Posts by ElReg!comments!Pierre

Overzealous anti-paedo scheme not dead yet

@Tim

"you should never do anything"

That's actually what non-trained people should do. Always. In the training they tell you to not less untrained people touch the victim, even to "help".

That's also what you can't do when you have a certification. You could end up in the brown 'n smelly. Non-assistance etc.

But if you intervene you MUST make sure there will be witnesses ready to testify that you did everything by the book, or you'll end up even deeper in. Only said witnesses don't know what's in the proverbial book, hence the "announce everything you're doing", "speak clear and loud" etc...

That's how it was were I obtained my last certification, before I let it slip because thanks, but no thanks.

There are only 2 ways to help without ending up completely screwed for helping:

- not being a certified anything: just call the emergency services

- being a certified whatever: work within an organisation, and never alone.

column A+ column B /2

I let mine expire for a similar reason. Rule number one in first aid is "damned if you don't, damned if you do". The first thing you learn is to announce everything you do very loudly to have witnesses; count very loudly etc etc. You are *required* to do the basic checks but you can't afford to do it the fast and efficient way as if something bad happen you must assume that you WILL be sued, so your first consideration must always be to make sure you will have witnesses, and ones with a good memory. Assisting a person in a life-threatening situation is stressful enough as it is, sod that.

As a general member of the public you are only required to call for help, so I'll do just that. I'd join the Red Cross or something, but I lack the time. Why do you think paramedics, the Red Cross people etc ALWAYS go by pairs, at least? Witnesses.

'Mark-of-the-Beast' bug topples Java apps

@ Cameron "point them here"

Next time someone suggests that writing OSs in Java would help ANYTHING, or that Java is without flaws, you should point them to the nearest asylum, not here.

Assange fights extradition in court

@ Ian MG

"What the defense is arguing is that they don't have *all* of the evidence that the Swedish Authorities have. Apparently the Swedes only presented enough evidence that they thought would be enough to charge Assange."

No, what the defense is arguing is that they have *sod all* evidence, not from the official channels anyway. Leaks in the media are not something you can mount a legal defense against.

"What is definitely interesting is that the Defense is on one hand arguing that Assange hasn't been charged yet... and on the other hand demanding to see *all* of the evidence that the Prosecution has collected as if he were charged.

What the eff are you talking about?

They are saying that

1- he isn't charged so there's no ground for extradition

2- they just remind everyone that IF he is to be charged some day, they need to see all the evidence (which is a legal requirement, as you cannot defend yourself when you don't know what you are accused of).

Hope that it cleared it a bit for you, you sounded confused.

Anonymous pwns security firm that probed its membership

OH fuck. ROFLOCOPTER

And this is supposed to be a SECURITY firm? My grand'ma wouldn't fall for that trick.

With such secure procedures in place, they thought they could spank Anonymous and get away with it how, exactly?

Anonymous tactics are sometimes dubious, but if the outcome is to unmask that type of crooks posturing as security types, good on them!

Catalans to hunt wild boar with bows and arrows

Hunting with bow and arrow is a medieval practice

Another advantage is that a modern hunting arrow has a much better impact effect on the game. A wounded animal will be stopped in shock, presumably not even feeling the pain right away, unlike what happens with guns. Especially with boars, which are incredibly resistant beasts (with a hell of a hide, too). It is not uncommon to find several pre-existent slugs in wild boars killed in certain area, as wounded animals can escape and hide. Certain animal-lovers might want to do a bit of research before they pick the (medieval) torches and pitchforks.

ROBOT COP scatters LIVE GRENADES in San Francisco STREET

GOTCHA, Lewis!

Ha! Clearly the bot was defective (and possibly overexpensive) Should've used an european model instead!

BOFH: There's no 'I' in team, but there's a 'u' in suck

Oh boy oh boy oh boy

A new BOFH. It's already open in another tab but I'll just keep it there for a while before I read it, I'll just wallow in the warm and fuzzy feeling, knowing that a brand new BOFH will be waiting for me when I'm finally done debugging that #&!!@%$#! python script.

Pentax 645D medium format digital camera

More pedantry

What about the comparisons with DSLRs?

Technically speaking this camera IS a DSLR... only not a 35mm-equivalent one.

ICO pays through the nose for 'website development'

To be honest it's not that much

Assuming there was some design involved (highly specialized artsy stuff like choosing the font -helvetica no doubt- and colour), then it's not very expensive. Designer time is roughly as cheap as lawyer time these days.

