffa or US corporations don't like he imposes sanctions. The rest of Europe is also looking at ways to gain revenue from tax avoiding megacorps so they are likely to be in the line of fire too.

The sooner the entire world is under sanction the better then we can get on trading between us and ignore the protectionism from the yanks.

They can sit behind their wall or pay some tax and do reasonable business.

Added: The US has this notion that a world free market economy is where they are free to have the market they want anywhere in the world.

Scots NHS symptom checker pings Facebook, Google and other ad peddlers

Re: "Scots NHS symptom checker pings Facebook, Google and other ad peddlers"

Without charge? Didn't know that.

In Spain we get whatever drug is necessary regardless of cost at the standard prescription charge, the NHS limits the cost so won't prescribe many expensive drugs even though they do a better job. At least that is what I am told by a senior nursing sister, I have yet to visit a doctor here, though most of the expats I talk to have good things to say about the system here.

Re: "Scots NHS symptom checker pings Facebook, Google and other ad peddlers"

Since they are going down this route, the least they could do is provide a link to eBay Canada so that Scots have a choice of cheap drugs to bid on.

Train maker's coder goes loco, choo-choo-chooses to flee to China with top-secret code – allegedly

Re: Fat Controller

China has relied on a massive rail network for decades, it has been the mainstay for moving goods around the country for years, I doubt the US system could teach them much.

In addition the 'spy' went to an automotive company, I'm not sure what use these file would have for them.

Re: What a bunch of bollocks!

A couple of things are certain, the Chinese won't be trying to steal the recipes for Budweiser, Hershey bars or Taco Bell from the US, they can throw random crap together and still have a better product.

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean Google isn't listening to everything you say

Living in a cave.

When I was looking for my current house, based on price I had a lot of house offers from the Granada region of Spain, you can get a very nice cave house down there for under 50K (Euros). Cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

London cop illegally used police database to monitor investigation into himself

Fine balancing act

That's garbage, all access should be limited to strict identification and authentification so that all access is easily traceable and that goes double for access from non police organisations.

Access should be tracked at all times and records of access kept for a minimum time period, if silicon valley does it routinely, I am sure it's not beyond the wit of police forces to do it.

Queen Elizabeth has a soggy bottom: No, the £3.1bn aircraft carrier, what the hell did you think we meant?

Re: RN waives the rules!

"They could always re-institute the press gang"

What? Get journo's to crew Naval ships? You would have to bring back the rum ration.

Re: There it is...!

I can source very large amounts of catapult elastic from Alibaba, they give excellent Free on Board quotes.

Oh good. This'll go well. Amazon's Alexa will offer NHS advice

Re: How Big?

"He most likely has a cushy manager job waiting for him. He wouldn't be the first one."

That was exactly my thinking.

How long before he joins other ex government staffers with links to the NHS who have 'Migrated to the companies they have been working with?

Boffins ready to go live with system that will track creatures great and small from space

Beware

Can this system track guard leopards in basements?

It would be useful to know.

Yorkshire bloke's Jolly Roger flag given the heave-ho after council receives one complaint

Little Britain

Or at least the small minded attitude of Britain's administrators.

It is absurd that a Brit can't fly his own flag without planning permission, Union flags are considered racist and any other flag is a target for any petty mind that passes by.

Chinese government has got it 'spot on' when it comes to face-recog tech says, er, London's Met cops' top rep

A significant part of this problem aside from the obvious to ntrusion of privacy, is the likely attitude of the officers when stopping a flagged individual.

If the individual, who knows they are guilty of nothing, is then indignant or angry at being wrongly detained, the plod will immediately treat that as ' resisting arrest', disturbing the peace' or some other spurious charge that can be used to further detain the individual. One to get their own back and two to teach the individual that it's the police who have the power and are in the right, not citizens.

Police thinking is that we are all guilty until proven innocent or they will make us guilty as they did with the chap who coveredhis face in the FR trial in London.

Medway Council reforms eforms to stop blurting out residents' details

Curious as to what data (if any) the council provides for Feacebook to slurp on the council page without getting prior consent from the owners of the data.

I don't know but it's been said, Amphenol plugs are made with lead

Re: keeping swappable spares in stock might make sense

The ' Better to have it and never need it' rule works for just about everything.

Blackburn ain't big enough for the both of us: Mr Creamy and Mr Whippy at the centre of new ice-cream war

Apparently

Mr Softy can't keep a girlfriend.

Re: Things are getting heated

"I wonder if ice cream vendors suffer from a split personality?"

Yeah! and some of them are a bit flaky.

Things are getting heated

They should find some way to cool things down.

Radio-controlled racing car smears some rubber over Goodwood track

Well, at least if 5G controlled taxis take off, you won't have to listen to the cabby's current take on the weather/ politics/ immigrants, etc.

BOFH: On a sunny day like this one, the concrete dries so much more quickly

Remember, you want at least 20 cm depth of concrete poured over anything organic, it holds the smell back.

Heavy black plastic membrane before the pour is good too.

Oz watchdog claims Samsung's leak-proof phones ad campaign doesn't hold water

I have a three year old Ulefone Armor2, it is rated IP68, the blarb said you can take pics under water down to two metres.

I have done that in seawater on several occasions as well as carrying it in a not very watertight stash bag when sea kayaking.

I have had no problems with it at all.

Just as well it's waterproof as it has a huge battery, is heavy and sinks like brick in water, I bought it for its dust and water resistance and it does what it says on the box.

Re: I have a great idea!

For normal use outside of aqueous environments just fit it with a water jacket, pump and radiator.

The Steampunk crowd will love it.

Metropolitan Police's facial recognition tech not only crap, but also of dubious legality – report

Re: It's in its infancy, but it will improve

Matt! Is that you?

