* Posts by Jeff Deacon

172 publicly visible posts • joined 6 Jun 2007

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Oz e-health privacy: after a breach is too late

Jeff Deacon

care.data on the horizon?

Timothy Kelsey will be riding into town in January, just in time to "monetise" the whole database!

ProtonMail still under attack by DDoS bombardment

Jeff Deacon

Re: Looks like VFEMail.net is down too

From the VFEmail site in Holland comes:

!!!ALERT!!!!

www.vfemail.net and mail.vfemail.net are currently unavailable. Our provider, TSRSolutions, has turned off our IP Address space due to an extortion DDOS attack from Armada Collective.

Incoming email is also not available. I do not have any additional updates at this time.

Mail may be restored for a short time by Sunday.

BBC bins pricey Windows Media, Audio Factory goes live

Jeff Deacon

Re: "Here is what we are doing, you will support it"

So by dropping an old proprietary format (WMA) and moving to a widely used more open one (AAC) is not selecting widely supported formats how exactly?

Because they are wrapping it up in Apple's proprietary HLS, that is how!

El Reg Redesign - leave your comment here.

Jeff Deacon

Change for the sake of change

Of course if we are happy with the way things were, then there would be no campaign to keep them that way unless people do idiot things in the name of (faux) progress.

Is this a news site? Or a showcase for a graphic arts developer?

Let's just stick to the news. Let's just have reliable, factual, current information. Let's leave the artistic fads to others.

Jeff Deacon
Thumb Down

Re: El Reg Redesign - leave your comment here.

Equally, I often read ElReg on a narrower than usual (these days) screen, and must constantly scroll horizontally to see what is going on. Please record my vote to restore dynamic width coding.

REJOICE! Windows 7 users can get IE11 ... soon they'll have NO choice

Jeff Deacon

If users "can download IE11 for Windows 7 ... in any of 95 languages."

Why can't I download it for WIndows 95?

All major UK ISPs prepping network-level porn 'n' violence filters

Jeff Deacon

Re: So the big brother state has won

Maybe it wasn't deliberate, but a dentist's web site had found its way onto the Australian list when that was finally made public. No-one owned up to knowing how it got there!

Mobile tech destroys the case for the HS2 £multi-beellion train set

Jeff Deacon
FAIL

Re: HS1/HS2 link not HS capable

Ah, getting close!

But there was a private scheme (Central Railways Ltd) to provide such a link specifically enhancing freight capacity and removing it from the passenger railway. I seem to remember it being roundly condemned by all, especially the government, and it sank without trace. Now what is being proposed is a higher cost, more intrusive scheme that will not address the real transport needs. Just as good as any other Government sponsored scheme then!

I would venture to suggest that the EU bit is to insist that any new railways built in Britain are to their TGV standards, and therefore incompatible with the vast majority of the British railway system. Nothing new here either!

Here's the $4.99 utility that might just have saved Windows 8

Jeff Deacon
Pint

Re: well hold on there pardner...

Win+r certainly works on this Win98 box, though it has been updated with Unofficial Service Pack 3.

http://www.htasoft.com/w98se.htm

Jeff Deacon
Pint

How about we stop whinging ...

... and support ReactOS instead?

http://reactos.org/

Buy them a pint or something

Ofcom in screeching U-turn on BSkyB, begins probe

Jeff Deacon
Childcatcher

When are we going to get ... ...

When are we going to get the proportionate investigations of the Mail and Trinity Mirror?

According to the ICO report (see Guido for a link), the Mail group are many times more prolific at this hacking lark, and Trinity Mirror beat the total of Mail and News International offences into a cocked hat! But the purpose of this Grauniad and BBC inspired attack is to destroy the Murdoch organisation. So there will be no investigation beyond the Murdoch organisation.

Please can we have an "Uncle Joe Stalin" icon?

Train firm offers phone-based ticketing across UK

Jeff Deacon
Pint

title

Most of the trains from Warwick to London have power supply at each seat to permit you to recharge during the journey, and have enough power left to gossip/surf all day in London.

US proposes online IDs for Americans

Jeff Deacon

titular thingy ... ...

As a data collection exercise, it strikes me as being like the TIA or MATRIX disasters, except that it has the veneer of a purpose, whereas the two previous attempts were just pure central government data acquisition.

Why have we got control freak governments everywhere?

