Posts by ADJB

Eight hour cleansing to get all the 'faggots' and 'bitches' OUT of Github

Re: That's my code knackered then.....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/10511413/Beef-faggots-are-back-as-Waitrose-records-a-boom-in-sales-of-forgotten-cuts-of-meat.html

http://www.uptonsbutchers.com/faggots.asp

http://www.farmerschoice.co.uk/meat/buyfaggots

and many many more.....

If you ask a neutral question in the Midlands like "What do you think of faggots?" I would bet that the majority answer would be "lovely with mash, peas and a bit of gravy" and at most 1 in every 100 might even consider it to be a question about homosexuals. Like many words that have been hi-jacked over the years (Hacking for example) some people believe that the new, agenda led meaning is the only meaning and anybody who happens to use the word in it's older (or normal for many people) context is all of a sudden sexist, racist, homophobic, whatever.

However don't worry that your not being marginalised enough because not enough Midland people understand your narrow meaning of a self perceived insult, Midlanders have plenty of terms of abuse and ridicule that can and are used to insult uphill gardeners who pay with nine bob notes to travel on the other bus, just not the word "faggot".

That's my code knackered then.....

I suppose I can expect a takedown notice for my "Faggot Finder" app which so many foodies have found useful on visits to the Midlands in search of this great delicacy.

And this is news why?

I had always sort of assumed that Github was a hub for Gits anyway.

French novel falls foul of Apple's breast inspectors

And this is censored......

At the moment I am playing through the "South Park - Stick of Truth" game which is censored in Europe but not in the US (on the consoles but not on the PC apparently). I have come across three censored scenes, one regarding anal probing by aliens and two in the local abortion clinic. All the missing material is fully described with an apology to "Europe". Given the American sensitivities around abortion especially I an surprised that this censorship wasn't the other way round - i.e. allowed in Europe and blocked in the US. As I have just taken part in a battle which ends up with my opponent being crushed by a giant breast and myself being crushed by a giant pair of testicles with the battle taking place under the heaving sweaty bodies of a couple making love I find this type of censorship laughable by Apple. Is it a case of chronic bad language, graphic violence, gratuitous sex and outright all round offensiveness is fine so long as its a game but if a real women is displayed in quite an artistic way then its banning material?

Roll up, roll up for the Reg Readers' Ball

Re: Or even...

Fair comment :)

I suspect that the only people who will bother to turn up in London will be employed at the silicon traffic calming measure or whatever it's called and may not be representative of real life.

Get thee out to the sticks and you will save more than the rail fair in reduced ale prices.

Ill communication delays NHS England's GP data grab for six months

Before this latest burst of interest from the popular press I had already done a "I do not consent, sod off" letter for my GP. When I took it down to the surgery I expected blank looks from the desk staff along the lines of what are you talking about?

To my very pleasant surprise about half way through my first sentence the lady handed me an opt out form pre-printed by the surgery just requiring my name, address and signature. My trust in the practice went up no end especially when a few weeks later my other half was there and her doctor actually raised the issue and offered her an opt out form.

With that level of open defiance from the shop floor it makes you wonder who actually wants the data and what its really for? (rhetorical)

Barclays Bank probes 'client data sold to rogue City traders' breach

"I can't wait to see what knighthoods and directorships people get for this, surely they will both be large numbers"

Just put that right for you.

Elite Systems pulls ZX Spectrum games after deluge of 'unpaid royalties' complaints

Re: WHo exactly is claiming the royalties?

Lets see....

EA

Activision

Capcom

Atari

Psygnosis - Now owned by Sony

Codemasters

Rare

Alternative

come to mind not to mention many individuals who still work in the industry and as also mentioned companies who have gone into other software genres.

From the Bluetooth.org website

"1.2 Who should join the Bluetooth SIG?

Any company using Bluetooth wireless technology in their products, rebranding or reselling Bluetooth enabled technology, or advertising qualified Bluetooth products must become a member of the SIG. (Membership in the Bluetooth SIG is for companies, not for individuals.)"

Elite are planning on using Bluetooth technology in the product. - That's enough from what it says above.

Even if they are going to reuse an off the shelf chipset I would expect that as a piece of consumer electronics they will still need to get the correct certifications which would include one for the wireless system. (Qualified product?)

