* Posts by JaitcH

3904 publicly visible posts • joined 12 Oct 2009

UK Ministry of Justice brags about new digital forensics unit to thwart tech-savvy jailbirds

JaitcH
Happy

Think On The Bright Side!

The industrial-espionage links have resulted in hundreds of thousands jobs in many countries and fortunes made by companies exploiting governments.

We should give a hat-tip to Philip R. "Phil" Zimmermann, the American computer scientist and cryptographer and the creator of Pretty Good Privacy, the most widely used email encryption software in the world also known for his work in VoIP encryption protocols, notably ZRTP and Zfone, who blew the cap off U.S. Government efforts to keep encryption from the public's hands.

Huawei with you! FCC's American Pai proposes rip-and-replace of scary Chinese comms kit

JaitcH
Unhappy

"... Undermine our values ..." (No laughing back there)

Until our hero Snowden opened our eyes, the Five Eyes or Echelon group were leading the way in amoral activity and breaking the law.

No Government can be trusted, the only difference now is the cat is out of the bag and everyone but everyone now knows what they can and do daily.

How many of us remember the headlines when the GCHQ leaked the fact that they were listening to Diana, Princess of Wales' 1992, 20-minute cell phone conversation between her and childhood friend James Gilbey?

Spying on world communications was a British first of all world governments, not something we should be proud of.

In Hemel Hempstead, cycling is as bad as taking a leak in the middle of the street

JaitcH
Unhappy

Miserable Little Town Obviously Has The Council It Deserves!

One of the first post WWII 'New Towns' to answer the UK’s need for extra housing, and what was once a small settlement on the River Gade is amazingly home to 90,000 people, obviously with little sense. As with many 'Beta' experiments the outcome was never good. It received its town charter from Henry VIII in 1539 and hasn't improved much.

As one former resident posted on > https://www.ilivehere.co.uk/hemel-hempstead.html < "I spent four years going to Hemel to visit a boyfriend, I'm from Bournemouth, so I'm in agreement with you, Hemel is a horrible place. My ex boyfriend as he is now moved from a nice flat near the canal and now has a flat in the Kodak building, thinks he's kingpin now, but the view from his window looks at the main shopping mall, so not such a wise move. I'm so glad i never have to visit the horrible place again.

It was entered for the 'Britain's Crapiest Towns' poll. No news about the winner.

I you walk on Grovehill Playing Fields, know that the road and part of the field is covered in sewerage and that the Council have done nothing about it after years of complaints.

Huawei new smartphone won't be Mate-y with Google apps as trade sanctions kick in

JaitcH
FAIL

Huawei will continue to use the Android OS and ecosystem if the US government allows us to do so ...

Hey, Trump, this is called shooting yourself in the foot, or - in your case - the mouth.

Apple blinks on iPhone repairs, touts parts program for independent tech mechanics... sort of

JaitcH
Happy

Who Needs Apple When We Have ShenZhen?

For several years the after market repair business has simply ignored Apple as they buy new and reconditioned parts from the amazing city of ShenZhen1. Now the Chinese reworked industry have set up their own 'distribution' network in many countries so that problems with delivery, currency exchange are eliminated.

The skills of youthful ShenZhen technicians is astounding. Located in sub-1000 square feet 'holes in the wall' stores many boast multi-thousand Pound/Dollar/Whatever SMS rework stations, magnifying cameras, etc.

Apple made it hard to get their schematics, so the ever-ingenious technicians simply drew their own which can be purchased for a few dollars on SD drives. Apple claimed that the use of the word on such diagrams is illegal. Unfortunately, for Apple, not all the money in the world used to bribe U.S. politicians doesn't go far in China.

And, Trump, this isn't IP theft, this is cultural.

Uncle Sam is asking Americans if they could refrain from slapping guns on their drones

JaitcH
Alert

Americans Are Free ...

to make idiots of themselves.

Coming soon drone hunting (of animals) and lightweight machine guns (for gatherings of humans). They already hunt animals from aircraft except they are banned in Canada.

An Army Watchkeeper drone tried to land. Then meatbags took over from the computers

JaitcH
Thumb Down

A Pox On Gareth Corfield's House.

The derogatory term 'meatbags' is not a term I expect to see a professional soldier addressed as, especially in The Reg.

Even in the days of compulsory National Service the term would not be fitting.

Shame on you, Gareth Corfield.

