Posts by Neoc

Feds cuff ex-NASA boffin at airport amid state-secret leak scare

"During the consensual encounter..."

OK, I'll 'fess up - my mind went to the gutter for a moment before reading on.

SCADA honeypots attract swarm of international hackers

WTF?

"... Steps were taken to make sure the honeypots were easily discovered. The sites were optimised for searches and published on Google...."

"It took only 18 hours to find the first signs of attack on one of the honeypots"

No shit, Sherlock. The only thing you didn't do was stand on top of a tall building and scream out the IP addresses. "Hey, let's make them easy to find and act surprised when they are found in record time!"

Breakneck star orbits black hole at record speed

@David D. Hagood

2,000,000 Km/h is not 0.2%, it's 0.185313386221196% - at best rounded to 0.19%

4K video may wow vidiots, but content creators see pitfalls

Re: Back-of-napking calculations

@Neil:

I agree with you, except the article and I were taking about storage of raw footage for later editing, *not* broadcasting. I agree, the bit-stream will be compressed somehow (h.264, h.265?) for broadcasting and quality will be lost. But then again, there's only so much picture quality an eye can notice in a moving picture. ^_^

Re: Back-of-napking calculations

BTW: Can someone explain to me why the significance of the number changed?

"720" is 1280 x 720

"1080" is 1920 x 1080

but

"4K UHD" is 3840 x 2160

"4K DCI" is 4096 x 2160

"4K Full Aperture" is 4096 x 3112

"8K" is 7680 x 4320

When did emphasis move from lines-per-frame to pixels-per-line?

Back-of-napking calculations

Lessee... Raw storage.

4K Ultra HD :- 3840 pixels x 2160 pixels x 32 bits/pixels = 265,420,800 bits or 22,177,600 Bytes (31.64 MB)

That's *per frame*. At 25 fps, you're looking at 528.75 MB per second. At 60 fps, it's 1269.01 MB/s

Which means the average 90 minutes movie would take <big breath> 2.73 TB to store. 6.54 TB @ 60fps. And that's not counting any storage/filesystem overheads.

Foxtel cries wolf at the threat of fast broadband

I am a Foxtel SD subscriber.

Really, I am. Because there is no other cable companies. Except it isn't a cable company any more, forcing people to move to satellite reception. And Austar doesn't count, they're basically an arm of Foxtel by now.

So what do I get for my money? Yes, I get access to *some* channels I want to see, and a s*tload I could not care about. And only so long as I watch them on Foxtel-approved hardware (i.e., their own) because they've now locked things down to not only having a Foxtel decoding card, but it must be in a Foxtel decoder.

Which means I can't watch Foxtel through my HTPC the same as I can free-to-air. So, more hardware, more remotes, and having to swap inputs on my amp.

But what about their website offering? Only if you watch through a web browser - forget trying to get it streamed to any HTPC software.

"On demand"? Don't make me laugh - I'd have to upgrade to a more expensive-to-hire Foxtel box. *And* connect it to my ISP. I don't think so. Ditto with HD or recording options.

Portable devices? Absolutely, so long as by "portable" you mean "iOS".

So no, as far as I am concerned Foxtel is NOWHERE near having made things easy for me to watch where, when and how *I* want.

Ten pi-fect projects for your new Raspberry Pi

"given a super-powerful computer, with infinite computing power shoe-horned into a coke can, what would you do with it"

...would anyone like any toast?

Take a temp job in Oz and become office pariah

No-win elections.

Recently, Labor has been a right twit in its public dealings.

The problem is, the Liberals are even worse.

<sigh> the public will not win in the next federal election.

Re: Word of warning

@Anonymous Coward 10:19:

"Honestly, the grass ain't greener"

Grass comes in green?!?

Marvel: 'Come and get 'em! 700 first-issue comics! FREE!'

Stupid promotion.

I managed to register, but repeatedly get a "Failed to sign in" error.

Dump, won't bother again.

Google offers limited data on National Security Letters

Are National Security Letters....

...the same as French Letters?

Opposition leader raises ‘your Internet will cost you more’ spook

Re: You almost had me...

Still doesn't wash - my parents live in an old area just outside a small country town halfway between Brisbane and Gatton and their power and phone lines are underground. They're on water and septic tanks for the rest.

