Posts by Chris Miller

8086 and All That. Revisited

Bismarck (as usual) had the best put-down:

Your Bavarian is a strange fellow - halfway between an Austrian and a human being.

Wikipedia doesn't need your money - so why does it keep pestering you?

Re: "so why does it keep pestering you"

I agree FartingHippo - but "one of the few places a sociopath or other dysfunctional soul can get their hands on power and influence just by being who they are"? Have you looked at any of your political representatives or into a few boardrooms recently?

St Zuck gives half a BEELLION DOLLARS in Facebook stock to charity

Re: Arithmetic fail

Not getting at you, Magister - it was an error in the original article (since fixed).

Arithmetic fail

444 - 30 -18 = 396 not 296 (million shares).

Ellison: Oracle will grow hardware biz soon

Re: Oracle, .... a busted flush with no future leading IP

This is disturbing - a post from amanfromMars 1 that I upvoted. Perhaps the world really will end on Friday? In which case, an early beer must surely be in order.

END OF THE WORLD IS NIGH: TalkTalk no longer worst ISP in UK

TalkTalk Business (which I also have arrived at via Nildram) are excellent. On the odd occasion when I've had a problem, you can get straight through to a UK call centre staffed by capable people. Of course, they're not the cheapest option.

I continue to be unsurprised that people choose the cheapest service provider and then find that you can't expect Rolls-Royce service for a Lada price (and that applies to any service, not just Internet access).

Ocean seeding a dead duck as carbon solution

@Christian

Let's assume that our over-simplified computer models and projections of technological and economic progress over the next 50-100 years are correct. There could indeed be many problems arising from climate change.

So all we need is a way to make substantial reductions in CO₂ emissions without a disastrous reduction in the energy supply; which would of itself cause far greater problems, and in the short term, rather than a century's time. Suggestions welcome - they'd better not involve a wholesale reliance on windmills.

Next IPCC climate assessment due 2014 now everywhere online

The spin is in

The true believers are already claiming that the IPCC underestimates the pace and impacts of global warming - e.g. Scientific American.

Schmidt 'very proud' of Google's tiny tax bill: 'It's called capitalism'

Google's profits and revenues

Amazon and Starbucks sell things from locations in the UK to people in the UK (as well as elsewhere in the world, of course) - I'm sure the majority of us have bought something from them in the last 12 months. They charge a bit more than they pay their suppliers, so they make a profit in the UK. If our tax laws were more straightforward (instead of being written by tax lawyers for tax lawyers), they would have to pay their share of corporation tax.

But Google are very different. I use Google products (Android phone, Chrome browser, plus the ubiquitous search engine), but I've never paid them anything directly (although I'm sure Google will have made some money by selling ad space that I've viewed). So it's far from clear (to me, anyway) where their profits have arisen.

Boffin: Android's on-board malware scanner utterly FAILS

I agree with you and share your experiences (though I do run AV on my Windows systems). But, in respect of your final paragraph, staying away from 'dodgy' web sites is no longer enough. You're relying on the skill and good judgement of the web masters of the 'reputable' sites you visit to ensure that their malware defences are sufficient to prevent an attacker inserting their own code and infecting your systems. If you don't run at least an occasional scan, how do you know that you haven't been infected in this way?

Behold ATLAS, the fastest computer of 50 years ago

PS

The current fastest computer (Titan - also the name of the Atlas 2 prototype) has 20Pflops and cost $100 million (roughly equivalent in modern terms). So a 10^11 improvement in 50 years, or doubling every 16 months - someone should turn that into a law, or something.

Re: What are the specs?

From the Wikipedia article linked below, a floating point multiply took 5μs - so (very roughly) 0.2Mflops.

GPU-stuffed monster cracks Windows passwords in minutes

Not a good idea

I think (memories are hazy) it was done for backward compatibility with even earlier versions that had a maximum 7-character password.

Re: Shock Horror

Indeed. NTLM passwords are insecure. Who knew?

Revealed: ITU's deep packet snooping standard leaks online

Re: "malicious traffic identification"

Thanks Greem. I'll go away and read the standard.

"malicious traffic identification"

I've never understood (and would welcome clarification from those more knowledgeable) why service providers don't drop IP traffic outbound from their clients with a source address that doesn't match the known network address range (aka spoofed addresses). Anyone who's looked at firewall logs will see lots of dropped traffic with private source addresses (10/8, 172.16/12, 192.168/16), which has obviously 'leaked' from organisations where NAT hasn't been implemented perfectly.

