Posts by Ole Juul

'Windows 9' LEAK: Microsoft's playing catchup with Linux

News to me

I've not used MS-Windows since 3.1 so was not aware that it was still a single desktop. That would be pretty hard to deal with. I guess it just goes to show how patient many people are.

Cable internet won't need dose of fibre to stop feeling bloated

Re: It's a start

Only a start though. I do welcome such advancement, but fear that cable companies will see it as a way of stalling on infrastructure upgrades.

Hackers pop Brazil newspaper to root home routers

add a sticker

The problem lies fair and square with the router manufacturer, though.

I notice that my consumer routers have a unique serial number and MAC address on the bottom. Manufacturers could just as easily put a unique default password there as well. That wouldn't cause a lot of trouble for people and would cut down some percentage of hacks.

PayPal goes crypto-currency with Bitcoin

Re: "Accepting" Bitcoin

It seems to me that Bitcoin acceptance and Bitcoin momentum are good. The fact that these latest developments are using a middleman doesn't mean that other desirable functions of Bitcoin don't still apply.

That said, how is Paypal going to deal with chargebacks? Bitcoin doesn't support that.

Net neutrality protestors slam the brakes on their OWN websites

Re: Ole Jule Cretins.

@Matt, et al: I assumed (correctly going by your subsequent post) that you do not place a high enough criteria on high-speed Internet access for you to pay the price it would require.

It's pretty expensive alright. Not something that individual citizens are able to pay for. Yes, you're quite right I don't place a lot of value on high-speed internet for myself. Except as a single example, I don't think my personal situation is important.

However, there seems to be a lot of discussion about broadband as if everyone has it. There is also a lot of discussion about choice of provider as if everyone has that. What I wish to point out is that it is not possible to have a productive discussion when there are unspoken assumptions.

I am not "moaning" about anything. Where you get the idea that I would be whining about my own situation, I don't know. It is utterly bizarre to me and I don't see the value in this discussion.

Re: Cretins.

@ Andrew: I'm not sure if you agree with me or not. My point was aimed at the previous comment by Matt Bryant who seemed to think that everyone had cable or DSL, and perhaps even a choice. I thought it was somewhat narrow minded of him to assume that everyone did. Large areas of North America are left with a single provider, usually of wireless, and typically 1.5 mbps. I'm quite happy living with that because I'm not a consumer of movies or high speed/bandwith material (preferring more dense material like the Reg.) but it is a mistake to think that "everybody" is able to take part in the high speed internet that is being discussed in major cities and Europe.

I don't think the net neutrality discussion even applies to me or a lot of people here in Canada. Of course they're not going to split 1.5 mbps into a fast and a slow lane. That was a joke. Yes, I read and enjoyed your previous article.

Re: Cretins.

Like many north Americans, I have slow internet and no choice of providers. I have not seen the competition you talk about though I'm sure it applies to where you live. In any case, from my, and many people's perspective, the only way to create a fast lane is to add a slower one. I guess that makes me a cretin. There's a lot of us.

Re: They may show everyone overwhelmingly in favor of net neutrality

Probably the lamest argument of all time.

I bet they wish they had a better one though.

The National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), . . . said yesterday that common carrier rules would create a bureaucracy which slows down implementation of new technology.

Isn't that exactly the kind of excuse they're looking for? They've had no excuse whatsoever for letting it get to 512K day. Next they'll be saying "the government wouldn't let us upgrade". Whiners.

Troll or thief? User claims Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto dox sabotage

Hillbilly Hackers

From the remote hills of the internet.

New USB spec offers two-way power flows AND double-sided plug

History

This spec could therefore offer a way to turn a monitor or other device into a power source

The Amstrad had the power supply in the monitor.

Microsoft tells judge: Hold us in contempt of court, we're NOT giving user emails to US govt

Re: A question and a kudo

The Feds have an interest in seeing the ruling upheld, but they're the only ones who do. Pretty much everyone else will be on Microsoft's side.

Agreed. In fact it's the Government vs. the People.

Applelutely fappulous: Fashionistas bow down before the JESUS PHONE

One step ahead

I'm not going to get any. That'll be the next trend.

Heavy VPN users are probably pirates, says BBC

Re: BBC Worldwide

I'm going to go out and get myself a pair of baggy pants and a VPN!

Don't laugh. I'm not just trying to feel young again. I think that the age group who reacts to the world like that, is indeed aware of the current injustices and will move on. Those old farts at the BBC and MPAA and so on, aren't going to be around for ever.

Re: How low the BBC has sunk

The world has moved on, Television as a medium is on the border of outplaying it usage/requirement.

Let's hope so. But I'm afraid it's being replaced by Facebook. Still a little early to tell though.

BBC Worldwide

Is it even in their mandate to meddle with lawmaking in other countries?

Enigmail PGP plugin forgets to encrypt mail sent as blind copies

If you have nothing to hide . . .

. . . use BCC.

Europe's Google wrangle: PLEASE, DOMINANT Mr Schmidt? More?

enough is enough

You tell em Eric.

NATO nations 'will respond to a Cyber attack on one as though it were on all'

Re: Cyber attack?