Halifax cuts investment accounts off from the web until April 2012

Jeff Deacon

re: back office

It seems they are moving every system across to the Lloyds equivalent. In branch procedures recently changed as well. My guess about the length of down time for the web site is that it is to ensure everyone has forgotten what went before, so that when the "new" (ie rebadged Lloyds) offering is "unveiled" everyone will acclaim it.

The greed of the managers who destroyed the rather successful Halifax Building Society should be recorded in the annals of British financial mismanagement.

Dig deep! Radio asks taxpayers for blank cheque

Jeff Deacon

+ 1

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Police hit delete on DNA profiles

Jeff Deacon
Pint

Don't hold breath

It would be good news if ACPO Ltd had a track record of doing what they have been told. For example the Home Secretary has instructed an end to the target culture within the police. To the Plod on the ground, there appears to have been no discernible change.

Put that beer back on ice, and don't hold your breath.

(Please can we have a "blue in the face" icon?)

Prosecutors kick Phorm case upstairs

Jeff Deacon
Pint

Apparently ...

police officers (not the high ups) refer to this "organisation" as "Can't Prosecute Sh1t".

Ofcom slaps down ham botherer

Jeff Deacon

In Amateur Radio, we have the only hobby with its own International Treaty!

Let us also not forget that it was a radio amateur (Phil Karn, KA9Q) who made networking a practical proposition for the masses. He wrote only the second implementation of TCP/IP. His own web site tells the story at:

http://www.ka9q.net/code/ka9qnos/

and notes that it has now served its day.

But elsewhere radio amateurs are still making progress in many forms of electronic communication.

G1TRL

Top cyber crime cop lied under oath, says judge

Jeff Deacon
Coat

The shit floats to the top

Just a small technical point:

Turds produced from a diet rich in fat float. If the diet has little fat, the turds sink.

Just thought you'd like to know ... yes, I'm on my way ...

Gordon Brown joins World Wide Web Foundation

Jeff Deacon
Pint

"...unemployed PM" ??

He may no longer be PM, but he still has a constituency to represent in Parliament; a duty that he has signally failed to discharge. Perhaps he ought to do that before all this self aggrandisement.

Beer 'cos its Friday.

Police chief: Yes, my plods sometimes forget photo laws

Jeff Deacon
Grenade

ACPO Ltd

ACPO Ltd is the cause of the problem, not its cure.

Everything Everywhere now something somewhere

Jeff Deacon
Pint

Orange will have the upper hand.

T-Mobile just wanted out, so Orange will be supplying all the management of the new "joint venture". It's an Orange takeover.

Jeff Deacon
Pint

downwards, alas ...

Of course Orange will drag T-Mobile downwards, it's what rationalisations do - lowest common denominator and all that.

Already voted with my wallet, and taken my T-Mobile PAYG number off to ASDA Mobile (Vodafone reseller at a fraction of the price).

'Completely useless' Windows 3.1 hits Google's Android

Jeff Deacon
Pint

link is refered as phishing site → #

Me too.

"Phishing Site Blocked"

"We prevented you from loading this page as part of our safer, faster, and smarter DNS service."

IWF on Steroids? Anyone got the numerical address?

Opera targets mobile with email acquisition

Jeff Deacon
Grenade

I don't often do "me too" replies ...

but in this case I will make an exception.

Fastmail provides an excellent service, run by people who want to provide an email service. The moment Opera changes it into part of their wider "offering" it will have started the downhill trend.

Those who are thinking of migrating away might want to consider Virus Free Email at https://www.vfemail.net/ They have a similar charging structure. Again, not part of the "big business" of the internet.

Security maven turns tables on fibbing police

Jeff Deacon

In the UK ...

what are the log files that one should ask for when told the usual story that its been deleted/camera wasn't working/not entitled/etc? Anyone from PlodIT who could slip us an anonymous tip?

NHS computers hit by voracious, data-stealing worm

Jeff Deacon

No a lot!

You don't really need an answer to that question, just say NO

Microsoft roasted for Office 2010 standards FAIL

Jeff Deacon
Pint

Not only that, but also ...

The quick route that M$ pushed this through the ISO was on the basis of OOXML already being a "de-facto" standard widely in use.

Mot only should M$ get shafted for trying this on, the ISO should also suffer for having let M$ abuse their due process so severely.

Time to get the re-votes that were ridden over roughshod by committee "rules".

