* Posts by Paul 185

29 publicly visible posts • joined 6 Apr 2010

Github brews text editor for developers

Paul 185

Surprised at the responses here, haven't you guys ever heard of adapting the tool to the user, not the user adapting to the tools? This is just taking that concept one step further; every aspect of the application can be reviewed and changed by the community with relative ease.

Are you seriously saying that you wouldn't change a single detail of vi, given the chance? That question is rhetorical, I wouldn't believe you if you said no.

Unrelated note, the GIT integration looks damned handy.

What a plot of nonsense: Ten Master master plan FAILS

Paul 185

Re: Hello?

I couldn't actually finish this article because it's so hard to follow;

"they none of then anything on the Time Lords’ APC Net " - seriously, that's not just a spelling mistake, that's multiple grammatical errors creating one big pile of nonsensical nonsense. Yes, double nonsense. It's grammatical.

LOHAN's mighty thruster poised for hot coupling

Paul 185

Given El Reg's love for mechanical solutions, could a Magnetic base of the sort below be employed with a rotation on launch?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_base

Leaping SpaceX GRASSHOPPER ROCKET jumps 2,500ft, lands safely

Paul 185

Did anyone else start watching this and think "wow that's a crappy CGI rocket, but at least the dust effect is pretty well done"?

Six nations ask Google for answers on Glass privacy

Paul 185
FAIL

Re: FFS

You obviously don't have much of an imagination about what this technology could be used for.

A few example apps that could run on the platform, which if adopted widely, could be a bit of problem:

HotWatch - an app that incorporates facial recognition to mark the movements of attractive ladies. Sign up for HotWatch and access our library with the best locations to meet those sexy ladies. Did you just pass someone you'd like to get to know more? Vote on her attractiveness, and we'll let you know where they may be going next!

EmployeeCheck - Employee absenteeism can be a major cost to companies who struggle to monitor their growing workforce. EmployeeCheck App users earn a small commission every time the in app facial recognition catches an employee from a subscribing company in a public place. Help our company stay productive, while making yourself real cash NOW!

InsuranceSaver - Many insurance schemes restrict drivers from using their cars for business purposes, but enforcing this has been notoriously difficult. Register to use this App, and make BIG savings on your insurance costs. The App is used to confirm you're using your car in the correct manner, while our licence recognition system reports other drivers who are making YOUR premiums higher.

Facebook's Sean Parker fined $2.5m for tasteless eco-trashing wedding

Paul 185
Flame

Re: @Nuke

Added point on the endangered thing, There are 10 threatened Steelhead Trout DPS', and 1 Endangered. None of these DPS' are found in the area designated, according to this:

http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=E08D

Of course, that tool isn't for an official species list. This IPaC wizard is. Here's the link:

http://ecos.fws.gov/ipac/wizard/chooseLocation!prepare.action

Fill it out, draw a polygon around the Big Sur River. Steelhead Trout aren't listed as being present. Interesting, perhaps there are Steelhead Trout there, but the particular DPS present isn't considered Threatened?

Paul 185
Stop

@Nuke

You don't need any environmental evidence? Please read the report.

Quote:

"The Commission can issue a Restoration Order under section 30811 of the Coastal Act if it finds that development 1) has occurred without a CDP, 2) is inconsistent with the Coastal Act, and 3) is causing continuing resource damage."

You're sure they'll be scars? How do you know that? Also, why are you wandering around this guys private property? The public campsite was shut down in 2007 and never reopened, due to an order by a separate government agency. Should it still be open? Maybe, but that's a matter for the landowner, not for Sean Parker.

I'm highly dubious about the risk to a threatened species that is claimed, I'm quite interested in the mechanism quoted as causing soil erosion, and distances involved between the river and the objects causing the "damage". You may not be interested in this, you may just be interested in seeing a billionaire getting his arse kicked by some authority, but personally I like to verify something wrong has been done before I start making judgements. You may think it's more efficient to have a law that just says "don't fuck with this place" - but someone still needs to define what "fucking with this place" means - and in this case, that means causing lasting damage. Which you then need to prove..

Seriously as well, if you think UK planning is lax, you should try putting through a garage expansion or something through planning. If you don't get planning, they will order it taken down. If you want to get planning, they will be dicks about it and order several modifications to your proposal, costing you thousands in fees to the planning industry, until you have a pathetic representation of the original proposal.

Paul 185

Re: why all the Sean Parker bashing?

I'm not defending him, I'm attacking the CCC. They saw a chance to hold a billionaire to ransom, and they did it, milking him for whatever they thought they could get. Direct quote from the commission:

"The commission allowed Parker to proceed with his wedding plans on the condition that he pay the $2.5 million"

He may be a douche, but so are they.

Paul 185

Re: why all the Sean Parker bashing?

No, they blackmailed him, saying they'd issue the cease and desist order -before- the wedding, if he didn't pay up. Or are you really naive enough to think they issued the order after the wedding to be nice?