Mexican woman gets litigious on Top Gear's ass

Interesting concept

"fascist lefties", really? How does that work exactly? A bit like imperialist commies?

World shrugs as IPv4 addresses finally exhausted

"the interweb will become fragmented"

Oh come on!

There are plenty of solution to pass IPv4 over IPv6 and vice versa; it's a bit of a pain in the proverbial, so the laggards should really get said proverbial into gear and switch to IPv6, but no apocalypse awaits.

Julian Assange wins peace prize

You're forgetting some....

The Nobel has also been given to a man responsible for war, torture and general human rights destruction, just because he happens to be slightly tanned.

To a imprisoned criminal promoting and organizing riots, just because he doesn't like some of the USA's ennemies.

To an attention-whore for clumsily surfing on a Californian wave of hype.

I'm sure I'm missing some

Google to Microsoft: You're stealing our search results!

Android fashioned after WHAT now?

"Android, you might argue, was fashioned after a certain Apple handset"

That's a rater, erm, "interesting" assertion, care to elaborate? Android is a Linux distro which, according to Google, had been in development for quite a while before the iPhone came out. Given the timeframe, I would say that either Google can be trusted on that, or they work very fast indeed. And it's not like Android and iOS have much in common either. You could even argue that some of the features that iOS gained with subsequent version were actually "fashioned after" Android features that the original iOS lacked and that the users wanted.

Now the design of the first (HTC-made) handset on which Android was shipped might have been following the trend, set by the iPhone *among others*.

Finnish regulator calls for iPhone refunds

Mysoginist!

Hey, don't shove, I was leaving anyway.

UK cops arrest five in Anonymous attacks probe

LOIC is not illegal

You'd have to prove that LOIC was used by the kid in question AND to conduct DDOS attacks against a 3rd-party server.

Before the idiotic comments: yes, LOIC does have legitimate uses.

US Wikileaks investigators can't link Assange to Manning

Not sure about that

If Manning states he was taking orders from Assange, it's espionnage and quite possibly high treason... That means the wall I think, no? Doesn't sound very enticing.

Scotland bans smut. What smut? Won't say

@Steven Jones

>The analogy would be the police not declaring just how far you have to be over a speed limit before they will prosecute.

I think you'll find the analogy WOULD be to remove the signs indeed. In your example what is illegal is clear: driving above 40. 40 being the limit. 39.9 is legal, 40.1 is illegal Whether you get done for driving at 40.1 is another problem.

In the extreme pro0n law case, there is no pre-set limit, no way to tell what exactly is illegal UNTIL you get done. That's completely different, and that's exactly like removing all the speed limit signs and passing a law saying "it is illegal to drive dangerously fast".

Apple patents miracle combo mouse-keyboard

Touch typing?

You need physical keys (or at least consistent bumps of some sort) to touch-type, dontcha?

And you need a flat surface to swipe, dontcha?

Bolle BP-10 iPhone photo printer

Yeah, a tad pointless

>that's a good 2400 photos (minus postage) for the same cost...

More than that actually. I'm guessing that the paper and ink cartridge is anything but cheap, probably to the point of making each photo more expensive than professional prints.

That's the kind of gadget which is used as long as the first roll lasts, then stays unused in the living room for a couple month, then begins a happy life as spider house in the attic.

Lame Stuxnet worm 'full of errors', says security consultant

For the sake of comparison

So, can I have a few examples of weaponized malware previously developed by the USA, to compare?

"We would have done a better job" sounds like a very lame defense. The fact that teenage VXers could do better would actually indicate that they did not do it, indeedly-doo.

The same argument holds for China. The Chinese reportedly pwnd most USA 3-letters agencies' system for years without being detected, after all. Or was it a fear-mongering lie? You can't have it both ways.

Pavement hogging Segway rider convicted

Poor little thing

>Can I please buy a license to keep one locked up in a shed somewhere in Europe?

You seem to have forgotten something: no-one is FORCING you to buy a Segway in the first place. If you choose to buy one, knowing that you can't use it on public roads, then your bad.

You can own karts or an elephant rifle, doesn't mean you have the right to use them in the street.

What is legal or not

>The failure can be for something as benign as not having the correct lights, or not having mudflaps.