Donald Trump blinks in his one-man trade war with China: US govt stalls import tariff hike on Chinese phones, laptops, electronics

JaitcH
Meh

Re: 'preventing further unfair transfers of American technology and intellectual property to China'

Many of the 'knock offs' are as a result of American greed as they willingly supply both production machinery and know how.

It is a quite voluntarily transaction, no coercion involved. Americans want low cost manufacturing and the Chinese are quite happy to check out any technology.

Often, companies work day shifts cranking out product for the American customers whilst the night shift produces identical products, using the same machinery - hardly meeting what Trump describes.

There are many ways to stop this alternative production is to use technology or even keeping a live body, from a trusted Nation, to guard the machinery.

As HuaWei proves, China has plenty of home-grown talent, which is quite capable of developing their own products. Apple couldn't operate without Chinese labour - imagine chubby, fat fingers trying to assemble iThingies!

JaitcH
FAIL

Cambodians and Laotians Will Be Disappointed - Relabelling Factories Are Busy, Busy

The brand new plants in Cambodia (Kampuchea) and Laos which feature Chinese products in and Cambodian or Laos products out are busy, busy with new construction featured at many sites demonstrating that they expect this new business to continue for some time.

Chinese construction crews, employing predominantly Chinese workers, are doing the work. When functional, many of the production employees are illegals from China.

VietNam has a different take, having recently closed down a similar operation as they want to protect their name.

Low Barr: Don't give me that crap about security, just put the backdoors in the encryption, roars US Attorney General

JaitcH
Unhappy

Barr Has Zero Credibility And Is Little More Than ...

a boot or a*se wipe for Trump.

The sooner he gets out of office the better.

Boeing's 737 Max woes trigger BEEELLIONS in losses – and that's just for the latest quarter

JaitcH
FAIL

I Prefer Aircraft Designed By Engineers, NOT Venture Capitalists and Bean Counters

Simple: Give your real, live, travel agent an instruction - IT IF IT'S BOEING, I AIN'T GOING.

The FAA is too wedded to Boeing. They modded the regulations about flight time to the nearest airport when the two-engined 777 hit the air. Now the FAA allows self-inspection by Boeing paid employees.

When I was involved with electronics for Commonwealth Countries, way back in time, I dealt with the Crown Agency (now known as Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations Ltd) they were very, very, particular and skilled in their inspections. Companies used their compliance with The Agency as a bonus in choosing suppliers.

Pity Boeing doesn't doesn't replicate their practices.

Too hot to handle? Raspberry Pi 4 fans left wondering if kit should come with a heatsink

JaitcH
FAIL

RASPBERRY PI - COMPROMISES SINCE VERSION 1

Didn't the Raspberry group make pre-production samples? First they screwed up the power circuitry and now it's getting too hot?

Even when I design a board for personal use I always have a few samples made, if only to make sure the board stuffer can do it's job, and the stuffed PCB can fit in the enclosure.

The Raspberry group should remember a lot of it's users are D-I-Y people with very tight financial resources.

UK cops blasted over 'disproportionate' slurp of years of data from crime victims' phones

JaitcH
Meh

You Can't Beat A Burner Phone - Or Pulling All Chips From Your Cell Handset

I cross international borders frequently but my usual comms have no chips (SIM or memory) and I run the battery down. I also carry a fully working unused burner (basic) cell handset. I run a reset on my satphone.

The Brit Border Bods or their friends in the USA (the nosiest) and Canada take the burner and look distinctly disappointed. Australia is increasing it's cell surveillance. If they push for any other devices, they can check the other devices and they will remain disappointed. On my smart phone they will find a few old movies, nothing to interest them. Remember, lying to US Federal officials is a felony.

China has a new program of grabbing cell handsets and they are surreptitiously loading ghost software that 'spies' on your cell activity including GPS locations.

UK MPs find 'no technical grounds' to exclude Huawei from 5G networks

JaitcH
Thumb Up

It's About Time The UK Less Dependent on US Rulings.

The US is a dishonest dealer, especially under Trump, as it is an action to protect US trade and little to do with security.

Train maker's coder goes loco, choo-choo-chooses to flee to China with top-secret code – allegedly

JaitcH
Happy

More Fake News From The Trump Government?

So American industry doesn't do this? Or the Europeans?

Get real.

Use the American Rule Book: "It's not the taking part, it's the winning that counts"

Take the bus... to get some new cables: Raspberry Pi 4s are a bit picky about USB-Cs

JaitcH
Alert

QUESTIONS?

