Posts by fLaMePrOoF

Dalek designer Ray Cusick passes away aged 84

"Terminated"?!!!

Just shameful =OC

BBC Vision and Audio tossed on bonfire, replaced by 'TV', 'Radio'

Personally I think 'vision' and 'audio' were more fitting terms given the widening of scope to multiple media platforms; e.g. viewing iPlayer on a laptop is not TV and downloading a Podcast is not radio...

Mega launches with mega FAIL

OK, might not be the best launch ever but looking around it's a great product / service.

C'mon Reg, do you absolutely have to crap on everything?

Credit where credit's due...

NASA reveals secrets of Curiosity’s selfies

Photo caption... "NASA should no better"?! 0_o

Iran draws veil over lolcats, launches local YouTube knock-off

Wonder how much extra traffic will end up at mehr.org (Mission For Establishment of Human Rights in Iran)..?

Although that site will almost certainly be blocked in Iran.

Elon Musk envisions small town of vegetarians on Mars

Then there's the Daily Mail perspective...

Half a million quid eh? How much does it cost to keep the average wrong 'un for the duration of their prison term..?

Mmm, what's that smell: Coffee or sweat? How to avoid a crap IT job

Good one, looking forward to part 2 :o)

Save hefty Dr Who and Bond girl 'Flossie', pleads vintage computer man

Corrections...

Actually Flossie has significantly more than 2kB of 'memory'...

On-board storage is comprised of ferrite cores, a type of iron-based magnetic core, which holds around 12 kilobytes of storage space, as well as three magnetic drums which can store around 72 kilobytes each of data.

The main storage system is formed of exchangeable reels of magnetic tape, each containing 2mb of data, when formatted. A maximum of eight reels can be used at once, giving the machine a maximum operational storage space of around 16 megabytes.

Liquefied-air silos touted as enormo green 'leccy batteries

Smoke and mirrors...

"The company that took the proposal to IMechE, Highview Power Storage, says scale is the key. A large cryo-generator could be co-located with a large-scale conventional industrial plant or power station, to harvest waste head otherwise released to the atmosphere. This heat could be used to speed up the warming of the stored air, boosting the power output. Also, when the cooling process has been completed, excess low-temperature air could be passed through gravel-filled tanks, to help prime the cooling process on the next cycle. This, the company says, could yield efficiency of as much as 70 percent (if its calculations are accurate)."

This is quite obviously bollocks, designed to attract funding / interest - the first part of this supposed 'efficiency' increase is nothing of the sort - they are simply proposing to put more energy into the system in the form of captured heat from a power plant. And I VERY much doubt that the second part - pre-cooling gravel could bring anywhere near the efficiency improvement proposed.

Even accepting the above; 70% MY ARSE!!!

Now Apple wants Samsung S III, Galaxy Notes off the shelves too

It's getting difficult to express (without resorting to a barrage of expletives and obscenities) just how much I LOATH Apple...

Archos pushes out 7-inch GamePad, slaps on dual thumbsticks

Good but...

Archos missed a trick here - if they'd designed it so that the 'tablet' could pop out of the 'surround' with the games controls they's have widened the market considerably.

Lawyers: We'll pillory porn pirates who don't pay up

Pretty sure this would count as blackmail here in the UK, and prolly Germany as well?

Anti-gay Uganda's premier backs pride march in protest hack

"Ambrose Ruyooka, commissioner for the Information Communications Technology ministry, said the breaches had been rectified."

Is it just me and my puerile schoolboy humour or is this is just begging to be spoonerised...

"Ambrose Ruyooka, commissioner for the Information Communications Technology ministry, said the rectums had been breachified."

Samsung's Wang was up 22 hours a day, had no time to copy Apple

There are only two possible outcomes to this trial:

1. Apple gets well and truly Beaitch Slapped

2. They bought the judge...

'$199' Surface tablets: So crazy it might work, or just crazy?