Actually it is also illegal to drive an approved vehicle in the street just because you have it running on non-approved fuel. That's how you can get done if you put 1/4th of colza oil in your (diesel) tank. It's better for pretty much everything (including your engine, your wallet, and the environment) but it's not approved so the whole vehicle becomes illegal to drive on public roads.

Assange vows to drop 'insurance' files on Rupert Murdoch

Collateral damage?????

Collateral manslaughter doesn't roll off the tongue quite as well. And "damage"? Puh-leeeze. That politico's talk to make us forget that civilian victims are human beings.

Apple refuses frozen iPhone repair

That may be so...

... but chances are that your humidity detector registered that, and whenever the thing fails, for whatever reason, you'll feel sorry.

Apache server thumps Microsoft and Google

Award

Whether anyone cares about webservers or not, you sir win the award for the most inane comparison ever. And without even involving cars! I didn't think it possible.

Bummed-out users give anti-virus bloatware the boot

I don't know since when

The Titanium thingamajig I just installed on a bunch'o boxen DID install visual C++ and the .NET framework. It kept complaining that it didn't find a compatible version of IE and that I should expect the machines to slow to a crawl until I installed IE8. I don't know if the warning is justified but I wasn't going to take the chance and risk a dozen angry users knocking on my door asking why their new machine is slower than the old one. Hop, a dozen more IE8 installs that MS can claim even though none of my users actually use it.

I don't know since when, but I suspect since quite a while, and you never noticed because, like 99% of the population, you never paid attention to what you put on your machines.

I don't know about the MacOS version.

BTW I like the casual way you write "Without bothering to do any research (because i'm lazy) i'm going to call bullshit on that.". Without bothering to do any research I think you're a purple slug from Alpha Centauri hired by a joint venture between the NASA, the CIA, Trend Micro and Microsoft to bring doom onto the Human race by the blissful propagation of lazily designed software.

challenge?

"Streamlining packages poses a tricky software design challenge"

When an AV products forces the install of the .NET framework and visual C++, and insist that IE8 be installed, I can't help but think that at least part of the bloat can be very, very easily cut. And I wouldn't call that a "tricky software design challenge" either, just "software design 101".

Yes Trend Micro, I'm looking your way. Apparently we got a high-volume arrangement with them. High volume of crap I would say. Well at least we're not stuck with Symantec anymore so that's still a step forward.

The shiny reporting tools might be trimmed down a bit too, or at least made optional at install time. Nice graphs are nice but mean nothing to the average user and raw logs are often more useful to admins, so the shiny tools are really only needed on management machines (to make management types feel that they got the whole package).

This year's classy compact cameras

Can I has LX5?

Did you not include the Pana DMC LX5 because you didn't try it or because you didn't like it?

I'm asking because I'm seriously considering getting one (optional _digital_ viewfinder and wider angle is what gives it the edge on the G12 for me).

Assange lawyers fume over leaked rape case docs

I don't think so

As mentioned that leak seriously compromises the possibility of a fair trial. Some cases have been dismissed for less than that.

Irony shmirony

There is not a single bit of irony there. There is arguably no ongoing case so the leak is not illegal, but it still seriously jeopardizes a possible trial (by compromising the possibility of a fair trial).

Given that the charges -if they are ever pressed- are likely to be "sex by surprise", which I am told carries a max fine of roughly 80 pounds*, the "trial by media" is likely to be used by the defense to have the case dismissed, and it's likely to work. More serious cases have been dismissed for less than that. Of course the defense lawyers need to be seen as fuming, but in private they must be patting each other's back.

Now to indulge in a bit of conspiracy theory, I wouldn't be overly surprised to learn that the leak was the work of a partisan of Assange, not one of his enemies.

*you read well. So much for the "seriousness of the allegations" first used to refuse the bail.

Assange: Text messages show rape allegations were 'set up'

They don't need proof

The swedish prosecutors don't need proof as they already said that they will drop whatever half-arsed charges they might be able to create by rewriting their law* when the US come up with a wikileaks-related case. Why would they waste time looking for evidence when they will drop the charge on US command?

*Sex by surprise is a Sweden-specific offense, and even so they are trying to amend the law to crowbar "sex without a condom the morning after sex with a condom" in the definition of "sex by surprise".

WikiLeaks mirror site rails against malware warning

Better analogy

Don't go to Fred's place as his landlord owns another building in which one or several bad guys have been known to live at some point in the past. And maybe in the present too, we're not too sure.

That's a rather fanciful warning to be honest.

