Posts by Pascal Monett

Budget UHD TVs arrive – but were the 4Kasts worth listening to?

I say go for it

Not that I'm going to get one now, but I hope the uptake in 4K tellies will push the providers to sell 4K content over them thar Intartubes - at 55MBPS.

I want that to happen because as of now, there is now way the existing infrastructure can deliver that kind of bandwidth to individual homes. Therefor, people will have their 4K tellies and will not be able to watch 4K content which, of course, they will feel entitled to. That means that the pressure will be enormous to actually deliver on that 55MBPS requirement.

And that means that all this 4K nonsense is going to improve my Internet bandwidth. Since I watch TV on satellite, all those yummy MBPSes will be for me.

So go for it.

Sony PC owners to get Windows 10 upgrade as early Christmas present

Google totally borgs your computer.

I am fresh from the experience of eradicating Google Update from my PC. I used to have Chrome and Google Earth installed. At some point last week I decided that Chrome was going away. It annoyed me to the point where I uninstalled it. That was that, thought I. How wrong I was !

The next day, I boot the PC, start doing what I usually do, and suddenly Chrome is back, right there on my screen, asking me to log in. Bewildered, I check my Services and found Google Update right back there, and no longer disabled. I disable it pronto. Then I uninstall Chrome and Google Earth, hunt my C: for anything Google and terminate it with extreme prejudice.

The day after that, same start scenario. Boot up, start working, and bang, there is Chrome again. By that time I'm hopping mad. Uninstall Chrome, disable services, scour the disk. This time I check that bloody abomination called the Registry. I find and delete dozens of keys concerning Google (congratulations, Uninstall process, really did a top-notch job there). This time, I think, it's over with.

It wasn't, yet. Again, the following day, same program. When Chome pops up I'm ready to launch a nuclear strike on Google HQ. The thing that finally put an end to this nonsense is when I downloaded Crap Cleaner and found that, of all things, Firefox had a Google Update add-in. Every time I started Firefox, that add-in would check and install Chrome and services. Thanks to Crap Cleaner, I nuked that and now I have peace from the Borg.

Funny thing is, that add-in never appeared in my Firefox extensions in Forefox. I wonder why.

In any case, I now know that, once you install anything Google on your PC, you turn over your computer to the will of Larry Page and the only way to regain control is a proper exorcism.

China laments 'wild guesses and malicious slurs' on state hacking

The Rules

Heh. This is cyberspace.

The only true rules are what the technology allows. Technology and morality are two different things.

And given that the US of NSA now routinely ignores the Bill of Rights means that the US is no longer entitled to consider itself above other countries.

175 MILLION websites still powered by Windows Server 2003

Well, the article does mention that there are banks among the web-facing computers that have an unsecure hosting platform.

Gazan medico team 3D-prints world-leading stethoscope for 30c

"costs remain high despite the expiration of 1960s-era stethoscope design patents"

Gosh, could that mean that the medical industry has artificially inflated its prices all these years ?

In any case, it would appear that Littmann is the gold-plated Monster cable of the medical industry.

ZUCK OFF: Facebook nixes internship after student embarrasses firm

Re: Facebook, ethics????

Exactly. The highest their "ethical standards" get is the hole in a Turkish toilet.

Assange™ is 'upset' that he WON'T be prosecuted for rape, giggles lawyer

Actually, he is obviously intent on creating a new degree in that area.

Re: "real scotsmen slap themselves in the face the moment they wake up in the morning"

I thought that was to dissipate the hangover.

Right, I'm out.

Two weeks of Windows 10: Just how is Microsoft doing?

Slowly.

And painfully for everyone else.

Just a reminder

Microsoft is going to be using Windows Update on 1 0 to push UI changes and new "features".

In other words, you'll often be in a "new release" without having chosen to be - if you leave Update to do its thing, of course.

So that means that either you leave WinUpdate on for the security patches and get screwed by buggy features that you never asked for, or you cut WinUpdate and risk being without the much-needed security patches.

I'm staying on 7. That thing is rock solid.

It's a beta release

Windows 1 0 will always be in beta.

Get ready for one heck of a ride !

