* Posts by JohnG

1639 publicly visible posts • joined 27 May 2007

Kate Winslet sports top celeb bod

JohnG

Market forces

Designers of high fashion don't sell to the readers of Slimming World, AskMen.com, FHM or porno mags - their clientèle are not fat. The designers design their clothes for their target market and select models accordingly. The opinions of Yougov, Slimming World readers or the general population is entirely irrelevant to those involved.

Even the specialists in large sizes tend to select models smaller than their target market, because their target market don't actually want to look large.

Secret code protecting cellphone calls set loose

JohnG

Dumb phones

Given that the dumbest of GSM phones need to be able to agree/follow channel hopping with a base station, the complexity of any encryption is likely to be limited.

Perhaps it would not be that difficult to modify a handset to follow the conversation of a target handset, given that it already has suitable receiver circuitry and the necessary encryption/decryption algorithms in firmware.

UK air-traffic offers flying-car-style safety gizmo

JohnG

"...limited to 99mph..."

"When recreational GPS first became popular they were limited to 99mph to stop people using them in planes."

This wasn't applied universally - my old Garmin 12XL worked (and still works) just fine at higher speeds. I tested it on several flights and found it worked just fine at airliner speeds, although I don't know if it would work at the speeds of combat aircraft.

JohnG

@Martin 6

"Lawyers for the other guy have a choice between going after someone whose only assets are a pair of cool sunglasses and a flying jacket - or MEGA$CORP."

That may be the norm in the USA but not in a UK court - and if the lawyers pick the wrong person to sue, they will end up paying the other side's legal costs.

JohnG

Thinning the herd

Maybe flying cars will be a good way to improve the species (ours, that is).

Lawyers scared of computers

JohnG

Data on paper doesn't count?

So when you are in the business of losing other people's data, does the medium make a difference? One could argue that data on paper is more accessible than on a disc in that no device is needed to access the data. It sounds like this lawyer was taking the piss.

Ofcom sets 60GHz free

JohnG

Equipment?

The yanks opened this band up a while back but although there are a few manufacturers, the kit seems to be quite pricey and not readily available. Rain seems to be a big issue at this wavelength, so external use in the UK might be a bit restricted anyway.

There is some talk of using this band for WirelessHD but are there any products available/in the pipeline in Europe?

Microsoft loses appeal on Word injunction

JohnG

NOT Another case of patent-holding morons..... →

"..who do not and have no intention of actually contributing working products to the market exercising their entitlement rights."

What a load of crap! i4i had developed and brought to market a product that was doing quite well in specific industry sector - Microsoft simply stole their idea and sold it in a globally marketed product.

JohnG

I normally support the little guy

"but when the "little guy" is nothing but a greedy patent troll "

i4i aren't patent trolls, they have a successful product, Microsoft saw it, invited them for technical discussions, then said they weren't interested and promptly stole the idea. They later tried to bully i4i out of existence but failed.

" ...I was under the impression XML was an OPEN standard..."

XML is an open standard and i4i did not have a patent for the XML standard. They had patented their technique for handling/editing XML files, used successfully in their products for some years - it is that which Microsoft copied in Word.

JohnG

Damn Canadians

"...it sounds like these Canadians have managed to patent a W3C standard ...."

So, it would have been OK if they were Americans, eh?

Anyway, they have not patented XML, they patented a technique for editing and otherwise handling XML files - it is that technique which MS copied into Word after holding technical discussions with i4i and telling them they weren't interested in taking it further.

JohnG

@devnull

Just because you think i4i's product is crap does not give Microsoft or anyone else cart blanche to steal it. They are selling it and making a living.

Whilst software patents may be a bad thing, that is the legal framework in place and which everyone (in the USA) has to work within. Furthermore, being one of the big supporters of software patents and IP, Microsoft should not be breaking these laws - they have enough lawyers specialising in this area to know exactly what they are doing.

Ferry giant refuses ID card

JohnG

Passport or national identity card

"EU Citizens don't NEED a passport to travel in the EU. They need a "Recognised form of photo ID" which includes the EU-designed UK Driving Licence."

