Posts by LazLong

Facebook sues scraper who sold 178 million phone numbers and user IDs

Fuck Zuck, and his harmful products. Boycott Facebook and all their products.

US nuke sub plans leaked on SD card hidden in peanut butter sandwich, claims FBI

Seems risky

It seems risky to have kept these guys in play for a year. Who knows how many copies of this info they managed to sell to real adversaries during this time?

Lithuania tells its citizens to throw Xiaomi mobile devices in the bin

Re: CHaaS

"Here is a story about Apple, an American company, censoring freedom of speech at the behest of an authoritarian government.

Does it really matter if it is only in China or do we only give a shit when it affects us?"

No, what matters is my original statement, facts, and semantics.

Apple's cooperation with China's government was done under color of law, and therefore isn't similar AT ALL to what Lithuania has discovered.

Re: CHaaS

Wasn't done secretly, and the products aren't exported outside the area where this action was mandated by law, so no potential abuse by China's intelligence agencies.

Re: CHaaS

Cite one single similar instance of such an egregious breach of freedom of speech perpetrated by an EU, UK, Japanese, or US firm to back up your baseless accusation. Don't just spout contrarian bullshit you anonymous coward.

Thank you to Lithuania and their contribution to international freedom of speech.

Why we abandoned open source: LiveCode CEO on retreat despite successful kickstarter

Greater-than-equals sign isn't punctuation, it's a math operator. Punctuation would be colon, semicolon, double/single quotes, parentheses, brackets, etc.

Singapore is the only nation with a dedicated 'net link to China. And they've just agreed to expand its use

Re: Trust

FT Meade isn't in Kansas, it's in Maryland.

Australia facepalms as Facebook blocks bookstores, sport, health services instead of just news

Screw Australia's clumsy attempt....

Screw Australia's clumsy attempt to suck money from Facebook by charging for linking. Don't get me wrong. I HATE Facebook, and don't use it, nor have I ever, but charging for linking is asinine. So are poorly, overbroadly-worded laws.

‘Quad’ nations sign up for meta think-tank to advance ‘Techno-Democratic Statecraft’

Maybe....

Maybe they can promulgate some liberal democracy to India and get Modi's ass out of office.

Has Apple abandoned CUPS, the Linux's world's widely used open-source printing system? Seems so

Re: Postscript

It remained very much a feature of the Apple world

And the Unix world. Back when Linux was a pup, PS printers were the printer of choice as well.

Paragon 'optimistic' that its NTFS driver will be accepted into the Linux Kernel

Re: Making Linux more like Windows is never a good move...

A useless, bigoted comment. They aren't "trying to make Linux more like Windows" any more than adding XFS support made Linux more like IRIX, UFS support made it more like Solaris, etc. Likewise, the only way it'll benefit malware purveyors is if it's buggy, just like any other kernel code. It doesn't have any actual Windows code in it. It's merely another tool in Linux's toolbox. Grow up.

Yes, they are the developers of the commercial HFS+ driver for Windows, as well as ext2+, Btrfs, and XFS.

They also have an NTFS and ext2+ for MacOS, and a bunch of other file systems and file system-related tools for all the OSs.

Surprise! Voting app maker roasted by computer boffins for poor security now begs US courts to limit flaw finding

'Cause spys respect EULAs, right?

Yeah, because of course the Nork's, Russia's, Iran's, and China's security agencies respect EULAs, so we don't need software to actually be written securely.

Fucking idiots.

NASA to stop using names like 'Eskimo Nebula' and 're-examine' what it calls cosmic objects

Re: What's next?

> . It is derived from the Czech word "robota" - meaning something like "forced laborer" or "slave".

Sorry. Not even close. The Czech word for 'slave' is 'otrok,' and the word for 'work' is 'práce.'

Check this out, maybe it'll help you:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot

Re: What's next?

>Really? I thought it was derived from the russian word for 'worker'.

While the Russian word for 'worker,' rabotnik (работник), does include a Slavic root related to 'labor,' the word 'robot' was coined by the brother of Czech science fiction author Karel Čapek, Josef Čapek.

