Posts by Jón Frímann Jónsson

Microsoft pimps bogus Windows 7 'launch parties'

Intresting TOS of hoseparty.com

The TOS of the houseparty website are a intresting legal nonsense. They say this thing here.

"Your Agreement to Be Bound By These Terms of Service

Please read these Terms of Service carefully before browsing or using this Website. By browsing or using this Website, you are agreeing to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not AGREE to be bound by these Terms of Service, you MAY NOT use This Website.

[...]

License to Use Your User Generated Content. By posting User Generated Content on or through this Website, you are granting House Party a perpetual license to use, exploit, copy, perform and display publicly (including, in the case of sound recordings, to perform publicly in digital audio transmission), distribute, and prepare derivative works based on your User Generated Content, in whole or in part, in connection with (a) the promotion and operation of this Website; House Party events; the House Party business and brand; the products, services and brands of the company that sponsored the event to which your User Generated Content relates (the “Sponsor”); and the products, services and brands of the Sponsor’s affiliates, and (b) in any other way expressly permitted under these Terms of Service or our Privacy Policy. We will not, of course, use your User Generated Content or other personal information in a manner that violates our Privacy Policy.

The license you grant to us is non-exclusive (meaning you are free to license your User Generated Content to anyone else in addition to us), fully-paid and royalty-free (meaning that neither we nor any downstream users are required to pay you for the use of your User Generated Content), fully sublicensable (so that, for example, we are able to sublicense your User Generated Content to our Sponsors and to visitors to this Website, who may to access, use, transmit, stream, download, print and further sublicense your User Generated Content); worldwide (because the Internet and this Website are global in reach), and fully assignable (so that, for example, if we sell our business, reorganize, or merge with another business, the new owner may continue to operate this Website under the House Party brand or another name). This license may be exercised by House Party and its sublicensees in any format, media or technology, now known or hereafter developed. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these Terms of Service, to the fullest extent permitted by law, you waive any and all claims you may now or later have in any jurisdiction to so-called “moral rights” with respect to the User Generated Content, and all rights of rights of privacy or publicity in, or approval rights with respect to, your User Generated Content.

[...]

"

They may claim that. But I don't agree. I recommend that people avoid this legal crap, it is not good for your health.

Exposed activist accuses Tiscali of putting life in peril

Off the record people

I guess the company is in huge problems now. Because they are never going to be trusted with off the grid people (aliases people and such). I also guess that regulators are going to go over this company with a detailed investigation soon.

EU releases 2G GSM-reserved spectrum into wild

Using 3G 900 in Iceland and Finland

They are using 3G 900 in Finland and Iceland at the moment. I am Iceland, so I know. But Siminn has started to use 3G 900 few weeks back on remote areas (but they need use 3G in towns too in my opinion).

But it is good that EU has opened the 3G on 900Mhz for all.

Who wants T-Mobile UK?

GSM phones today

All GSM phones today, are at least two band. That is, 900/1800 Mhz. High end phones are quad band, that is 850/900/1800/1900. The article has it wrong when it says that T-Mobile users can't use 900Mhz, they can, if the service provider offers it.

With time, all GSM networks are going to be converted to 3G networks. As 3G 900 is already starting in some countries in Europe. Finland already uses it, as an example. 3G on 1800Mhz is also going to be used in the future, but for the time being 3G is only going to be on 900/2100Mhz. In most places, only 2100Mhz.

Microsoft: 18-month Windows 7 downgrade rights

Like people care what Microsoft says...

I can see people caring when they wipe there computer, installing either Windows XP or one of the Linux distro out there.

Cartoon lion urges Lancs kids to dob in terrorist classmates

Groundwork for WW3

I see that they have started the groundwork for WW3. Nothing good will come out of this.

Ready or not, IPv6 is coming

IPv6 ready

I am IPv6 ready. Why isn't The Register IPv6 ready. I would love to get more usage out of my IPv6 connection.

ping6 -c 4 theregister.co.uk

unknown host

Aussie firewall blocks Wikileaks

Avoid the blocks

The blocks are performed on DNS level. There are two ways to bypass them. Use OpenDNS and your own DNS (Bind). I recommend both, as it is a good idea to run your own DNS server.

Unencrypted traveler data laptop disappears then reappears

Not surpriced....

I am surprised that this didn't happen sooner. Airports appears to be (at least most of them) to be criminal heaven. It is quite common that thieves steal out of checked in luggage. That same luggage is supposed to be secured to start with, but isn't.

How do I know that airports are thieve havens ? I got robed at Schiphol in Netherlands.

Airport security is a myth like Bigfoot and Jesus.

MS takes Windows 3.11 out of embed to put to bed

I once used Windows 3.11

I once used Windows 3.11 long time ago. Even longer ago, I used Windows 1.02. But that was back in the 8080 and 8088 days. No internet back then.

Son of 419 victim contacts El Reg

A variation of a older type of scam

This is a variation of an older type of scam.

See here for greater details.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_fee_fraud#Fraud_recovery_scams

Wireless wonks celebrate 35th anniversary of first cell call

European mobiles

According to this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_Mobile_Telephone) web page, the NMT system was just about to be ready when they made there first call over in America.

So even if America was the first, it came darn close to be the second one. But this is just the first automatic mobile network, the manual mobile networks had been around for quite some time before 1973.

