Posts by Mark C 2

It's been 230 years since British pirates robbed the US of the metric system

On the other hand many Americans resent what they see as old white christian men living in the last century telling them they should live their lives.

Google, YouTube ban election trolls ahead of US midterms

US Democracy

According to *all* 13 US Intelligence Agencies Russia did interfere with the 2016 US election and, given that Hilary won the popular vote (but lost the Electoral College vote), one could conclude that Russia misinformation was just enough for Trump to win.

According to the EUI Index the US is a Flawed Democracy and is currently number 26 on the list of countries, and sliding down:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

Maybe it is the way the GOP / Red States are making it harder for poor people to vote, or, because democracy literally means 'one man one vote' and the Electoral College thing means it is not a true democracy.

The USA cannot teach anyone how to be a democracy until they first become one.

ASML CEO: Industrial conglomerate buying washing machines to rip out semiconductors

Re: Rear seat air conditioning

Automotive safety critical systems are managed separately to in-car entertainment, air-con, etc. It is not the 50p chip it is the £50 ECU sourced from a 3rd party that the chip sits in.

My recent experience of one UK automotive is that they think the digital platform of a vehicle is an Electrical Engineering problem and the IT Profession has nothing to contribute so they are now trying to solve software management problems like Configuration/Version/Build/Release Management, etc. that IT solved decades ago. They are literally reinventing the wheel (pun intended). But frequently do not realise a wheel is even required.

Farm machinery giant John Deere plows into two right-to-repair lawsuits

Right to Repair

It has been law in the US for some time for automotive so not sure why it can't be extended to farm equipment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_Vehicle_Owners%27_Right_to_Repair_Act

USA...the land of the free

Cisco requires COVID-19 shots for all US staff – even remote workers

Re: No Joke

And all the studies comparing the US Healthcare systems with other developed countries have shown you get roughly the same outcomes but the US system is *double* the cost.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3633404/

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/03/u-s-pays-more-for-health-care-with-worse-population-health-outcomes/

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/072116/us-healthcare-costs-compared-other-countries.asp

Wonder where all that additional money is going to as it is not on adding value to the patient.....?

Royal Navy and Air Force get low-code bridge in UK military recruitment saga

Low code

Nothing fancy, just re-branded BPM. It does work under the right conditions and automating a well-defined process is a good example where BPM works well. I have used Pega in a bank to automate credit processing which is highly regulated and needs to support large volumes, way more than RN/RAF applications.

IT giant CSC coughs up $2m after helping New York City bill Medicaid for child therapy rather than insurance cos

US of A

Have always wondered why medical cover is such a contentious issue is the USA and 'freedom' must be built into the market when you don't take the same approach for Defence, Policing, Government, Education, etc. Why is medicine treated so differently?

Medicine in the USA costs more then all developed countries but with the same / worse outcomes and is twice the global average.

https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/quality-u-s-healthcare-system-compare-countries/#item-start

Someone is ripping off 'The People' and not adding value.

Auditors bemoan time it takes for privatised RAF pilot training to produce combat-ready aviators

It is taking 7 years to train a military a pilot due to lack of available training aircraft and instructors so they get put in a holding position until they can progress to the next stage. Before outsourcing in the '90s it took ~£3 Million and 3 years - depending on aircraft type - to become operational.

Finally in the UK: Apollo 11 lands... in a cinema near you

_LC_

_LC_ is really Bombastic Bob and I claim the £5!

;-D

Introducing 'freedom gas' – a bit like the 2003 deep-fried potato variety, only even worse for you

Re: Bob...

Bob, if you are gong to argue against the entire population of the World's Climate Scientists then you need to have a strong argument and your research, otherwise you will look like you are bringing a knife to a gun fight. That source you quote for your Climate Science data is a guy with an MSc in yeast.

http://nov79.com/about4.html

An MSc studying an unusual yeast does not make him an expert in Climate Science, or yeast.