- How large is the design 'team'.

- Who back-checked the PCB?

- Did they do a pre-production test run?

- How many PCBs was their first run?

Another case of British "we'll muddle through". Pi designs always had compromises from Version 1 (aka Mark 1).

We use a Chinese outfit that critiques proposed designs and suggests pre-production improvement. Only $100-300, depending on complexity.

Pathetic. Even Chinese knock-off artists test their products before production.

Oz watchdog claims Samsung's leak-proof phones ad campaign doesn't hold water

JaitcH
FAIL

Samsung: Practicing Corporate Extortion

The power switch on my Samsung Note decided to quit the other day, so I took it to one of the Samsung Cell Service Centres in SaiGon (there are 9). Tech guy grabs the phone and says 'The screen is damaged', examining the screen protector. I said 'I don't care about the screen' as it is used solely as a MESH >< WiFi interface and doesn't even have a SIM in it.

He then stated 'Samsung has a policy that if the screen is damaged, they will not do any other repair'. I checked with a former Samsung cell technician, who now has his own repair business, and he said that Samsung established a minimum repair charge to make Service Centres profitable.

The 'damage' was revealed by a snowflake-like pattern. So we carefully burned a screen protector with one of our lasers, which had a very rude message to Samsung made from similar snowflake patterns.

We took the Note back in and again they spoke about this 'policy'. When challenged which 'snowflake' indicted screen damage the tech couldn't tell. He did admit the formation with the rude message was unlikely caused by screen damage.

After learning the whole transaction was recorded on my body camera, his manager instructed the Power Switch be repaired - only.

So when dealing with Samsung, their morals are as much in the gutter as any of their competitors.

You're not Boeing to believe this, but... Another deadly 737 Max control bug found

JaitcH
FAIL

And The oral Of This Story Is . . .

Let ENGINEERS design aircraft and NOT VENTURE CAPITALISTS!

Short cuts don't don't cut costs, Boeing, they almost never work. It would have been cheaper to totally redesign the 737 instead of trying to knee-cap Airbus.

And who knew pilots trained using an App!

Remember that crypto-exchange boss who mysteriously died after his customers' coins disappeared? Of course he totally stole them

JaitcH
Unhappy

What Is The Difference Between Gerald Cotten and a Regular Bricks & Mortar Bank?

The answer is NOTHING.

(Think Deutsche Bank or HSBC)

Tech jocks tell Trump: Tariff tiff with China will not achieve what you think it will achieve

JaitcH
Happy

You Have To Love Trump's China Tariffs - If You Are Not In The USA!

A builder friend of mine here in VietNam just bought 5,000 instant on water heaters for an apartment building he's constructing. He though the pro-forma invoice was wrong. A 22% discount for quantity PLUS another 15% for 'promotion' (i.e. an Trump Tariff offset).

We ordered custom chips and were given an additional 12% 'promotion' discount. These 'promotional' discounts are rippling through several trades - all to keep the big machine busy.

Hongmeng, there's no need to feel down: It's patently obvious this is Huawei's homegrown OS

JaitcH
FAIL

Often Chinese Products Are Better Than US Crap, Anyway.

Anyone using any US product is at risk under the idiot calling himself 'President' for if the US pull a Trump Entity List trick, a whole plethora of things would be stressed for supplies from aircraft on down.

The Boeing MAX is what results from US 'engineering' in it's rush to get to market first. The horror stories emerging from the Boeing 'design' fiasco is beyond belief. How many Chinese designs get recalled?

The good news is that the US has never successfully sanctioned any country be it VietNam, Iran or Russia. The system leaks, big time, and given China's technical talents and resources all that is likely to happen is that the USA loses business as China simply copies US products.

I know of companies that send prospective products to China to have the designs optimised for the most efficient, economic production. That alone proves that China's talents exceed those of other countries.

Living in VietNam doesn't make me a supporter of China - the Vietnamese generally despise them - but having some crook in America trying to tell me where and what to source materials from will not be honoured by myself and many others.

Roll on 2020 and let's hope for change.

IT pro screwed out of unused vacation pay, bonus by HPE after judge rules: The law is a mess but it's still the law

JaitcH
Happy

Bad Luck But At Least He Has The Satisfaction That HP . . .

got screwed big time when it bought Autonomy Corporation PLC.