Taiwan turfs out video streamers run by China’s web giants

Re: Fat chance of that happening without an invasion

> No Trump fan, but can we leave out everything having to mention him at the slightest chance? It's becoming the new Godwins law.

Hitler. Hitler Hitler. Stalin Trump Hitler. Trump Trump Trump. Hitler Trump. Stalin.

Mao. Trump Mao Hitler. Stalin Mao. Stalin Stalin Stalin Putin. Putin Trump Hitler Stalin. Mao Putin.

;-)

Fat chance of that happening without an invasion

"But the ban also comes against a background of China being increasingly insistent that Taiwan – which it characterises as a rogue province – should again become part of a single Chinese nation."

Not that there has ever been much of a chance of Taiwan ever willingly reuniting with China, but fucking over Hong Kong hasn't increased the chances.

China's treatment of Hong Kong is a perfect example of what Trump would do to America if he had the chance.

Forget James Bond's super-gadgets, this chap spied for China using SD card dead drops. Now he's behind bars

Re: Money-laundering?

Yes. Any transaction of $10k+ is sent to the Federal Gov't.

4 years in a Federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison is insufficient; At least ten.

Built to last: Time to dispose of the disposable, unrepairable brick

$1000? I have three words for you....

Rossman Repair Group. They do component-level repair. Saving Mac owners from being screwed by Apple is their speciality. (Said in Obi-Wan Kenobi's voice) The owner is a rabid advocate of right-to-repair, traveling across the country spreading the good word to legislative bodies. He also has some cool videos on YouTube.

https://rossmanngroup.com/

Not call, dude: UK govt says guaranteed surcharge-free EU roaming will end after Brexit transition period. Brits left at the mercy of networks

Enjoy your self-inflicted wound Brits!

I hope you guys enjoy Brexit and realize all the wonderful benefits Farage and Johnson conned you into thinking you'll real being free of the EU.

To quote Otto from A Fish Called Wanda:

"Oh you English are SO superior aren't you? Well, would you like to know where you'd be without US the good old U.S. of A. to protect you? I'll tell you. The smallest fucking province in the Russian Empire, that's where! So DON'T call me stupid, lady. Just THANK me! ...If it wasn't for us, you'd all be speaking German, singing, "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles!"

Russian super-crook behind $20m internet fraud den Cardplanet and malware-exchange forum pleads guilty

Throw the book at the scumbag!

We shouldn't be lenient on the dirtbag. He's one of the very, very few that we've been about to catch and hold accountable. Unless he turns Abagnale and fully cooperates under close supervision, he needs to feel the full punishment under the law. It may not be a deterrent, but it's just.

KRACK whacked, media playback holes packed, other bugs go splat in Android patch pact

Close to driving me back to iOS.

Lack of support by Android hardware companies is close to driving me back to iOS. At least with an iPhone I'm fairly certain I'll get two years of security updates.

Fappening celeb nudes hacking outrage: Third scumbag cops to charge

Not cowering, nor ashamed

I found some of the photos interesting in that they were a small window into the banality of these 'stars.' I was also curious as to how they looked when not enhanced by makeup or CGI. Definitely nothing mastibatorily worthy.

Lenovo spits out retro ThinkPads for iconic laptop's 25th birthday

Not "nipple"....

Clitoris! Get it right, dammit.

Can North Korean nukes hit US mainland? Maybe. But EMP blast threat is 'highly credible'

Re: Bigger is not better

The weapons that the Norks have detonated to date have been relatively low-yield fission devices, the most powerful of which was estimated to be no more than 30KT. Depending on design, it is true that low-yield fission devices can be more efficient at producing E1 effects than fusion devices, but the effects are limited to line-of-sight. The E3 effects are what knock out the power grid, and the E3 effect of low-yield fission devices is insufficient to produce anything other than regional outages. Thus, NK would be best served attacking the northeastern part of the US where its financial and federal centers are concentrated, but their current delivery vehicles are incapable of reaching this area from their territory. To overcome this NK could develop a ship-launched weapon.