Engineer found guilty of smuggling military-grade chips from the US to China

Chips with weapons grade salt and vinegar.

Trump: Huawei ban will be lifted!
US Commerce Dept.: Yeah, about that…

@Roger B

Are you saying in 2024 that Ivanka is going to stand for election?

As for the Entity list, I don't think the Orange Oaf fully understands the consequences of his decrees. It's not enough to just say ' It's all right now' and have everything undone, stopping an avalanche requires a bit more effort than starting one.

YouTube mystery ban on hacking videos has content creators puzzled

Re: " ... hacking is not a derogatory term ... "

Of course it isn't. When one is out enjoying the countryside with other companions on horseback, stopping off at some point at a good alehouse to quaff an ale or before returning to the workaday world. I have been hacking since the early sixties without once damaging any software.

Mine's the hacking jacket.

Cui bono

One or two channels that I follow have had videos demonetized for various reasons regarding content that You tube says prevents them from selling ad time but that hasn't stopped them placing ads at the beginning of these same videos when I click on them to watch. If You tube are not paying anything to the content provider but are still placing ads they are using spurious arguments to deny payment to the youtuber while pocketing the money.

Apple fakes intimacy in our dead-eyed digital world with software fix

Uptight and in the groove baby

I am fairly sure no computer or other mechanical contrivance has officially taken over any of my intimate personal moments, my wife would notice immediately.

Google's Fuchsia OS Flutters into view: We're just trying out some new concepts, claims exec

Re: A new OS from Google

Boston Dynamics is more likely to get involved in Human harvesting than data.

Think robotic APPs (Advertising Protection Police)

"You have failed to provide your weekly telemetry quota" BBRRZZZT!! "Please come quietly for re-education".

Serious Fraud Office fines Serco £22.9m over electronic tagging scandal

I think this is an acronym for: Serial contract offences.

I hope the DPP is or has gone after those who were working for the company at the time.

Paying money back shouldn't exonerate them from the crime.

14 sailors die aboard Russian cable spy, er, ocean research nuke sub after fire breaks out

Re: What Would The Opposite Of 'Covert Spying' Be ?

"Lets hope Trump will let go when his time is officially up."

I dunno, I think he would look quite good in an orange pseudo military dictator's uniform.

Shortly before he has to change it for orange overalls and an hour in the exercise yard each day.

More households invite creepy smart speakers indoors: Arch-slurper Google top dog for Q1

According to my neighbour, neither Amazon or Google respond to Catalan, at least not the Valencian version of it.

After I explained some of the downsides he has told his wife that this technology is not permitted in his house.

I got 502 problems, and Cloudflare sure is one: Outage interrupts your El Reg-reading pleasure for almost half an hour

Old man shouts at cloud

That was me, I was also shouting at a pc and a tablet!

Poetic justice: Mum funnels £100 into claw machine to win single Dumbo teddy for her kid

I think this comes under the misconception that 'I'll do anything for my kids' is the same as good parenting.

This kid fortunately was too young to learn either a out parenting or how stupid his mother is.

Cop a load of this: 1TB of police body camera videos found lounging around public databases

No doughnuts were harmed or dunked during the filming of this evidence.

Will that old Vulcan's engines run? Bluebird jet boat team turn to Cold War bomber

The BAC 1-11 was a nice plane, in the '70s I worked on airframes and did the physical installation of a glide slope indicator on one belonging to the current Saudi King (then crown prince).We flew it ti Luton to try a couple of passes to test the landing aid. Our Chief engineer skippered so I was No2 and got to play at the controls, the chief wouldn't let me try an actual landing though .

A Register reader turns the computer room into a socialist paradise

Re: Socialism

@Antron Argaiv

I think you are confusing wants with needs.

Former UK PM Tony Blair urges governments to sort out online ID

Tony Blair inspires me

But not to do anything legal though arguably good, at minimum he needs a good slap round the head, there are a plethora of choices regarding slapping equipment.

What exactly is 'a decentralised ID system'?

The UK does need something simple and functional though, as an expat in Spain I have no UK address, when I had to get my name taken off the deeds to the house I bought and left to my ex wife, you would believe the difficulties from not having three utility bills etc. The Courts would not accept my Spanish ID even with the UK being a so called European country.

White House mulls just banning strong end-to-end crypto. Plus: More bad stuff in infosec land

The Great American Firewall

(Others may be included)

But the rest of the World will probably carry on with secure banking and trading while the US alliance will be targeted by every cyber criminal who wants to take a pop at making some money or screwing the US economy .

I don't have time for a longer rant but everyone here knows how it goes anyway.

This weekend you better read those ebooks you bought from Microsoft – because they'll be dead come early July

Knowing microshaft, I get the feeling that sometime in the not too distant future they will announce that ' we have listened to our customers and we are bringing back ebooks' .

They will then go on to explain how fantastic your new user experience will be with the new more expensive annual licence fee.

Re: Dont need DRM

Baen books are excellent, I have been subscribed to them for getting on for two decades.

Stop using that MacBook Pro RIGHT NOW, says Uncle Sam: Loyalists suffer burns, smoke inhalation and worse – those crappy keyboards

Re: A crazy idea

(Jony???)

He's an Essex boy and probably can't spell.

Or, it's a designer's affectation. He has made a hell of a lot of money and gained famed from not doing/designing much.

DeepNude deep-nuked: AI photo app stripped clothes from women to render them naked. Now, it's stripped from web

@chuBb

It's older than the internet, mags like Oz in the 60's and others were doing it in a photographic darkroom and I am sure they weren't the first.

This is probably as old as photography.

Re: Admit it

For anyone suffering mental distress from the images conjured by the above.

I have a mindbleach service at reasonable prices and offer a choice of psychotropic or blunt force solutions.