Posts by RegGuy

Hadoop: A Linux even Microsoft likes

extend?

I can't see them extending it -- stop! Wait a minute...

I think I should extinguish this thought!

Microsoft flags Firefox and Chrome for security failings

Windows?

What -- you mean I really need to use Windows?

But I don't know how to do that. I haven't used Windows for years.

Coat -- I need to see if I can find a Windows manual.

'Hey, Tories, who knows what a nontrepreneur is?’

Hmm, that's...

... quite an astute post.

Survey: Most TV viewers surf while they watch

Re: Adverts?

Yep -- Humax with me too. Plus mute for live TV, and AdBlock Plus for the web.

My habit tends to be:

turn telly on

get bored very quickly

mute it while browsing

noticed I've not watched it while browsing

turn telly off again

continue browsing

Well, there's just so much more on line.

The life and times of Steven Paul Jobs, Part One

A shit to his own?

"Jobs took credit for the design and snookered Wozniak out of his rightful share of the pay and bonus that Jobs was given for "his" work."

What a mate!

Brilliant!

See title.

Pandemonium as Microsoft AV nukes Chrome browser

Well not mine...

I never go there.

Microsoft, IBM tussle for tech value runner-up

IBM = M$

So IBM is now the same size as M$. But there is a difference. IBM has been running away from its traditional markets, as the PC and midrange systems have become more and more commoditised. They have been following the money and developing the higher value end of the market (smarter planet and business analytics are playing to their strengths).

M$, on the other hand, had a strategy of getting a PC onto everyone's desk and in everyone's home. They've done that, but where to now? Their dominance was all tied in with locking in the corporate/consumer onto their platform, and then upselling. But mobile handsets are removing this restriction, and they don't seem to have a viable long term strategy.

So while the equation is IBM=M$, it looks like this is only temporary as IBM are on the way up, and M$ on the way... well not sure where actually, but it doesn't seem to be up.

Poll: Porn-watching, net-savvy kids are a myth

Google tells me...

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=white%20dog%20shit

Microsoft staff savage Ballmer at company confab

'BillG took brave decision after brave decision to buckle down to the “Trustworth Computing Initiative”.. the fact that we’re still using Windows is down to the trench-warfare to defend the bastion.'

Not quite a brave decision, more of a business need. He ran a company that dominated the PC, as he had managed to get the OS installed on the disk *before* it was installed in the machine.

There were two main products that they marketed, the 'OS' and Office. (Win 3.11 wasn't technically an OS.) Plus, the market was growing very quickly and they cleverly used that momentum, exploiting their market share and making it hard for others to get in. When others tried -- remember DR DOS? -- and took MS to court, while they maybe won and got damages, MS and the market had moved on, so these were always pyrrhic victories.

I would say astute to see the business opportunity and work with what they had. (Embrace, extend, extinguish.) Now that the PC market has matured they are just another ordinary tech company.

Hey, wouldn't it be ironic if they were to get bought out by IBM? After all, who thought Sun would die?

Google unfurls Dead Sea Scrolls

@matt

I tend to agree with your comments about offensive comments. And it's good to air the difference between a-gnostic (not knowing if you believe) and a-theist (not believing).

But I did laugh at the description "white-bearded fucker-fairy", so his post wasn't all wasted, although I can't see it getting into the Book of Common Prayer.

Brits registering .uk domains mostly get first choice

What do you mean...

... "seem to remember"? How old are you?

Correct...

$ whois jesus.co.uk

...

Registrant: Giant Games Ltd

Registered on: 08-Aug-1997

$ whois jesuspuncher.co.uk

No match for "jesuspuncher.co.uk".

This domain name has not been registered.

But there is no website for jesus in the UK, perhaps not enough people have heard of him. It's been registered for 14 years, so either they're planning on a game called Jesus (and god won't let them), or they are just greedy fuckers who haven't worked out that no one will pay them for it.

Now for Jesuspuncher, that's the sort of imagination we need more of.

Like IT departments in local authorities?

How many websites register www.myshitsite.co.uk but don't register myshitsite.co.uk?

Do we have to keep putting www in front of everything? I have written to some of these knob-heads about this but never seem to get a reply. Maybe it's because of my tone...