UK Home Sec kick-starts US request to extradite ex-WikiLeaker Assange

JaitcH
WTF?

Good Luck, The Extradition Agreement Was Negotiated By . . .

that sad excuse for humanity David Blunkett and ended up as the UK–US extradition treaty of 2003.

The U.S. embassy in London reports that, as of April 2013, 77 individuals have been extradited from the UK to the US. Of course France has extradited no one as it protects it's citizens.

Underground network targets Salisbury: Not the Russian death crew, this time it's Openreach laying fibre-optic cables

JaitcH
FAIL

Who Micro-Trenches These Days?

In Canada and VietNam they used pneumatic torpedoes that happily imitate moles (or groundhogs, shrews, gerbils or ferrets) and burrow a tunnel bypassing existing cables, pipes and conduits.

They are used by telephone companies, cable TV feeds, power and water utilities, gas companies, etc. They are launched by a small hole created by a shovel and continue as long as the a feed is powered or the strike a wall. In Toronto, our condominium had 300 odd homes and the whole place was completed in two days.

SaiGon / Ho Chi Minh City is completely switching to fibre and all the old cobbled sidewalks are undisturbed except for about 6 bricks where the fibre cable emerges against a building.

Our office in Buon Ma Thuot, DakLak Prvince, is about 2 kilometres from the nearest fibre junction and we ploughed the fibre and a water line using a BobCat T740 unit.

Pity the British cable layers don't use current technology.

US border cops confirm: Maker of America's license-plate, driver recognition tech hacked, camera images swiped

JaitcH
Unhappy

Ownership / Number Plate Information Is Readily Purchased In Many North American Jurisdictions

Information in North America, including Canada, on automobiles is much looser than in the UK.

When I owned a car in the UK, decades ago, a sale was accompanied by a Log Book which contained much of the information available from authorities.

People don't seem to realise just how accessible information is. The Estate of my Mother is still to be completed by a UK firm of lawyers. From a lawful inquiry process initiated in Canada an investigator was able to obtain full financial disclosure, address, and family information of the lawyers involved in this excessively lengthy process. The information also included some salacious information.

To hear the lawyers squealing when they learned of this information being in my hands was very satisfying. (It means I can serve them at home or elsewhere they frequent)

If you don't want your personal information accessible I suggest you don't obtain credit cards, mortgages or loans or any service where your personal details are required such as for travel reservations, etc. The data world is very, very, small.

More facial-recognition bans, new creeper tool links girlfriends to past porno, Microsoft's AI school, and more

JaitcH
Unhappy

The USA Is Financing / Supplying Facial Recognition To Some Countries

Living in VietNam with suppliers in Laos and Kampuchea, I often cross the border. The cameras are clearly marked Logitech - all the same model.

VietNam, curiously, doesn't use cameras at Immigration points.

Each time I have to cross the border I make changes in my facial appearance. The equipment gets confused when hair length covers the ears; when facial hair changes; it also identify different teeth (I use dentures).

The all time winner is when the lips are in a smiling configuration, whatever the cause - natural or artificial (denture) - and invariably produces a No Smile command from the Immigration officil..

One operator told me that the picture database is in the USA and that late at night, when airports are open, the speed of response is slowed (remember there is a 12-hour time differential between Indochina and the Eastern Seaboard.

The most impressive is the Chinese system which is fast and is available on desktop screens and portable radio / video terminals that are carried by police of all types and other officials.

That's a hell of Huawei to run a business, Chinese giant scolds FedEx after internal files routed via America

JaitcH
Unhappy

Know Your Courier . . . Intimately

My employer has to, on occasion, transmit documents to Europe. Our inquiries showed that most of the couriers route packages through their home countries.

The UK Passport Office sponsors DHL - which means UK passports go to Germany THEN to their destinations. The chosen routing is variable and has no relationship to the weight. SaiGon >> London, UK is an air distance: 6,341.34 mi (10,205.40 km). Yet on occasion packages are routed via an distance: 12,948.04 mi (20,837.85 km) that goes via North America then London.

We have found mid-sized regional couriers will follow routing instructions whereas small international couriers simply toss your package on to their favourite bigger brother.

Of course, using false addressees (names and/or addresses) is one answer to HuaWei's challenge as well as avoiding anything American.

Now Chinese-made drones rubbing US govt up the Huawei: 'Strong concerns' DJI kit threat to national security

JaitcH
FAIL

Brain Dead Trump Forgets . . .

that China is the largest supplier / source of rare earth materials used in communications.

