Posts by Russ.T.Starfish

Habeas data: How to build an internet that forgets

Personal Responsibility?

It's your data, so you have a responsibility to look after it.

That means keeping a log of EVERY website that you give that data to.

Every site you register your email address with, and your address for a delivery.

If you are prepared to do this, then part of the solution is simple. Its up to you to remove the information from sites that you no longer use. (If they let you) If they don't let you delete your account, then change it so that the information is valid, but irrelevant.

change your home address details. change the password to be something very tricky and different to everything else, change any mobile phone number you submitted to them to be something else (random) then change your email address and name.

Their big data gets very invalid very quickly, but it's ultimately your responsibility to badger companies that don't let you delete your own information until they get rid of it, or you make it invalid data that no longer applies to you.

Yeah, I'm paranoid about this sort of thing. and no, I don't do it all yet, but I'm on the way to getting this sort of thing all setup and separating things that really don't relate to me as a Physical Person (things like tumblr,youtube,twitter,el reg), to things that have to be tied to me, like credit cards, electricity bills and bank accounts.

Crazy Texans dunk servers in DEEP FRYERS

Re: How do you put the dvd in the drive?

It must be at least 8-10 years since I put an optical disk into a drive in a server.

Most of these operations are lights out. You will mount ISO images of application images you need to install. You will build over the LAN via a build network. You can also mount images via the remote lights out type capabilities that most modern servers come with these days.

One of the questions I have is cable entries and exits into the oil bath. These will degrade and go very rigid in time which can cause complications.

Also the oil can "seep" via (I guess) capillary action down the cables (internally) and into equipment outside of the oil enclosure.

(Real world experience, I have had this happen with mineral oil which travelled UP around 8-10 inches above the level of the oil, and down the power supply cable and into a 4 way which got swamped with mineral oil.)

New Google tool lets you PROBE YOURSELF

Re: A grab for your telephone number?

It doesn't have to be your proper phone number, it could be an old one (I'm guessing)

I assume google does not initiate a phone conversation with you to prove you are who you say you are with the phone number you provide, but just that you have to type it in.

So fudge the last digit. You will remember that it's one digit off hopefully. but no nuisance calls.

Or make it the phone number of your ex.

Samsung Series 3 NP300E5A 15in notebook

Re: You do realize...

Shame that people picked up on the incorrect moniker of "IBM" vs "Lenovo" in your post, rather than the prinicple you were looking to put forward.

http://www.tier1online.com/Product/5356-6474AH5?CAWELAID=977623244.

Lenovo T400. still a highly serviceable machine, Yours for £250, new extended battery ,£50

Comes with a licence for Vista, so add the price of a windows 7 licence (64bit). (£70 new, not sure on upgrade from vista price)

£370 without potential Ram upgrades and a new hard disk which would be sensible options to get the most out of a second hand machine.

Doing this sort of thing for yourself is a considerable amount of effort, you're not getting a machine with a warranty (or much of one left). It's not a course of action I would recommend to anyone that wanted me to support them, however you will end up with a machine that is far more likely to be useful in 10 years and still going strong with this method.

(Webcam controller, FTP server, uploader, small DMZ controller)

UPDATE: GAGA team hunts down grass-smoking ROBOT

3d scanning with kinect

Although I have barely even dipped my toe into this field at the moment, both the 3d scanning of objects, and the 3d printing of objects are projects that I am considering getting into currently.

There are several projects that are using the kinect camera for a basic architectural survey, it is able to pick up features that experts can determine need more investigation. The more passes the camera does, the more detail gets overlayed.

You would need to rotate the camera through a 360 degree rotation at a known fixed speed, and then compare the created image against a predefined detailed map

Looking also at the requirements of double or triple passes and number of blades, you could have the motor providing the movement toggling between moving, or scanning its location.

If it is not powering the wheels for movement, the power goes into the turntable / stepper motor that turns the camera and processing unit through 360 degrees. This would give you more time in each spot to get the quality cut you are looking for.

By separating out the task (cutting the grass) from the scanning, location and movement, you end up with two different projects that may be useful in their own right.

Are there any pictures of the actual lawn and it's boundaries online? so we can gauge the size of the task in hand?

ZeuS Trojan embraces P2P – becomes even more sneaky and sticky

Re: Wondering...

My thought's exactly, a simple, "remove bootloader" or del /Windows in x days. type arrangement,

That command would propagate through the botnet and at timebomb time, the whole thing implodes.

Then at least the infected end nodes won't be infecting anyone else soon, and the end users have to deal with the problem.

Asus peddles three-in-one smartphone, tablet, netbook

A great idea in my opinion, and really interesting to see all of the different opinions coming out about what makes sensible technologies for convergence.

For my requirements, this is a great plan, and something I've been looking for for around 18 months. However I'm looking for an MS platform, so it can run family safety and protect my delightful little monsters from the nasties out there.

It is a shame that it's not using the newer multicore tegra chipset, but I'm in the market for a new phone, I don't have a tablet yet so it could still be game on.

