Posts by peter 45

Thought you didn't need to show ID in the UK? Wrong

Re: Yawn.

What. You mean you have NEVER been asked to fill in th bit on the registration form stating your nationality? Hmmmmmm.

Re: Yawn.

What. You mean you have NEVER been asked to fill in th bit on the registration form stating your nationality?

Big Beardie's watching: Alan Sugar robots spy on Tesco petrol queue

Tesco, stock your shelves

I foresee an increase in the sales of......

Chewing gum

Spray paint

Masking tape

Superglue

Halloween masks

US indicts Brit bloke over backdoor blagging of US troops' data

It all right

Downloading the data is no problem, just as long as he didnt review it.

That's the rule, isn't it America?

A $17.3bn fine, you say? Samsung begs for five-year patent war truce

Prediction

So now what incentive is there for companies to put their patents into standards?

I predict that standard setting using the latest technology will grind to a halt.

Apple ban win: Now you can't buy Samsung gear no one was buying

So how come?

Apple can get a ban on 100% of the phone when the patent in question constitutes probably 0.1% ?

Adobe hit by 'sophisticated' mega hack ransack

Perhaps

They should have downloaded that server software update..........again.........and again.........and again

Samsung: Sod off Apple, we've made gold mobile phones for way longer than you

Yawn

In 2006 i had a Google Motorola RAZR V3i gold

Well I liked it

EasyJet wanted to fling me off flight for diss tweet, warns cyber-law buff

Re: Optional

Cut and paste an advert for a rival airline...or even an advert for check-in vacancies at another airline

EasyJet PR

"EasyJet has never denied boarding due to comments on social media".. written by the PR department....so it must be true

Flying in the US? Remember to leave your hand grenades at home

Re: Re; liquids

Ha. You joke........but

Several years ago I read a report from a passenger who smelt petrol. He traced it to the overhead locker where there was a leaking chainsaw.

Apparently the chainsaw had been seen by the security personnel, but had been waved through because a chainsaw was not on the banned list!

Apple quietly revives iPhone charging and syncing docks

Re: Only Apple

Apple.....square corners....nnnooooooooo

Startup claims 1W wireless charging at 10 metres

ERP includes antenna gain

So you can have any amount of beam forming or focusing you like, you can still have a maximum of 4 watts radiated.

This also means that no matter how efficient/beam formed/focused you receiving antenna is, you can still only have a maximum of 4 watts (and the recieve antenn

has to be as big as the transmitting antenna). Using iphone 5 as an example, with capacity of 5.45Wh, you could charge it in a bit over an hour........assuming of course 100% efficient transmitter beam forming, no loss of power over the distance, 100% efficient receiver antenna, 100% efficient power conversion from RF to DC and 100% efficient charging circuit.

Add up all the real world inefficiencies and i recon the whole thing is bollocks.

NAO: UK border bods not up to scratch, despite billion-pound facial recog tech

Re: I find it odd that it is more difficult ...

Catching the ferry from UK to Europe -

At UK end, full passport check, full security check including metal detectors and about three gates before even getting to the ferry

At european end, basically wander off into town.

Catching ferry from Europe to Uk -

At European end, wave the ferry ticket in vague direction of single security guard.

At UK end, full passport check after queueing for an hour and customs pulled us over to check how much booze we were carrying (as foot passengers, just how much did they think I could get in a couple of carrier bags?)

Tory think tank: Hey, civil servants! Work with startups to save £70bn

Re: The report can be summarised thusly ...

Or getting a job in the private sector where they actually create wealth for the country instead of spending it.

Not gonna work if there is no incentive for actual work

Replacement IT systems may help in some areas, but not going to help at all if the actual work behind them is glacial. I one had a tree with a TPO (tree preservation order) blow down. I wrote to the council to ask what should be done (basically two options, TPO is revoked or new tree planted. I had to get something in place as I was intending to sell the property. For various reasons I asked for it to be revoked.

1 month later - they lost my application.

2 months later - they had logged my application

3 months later - they were considering my re-application

4 months later - they guy doing mine went on maternity leave and they were appointing a stand-in.

5 months later - Stand-in claimed TPOs can NEVER be changed/revoked as it 'is the law you know'. Had to read out the act of parliament which gives councils powers to alter/revoke TPOs. Stand-in now well over his head and "cannot do anything 'till original guy returns".

6 months later - original guy returns but has a huge backlog. My application goes to the bottom as it is non-urgent

9 months later - Decision made. TPO will be revoked, but will take a long time to enact. Ask for a letter to simply state their intention to present to prospective purchasers. "not a problem, it will be sent out today"

12 months later and a house sale delayed due to this single issue, after many calls and finally threats to put in a written complaint, I get a letter with a single sentence stating they intended to revoke the TPO.

Punter strikes back at cold callers - by charging THEM to call HIM

Re: Be a yes man instead.

I had various scripts for answering the phone.

"Ying Tong Chinese Takeaway. What nummer you wa?"

"Secret Pleasures emporium. Congratulations you are out hundred caller today. What address shall I send your free vibrator?"

