Posts by Paul Anderson

UK IT consultant subject to insane sex ban order mounts legal challenge

So,

at what point do we officially recognise that 'guilty until proven innocent' is a thing of the past?

O2 customer data grab: Not-a-hack creds for sale on dark web

"bad actors are taking advantage of this laissez faire attitude". Really ? I didn't know Andie MacDowell was a hacker.

Microsoft cries UNINSTALL in the wake of Blue Screens of Death™

I've been saying for some time now that quality control and the delivery mechanism in Microsoft Update are both stuffed.

There she blows! Mid-October release date for Windows 8.1 sighted

There there

Stop crying on your keyboards, luddites. I manage with Win8 just fine and using it's not exactly rocket science.

YES, Xbox One DOES need internet, DOES restrict game trading

Re: Microsoft: "We're always listening to our customers"

Nice to hear an intelligently expressed view JDX.

Personally I think that sale of new games is affected by availability of trade-in options. I usually buy 2nd hand, but sometimes new if it's a game that I want. The thing is, I wouldn't have bought some of those games new if I knew that I wouldn't be able to claw some of my cash back by selling on. So ultimately how much does the publisher benefit from stopping me selling my games ?

XBox / PS market share is still a big factor. If PS4 doesn't allow resale blocking it will likely gain some market share from XBox One as 2nd hand gamers switch. If MS stick to their guns but perceive this threat too they will likely pressure publishers to allow resale as, after all, MS still have to licence the games, right ?

Some good news here is that EA actually stopped their 'online code' requirement for multiplayer in games bought 2nd hand, so maybe they will allow resale and others too.

Re: In the news

No.

Keyboard, you're not my type

Worst Invention ?

I have to say I think the keyboard might be the worst invention in history to have gained traction and become ubiquitous. Right from the very start they have been seriously flawed, failing to prevent those typewriter hammers from locking together, having poor layout and causing the left hand to be used more than the right. Fast forward to now and what have you got ? 10 fingers and about 100 keys (hello ?!), terrible layouts, etc. I hate laptop keyboards most of all. Can't manufacturers decide somewhere sensible to put the likes of '\' once and for all. I actually prefer tablet on-screen keyboards - at least you are forced to adapt from the start and aren't caught out by the placement of the odd character.

If only speech recognition could live up to its promise.

Latest Java patch is not enough, warns US gov: Axe plugins NOW

Agreed, Tuxtester, and a really important point that writers are missing. The vulnerabilities are in JVM / Java Runtime Environment. JavaScript is OK, right ?

Oracle patches Java 0-day, goes to Defcon 2

I don't know the last time I found the need to install Java RE on a computer. The default desktop image should really exclude it these days.

New tool jailbreaks Microsoft Surface slabs in 20 SECONDS

Re: Run *any* desktop software of their choosing?

Absolutely right, Dave! Readers should be clear that this will *NOT* allow Windows RT to execute desktop software code compiled for x86, as Windows RT and the Surface RT run on ARM, not x86.

This story needs correcting!

Review: Dell XPS 12 Windows 8 tablet-cum-Ultrabook

Atom Clovertrail

Why are they not building these hybrids with the Atom Clovertrail SoC ? Come on Dell! Lighter, quieter and more battery time.

Software sucks these days - and just maybe it's all YOUR fault

Dishonest and Just Plain Wrong

"It does leave me wondering, has software quality gone downhill? " Definitely! I've worked in the infrastructure and support biz for 20 odd years and see a steep decline in software quality control. It's so bad that with some packages, even from big vendors for infrastructure, features and even the install script itself can be Dead On Arrival. It never ceases to amaze me the garbage developers hoist on customers. It's dishonest and just plain wrong. The car analogy is an old one, but still absolutely valid. Would you tolerate a Ford dealer telling you that you have to wait for the MK2 upgrade just to get the stereo to work ? We (customers, sysadmins, buyers, support) are far too tolerant.

Google expects Apple to block its not crap iOS maps app

Re: Antitrust law?

Agreed. I don't understand why they were all over Microsoft when they bundled IE without Browser Choice and you could still always install another browser, yet they're not all over this kind of thing. It almost seems that Apple is so litigious that no-one dare confront them any more.

