Posts by Pascal Monett

After quietly switching to slower NAND in an NVMe SSD, Western Digital promises to be a bit louder next time

I'm fairly certain they're all doing it.

Bumble fumble: Dude divines definitive location of dating app users despite disguised distances

I don't think I'm overstating the difficulty. It's not because, once one guy has hacked the system he can sell his knowledge, that the system is easy to hack. I might have been able to figure out the Tinder distance hack, if I had any interest in coding on mobile phones, as well as a use for that particular app, but it would certainly have taken me a while. Joe Average is not going to do it.

As for your refinement of the category idea, I like your point. Indeed, there is no need to recalculate once the answer has been given. And good point as well that users should have some sort of control over whether they wish for that data to be available or not.

Tipping point

After reading this article, I'd first like to say that even the Tinder flaw seems to me to be beyond the abilities of Joe Stalker to diagnose. The people who find these flaws are really on the top of their game. Kudos to them.

That being said, that triangulation thing seems to be a bit difficult to avoid. Even if you fudge the distance a bit, you're still informing a stalker of a distance that is an easy walk away.

I think such apps should not inform of distance directly, but rather use categories like Close By, Within Driving Distance, Far Away. Category calculated on the server, obviously.

Maybe that would solve the issue ?

Re: What?

When you're actually doing your job, you don't need to boast : the results speak for themselves.

Good news: Japanese boffins 3D print what looks like marbled Wagyu beef. Bad news: It's tiny and inedible

"there's the edibility problem to overcome"

Obviously, if only for space exploration, it will be necessary to provide a way to grow meat without having a lumbering four-legged creature bumbling about the cabin and sending cow pats floating everywhere.

3D printing the meat ? Not exactly a requirement, but hey, why not ?

Edibility, though, is a requirement. I hope they get that fixed.

Apple wants to scan iCloud to protect kids, can't even keep them safe in its own App Store – report

Oh ain't that swell ?

"Apple tolerates age verification methods that try to avoid learning that that user is underage "

I'm sorry officer, I asked her for her driver's license, but I just couldn't be arsed to actually check it.

Congratulations Apple. You really Think Different.

South Korea may ban Apple, Google from forcing store payment systems on app devs

"only relevant for less than"

Don't care.

If it is that irrelevant, then don't impose it.

If you do impose it, then it is relevant to more than whatever puny excuse you come up with.

'No peeing towards Russia' sign appears on country's Arctic border with Norway

"No peeing towards Russia."

Thank you.

I now have in my bucket list going to Finnmark and peeing towards Russia.

After breaking all the CCTV cameras in the area, obviously.

Start or Please Stop? Power users mourn features lost in Windows 11 'simplification'

Agreed.

Borkzilla is making the mistake of thinking that everything and the kitchen sink is a good idea.

It is not. You're making an OS. An OS is made to launch the applications the user wants, not to be everything at the same time.

Stick to your fucking job.

UK promises big data law shake-up... while also keeping the EU happy, of course. What could go wrong?

Oh you utter bastard. Asking a Government Official to actually do some work !

Have you no respect ?

Facebook used facial recognition without consent 200,000 times, says South Korea's data watchdog

So 26 million won is $22,000

The dollar is officially at 1 164 won.

The average monthly salary in South Korea is apparently 3 890 000 won, which would mean $3 352. Not too shabby, I guess.

But I have a question : can you buy anything for 1 won in South Korea ? Because it seems to me that they like seeing large numbers on their paychecks, but in their daily life they have to use fistfuls of cash to pay for a coffee. What's the point ?

Israeli firm Bright Data named as enabler of Philippines government DDOS attacks on opposition groups

"formerly known as Luminati Networks"

Oh, the conspiracy theories you could spin out of that !

Cops responding to ShotSpotter's AI alerts rarely find evidence of gun crime, says Chicago watchdog

"as it no longer had sufficient evidence"

The case never had sufficient evidence to start with.

Sufficient evidence would have been finding the gun.

It's rather obvious that, if ShotSpotter had correctly identified a gunshot in the immediate vicinity of the car, it was because of the shooting. That does not make the driver guilty of the shooting.

He never should been jailed in the first place.

Singapore is the only nation with a dedicated 'net link to China. And they've just agreed to expand its use

Re: One big cable ..

Why use an axe when you can just flick a switch.

Remotely.

Especially the type of offer you can't refuse . . .

Taiwan and Arizona economic groups agree to bring more chip industry to desert state

the Greater Phoenix Economic Council

Its members need to be replaced by people with a functioning brain. When you live in a desert region without access to a water source you control, you do not invite an entire industry that cannot function without water.