Attention metal thieves: Buy BT, get 75 MILLION miles of copper

'freak accident'

That's not the blind headmistress who was blinded in a 'freak engineering accident' by any chance, is it?

Mathematicians slam UK.gov plans to fund statistics only

Pensions and social care?

What about pension reform and social care funding?

Those are pretty long term issues that affect us all, yet if we are going to (re-)elect someone in three years or less why should they do anything unpopular about those?

Pensions -- if you live 30 years rather than 15 (ie to 95 rather than to 80) how is that to be paid for? Pensions are currently paid out of the NI contributions of *today's* workers. So if you have fewer workers, and -- ipso facto due to extended life expectancy -- more retired so a bigger demand on this pot, how do you square that circle?

Social care -- same sort of argument. That is funded from local authorities, whose budget's are frozen. Social care is a labour-intensive activity, and hence very costly. (Unless you pay peanuts then you either get monkeys, or foreign workers who can't speak-a de Inglsih.)

This is not about Labour or Tory (let's ignore the LDs, as everyone else is.) This is about *YOU*. If you want better pensions and social care, you have to tell your politician. Meaning you have to make it clear YOU are prepared to pay more for these services.

But if we have fewer people skilled in maths (NOT math!) then we have fewer people who can see the argument above, hence fewer people who could articulate it, hence...

Oh I see! That's why they are doing it...

RIM share price nosedives following stinky numbers

No apps...

I too have a Blackberry. When I got it I thought it would be cool to read PDFs, and so I wouldn't need to lug my laptop around. However, I couldn't find an app to read PDFs. Or rather, there were a few out there, but none were free.

If I have to pay for an app to do something so basic they can fuck off.

So my Blackberry is a (rather crap) phone.

Freeview HD will deliver new IPTV channels this month

You mean F R E E sat?

Ah, a second chance. Repeat after me: FREE, FREE, FREE, FREEsat. FREE, FREE, FREE, FREEsat. FREE, FREE, FREE, FREEsat.

In other words that means free, Free, FREE, ***FREE***!

In other words the money in my pocket stays in my pocket.

It was sold as buy once, and *never* pay any ongoing charges.

So let me repeat free(tard), Free(tard), FREE(tard) ***F R E E (tard)***

I hope my message is clear.

[Penguin -- coz I've never paid an OS licence since Linux came out.]

Google+ offers new 'Ignore' feature

The premise of social media is...

that you tell them who you are.

What I like about the Internet is that you can keep yourself as anonymous as possible -- with a little bit of effort it is quite easy to make yourself totally anonymous (such that even the security services couldn't trace you).

So why, if I don't want people to know who I am, would I SHOUT MY NAME ACROSS THE ETHER?

I once put my real name and address against some demo software I was interested in looking at. It took ages to stop the sales buggers keep ringing me up. And no doubt they sold on my name and address.

Given the above premise social media is not for me. Now as for my alter ego Marcia...

99% of UK gov websites are breaking the law

Cookie type

Wot, not big biscuits? Bummer...

Etag?

Does this apply to HTTP etags too? Or can we simply switch to using etags rather than cookies?

Man reveals secret recipe behind undeletable cookies

ABP -- ad?

"The problem is that the adverts get more and more intrusive..."

What's an ad?

Oracle drops OpenOffice on Apache, shuns forkers

Oracle's the best!

I think Oracle and IBM are lurvely!

They make so much money at everyone else's expense. Don't like it then change supplier. But change is both expensive and risky, so businesses don't like it.

Oracle and IBM certainly know how to do business. Good luck to them!

BT to embrace IPTV as it upgrades broadband network to multicast

Type D?

"Type D internet addressing"?

Class D surely.

Coat, coz I'm a pedant.

HTC Wildfire S Android smartphone

Re: Processor Envy

As I write this you have two upvotes. Does an upvote mean great it won't run flash, or I agree the processor is a letdown?

I'd be voting for the former...

€1bn handout from the EU targets ambient nagware and robot pets

DM?

My god, I didn't realise how easy it is to spot a Daily Mail reader.

No wonder this coutry's fooked.

Dear Dell and Microsoft: You're not Apple

"No, enterprise software is not sexy"

No they are not. Think Lotus Notes.