I guess it would be off putting to get up one morning look out your window and find the collected armed forces of several countries parked on your front lawn.

Yes, and they would all be focusing on their laptops cyber attacking away.

3D scanning made easy: Reg man ponders terrifying Xmas pressie

There's going to be a lot of landfill

Christmas presents. Brilliant! Everyone gets coffee mugs, dildos, piggy banks, and other bits of plastic just made just for them. Another idea is to make 3D business cards. Pass out little busts of yourself with your phone number at the bottom. The list is endless.

India government: 'net should not be censored

Really?

. . . the Indian law goes further by criminalising the publication of false information for, among other things, the purpose of causing annoyance or inconvenience.

No politics then.

The Schmidt hits the clan: Google chief mauls publishers' 'abuse of dominance' claims

Re: Search Results that Contain new Search Engines are crap

We show the results at the top that answer the user's queries directly Schmidt said. That's a lie just plain wrong. I get commercial and popular results at the top. Also if I use negatives like "NOT" in my search string, Google ignores them. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding Schmidt's meaning of the word "directly".

New software ported from Windows to Mac! You'll never guess what. Yes, it's spyware

Re: More hints please

Nice snark @Aimee. :) I'm not particularly smart, but I wouldn't be assuming that other people don't read the complete article, which includes links. Yes, I do concern myself with where links go, but my UNIX box is locked down pretty tight - hence my interest in how a Trojan would be able to execute. Perhaps one of these days it could be a reality.

The Symantec article starts with "When the Trojan is executed, . . . " which doesn't give me a lot to go on.

thinkage

Mac users like think their immune

I don't use a Mac, but I also like think my immune.

More hints please

How does this attack get local privileges?

Want to buy a Woz-made Apple I? If you need to ask the price, you can't afford it

Re: Meh @goldcd

First, he needs to find some lead based solder...

It's in the stores. Go look. The RoHS thing is for manufactures and doesn't apply to repairs or hobby use.

Re: Meh @goldcd

@DougS

No way he can get identical parts today, though I suppose you could take them off less valuable equipment from around the same time.

Did you actually look, or are you guessing? I don't know exactly what chips are on this board, but would point out that 7400 ttl is still in catalogs. Perhaps some of the other chips are more difficult, but lots of us here still have boxes of old parts. Exactly which part were you unable to find?

Huawei 'beats' Apple to bag sapphire smartie bragging rights

Designed with empathy

So make sure you’re in a comfortable environment before attempting to watch this remarkable film.

That's not funny. I should have been leaning over the toilet bowl.

DEATH TO TCP/IP cry Cisco, Intel, US gov and boffins galore

Re: Verifying the source of the data

Very useful for those bodies who want to claim licensing royalties for the use of such a protocol.

Indeed, the article says "open source" but does not mention if it will be free. I'm rooting for a BSD license like TCP since that seemed to work very well.

WordPress 4.0 is here, complete with one-click upgrade process

For better of for worse?

Am I the only one who just sees this as more work? The last major upgrade saw one of my sites hacked because of an introduced vulnerability, and within a day the amount of spam to deal with increased by several orders of magnitude. I'm not looking forward to the upgrade. Personally, I'd rather see improvements to the code than to the interface.

FCC boss Wheeler: Lack of broadband choice is screwing Americans

NCTA gall

"Chairman Wheeler's remarks about broadband competition underscore the importance of maintaining a light regulatory touch that encourages more investment from more companies,"

Most of the telecommunications laws we have now are a result of their lobbying. What they're saying is that a "light touch" is when the laws work in their favour.

We need less U.S. in our WWW – Euro digital chief Steelie Neelie

Re: More talk about less talk.

The reason it doesn't seem so bad is that no viable alternative has been suggested. If I saw something good on the horizon, I'd get behind that. The UN is US controlled, and the ITU is UN controlled. Besides the ITU is beholden to the telcos and not the people. With things like the "affirmation of commitment" between the US Dept of Commerce and ICANN, there doesn't seem much hope for that aspect of the net to change in the immediate future. Any (realistic) suggestions?

The "Snowden thing" is another issue. I think we can do something about those problems.

More talk about less talk.

The US has recently asserted their control over the .com .org and .net domains in several court cases. So I don't see ICANN's role changing much. There are also agreements in place which guarantee continued US government involvement. Making changes to that aspect of the internet is just going to be more talk.

As it stands now, the way the US is controlling the net doesn't seem so bad. I'm certainly no fan of the US, but in this case it's certainly better than some alternatives - at least in actual practice. US dominance of the net is another story. I don't see that changing until we all start learning Chinese. In other words, not for a while yet.

Google's 'Captain Moonshot': I will BOMB you with DELIVERIES

Re: Prizes From Heaven!

If you shoot it down your booty may land in a tree, or get broken when it hits the ground. A much better idea is to launch a purpose built Pirate Drone.

Wearables market set to EXPLODE... Wait, is that a STRAP-ON chair?

Re: Noonee 'chair'

It reminds of the old strap-on milking stool.

Best shot: Coffee - how do you brew?