You do not appear to understand the scientific method and look for facts to confirm your bias from highly dubious sources.

FAIL - Recommend some basic science education and close supervision.

NASA's crap infosec could be 'significant threat' to space ops

"...chasing after the POLITICALLY MOTIVATED HOAX called "man made climate change" "

Don't tell me, you have been listening to the fossil fuel industry shills like the ex-EPA director or Trump again? I am not a climate expert so will have to rely on the opinion of the experts, like every single credible climate scientist in the World.

Bob - sometimes it is better to stay silent and let people think you are a fool than open your mouth and confirm it. And the Flat Earth society is over that way, you will be in good company --->

Cyber-crooks think small biz is easy prey. Here's a simple checklist to avoid becoming an easy victim

You missed and obvious one...

..User Training and Education.

Security is not all about technical controls, there are Administrative and Physical ones as well.

US Republicans bash UK for tech tax plan

"..for the UK government's plan to impose <del>additional<del> taxes on tech giants."

FTFY.

Openreach hiring thousands more engineers

@Doctor Syntax

Touché.

Engineers...?

Nope, they are hiring Technicians not Engineers. Be great of the Register could use the correct terminology.

Fake copyright site infuriates Indian government

Re: Why not

...and the PPI sites, and the Trainline, and...

Did you unwittingly support the destruction of net neutrality rules?

I tried a random list of names and many of the comments against NN were exactly the same, almost as if they were C&P.

While you're preparing to carve Thanksgiving turkey, the FCC will be slicing into net neutrality

"...and ensure that we continue to lead the world in mobile wireless services"

You are having a laugh. The US has not lead the World in mobile wireless services for years and is unlikely to in the future with policy that removes competition and strengthens the position of the Telco / ISP monopolies.

UAV maker swipes at sponsor of opaque Qinetiq drone study

Re: That's unusual

Of course you are correct. It's not the fact that the pilot may have 150+ passengers while on short finals to land when some tw@t with a drone decides it would be cool to video that aircraft but gets too close and the engine ingests the drone, destroying it, possibly catastrophically, with £5+ million worth of damage, and jeopardizing the safety of everyone on board the aircraft.

There is absolutely no reason a member of the public should operate a drone in the vicinity of an operational airport and with so many idiots / tw@ts about we need some way of preventing them. Anyone that flies a drone near an aircraft while in flight should be prosecuted for attempted murder. Same as shining a laser at an aircraft in flight.

Britain's on the brink of a small-scale nuclear reactor revolution

Re: Global temps have been static for nearly 20 years.

Er, no they have not. You are quoting NASA but are referencing a wordpress article. Try looking at the actual NASA data and you will see an increase year on year since mid-1900s.

https://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/

Don't let the facts get in the way....!

April 2017 warmest on record (137 years of measurements)

https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2587/april-2017-was-second-warmest-april-on-record/

You are uninformed and ignorant.

IBM freezes contractor hires to keep full-time workers fully occupied

Death Spiral

You do not roll out of a 'death spiral'. One of your wings has stalled causing the spin and that aileron is now useless and no longer has roll authority. Using ailerons in this situation may even increase the spin.

Maybe IBM are listening to the wrong people.

1. Opposite rudder

2. Pitch up

3. Power

4. Recover

A Pilot.

Coming to the big screen: Sci-fi epic Dune – no wait, wait, wait, this one might be good

Re: Make something new

Agree. There is so much Sci Fi written in the last 100 years there is a wealth of material that could be turned into a film, if done correctly, especially with advances in CGI.

How about a classic like Larry Niven's Protector, or Alan Dean Foster's Orphan Star? Or something more modern like an Ian Banks (RIP) book or David Eddings' Belgariad series? Or the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant? I guess that Holywood is cautious about trying something new and wants to keep re-hashing known stories but some of them could spawn multiple films. It would also encourage people to actually read books.

