Posts by Eguro

All hands on Steam Deck: Fancy a handheld Linux PC that runs Windows apps, sports a custom AMD Zen APU and a touch screen?

I am intrigued

My biggest caution is the controller part of it, the triggers and sticks.

I've had my fair share of controllers, and a sizeable chunk tend to develop issues with these components. Some after little use and some after mild use (that is to say playing excessive amounts of Rocket League). On a controller it's not too much of a hurdle. I feel alright opening that up to give some required maintenance of whatever sort I have laying around, but with a more expensive and advanced machine I'm not sure I'd feel quite so eager to engage in home-repair.

I could see myself forking over the cash, but I hope to see some information on replacement ease for these wear and tear parts. The machine won't last forever, but from my experience the computer bits won't be outdated before the controller bits will break - and that would suck.

For a Switch the controllers are separate entities - that doesn't seem to be the case with the Deck.

Also a note on the reservation fee - that fee counts towards the purchase price, so it's mostly there to ensure that you're serious about it and discourage fake reservations, as per the Deck FAQ:

"Does the reservation fee count towards my Steam Deck purchase price?

Yes."

Good news: Google no longer requires publishers to use the AMP format. Bad news: What replaces it might be worse

Re: Use Bing!

It's DeepL for me with regards to translation...

Of all the analytics firms in the world, why is Palantir getting its claws into UK health data?

Re: entirely personal capacity

I'm reminded of a rogue engineer in a certain tech company as well.

The Epic vs Apple trial is wrapping up, but the battle has just begun

Re: The lawyers have more paydays coming

Indeed.

Free installer on the app store, buy the game with the installer afterwards.

OMG! New free speech social network won’t allow members to take the Lord’s name in vain

Well the meaning of "the field" can always be narrowed to ensure you were right.

It might pose a challenge to some, but they truly are the most secure not-entirely-free-speech-platform-funded-by-a-shitty-pillow-maker.

Google screwed rivals to protect monopoly, says Uncle Sam in antitrust lawsuit: We go inside the Sherman parked on a Silicon Valley lawn

Re: The default search on the default browser on the default operating system on every PC...

If Apple could just raise their prices to make up the lost revenue, then Apple would already have raised prices to that level. Otherwise Apple is currently leaving money on the table.

The point that almost everyone would choose Google anyway leads naturally to the question of why Google is wasting all that cash on being the default search.

Seems like not only Apple, but also Google is happily either leaving money on the table or throwing money away for no reason.

Re: re: So, why pay billions then?

We all know that the truth of why they are paying billions to be made the default is that it works to keep people using Google..

This fact does fly in the face of this initial defence offered by Google.

The defence is basically that nobody is forced to use Google and it's super easy to change, so people would just do that if they wanted something else - thus Google is actually what people choose (aka they aren't forced).

Which would imply that - given Google is obviously what people prefer (given that they don't switch even though it's super simple - see paragraph above) - people would do that super easy thing and switch the search to Google if Google wasn't the default.

But in that case it sure seems like a massive waste of money to pay for exclusivity deals, so why do they do it?

Epic Games gets itself epically banned, launches epic Fortnite death match with Apple over App Store's epic 30% cut

You realise that the other game platform wouldn't have that game that Epic bought exclusivity for, right?

You realise this was all done to avoid having to actually compete against Steam - and therefore actually having to make a decent product or do something that helps us - the consumers. I would like competition between marketplaces - to encourage cheaper games, better features etc., but that's a fight that Epic is scared to go into; hence the exclusivity deals.

It was and is a horrible practice, that should not be encouraged.

Irony isn't dead... Facebook sues EU on data privacy grounds for requesting too much personal data

I'm not American, so it might simply be differences between cultures, but why on Earth does the employer (Facebook) have information about employees including:

"medical information, personal financial documents, and private information about family members of employees."

None of that seems like it would be particularly relevant (or even legal?) for an employer to possess?

IBM == Insecure Business Machines: No-auth remote root exec exploit in Data Risk Manager drops after Big Blue snubs bug report

Re: And thus is why hackers profit...