Exploding Power Bars: EE couldn't even get the CE safety mark right

Re: the "China Export" logo exists

Apparantly, it does not actually exist.

ICANN chairman loses mind over his domain-name privacy shakeup

"allowing the organization to be subject to criticism"

Because he thinks that ICANN is not being criticized if he doesn't allow it ?

Or does he think that not allowing official criticism means that there is none ?

Either way, that guy is a nutjob. Certified. It would seem that ICANN somehow attracts that kind to the exclusion of anyone competent. I wonder if he thinks that behaving that way to government officials is not going to have any effect whatsoever on his career.

Care.data is a complete omnishambles, says study into hated scheme

Politicians are personally liable

But their liability is restricted to reelection times - if their approval rating is bad, they don't get enough votes and are not reelected.

You will never get a law allowing for the condemnation of a politician over wasted money - not if the money was wasted following official procedures. If that happened, nobody would present themselves for election anymore because there would always be someone to think that a given project was a waste of money, ergo lawsuits all the time.

Stop taking drug advice from Kim Kardashian on Twitter, sighs watchdog

I believe that all "celebrities" that dole out pseudo-medical advice should be arrested and tried for reckless endangerment.

It's 2015, and someone can pwn Windows PCs by inserting a USB stick

Microsoft never takes hints.

It only takes an entire market failure to the face.

And I have a feeling another one is in the making.

Re: "admitting they made a mistake is what keeps Windows firmly entrenched"

Sorry, but I cannot agree.

What keeps Windows so firmly entrenched is the fact that 95% of the market have been using it since it started, and are so used to it that they cannot change. That is why TIFKAM was such a disaster - it went against user habits.

It is for that reason that Microsoft keeps so strongly away from "rebuilding from scratch". The only thing that keeps Microsoft on the market is the fact that their OS remains compatible with legacy applications.

The day that compatibility dies is the day Microsoft folds, because companies - especially the Fortune 1000, are very ready to change for a free OS if they have no choice. So Microsoft stays compatible with legacy so as to give them no choice.

Re: Can I please go back to PC-DOS?

I'm pretty sure PC-DOS had absolutely no browser bugs.

Assange™ to SQUAT in Ecuadorian broom closet for ANOTHER FIVE YEARS (maybe)

Yeah, but imagine the stench five years from now.

FAIL: Windows 10 bulk patch produces INFINITE CRASH LOOP

Popcorn ! Get yours now !

The Windows-as-a-service train has barely left the station and already there's a wreck.

Microsoft better pay attention, else it will find that, these days, ridicule can kill (a product).

Intel building Xeon into lapwarmers as designers, content creators call the shots

Xeons in laptops ?

Surely you mean Xeons in tabletops ? Or in on-a-slab-of-woodtops ?

Because I am not letting a Xeon laptop anywhere near my lap.

I would very much like 18 cores though.

Cloud computing’s refuseniks: How long can they hold out?

It really is uncanny

I find it astounding to see that so many articles vaunting The Cloud do so only by avoiding the topic of data security.

At this point in time, The Cloud is a sexy vixen that promises to give you a great time, but she has syphilis. She looks great, she's super sexy and she promises she's available all the time, but you go there and your data's security health is toast.

So come back when the issues are solved, when she's got a clean bill of health, and then I'll take her out for a drink and see what's what.

Until then, I don't want my data to have anything to do with that skank, clear ?

Yahoo! parties! like! it's! 1999! with! retro! billboard! revival!

"feel free to let us know if you require or appreciate such illumination"

That'll be a bit difficult to do given that their home page makes zero mention of where to go to do so.

HTC caught storing fingerprints AS WORLD-READABLE CLEARTEXT

I wonder how many people will be bitten by these biometric shenanigans

This biometric craze will continue until something bad happens, and the HTC One is apparently a very good contender for conveying a load to the rotating blade device.

Biometrics seem a neat idea for security, but we don't know how to make good security on the Internet.

Until we do, best not use a token that cannot be changed when it's compromised.

Windows 10 climbs to 3.55 per cent market share, Win 8.1 dips

Re: Windows 10 is a no brainer update

Windows 10 is a no brainer NON update for anyone who values his privacy and does not consider feeding the Borg with his private life data.

