* Posts by zen1

506 publicly visible posts • joined 29 Dec 2010

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iPad maker to replace 1 million staff with robots

zen1

you have been RIF'd

you must vacate your work station immediately. You have 10 seconds to comply <insert automatic gunfire here> have a nice day.

Hackers dump secret info for thousands of cops

zen1
Mushroom

enough's enough.

Maybe any fallout that results to CI's or the officers (financial endagerment or death) should be exacted on anybody found and CONVICTED of being associatted with these particular groups. If the offenders are minors, then try them as adults. If they're smart enough breeze through security like that then they're familiar with the rudimentary concepts of right and wrong.

It's one thing to be responsible for the whole of society paying higher interest rates to credit card companies; but it's entirely another to jeopardize the lives of the people who generally do their best at keeping us safe at night, while we sleep..

Amazon cloud hosts nasty banking trojan

zen1
Thumb Down

this is why

we can't have anything nice. Fuck the cloud.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo bow to Apple sales edict

zen1
Mushroom

Is it just me

or has this shit gotten entirely out of hand? In my opinion it's like one auto manufacturer suing another because they both make use of door openers or spot welds.

Winklevoss twins' new Facebook lawsuit rejected by judge

zen1

Wasn't

their 15 minutes of fame over months ago? I already don't care about FB and I care even less about these two twits (my apologies for insulting other twits around the world by the association)! Also, I wonder how many more pressing cases were usurped by these two [well connected] greedy idiots?

Google's Facebook: It rocks, but who cares?

zen1
IT Angle

I for one...

really don't care. Google & FB can all go to hell as far as I'm concerned. It's like taking wikipedia seriously.

Google: Go public on Profiles or we'll delete you

zen1

Re: Fieldmarshal

You wouldn't happen to be distantly related to: Otto Malcolm Peter Brian Telescope Adrian Umbrella Stand Jasper Wednesday (pops mouth twice) Stoatgobbler John Raw Vegetable (whinnying) Arthur Norman Michael (blows squeaker) Featherstone Smith (whistle) Northgot Edwards Harris (fires pistol, then 'whoop') Mason (chuff-chuff-chuff-chuff) Frampton Jones Fruitbat (laughs) (squeaker) Gilbert (sings) 'We'll keep a welcome in the' (three shots) Williams If I Could Walk That Way Jenkin (squeaker) Tiger-drawers Pratt Thompson (sings) 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head' Darcy Carter (horn) Pussycat (sings) 'Don't Sleep In The Subway' Barton Mainwaring (hoot, 'whoop') Raindrops keep falling on me head Von Krakenfart, would you?

As for Google, they can go fornicate themselves, along with FB

WikiLeaks sues Visa, Mastercard over 'financial blockade'

zen1
IT Angle

re: free speech

Only applies to the citizens and press and their ability to talk smack about the government, without fear of reprisal. Doesn't apply to business, business relationships OR employer/employee relationships.

As for the contractual agreement between leaks and v/mc. My guess is that the contractural agreement between v/mc and wikileaks is structured in such a way that wikileaks doesn't have a leg to stand on or a pot to piss in. Not saying what v/mc did was fair or even right, but given how legitious society has become, they probably have the contract so ironclad that it would be an up hill battle for wikileaks.

Facebook game outfit Zynga files for $1bn IPO

zen1

IPO? I dunno...

I recall reading something awhile back that Zynga and FB were having differences of opinion, on a number of things. Should the relationship between the two, it's my opinion that one of two things will happen: Zynga will either be forced to get into bed with the likes of Google or they will simply be repurchased by FB. Of the people I know who use FB regularly, almost ALL of them use a Zynga product offering.

I can't see FB willingly part with a potential cash cow like that; conversely, the battle royale that would erupt if Google attempted to "migrate" that userbase over to their platforms. I for one would love to watch the carnage from that one as I believe everybody in that world has an over inflated sense of self-worth and importance, but that's secondary.