Blood and organ donations usually don't pay, because that creates unwanted incentives.

"Well Grandma is probably on her way out, and that nice Mr. Edward Vil says he'll pay us $10,000 if we unplug her now."

Or

"I need food. Someone buy my kidney!"

The only comparison I can see would be the developers of these programs purposefully putting in exploits for their mates to "discover" later on. That might be happening, but surely there is some tracking happening. "Herbert, this is the 14th flaw found in your coding", so doesn't seem like it would be a great move.

You could approach developers of companies to pay them to include vulnerabilities for you to discover, but then you have to figure out how much you'll likely get and I doubt the amount you'll be willing to hand back is enough to get developers to intentionally make bad code.

Watch as 10 cops with guns and military camo storm suspected Capital One hacker's house…

Re: I'm confused.

10k computer is more likely her room mates having no idea.

"This computer is worth more than you make in months!" she snarled.

"Okay, sheesh" - two months later - "and her like $10.000 computer or whatever".

Crowdfunded lawyer suing Uber told he can't swerve taxi app giant's £1m legal bill

Re: Who is ultimately responsible for collecting/paying the VAT

He obviously can't get a billion pounds from Uber on the grounds that Uber hasn't paid VAT.

He can get a legal ruling that states, that Uber must pay VAT, which means they will owe money to the UK who will be getting the billion pounds. For him it seems that will merely mean that he can claim the £1,xx on a returns form somewhere in the bureaucracy.

In what way would he ever have any standing to get VAT money from rides others have bought from Uber (Or should that be from their respective Uber driver who is in no way an employee of Uber?)?

American bloke hauls US govt into court after border cops 'cuffed him, demanded he unlock his phone at airport'

Re: Just say "Yes Sir"

- No you are not under arrest. No you may not see a lawyer. Yes you did provide us with the code to open your laptop, but you'll have to provide us the code to your well-encrypted cloud storage container as well - national security you understand. No you may not use the toilet.

Funnily enough, China fuming, senator cheering after Huawei CFO cuffed by Canadian cops at Uncle Sam's request

Reusing is better than recycling, right?

Here's a link to my comment in the previous article about this story:

https://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/containing/3671363

And here it is in full:

"There seem to be details missing in this piece?

As others have pointed out Huawei are surely free to trade their own products to Iran, though possibly (I don't know) at the cost of being able to do business in the US?

As far as I know the issue is, that Huawei have been allegedly circumventing a ban on selling US-products to Iran, by selling HP products to Iran via a separate company (Skycom) - one where Weng was briefly a board member, and which at least at one point was entirely owned by a management company owned by the Huawei parent company.

There was a news report of this way back in 2013 already:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-huawei-skycom/exclusive-huawei-cfo-linked-to-firm-that-offered-hp-gear-to-iran-idUSBRE90U0CC20130131"

Huawei CFO poutine cuffs by Canadian cops after allegedly busting sanctions on Iran

There seem to be details missing in this piece?

As others have pointed out Huawei are surely free to trade their own products to Iran, though possibly (I don't know) at the cost of being able to do business in the US?

As far as I know the issue is, that Huawei have been allegedly circumventing a ban on selling US-products to Iran, by selling HP products to Iran via a separate company (Skycom) - one where Weng was briefly a board member, and which at least at one point was entirely owned by a management company owned by the Huawei parent company.

There was a news report of this way back in 2013 already:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-huawei-skycom/exclusive-huawei-cfo-linked-to-firm-that-offered-hp-gear-to-iran-idUSBRE90U0CC20130131

YouTube supremo says vid-streaming-slash-piracy giant can't afford EU's copyright overhaul

Re: Too hard

Is this not a situation where capitalism might actually be good for something?

YT: "Well we'll just leave the EU then!"

EU: "Oh noes... What should we do"

Group of EU Citizens: "We'll start our own streaming service with blackjac... a slightly altered system and the possibility for content creators on YT to also upload to our service for both the EU audience and beyond."