Oracle to HP: 'Liar, liar, pants on fire'

And what exactly is to stop Larry doing the same to Power?

"....This also shows you that Oracle has no intention of doing the same to IBM's Power chip...." And what exactly is to stop Larry doing the same to Power? After all, he sells more Oracle licenses on Integrity than he does on Power, so surely it would hurt him all the less to do the same to Power.

Doh: DB2.

Oracle already frightened many customers into IBM's hands at their buyout of Sun. If they don't commit to Oracle on Power customers will simply migrate to DB2. Why would they change their Power platform because Oracle is no longer supported on it? There's a lower business risk just changing one component, and if that means everything is IBM then it's single point of contact, to boot (one supplier to kick).

Doh.

Judge to music industry: 'Worth trillions? Forget it'

What's the difference between a capenter and The Carpenters?

I don't buy this 'you're robbin' us' baloney. If I was a carpenter and I made a table I get a buyer and that's that. My work is done and I'm paid for it. But if I make some music, just because I can now make lots of copies for very little cost I now seem to think I'm worth more than the carpenter. So keep paying me for the same thing, over and over.

If, on the other hand, I play live at a gig I get paid once -- like the carpenter -- and that's that. But because I could make money out of selling a recording, I'll argue that you should give me that money,

The easy answer is to make sales of recordings illegal. That way a carpenter and The Carpenters are paid on the same basis. Easy.

Now, parasitic middle men, fuck off.

Amazon is best hope of a viable alternative to iPad

Freetard

Naw. I'm not buying one coz they are too expensive. Plus, I take the view that I pay once for the hardware, and then just pay for an Internet pipe, just as with my ISP for my home broadband connection.

I will not pay subscription fees for content, especially as there is so much free info online. Now maybe I'm missing something, but I'm not looking for 'an app' that gives me some info or service. I use a thing called a web browser for that. The great thing about this thing called HTTP is that I can find what I need on line and then view it for free -- weather forecasts for example.

So the future (for me) is an Internet pipe, a web browser, and a hardware platform to run it on. I will agree to a one-time payment for the hardware, a subscription to the pipe for bandwidth only, and everything else I will get for free. If you want me to pay for it I will simply go elsewhere. The Internet is great for that, with so much choice I can always find what I want for free.

Long live the freetard!!

Multimillionaire hires ex-NASA 'naut to work on private spaceship

Street cred

Wow, to get the label "renowned geek idol and internet nerdwealth kingpin Elon Musk," now that is something to aspire to.

Full credit to this guy -- he's got a non-government funded machine into orbit and offering a useful service. That in itself is quite an accomplishment. Between him and The Bearded One of virginity fame there is a chance of me taking my missus around the back of the moon and giving her one before she's an octogenarian.

App Store not invited to web's date with destiny

HTML is good

"1) customers want apps that look good and are easy to use"

So we get all these hybrids to improve the appearance with scant regard to the content. Moving away from the straight jacket of HTML is a bad thing. HTML means that all pages can look the same. So when you go from one website to another you know what you are faced with.

CSS tries to pander to this 'it must look good even if the content is shite' approach by letting you do things such as hide the links. How many websites have you been on where the links are not obvious? They are no longer blue and underlined and you have to move your mouse over a link and hope it changes appearance to know it is a link.

Worse yet are those pages that think they can do better than everyone else and actually code javascript into the links so only when you click on them do you know you have clicked on a link.

HTML provided a standard interface we could all use and understand. Moving away from that to allow any old interface means that for each new website you visit you have to learn the way they want you to use it. That is shite.

But if your point 1 quoted above is true, isn't this just a sign that the Internet is doomed? Someone (probably Apple) will come up with the 'killer way' to present its content, and then charge the rest of the world to use it. HTML is an open standard that should be used. ANYTHING else is just bollocks.

Apple bans iPhone 3G patch omission talk from forum

Thirded

Not being an Apple freak I went into their Norwich store the other day (I know, I know, I went that shit-ole called Norwich, but hey, I later paid my £5 and flew away again) and had a look at an Apple laptop. How crap are they? There is a backspace key but no delete key.

And they have won awards? For what, shitty design?