So "regional" does not necessarily equal to overhead lines either.

You almost had me...

...until that last line. May I point out that a lot of places (say, your local CBD or any area that has been built in the last 10+ years) does not sport overhead wires? Everything is under the pavement.

Music industry raises NBN fears as legal digital sales take off

IPFI and ARIA no longer relevant

So let me get this straight, IPFI and ARIA:

The upsurge in sales is due to the business inventiveness of third-party retailers, and you want federal protection of your failing practices?

If other people are doing your job for you, sounds to me like you are no longer needed.

Hey, software snobs: Hardware love can set your code free

Stupid first option.

Throwing faster, more powerful hardware at a problem should not be the first solution out of the box (exceptions exist, but they're just that - exception).

The first thing should be asking the question "why is this so effing slow?" and looking to see if the code is not doing something stupid. Why? Let's just look at the simplest response - where I work, we program on large systems; the cost and time of replacing said hardware for a "faster" one would far outweigh what it would take to make changes to the code (most times).

Yes, there are time when you just simply need to upgrade but based on my 25+ years experience the majority of bottlenecks are caused because bad coding or assumptions happened and the code that was written is just simply not up to the task for one reason or another.

This sort of thinking is the reason one of my friends' son came home angry a few years ago, having been docked a couple of points by his university lecturer for optimising his code. The reason the Lecturer gave: "there's no need to do it, the hardware's fast enough". And that's the lesson: be lazy when you program, the hardware will take up the slack.

Quantum computer one step closer after ‘true’ quantum calculation

OK, no Treknobabble...

...but are we allowed to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow?

Linus Torvalds in NSFW Red Hat rant

Let's merge two EL Reg topics

1) MS Azure goes down worldwide because Microsoft didn't renew a Key.

2) MS wants PCs to check that bootloader code is signed with what is basically an MS Key.

Scenario: MS forgets to renew their bootloader Key. ^_^

'On demand' fibre: Could it happen in Oz?

Oh <deity>...

I was right in my comments to a previous article: it *is* the ADSL debacle all over again.

Turnbull says NBN Co could offer FTTN with optional fibre-for-cash

<Bangs head against desk repeatedly>

Yes Mr Turnbull, by all means. Let's set up the same mess that existed back when ADSL first came out.

The long waits for your exchange to be upgraded because "there's not enough interest in your area".

The scramble to be one of a handful who gets access to the DSLAM once a (limited) number of them became available.

The constant arguing with Telstra about not being able to get ADSL because "there's not enough copper in your area".

The fact your phone number was likely to be swapped with someone else in the area (twice!) because the people they sent to the exchange had minimal-to-no training as to what they were supposed to do.

Yes, I had to go through all of that *just* to get "full copper" between my house and the local exchange. And *NO*, I don't feel like having to go through it all again with NBN just because the Liberals suffer from NIH (aka - Labour thought of it) Syndrome.

If you're going to do it, do it once, do it properly.

Surface RT now on sale in 13 more European markets

I use WIndows7 and Linux. But if I'm going to fork out for a walled-garden tablet where a company decides what I can and cannot use, I might as well buy an iPad and limit the proliferation of those companies.

Disclosure: I actually had an iPad for a couple of years until the wall-garden we-know-better-than-you-what-you-want-to-do attitude - and a lousy Windows version of iTunes - had me drop the iPad and buy an Android tablet. Frankly, there's only one App I miss from my iPad and that was a bloody nice comic-book reader.

NBN Co coffee budget brews caffeinated controversy

<sigh>

Federal election gets announced -> mudslinging happens.

I'm just surprised it took so long for the opposition to find something at NBN to complain about. It's not like they've had in in their sights since day one.

Recipe for a bad day: 'State-backed hackers are attacking your PC'

Re: Oh so fun.

I did actually activate 2FA with Google for one of my Gmail accounts. There were several flavours, depending on what you were going for. One was printing a list of one-off authentication numbers and putting it in your wallet. The other was (you are right) sending a number to your mobile phone (for which Google bears the whole cost here in Oz at least). The third one was downloading a Google App which generates a number every 30-odd seconds.

Adobe buckles, cuts prices ahead of Australian inquiry

I guess Adobe didn't want to face the Husic?

Yeah, yeah, coat.