Well, that escalated quickly: Qualcomm demands iPhone, iPad sales ban in America

Re: Apple's hypocritical

You realize Google "taxes" software developers the exact same 30%, right? Where's your outrage over that?

I don't have a problem with that because Google allows other app stores, such as Amazon's, to be installed onto Android devices. Apple doesn't allow anything to be installed that doesn't come from their App Store and give them their cut. Closed systems are ultimately detrimental to consumers by trying to prevent competition and stifling innovation, among other ills. And please don't give me the closed-garden security drivel; it's beneath The Reg's audience.

Did you think that software developers selling programs for Windows got to keep the entire sales price you paid when you bought a nice shrinkwrapped CD at Best Buy? They didn't even get 30% of it, let alone 70%. And most of them didn't get shelf space on Best Buy, whereas every software developer who follows the rules and pays $99/yr gets "shelf space" at the App Store.

No, I know better having worked computer retail 31 years ago, and still being capable of a reasonable amount of accurate observation today. But, second verse, same as the first: Computer retail is far more open than Apple's App Store, with developers not being prevented from marketing competing technologies to the OS platform developer. And yes, I'm aware of having to pay for shelf space and prime display real estate.

As for the percentage of retail prices developers get to keep, the price of software for traditional productivity platforms is higher, though I haven't bothered to Google app store revenue vs traditional channels.

Apple's hypocritical

"They supply us with a single connectivity component, but for years have been demanding a percentage of the total cost of our products – effectively taxing Apple's innovation," Apple said via a spokesperson."

Like how Apple taxes software developers' innovation 30% of the cost of apps sold on the App Store? Hypocritical bastards. This is one of the reasons I dislike Apple so.

Europol, FBI, UK's NCA ride out to Ukraine's cavalry call

It's 'Ukraine,' not "the Ukraine."

It is not "the Ukraine," but simply Ukraine.' This actually changed when Ukraine went from being a region of the former Russian Empire to a republic of the USSR. However, it was not properly recognized by foreign entities until formally codified in Ukraine's declaration of independence from the USSR and its constitution. Google is your friend.

Chip design chap arrested for using photocopier

Just another normal business day in China

The culture in the PRC is to steal all you can, phuck over your customers as much as you can get away with, and absolutely no respect for the IP rights of other.

Meet the chap open-sourcing US govt code – Paul, an ex-Microsoft anti-piracy engineer

Re: What license is he going for?

@diodesign

The article doesn't tell the whole story about licensing of works produced by US gov't workers. The GPL and Apache licenses are only applicable to use by citizens of other countries. All work produced by U.S. government officers or employees is not subject to copyright according to Section 105 of the Copyright Act. Google it.

I worked at a DOE lab for 11 years doing DevOps before the term was coined supporting code physicists and computer scientists who wrote codes supporting Stockpile Stewardship; so I know a thing or two about software licensing of U.S. gov't-produced codes.

LinkedIn officially KickedOut of Russia

Screw the Russian government

They simply want to have ready access to info without having to deal with the laws of other countries. Useless gesture. Those Russians who really want to work for non-Russian companies will simply use a VPN to access LinkedIn.

On a related issue, I wonder how long it will be before Russia reinstates the exit visa requirement of the Soviet era to try and stop the exodus of their best and brightest.

Portable drive, 5TB capacity. Hmm, there's something fishy here

Re: Freecycle

@Lord Elpussy

Well, you were taught wrong. You can securely erase a drive with a multi-pass protocol that will protect you from anyone short of a nation-state. Quit being overly paranoid and egocentric.

Taxi for NASA! SpaceX to fly astronauts to space station

Boo, hiss

As an American, which means a citizen of a country who has lost more astronauts than any other, I find the photo and caption very offensive. Making light of the possibility of some of these brave souls dying in a malfing launch is, in my opinion, in very poor taste. I know everyone doesn't necessarily share the same sacred cows, but I would hope that profound respect for astronauts/cosmonauts/taikonauts is universal.