That Arizona is stupid enough to jeopardize its water future is one thing, that the suits at TSMC think its a good idea is altogether another. How can they possibly believe that Arizona is going to be able to reliably supply water for the life of the plant ? Oh sure, they certainly got their juicy tax breaks, no doubt there, but those tax breaks won't amount to much when the plant has to shut down because no more water is coming down the pipes.

Why don't you also decide to put a gunpowder factory in the middle of a pine forest while you're at it ?

Samsung: We will remotely brick smart TVs looted from our warehouse

Bye bye Samsung

So you can brick my TV at will ?

Fuck off, Samsung. I'm happy you can preserve your investments, but I will not buy or use any equipment that functions under someone else's orders, or with someone else's permission.

Borking on the corner, watching the world go by

Yeah, like they said in the article.

Proofpoint wins $14m from ex-VP and French email security rival in IP theft court battle

"Proofpoint and Cloudmark's claims were an overreach"

Um, excuse me, but "an overreach" does not mean that you were without guilt.

So don't try to spin it too far.

Oh the humanity: McDonald's out of milkshakes across Great Britain

"UK restaurants had run out of milkshakes"

I have to say that Brexit might not be the primary issue.

Luxembourg has several McDonalds, spread out over a rather large radius. I know of two that I can visit without too much hassle.

I will freely admit to being a McDonalds fan, although in my later years I also have to admit that I frequent it much less often. I still prefer it to Quick.

Nonetheless, I remember a slew of instances in which every time I went for a burger, the milkshake machine had no chocolate. They'd offer vanilla or strawberry, but I want chocolate. So I had to go without.

Frustrating.

I like your optimism, but it might take a wee bit more than that to save Humanity.

Samsung splurges $200bn to bring 'new future order' over next few years – meaning chips, pharma, comms

"a period of reorganization of a new future order"

And we fully intend to be at the top of that order.

Hey, that's capitalism for you.

In 2006, Amazon debuted EC2. 15 years on, HashiCorp says firms blowing their cloud budgets is all part of the fun

"spare a thought for the bean-counters"

Why ?

They don't deal with anything. They just jot the numbers down and call the head of the appropriate department to tell him that his budget is gone and he needs to find more money.

They're not the ones who have to correct the situation.

Gartner Gartner on the wall, which is the hypest cycle of them all?

Re: Missing phase

You posted that exact same comment in the Gartner Debunked article.

You could have gone through the effort of at least sprucing it up a bit.

British teachers' pensions set to be released from Capita's grasp after nearly 30 years

That sounds like the hallmark of a very badly thought-out procedure for creating NI numbers, and a rich revenue stream for Capita.

More than half of companies rethinking back-to-office plans amid variant uncertainty and vaccine mandates – survey

And I believe that that is going to be an integral part of the future work environment.

Less people commuting and polluting, more chat and online presence, less imposing office buildings that don't cost an arm and a leg to maintain.

Yes, it's certainly a willy-waving advantage to receive customers in a 40-story high rise chock full of employees, but you're paying 40 stories when you could do with 5. And you can still have that high-tech conference room with the plush leather chairs and the insultingly large widescreen TV.

The bottom line always wins.

And employees will not always have to pay the high city prices, instead fanning out into the far suburbs with a nicer environment and a bigger house for the same price.

Re: Simples...

You make an interesting point. It's true that videoconferencing is shit, but for those who have a home office in a nice setting, it's a price worth paying to avoid traffic jams and spending 1+ hour on the road every day.

Personally, I basically work alone. As a freelance, my customers are now sending me mails asking for a given functionality. I respond with the date at which I can connect and work on it. When connected, I signal my presence to the person who called on me, we chat for a few minutes, and then I get to work. If I need additional information, I know who to contact. I find it quite efficient.

Of course, I have the privilege of a fiber line, a home office with largely enough desk space, and a view on my front lawn. For someone in a small apartment on a DSL line on the 4th floor, working on the dining room table, things may be viewed very differently.

European Commission airs out new IoT device security draft law – interested parties have a week to weigh in

Definitely agree, but 3 years is not enough.

I would push for 10 years. That should definitely cover the possible lifetime of the shit quality that IoT is made with.

It would also push IoT makers to pay a hell of a lot more attention to the shit they shovel onto the market. The more secure they make 'em, the less updating they need to pay for, and the consumer benefits.

Robots don't smoke, says Alibaba, and that's why they deliver parcels so fast

Re: Worse than steps - STUDENTS!

Yup. Those delivery bots are going to get to feel the pain in a gentle manner before being thrown into the arena that is the streets, with their criminals and short-tempered people who need to take it out on something that won't respond.