Another dumb move.

Let's check in with our friends in England and, oh good, bloke fined after hiding face from police mug-recog cam

JaitcH
WTF?

What Of Beards, Sunglasses and Contagious Diseases?

Beards and sunglasses could easily be called disguises.

And in polluted climbs, or should the wearer have a contagious disease, a mask covering the mouth and nose is an accepted form of protection.

Freed whistleblower Chelsea Manning back in jail for refusing to testify before secret grand jury

JaitcH
FAIL

Simply Illustrates How Petty The US Government ...

can be.

Nice to meet someone who stands on principles in these days of crooked presidents and politicians (and judges).

The plane, it's 'splained, falls mainly without the brain: We chat to boffins who've found a way to disrupt landings using off-the-shelf radio kit

JaitcH
FAIL

You Can Mess Up Airport Operations For Far Less

Airports and aircraft use antiquated VHF / AM.

An unstable oscillator, modulated by an equally unstable oscillator, and fed into a RF amplifier would be as effective as diddling with ILS.

And installing SSB gear in aircraft, as they did back in the days of Yasser Arafat and his desert fires of aircraft, wouldn't be of much use, either. Standby for for Gatwick to suddenly experience ILS failures!

Encryption faces a challenge - every aircraft would need equipment to handle encryption and the chances are details would leak in weeks, if not days.

Banhammer Republic: Trump declares national emergency, starts ball rolling to boot Huawei out of ALL US networks

JaitcH
Meh

Since When Have US Boycotts Succeeded?

I live in a country that was sanctioned by the USA after it lost the American War in VietNam as well as it's 'face' (pride).

Sure, at first it was tough - there was even a period when the lights were literally turned off in the cities and residents had to forage for food themselves.

What the Americans didn't do was to read Vietnam's history - Been There, Done That.

What the 25 year sanctions DID do was to make the resilient Vietnamese become self-sufficient. When President Bill Clinton surveyed the world he realised that the States were on the loosing end of the deal. We don't need chain stores or massive imports as we have craftsmen - human talent.

The result is that VietNam has a modern infrastructure, an amazing road network, and construction country-wide. Being close to water the Vietnamese are also bridge-building experts.

The younger generations of Vietnamese are well educated - not State but family financed - and no one expects family members in whom large amounts of family income have been invested to do nothing except excel. Students are outside their schools well before opening and the schools shut well after their counterpoints in the West have closed.

VietNam owes the USA a debt of appreciation.

As for the Chinese the US sanctions, it might cause a blip in the economy but in the end they will succeed. If the Americans won't supply essentials, the Chinese have a few essentials that the Americans need - including money. And China is bursting with talent and skill.

Kampuchea / Cambodia sure is getting rich from the Trump Tariffs as new plants have popped up all along the northern border where Chinese products go in the north facing doors and Made in Cambodia products come out the south-facing doors. Chinese financed corporate entities have grown in number in VietNam where the plants are used to manufacture (assemble) high-value products that were formerly made in China.

Home Office cops an earful for emergency network feck-ups - £3bn overbudget and 3 years late

JaitcH
Happy

I Remember Working On The Old STC UK-Wife System

Back in the late 1960s STC in South London I was part of a team developing a 'go anywhere' radio for the Home Office. They were good enough to knock off as 'development' units and retune for Amateur work.

The biggest delays arose from meetings with dreamers from the Home Office and Plod who introduced 'improvement' after 'improvement' to an extent that all we Amateurs had piles of systems at home cluttering up sheds and spare bedrooms.

I imagine not much has changed.

Working in the Far East, there are a few TETRA systems in use (Ha Noi and SaiGon / Ho Chi Minh City have them) for the more important security details. Meanwhile, our Traffic Police (Canh Sat), along with a few other specialised police forces (Vehicle Safety and Drug, etc.), got smart and skipped the clunkers that TETRA offered and employed custom multi-feature cell handsets that piggy backed on most of the GSM cell systems (we have over seven) that operate in VietNam (one also has coverage in Kampuchea / Cambodia and Laos).

Amongst the features that have been provided for over 10 years are full country voice and data coverage; picture + fingerprint facilities; instant mini-networks for groups such as cross-border task forces, roadside stops (for 4-wheel vehicles!). They have electronic weigh-scales that plug into a cell data port and can access full truck and bus vehicle data.