Police National Database will have audit trail

Jeff Deacon
Big Brother

"As the PND develops, the code will be updated by the NPIA."

The NPIA is a wholly owned subsidiary of ACPO Ltd, the private limited company that brags about being the equal of a democratically elected government [see the box towards the top right of the front page at www.acpo.police.uk].

Small biz suffocated by employment red tape

Jeff Deacon
Thumb Down

Well, it cancelled my expansion hopes!

I am a one-man business at present. I thought about taking someone else on about a year ago, as there seemed to be plenty of work to support two. But then I started to look at the legislation and obligations that surrounded that move.

It was more profitable to turn away good business.

Mozilla gives passive-aggressive missive to pre-Firefox 3.6 hold-outs

Jeff Deacon

WHat happened to Mozilla selling users browsing habits?

Early in the development of Firefox 3, they announced that they would be selling their users' browsing habits to Giggle (who fund much of Mozilla anyway), in much the same way as if you had installed a Giggle Toolbar. Never did hear if they had backed away from that, so never bothered to change to version 3. Actually 2.0.0.20 works very nicely thank you! I just hope all the exploits are aimed at the new glitzy features that only exist in version 3.

NZ internet filter goes live - gov forgets to tell public

Jeff Deacon
Big Brother

Just out of interest ...

Just out of interest in this minefield of stat-porn, does anyone have an idea of the number of sites blocked by the Chinese to protect their citizens against the very same sort of evil?

Banking industry worker faces cosh over anonymous rant

Jeff Deacon

Precisely ...

You have outlined precisely why I refuse to use Chip & PIN in any retail transaction.

When the law is changed to force banks and merchants to accept the same liabilities as if a cheque had been used, then I will reconsider my stance. But not until.

Lotus Symphony 3 beta goes OOo

Jeff Deacon
Pint

Re Historical Symphony

I had always thought of Symphony as the junior partner to Smartsuite (WordPro, 1-2-3, Approach, etc). Symphony was what you got bundled with your new PC in an attempt to get you to pay for Smatsuite.

PM: UK airports to get perv scanners next week

Jeff Deacon

Re: Inevitable and unstoppable

Don't worry too much about the election, it won't make blind bit of difference on two counts:

1. There really isn't any difference between NuLabour and BluLabour. After all, Cameron is the "heir to Blair", and the rot really got underway on Blair's shift.

2. Our government is no longer in Westminster, but in Brussels where they merely pull the strings of the pseuds in Westmonster. Since they signed the Lisbon Constitution Treaty, our Prime Minister has been required by EU law to do what is he told by Brussels. The only question that he is permitted to ask when our national government in Brussels has said "Jump!" is "How high, sir?"

As for your question, YES. "Selected for special treatment" springs to mind.

Ofcom proposes squeezing £4m out of airlines

Jeff Deacon
Grenade

Ofcom Self-Justification

Am I being far too cynical? Or is this Ofcom (aware of the Tory intentions on its long term non-survival) trying to get its defence in first.

They know that by the time our Dear Leader finally agrees to an election, there will just be a few moths in the public purse. So if Ofcom can demonstrate that they are a net revenue raising Quango, then surely the Tories will leave them alone as they will need every penny that Ofcom can raise for them (amongst all else needed to undo the damage).

The grenade is for the Ofcom offices.

Angels can't fly: Official

Jeff Deacon
Pint

In previous years

In previous years he would have been part of the research team that proved flight was impossible for the Bumble Bee. Its a good job that Bumble Bees never read research papers. I doubt angels do either, unless its to have a good giraffe at the pomposity of the fool. Good bit of self publicity though!

Have a beer to celebrate!

Home Office battles to make CCTV useful

Jeff Deacon

It was even earlier

Before the Panda cars were the Velocette water cooled "motor bikes" with windshields as tall as the Bobby and his uniform helmet. And VHF radios meant that they didn't need the blue police boxes for the patrolling officer to ring back to the station to confirm that he had nothing to report.

Unpatched PDF flaw harnessed to launch targeted attacks

Jeff Deacon
Happy

Acrobat 5 doesn't have JavaScript

I knew there was a reason why I refused all the more recent updates!

Plug-in Prius production plan posted

Jeff Deacon

Still the wrong approach

By the looks of it, they are still pushing what is basically a petrol engined car with a bit of additional electric stored power to look green. And at double the price of a vehicle without all the added complexity. And they don't hit their advertised mpg figures, at least mine never has. I'll never buy another.