The europa.eu website says you need a passport or a national identity card, although I know some countries do allow travel on a photocard driving license (I once travelled from Frankfurt to London and back using my UK photocard driving license and German residency permit, having forgotten my passport). Probably not wise to test this in the age of the war on terror.

JohnG

ID card? Never heard of it

It is worrying that people in the travel business and engaged in the checking of documents don't know what does or does not constitute valid identification. One would have thought that they might actually express an interest in things like the ID card fiasco, given its relevance to their work. if they cannot identify a UK ID card, do they really know what the cards from other EU states look like - can they spot a fake?

US politico calls for cancer warning on cell phones

JohnG

Wi-Fi by AC 22nd December 2009 10:30

No mate - you are wrong. There have been many studies, some taking data over 15 years or more - the bottom line is that there is no correlation between cancers and mobile phone use. Similarly, no correlation has been established for proximity to cellular base stations, WLAN access points, etc. There has been some correlation between childhood leukaemia and power distribution lines but it is difficult to isolate this from other factors.

" I reckon there may be a significant difference between the original 900 mhz band and the more recent trend to Ghz 1.8, 1.9, 2+ frequencies."

You "reckon" - based on what exactly?

This is what pisses people off so much: Someone comes along and says "I am not an expert and have no evidence but my Johnny gets headaches and I think it is due to <insert chosen technology>". Then a bunch of politicians and journalists jump on the idea, with a view to furthering their own careers. It is scaremongering, plain and simple. What is annoying is that when presented with several studies showing the absence of any correlation, the answer is always "you might have missed it", "your study might not be long enough",etc. - never, "we have a longer, better study which provides conclusive proof of a link".

JohnG

Label => Product Liability

This would leave the way open for people to sue the mobile phone manufacturers for damage that might have been done to them when using a mobile phone. The label would effectively make the manufacturers acknowledge a product liability for something that is unproven. If the law is passed, the manufacturers should withdraw their products from the area covered, stating that they do not accept the unproven allegations nor the liability.

Apparently, the lawmaker concerned earns a living as a self-employed title examiner and as a distributor of nutritional supplements. The excessive consumption of certain supplements, like some vitamins actually causes damage - perhaps she would agree that these products should carry warnings of those dangers, which, unlike the mobile phone radiation allegations, have been established scientifically.

Closeted lesbian sues Netflix for privacy invasion

JohnG

Oh yes she did!

"Customer 1792548 had no reason to think NetFlix was going to blab her rental habits to the whole world."

Except that Netflix's privacy policy says they would give aggregated customer data to third parties.

JohnG

Ts & Cs and Privacy Policy

Has the lady or her lawyers actually read Netflix's Ts & Cs and Privacy Policy?

Can anyone explain the chunnel fiasco?

JohnG

Ostrich management

What I find amazing is that they put their entire business on hold for few days with passengers stranded at stations. They could have implemented several interim measures which would have reduced the pain for passengers and their own losses:

1. Run "warm trains" between Cheriton and Coquelles i.e only in the tunnel and transfer passengers at both sides of the tunnel to different trains. It would not have been efficient but it would have been better than nothing;

2. Stop and clean the snow and ice from the trains before they enter the tunnel. This would need some extra people and equipment and would screw up their timetables - but it is better than nothing.

There are probably other ideas that would have allowed them to continue at least some service - it is unbelievable that they would just stop everything and leave passengers to fend for themselves.

Doing the maths on Copenhagen

JohnG

Pollution Taxes <> Environmental damage fixed

The snag with the idea of taxing polllution or polluters is that the problems remain unless the money collected is spent fixing the damage done - and that won't happen.

If the politicians gave shit about the environment, they would have held a huge video conference, instead of flying halfway around the world at tax payers' expense, each with a bunch of hangers-on.

Privacy group sues DoJ over 'digital strip search' data

JohnG
Joke

I'll sue your ass, if you've seen my ass

Hugh Jass, Attorney at Law

Google: Do no evil, pay no tax

JohnG

Questionable

The issue is that services in the UK are supplied by Google UK Ltd but revenues for those services are collected in Ireland. It does look a bit dodgy, although not as dodgy as the revenues in Ireland, which are collected by a Google subsidiary in Bermuda.

Faster BT broadband on starting blocks for Olympics - maybe

JohnG

What's the point?