"Then we know the tablet space is a fight between Android and iOS"

Didn't we already learn this from the TouchPad and PlayBook???

Anonymous declares war after French firm trademarks its logo

Caution...

No doubt Anon can and will pw0n the retailer in question, but they should consider the possibility of a bait-and-trap from either the French or more likely another government (USA for example) designed to draw out members of the Anon hierarchy, hoping that they will get involved in actions personally.

It just seems WAY too obvious and dumb to me to be a legitimate business move.

Boy cuffed after Twitter troll's drown threat to Olympic diver Tom Daley

Obviously some are more equal then others in the eyes of the law...

This kind of thing happens thousands of times every day and the police receive hundreds of complaints relating to similar acts of 'online bullying'... But would they arrest and cuff a teenager if this particular case had only involved 'normal' members of the public? Would they fuck.

Every sympathy for Tom Daley but he's obviously just a naive 18 year old with a lot to learn about media and PR - re-tweeting something like this in the first place was just plain stupid.

Surface slab WILL rub our PC-making pals the wrong way – Microsoft

Re: Nail biting end?

Windows 8 won't replace Windows 7 in the same way previous new versions have, no matter how much pressure MS put on OEMs it is simply too different a product and Windows 7 has far more life left in it than previously superseded versions.

Touch displays / UIs have been very poorly taken up in the desktop market in the face of the tablet revolution and this is Win8's natural habitat; I predict that tier 1 OEMs will be cautious in rolling out their Windows 8 offerings while continuing to develop and base existing lines on Win7

MS and Nokia make good bed fellows; two companies who have lost their way...

With recent Office offerings and now Windows 8 MS are looking to be about where Nokia were 4-5 years ago, striving for relevance in a market they increasingly fail to understand and sitting on the brink of a long decline.

Although MS's decline will undoubtedly be a slower and less drastic affair than that of Nokia, my advice to anyone holding onto MS stock - SELL NOW, because over the next 4-5 years it will slide to a around half it's current value or even less.

Expert: BA doesn't need permission to google your face

By reason of prejudice...

According to BA's own justification for the service it could be in breach of the DPA due to the prejudicial way in which they propose to use it...

"The Google Images search app helps our customer service team to recognise high profile travellers such as captains of industry who would be using our First class facilities enabling us to give a more personalised service"

The act states that this would be:

"unwarranted in any particular case by reason of prejudice to the rights and freedoms or legitimate interests of the data subject"

Did your iPhone 'just stop working' - or did you drop it in your BEER?

Another bogus Apple patent, what is it about Apple that allows them to patent systems and methods that have HUGE amounts or prior art?!!!!

This system had been in use in mobile phones for several years before Apple even entered the market - a small patch impregnated with a water reactive dye inside the housing so that manufacturers can detect water submersion - not sure who came up with the idea but is certainly was NOT APPLE!!!

Girl Geek Dinner lady: The IT Crowd is putting schoolgirls off tech

"The portrayal of IT workers as sexist and women as technically inept and foolish in the programme was unhelpful"

What UTTER bollocks.

Sarah Lamb obviously has a massive chip on her shoulder...

She refers to 'workers' plural and 'women' plural in relation to two INDIVIDUAL characters; one man (the 'big boss') and one woman (the 'lesser boss') in The IT Crowd - these characters' genders could just as easily have been reversed, they are not relevant - the program in NO WAY implicitly or explicitly exploits gender stereotypes for laughs.

Pirate Bay struggling to get on feet after DDoS to the knee

I would have thought these guys would be firmly in the frame for this...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/05/13/pirate_pay_dos_against_torrents/

Sony to add full HD display to 15in Ivy Bridge laptop

Pricing?

Cameron's F-35 U-turn: BAE Systems still calls the shots at No 10

I'm reminded of the following quote by Sir Sydney Camm re the demise of the TSR-2 in 1965...

"All modern aircraft have four dimensions: span, length, height and politics. TSR-2 simply got the first three right."