Maybe something completely wacky like a story line that navigates you through someof the CISSP material so you can sit the exam after watching the movie(s) and improving IT security for all. OK....maybe not!

Trump's cartoon comedy approach to running a country: 'One in, two out' rule for regulations

@Brenda Viking

So Joe Public should be able to get a basic understanding of all the regulations that cover: manufacturing, construction, power generation and supply, land title, pharmaceuticals, medicine, commerce, social care, welfare, emigration, immigration, education, forestry and game, wildlife, agriculture, defense, import, exports, legal, automotive, border control, research, tax, entertainment, employment, communication, transport, finance, environment, intellectual property...and a whole bunch of other stuff, at the Federal level. In 6 months. Seriously?

I am sure there are regulations that can be reduced, consolidated or even cut but the number required, just to keep people safe, is huge. Never mind about industry practices, standards, guidance, etc.

Trumping free trade: Say 'King of Bankruptcy' Ross does end up in charge of US commerce

Crystal ball..

US products will become more expensive and less competitive on the international market while short-term subsidies will make them cheaper domestically. The demand for cheaper non-US products will increase, particularly those that are labour-intensive and will stimulate the wider global economy. The US economy will see a decline and their tech sector will lose position due to fewer competitive pressures as they will only have a domestic market.

Airbus should do very well because the growth market is Asia and is not yet saturated. The domestic US automotive sector will gain initially because people will be encouraged to buy inferior American cars through tariffs but they don't really export them so no impact to the rest of us.

Lower taxes means increasing public borrowing to fund $Trillion infrastructure projects / increase Defense spending or, cutting back in other areas. Global tax laws will get reformed because all that profit going to the US via tax havens will become an issue for the rest of us if they start adding trade tariffs.

Britain collects new naval tanker a mere 18 months late

@Hans

The Jews were living in that part of the Middle East for about 2000 years ago and then the Romans conquered it. Bit of research would trick people into thinking you knew what you are talking about. Here's some help: http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/what-the-fight-in-israel-is-all-about/

Routes taken by UK prosecutors over supply of modified TV set-top boxes

@LedSwinger

Working at the fringes has not provide awareness of the fundamentals of law.

Generally, the legal definition of theft involves the unauthorized taking of another's property. Even though we use the phrase 'Intellectual Property' making a copy of a protected work does not involve taking that property - it involves violating the owners right to control copying of the property. Theft does not occur and no crime is committed, it is a purely civil offence.

There is a vast difference between a crime and a civil offence, and why Federation Against Copyright Theft is a very misleading term.

Information on smart meters? Yep. They're great. That works, right? – UK.gov

Typo...

"The Government worked in partnership with GCHQ on its blog21 on smart metering infrastructure"

Small correction..

"GCHQ intervenes to prevent catastrophically insecure UK smart meter plan"

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2451793/gchq-intervenes-to-prevent-catastrophically-insecure-uk-smart-meter-plan

Minor detail I know, but...

Take that, creationists: Boffins witness birth of new species in the lab

Re: Just the usual ignorance on display

I have met one of these creationists and they held a senior IT position for a large Financial Organisation in the City of London. Was a very strange conversation in which they stated as fact the earth was 4000 years old and dismissed the fossil record.

Go ahead and believe in an gods / invisible sky fairy / deity / ghosts / spirits etc. as that it a matter of your own faith but to see all the evidence of the age of the earth and conclude the earth is a few thousand years old is not rational, and I would question your judgement. I think creationists don't actually do research but just believe whatever their shaman / priest / pastor tells them because they want to stay in the club.

Get religion out of schools (except as an academic study) and confine it to the home / place of worship.

@Kiwi

So you have taken the time to *prove your belief that the fossil record is a result of Animal/Pant material being covered rapidly:

"Er, what's with this "planting fossils" nonsense? Fossils are the remains of plants or animals (or fish or whatever..) that once lived on the earth, but were rapidly buried at some stage a few thousand years ago."