Does anybody know how much it costs to join the Bluetooth SIG as I can't seem to find Elite Systems name on there. Or is the required membership going to be funded out of the kickstarter funds?

ZX Spectrum game devs allege Elite Systems Ltd didn't pay their royalties

Something the backers of this project don't seem to realise is that even if everything goes through and the keyboards are delivered then they will most probably be useless paperweights.

Given the kickstarter states they are only certain to work with Elites version of there "licensed" games and the mood among the developers is not at its best to say the least with many now considering legal action to recoup royalties and takedown notices based on such a serious breach of contract it seems unlikely there will be many if any games to play.

At present not one single developer has come forward to say they HAVE received any royalties.

I realise that it's not in kickstarters interest to pull a funded project due to the loss of money they will suffer but I worry that the bad press resulting from this matter will do them significant damage and it would be in there long term interests to put this project on hold until these serious allegations against Elite and Mr Wilcox are investigated. If these matters are resolved then the project can be reinstated, its not as if its time critical after 30 years of waiting.

The developers are all big boys now and can defend themselves via legal remedies but I can see 800 plus kickstarter backers, many of which don't understand there is no obligation to actually deliver anything at all, being stung and the reputation of kickstarter and possibly even the wider Sinclair / Spectrum community being damaged.

Sinclair's ZX Spectrum to LIVE AGAIN!

Promise the world

"The revived Spectrum is imagined as a superior way to play the retro games Elite delights in making available on modern platforms, and also a rather nice design for a wireless keyboard (albeit not a productivity-enhancing one)"

According to the kickstarter it probably wont be a nice wireless keyboard as it is only cited to work with the compatible games Elite will release. (and IOS only with no guarantee it will work on anything else)

It will also be interesting to see if this means that the original authors of the games in question will now start to receive some of the royalties which, to date, have apparently mysteriously failed to materialize. (http://www.worldofspectrum.org/forums/showthread.php?t=46365)

Lloyds Group probes server crash behind ATM, cash card outage

PDP?

I notice that Mr Pester ends his tweet with PDP. Are these his initials or the technology the system runs on ?.

Alcatel-Lucent and BT unveil super fat pipe, splurt out 1.4Tb per second across London

Standards

So can we assume that all broadband story's will now be quantified using the new Register standard of "low res grumble flicks /second" with additional standards of "HD grumble flicks / second" and "4k grumble flicks / second" as they become more applicable?

'Climate change' event dishes up sous vide supercomputers

Reading this while my car defrosts makes it a little surreal at best.

Posted from Birmingham, England.

Huawei dismisses NSA backdoor claims as profits soar

Let me get this right....

The NSA are complaining the kit does have backdoors, just not theirs?

Furtive ebook readers push Hitler's Mein Kampf up the charts

"Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson - On my Nexus 7

How Britain could have invented the iPhone: And how the Quangocracy cocked it up

Interesting - I didn't realise that Andrew Orlowski also writes for the Daily Mail under the name Nicholas Booth.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2523680/How-Britain-iPhone-technology-Apple-Quango-handed-advantage-competition.html

BT network-level STOCKINGs-n-suspenders KILLER arrives in time for Xmas

I think when its all up and running I will ask that all ISP's put facebook on the list of banned sites as it's well documented in the national press for a causing a number of cases of juvenile suicide because of bullying.

Let's see either how long that lasts or the reasoning behind it not being added to the strictest level of filter.

Eagle steals crocodile-cam, records video selfie

Re: 100km? Or 100m?

Is that an Australasian Sea Eagle or just a general Asian Sea Eagle?

Sysadmin job ad: 'If you don’t mind really bad work-life balance, this is for you'

less appetising job

Most of the less appetising job adds I see start something like...

1st Line Helpdesk operative required.

Ignore the gigantic assets write-off, Universal Credit IT 'is working' – UK.gov

"The minister for welfare reform Lord Freud claimed:"

Am I the only cynic that read that as....

"The minister for welfare reform Lord Fraud claimed:"

Google's Nexus 5: Best smartphone bang for your buck. There, we said it

Same as many people above - arrived on Monday.