If you actually get a higher access speed and you use it, you will likely fall foul of the AUP anyway.

A decade to forget - how Microsoft lost its mojo

JohnG

Desktop/Notebook OS and Office

Microsoft's dominance is entirely based on two product areas: Windows as desktop and notebook OS and Office. All they have to do to keep their monopoly is to avoid screwing those up (so they failed with Vista). Corporates stick with Windows desktops because of Office and they stick with Office because everyone else sticks with Office. Moving a company away from Office usually implies the conversion of various documents, databases and spreadsheets - and it is this that never works properly. Such things were much simpler when Word and Excel beat Wordperfect and Lotus123.

Mobile internet to eat world, apparently

JohnG

Connected but not in constant use.

I have smartphone in my pocket that is connected to the Internet most of the day (I don't often use 3G, preferring free WLAN). However, whilst it is connected to the Internet, it also remains in my pocket most of the day - where I have the choice, I use a desktop or notebook (except for VoIP). I can use the phone for browsing, IM, etc. - but it is so much easier with sensibly sized screen and keyboard.

I know a substantial number of people who have smartphones (because that's what their mobile operator gave them) but actually use them as regular phones, never once using them to connect to the Internet.

Ladies put off tech careers by sci-fi posters, Coke cans

JohnG

Career choice

People (whatever their gender) who alter their career choice based on what personal trivia their future colleagues may have around their desk probably aren't destined to get on with anyone in any workplace.

TJX hacker mulls Asperger's defense

JohnG

Not responsible

If someone commits a crime and then claims they cannot be held responsible for their actions because they cannot tell right from wrong, this is no longer a question of punishment but of protecting society at large. This would imply they either need to be detained or at least, monitored around the clock for as long as the condition persists.

The publicity of these cases must be hurting the employment prospects for those with Asperger's Syndrome, living blameless lives and not deserving any kind of discrimination.

Data collector threatens scribe who reported breach

JohnG

"Tell us what you saw and how you did it"

http://www.minnpost.com/client_files/pdfs/MPR-demand-letter-FINAL.pdf

This seems to admit that the company concerned don't know what has been accessed nor how this was achieved - I can't believe they would want to acknowledge how little they know. AFAIK, all the individuals whose personal data has been exposed must be informed of the breach(es). I wonder how many of them might sue, given that the CEO acknowledged that they "screwed up by caching credentials on several web pages".

Immigration spy centre hit by staff delays

JohnG

Chaser's war on everything

I wonder how these analysts would cope with those Australian guys, Al Kayder and Terry Wrist.

Durham police demonstrate DNA will stuff you

JohnG

Molecules: missing the point

The big issue is not whether the police understand chemistry and the circumstances under which they arrest people "on suspicion". The big issue is that the Durham police have clearly stated that having been arrested and released without charge, having your DNA on the big database could affect your future employment. They are effectively saying "this is a means of punishment which we can use against people we don't like but have not actually done anything illegal, without the unnecessary complications of a court, lawyers and people's right to a fair trial".

Google and MS sued over links to file-sharing site

JohnG

Marketing

Has anyone here heard of this company or their artists? This sounds like a marketing strategy for an unknown company with unknown artists to get noticed.

Like someone else said, Rapidshare DO take down files if they are notified that the content is in breach of copyright or otherwise illegal.

US judge excoriates Harvard team's P2P defense

JohnG

$675K for 30 songs!

That's $22, 500 per song. Whilst I cannot see what he was doing as "fair use", the amount awarded seems extortionate when compared with the alleged damage.

Google slaps barcodey stickers on Favourite Places

JohnG

QR Codes (and Datamatrix)

I quite like the idea of mobile barcodes, not just for acquiring URLs but also for passing contact details into phones - but are many people using them? Maybe Google's Place Pages will make mobile barcodes a bit more popular.

Of course, there's nothing to stop businesses using mobile barcodes in adverts of various kinds as way of passing their website URL, phone numbers or a URL to a map of their location - it isn't limited to Google's Place Pages.

Pig plague alert: Avoid missionary position

JohnG

Cowgirl?

I don't think my wife would approve if she caught me in bed with a cowgirl, reversed or otherwise.