And my special response for any female cold callers (very rare unfortunatly), "Sorry for my heavy breathing, I've just run to answer the phone. Now, what colour panties are you wearing? ".

Any of my friends and family got used to telling me to shut up

Quarter of a million quid fine for data-wipe gaffe? ICO told: Nae, laddie

Oh good

There has been more taxpayer money spent to show that the money taken from the taxpayer and given to the taxpayer is too much.

Money well spent I say.

Apple wins Samsung import ban, loses 'Battle of Rounded Corners II'

Patent 7912501 has got to be ripe for prior art or obviousness. I have gone through it and it seems to me a very long winded way of saying that it detected whether the jack is a 3 or 4 pin with appropriate components on the end by using impedance detection circuitry and/or using pull up/down resistors to produce hi/low signals. It then goes on an on and on about various other methods but it is all basically doing it the same way........all of which are blindingly obvious to anyone who has designed detection circuitry. I personally designed a circuit to detect whether two different types of antenna were being plugged into an transmitter by determining the impedance or a high resistance resistor in circuit.

It seems that Apple are using the 'patent every bit of the design and ignore prior art or obviousness' method of patenting. Basically throwing mud at the wall and see what sticks. Considering the state of the Patent Office, it seems that all the mud sticks.

Serious Farce Office: 32K secret BAE probe files spaffed to WRONG bod

Ahem

Get in touch and tell us in confidence

Nobody will find out......well apart from NSA and GCHQ obviously

Apple can't dump Samsung, it needs those iPad displays – report

new format

How do you read the third or fourth nested comment? It ends 1/4 way across the screen and is impossible to read. Please change it back

Base stations get high on helium, ride MUTANT kite-balloons at the football

Threaded unreadable

Why has the layout changed. The threaded comments are unreadable now, and following the comments by newest or oldest is impossible.

Change it back please

Music licensor seeks to block Pandora from running a radio station

Re: Let me get this straight...

Ahem.

we not paying > we paying

IT Crowd thesp eyes giant hot-air-filled FLYING SCROTUM

Tagline

I do some running to raise money for testicular cancer research. I always run n a teeshirt with the tagline, Saving the Boys......for the Girls. Its probably raised me more money than the running sponsorship. Please feel free to use.

Only 1 in 5 Americans believe in pure evolution – and that's an upswing

American logic

And the Americans still fervently believe in democracy and go to war to impose it without a trace of irony.

Apple surrenders in 'app store' trademark suit against Amazon

Oh

"App Store brand had grown strong enough to not require additional legal protections"

You mean there wasn't a 'likelyhood of confusion' as Apple has been claiming all along? I assume that they were not using the lawsuit to try to intimidate competition, and it wasn't the Judges comment that made them realise they were not going to pull the wool over his eyes, so the sudden increase in 'strength of their brand' reason must be true

UK Post Office admits false accusations after computer system cockup

The lest that should be happening is that every one of these shortfall claims should be passed to independent Auditors for checking against the raw data. The fact that the software was checked and some bugs were found is not the real problem and is not the way to cure it. People were put in prinson for 'stealing', not for software errors.

'The Apprentice' is a load of old codswallop, says biz prof

Well Doh

It took a Professor to tell us that it a load of tripe?

Obama says US won't scramble jets or twist arms for Snowden

Master hacker me

After I changed my own wallpaper on the company laptop, my (very) computer illiterate boss started telling everyone i was a hacker. Worst bit was that everyone started coming to me with their IT problems and expected me to fix the photocopier.

Radio hams tell Ofcom: Put that Wi-Fi mob back in their place

Dont know why RSGB bothered

After the last time they responded to an OFCOM consultation exercise and got the right royal 'fuck off'.

PRISM leaker strands hacks on booze-free flight

Awwwww

"American officials confused and increasingly frustrated. "

Awww. Bless.

Kim Dotcom victim of 'largest data MASSACRE in history'

Re: The feds are not going to stop themselves

@FutureShock999

"variable price points - meaning that a DVD can (and usually does) sell for less in poor 3d world countries"

You mean that I pay extra in order to subsidise 3rd world consumers....rather than the entertainment companies gouging me for a product costing pence to produce, just because they can. Oh. Ok then. Makes me feel a lot better knowing that.

Sorry, got to go. Ive just seen some fairies at the bottom of my garden

Re: The feds are not going to stop themselves

"how can the accused afford a realistically reasonable defense team if their assets are frozen?"

Well how else do you think they are going to get the guilty* to go to jail.

(* or innocent, doesn't really matter with the Mercan justice system)

Stay away from the light, Kodak! Look, here's $406m to keep you alive

Yes they are that stupid

Several years ago I developed a piece of electronic equipment which sold very well as it had no immediate competitors. Over time I put forward plans to improve and upgrade it, reduce manufacturing costs, bring it into line with latest Military standards, and produce a range of units on the same basic design. It would have cost less than 1% of the profits made from that unit, but management said no as it was selling well.

Fast forward two years. There are now several competing units on offer which cost less and are built to the latest Military standards. Our sales have fallen to virtually zero. Management response was to send out several memos requesting ideas as to why this unit is no longer selling and what can be done to regain the lost market.