I would be interested to see how storage and expansion is referenced, on the tablet, and on the netbook accessories, as well as power use and configuration. (netbook charges the tablet, which charges the phone up, so even if you don't use the additional tablet or netbook for much else, you know that you can always have a full battery when you are away from ordinary power sources for an extended period of time.

Golden booty-shakin' bug named after pop diva Beyoncé

This article needs a comparison picture.... I am disappointed such an opportunity was overlooked

From Frogger to fluid dynamics

I'm surprised that its only the third such event........

It's an interesting subject though.

When I had a need to contact our SC division I was IM'ed by two of them within the space of about 5 seconds of each other... They do everything in parallel those guys.

/true and cool story bro.

Microsoft updates Hotmail to deal with grey spam

Yesterdays Mail.. merely one component in a rounded package

Whilst it could be a faster, and slicker interface on the mail component. I have yet to find a service that:

Integrates single sign on with multiple accounts on the same physical machine that also functions with other physical machines.

(Windows 7 and XP both support the tie in with a Live.com account)

Has that same single sign on for a chat program

A parental monitoring package that is very granular with white lists, black lists and DNS monitoring per account.

I'll put up with a slightly clunky interface and the spam, and the grey mail for the convenience of the entire package thank you.

Powermat crafts wireless Duracell Bunny boiler

erm is the most obvious thing...

building batteries with this ability?

I have 5 battery chargers of all shapes sizes and permutations dotted around the home, office and car. All I should need is a powermat and compatible rechargeable batteries.

Just throw a handful of spare batteries onto the mat in the morning and by the evening they are charged and ready for use. remote controllers for the telly, stick-em in there as well. (should be able to just throw the remote on the mat as well before you go to bed so it always is topped up)

Got a powermat in the car, great, chuck a handful of batteries on top for the emergency torch

It should take out the complexity of the capacity of the battery being married up to the cheap chargers.

But the big thing that makes me concerned on this technology is what is the efficiency rating?

I mean, from a theoretical 100% efficient device charging a mobile phone, then showing the efficiency of the manufacturers standard supply. And then the powermat rating. (bear in mind that ac type chargers are not (in my house anyway) often unplugged.

Sherlock cos.... well. bleedin' obvious I think

Hey Commentards! [This title is optional]

Additional features...

I think I prefer posts that have a title myself, but it's good to have the option of not having one.

But for gods sake don't trev the shit out of your site with all this bollocks.

the last thing that we need is something like a row of stumbleuponredditfacbookfarktwitter icons next to each post that your mouse passes over which then pops out and covers what you're trying to read. (even more irritating on a mobile phone, I'll hasten to add.

KISS. Leavitaloneanddontfuckaroundwithitplease.

Google does a mean spring clean

Not my liking

I can see mutual satisfaction generated by the participants as a parallel with the amateur movies you describe, but if they are slapping it on each others backs, thats some weird shit you're watching there.

Soggy is not a word I've seen used to describe that industry either.

VMware taxes your virtual memory

Business case

If your original case was sound, then quite simply write another business case with a road map showing the cost of moving to V5, and tell them not to do it, if it is more costly to them. Keep up your maintenance on V4 licences and you're good to go. No One is forcing you to upgrade your entire infrastructure to V5.

German cops hunt HUGE ERECTION-inducing SPIDER

I am relieved

I got bitten by one of these and thought I had a spider bite fetish....

I guess not then.

US reveals Stuxnet-style vuln in Chinese SCADA 'ware

Warning shot across the bows?

Given that it is widely speculated America had a hand in crafting the stuxnet worm along with other interested parties, and that there are multiple digital type attacks on western government installations around the globe. It appears to me that America are politically highlighting to china to "backoff the cyber attacks and get your ship in order or something really bad may happen on your turf"

Obviously not worded as such, worded as a security advisory, but thats how I'm sure it would be taken.

30,000 Shreks besmirch BeautifulPeople

Can't think of a better place to avoid

Apart from a war zone maybe.

I don't class myself as ugly. Not beautiful for sure, but average. Typically the types of people I've met that I imagine would frequent such an environment and pay for the privilege are more than welcome to each other. Sons and daughters of Aphrodite for sure. a bunch of shallow vacuous people.

Wait until they are old. Once the beauty has gone, all that is left is a shallow bitter shell.

Cornish cow plucked from jaws of death by Navy chopper

see body....

Lieutenant Commander Chris 'Damage' Canning, though he confessed that his people were "more used to underslinging fuel, food, water or vehicles".

Would a cow not be all three, just not simultaneously..... (Ok liquid, rather than "water").

Whitehall fraud pilots save £12m

Thats how much is saved, now much much does it COST

Only half the figures here, as usual.

If the government are serious about transparency, they need to tell us how much it costs to setup and run the new "Taskforce on Fraud, Error and Debt" (T'FED?)

I mean, it's great delivering £12m of savings, but if it costs £18m to setup new offices, new compute infrastructure, and management teams of analysts and investigators, that's actually a LOSS of £6m.

Mind you I'd rather that the government was employing staff to stop fraud, than handing out cash to workshy Chavs and terrorists. It won't change the amount we have to pay ultimately.