Assuming you actually spend some time with the people you have sex with, you'll probably have many other chances to exchange viruses with them - not just when you're doing the beast with two backs.

Malicious PDFs can commandeer BlackBerry Servers, RIM warns

JohnG

Blackberry Enterprise Server

"...Blackberries running Microsoft Windows versions 2003 or 2008"

Just to be clear, we are not talking about the Blackberry devices but BES (Blackberry Enterprise Server). A key role of the BES is to provide VPN termination for Blackberry devices via RIM's proprietary protocol (although RIM don't use the term "VPN"). RIM insist that the BES should be placed on the inside of a corporate network, rather than in a DMZ, making it and the Blackberries that connect through it interesting targets for hackers.

The Blackberry Router is a smokescreen as connections from RIM and Blackberry devices are terminated at the BES, not at the Router.

Cisco and Juniper 'clientless' VPNs expose netizens

JohnG

Workaround

As the advisory notes, this issue is mitigated by restricting access to trusted domains/networks. Users don't need to use the VPN to access the Internet - they only need it to access specific internal trusted domains/networks.

Border agency to start fingerprint checks

JohnG

Give immigration the finger

These will be the fingerprints taken by a US company contracted to screen UK visa applicants at British embassies around the world .... Which finger should they be shown?

If I apply for a new passport, I will have to supply biometric data (fingerprints). If I apply from outside the UK, does this mean the same US company will be taking my fingerprints? What safeguards are there that my fingerprints will not end up in some US government database?

Should you lose your religion on your CV?

JohnG

Is religion relevant to the job in question?

I see a CV as a sales document for someone who wants a job. It needs to advertise that person's suitablilty for the role they are applying for - and it needs to do this for people who may have lots of other applicants to consider and very little time. If their religion is not relevant to the performance of the role (like it would be for a vicar) then it should be left out, along with other information of no consequence.

'Alienated' gamer sues WoW for ruining life

JohnG

Erik Estavillo

Is his lawyer working pro bozo?

UK jails schizophrenic for refusal to decrypt files

JohnG

Stop the presses! Mentally ill people do strange stuff!

Someone with paranoid schizophrenia might do very strange stuff and think that everyone is out to get them - especially when the police have been trying to get them for a while. They are quite likely to stop taking their medication, thinking that their doctor is part of the conspiracy and then the situation gets steadily worse.

Why the fuck did someone not section him FIRST!!!! - not after he has been sent to prison. If he had spent some compulsory time in a psychiatric unit, he would have been given the necessary treatment and, once back to normal, would have probably been quite cooperative and apologetic for missed court appearances, etc.

I hope the policemen concerned sleep soundly at night and have warm feelings about how they managed to get a mentally ill individual locked up who, the judge has admitted, was never a threat.

Arkansas cop tasers 10-year-old girl

JohnG

An extract from www.taser.com

"ECD Use on a pregnant, infirm, elderly, small child, or low body-mass index (BMI) person could increase the risk of death or serious injury. ECD Use has not been scientifically tested on these populations. The ECD should not be Used on members of these populations unless the situation justifies possible higher risk of death or serious injury."

Whilst a kick in the groin might be quite painful, even if administered by a ten year old girl, the cop couldn't claim anyone at the scene was at risk of "death or serious injury".

How the Dunning-Kruger effect will stop techies buying houses

JohnG

City and mortgages

If those people in charge in the City were so damn clever, how is it they managed to run their businesses into the ground and need a shitload of public money to bail them out?

Before moving to Germany, I was contracting in the UK for over decade and I never needed a self certification mortgage - all I had to do when applying for a mortgage was show the lender my accounts and funnily enough, they understood them. Lenders see applications from many self employed folk, not just IT contractors and used to the idea that many people don't have fixed earnings.

Along with self certification, they need to ban mortgages above 90%. Anyone who can't be arsed or is too poor to save 10% towards the property they want to buy is not planning ahead.

Facebook battles attack by child protection chief

JohnG
Thumb Down

I'm with "The Original Ash"

Just like the real world, he Internet is not and will never be, a safe place for children to explore without supervision.

If some kid is being bullied, whether online or otherwise, a button promoting some organisation is not likely to help. There are existing helplines (like Childline) - if the lids are not using those, they aren't likely to use the CEOP button either.