Re: Madam Blå

Why would the article include mention of a product you haven't been able to buy since 1966?

What a strange comment. You can buy them now if you want to buy them now. They're around $40. I've got several, because I didn't thrown them away. Besides, many people use the same method with a slightly more modern pot.

Madam Blå

I'm a little disappointed that madam blå wasn't mentioned. Denmark is just across the water and (at least to the Danes) is considered the world's centre of coffee making.

There are many good ways to make coffee, as the article aptly points out, and I've done a number of them over the last 60 years or so. It is a matter of pride to to be known as a house where the coffee is unsurpassed, and I carry on the proud tradition of my parents in that regard. In any case, as I get older I find myself favouring the tradition in which I grew up.

Pedals and wheel in that Google robo-car or it's off the road – Cali DMV

Re: which should be the default more-reliable case in the event of conflicting input?

I do have some faith in Google technology, but can they actually make it safe outside of a city environment?

I'm sure that Google can figure out how to get cars to work together on the road reliably. However, when a car is going down the road, does it stop when there are people at the side? Probably not. Does it stop if those people are toddlers? I am curious at how Google intends to handle that one.

Also, in this rural area we have different road hazards. Rocks keep rolling down the mountain sides and there is debris on most highways. Probably an automated car can navigate that, and perhaps even quicker than a human.

Now what happens when there are lots of deer. Some people get bent out of shape if the deer get hurt. Some people get bent out of shape because they get dents in their car, which can happen at quite low speeds. Some people just get bent out of shape because a deer through the windshield happened to kill or injure them.

If deer are on the road, probably no problem. The car will go up close to them and then wait. If it doesn't get really close however, the wait could be quite long.

If deer are on the side and there is a group of them, one is more than likely to get confused and will run right in front of the car in the last moment. Does the automated car consider this? Humans do, and will usually stop to see what the animals are going to do, employing knowledge such the fact that deer tend to escape to the uphill side, or young ones tend to run to their mothers. Without some sort of strategy, one could be sitting in one's car and waiting for quite a while, and frequently. I'm afraid that human control is essential in a rural situation. If Google can do it, fine, but I'm doubtful.

Forrester says it's time to give up on physical storage arrays

The new physics

The time has therefore come to recognize that arrays are expensive and inflexible, Baltazar says, and make the jump to virtual arrays for future storage purchases.

Fancy words for outsource and off site.

Storage-watchers will know that Baltazar's post doesn't really say anything startlingly new. But the fact he's saying it at all, and saying it so bluntly, is surely notable.

The very fact that he thinks that the internet is reliable enough is what's notable.

Brainboxes caught opening Bitcoin fraud emails. Seriously, guys?

bit and forth

. . . there is no way to get anything back . . .

He's assuming that the crooks themselves hadn't lost any.

US Copyright Office rules that monkeys CAN'T claim copyright over their selfies

Re: Another way to use this

"a "so called" photographer"

I don't think speech marks do what you think they do.

You might want to look it up. In any case, I was just being lazy when I should have used emphasis as in the above. Which, by the way, also has several applications. I note that you succumb to the same laziness. ;)

. . . his involvement in creating the shot was pretty much limited to a) being in the right place at the right time and b) having the camera set up to take shots . . .

That's how news photographers work. They take a lot of shots and hope that one will be a winner.

Another way to use this

Nuts all right. So if a "so called" photographer is unable to prove that he is personally the one who pushed the trigger at the time, the picture would be public domain. To avoid this, photographers could arrange to have a picture of himself pushing the trigger while taking the other picture. I could carry this further - but I won't.

ISIS terror fanatics invade Diaspora after Twitter blockade

Diaspora* must be happy

But ISIS ISNT.

Intel's Raspberry Pi rival Galileo can now run Windows

Physical size

So you get one of these "devices", download a pre-made image, boot, wait.. open notepad. And now what?

I'm not knowledgeable about MS-Windows, but you're not implying that I'd have to attach a keyboard, mouse, and monitor, are you? I sure hope not! That would lose any advantage of using a small device in the first place.

Nuke regulator hacked three times in three years

wondering

required operators to meet minimum security standards

If the "minimum" doesn't include computer use, what does it include?

Snowden leaks show that terrorists are JUST LIKE US

Re: Removable batteries

Too bad Lobban and Rogers don't have removable batteries.

PwC says US biz lagging in Internet of Things

Re: Strangelove

There's a gap alright. Probably between somebody's ears.

America's hot and cold spots for broadband revealed in new map

"I am serviced by 7Mbps service in Bend. Faster speeds are available for more money. Often these speeds come with data caps of just 150GB per month too. It is a pathetic state of service for 2014."

Parts of Oregon have 1.5mbps service. Workable but poor. I'm in a (very) small town in western Canada, and I get similar speeds (though slightly higher for more money). My cap for $40/mo is 20GB, and for $50/mo is 40GB. You think 150GB is poor?

This is exactly why I want to see statistics published about what is going on at the low end.

Average?

The problem with using averages is that the number is only useful when all values are equally important. In this case they're not. I'd like to see what the low end actually looks like in practice.