US company aims patent-gun at Australia’s e-health system

Unless:

A) These companies have valid patents in Australia; or

B) OzGov plans to sell the product in the US

I don't see how this is happening.

Unless OzGov was stupid enough to sign one of those one-sided agreements the US seems to love so much.

Watchdog casts an eye over ‘throttling’

Personally, I'm a proponent of Net Neutrality. I didn't sign up with my ISP for VOIP services, or streaming video: I signed up for X Gb per month, delivered to my ADSL modem.

That's it: no mention in my contract as to what the bandwidth was being used for. One month, I may be heavily playing on-line games. Or I may be streaming video for YouTube (or Netflix). Or I may be downloading the new Linux installation for my fileserver (which reminds me I need to do that in fact).

Bandwidth is a commodity same as water and power - these companies don't care how much water/power I use or what I use it for so long as I pay for what I use.

So Telstra... stop bitching and fix your damn network instead of over-selling your capacity and then coming up with tenuous reasons to throttle your customers to stop your network from collapsing.

LibreOffice 4.0 ships with new features, better looks

meh

Still no Draft view (bug 39080). Not interested. (yes, seriously. I make heavy use of draft view to enter the bulk of my documents)

The Register Android App

I don't know about the others, but Firefox Beta allows you to check an "always request desktop version of site" option. I very rarely get the mobile version of any websites these days, unless said site goes through hoops trying to detect my hardware (and some do. Why?)

Twitter clients stay signed in with pre-breach passwords

I do not understand...

I do not understand why people keep on talking about there being no problem about their devices keeping their authorisation after a password change. Yes, these people are right: there is no problem with regard to *their* device.

But this isn't the point.

Here's a potential situation:

1) Hacker (somehow) gets his/her hands on your password.

2) Hacker uses said password to authorise *their* app/device to use your account.

3) You realise your account is compromise and change your password.

4) Bad luck! Hacker's device stays Authorised.

*This* is why Authorisation needs to be revoked the moment a password is changed.

Australia's top court says Google's iffy ads do not mislead

Right moves...

...wrong targets.

They should have gone after the advertisers themselves. This would be like someone complaining about a misleading ad on TV and ACCC going after the TV station rather than the advertiser.

Why is it that as soon as a computer or the internet is involved, companies and governments seem to switch their common sense off?

Apple blocks Java on the Mac over security concerns

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but the screenshot seems to indicate that it's the Java Applet PlugIn that is being blocked, not Java itself.

Google begs for secrecy as it files Glass design with FCC

...if you'll excuse the pun. What about the large percentage of us who already have to wear glasses? Will we now be forced to use contacts (which I do not like) in order to use Glass?

Boffins propose satnav tracking for 'KILLER KOALAS'

A friend of ours (quite a few years back now) came over from the US during a break in her University studies. We were all having drinks one evening when one of us mentioned the Drop Bears. Maybe it was the alcohol, but the rest of us picked up the clue and started frightening the poor girl for a good half hour until we broke up and laughed.

She was very annoyed at us.

Cue three months later after her return to the States, we get a phone call from her. Amidst the rest of the news updates, she tells us she did the "drop-bear joke" on her room-mate and now understands why we did it to her. ^_^

Snooping on movement can reveal smartphone PINs

Pin code but with a randomised keypad instead of a standard layout. If the location of, say, the number "4" changes every time the PIN is entered then this attack is rendered pretty much moot.

Apple, Google tumble off top 20 trusted companies list

Re: "Apple, Google tumble off top 20 trusted companies list"

Wrong end of the stick: the survey isn't about how trustworthy a company is, but how much the general public trusts it.

The Ponemon Institute

Am I the only one who read this a "Pokemon Institute"?

Brisbane online flood maps woefully inadequate

The road closure information was ridiculous. How hard can it be to use Google map (or Sensys) and highlight the closed streets in a bright colour? Or several colours which indicate the reason for the closure (road under water, trees down, fallen powerline, idiots who went out and had an accident, etc...)?

No, what we get are large PDFs and a badly constructed spreadsheet. Oh, and a PDF of houses likely to flood in your suburb.

For heaven's sake... haven't these people heard of XML and XSLT?

NASA sends Mona Lisa into space by LASER

Re: But...