Patents do not protect small firms, says trade body

Bears are catholic

Well, d'uh.

Of course patents don't protect the little guys or encourage innovation. But that's not what they were designed for, despite what it says on the tin.

Greek police cuff Anonymous spokesman suspect

cyberwar, or cybervandalism?

More like cyber-protest according to them, and the methods fit the bill. Only minorly disruptive but generating a lot of press; not really "anonymous". It's a bit like standing on time square with a placard. Funny thing is, the latter will get you arrested too, these days.

Of course.

You're completely right, but chances are that they are using that document as a "holding charge" to gain access to his computer etc, which they are probably currently analysing very carefully for proof of wrongdoing. IANAL, and not Greek, so I can't tell how well evidence obtained by such dodgy means would stand in a Greek court.

Google drops nuke on 'objective' search engine utopia

Both obvious and normal

Why so shocked? Of course the "ranking" of the results spewed out by a search engine is a matter of opinion. That's obvious. The way the algorithm work will necessarily create a bias, even if involuntarily. The only way to have a truly random list of results would be to randomize them after the search is done, before the list is displayed. That would be a waste of resource if you ask me.

And given that the hoard of lazy morons who constitute the bulk of Internet users tend to rank search engines by the ability to display the precise page they are looking for at the top spot, even though their query was a masterpiece of vagueness and defective spelling, the search providers have little choice but to second-guess the lusers and skew the results towards what the luser wants not what he actually asked for (these are rarely the same). Of course Google can't officially say "Our users are morons", that would be a foot-meets-bullet case, so they say "we are trying to be accurate" instead.

Google Cr-48: Inside the Chrome OS 'unstable isotope'

re: Yawn

"Let me guess - you've never actually owned or used any Apple equipment, have you?"

Yes I have, and that's irrelevant.

I wasn't even criticizing Apple, I was pointing that they follow exactly the same trend with iOS as Google does with ChromeOS (sans the free/open part).

Fanbois sure are ticklish these days. Not sure how you selected your icon, either. The Beast Of Redmond was never mentioned.

Equip Flail.

Brand game

"<BLANKED>'s fundamental aim is to shift all your files and applications onto the web. There's no local file explorer because <BLANKED> wants you to forget about your local file system.[...] <BLANKED> is offering beta notebooks to at least a portion of the general public, and if you ask whether a particular feature will arrive with the official OS next year, it tells you not to think in such terms. If a particular feature doesn't arrive on day one, <BLANKED> says, it'll show up with update at some point in the undetermined future. Or words to that effect."

Now for a funny game. Which brand name was blanked in the above text:

a) Google

b) Apple

c) All of the above

Apple pulls jailbreak detection API

Maybe they do trust the API

But not the vendor.

Honestly, given Apple's track record of changing and withdrawing things (API, Apps from the store, features, you name it) without notice or explanation, who in their right mind would put any effort in developing an app relying solely on a Johnny-come-lately API from them?

Chinese official gets suspended death sentence over anti-virus scam

I'm with AC

"karma's way of cleaning up a previous mess."

"an innocent *marketing* *executive*" (my emphasis)

Clearly Karma.

US Navy achieves '100 mile' hypersonic railgun test shot

Countermeasures? You're kidding, Shirley.

"Other ships have plenty of warning to turn their rusty high-speed cannons (only Lewis' Navy still uses them) and put at least 500 slugs into the precisely calculable trajectory of the Mach 8 thing. Other navies launch ESSM for the thing. Yeah, the computer might need to be sped up, but the mechanics is more than capable to hit the Mach 8 electrothing."

Assuming you could detect the thing (how do you detect a passive 10 kg lump of uranium going mach 6, again?), you would need to observe it for quite a while in order to predict a trajectory. And even if you were able to do that, you'd need a very fast and accurate cannon to hit it even once (it's considerably smaller than a guided missile). And even if you had a cannon fast and accurate enough, what do you think you would achieve by putting a few slugs in a solid block of uranium?

So in short:

- you won't even see it coming at all

- even if you saw it coming you couldn't calculate a trajectory fast enough to act on it

- even if you could your cannon (or ESSM) probably won't be able to hit it.

- hitting it won't do you any good, if it was going to hit you, it will still hit you. And you're still dead.

The only possible counter-measure is not being near the impact point when it hits. Planes and missiles might have a sporting chance if they can detect the thing early enough (not easy) but anything slower is toast.