BAE have the fourth dimension pretty much wrapped up where UK defence is concerned :o(

VW STUNS WORLD+DOG WITH REAL HOVER-CAR!

It's sad that you're even asking the question of the authenticity of this video, it's so obviously tongue in cheek. The only story here is that large numbers of Chinese people have fallen for it.

WH Smiths tills insist shop sells The Queen's Knickers only

First cock-up the Queens Knickers in a long while...

Mayor Boris' Chinese vote master stroke backfires on twit clone

"One might suggest that a half-arsed approach is still a cunning strategy to make election rival Ken Livingstone look less Chinese-friendly"

I dunno - compared to Boris he definitely looks more Chinese...

ISPs torch UK.gov's smut-blocking master plan

"It bears all the hallmarks of a policy proposal that is trying to fix a problem without understanding the solution"

I'd go further and say the government is trying to fix a problem without even understanding the problem, never mind any solution...

Network level filtering for mobile data connections is right and propper as parents can't otherwise restrict adult content on a childs device, but on a home ISP connection it is entirely inappropriate not just for technical reasons but because it is never going to be an effective solution and will pring with it a whoile host of new problems and issues.

I personally don't se what all the fuss is about - securing every device on a hoime network in one swoop can be easily achieved by using an alternative DNS service such as OpenDNS. Even without a static IP tis can be effective by way of a DNS update client. Of course, ISPs wouls be very reluctant to tout such a solution as it would cut their revenu drastically if users migrated away from their DNS servers en masse; so surely a reasonable solution is for ISPs to implement OpenDNS style user configurable content filtering on their own DNS servers. This could even be done on an opt-out basis without causing too mouch hastle, or alternatively provide alternate DNS server addresses depending on a customers choice at sign-up.

The posibilities and permutaions are many but I'm convinced that this would be the best way to implement additional content controls, provided the responsibility and configurability of it was placed firmly with the bill payer.

Apple fights off ebook suit with anti-Amazon defence

"Since then customers have benefited from ebooks that are more..." EXPENSIVE.

Fuck you Apple, I don't want the novels I buy to be fucking 'interactive' (and all priced at a minimum $9.99), I just want them to be as decent value as possible, which is why I only have Kindle and Google Books on my Android phone.

Apple's definition of a monopoly = success in any market sector by anybody but them.

Fucking greedy arrogant hypocritical twats.

Sony axes 10,000 workers, eyes up mobile and medical biz

"Sony axes 10,000 workers"

Axes them what?

Apple flooded with iPad 3 wireless connection complaints

Re: ok

If you know seven people with the-new-iPads's then I'd have to say there's a very good chance that you and your circle of friends are all enormous twats.

Facebook accused of 'wanton' use of Canadian woman's pics

"Debbie Douez" - Why oh why couldn't she have been from Dallas?!

You're crap and paid too much for the little work you actually do

Re: I stopped reading after the first point

Obviously this article is way too subtle for all of the Gary McKinnons out there...

This article is now going viral across Facebook, top stuff!!!

Lawyers of Mordor menace Hobbit boozer

Re: Fuck Saul Zentz

I'm with you - now instead of taking my family to see the movie at my local flea-pit, I'm going to ILLEGALLY DOWLOAD IT - there - not even posted anonymously either!

(I'll still buy the DVD though ;o)

Re: Bad feeling...

About the most sensible response so far - SZC could be seen to be protecting their IP, while also acknowledging the fact that the actions of a small village pub are having absolutely fuck all financial effect or negative influence on them, and said pub is not seeking to profit from their IP in any way, but simply applying an enthusiastic theme to the regular business of flogging the medicinal compound.

I agree with any and all posts above referring to SZC as 'wankers', 'twats', 'cunts' etc.

PhD pimp's mobe lock screen outwits Feds - Google told to help

Re: Brain dead feds...