I'll be sticking with 7 until the hardware doesn't accept it any more, then I'll just have to move to Linux I guess. But Microsoft is no longer on my buddy list.

Your point is valid, but it doesn't mean that the figures advanced by Statcounter have no meaning.

Over time, even if it is only counting web clients that execute the code, those webclients change and that change is representative of the global environment.

Your typical public survey only needs 2,000 responders to be considered representative of an entire nation. Statcounter gets way more than 2,000 individual data items, so its representativity should be all the more valid.

A close shave: How to destroy your hard drives without burning down the data centre

Not a good idea with Win 1 0, the NSA will get a functional copy within seconds and the agents at the door will just check their messages and say "K thx bye !".

Surprise! Evil-eyed cats MORE LIKELY to be SNEAKY PREDATORS – boffins

I thought it was the position of the eyes on the head

Grass-munchers have eyes on the side of the head, to maximize threat detection.

Predators have eyes facing front, to maximize depth perception and target acquisition.

It's incredibly easy to bump someone off online, and here's how to do it – infosec bod

Re: "you're still deceased as far as the law is concerned"

There's a good idea in there though.

The administration cannot declare you alive again ? Fine, commit a small crime and find out just how fast they find a way to legally recognize your existence again.

If that doesn't work, break in to the judges house. I'll bet that'll do the trick.

Of course, then there will be the issue of a trial. With a pissed-off judge. Bet hey, you'll be legally alive again !

Copyright troll wants to ban 'copyright troll' from its copyright troll lawsuit

Go Harrison !

Get the dirty scum for everything you can.

Set the precedent. People need to know they can fight back.

Samsung looks into spam ads appearing on Brits' smart TVs

Manufacturers : Repeat After Me

A TV has one use, and one use only : to show images. That is all it should ever do.

Where those images come from is free to think of, and putting various kinds of ports solves the problem. Put an Ethernet port in your effing TVs and leave the "smart" to an add-on box people can buy (or not).

But the TV itself ?

Just an image viewer. THAT IS ALL.

Re: on my 'Sony' list

Brilliant.

I'll be reusing that one. Have an upvote !

Microsoft vacates moral high ground for the data slurpers' cesspit

Re: Correct, but money rules...

Oh it's all about the money, no doubt there.

But just for one second imagine the situation if WinSlurp 1 0 fails as spectacularly as Vista did.

I'm pretty sure that would be one hell of kick to Micrsoft's bottom . . line.

But yeah, I know, I'm dreaming again. Nurse ! Bring me my pills. The red ones.

Practicing for your NSA entrance exam ?

Popping the Tesla S bonnet – to reveal SIX NEW FLAWS

Re: not to have integrated "infotainment" and some actual car functions

Absolutely agreed.

Have an infotainment system, by all means.

On a completely separate bus, using totally separate components. THAT is the only acceptable level of security. Anything else can be bypassed eventually.

Not quite.

The setting and removal of the handbrake is via the button, but the handbrake system itself does not require energy to remain in place. It's like electric doors - they only need energy to move.

If you lose battery power with the handbrake on, you can be sure your car isn't going anywhere until you've plugged it in via the ever-useful jump cables.

FBI may pillory Hillary with email spillery grillery

Re: Do you really want another baldface, thieving liar in the office of the President?

Do you honestly think you can avoid that outcome before the next millennium ?

HAM IN SPAAAAAACE! ISS astronaut contacted by Gloucestershire bloke in garden shed

Meager terrestrial comestibles ?

Come on. I would be thrilled for an opportunity to spend some time aboard the ISS, but I do believe that after five weeks of pre-chewed food packets sipped from a straw, every astronaut must be dying for the taste of a good steak.

Hey, FBI. Wanna track someone by cellphone? Get a proper warrant, says US appeals court

Re: Want an alibi?

In truth, you have to admit that undertaking criminal activity with a record-keeping gps-enabled gizmo in your pocket sounds pretty stupid.

STOP! You – away from the keyboard. There's no free speech in our China

Situation critical ?

Apparently, almost half of the population of Chine is online, mostly via smartphones.