Paul 185
Stop

why all the Sean Parker bashing?

I mean by all means, the guys a douche, but what has he actually done wrong here? Spent a load of money on an extravagant party? What evidence is there here of actual environmental damage? We've got a single paragraph claiming the development somehow causes erosion in the nearby stream, but there's no investigation that's taken place. I see a load of claims about the risks of erosion and how it can damage this endangered species, but no supporting documents, no research, no evidence. Just claims.

They're basically guessing that the development work may have damaged trees and may have caused soil erosion, because they want some money from him. Who's really being d*cks here?

Also, the article is rather misleading to start with, and the mainstream on the whole is being a bit disingenuous here. On the face if it, it looks like Sean Parker has caused a public campsite to be closed... omg! But here's the actual quote..

"Upon staff investigation, it was determined that the public campground has in fact been closed

since September 2007 as a result of a Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board Order

to replace the property’s failed septic systems, and an order to close the campground and limit

Inn capacity issued the County Department of Environmental Health. However, the Ventana

Respondents had failed to request or obtain an amendment at any time over that six-year period."

So it wasn't Sean Parker that closed it, it was closed anyway, and they're annoyed the owner didn't fix it. Having the public campground open was part of the original permit for building.. but there is a question mark around if that was even a legal requirement. Check this case:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nollan_v._California_Coastal_Commission

Similar situation, and CCC loses because the requirement was nothing to do with the work that was being carried out. If the property were built on a public campsite it might be reasonable, but from what I can gather in my limited research, they built on existing private property, expanding it, and the CCC wanted to get something out of it. Then some other government agency comes along and orders the campsite to be shut down, and the owner didn't fix it. Unless part of the agreement was that the owner provides repair work to maintain the campground, I see no reason that he should have been required to fix it.

To me, the real douche's in this story are the CCC. I see little in the way of evidence of environmental damage, all of the work done was cleaned up after, and I see no evidence of Sean Parker having breached any laws. The landowner may have, but under questionable circumstances involving what appears to be a bullying government agency.

CCC's jurisdiction isn't just reliant on a permit not having been sought, they also have to prove initial and ongoing resource damage. To me, this document provides very flaky evidence of damage. So realistically Sean Parker could have saved a lot of money by hiring an environmental expert and a decent lawyer. He wouldn't of course, because the public backlash would be very damaging. So instead he pays the unreasonable fine to make them shut up.

Hmm, not quite as simple a story as it was made out to be.

Ed Miliband brands Google's UK tax avoidance 'WRONG'

Paul 185

Re: Tax Laws

All of you commentards claiming hypocrisy irritate me no end. Here's a shocking fact for you, politicians say what's popular. Wanna know why? Because a voting system exists where the most popular thing gets the most votes. When he voted yes to those Tax laws, society didn't really give a crap, and lobbying pushing them towards the Google preferential vote.

Now public opinion has spotted the loophole and lined up against it, so the politician has done his bloody job and gone with public opinion. And you're against that? Seriously? Their job is to be two faced, their job is to represent someone else's opinion. I thought techies were above this Daily Mail bulls-

SPEARS fired up for explosive climax

Paul 185

Your NTX2 transmitter seems to be very susceptible to temperature variation - operating range of -10 to +60, and it's likely to die if it drops below -30.

This module is designed to function in lower temperatures,

http://www.rfmodules.com.au/rm/products/tx3h.htm

Though they don't give a storage temperature for it, the operating temperature alone beats the storage temp quoted for the NTX2 here:

http://www.rfmodules.com.au/rm/products/ntx2nrx2.htm

The TX3H is also handily pin compatible with the NTX2, and will push out a considerably more powerful signal (several orders of magnitude), though I'm not sure whether battery life will become an issue. It's on the higher wave band, but it's still unlicensed.

Study: Climate was hotter in Roman, medieval times than now

Paul 185
Thumb Down

Re: 3 simple points

http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate1589.html

The link's right there, if you want to read the writers opinion, read the text, if you want research data, RTFA!

LOHAN seeks failsafe for explosive climax

Paul 185

Re: Mechanical not so great

Agreed, why not just make this the primary method of ignition, with the altimeter purely being used to prevent premature launch? You could include a mechanical solution as a "backup", but microchips come in a neat little package with a minimum operating temperature, which you won't get with a mechanical solution.

VIA outs $49 Raspberry Pi-alike

Paul 185
Coat

sounds like they'd like..

a piece of the pi

LOHAN starts to feel the barometric pressure

Paul 185

launching on balloon pop sounds like the better option to me. chute below the balloon sounds like a fine idea as well; balloon pops, G drops, chute opens and stops it short, wait for the platform to stabilise then rocket fires. It's the most simple option, with a built in fail safe and guaranteed optimum height. Why settle for anything else?