Honestly, a parcel-carrying robot is just a "Rob Me !" sign on wheels.

Infosys CEO hauled in to tell minister why India's tax portal is still a glitchy mess

"Infosys also had trouble on a previous project"

Well, it would seem India has its very own Capita.

Progress !

Chinese auto-maker accused of altering data after fatal autonomous car accident

Accused of altering data

Okay, it's a possibility, but I wonder why the relatives are saying that. What proof do they have ? Why do they suspect that data was altered ?

In any case, the company's explanation seems plausible. A collision is very likely a bad thing for the batteries of an EV, so taking them out ASAP is probably the right thing to do.

In any case, I'm looking forward to hearing about this investigation.

Poly Network says it's got pretty much all of that $610m in stolen crypto-coins back

"Believe it or not"

I don't believe it, you fucking asshole.

An actual White Hat would never have taken the money.

You are a failed criminal, which just might be the highest honor you can pretend to.

Razer ponders how to fix installer that grants admin powers if you plug in a mouse

"[Apple] complies with the laws in the countries it operates"

Apple - the friend of dictatorships everywhere.

38 million records exposed by misconfigured Microsoft Power Apps. Redmond's advice? RTFM

"Low-code platform comes with high expectations"

And that's where it falls flat on its face.

Low code is a misnomer, a lie. Joe Public is going to believe that it will allow him to easily make the program he needs, but the provider is going to have 1000 pages of EULA to ensure that any cock-up is Joe Public's fault.

Just like a Tesla, actually. Except that, with low code, at least you won't kill yourself letting it drive itself.

Another UK government limb that can't get IR35 right: Court service pays taxman £12.5m

Popcorn !

Government institutions getting hoisted by their own petard.

Bring on the entertainment !

A man spent a year in jail on a murder charge involving disputed AI evidence. Now the case has been dropped

Agreed, but firing live rounds in a public place is not exactly a game plan I am willing to subscribe to.

Re: Really?

That actually sounds like an interesting idea - using blanks, of course.

The only issue I see is that, in the US, someone pulling out a gun in the middle of the street is likely to cause a flurry of calls to 911 or worse, someone else pulling out a loaded gun and challenging the tester.

That could end badly.

But the idea is interesting.

Re: do people have a propensity to try to abuse AI systems?

They definitely do, as Microsoft has found out to its detriment.

Horizon Workrooms promises a virtual future of teal despair

"the horrible inhuman void of Facebook's vision for the future"

An excellent summary of Zuckerberg.

Icon production is in a catastrophic downwards spiral at El Reg.

Sadly.

China's Mars rover assigned extended mission after exceeding life expectancy

"China's Mars rover assigned extended mission after exceeding life expectancy"

It's funny how objects made for space exploration regularly exceed life expectancy (as long as they survive the landing process), whereas objects made for Earth consumption regularly fail to live their life expectancy without issues.

Just sayin'

Facebook sat on report that reveals most-shared post for months was questionable COVID story

"We ended up holding it because there were key fixes to the system we wanted to make"

No.

You release the report, then publish the fixes you want to make.

That is transparency.

You were not being transparent, you were lying your ass off.

As usual.

China puts continuous consent at the center of data protection law

"death doesn't end the information collector's responsibilities or the individual's rights"

Interesting. I'd've thought that death meant the erasure of said data, but they're not going that way.

The only way the deceased' family can be granted access is if the deceased created a profile under his legal name and address. That means no anonymous logons.

Well, China's government is not big on anonymity . . .

More Boots on Moon delays: NASA stops work on SpaceX human landing system as Blue Origin lawsuit rolls on

Re: Good Value

Isn't NASA still making the SLS ?

Not all of them.

But billionnaires ? Yeah, they're hilarious.

From a distance.

Citation, please ?

Live, die, copy-paste, repeat: Everything is recycled now, including ideas

That was brilliant

"I must remember to post more messages to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit and TikTok to tell the sheeple how governments are tracking my personal life."

Love it.

Apple extends live-at-work to at least January 2022

Re: Shop Stores and iCovid

Yeah, but that's where you can make money, so it's okay.

"*every* other US made sold device"

TFTFY.

Everyone knows that all smartphones are made in Taiwan, sometimes with child labor.

The US makes nothing anymore (except military hardware), unless you count pompous politicians.

Epic lawsuit's latest claims: Google slipped tons of cash to game devs, Android makers to cement Play store dominance

Re: delete mobile

I don't even understand how they do it.

I can't play an FPS game if I don't have my trusty keyboard+mouse.

Not to mention my 28" screen.