No deep packet inspection and hence expensive kit required, but it would block an awful lot of rubbish, including many basic DDoS attacks. And it can't break anything (can it?) because such traffic, by its nature, can never return.

UK climate expert warns of 3-5 degree warmer world by 2100

Re: fortwivce ?

For 'fortwivce' read 'for twice'.

Record €1.47 BEELLION EC fine for price-fixing display cartels

@Rikkeh

I'm greatly looking forward to seeing the reduction in the EU budget. Indeed, so confident am I that I will be booking a short skiing break in hell while I wait.

Genuine question

What happens to the $2 billion? Do the EU elves fly round to every family and leave €3 per head on the doorstep? Or will there be a really slap-up Xmas party at the Berlaymont this year (and can I get an invite)?

Fred Flintstone may not have been real but his pet Dino WAS - boffins

Re: what a stupid article title

Dear FB - it appears your humo(u)r chip is malfunctioning and may require a reset. Have you tried turning yourself off and then back on again?

The Flintstones weren't real?

Another childhood illusion shattered.

Clap Google, Amazon in irons to end tax shenanigans - MPs

Re: @Chris Miller RE: Stemcor

"A turnover of billions doesn't mean a profit in the billions." Indeed not. Except when your company name is Starbucks, Google or Amazon, apparently (at least, according to the grandstanding Ms Hodge). So there's only two possibilities: either she's too stupid to realise what she's saying; or she understands perfectly well, but is the biggest hypocrite in Parliament (where she's up against pretty strong competition).

@Shagbag

Something that may piss you off even further (if you weren't already aware). The family of the very same Margaret Hodge own a company called Stemcor that has a turnover in the billions yet (perfectly legitimately) pays almost no UK tax. She has steadfastly refused calls for it to be brought in front of her committee to explain why this is the case.

TomTom for Android with hands-free kit review

Re: Why Bother?

Two key selling points - it works even without a phone (data) signal and it has speed camera warnings. But at £50 pa for the latter (including UK maps), I'm not convinced.

New laws to shackle and fine the Press? We've got PLENTY already

Re: It would be lovely to do this in the existing framework

In which case, Tom, the thing to do is to ensure that there are plenty of different proprietors with differing views, not appoint some supervising body run by apparatchiks to dictate to everyone what they can say. If you don't like the views of the Mail, you are free to read the Guardian (or vice versa).

Wow

So the laws of the land apply to journalists too? (Although in some cases a public interest defence may be available.)

Who knew? (Not the Metropolitan Police, apparently.)

Next you'll be telling us that working as a journalist doesn't entitle you to park all day on double yellows.

Big Bang bashing boffins ‘Big Bounce’ back to BIRTH OF TIME

@Thecowking

I think the prog you remember featuring Sir Roger (and also Neil Turok, another British hero (OK, South African, but educated here)) was on Horizon.

Sir Roger Penrose has given his (typically geometric) view on this subject:

Cycles of Time

Warning: may contain mathematics unsuitable for readers of a nervous disposition.

LG claims UK Ultra HD TV first

Re: kin ell

People with 20 grand to burn on a new telly probably live in bigger houses than we do.

Japan Airlines to serve KFC on Christmas flights

KFC is sold as KFC everywhere in the world (that they operate), even in France - with one exception. I was in Montreal for a conference with some French colleagues and they found it hilarious to see PFK - Poulet Frit Kentucky. But Québec is the province that brought you 'Chiens Chauds', so no surprise really.

PM demands media clean-up, not keen on doing much himself

@YAAc

I'm sure you're usually sceptical of the contents of The Sun, but for some reason you take their claim to have won an election to be gospel truth. In reality, it wasn't 'The Sun Wot Won It', it was the clueless Kinnock wot lost it. (Although, since he's gone on to secure euro-sinecures for himself and his entire useless family, with their attendant gold-plated, tax-free, six-figure pensions, I don't expect he grieves about it long winter evenings.)

Re: Come on

Vince Cable was removed from his decision-making role in the News Corp 'takeover' of BSkyB because he stated publicly that he "would declare war on Murdoch". As he was supposed to be operating quasi-judicially, this was a particularly silly thing to do. Leveson has confirmed that his replacement (the Spoonerism victim, Jeremy Hunt) acted appropriately.

Leveson tells media to set up independent regulator or bow to Ofcom

Re: Why?