The geological record, plate tectonics, rates of sedimentary rock deposition, radio carbon dating and other repeatable measurement methods all suggest that fossils are tens / hundreds of millions of years old and the earth is far older. What convinced you that the earth is just a few thousand years old? Was it the Ussher chronology or do you have some other research material? Am interested in case I have been reading the wrong sources.

Do you accept that the Cosmos is ~13.5 billion years old or is it only a few thousand years old like the Earth is?

Of the (roughly) 1000 religious systems around the world today is yours the only one that offers the Truth?

*evidence or argument establishing a fact or the truth of a statement.

Three CEO confirms hack, 133,827 customers were exposed

Vote with your feet. Terminate the contract and go to one of the others that haven't *yet* had had a breach. If they lose customers in droves the market will take notice.

Barnet Council: Outsourcing deal with Capita has 'performance issues'

Re: Ludicrous situation

Exactly. Why does each council replicate IT systems to deliver exactly the same services? As tax payers do we really need them to replicated IT, HR, Payroll, fleet management, procurement, training, recruitment, Legal, etc.? The same for the 42 Police Forces.

There is potential for massive savings due to economies of scale, adopting common standards, etc., as long as they do not get someone like Crapita in to deliver it as they are not interested in delivering a service, only on making profit for their shareholders.

Microsoft: We're hiking UK cloud prices 22%. Stop whining – it's the Brexit

£

Yes, the £ is taking a hit but wait 12 months until the Euro declines as the EU crumbles and see if MS drop their prices accordingly. My money's on the pound in the long run.

Trainline.com dumps Oracle and Microsoft, gulps AWS Kool-Aid

Rip Off

Why even use their site, use any of the UK train operator's web sites and save the £1.50 that the Trainline charges. You can book any journey on the Virgin site, not just for Virgin trains and I think the same applies to the other train operator sites.

A Brit cloud biz and an angry customer wanting a refund: A Love Story

Engineers....nope

Re-selling / allocating storage, managing accounts, etc...Technicians, not Engineers, not by a long way.

Apple fires legal salvo at FBI for using All Writs law in iPhone brouhaha

Re: "the world will not end"

Which Irish terrorism is that then? Or do you mean IRA terrorism - idiot.

Protection at last: Operation Emergency UPS succeeds for Telecity

Engineer..

"...accidentally introduced by an engineer"

Very much doubt it was an Engineer. Perhaps it was an Electrician with the 'cian' bit on the end, just like Technician, for example. I bet if they had a real Engineer this would not have happened.

An Engineer.

'I am so TIRED of your bullsh*t...' Sprint boss flips lid at T-Mobile US CEO

I remember...

...in 2007 when the TV adverts in the US were comparing certain Telcos because they only dropped 3% of calls! Has it got any better since then?

I am in the UK, remind me, what's a dropped call?

Last flying Avro Vulcan, XH558, prepares for her swan song

Alternatively...

...come to Wellesbourne on June 21 and see Vulcan 655 taxi a few times.

Or go and see the Vulcan at Coventry Airport museum. If you are lucky you get to climb into the cockpit and have a look inside.

Microsoft's certification exams: So easy, a child of six could pass them. Literally

MCS...e

Surprised they still use 'Engineer' in qualifications because a) they aren't allowed to award that title and b) they really mean 'Technician'. Just like CISCO stopped using it when the IEEE told them to.

The guy that changes the oil in your car is a Technician, the guy that designed your car is an Engineer.

Thousands of UK drivers' details leaked through hole in parking ticket website

Had one of these PCNs 1 year ago. They wanted £100 for overstaying by 20 minutes or £65 if I paid within 14 days. Guess what, if you challenge it and ask them to go to the POPLA (Parking on Private Land) adjudicator it cost them £35 - hence the difference in paying early.

I won and I didn't pay. I argued it is not reasonable or fair under English Contract Law and they cannot demonstrate the loss incurred was anything like £100.

