Posts by Peter

Beeb tech boss seeks to expand TV licence online

Already happened in Denmark

In Denmark they introduced a "media license" which has to be paid by everyone with an internet connection faster than a certain level (I think it's 256kb/s, but I'm not sure). That's because the public service TV/radio company decided to send its programs over the internet.

Made a lot of people angry - especially those who didn't want to see TV and didn't want to pay a license, but now had to simply because they had an internet connection.

The same is happening in the mother country I see. All the same arguments about "logins" etc fell on deaf ears - despite the fact that pay-to-view internet tv can apparently cope.

Magna boils up EV kit for car makers

@7 miles

At 7 miles you should be riding yer bike. If the roads are too dangerous, no designated cycle lanes, then bug your council.

Homework late? Blame Russian hackers

lies

In the early '90s I had a "year paper" to finish off and print and deliver to my supervisor. And my printer really did break! It was an old dot-matrix thing (well, "new" in those days). About halfway through the print (after about 2 hours) it stopped working. Luckily I could borrow another printer and complete the job, but it meant I delivered my paper at about 2pm, whereas the deadline was 12noon. I was sure I would get disqualified or knocked down a grade, but my supervisor's secretary just smiled and said the deadline was really 5pm - they always just lied and said it was midday because students would always deilver late!

US Dept of Agriculture rubbishes Amish anti-RFID push

ID cards

I've lived in Demark for 15 years. I've got a national identity card. Look at all the bad things that have happened to me..... er, ok, none.

Sarkozy fails to stop sale in voodoo hoohah

Rights to my image?

Well it seems that the French courts agree that a person does not have exclusive rights to their own image - but in that case does anyone have exclusive rights to an image?

What if I look like "Barbie" - can I make a doll that looks like me and sell it? No one can have exclusive rights to my image, so anyone can make a doll that looks like me, right?

'I can see dinosaurs from my back porch'

Theory of evolution

Is there really "a theory of evolution"?

It appears to me that much as it is a FACT that clouds form and rain falls, lightning strikes, and stars shine, it is a FACT that evolution occurs.

There are theories about how and where clouds form, what causes lightning, and how stars are born and shine, just as there are theories as to how evolution occurs.

Am I completely off base here? What is "the theory of evolution" everyone talks about?

Danish court jails six in terror T-shirts case

The corrupt system

I have the good fortune to live in Denmark. The T-Shirt case and the Cartoon case are not really comparable. In Denmark there is "freedom" of speech - but it does have limitations. Drawing or writing criticisms, parodies, or even derogatory pictures or articles about religion is not forbidden by law. Therefore it is ok under Danish law to draw apparently insulting pictures of religious figures or to show Monty Python's "Meaning of Life" or "Life of Brian". And thank "god" for that. It is, though, not legal to "support terror" either financially or via direct action. One can always argue about the definition of "terror" and whether or not certain groups can be termed "terrorists". But the latest court verdict has considered that FARC is a "terror organisation" and that financial support of it is therefore illegal. You can of course disagree with their definition.

I, for example, disagree with the law which states that the maximum speed limit on the motorway is 130km/h. That does not stop me from being prosectued for cruising at a leisurely 200. The Danish regime is obviously corrupt.

Anatomy of a malware scam

windows is not a clutch

Windows has flaws, yes. So does all the software I write, and I bet just about all the software the majority of readers of Register write as well.

You wouldn't buy a car if you knew its clutch would burst into flames... no, but would you buy a car if you knew its clutch would burst into flames if someone drilled a hole in it and inserted a match. Well, yeah - who would do such a dastardly thing, and is it the clutch manufcaturer's fault if someone did?

Isn't this more analogous to the windows situation? The virus writers drill a hole and light a match. The clutch is fine until someone crawls under your car.

Fake feet trip up Olympic opening coverage

Flying/running man

I knew that was faked! No one can "run" in the air all around a stadium like that!

Schwarzenegger seizes Tesla Motors plant for California

Total cost

I too would like to see a "total environmental cost" for electric cars. One thing, while a battery may need handling for disposal, at least this could be done in a special factory which takes care of the correct treatment for noxious wastes - not like with exhaust fumes which just blast up into the atmosphere.

Granite Jesus, blessed be thy gneiss

mixture

Is mixture not the "subject" in the sentence?

The war on photographers - you're all al Qaeda suspects now

London Bobbies

As a foreign tourist in London a couple of months ago I never had any problem with taking photos. Never even had an inkling such problems existed. I even asked a policeman if I could take his photo - which he smilingly allowed. (I think with taking a "portrait" photo of a person in a public place it is at least good manners to ask permission).

Anyway - sad to hear such problems are arising. Good to hear people are questioning the actions of officialdom and giving advice on how to react.

Interstate web host foils gonzo porn baron Max Hardcore

Don't look at porn if it offends you

Hey, there's gotta be over 100 websites out there. Only 1 of them is Max's. Look at the other 99+ websites if Max's offends you.

BBC technology chief bounces on to Project Kangaroo

Bandwidth question?

I was wondering... telephone calls are priced per unit time, not in bandwidth used. If I talk in a slow deep monotone, do I use less bandwidth than someone who screams loudly in a high-pitched fast-paced tirade?

I choose Paris because. Just because.

French sites fined for linking to privacy-invading Kylie content

Google ?

Maybe I have misunderstood the point of this article, but if the crime is publishing links to websites with illegal material, then could Google also be fined if some of their results point to this illegal material?

Paris is legal, isn't she?

Ofcom urged to clamp down on broadband speed deceit

Up to means what?

If everyone (including the ISP, one assumes) knows that you never get 20Mb/s but only really get 13.1Mb/s, then why doesn't the ISP sell the connection as a 13.1Mb/s connection?

What does "up to" mean? Surely it means that at some stage you actually get that bandwidth? Otherwise the connection is not really "up to" that speed at all.

Or, if it is totally acceptable to write "up to 20Mb/s" when that is never achievable then the SMART ISP should always write "up to 100Mb/s"!

EVE Online update kills Windows PCs

@Michael

Regarding the EULA supplied by EVE, where they deny any responsibility.

Have these sorts of clauses ever been tried in a court? Can a software manufacturer really disavow any form of liability for what their product does? Could a EULA include a clause stating that if you install the software you agree to hand over all your worldly possessions to the software manufacturer - and could they get that to stick in a court of law?