This sounds like a self-important inidivdual seeking more attention and budget for his organisation. The money should instead be spent in schools and front line social services.

T-Mobile coughs to data theft

JohnG

Damage to T-Mobile

I'm not a big fan of T-Mobile but it is not only their customers who are victims here: T-Mobile has lost business to competitors due to breaches of confience by some of their employees. Presumably, those employees can be terminated and possibly, sued by T-Mobile. T-mobile might also want to pursue the brokers who paid for the stolen data.

Religious discrimination law may open door for decent deviants

JohnG

Private life

When at work, it is fair that an employer expects certain standards of behaviour and may require conformance to some dress code. However, everything that happens outside of work is none of the employer's concern, as long as it is legal and does not involve the company name (e.g. like wearing a company uniform to a political or religious event). Whether it is religious beliefs, sexual preference or membership of an S&M club, all of this stuff is part of an employees private life. The employer's opinion or moral attitude to someone else's private life has nothing to do with their performance at work. It doesn't matter whether or not someone thinks spiritualism is a religion - it has nothing to do with work.

The one exception would be where a church employs someone like a vicar or priest - in that case, it is reasonable to require that they actually follow the religion.

Of course, the flip side to this is that is is not unreasonable to expect employees to keep their private beliefs and practises to themselves while they are at work.

Luvvies make last ditch appeal for radio mics

JohnG

Transition period

".....no-one can buy that new kit until Ofcom decides where they are going to be allowed to operate."

This is the problem. There would be no problem if Ofcom officially provided a new home for this stuff and then gave a reasonable transition period for users to migrate - maybe three to five years. This would allow users to budget for new equipment whilst the old kit depreciates in their books and Ofcom would not need to compensate anyone.

Wikipedia sued for publishing convicted murderer's name

JohnG

Optimistic lawyers

"As your article deals with a local German public figure (such as the actor Walter Sedlmayr), we expect you are aware that you have to comply with applicable German law."

When connecting from Germany, the English Wikipedia site appears to be hosted in the Netherlands, which has not been subject to any German law for more than sixty years.

Brussels agrees pan-European ID standard

JohnG

Useful for me

ID is taken for granted in continental Europe. This is probably because, having porous borders, there is a need for internal control to reduce abuse of welfare, taxation and simliar systems. I can understand why people in the UK have a different view but having more cooperation as regards ID and registration when moving between EU states is actually quite useful for those of us who live on the south side of the channel.

If ID were introduced in the UK without the Big Brother elements behind it, maybe people would not be so averse to the idea. A simple laminated photo ID with your current address and some reference number used by the local town is enough - there is no need for biometrics, RFID and a bunch of linked (and leaky) databases.

Loud sex a human right, says loud sex woman

JohnG

Priorities

The neighbour moved into the flat next door in 2007 and then started complaining. The owner of said flat lives in another flat directly below and they have also started complaining.

Apparently, the local authorities first made recordings, which were subsequently presented to the judge (sounds like a breach of privacy to me) and later installed an SPL meter, which the complaining neighbour could activate when her neighbours were causing a noise (so not difficult to interfere with those readings then). This looks like the start of a campaign to remove people from their home.

If officials have not got the resources to address the kind of bullying that sees people murdered or commit suicide, then they for sure have not got the resources to be worrying about someone else's love life. If I were local taxpayer, I would be unhappy to see public money pissed away on something as trivial as this.

Bot herders hide master control channel in Google cloud

JohnG

Who would blacklist Google?

It would be a brave AV company that decided to blacklist even some of Google's servers - or Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Spain cuts off 3m pre-pay mobiles

JohnG

Illegal Immigrants

Like someone else said, it is the SIM cards and associated phone numbers that have been cut off, not the phones.

One of the key benefits of this move is to make life rather more difficult for illegal immigrants. You need ID and an address to register the SIM. This is similar to Germany, where all kinds of simple things need valid ID with a proven address, making life very difficult for anyone who is not legally registered in the country.

Re: Stolen phones: So if your mobile is stolen, would you just let the "new owner" use your number and your credit or would you contact the phone company and get them to cancel the SIM?