I had this as an upgrade from my nexus 4 and after a couple of days playing I am very impressed. Call quality and wifi both seem to be much improved and download speeds seem to be much quicker. I could just about live with the previous 16Gb so went for the 32Gb this time and with all my essential apps and a decent selection of music on I still have more than enough space not to worry about the lack of a memory card slot. Of course YMMV.

The added bonus is that CEX gave me £133 for the nexus 4 so an outlay of £200 makes this fantastic value. Add to that an unlimited data + calls + unlimited texts plan for £12.50 a month and TCO for 2 years is "only" £500 - less than the phone only cost in many cases plus whatever resale value it retains.

Meet the 'KARDASHIAN Phone' – what Apple bods nicknamed the iPhone 5s

To quote Rogers Profanisaurus -

I bet that arse holds some shit.

Police constable 1337 stunned by Lego lookalike

Re: PCSO

You must live somewhere nice - they don't call them anything that pleasant round here.

Valve uncloaks prototype Steam Machine console specs

Apparently I already have a Steambox - At least the spec in the article is more or less the same as my gaming PC is so I assume I should just be able to load up the Steam OS and I should be good to go.

I do run a much meatier PSU (750W) to give myself a bit of slack and water cool to keep the noise and heat down but those are luxury's rather than essentials. Come down to the bottom end of the quoted spec and you are price matching PS4 / XBone machines so your chasing the same market segment.

I wonder if they want any freelance testers just to check the games comparability on a home made rig.

O2, Tesco Mobile go titsup for 220,000+ Brits in 13-HOUR 3G cockup

Re: Odds on....

Did it check behind the sofa?

BOFH: Welcome to Helldesk, ma'am, may I take your bags?

I always read BOFH for the humor but looking through the door to our hell desk all I see is reality in this episode.

Nintendo is FLATLY UNHINGED: New 2DS is a handful of game

Why?

Are they going for the "People with funny shaped over-sized pockets" market now?

Transdimensional rift appears above Australian bolt supplier

West Brumwich

"Google has now removed the pliers, presumably at the behest of its tooled-up lizard overlords."

Damn, that was the only tourist attraction in West Bromwich.

BOFH: Don't be afraid - we won't hurt your delicate, flimsy inkjet printer

You think inkjet refills are expensive - Pah

Wait until you have had the joys of using a Sinclair Thermal printer and buying rolls of the silvered paper for that not to mention the days it took to print anything out. Some progress is good.

Amazon reaping $600m a year in ad sales

It's not that much of a stretch to say the whole site is one giant advert.

Japanese govt: Use operator-run app stores, not Google Play

Re: During the meanwhile ...

"why would a sexy wallpaper need access to my phone book?"

So young sexy single ladies can contact me directly instead of just randomly emailing my porn browsing account.

McAfee dumps signatures and proclaims an (almost) end to botnets

As the argument rages about this OS being safer than that OS with respect to nasties does anybody have any figures on how many viruses actually use windows as the directly attacked platform as opposed to using some third party program (Adobe & Java - looking at you) as the attack vector which then goes on to compromise the OS.

I suspect that 'modern' windows, say Versions 7 & 8, are actually very robust and the vast majority of the infections are due to third party applications.

I can see this as being a major flaw in 'phone and tablet OS'es where they request, and are inevitably given, permissions far in excess of those required for purely operational needs in the same manner as many windows programs have "needed" administrative permissions in the past and thus provided an easy foothold into the OS.

Dutch MP must cough €750 for hacking into medical lab

And the Lab was fined how much?

Pope resigns months after launching social networking effort

You all seem to have missed the obvious downside to all this. It means there is going to be a new series of "Pope idol" on TV.

Acer slashes book worth of brands by £76m

E-machines

Is the E-machine brand the same one as I remember as the biggest load of incompatible hardware ever thrown into a box and passed off as a computer in the history of box shifting or am I doing it a disservice?

Facebook tests feature to let strangers pay to message you

Re: Oh, maaa-aaan, they really got this one wrong...

http://forums.reghardware.com/forum/containing/1363743

This is out of hand now: Apple attempts to trademark the LEAF

"The trademark application covers 10 classes of products including computers, jewellery, educational material, footwear, film streaming services and paper packaging for audio tapes."

I notice that you only name 6 classes of products, is one of the others for urine extraction plants?.