There are a lot of idiots about today I see - contrary to the comment below the FBI are perfectly entitled to use any method they wish to bypass the security on the phone, just as they could obtain a warrant to search the guys car or house, this is a task which in this case would be very straight forward indeed; the Android pattern lock screen offers minimal real security and is easily bypassed in a number of ways.

But wait, aren't they asking Google to help them do exactly that? The court request is not for permission to beak into the phone, simply to try to force Google to help them do it, they obviously already have that right.

7 thumbs down? C'mon ppl, did you all just read the stupid comment below and forget to engage your brains?

Re: Brain dead feds...

This is simply wrong.

Look to another recent case where encryption keys were refused; the feds eventually broke the encryption thus negating the need to enforce the court order demanding they keys be revealed.

In this case as there they have reasonable grounds to suspect incriminating material is held on the phone and they have the same right to search it as they would to search a house or a car.

13 thumbs down? Maybe 13 people who read your comment and didn't stop to consider that it might be complete and utter bollocks..?

Brain dead feds...

"Frustrated in its attempts to get at the secrets on the phone, the FBI filed a warrant on in order to compel Google to assist it."

If the FBI, one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the world, had to resort to this route rather than breaking into the phone themselves (something which most reasonably intelligent / IT literate human beings should be able to do in no more than a few hours / Google searches) then frankly they are morons.

UK Home Secretary approves TVShack's O'Dwyer extradition

Re: Couple of questions

Answer to both questions is no...

1. The Oink verdict firmly established that sites which link to potentially infringing content but host nothing infringing do not break UK law, even if the site operator profits from advertising / donations as Oink did.

2. Did this site enhance / proliferate other sites which held infringing content, probably yes, but the same can be said of any search engine. If the US want to protect creative rights they should go after those who are infringing those rights. If I were to offer up copyrighted content, or sell illegal satellite decoders / copy bypass systems then I've clearly broken the law, if I publish URLs of sites doing this, I have done nothing wrong; indeed, the media police should be thankful to me that they can use my site for it's intended purpose and to their own ends - to locate and take action against those infringing their rights.

If I see someone shop lifting and I point them out and publicly declare; "this person is shoplifting, and probably has stolen goods to sell" I'm doing nothing wrong, I';m being a good public servant.

The only factor which could turn this into a crime would be an element of agreement / conspiracy between the infringer, and the one linking to the infringing content - if that could be proven then the site owner would become an accessory - it looks like this is the route being pursued against Tim Dotcom and Mega-Upload where the US believe they can prove a degree of collusion.

Re: two points of view

The alleged infringement was way back in 2002, when the site was first set up the extradition treaty wasn't even in place...

Even so, if this had all occurred last week I'd still argue that he's done nothing illegal under UK law and should not be subject to the Whims of the US media industry.

The whole treaty and it's application are the complete fucking disgrace:

Brought in to supposedly 'fight terrorism' the treaties recent application proves the much laboured point that bad laws will ALWAYS be abused and used for purposes that were not originally intended.

Now UK citizens can be shipped out when they've done NOTHING illegal under UK law, (as the Oink verdict established - linking to copyrighted content is not a crime).

Apple to kick start 'iTV' production in Q2

"It may not sell as many sets as Samsung or Sony, but it can make a mark"

No doubt it'll dig up some spurious patents for a "rectangular media delivery panel" and commence legal actions against Samsung in Australian, German and Scandinavian courts to block sales of their infringing 'televisions'...

Phone-hack cops nab six 'including Prime Ministerial horse lender'

"Scotland Yard said this morning that its cops arrested all six individuals on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, contrary to the Criminal Law Act 1977."

If the police find evidence of such a conspiracy, then this just got a WHOLE load more serious than illegal intercepts - maximum sentence of life imprisonment...

Warp drives are PLANET KILLERS, Sydney Uni students find

Re: So...

Well, he did postulate the forward deflector as well, a solution to preventing time-locked matter build up at the front of the 'warp field'...