Moderatrix kisses the Reg goodbye

zen1
Unhappy

I for one...

Am going to miss our evil overlord-ette!

Ballmer leaves investors speechless in Seattle

zen1
Devil

I dunno

Love him or hate him Gates had vision. Balmer may have contributed significantly in the early years but the past few years under his rein, Microsoft has barely been able to stand under its old weight. As much as most of us love to vilify and openly mock Microsoft, for more reasons anybody can shake a stick at, they have cornered the legacy market. If you believe the hype of cloud computing and the eventual OS lite equipment that we could all be using AND the explosion of iCrap and Androids, Steve has been caught with his pants down, scratching his head and wondering what the hell happened.

Someone just needs to throw a chair back at him.

Groupon India publishes 300,000 user passwords

zen1

shakes head

inflated valuation, ipo, shady CEO, what next? I'm tellin ya, every time I see the name "Groupon" the ensuing articles just get funnier.

Apple iMac 27in

zen1

Well, I read the article

Pros:

Simple

Uncluttered

Fast Processing

Graphics that Apple is famus for.

Cons:

Expensive, even for an apple

Not Owner upgradable

No Numeric Keyboard

Personal opinion:

WTF were they thinking? I'd almost be tempted to purchase one if it met the following conditions:

It wasn't an Apple; it were upgradable & it had a screamer of a hard drive.

Anymore, I refuse to purchase anything that benefits Steve Jobs, financially, in any way, shape or form.

Sad

Facebook's mega-billion-dollar bubble ... will it float?

zen1

I'd rather invest in failbook

As long as Facebook continues to prosper, there will be an infinite number of idiots providing fodder for our amusement at this face book mocking site. Given the rather significant amount of just plain stupidity, the people who run this site have struck gold.

As for the long term viability of FB, I'm sorry I don't have quite the rosey dispositon that most of the investors have, because all of the "social sites" seem to have a viability of maybe 5-7 years before people lose interest, in lieu something more shiney.

As another poster very astutely mentioned, while the IPO price may spike initially, it will probably start to decay, until it's de-listed from the NASDAQ (or where ever it's registered). So, yeah, a few select investors will probably make a killing, but anybody who holds on to the stock long term will get screwed.

Nissan car secretly shares driver data with websites

zen1

Wait for it....

Punch line #1: So this mean my car is going to have its own face book page? What happens if it defriends me?

Punch line #2: Forget where you parked your car; was it stolen or want to know where it's been? Google it.

Punch line #3: If it's Microsoft "powered" wait for SP 3 before taking any long trips and double check your configurations otherwise Bing will be enabled, whether you want it or not.

OK, I'm bored now.

Inside the 'funky' history of Groupon's biggest shareholder

zen1
Flame

Bernie Madoff or Jeff Skilling by any other name...

This is why officers and executive management of publically traded companies should be required to put up what I like to call "pain collateral". If they do something stupid, destroy the corporation and lose millions or billions of other peoples money, they are held personally responsible and they simply lose ALL of their assets.

Personally, I don't mind the big wigs making the big bucks. Whether we all like it or not, that shit makes the world go around. But, with big bucks comes big responsibility and big risk. And if these chuckleheads do something illegal or stupid and risk the solvency of the company or defraud the investors, by illegally or unsuccessfully risking their money on something that was technically legal, then they should be held personally responsible, and therefore crucified.

Also, throwing their asses in maximum security prisons, instead of the minimum security "country clubs", might be a good deturrent, too. I'll take this one step further, Let's include politicians, those appointed to government office AND union officials and apply the same standards. Maybe, just maybe they'll get the hint that they are not above the law and the end doesn't justify the means.

Germans completely humourless: Official

zen1

I'm gonna go out on a limb

and say comedy is intimately subjective. What may be down right boorish in one culture may be gut wrenching hysterical to another. I happen to enjoy the British sense of humor (humour), as I find it delightly tounge & cheek.

Ironically, a lot of the top comedians, performing in the US are Canadian's.

But hey, that's just my opinion...