File-swapping Icelanders slapped on wrists

It also says in the ruling

The Smáís did use an guy that did share stuff, with permission from them in order to spy on them on the people how where sentenced by the court.

The district court doesn't appear to have looked at that info. Even if the person in question (that was sharing and spying) did testify in court what it was doing. The thing is that it is illegal to do something that tricks people into breaking the law. But that was done in this case none the less. Today I don't think he is going to spy on anyone, as his ip range has been made public and I believe that it is now banned everywhere where there is an p2p site (torrent today).

The people how got convicted are going to appeal to high court according to the news in Iceland.

The person that did the spying is also connected to the istorrent case. But apparently he was doing the Smáís dirty job by collecting data on istorrent and forwarding them to Smáís. So they can start the sue things. I hope that this method gets under fire soon, as Smáís isn't a law force and private investigators are illegal in Iceland.

Smáís is the evil hand of MPA/A here in Iceland.

Sony Ericsson site indicates Xperia 'arc slider' set-back

Can I install linux on it ?

Can I install Linux on it? Windows isn't trusty you know.

Swedes demand return of heraldic lion's todger

It's Ireland

Iceland doesn't have an army. Few wannabes, but nothing more then that. Ireland however appears to be in the Nordic battle group according to this web pages.

http://www.mil.se/index.php?c=news&id=32771

http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/9133/a/82276

"On Januari 1, 2008, Sweden, together with Norway, Finland and Estonia and possibly Ireland will constitute the fifth European battle group out of eleven planned. The preparations have been going on for some time. Among others the NBG-headquarters in Enköping have been assigned with personnel. The ceremony on last Monday constituted the inauguration of the unit's headquarters and the subordinated units in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Estonia, who will be training the incorporated units in the Nordic Battle Group."

Quake rocks Britain

About earthquake measurements

I am interested in earthquakes and have been long for a long time and I also live in Iceland. So I pretend to know something about it. The earthquake on the mainland crust aren't common, specially this size. So when BGS says there is about one of ML5.3 (local scale) (EMSC uses mb4.9 scale, mb = body wave, http://www.seismo.ethz.ch/redpuma/magnitudes.html) earthquake every 10 years or so they really mean it. However, that is just given for one location. So other locations might be ready to crack some rock and make an earthquake.

Regarding the last notice, it is almost correct. I say almost, because I know that it is better to have more sensors closer to the epicenter of the earthquake then a really far away from it. Reason for that is the magnitude of error (location, size, depth) increases when the distance increases between the station and the earthquake. So for BGS it would be better to have more sensors so they could properly locate an earthquake when it happens. This is also about tracking aftershocks, but most of them appear to have been really small, one news sad one ML1.8 around 04:00. But smaller earthquakes don't get reported to USGS or EMSC, for EMSC the minimal size is ML2.0, for USGS it appears to be around mag 4.5.

BGS can report live size data on there web page, but I would think that the list of earthquake would be small or empty most of the time.

The reason for earthquakes in the UK is the fact during the early (not sure exactly when) period in the earth history there where active faults and volcanoes what is now UK. From time to time the old faults get active and make one or two earthquake.

The earthquake was detected by people interested in earthquakes in the UK and Netherlands. Also, according to a geologist that I spoke to with today at Icelandic Met Office about the earthquake in the UK it got record by them on few stations in east Iceland.

Finland censors anti-censorship site

Google censors the web page too

It appears that google.com (.fi) has started to censor this web page also. Helping the Finnish government is repressing the freedom of speech.

This can be confirmed by this google.fi search.

http://www.google.fi/search?q=+%22lapsiporno.info%22&hl=en&lr=lang_en&as_qdr=all&start=90&sa=N

"In response to a legal request submitted to Google, we have removed 1 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read more about the request at ChillingEffects.org."

Google is obviously is clueless. They just take the legal claims without checking them at all.

ISPs baffled by Gordo's 'plans' for web terror talks

Gordon Brown nonsense

Gordon Brown doesn't have a clue about terrorism. Given there current status of terrorist crackdown and there record in the matter. I would say that the internet in the UK is all for dead. UK is also getting close to hit my travel list ban because of how oppressive the UK government is starting to be.

It is interesting to notice the fact that they are just as clueless about the internet as they are about real terrorism (RIA didn't create this much fear did it? It was for my time, so I ask), like the plan that they did discover last year in regarding blowing up air plains with a chemical mixture in a liquid form. But as we all know (well, some of us anyway) that plot was all but a fantasy and lies.

It is also a interesting fact that they (UK and the US) are unable to stop islamist hate sites on the internet. The people doing the real take down are usually black hats that are annoyed and angry.

B3ta served DMCA notice for Photoshop Prince challenge

Someone sue Price

I recommend that someone, EFF or someone with enough power of for just being fed up with Price so him for abusing the DMCA law and other copyright law. In in the case he gets sued, I hope he gets 100.000 years worth of jail time. He should give him a plenty of time to think about his own stupidity.

Boffins dredge up oldest living animal

It was already dead....

Given that I live in Iceland and see this type of shells on the coastline. I am sure that it was already dead when they found it on the coastline. But this type of animals live in the deep ocean, not on the coastline.

But I don't think they know for how long the animal had been dead when they found the shell.