Thanks ever so much Java, for that biz-wide rootkit infection

Re: Lets not just blame java here

Relevant vulnerabilities exist in Windows and Java Runtime Engine. The attack vector starts with Java then goes into Windows from there. Assuming it's using Java.Awetook, the payload is downloaded from a webserver in J2RE then executed in Windows with elevated privileges. Both MS and Oracle may be responsible for vulnerabilities and security weaknesses here.

Disable Java NOW, users told, as 0-day exploit hits web

Does This Exploit Have a Name ?

Does this exploit have a name. Symantec's reference to Java.Awetook may be it, I'm not sure. Anybody know ?

Ice Cream Sandwich still a no-show for most Android users

Re: The moral of the story

I agree with you in principle. However, I'm not sure how the 'average' person like me could put this into practice. You're talking about opting for a higher spec phone (more RAM, CPU cores, etc), but these cost more money which isn't available to the likes of me :-(

Tesco in unencrypted password email reminder rumble

"it's hardly the most wretched of security sins."

Yes it is. I seriously believe this is a sacking offense. Any DB Administrator, developer or SysAdmin who creates a password store (database or otherwise) and doesn't employ proper encryption or hashing techniques needs to be shown the door without question. Hashing passwords before storing them and not e-mailing them but employing the password reset method is a fundamental necessity and common knowledge in IT. I've been e-mailed a few of my passwords myself and it does my head in.

Re: Epic fail

That's the bottom line, Jimmy.

PS: Can you tell Robert Plant he still owes me a fiver ?

Microsoft picks October 26 for Windows 8 launch

Re: Windows 8 Metro, it's really just Vista reincarnate

Ok Tristan. How exactly is Win8 'Vista incarnate'. Let's look at the whole Vista fiasco. First of all, it was not a commercial flop as it deployed to millions of PCs and I still know people who are running it. It was, however, an engineering cockup, with a architecture, driver model and security which caused no end of problems with hardware compatibility. Then there was the slowdown due to countless background tasks. So good riddance Vista. But hang on, what has this got to do with Win8 ? Vista's UI elements, such as Aero Glass, the new task switcher, etc., proved very popular. Win8's UI elements (i.e., Metro) have been subjected to a lot of criticism (not from me), but even the Preview (beta) releases of Win8 have proved surprisingly stable and fast. So much so, in fact, that I would consider Win8 Release Preview faster and more reliable than Vista ever was, and it's still not the release build.

Is it possible you're just hopping on the Luddite, Win8 bashing bandwagon ? ;-)

War On Standby: Do the figures actually stack up?

Devil's in the Detail

This is a very interesting article - good work Reg!

I think the devil really is in the detail when looking at corporate and domestic power consumption. There really is a strong tendency for QUANGOs and so on to over simplify the data in order to produce reports and send a clear message to consumers. The trouble is, doing this is unscientific and produces very inaccurate figures, which are then rubbished and this gives the climate sceptics more excuses not to change.

This article really does help put different types of power use in perspective.

Microsoft unveils Windows 8 'release preview' for June

Re: CD

Well said! LOL!

Had they used the Consumer Preview before criticising it they would realise the ISO download is actually only 2.5GB - 3.5GB.

Windows 8 diet exposes Microsoft's weak ARM

Re: Like Win8, Don't Like Badly Researched Articles

Fair comment, but I still don't think MS created Windows RT with specialist devices in mind.

Like Win8, Don't Like Badly Researched Articles

OK, ***I LIKE WINDOWS 8***. There, I said it! I even like Metro. I have used both since the Developer and Consumer Preview releases and am especially impressed with the performance. I'm also liking the look of the new Windows family member for low form factor, touch PCs - Windows RT.

It seems that a badly researched article will spawn a slew of lowbrow bashing from people who appear to know little of the subject; luddites, Linux fanbois, etc. I fear that many of you people work in tech fields - how sad!

To Gavin Clarke, I would say this. Do your research:

1. There is no doubt whatsoever what sort of device Windows RT is aimed at, as can be seen by the countless and detailed Build blog posts and other MS material available. It's *not* aimed primarily at specialist devices like e-readers. It's aimed at low profile and highly mobile devices that require reduced power consumption available with ARM instead of Intel chipsets. Slates (think iPad like devices), low profile netbooks, etc., and, yes, perhaps some specialist devices too, although Windows Embedded is there to service their needs already.