Google acting as a 'political tool', says China

zen1

re: What do they teach the kids

While I agree with your core assertion, of living in a communal state, where everybody's needs and wants are fufilled, is indeed a beautiful thing, I reject your theory that all suffering goes away. People will always want more than they are entitled to. More food, bigger house, more exotic transportation or frivilous toys (deemed unessential by the state). There will always be petty jealously, which when dropped in the lap of an armed government, there will always be war.

While we all try to pretend that we, as a specie, are civilized, compassionate and moral, the sad fact of the matter is that we aren't. And no matter what idiology you prescribe to, there will always be glaring examples of horrible treatment of those in the lower class.

Conversely, in a free market society, the onus is shifted away from the government, as a provider, to the individual and the only thing that limits them is any barriers they construct for themselves.

I've looked through a number of references for anything that mildly demonstrates a successful "communist" society and haven't been able to find one yet. There are a number of semi-successful socialist governments, but sadly they're starting to collapse under the weight of the demands placed on their citizens.

At best, Communism may be pragmatic at a very small scale, maybe a small community of several hundred to a few thousand, but in a nation of millions (in china's case, billions), a substantial of people simply will not have their most basic of needs met. That is a failure of the idology/system.

Feel free to flame away, just my two cents worth.

Peace!

Police ROBOT attacks and BURNS DOWN HOUSE

zen1

I demand

Playmobile, monster trucks, pork rindes, more explosions, chicken wings and more scantily clad women!

Apple sues teenager for white iPhone conversion kits

zen1
Holmes

OK I don't understand

So, he took the initiative to order parts from Apple's manufacture and simply painted them OR did he use money from his part time job/paper route to purchase the injection molding equipment to start fabricating his own, out of raw stock?

Either way, I admire the kid's ambition to fill a nitch that Apple clearly wasn't filling for their customers. Furthermore, I think Jobs should reward the lad for his inventiveness because Apple assumed its customer base would be completely receptive to an all black iPhone, in lieu of choices. That means he saved Apple and their army of focus groups a considerable amount of time and effort in figuring out what colors consumers wanted.

Finally, if Foxcom is selling iParts to every individual with a PO, credit card or cash then I think Apple has bigger issues than some enterprising 17 year old kid.

Reg hack applauds asinine augmentation

zen1
Happy

I'm confused

"Take note: despite my threat last year, "Ballmer", "Bill" and "Brin" will not make the final cut. It's just too cruel"

OK, too cruel to whom? The jackass or the foal?

Google and Amazon cloud music nears judgment day

zen1
Mushroom

re: Trev

If memory serves correct, in the US we are allowed to make an archival backup, without penality. But transferring those archives over to other machines for others to use is against the law. But I could be wrong.

The music industry done fucked up and flat out missed the boat on this one, in terms of a low cost delivery mechanism and are trying to bilk the old physical media scheme (cd, dvd etc) for what it's worth AND are expecting consumers to bend over and grab their ankles.

FU EMI, when I purchase a song, I will use it on whatever device I own. Will I give it out to others? no, because that is theft. But if you think I am going to purchase multiple copies of the same product, then I don't give a fuck how great it is, you won't be seeing a penny from me. That's like buying a new car for every day of the week and then purchasing them over again once the next month comes along.

EXPLODING MELONS terrify Chinese

zen1

protecting yourself...

against someone armed with a banana comes to mind, but the manual never had anything remotely close to a fragmentation like weapon such as a watermelon, honeydew or cantalope. Oh the humanity! Peach, anybody?

zen1
Welcome

I for one

welcome our incendiary melon wielding overlords.

CSC locked out of new NHS contracts

zen1

I think

That's mantra #3 in the catalyst manual.

zen1
Grenade

Damn it!

As someone who currently works for CSC, where I constantly witness the usual "Ready, Fire, Aim" mentality, I wonder how many more hours we're going to have to work now or what additional cuts will have to be made to ensure management gets their bonuses, given this latest revelation?