HP squeaks past IBM into number one server seller spot

But servers are only part of the story...

"HP's revenues and growth going forward is arguably more sustainable."

Remember IBM uses its servers to up-sell software and services. You only need to bung in a midrange box to generate a wealth of other revenue streams. And it is the mid- and high-end Unix servers that generate the greatest profits.

Any Tom, Dick or Harry can bung Linux on an x86 machine. But does that make money for the vendor?

Man sentenced for breaching former employer's computers

Backup?

Did they have a backup? (The article doesn't say.)

He's clearly not Internet savvy. Should have driven to the other side of town and used a free wifi connection, or gone to an Internet cafe, or used Tor. There are shed-loads of ways of hiding your IP, which is why normally IPs are not valid evidence. But in this case all the circumstantial evidence came together to form one BIG arrow that pointed to him.

Dork!

Vodafone's network knackered by thieves

Brave man...

... given the responses to the SPOF comment above. But I agree with you. You would have thought any Enterprise system that is business critical would have resiliency built in.

Clearly Vodafone don't think their networks are business critical. I need to re-read my T&Cs to see how long the buggers have locked me in for. :-(

Nominet asks what you think of police domain grab

Please, please, please...

... let them close down experts-exchange.com. (Oh no, that's not a uk subdomain -- bugger!)

Google battles Derby cops over access to Street View data

Big (big) button

And it must have a massive Hollywood-sized button in the middle of the screen with the words 'unscramble licence plate' on it.

Facebook riddled by 'my first ever status message' scam app

Facebook?

What's that then?

How I watched a holographic storage company implode

Monetize

You missed monetize (normally mis-spelt monetise); that great American way, if you can't monetize it, it should be left alone.

Amazon: 'iPad LCD tablets no threat to Kindle'

Kindle and DRM?

So these Kindle thingies -- do they implement DRM or am I free to do what I want with one? My view is they are designed to lock you into an ebook reader where the content is all protected by DRM. So once you've bought one you can only use paid-for content.

If that's the case I'll definitely not get one. But if I can simply copy plain PDFs across (such as those I download online for free, with no DRM) and can then use those, then it may be a different thing.

My bottom line -- I don't trust these Apple/Google/Amazon types who are trying to give me a walled garden where I can only enjoy the view as long as I pay. So I won't pay and have no concern about what I'm missing.

IBM races bits along a nanowire track

"...a portable racetrack memory box could store a year's worth of movies."

I notice it doesn't say storing a year's worth of movies worth keeping for a year. Now that *will* take a long time.

FBI 'planted backdoor' in OpenBSD

http://cm.bell-labs.com/who/ken/trust.html

Just read it...

Angry Birds find new way to take your money

Interesting point...

... I talked to my father the other day who has never used a computer. 'So how much does it cost to send email?' he asked.

Hmm. I hope the distance between you and Angry Birds (prob also the same as between me and them) is shorter than that in my quote above.

Oh, and wot's a 'droid? [only kidding]

Brits now spend more on debit cards than rustle or jingle money

untitled

No section 75 only applies to credit cards. Debit cards are not loans, hence are not covered by the Consumer Credit Act, 1974. Brilliant legislation!

97% of INTERNET NOW FULL UP, warn IPv4 shepherd boys

Ah, I remenber IPv6

Back in the day when the Internet* was invented in 1995 didn't they also come up with this crazy plan to replace IPv4 with IPv6 (v5 must have got lost in the post) that would let your fridge have 100 unique addresses all to itself?

Wasn't also the rationale behind some of the IPv6 design decisions to allow it to organically grow and ultimately swallow up pools of IPv4 addresses, until IPv4 was a thing of the past? I'm sure NT3.5 had some sort of provision for v6.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it was just in my imagination.

* See what I did there? I used a capital letter. Go on, it's not that difficult.

WTF is... up with e-book pricing?

Hint: The omnibus version is way better value than the separate editions

I don't think so. I read all the books just after I'd read Wuthering Heights. WH is absolutely brilliant. If you've never read it they you must do so. A stunning book!

Lord of the Rings is so weak and childish. And I did persevere through all six books. What a pile of poo. I said I'd read them before watching the films. I've never seen the films.

Rubbish.