2. No group policy management ? Really ? This is absolutely no big deal. First of all, Windows RT is primarily of interest to consumers, not business. Secondly, it's *new*. Give MS time and I'm sure they'll add GP management. Having been rebuilt with a new shell (MetroUI) and architecture for ARM licenced chipsets, it's practically a brand new operating system.

3. Will naming WoA (that's Windows on ARM) Windows RT confuse developers ? No, unless they're as ignorant as you. WinRT, speaking as a non-developer so maybe not using the correct terminology, is a programming framework for Metro style applications and is the same in both Win8 (x86/64) and Windows RT (ARM). A Metro app will therefore almost always run in both Windows 8 and Windows RT, unlike a Desktop app, which will likely be x86/64 only. Simple as that!

Honestly people, research, use the tech and give it a chance first, before you comment and dismiss it and especially if you intend to write an article on the topic for a credible site like El Reg!

Super Micro to launch AMD render cloud

What About Lag ?

I've heard of this before and it's interesting, but one big question remains - how on earth will it cope with lag ? Won't gamers' control input suffer enough of a delay between their, say, pressing the fire button and the shot going out, to actually render such a platform unsuitable for gaming ? It's bad enough having 100ms lag in a multiplayer game between my own console and the game host. What would it be like if it's between me and the hardware I'm using ?

Apple's iPad - fat iPhone without the phone

Hype

So good to hear about the chinks in the armour when all else I hear is hype. Excellent work Reg!

Drugs, hookers and cranked customers: Ex-Broadcom boss indicted

GTA5

GTA5

Drink rats' milk, suggests battling Heather Mills

Barmy

I'm not an expert in PR, but what group on earth would want to use Heather Mills as a spokesperson right now ?

Palm OS II launch date delayed again

A Sad Farewell

Too much reshuffling, selling off, building and binning, and so on. Not enough concentrating on what used to be a great product. I was still buying Palms when they were on top of their game. Now they can't even keep up with MS and WM5 (which, let's face it, is far from perfect).

Bill's right. RIP Palm OS.

Giant bird-lizard unearthed in China

Are You Sure It's a New Discovery ?

I'm sure I've seen this one before:

http://www.breatheinfo.com/images/big_bird.jpg

If Google kills penguins, is it doing evil?

Specifics

I'm with Alex Schlup - maybe a bootnote would help.

As for Nanuk's comment, this wasn't really worth making without qualifying the criticism with something specific.

Microsoft zero-days said to target Office and Windows

Vulnerabilities

To be fair, I'm pretty sure that Windows has over 95% of the market share. That means hackers target it more than any other O/S. I'm also pretty sure that it has more code than any other O/S, and if it's so bloated it has to come on a DVD, not a CD, then more lines of code = more holes = more vulnerabilities. Does anyone know if Tiger or Linux have fewer vulnerabilities per line of code than Windows ? Doubt it.

None of this is news, of course, but I still thought it worth mentioning.

Palm developing own OS - again

What are they doing ?

So is this the end of Palm OS 6 (Cobalt), the operating system that never was ? Garnet (5.4) should be dead in the water - this generation has gotten seriously long in the tooth and, as a result, Palm OS has lost a lot of ground to WM.

I gave up on Palm a couple of years ago as I got fed up waiting for decent support for scalable fonts, large flash storage, WiFi, etc. I went to WM. I doubt Palm will ever make up the ground they lost with the split, Source's move to Linux, etc., etc. Such a shame for a company that was once second to none in its market.

Adobe takes UK price hikes to new level with CS3

Per Unit Cost of Doing Business ? B******t!

Since when did seminars and training account for such a high price rise ? This price differential phenomenon is becoming totally ludicrous. It's not just software, either, but I imagine you should be able to buy CS, etc., from the US. Only problem is you'll probably be tied to a US support and maintenance contract. The helpdesk lines will be open the usual office hours, but being in the states, they'll be 5 to 8 hours behind us.