Depends who you ask. Wikipedia (yes, I know) for example defines Radio as "...the wireless transmission of signals through free space by electromagnetic radiation..." - which would include lasers - but then adds "...of a frequency significantly below that of visible light, in the radio frequency range, from about 30 kHz to 300 GHz." - which takes lasers out of the context.

And just to confuse things further, here's another extract from Wikipedia: "The prefix radio- in the sense of wireless transmission, was first recorded in the word radioconductor, a description provided by the French physicist Édouard Branly in 1897. It is based on the verb to radiate (in Latin "radius" means "spoke of a wheel, beam of light, ray")."

Personally, I think laser transmission is a radio transmission under the technical definitions. Under the *popular* definition (i.e., to people who listen(ed) to radios), it isn't. <sigh>

NBN contracts reveal the state of Telstra’s ducts

It's always been a standard joke...

It's always been a standard joke in QLD that it's a good thing it doesn't rain that often - every time it happens, landlines crackle and ADSL speeds plummet.

Orange boasts: We made Google PAY US for traffic

"All of this makes a mockery of net neutrality"

Er... no, it doesn't. Every time Traffic crosses a network, someone pays (or gets paid) for it. Sometimes the fee is a flat fee for a period, sometimes it's calculated by bandwidth. If Google places a connection directly into an ISP's network then *as per everyone else* they would be paying the ISP for pushing traffic into their network. Now replace "Google" and "ISP" with any two other internet-ready companies. Nothing to see here; how else do you think the rest of the Internet works?

Now, if Google were paying the ISP to give PRIORITY to their traffic over the ISP's network; *then* it would be a mockery of Net Neutrality. But the fact that Google is moving their network's output closer to the consumers is not newsworthy and certainly not against Net Neutrality.

Cryptome escapes Thales' attack dogs in bank security row

Re: For a broad meaning of 'obsolete'.

Almost: "obsolete" = "even though this hardware is still in use all over the world by a large number of corporations, we no longer sell it"

Hyperspeed travel looks wrong: Leicester students

Except...

...that the Millenium Falcon doesn't travel in normal space but jumps into hyperspace to do it. I'm not a SW fan, and even I remember that.

I can only assume the funky display with the stars represents the jump itself, not necessarily movement in real-space.

Siri, will Chrome's new speech features kill you?

Oh good...

...just what I need when I'm on public transport or simply out about town - more people talking to invisible friends. Because I currently like nothing more than being forced to listen to an idiot "talking" to his/her iphone while holding it a foot away from his/her mouth. And if I'm *really* lucky, they've turned on the speaker so they don't have to use the ear-pieces - so I get to hear *both* side of the loud conversation.

And now this madness will spread to android devices. Oh joy, oh rapture.

And for the impaired... yes, that was sarcasm.

Analyst offers cut-price fondleslab recipe

"...ask where all the Netbooks have gone."

Digital Heaven, with all the dead calculators. Surely.

N. Joseph Woodland, inventor of the barcode, dies at 91

Re: That reminds me of Jeremiah Kurzweil

"That's like spending a whole night chatting someone up only to find out they're your cousin"

Unless you're planning to breed, it's not a problem to night-time enjoyment.

Australian State launches IBM probe

Re: AU$1.25 *Billion*

Briefly put:

I have only ever had a quick glance at SAP and this is my opinion and *my* opinion only: SAP tries to be everything to everyone and ends up being a mess of configuration which are sometimes counter-productive. The fact you need so many Consultant to configure it for *any* site should ring alarm bells in any CTO's head.

Oh, and once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Getting the data back out is even worse than shoe-horning it in.

YMMV, of course. I'm sure there have been easy, successful SAP installations out there. Somewhere.

Moon riven by colossal cracks

Re: Nah,

...and now that you've posted them, they no longer do. ^_-

Re: Misleading title

Wasn't denying they existed - just pointing out that for an article whose headline(s) shout about "colossal cracks", there was very little written about said features.

Misleading title

After such a title, I expected *something* about large cracks on the moon. What we get is a statement in the first paragraph telling there are cracks, and another in the last paragraph hoping no-one falls into said cracks.

In between, nothing. Not even the nice picture reveals "cracks", unless they are on a scale which cannot be easily seen on-screen (in which case, they can't be "colossal").