Latest Call of Duty sequel shoots past Avatar sales benchmark

Re: 8bitStyle

Your right they have come a long way.

£5 has changed into £50 to buy a game.

Originality has given way to re-skinned generic cloned games.

Tape to Tape copying is a bit of a waste of time nowadays.

Flogging and reflogging a dead horse with DLC was never part of there game plan.

Being abused by 12 year olds practicing there swearing was never a problem on the 8 bits.

Swapping playability and re-playability for shiny graphics.

I can see how years of progress has changed Activision for the better

Help-desk hell

I work in an organisation where HR is obsessive compulsive about all things politically correct regardless of the stupidity of the situation.

Recently Brother, our main printer supplier, has started to ship printers made in black plastic rather than the more normal cream. When we first saw these we all had a good laugh about the calls we would get about problems with the "black brothers". It should be added that two of the people most mocking of the situation happen to be of West Indian descent. Given the comedy value we agreed that the first few support calls we got for these printers should be handled by these two guys just for the laugh. They were all in favour of this and promised to report back.

A couple of days later some HR droid phoned up to whinge about problems with his new black brother (we had primed the helpdesk to ask users of the new printers what colour they were). One of the lads is duly dispatched to HR, arrives in the open plan office and loudly announces "Who's got a problem with a black brother". Apparently the only noise was that of jaws colliding with desks. He then announces "So, your all allright with the black brothers then?". More silence. "Right I'll close the call then" and walks out.

For some reason they never called back to reopen the call.

BOFH: Cannot terminate PFY instance... ACCESS DENIED

Re: The times

It's possible, though highly unlikely, that in some universe on some timeline Windows 8 will be a good operating system, we know that will never happen with Vista.

Minecraft coming to Raspberry Pi in hackable edition

If I remember correctly the stated aim was always to get the first Pi's out to hackers, tinkerers and enthusiasts, then, when the product has a higher level of maturity, release it for as a cased product for mass educational use. I always thought it should be considered in the same way as a Microsoft operating system, no sane person would use it in a liive / production situation until at least service pack one.

Having said that I have had non of the problems with USB stated above and quite happily run a SSD via USB on a powered hub as well as the normal gubbins like a keyboard, mouse, wireless dongle etc.

@csumpi

My normal Pi setup of Pi, power supply, keyboard, mouse, powered hub, wireless dongle, second hand laptop SATA drive and SD card came to about £70. Exactly which netbooks were you considering in this price range?

Freesat downs own website after Downton quickie

The third way

Of course the other way of doing things is to install a motorised dish and get your own decoder. Total cost for a full HD setup is about £250 (or less) and being as you can pick up satellites covering all over Europe (and the middle east + North Africa) it means you can watch most of Sky's premium rubbish on Free to air from somewhere else. RTL's F1 coverage is perfectly good and free. 10,000+ channels of shite should be enough for anybody to find something at least vaguely interesting.

Windows RT OEMs unveil pricing for Surface wannabes

Surface Pricing

To quote a famous ex tennis ball botherer....

"You cannot be serious!!!"

Ten movies inspired by video games

There is one film, which after waiting for it for what seemed an eternity, failed in such spectacular style even the greatest fan of the original material was driven to despair. The Hitch hikers Guide to the Galaxy must be the epitome of how not to make a film.

I know the Radio series, books and BBC were there first but it was quite a good game so I would consider its inclusion in this pile of turds should be a given.

Beeb stuffs $21tn into Olympic-sized swimming pools

If its the whole worlds off-shored cash does this mean there is an underwater Fort Knox equivalent probably somewhere near Atlantis?

Slash for cash: boozers' bladders primed for Olympic pee game

I wonder if this will have the same effect as the original "Daley Thompson's Decathlon" and result in numerous broken joysticks and wrist strains........

Basic instinct: how we used to code

Learning BASIC from books, so yesterday

Something which should be noted for those people of less than old fart status is that all these 8 bit machines shipped with excellent manuals to enable you to learn the particular variant of BASIC they employed.

When was the last time you bought a machine (or piece of mass market commercial software for that matter) that had a comprehensive, example driven manual?.

Of course for those really on the bleeding edge of learning BASIC programming you could lose the manual and watch the VHS instruction tape. An example for the Spectrum can be seen here - http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0013467 - beards and all.