'Not guilty' plea in Utah cop site hacking case

Paul 185

Re: Yeah, that'll do it

given that they're using a tweet as evidence for his guilt, it'd be rather fitting

HTC Sensation XE

Paul 185

Just to defend Andrew against anyone claiming an Apple agenda, here's a comparison between the 5mp snapper on a Galaxy Nexus, and the new Sensation:

The Sensation's fruit shot:

http://regmedia.co.uk/2011/12/01/xe_8a.jpg

The Galaxy Nexus:

http://regmedia.co.uk/2011/11/25/samsung_galaxy_nexus_9a.jpg

As you can see the colours on the nexus are much more crisp and accurate, and check out the money and keychain thing in the background at the top. The camera on the Sensation is horrendous, no doubt about it, and inferior to most 5mp cameras I've seen on phones before.

Google feeds patents to HTC for assault on Apple

Paul 185
Thumb Down

@jake

Really, so because this one policy is different to what you want, you'll vote against them? I'm just interested, as none of the major parties seem to have decent patent reform policies. Voting out the democrats will just get you republicans instead. Good trade?

Paul 185
FAIL

vote them out?

And who are you going to vote in that promises wide scale patent reform?

Tricky Xbox 360 hack claimed to work 1 try in 4

Paul 185

@ well wisher

Trial and error; a lot of chips will behave funny if you turn on and off the reset line mid clock, and if they time that reset to coincide with the checksum check, they can make the chip behave in funny ways. Vary the period of the reset and try it on the different clocks until it passes the check. There was probably a lot of refining to get it down to 1 in 4 times.

Don't buy your iPad in a McDonald's car park

Paul 185
Happy

Proof..

..that the Apple never falls far from the tree.

Google Instant sinks raft of search controls

Paul 185

RE: 'Fade In' Home Page

This is pure guesswork, but i'm thinking they were returning just the search box straight away when the page is requested, then use some kind of ajax system to serve the rest of the links, decreasing load time very very marginally?

Paul 185
Heart

RE: What is "naughty"?

The risk for Google is serving lewd content that the user did not request. Given the proportion of the net dedicated to porn, imagine how many "concerned mothers" would be blabbering to anyone that will listen about their Timothy seeing a nipple while searching for something innocent.

Not that I agree, I think it's ridiculous. But it's not really Google's fault. Blame the frigid American Christian majority that will shriek in horror at the mere suggestion of sexuality, and their counterpart media outlets that feed them this drivel.

Orange outs iPhone 4 pricing

Paul 185

RE: only if

Sure on a PayG plan it's "only" £100 extra, but buying a smartphone without a contract is pretty rare these days, especially with the target audience of these devices. So how do the actual contracts compare? Orange offer a HTC Desire for free at £30 a month on the same plan as the £35 a month iPhone 4. So that's £119 extra up front when purchased, then £120 over the 24 month period, valuing the Apple "cool tax" on this product at £239.

Alternatively I phoned up orange when purchasing my HTC Desire, and was offered a discounted rate of £25 a month by the service rep when I pushed them a little. I've just phoned posing as a purchaser of the iPhone, and attempted a similar ploy, but the service rep said they aren't authorised to offer any discounts on the iPhone 4.

This puts the total iPhone markup for the intelligent buyer at £359 (for the 24 month contract), or £138 per mm thinner.

The term "better" in reference to the screen is arguable here, given the different technologies employed. I find my AMOLED display fantastic and very easy on the eyes (as it has no backlight). The contrast ratio on the iPhone 4 is frankly pathetic, and given it's usage of LCD technology, the blacks cannot compare to AMOLED. I haven't seen Super AMOLED, but from what I've read, it's set to dispel any notions that Apple has the best display tech.

Ten Essential... Android Games

Paul 185

Pocket Empires

Odd not to see any of the casual MMO's in this list - PE seeming the best of the bunch. Where most of the other casual mobile MMO's stick with a basic text interface (with the occasional pretty picture), Pocket Empires has a full on world map, complete with the ability to build new cities, attack monsters, and even customise the cities that you build.

Support for up to a million players per server, and an extremely rapid developmental pace round up a very satisfying casual experience.

Murdoch hacks grumble over outsourced IT failures

Paul 185

what's the point?

I really don't understand the philosophy behind this practice. If you aren't willing to pay the engineers that keep the company running a reasonable wage, where does the money that your productive company earns go? I mean we can be certain that outsourcing to the lowest overseas bidder will certainly not improve service, so why do it?

Cutting corners on the most essential parts of your business just doesn't make sense to me.

I'm not trying to push a "lazy manager are taking all our cash" agenda here, I just really don't see how anyone in charge could view this as a good idea.

Apple to reveal hallowed iPhone 4.0 on Thursday

Paul 185
Flame

more of this

Can we have more articles like this please? All these easily offended internet warriors are getting on my nerves. Perhaps a week of 100% Apple mocking will rid us of these plonkers.

Get over it, they insult people. Sometimes it's you.