YT: "But that'll mean videos on your platform will be viewable by both EU and non-EU citizens... That's a better value-offer for content creators than we're offering... Oh no!"

YT melts away/fixes itself.

(or maybe an existing platform will do it. Whatever)

US Congress mulls expanding copyright yet again – to 144 years

Re: Copyright, Patents all screwed.

How's about author's life + 50, but no more than 70?

Get the best of both worlds - though perhaps author's life + 10, but no more than 30 might seem more reasonable to me.

If your song suddenly resurges after 30 years, then hopefully you'll have other ways of supporting you by then - and you can still take the band on tour, since the original creator ought to attract a crowd (assuming the song is popular enough).

FBI chief asks tech industry to build crypto-busting not-a-backdoor

Who keeps inviting these guys to speak at conferences?

Could you not give their seats to someone else, and maybe just play a video recording of the last time they talked - if you insist on having these "points" being made?

Ethics? Yeah, that's great, but do they scale?

Providing ethical tools for people to consider their actions is a good thing.

We should, however, also be careful that this is what is being done.

It can easily turn into talks or courses, where ethical theories are discussed, but really we're just looking for a plausible way to defend current practices - perhaps with a few tweaks to make us all feel as though we've really changed for the better.

Awareness and tools are great, but putting a pseudo-ethical veneer onto a field is not.

Memo man Damore is back – with lawyers: Now Google sued for 'punishing' white men

Re: Funny how...

I think you all misunderstood me.

I know SJW stands for Social Justice Warrior.

I meant to ask: What does "SJWing" - as a verb - mean in this context? What exactly are the Google staffers doing that can be described as SJWing?

If I am to go by one of the replies I've gotten, it means Google has employed people who "end up unemployable".

I was asking for some specifics to help me understand what the comment was meant to say. Do Google hire people to simply roam around doing SJW stuff - and in that case what is that stuff specifically and why is it good or bad - and why do Google think it worth paying someone for?

I ask, because until there's some actual meaning placed to the term SJWing, it's a catch-all into which we can all pour our best or worst interpretations, and then argue endlessly because we aren't arguing about the same thing at all.

Re: Funny how...

What does SJWing even mean?

ALPHABET TOTALLY LOSES ITS SCHMIDT: Exec chairman Eric quits

I don't think a KKK member would sit well with advertisers, but perhaps that's not what you meant?

5 reasons why America's Ctrl-Z on net neutrality rules is a GOOD thing

Re: @dan1980

@Naselus

You are probably correct - but my comment is for harvesting upvotes for a future, as yet undetermined but most assuredly nefarious, purpose!

Mua ha ha ha

Re: @dan1980

Just a note for Bombastic Bob.

I actually got through your entire first post, but I simply could not for the second.

You do REALIZE that writing LIKE this, just makes READING more annoying, RIGHT?

IT'S not HELPFUL, and it DOES not actually give emphasis to the WORDS. It's just ANNOYING for any "reader".

So what happened with the patent judge and the Euro Patent Office?

On the document count

I could easily imagine some earlier points in the meeting simply having additional documents added, which then shifted the numbering of the documents, in order to preserve a progression from 1-X instead of going 1-15, then 22-26, then 16-21.

So if that's the only evidence of personal tampering - in this particular instance - then I find it somewhat lacking.

That being said, I hope Battistelli is punished and the EPO brought back to some semblance of sanity.

Also I can't help wondering what's in document 18 (now 23), since it seems like it must be relevant to the case, but apparently isn't? Perhaps it's a sign that the linear progression I speak of above isn't actually relevant...

Canuck privacy commissioner to dig into Uber data breach

Re: "...CA$100,000 for a failure to do so..."

Or make it a percentage based fine with a minimum amount if the percentage is lower.

5% of annual revenue or CA$100,000 - whichever is higher.

Facebook Messenger ... for who now? Zuck points his digital crack at ever younger kids

Re: @ Dr Stephen Jones As a childless curmudgeon.

It seems to me, that painting poor people who are dependent upon government assistance as moochers does a disservice to the real moochers in society.