I was actually hoping to go to court but didn't get the chance and probably wouldn't because they know they cannot win and don't want their contract with the Landowner under scrutiny. They rely on people being ignorant of the law and if only 2/5 pay up they are quids in.

Lots of material on the interwebs but my advice is don't pay and argue Contract law etc. There is the option of ignoring their letters but I don't want debt collectors turning up at my door.

EU law bods: New eCall crash system WON'T TRACK YOU. Really

Free?

"..free to all citizens..."

So who will pay for it, can the EU confirm the equipment cost will be absorbed by car manufacturers? Didn't think so. Who will pay for the alert service, funded by the EU...through our taxes perhaps?

It won't have an 'off' button but you can disconnect it if it is a discrete component, and if you own the car you can put a drill through it.

Standby for leak revealing financial relationship between eCall supplier and MEPs...

No one wants iOS 8 because it's for NERDS - dev

iOS8

What about the 50+ exploits that are now in the public domain and exploits are being developed? From an Enterprise perspective that is a reason to upgrade.

Apple files patent for camera lens controlled by 'artificial muscle'

Artificial eye

When artificial eyes are available (and it is just a matter of time) Apple can license this technology...they didn't invent.

Feds crack down harder on 'lasing'. Yep, aircraft laser zapping... Really

Re: not convinvced

Amazing how many people have an opinion on something they know nothing about.

If you are not a pilot then you do not fully understand the challenge in flying an aircraft full of people, travelling at 150+ nmph, at night, in a cross-wind, onto a thin strip of tarmac without breaking aircraft or passengers, and therefore do not understand how a temporary loss of vision at a critical moment puts lives at risk.

And it is an aeroplane, not an airplane.

Virgin Media's flaky broadband network turns Bolton off

Virgin

Have had 30 Mb Virgin cable since August and haven't had an issue for far, not even rebooted the modem/router once, deliberately anyway...

Dodgy Kaspersky update borks THOUSANDS of NHS computers

NHS

"on the grounds of consistency, easing central support, and economies of scale ... but to my knowledge that never came to fruition"

Says it all about the Public Sector really. They have an unlimited supply of tax-payer funding with no ownership so why would they try and become efficient?

I think I could save the UK £1 Billion pounds on my first day at work if I was in charge of the NHS:

- Tender for a UK-wide public sector mobile phone contract with one supplier, 2 basic handset to choose from

- Tender for a UK-wide contract for all NHS consumables (bandages, syringes, saline, etc)

- No First / Business class travel (all of the public sector)

- No bonuses (all of the public sector)

- Create a standard desktop build for the public sector (yes, there will be exceptions)

- Use open source software

- Secondments from Private Sector to the Public Sector (to change the culture)

- Build a Premier Inn style hotel in London and make MPs / Lords live in it (with suitable security)

Please feel free to add to the list...

Cops: Bloke makes bet with wife. Wife loses - so hubby TASERS her

Re: Before anybody suggests it is confined to the US ...

Correction, the Founding Fathers only intended white, male, gentlemen landowners to be allowed guns, or to vote. Strange they keep amending the US Constitution to make it less racist, less sexist, protect freedom of speech etc. but not to remove automatic weapons from the civilian population.

WTF did those Brits (Founding Fathers) know about modern US society - very little to nothing.

Moody's eyes up Sony's debt: Hmm... junk? Bam! Shares drop 11%

Moody's

Moody's, Fitch, etc., all rated Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Leman Brothers as AAA just as everything crashed in '08, why do people even listen to them when they failed their biggest test and have demonstrated their total incompetence.

Moody's = junk.

Only a merciful BULLET can really save a RHINO, say Texas hunters

Demand #2

They should inject all Rhino horn / Ivory with a deadly toxin that kills everyone that uses it for medicine, or at least start the rumour and see if that has a negative effect on demand?

Or a isotope that can be easily traced to aid prosecution, not of the poachers but of the consumers?