Apple confirms white iPhone 4 on sale tomorrow

zen1

News flash:

Red paint available today

Greenpeace spies soot lining in cloud data centers

zen1
Flame

Well...

We can always use activists to hand crank the generators to power our data centers. And if Greenpeace were that serious, they'd update their navy, as the last time I saw one of their boats up front, it was leaving an oil slick.

Calling all readers: Want some new icons?

zen1

definitely...

a 'stfu' icon...

Scientists reveal eight-legged Jurassic beast

zen1

Excuse me, Mr. Haines?

Might I suggest a shotgun or assault rifle icon for future articles like this? I mean I really hate spiders, terrestrial or web weaving. I plan on using the grenade simply for that fact. but given its general size, I don't think a grenade would be sufficient as approximately 2-3% of the frags would actually hit it, thus only accomplish pissing it off (assuming it were still alive).

Google gives Eric Schmidt 124,999,900% salary increase

zen1
Flame

As a google share holder

me and my 4 shares have a horrendous problem with this, given that he satisified his ability to earn a viable income for several lifetimes. While I am a huge believer in the risk/rewards of building businesses and capitalism, as a whole, at some point, executive management isn't worth the money they're being paid.

Schmidt has reached that lofty plateau.

If he wanted to do good for the employees and investors of google, he'd simply work for a dollar a year and live off of the hard work that he's earned.

But that's just an opinion.

Death threats against 'worst song ever' YouTube teen

zen1
IT Angle

yanno...

Good lord she's just a kid. Who knows (or cares) if this was a serious effort on her part to get recognized by some label. But that being said, being a ripe old 13 or 14 years old and isn't taking the overwhelming and world wide loathing of her "work" very well. That being said, it certainly doesn't warrant death threats.

If the threats were real, I sincerely hope they nail the people responsible to the wall. if it's just a publicity stunt, then both her parents and management need to be jailed and she be placed in a convent (a silent one at that), until she's of legal age.

I was going to add a quip about possible sterilization; to spare future generations of any offspring she may produce, however, knowing that someone would obviously take that seriously, I will refrain from suggesting it

iPhones secretly track 'scary amount' of your movements

zen1
IT Angle

seriously?

Does this really surprise anybody?

Suit settled, PS3 hacker donates $10,000 to EFF

zen1

re: paul

I don't think trillions is out of the question, considering the saturation of PC's in almost every country. And given that Sony didn't necessarily create the concept of root kit technology, they are responsible for making it mainstream. And you know how kiddies love to copy/mod other peoples warez. Now, if you were to assign a low ball, arbitrary value of say $25.00 USD to remediate every infected machine that was directly or indirectly nailed courtesy of Sony, the price tag can get pretty hefty.

If you look at all of the secondary and tertiary costs associated, for example, the number of governmental or business machines that were infected, simply because people brought a music cd in from home to listen to. It's rather difficult to quantify the total financial impact, because we will really never know the full extent of the impact, just because of Sony's base stupidity.

zen1
Grenade

This is what I don't get...

It's OK for Sony give us the root kit v1, yet they use the courts to bully purchasers and legal owners of their goods? How many countless lost billions, if not trillions of dollars could be traced back to the Sony corporation, and the consulting firm they used to deploy root kit technology, yet Sony legal gets its collective panties in a wad because someone thinks of an innovative way to utilize technology for tasks other than its originally designed intent.

It's days like this I with the Register had an obscene hand gesture icon to show the good folks at Sony.

MYSTERY of huge Canadian chicken-shed EXPLOSION

zen1
Welcome

I for one...

welcome our unknown, pultricide committing overlords.

Facebook twins lose court case

zen1

two down

My guess is that they will never patronize facebook. With that being said, 2 down, 500,000,000 to go.

Binary dinosaur drive found alive and breathing fire

zen1
Pint

5150 was a hell of a machine

IBM PC, I believe the PC-XT was the 5160, which had the 8086 cpu. God the abuse those things took. I remember taking one apart that a mouse decided to call home. Mouse urine and turds, a few corroded traces but it still basically worked.