The tax evaders, government-rescued bankers, and others of that sort.

People with economic troubles will not have the mental surplus to do much else than trying to find a way to get by. That's the exact reason why you need a better and more comprehensive social assistance system. Not a system that merely sends you a wad of money at set intervals, but that tries to break with a "family tradition" of low social status.

The lack of mental surplus is why people in dire financial straits might be more inclined to grab at whatever money is offered, while people doing great have the mental surplus to try and work out how to better screw over society and avoid contributing.

What should be done is not cutting welfare, but increasing it's type and cost to create benefits in the future. It isn't just about the parents, it is about ensuring that the child or children have an actual chance at leading a life worth - to themselves - living. Just because a child's parents find themselves "mooching" is no reason to punish the child, and if you do, you'll almost inevitably end up condemning the child to a similar life.

Amazon to make multiple Lord of the Rings prequel TV series

Re: Could go either way

Moria could work.

But I think you'd need to make the whole thing an anthology series.

So you get 2-4 episodes focusing solely on one aspect of the story.

Moria storyline could run through everything since the Hobbit up until "Mellon" (heard in the dark after a "time passes" sequence, at which point a door cracks open and the episode ends), without having to keep apace with other stories being told.

It'd be less restrictive and so long as they don't write themselves into a corner (Whoops, forgot that person X was shown during one anthology to do this at this time - now we need X to do something else at the same time), it could be quite enjoyable.

Re: via some sort of fantasy magic resurrection handwaving...

You just start of the series with the creation myth by Eru, then you append the slight change that Eru - like all great composers - did not create just a single masterpiece.

Tada - Alternate timeline, do what you want!

Paradise Papers reveal Apple moved bits of biz offshore

Invest heavily in exterior decorations - check

Force slaves to mimic merriment on a nightly basis - check

Haul off wagons of empty pots in the morning to simulate cleaning - check

Haul in wagons of empty pots in the afternoon to simulate filling your stock - check

Wait for rich dude to demand an estate swap - check

Didn't install a safety-critical driverless car patch? Bye, insurance!

"Software vendor/car manufacture could/should be required to prove that the recipient car has successfully installed the patch "

But the issue would be, that the insurance company claims you didn't have Patch 1.0001 installed, you'll say you tried, but the system didn't work, and software vendor will claim that you probably didn't try because see how many other times it did install without trouble.

It's in the interest of both insurer and software vendor that you didn't try to update - so if you did you best have a video recording of your attempt.

The Google Home Mini: Great, right up until you want to smash it in fury

So that's why they can't seem to understand things on the first go??

Supreme Court to rule on whether US has right to data stored overseas

Re: Of course, the DoJ will win

If the case originated with Obama's administration, can't we be almost 100% sure that Trump will be against it?

Google touts Babel Fish-esque in-ear real-time translators. And the usual computer stuff

Hopefully your puck tester will remember to test

if the voice differentiation can be fooled.

If parents limit the usability of the device for children, then surely those children will try to imitate their parents' voices to undo this, no?

Will there be some kind of codeword or will it simply be voice for id?

"No no, it's mom speaking. I just have a cold"

Unloved Microsoft Edge is much improved – but will anyone use it?

Re: Every time you visit Google with Edge, you see an ad for Chrome

I just visited my local google. and was met with:

"Google recommends Chrome. Do you want to try it?"

in the corner.

And I am well and firmly inside the EU.

Hi Amazon, Google, Apple we might tax you on revenue rather than profit – love, Europe

"want to levy more tax then draft better laws."

Isn't that what they're proposing?

Sub plot subplot thickens: Madsen claims hatch fumble killed Swede journo Kim Wall

Re: inconsistent

It was falsely reported by ElReg, and others I'm sure, that he changed his story a week later.

The story we're now hearing is actually the story he told the police and courts on the day he was found. It happened behind closed doors at the courts, so the only publicly known story was the initial one about dropping her off.

I commented this same fact on the relevant article:

https://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/2/2017/08/22/private_sub_captain_says_reporter_died/#c_3268431

I believe his claim is that he panicked and sort of became suicidal.