All the police forces have to do is pay for air time and the dedicated centralised system controls. All the mundane stuff such as site maintenance, fail-safe power, etc. are provided by the cell system owners.

This means that cell terminals can be upgraded / replaced region by region at considerable savings and they have vendor independence, too.

Our TETRA users usually acquire the more modern cell handsets with the resultant TETRA traffic falling close to zero. But the RF 'buzzsaws' are still functional, I have a TETRA base within 2 kilometres of my SaiGon / Ho Chi Minh City residence which on frequent occasions go wild and block other adjacent frequency services.

To illustrate how technically current VietNam is SaiGon / Ho Chi Minh City has tens of thousands of CCTV traffic cameras which will be used for road usage changing as well as law enforcement (good luck with that). Even the inter-provincial highways are becoming fully covered with CCTV cameras that provide coverage even to remote areas - thanks to the heavy investment in fibre optic facilities - and are monitored from provincial traffic centres.

Meanwhile, back in Blighty (and the USA) huge swathes of the country are lacking even broadband. Sad.

Uncle Sam accuses Chinese pair of romping through Anthem's servers for almost a year

JaitcH
FAIL

So The Self-Proclaimed Technical Leader Can't . . .

even stop hackers.

Some leader.

US foreign minister Mike Pompeo to give UK a bollocking over Huawei 5G plans

JaitcH
Stop

I Wonder The U.S. Reaction Would Be If U.S. Products . . .

were subjected to the same tests? The country still thinks it is the best in everything, which is an illusion.

Few (no) first iterations of software are without fault - ask Boeing and all the victims of the 737MAXX crashes.

One thing for sure, once HuaWei cleans up the boo-boos that have been reported, it will be the cleanest 5G OS world-wide.

Sinister secret backdoor found in networking gear perfect for government espionage: The Chinese are – oh no, wait, it's Cisco again

JaitcH
FAIL

The US Just Doesn't Want To Admit It Is A Second Rate Nation With A Massive International Debt

Long ago the US had it all: money, opportunity, talent, leadership, manufacturing and a vision.

Now look at it. Reduced to borrow more money, opportunity slipping away to Europe and the Far East along with talent, elect an inveterate liar, massive tranches of manufacturing transferred (so corporate profits soar) and technical shortsightedness. The country can't even feed itself. And it has to rent seats on Russian rockets to reach the International Space Station!

The only thing the US excels in in is spying, spying on most every communications system extant. What is the purpose of having an NSA spy office in Cambodia, especially now it has it's own InterNet feed, rather than via VietNam. And making sure the few networking systems it leak like Harry Belafonte's famous bucket.

Don't laugh, Britain doesn't even make machine screws.

Huawei, Huawei. Huawei, Huawei. Feeling hot, hot, hot: US threatens to cut UK from intel sharing over Chinese tech giant

JaitcH
WTF?

Tell TRUMP and the US High Tech Industry to Work; Not Depend on Trade Blackmail

The fact is the USA's premier position in development and manufacturing has faded.

Many countries boast facilities as good as those in the USA. Witness how much US electronics is manufactured outside the USA.

Boeing boss denies reports 737 Max safety systems weren't active

JaitcH
Meh

I Will Only Fly Airbus (And Dakota 3)

Several Boeing m\aircraft models are considered dubious apart from the MAX. 737NG (bad construction); 787 (pants on fire)

The old Dakota 3 (some still flying) is a wonderfully reliable, forgiving aircraft.

QC might improve if they used inspectors who weren't employed by Boeing.

And in current affairs... Apple recalls three-prong AC adapters after some shocking behavior

JaitcH
WTF?

As a Frequent Intercontinental Traveller, My Favourite 'Adapter' Is . .

a stripped pair of wires, reinforced with solder, terminated in a extended socket block and a small screwdriver that can indicate 110VAC or 240VAC as well as defeating the 'safety' features.

Beats all these self-serving outlet standards dotted around the world and of these, in my opinion, the UK version is a waste of materials and far too large. BTW, this monster plug is often found in Singapore-invested hotels and other buildings.

In Japan there are two standards in practice; in Cambodia/Kampuchea there three plug styles in use, as is the case in Laos and VietNam.

Plug style cannot be relied on to indicate the line voltage, either. The same plug is used in Japan for 110 and 240VAC; in Cambodia/Kampuchea and Laos the voltage is 240VAC. In VietNam the grid supplied system powers the three plug styles in use, and in remote, standalone power sources the voltage is 110VAC with US-style plugs.