Flame throwing Apache flees Oracle's Java group

Quick, someone call Verity

Wait, she must be celebrating already...

Java is now officially the new Visual Basic!

Call of Duty DDoS attack police arrest teen

Implications for other DDOS

Reports are a bit hazy but from my understanding they got the guy selling the attack software -from the post he used to advertise it, which is easy- and not the actual attackers -from the connection logs, which would have been tremendously more difficult- so no parallel can be made with other attacks. This certainly doesn't suggest that the plods can trace DDOSers (although I bet they deliberately released a vague story in order to instill unjustified fear in the hearts of script kiddies).

Hackers poison well of open-source FTP app

I _did_ find the fatal flaw

Sudo

And lack of oversight.

That is all.

Why would you sudo some unverified code? Most source code will run just fine without root privilege.

I guess the time has come. *nix people are now windoze-grade lusers.

Sight...

1????????

????????

I mean, really?

Wow.

"Histrionics" all round, as you say.

The funniest part was "It does run quite nicely either as an 'ftp' user or using chroot at beginning of each user session. The FTP software was not the locus of the problem."

Ooooh yeah. Also, the organic locus is diificult to isolate, as we did not identify the regression parameters just yet. However, we are using neural networks to pinpoint real-time credentials in a floating-paradigm manner, and we will soon remember our own name. Perhaps. Some day.

Also you seem happy to run unverified code as root. You are aware that "sudo make install" is equivalent to the "run install.exe" of yesteryears, aren't you? I. e. it labels you as a... person who runs install.exe stuff without thinking. Funny thing is, although you clearly have no clue appart from basic Google info, it seems you feel entitled to give advice, for some obscure reason.

Impressive.

THE TRUTH on the Californian NASA POISON ALIENS

Few thoughts

"The holy grail would be a microbe that contained no phosphorus at all."

If they're looking for a bacterium that exclusively uses arsenate instead of phosphate, on Earth, good luck. For such a lifeform, phosphate would be as poisonous as arsenate is for us, for the same reasons. And given how phosphate is necessary for virtually all lifeforms on Earth, finding a place compatible with life yet devoid of phosphate is not going to be easy.

As per the implications for ET life, all these people are assuming that life outside our world, if it exists, must be exactly similar to what evolved here. That's both quite stupid and quite pragmatic. Quite stupid because the odds are ridiculously infinitesimal (even when compared to the already ridiculously infinitesimal odds that life exists outside of Earth in our perception timeframe, to begin with). Different physical conditions would promote different chemical dynamics, and thus different element requirement for life, for example. Quite pragmatic because if life exists somewhere else in a very different form as it does on Earth, we would probably not be able to recognize it even if it kicked us in the 'nads, so why lose time looking for it?

Also, your tags are messed up. Strangely enough, Aresnic and Bacterianasa don't yeld any results (other than this very article, of course).

Frenchies, Germans wave fat pipes at embarrassed Brits

irrelevant indeed

Population density is much higher in the UK than in Germany or France. That is all.

I submitted a20-lines-long "funny" answer based on the the same kind of stereotypes as yours to "explain" Japanese and Swede high scores but it was rejected for some reason (well, it sure was silly, and we all know that British humour can be anything but silly. Ni).

Anyway, your argument is stupid, and even downright ostracist. Ni.

French and German people live in single-family houses MUCH more than UK people do, because single-family houses are MUCH more affordable in France and Germany than they are in the UK. Ni

I'm not allowed to say it it a humorous manner apparently, so you'll have to take it straight: You're a moron. Ni.

Ni

Ni

Ni

Ni

Russia wins World Cup bid in parrot-sickening travesty

Amusing

After reading the article you'd think that the main problem with Qatar's election is the state's interdiction to get trashed for cheap. Surely getting trashed for cheap is not the main point of the... oh, wait a minute. Forget I said anything.

If you want cheap booze no matter what, Qatar doesn't ban baker's yeast, sugar, or big airtight bottles *wink wink nudge nudge*.

Google ends 'do be evil, if you want a top ranking' policy

WTF is this story about?

Can I get my neighbour removed from the phone directory please? His dog keeps shitting on my lawn.

Google has to be extremely careful, if they start doing that they will be held responsible for everything they list, including all kinds of fraud and bamboozlement. The Recording Ass. of America probably won't have the balls to go for them, but I bet some others will give it a go.