I resigned

SCO vs. IBM battle resumes over ownership of Unix

Flogging a dead horse

No point telling the lawyer flogging the dead horse that it is dead if he is billing by the hour

REVEALED: The gizmo leaker Snowden used to smuggle out NSA files

Re: Root password, sure, but why wasn't the data encrypted?

Where I used to work all of the USB ports were glued up to prevent us saving files to USB sticks..........well all of them except the one used for the mouse and keyboard. The OS even had the drivers still present.

We pointed out this stupidity and the official response was to tell us that installing a customised OS was too difficult/expensive and to issue a dire warning against using the USB port for anything other than the keyboard/mouse.

Sigh

How NSA spooks spaffed my DAD'S DATA ALL OVER THE WEB

But but but

But we're the Gubberment.

We put these rules in place for the little people to follow. They don't apply to us 'cos we make the rules, we dont follow them.

First 'adult' app for Google Glass planned 'within days'

Let me guess

A hi-tech version of the 'x-ray' specs to see through clothing that used to be advertised 30 years ago.

Did Kim Dotcom invent 2-factor authentication? Er, not exactly...

US patent system

He got a patent through the Patent Office; what has prior art or previous patents describing the same thing got to do with anything?

That is how the US patent system works.....right?

Identity cards: How Labour lost power in a case of mistaken ID

Re: I wonder how much of the opposition matches mine?

@ Alfred

"If you want to leave the country, ok, you need a passport. I think that's not the case; you can leave whenever you like without permission."

That may be true legally, but in practice it is very difficult. Try boarding any form of transport to another country without a passport and you will be turned away (even if you have other forms of ID). The only way I can think of that may not entail showing your passport on exit is by getting in a boat and sailying/paddling overseas,

San Francisco caves over mobile radiation warnings

"If the nation's experience with tobacco taught us anything, it is that it is dangerous to wait until there is scientific consensus about a potential health threat"

Some history has been forgotten here. There is a huge difference between tobacco and mobile radiation. When the health warnings were introduced for tobacco, there were years of experiments and studies from around the world that showed direct, measurable and predictable health effects from smoking, and this showed up in the hospital wards.

The scientists calling for a ban did not do so because they thought there may be a yet un-proven hypotheses for which there was no scientific explanation, with not a single study showing a causal link........unlike the 'death from mobiles' scare stories of today.

US Army engineer wins Air Assault wings after repairing hi-tech leg twice

Not just his leg

I heard he also had his nuts shot off.....and replaced with balls of steel

Thousands rally behind teen girl cuffed, expelled in harmless 'explosion'

Re: OOPS!

Ever seen a firecracker inside a bottle of St Ivel 5 pints? (do they still sell it?). Very satisfying fireball.

Reg hack to starve on £1 a day for science

Re: Dear God

Could be talking about me and my Missus. We gave up our jobs last year (our own choice so dont claim dole or anything) and challenge ourselves to find/make our main daily meal for less than a quid for for the two of us.

Best value is potatos/onions/rice/carrots bought by the sack. (2.50 for a 25kg of grade 1 carrots was my best deal). Our treats consist of anything we can get off the 'final, final reductions before we throw them out' counter. Had a smoked salmon starter the other day for 10p. Mmmmm.

Virgin Media: SO SORRY we fined your dead dad £10 for unpaid bill

It is not so difficult

Was executor of my late father and contacted BT to inform them of his death and the fact he would no longer be needing his telephone.

The would not talk to me cos I was not the account holder, so I sent them a death certificate and informed them I was the executor....they would still not speak to me cos i was not the account holder.

I sent a letter telling them to get in touch if he owed any money and to make a claim on his estate. No response.

During this time, there were letters kept being sent to him that he owed money and the matter was being put in the hands of collection agencies. Each time I sent a letter re-itterating that he was dead and to send me any claims in the estate.

After I had wound up the estate I got a letter telling me that money was owed for the period after he died and that I was now responsible. I told them they had failed to make a claim on the estate within the required timescale and to take the matter to court if they wanted to.

Never heard back.

New rules to end cries of 'WTF... a £10 online booking fee?'

Re: so...

I have heard that if there us no way of buying the goods at the advertized price (ie without booking fee), then they are false advertizing. Try reporting them to trading standards. Arguing with the jobsworth minimum wage monkey behind the desk is never going to work.

Apple handed victory in Samsung text-selection patent case

Headset detection patent

Is this patent US 7912501 B2 that is the subject of this dispute? If it is, it seems to me a very long winded way of saying that it detected whether the jack is a 3 or 4 pin with appropriate components on the end by by using pull up/down resistors to produce hi/low signals. It then goes on an on and on about various other methods (using FETs no less!!!) but it is all basically doing it the same way........all of which are blindingly obvious to anyone who has designed signal detection circuits.

Of course I could be wrong as I dozed off a couple of times as i read the cut and paste paragraphs over and over again and there may be some non-obvious never invented before secret source, but i didnt find it.

Major blow for Apple: 'Bounce back' patent bounced back by USPTO

Definition of a consultant

Someone who gets paid to tell you what you want to hear.