Parents slapped with dress code after turning school grounds into a fashion crime scene

JaitcH
WTF?

Schools Should Stick To School Matters - Not To Tell Others What To Do

In Ontario, Canada the Roman Catholic school system dictates school dress - blouses and skirts - the latter of a defined length. It has a 'liberal' attitude since trousers or pants and variations for necks (plain, frills, non-existent).

Stand outside any RC school at close of day and you will see many female students busily pulling their skirts way above stipulated level - rolling the surplus around their belts.

In VietNam school dress is simple (and economic). And it works fine for all family economic levels.

Females often wear white traditional Áo Dài, a popular form is a tight-fitting silk tunic worn over trousers. Áo translates as shirt; Dài means "long". The upper tunic has 'tails' which extend to the length of the trousers. The dress is actually two separate garments with a discrete 'air gap' concealed under the 'tails'.

Male students wear shorts (junior grades) and trousers (senior grades), a white shirt and a neck scarf along the lines of a boy scout.

Áo Dài and Western style clothing are quite acceptable for ordinary, daily, wear in the country.

Canadian woman fined for not holding escalator handrail finally reaches the top after 10 years

JaitcH
WTF?

When in Toronto Remember: TORONTO MUNICIPAL CODE SCHEDULE A TO CH. 349 PROHIBITED ANIMALS

PROHIBITED ANIMALS

MAMMALS

Artiodactyla (such as cattle, goats, sheep, pigs)

Canidae (such as coyotes, wolves, foxes, hybrid wolf dogs) except dogs

Chiroptera (bats such as fruit bats, myotis, flying foxes)

Edentates (such as anteaters, sloths, armadillos)

Felidae (such as tigers, leopards, cougars) except cats

Hyaenidae (such as hyaenas)

Lagomorpha (such as hares, pikas) except rabbits

Marsupials (such as kangaroos, opossums, wallabies) except sugar gliders derived from self-sustaining captive populations

Mustelidae (such as mink, skunks, weasels, otters, badgers) except ferrets

Non-human primates (such as chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, lemurs)

Perissodactyla (such as horses, donkeys, jackasses, mules)

Proboscidae (elephants)

Procyonidae (such as coatimundi, cacomistles)

Rodentia (such as porcupines and prairie dogs) except rodents which do not exceed 1,500 grams and are derived from self-sustaining captive populations

Ursidae (bears)

Viverridae (such as mongooses, civets, genets)

BIRDS

Anseriformes (such as ducks, geese, swans, screamers)

Galliformes (such as pheasants, grouse, guineafowls, turkeys)

Struthioniformes (flightless ratites such as ostriches, rheas, cassowaries, emus, kiwis)

REPTILES

Crocodylia (such as alligators, crocodiles, gavials)

All snakes which reach an adult length larger than 3 metres

All lizards which reach an adult length larger than 2 metres

OTHER

All venomous and poisonous animals

Toronto has many other arcane bylaws by which to extract money from you, too. BUT NONE TO EXCLUDE DUMB POLITICIANS.

UK comms watchdog mulls 5G tweaks: Operators want moooooar power

JaitcH
WTF?

Now We Will Need Tin Hats

With RF power sources as high as proposed, even if located under manhole covers, we will need RF protection, particularly around the cranium.

All so people can make telephone calls.

But, at least we will have something to cook over-sized turkeys over. Nuts.

MoD plonks down £2m on table in exchange for anti-drone tech ideas

JaitcH
WTF?

British Pilots Only Protecting Their Turf

It seems, notwithstanding UK airspace is not the most congested, that it reports the highest number of drone 'incidents' real or imagined. The pilots professional association was rattling it's cage way back when drone ownership was in it's infancy.

The very same pilots also seem to be equipped with super-human eyesight, they can spot drones at great distances and speeds regardless of colour. It has been scientifically proven that pilots eyes go 'unfocused' when faced with bland cloud formations.

And rooftops filled with equipment sold to gullible governments will only disable vanilla type drones as the equipment assumes that drones are utilising Industrial, Scientific and Medical Radio Bands (ISM Band). Some systems are quite advanced and now employ spread spectrum technology.