US to stage F-35-versus-Warthog bake-off in 2018

@RIBrsiq

"Edge cases?" You mean like Iraq I, Iraq II, Afghanistan, Libya, and the current trouble in the Levant? Name one post-Vietnam conflict the West has been in that the F-35's stealth and electronics would have been useful. These are the types of conflicts theoreticians expect us to be engaged in the foreseeable future. Not a modern Soviet Union, which the F-35 is aimed at. So, by all means, include the type of air defenses that were seen in these conflicts.

I'm not against the capabilities the F-35 is supposed to bring to the table, minus the jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none bullshit of trying to build a single aircraft to satisfy all niches of not just the U.S. Air Force and Navy, the needs of every other possible purchaser. Having a stealthy aircraft capable of delivering on-target in a peer environment is useful, but not in the same numbers we need a robust system like the A-10. Plus, no one says we can't do another upgrade block on the A-10, or build new airframes. We needn't have only one tool in our kit, we need the proper tool for the job and the correct number of each.

Exactly the point I was planning on making

People like to say that A-10s lack what it takes to survive on a modern battlefield, but the same thing can be said about our helos and none of them are as good at their jobs as the A-10 is at its.

As for the "modern battlefield," I think we've been seeing that in Bosnia, Albania, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the current troubles in the Levant. These are the types of conflicts experts have correctly said will occupy the Western powers post-Soviet Union. The A-10 is a perfect platform for these types of conflicts. Don't forget, it's not operating as the sole type of aircraft, but one of a mix. Leave the air superiority to the F-15s and F-16s, and leave the F-22s at home as they are unnecessary.

Also, when they compare the F-35 to the A-10 combat-wise they need to also keep cost and maintainability in mind.

The F-35 is the poster child for the phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none." We should cut our losses and cancel the program now. I really feel sorry for Britain and the other countries who have been suckered into this boondoggle the U.S. has perpetrated on its allies.

Oracle tosses its Linux into Docker's repository

Oracle Linux is free, but updates aren't.

You must have a support contract to receive updates, so it isn't really free.

Galaxy S4 way faster than iPhone 5: Which?

More expensive?

"It's hardly surprising, of course, that a more expensive device with a 1.9 GHz quad-core processor would outperform the dual-core 1.2 GHz iPhone 5."

Here in the States on AT&T the 16GB iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4 are priced identically ($200), while the 32GB iPhone 5 is $50 more expensive ($300 vs $250) than the 32GB Galaxy S4.

Amphibious Nazi raccoons menace Sweden

Scottish TV news pumps goatse link

Goatse.cx?

I watched there video twice, on my phone and didn't catch the eye opener. Did they cut it? Or am I a victim of a small screen?

Welcome your robot overlairds, robots

Scooba: on our third in less than a year

We just received our third Scooba in a year. As the author states, they do a decent job of mopping on laminated flooring, though iRobot state in their manual to never use the Scooba on this type of flooring due to the likelihood of resulting water damage. The first Scooba failed in just less than two months, and the second after a good seven-month run. Both failed with the Service light. After spending time on the phone with tech support and following their diagnostic flowchart, was advised to send in for repair. Fortunately we got it on sale for $250 from Hammacher Schlumer who provide a lifetime replacement warranty free of charge. From my experiences I am sure it will come in handy.

US House votes to bar FCC net neut rules

If Obama doesn't veto this....

This is another glaring bit of evidence that political money is poison to democracy. How anyone can be against 'net neutrality is beyond me. This very same crap came up with the telephone, and the gov't had to force interoperability and access. Can't the Repubs imagine what a lack of this type of legislation would have meant for the telephone? Not change 'telephone' for 'Internet.' Morons....

Kingston HyperX Max USB 3.0 128GB external drive

Where's the eSATA?

No eSATA interface. Sure and USB 3.0 is nice and all, but there are a hell of a lot more eSATA ports out there and having one on this device would make it far more versatile/useful. Especially in light of the bridge board issue.