That came as a surprise to me. I thought there was a lot less. Apparently, there are more Chinese citizens living in the cities than I thought.

Does this mean that the means to oppress are being stretched to their limits, or that the Chinese version of NSA technology laughs in the face of a challenge ?

I would have honestly thought that suppressing the opinions of over half a billion people would be a bit too costly for any state to bear. Of course, if the government gave such a project maximum priority and a "whatever it takes" budget (and why wouldn't they ?), then I guess anything is possible.

And so it begins... Cleaning up HMRC's £10.7bn Aspire mess

Oh how cynical.

Yet how plausible.

Surely it's only a coincidence ?

I, for one, welcome the rise of the Infrastructure Endgame Machines

"the US of NSA"

On top of an enlightening article, there is this gem.

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

Windows 10 wipes your child safety settings if you upgrade from 7 or 8

Re: "how to make child accounts work"

Agreed, although it seems obvious that to make such an account type work, any responsible adult would neutralize the "phone home" part and cut the online OS-level chatter to a level that can be justified to child services - and if that means zero that's no wind out of my sail, if you get my drift.

Of course, anyone who might actually make a proposal like that in a business meeting these days would probably recieve a slap with a baseball bat made of money, just to set him back on the Golden Path.

"If there are ways to make improvements, we will do so"

Gosh, how about starting by not breaking something that is already in place that people are (apparently) happy with ?

Only in the software business will you see a company completely uproot existing functionality and replace it with something totally different without giving either heads-up or time to adapt to its customers.

How much would it have cost to keep existing functionality and trumpet a "new, enhanced user mode specifically made for protecting children" ? How is it possible for Microsoft's PR department to NOT have thought of doing that ?

It seems Microsoft is intent on providing us with the Universal HandBook Of How To Annoy Your Customers. Keep at, Nadella, you're doing great.

Vision? Execution? Sadly, omission and confusion rule Gartner's virty quadrant

"what it takes to get on Gartner's Magic Quadrant"

I believe a certain amount of zeros on a cheque will do it.

Clueless do-gooders make Africa's conflict mineral mines even more dangerous

I propose . .

that the brilliant individual who's idea is so genius that he was showered with praise and recognition be offered a tour of Congo's mining areas to witness first hand what a great idea it was.

If he doesn't come back alive, it must mean that he became enamoured of the place and decided to stay, right ?

UK.gov issues internal 'ditch Oracle NOW' edict to end pricey addiction

"get rid of Oracle"

Sure, but replace it with what ?

I cannot imagine the sheer volume of data stored and managed in a government-level group of Oracle databases, even taking into account the fact that there is no oversight or global planning of any kind (good one there, way to ensure economies are impossible).

You don't just get rid of Oracle. You need to find a suitable substitute, redesign the applications, create a parallel environment, migrate the data onto said parallel platform, design a test suite to validate the transfer and test the new environment and validate it.

When all that is done, you can start migrating the users. You'll be doing that bit by bit, so as not to have everything blow up in your face with the inevitable unexpected complications that will arise.

Just planning this kind of thing will be a major project which will require external expertise.

Hmm, do I smell the presence of yet another pork barrel for yet another vast, government-wide IT failure ahem, project ?

Remember Impero, the school software biz that went ape over a vuln? Someone's got revenge

"he's a legit security researcher"

Albeit with a bit of a procedures issue, if I understood correctly.

A "legit security researcher" does not just publish his findings on a blog these days. Step one is to contact the company and open a discussion on the subject, at least asking the company to validate the findings.

Publish-and-be-damned is for when the company has repeatedly ignored the warnings, refused to acknowledge anything and denied all issues - that is when you go public and let the company fry, not before.

John McAfee cuffed by Tennessee cops, faces drug-driving, gun rap

Re: Isn't it past time

It is high time indeed.

Unfortunately, as long as the majority remain interested in stories about the lives of pseudo-celebrities, this kind of non-event will remain a breadwinner for so-called "journals".

Heck, it even catches El Reg, so what hope is there ?

Lights out for Ada Initiative – women's group closing shop

So, a hotbed of ideologists mixed with Wiki and Scientology

Good grief, no wonder Crystal left in a huff !