Drones aren't the only Unmanned Aeronautical objects floating around. How many reports have there been complaining about weather balloons - which assume really impressive sizes at height - or other miscellany that share airspace? Very few. Back in the time I worked near Gatwick and we regularly dispatched balloons and other things for the Met Office into the air.

Readers should check their eyesight by looking out of a vehicle's side window and identify objects that pass through their vision. Really hard.

And what is the real risk of colliding with one of these imaginary drones? Apart from the engines, aircraft are designed to pass air around them.

Then there's Canada Geese. Without a doubt, the mass of a Canada Goose dwarfs that of most drones - yet British pilots don't seem to either see them or report them as hazards. Whilst Canada Geese have been seen as high as 9000 feet, Bar-headed Geese and Demoiselle Cranes actually fly at heights of up to almost 30,000 feet - but I guess British pilots are sleeping on autopilot at those climbs.

If people wanted to really mess up airport operations they would stick a 30 watt VHF amplifier in their boot (trunk) fed by a jammer that covered the AM-FM band used by aircraft, and then drive around to avoid detection. That would really wind Gatwick up!

US firm wins Oz-backed bid to block Huawei from subsea Pacific cables

JaitcH
FAIL

Must Be Nice To Be Able To Waste Australian Taxpayers Money

Few international infrastructure projects have been subjected to such petty prejudice.

Time the US quit polishing it's ego and admitted that they are NOT / NOW LONGER are technological leaders.

CISCO is a prime example of why US equipment should not be used as they build backdoors in for the Echelon snoopers.

If there's 5G connectivity but no 5G devices on it, does it make a sound? Wait, no, that's not right

JaitcH
Happy

VietNam Has Live Demo 5G Systems

HuaWei has at least two 5G demo systems (Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City / SaiGon) that have at least two base stations in each system.

There are several demo mobiles (buses) in both cities, emblazoned with information.

One base station in Ho Chi Minh City / SaiGon is located about a kilometre from the River SaiGon in the Thủ Thiêm New Urban Area in District 2. The station is fed through a fibre optic cable. The antennae are relatively low in height (demo system) but are pumping out an RF signal measured in hundreds of watts. The system is active, and can be seen on a spectrum analyser.

Security is a ring of two chain-link fences and floodlights.

There are several different style handsets that can be seen in the demo buses.

Fibre Optic feeds shouldn't be a challenge since feeds extend even to small villages.

Just the small matter of the bill for scrapping Blighty's old nuclear submarines: It's £7.5bn

JaitcH

'Political problems' are usually short-sighted, often determined by a politicians, or governments, office life-span.

Nuclear waste disposal is a prime example. At least they have developed methods for destroying hundreds of tons of poisonous gas.

JaitcH
Unhappy

Re: USS Enterprise similar

I remember when barges, with hulls fitted with doors, laden with radioactive waste, used to sail into the Atlantic and then discharge their poisonous freight.

I was technical staff on a government ship, and we always received cryptic messages where these operations were occurring and here previous drops had occurred.

Little wonder this planet is calling time out!

Now we are filling space, and some other planets, with our junk.

Sad Nav: How a cheap GPS spoofer gizmo can tell drivers to get lost

JaitcH
Happy

I Use GPS (US, Russian & limited Chinese) Systems - But I always Carry a Map and ...

a simple compass, and constantly monitor the sun (or moon+stars).

Infrastructure can help - power cables get thicker nearer civilisation and civilisation lives near rivers - which widen as they near their destination.

Human help is best in the form of truck (lorry) drivers. Forget asking Plod - they use GPS!

Ex-Mozilla CTO: US border cops demanded I unlock my phone, laptop at SF airport – and I'm an American citizen

JaitcH
Meh

Prepare yourself for international travel

I travel inter-continental too frequently for my liking.

I have a travel kit with all my mobile technology neutered. The only thing on my equipment are a couple of old movies and some Goon Show recordings.

Upon arrival I buy a SIM for the cell handset, charge the battery (no SIM frustrated the border goons like crazy). For the laptop I recall my VPN log-ins, then use my company server for work.

I never cross an international border with anything of value loaded in equipment.

P.S. I treat most Western countries as police states - as I do China and Russia.

This is not, repeat, not an April Fools' Day joke: 5 UK broadband vendors agree to pay YOU daily rate for fscked internet

JaitcH
Happy

What type of InterNet service is this?

I have 100Mbyte fibre optic here in SaiGon / Ho Chi Minh City and it only costs me £0.48 per day (unlimited)!