* Posts by Al 14

20 publicly visible posts • joined 18 Jun 2009

New PlayStation Network hack hijacks user accounts

Al 14

Wow...

... That is just such a schoolboy error. I know let's do a password reset...

Ok, we need a unique code that is sent to the account holders email address and that is all, we must store the code securely on our servers, the code should be a one shot affair and time out.

So send the code to the client browser too? No no no, just to the account holders email address otherwise it defeats the fricken point!

Comet owner boosted by closure rumours

Al 14
Stop

Go to Best Buy in Southampton...

...and see how electrical retail should be done if it's not online.

Use of Weapons declared best sci-fi film never made

Al 14

No

Look to windward would be better.

Consumers still want it hard

Al 14
FAIL

What a load of rubbish

Hard copy just takes up space, costs more, consumes more resources etc. etc. etc. The *only* problem is that the media companies are not prepared to offer their *entire* range of wares at *fair* prices. I was in Asda last week looking at cheapo DVDs, mostly not great it's true, but I bought 4 for between 3 and 6 pounds each. Could I have bought the same films on-line for less or even the same price? Not legally I couldn't! Stupid stupid stupid industry idiots.

As for books, I love reading but currently the eBook readers do not satisfy me, though the availability and price of the eBooks at least looks like it's heading in the right direction.

Ubuntu's Lucid Lynx stalks PC and Mac converts

Al 14
Unhappy

Not if those users are on a laptop!

The window borders have always been too small on default Ubuntu to resize easily using a trackpad, I think they were 3 pixels in the previous release. Despite this being a known issue for years and having many many comments in the Ubuntu bug tracker they've decided to make it even worse for the new release and make the window borders 1 pixel (I still don't actually believe this - but I can't be bothered to try the new version).

Joe Bloggs is not going to want to have to mess around getting a different theme just be able to resize a window easily. Luckily I managed to find a Vista style windows theme which has 7 pixel borders I think, despite a few hiccups I think I prefer it overall to Windows XP and Vista, but maybe Windows 7 is better than Ubuntu.

Vampires not good role models for Catholics, declares Vatican

Al 14
Unhappy

It's FICTION...

... but then so is the bible in large parts, so it's probably no surprise they're getting confused!

Early adopters bloodied by Ubuntu's Karmic Koala

Al 14

Not that good

SMDB now crashes randomly, and they *still* haven't fixed the known performance issue that makes maximizing or make a window bigger take 1-2 seconds when using compositing window manager.. :-(

Toyota at Tokyo: micro e-car on display

Al 14
FAIL

Hideous...

... but since Toyota don't want to sell Electric Vehicles it should serve them very well!

Leaf battery rental scheme unveiled

Al 14
Stop

@miknik

The reason your laptop batteries get knackered is because they are not managed properly in terms of charge and temperature. Car batteries are tightly managed. Honestly they simply wouldn't be able to release a car that was knackered after a couple of years use it would be commercial suicide!

Toyota Prius fourth-generation e-car

Al 14
FAIL

13.1KWH battery? I don't think so..

.. the battery capacity is 1.31kWh - if only it were 13.1kwh for that price they would have made it a plug-in already!

BMW offers e-Mini tryouts to UK drivers

Al 14
Stop

No

Actually this London vs 'real' roads thing is nonsense. What is likely is that this car would get about 50 miles fully charged on a 'hard' drive, but won't fail to climb a hill properly. If it's your second car, i.e the one you use to commute that's probably ok. Do some research, the problems with electric vehicles are not power, but range and cost, problems that do not seem too large since there's no fundamental physics or economics getting in the way.

Al 14

Ok but...

... I'm all for electric cars but I'm suspicious about what BMW are doing. It's not like they are doing tests on a production car, I think they've knocked this together pretty quick to get some free publicity. I doubt whether they need any 'real world' data - they know these things basically work and will work very well within the parameters in a model that's not just knocked together. It's only huge volume production of batteries and controllers and a better value proposition that's holding this kind of car back.

UK.gov revives net cut-off threat for illegal downloaders

Al 14
FAIL

Grrrrrrrrr

Get off our internets Mandy!

Communist car given electric overhaul

Al 14
Thumb Down

Seems cheap but...

.... why not design a better looking car and forget about the Trabant thing all together?!

Texan judge outlaws Word

Al 14
FAIL

Hmmmm

Well for starters XML is a stupid way to store almost anything. Just because something is XML it does not make it automatically compatible with anything. If you you want to define a standard for something like a Word Processor Document, that's fine, but please use a platform independent binary format... grrrr.

Phorm: How it went down

Al 14
FAIL

Almost there?

The outcome isn't quite satisfactory, yet. To prevent a repeat of Phorm and to save numerous people a huge amount of time and effort in fighting such, we need to ensure that DPI is illegal under all circumstances (except perhaps with the expression permission of a court order).

Phone tapping isn't allowed, mail interception isn't allowed, DPI shouldn't be allowed. I wish simpleton politicians could see that they're all the same thing, it seems just because it's teh new fangled tinternet that existing rules and principles can be just thrown out of the window!

Phorm confirms TalkTalk fail

Al 14
Happy

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAA *pause for breath*

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAAA

Software hackers, protocol breakers, moral lacking management, it all add up to FAIL. Of course if you can find partners to work with like BT it all seems soooo sweet. Let's just hope that the privacy pirates BT and Phorm give up on a lost cause.

Phorm phading phast

Al 14
FAIL

Shares are still overvalued....

... by 250p.

Look Phorm, you were never a real company were you? Just a bunch of hackers and no-moral idiots with the opinion that making money is the be all and end all of everything regardless of how it's done. Just give up and try doing something truly useful instead!

BT abandons Phorm

Al 14
Happy

YES.....

Phorm.....please......die....... now!

Phorm incinerates $50m in 12 months

Al 14
Flame

Time to die

With any luck this is Phorm doing what they do best, being utter c**ts, in this case spending as much of foolish investors money as they can before the whole thing implodes!