Instead look for the Volvo Recharge. Much more sensibly, they have started from an electric car, and are bolting a generator to it. Much more efficient, much less complicated.

DVLA data powers likely to be abused by foreign officials

Jeff Deacon
FAIL

Even more fail

AC @20:04, you can't have been reading the emails etc, can you? If you still believe (in AGW) after the release of all the proof that the Climate Change lot have been making up their data to fit their theory (and its not just the CRU at UEA, but the Australians and the Kiwis have been caught out fudging their data too); if you still believe, then you are joining up the wrong set of dots.

Jeff Deacon
Big Brother

"The NPIA, a technology quango linked to the Home Office,"

Let us not forget that while the NPIA might be "linked to the Home Office", it is in fact a wholly owned subsidiary of ACPO Ltd. ACPO Ltd claims to be in "EQUAL partnership with government" (see www.acpo.police.uk), so the link to the Home Office is rather tenuous at best. ACPO Ltd is a company limited by guarantee, set up that way in order to evade the Freedom of Information Act (see the reasons why they refuse FoI requests unless it suits them, on their web site).

Gov net disconnections could breach EU law

Jeff Deacon
Grenade

It isn't only WiFi !

If the article, and the commenters above, have the right end of this rather nasty stick, then running a Tor outlet node will become illegal too.

Hmmm.

Cathay Pacific clobbered by kaput khazis

Jeff Deacon

No, it isn't only one airline, and it isn't only recent!

In 2006, I flew on an A340 of Air New Zealand from Auckland to Hong Kong. We were delayed by about an hour and a half at take off, with the aircraft loaded. Then they told us that it was the loos that were the problem. Throughout the whole of the 12 hour flight, the port side (left side if facing front) loos were completely out of action, and the starboard loos were out of action for about 50% of the time. Never have I been so glad to get off a flight. Fortunately the onward connection via Cathay Pacific to London was a Boeing! Everything worked well.

Suzuki unwraps Mini-like plug-in hybrid

Jeff Deacon
Pint

Right approach

For my sins, I drive a Toyota Prius. I am right fed up (insert other words of emphasis to choice!) with its appalling mpg compared with all sorts of cars of similar size, but without the added weight burden of electric motor and battery. The reason for Toyota's errors is that they got the basic design principle wrong. The Prius is a petrol car with a bolt on extra electric power pack.

This Suzuki machine, like the Volvo Recharge project car, is an electric vehicle with a bolt on generator. I suspect that the design will be much simpler without the CVT gearbox and other stuff necessary for a mechanical transmission. When they get the motors into the wheel hubs (as Volvo were doing last time I looked) they can do without mechanical brakes and rely instead on regenerative/resistive loads. Fewer mechanical bits to go wrong, easier car to look after.

PC World punts Windows 7 £100 trade-in promotion

Jeff Deacon
Pint

PC World need something going their way!

Popped into my local branch the other day to shelter from the rain. What I saw was significantly reduced amount of shelving, and large areas of bare floor. Plentiful bargain offers, in some cases only a little more expensive than reputable traders on the interwebs. I asked the cashier when the store was due to close. She couldn't tell me, having just started that morning!

Boffins demo 'through-walls' people tracker

Jeff Deacon
Big Brother

Different Technology, but someone else got there first!

Just have a look at American Science and Engineering Inc's Z-Backscatter technology, and the other devices they have. No need for carefully calibrated transmitters.

http://www.as-e.com/products_solutions/zbv.asp

Have a browse around while you are there. The see through your clothes scanner has been "privacy enhanced" since they first developed it. Originally the image on the web site showed all the wrinkles and creases under the subject's clothes! I'd expect that it still will to those with "a need to know".

Packing heat gets you shot, say profs

Jeff Deacon

Just another attempt ...

Just another attempt to disarm the citizens of the USA, and to turn them into the sheep that we have become in Europe. News reports in the UK seem to indicate just how much safer we are because only the police have firearms, and they never make mistakes.

Home Office jumps the gun on DNA research

Jeff Deacon
FAIL

Poppy's comment

I'm afraid that I read Poppy's comment to indicate that the Home Office knew their policy was a bit light on fact when they launched it first, so they invented/reinforced the Poppy Institute to give it a cloak of respectability before the Bill got to its Third Reading!

Of course, I could be cynical.

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