I have no idea why he'd dump the body, but he apparently then sank the boat in some idiotic suicide attempt.

At least I think that's his version of events.

Private sub captain changes story, now says reporter died, was 'buried at sea' – torso found

Just a note. According to the courts he originally told the courts that she had died and he had buried her at sea, but due to closed doors that information was not revealed.

About a week later it was decided to release this information partly to end any discussions of searching for her, and what could have happened.

So he might initially (when he was pulled from the boat) have given one story, but - as far as I know - he has maintained the now-revealed version of events from the very first day in court - that is last Saturday.

http://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/retskorrespondent-peter-madsens-forklaring-skal-afmystificere-ubaadssagen (second to last section of this article)

Europe's 'one patent court to rule them all' vision may be destroyed by EPO shenanigans

For the love of...

Why can't these people just fucking work in the way they're meant to (or in the way we're told that they're meant to).

Google hit with record antitrust fine of €2.4bn by Europe

The aftermath will be interesting

In my eyes, it's nice to see the EU show some guts or - proverbial I guess - balls. Good job Vestager.

Backdoor backlash: European Parliament wants better privacy

Re: Excellent

"The only impact of anti-gun laws is to encourage bad people into using unbreakable private end to end gun"

I don't get it.

You're all too skeptical of super-duper self-driving cars, apparently

Re: I'm in charge of me

Insurance?

Surely the makers of the automatic cars will be the ones who need to insure them?

You insure your car in the event you break it. If [CAR COMPANY AI] is the one driving it, surely [CAR COMPANY] should be liable if the driver wrecks it?

You might have to have a passive insurance for such things as doors in parking lots, weather events, keying etc. - but accidents while driving must surely be the responsibility of the driver - that is [CAR COMPANY]?!

Google can't spare 113 seconds of revenue to compile data on its gender pay gap

Re: S to the izz-J to the doppelt-V

Presumably whether employees are being discriminated against (in terms of pay) on a basis of gender is what the US Dept. of Labor is trying to find out - no?

Google DeepMind's use of 1.6m Brits' medical records to test app was 'legally inappropriate'

Re: Ha!

Well maybe it wasn't combined with Google products, but Alphabet products?

If something like that happened, however, it was obviously a rogue engineer behind it!

You have the right to be informed: Write to UK.gov, save El Reg

Solution seems clear

Make it so the loser has to pay his own lawyers plus pay the winner the same - or up to the actual cost of their lawyers.

So I've spent £25,000 on my lawyers - you've spent £50,000. No matter who wins the loser pays the winner £25,000.

I'm sure there are twists to work out, but that seems like it could provide a fair enough system, if implemented well.

NFL is No Fondleslab League: Top coach says he'd rather use pen and paper than Surface tab

I wonder if he'll be fined

League players have been fined for wearing the wrong headphones and similar, so I reckon it's possible.

Sex ban IT man loses appeal – but judge labels order 'unpoliceable'

Forgive me for being a bit out of the loop...

But why exactly is his access to technology being place under scrutiny?

Did he meet the person, whom the police couldn't convince a jury that he had raped, online?

EU says dominant Google ILLEGALLY FIDDLES search results

Re: "Convince us you ain't"

Except that's not what actually said.

What was said was: We believe this is the way things are. We will investigate, and should it turn out, that we are right - we will take action. Should you have relevant information regarding our investigation (and if you're Google you'll likely wish to provide information to disprove the initial belief), then you now have the chance to prove that we're wrong.

Watch it: It's watching you as you watch it (Your Samsung TV is)

Re: "...some voice commands may be transmitted..

Let's be fair. Riker would need to provide a command override to the privacy settings. Once his envy became apparent, and his knowledge was found to be too great, Picard would check the system and BAM: "Ensign Riker reporting for duty"

Further of course, the vessels of Star Fleet will be command vessels, and authorized personnel will need the ability to - within very strict privacy and command override protocols - to access information if it is deemed necessary for the safety of the people aboard and the integrity of the mission.