If you put a senior lawyer in charge of an enquiry, don't be surprised if he comes up with recommendations to create more jobs for lawyers.

MONSTER QUASAR BLAST blows stunned astro boffins' WIGS OFF

Re: so...

But it's at z=3, so we're seeing it as it was roughly 10 billion years ago, or 3.5 billion years after the big bang. Given the time necessary for galaxies to form, heavy elements to be generated and then broadcast by supernovae etc, it doesn't seem very likely that life (as we know it, Jim) would have been present.

LHC CMS yields unexpected 'new stuff'

'ANY' time scale?

If you want to be picky (and I do :), theoretical calculations suggest that flow might occur over a period of 10^32 years, but I guess that's close enough to 'never' for most purposes. There's certainly no evidence of its having flowed in any man-made glass object (or even volcanic obsidian that is hundreds of millions of years old, but still retains its edge).

Ten technology FAILS

Palm Pilot never tried to be anything more than a digital diary and contacts list.

There were soon plenty of third-party apps available for it, including (IIRC) a first-person shooter.

Outsourcing fingered as UBS cops £30m fine

Leesons have (not) been learnt

Q. What do Nick Leeson, Jérôme Kerviel and Kweku Adoboli have in common (apart from costing their employers billions of dollars)?

A. They all started in back office positions and then moved to trading desks.

This should be a huge red flag, warning that a close eye needs to be kept on their activities. They know how the management systems work and their weaknesses, and (frighteningly often) the privileges necessary to do their old job are not completely revoked.

I tell my clients in financial services that anyone looking to move from the back office into trading should be encouraged, but encouraged to change employers as well. It's harsh on people who might make excellent traders, but at least somewhere else they won't have the keys to the kingdom in their back pocket.

Google, Apple, eBay shouldn't pay taxes - people should pay taxes

Au contraire, Tom 7

Everyone knows that economists have correctly predicted nine of the last five recessions.

The early days of PCs as seen through DEAD TREES

Ah the Exploratorium

I took the missus there on our honeymoon in 1981. I was always an incurable romantic (and she's still by my side).

Dogs would say: size is important, shape - not so much

My dog's very clever

She understands every word I say to her. She doesn't take a blind bit of notice, but she understands every word.

Jubcropgate: El Reg in snake-fondling nude nipslip outrage

For the benefit of those under the age of 60

Michael James (Peter O'Toole): Did you find a job?

Victor Skakapopulis (Woody Allen): Yeah, I got something at the striptease. I help the girls dress and undress.

Michael James: Nice job.

Victor Skakapopulis: Twenty francs a week.

Michael James: Not very much.

Victor Skakapopulis: It's all I can afford.

What's New Pussycat (1965)

Barclays Bank buys 8,500 Apple iPads in one go

There's one

Insight salesman who will be having a very festive Xmas.

WIMP-seeking detector flooded

At what point

do we stop looking and decide that dark matter is an illusion? Despite numerous similar detectors, nothing has yet shown up, and early results from the LHC show no sign of SuSy or other unexpected particles. It seems fair to give it another few years and then start a serious search for modified Newtonian/Einsteinian dynamics, in order to account for the anomalous behaviour of matter at large scales.

APPLE reveals complete updated blueprints of SPACESHIP JOBS

Where's jake?

"I remember when it were all fruit trees round here."

Apple chief Cook is highest paid CEO in America

In theory, 'shareholders' could put a stop to it. The problem these days is that 'shareholders' are principally bankers and fund managers, who (a) wouldn't get out of bed for less than that; and (b) sit on each others remuneration committees voting themselves ever-increasing largesse from the real shareholders pockets..

BBC Newsnightmare: Opera chief brought in as new DG

Pity they didn't ask Greg Dyke

But I don't suppose he'd want his old job back, anyway.

HP: Autonomy had us believing in a false IDOL

Due diligence?

We've heard of it.

Netscape founder pays off MASSIVE tax bill with Facebook shares

free-content ad network?

content-free ad network

FTFY

Nearly 90% of SAP customers find its cloud pricing confusing

The cost of implementing SAP?

~10x what you estimated/sold to the board in your cost-benefit analysis.

Autonomy to HP: bollocks

There are some excellent soft calculators

My favourite is the HP-42S, which has finally made my physical HP-32S redundant after many years of faithful service. For the hardcore there's Droid48, but that suffers from the physical limitations of the real calculator, which supported so many functions that it required about 3 key presses to select each one.