Although, in thinking back, I often wonder if there are any surviving hard drives that came stock with the PC-AT's... I forget which model they were but they weighed 5 or 6 lbs and when you shut the machine off, they made a rather loud ka-thunk, when the heads parked themselves.

Anybody else remember how aroused when someone figured out that the ST-235 (or 238) could be set up to have an interleave of 2:1? Bleading edge...

Steve Wozniak ready for return to Apple

zen1
Grenade

The Woz

Has probably (and single handedly) done MORE for the advancement of PC technology, by accident, than most long timers in the biz could have ever dreamed of (the lone exception maybe being St. Linus). Maybe and hypothetically, Woz would be just the visionary that's needed to get the metaphorical head out of Apple's collective ass, as the whole Jobian "it's my way or the highway" paradigm is actually pushing potential consumers away. Who knows, maybe he'd even be able to light the fire under Apple Engineer's ass again and get them to tackle the whole "multitasking issue"; which has always been one of my biggest beefs with the iPhone.

Apple pressures Toyota to kill jailbreaker ad

zen1
Grenade

Pssst, Steve...

I just want a fucking smartphone that just works the way I want it to. I don't care if you find my choice of apps offensive; I don't care if you get pissy if I install something that YOU don't like and I certainly don't care if you get upset if I make an improvement that YOU didn't provide. The phone is MY property. If you have a problem with MY terms of ownership, you can expect to never see another damn dime of my money.

Facebook Comments kill web freedom

zen1
Grenade

pfft

web 2.0, facebook, apple, windows, linux, twitter & google. All annoying and yesterday's news. I'm over it and they all suck for their own respective reasons.

Apple bashes 'gay cure' app

zen1

Can't have it both ways

Just because of the implied freedom of expression, speach or option, that doesn't automatically insinuate freedom from being offended. I think it was stupid for Apple to buckle to anybody, regardless of how proper (or politically correct) it was.

Interwebs stunned by musical atrocity

zen1
Pint

Re: Mostor Astrakan

Mercifully, Beethoven was deaf, and now dead. The lucky bastard!

Apple: Yes, Safari outperforms embedded iOS web viewer

zen1
Grenade

Jobs is still a dick

And will never receive a single penny of my money.

Fukushima reactor core battle continues

zen1

All things being equal

How many coal miners are killed yearly while supplying product for power plants? How many workers are killed in the petrochemical industry yearly? Contrast that with the number of people who have been killed as a result of a nuclear power plant. Given that the reactors have been through conditions far more extreme than imaginable and that a significant number of problems cooling the rods down were directly attributed to human error, I still contend that nuclear power is far safer than all the alternatives.

Google man opens curtain on cloud apps firewall glitch

zen1
Grenade

I don't think so

As a firewall admin for a large company, it's shit like this that only reenforces my "fuck the cloud" mentality.

Countries where Facebook is not, yet, king

zen1
Pirate

While I loathe facebook

If it weren't for the rampant stupidity, sites like failbook wouldn't have ALL the evidence that's needed to prevent the truly clueless from being exposed.

Armed with that information, I would like to make a couple of suggestions:

1) Being given a finite number of "fails" before an idividual MUST be licensed to go near a computer.

2) Seriously consider using this evidence to to ascertain whether or not the induhvidual should be allowed to breed.

Let's face it, secondary sites that point out the general cluelessness of the average FB user are a great resource for the statistics to help humanity clean up the gene pool.

NO-SH*T CURE FOR BALDNESS discovered by accident

zen1

pffft who needs hair

When I started losing my hair, it was hell riding a motor or bicycle as I'd usually return looking like Larry, from the three stooges. In retrospect, it causes too much drag at speed.

DEC: The best of systems, the worst of systems

zen1

DEC Rainbows

I hated those fucking things. With a passion, I might add. Personally, I had good experiences with the Alpha's. But, everybody's experiences are subjective.

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