* Posts by Salamamba

29 publicly visible posts • joined 12 Aug 2011

Windows 10 Creators Update general rollout begins with a privacy dialogue

Salamamba
Coat

I will delay the update as long as possible, so that the anti-telemetry (such a nice way of saying spying) programs have a chance to catch up.

Mine's the machine with shutup10 and all the settings tweaked.

Carnegie-Mellon Uni emits 'don't be stupid' list for C++ developers

Salamamba

Re: Oh, goodie!

upvoted as I remember the FPU issues coincided with my conversion to AMD processors

It's happening! It's happening! W3C erects DRM as web standard

Salamamba

Cory

Funny that Cory and DRM turns up on El Reg just as I finish reading "Pirate Cinema".

Plans to force ISPs to filter content branded 'disproportionate'

Salamamba

They are happy to block non-child friendly content on the internet, but (in the UK) cable and satellite channels have fewer restrictions on content (ie 9pm watershed) than terrestrial channels - surely to 'think of the children' this must now also be amended.

Spammy Google Home spouts audio ads without warning – now throw yours in the trash

Salamamba

Re: Too gay for words

startpage for searching - it does a google search but strips out your identifiable data.

dmx isn't bad for email - german (so EU privacy laws appliy) & no need to register phone number as some do.

Firefox 52 kills plugins – except Flash – and runs up a red flag for HTTP

Salamamba

add flagfox - shows the flag of the country the server is located in. It's a simple method for quick risk analysis. Having this installed meant I immediately noticed when my bank started trying to get me to log-on on an American server rather than the expected British one.

That CIA exploit list in full: The good, the bad, and the very ugly

Salamamba

Re: Weeping ANgel

and "Bowtie" earlier in the story, so definite Matt Smith fans.

Germany, France lobby hard for terror-busting encryption backdoors – Europe seems to agree

Salamamba

If I remember correctly, it was also illegal to encrypt emails.

I was authorized to trash my employer's network, sysadmin tells court

Salamamba

inn this country the wording for criminal damage is "permanently deprive". as there were still existing on-site back-ups, which he would have known about, this could be classed as "non-permanent damage" which is less likely to count as a criminal matter.

How to build a starship - and why we should start thinking about it now

Salamamba
Gimp

Re: Hmm...

The rest of the population died from a telephone virus, as all the telephone sanitisers were in the B Ark.

Rupert Murdoch wants Google and chums to be g-men's backdoor men

Salamamba
Big Brother

Stats so far this year

Deaths in US by Police - courtesy of the Guardian, of all people. On my machine, the number killed appears to have got too high, and now appears over 2 lines.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/jun/01/the-counted-police-killings-us-database#

Companies need answer to Safe Harbour worries, says minister

Salamamba
Thumb Up

"There is an important principle here that companies must be able to transfer data to third-party countries with appropriate safeguards"

The Court obviously agreed.

America has no such safeguards.

Only a CNUT would hold back the waves of the sharing economy

Salamamba
Megaphone

Re: Uber is a scum

IfUber acts as a "radio rental service", theywould still only be able to rent radios to drivers with a Private Hire Drivers' Licence.

All vehicles used by the drivers woud also have to have passed an inspection at a licensed garage every 6 months.. In London new applicants must get a Topographical Skill Certificate.

This is not discriminating against Uber, it is Uber trying to ignore current regulations.

Is Windows 10 slurping too much data? No, says Microsoft. Nuh-uh. Nope

Salamamba
FAIL

Steam OS?

If I wanted an OS designed for data collection and DRM I'd just stick to windows.

Global warming stopped in 1998? No it didn't. If you say that, you're going to prison

Salamamba

Re: Objective my ARSE

Throughout the history ofscientific endevour,a theory only becomes fully accepted when the last major proponant of the opposing theory dies.

Sci-fi series withdrawal

Salamamba

Other series

Almost Human was good, but got cancelled after one series. Defiance is excellent,but has a stroppy teen - so contravenes OP requirements.

Continuum has been good,as has Dark Matter.

I've also just got my daughter to start watching Red Dwarf with me, so I'm happy.

As McAfee runs for US President – we ask a crucial question: Will Reg readers back him?

Salamamba

McA crashes USA

Considering that McAufee has crashed every computer I've ever installed it on*, I imagine he'd manage the same with the US economy.

So he'd be on par with the last few presidents then.

* mostly by accident.

Microsoft replaces Windows 10 patch update, isn't saying why

Salamamba

Easier way of avoiding Win 10

Having an Asus/ Ralink wireless card seems to work preventing win10 from installing on Win 7. Aparently it was an issue with upgrading from Win7 to Win8 as well

How much of one year's Californian energy use would wipe out the drought?

Salamamba

Re: Hogwash

Slight error in your calculation - all the water eventually returns to the ocean as well, so overall salinity will not be affected other than as a temporary fluctuation.

Virtual reality below the prehistoric waves: David Attenborough's First Life

Salamamba
FAIL

Why no under 13?

This is exactly the type of exhibit that my kids would love - except they're both under 13, and so can't see it next time we're up there.

Scot Nationalists' march on Westminster may be GOOD for UK IT

Salamamba

35% vs 50%

BBC stated 50% support for SNP from those who voted. On the approximately 70% turnout, this would be 35% of those eligible to vote.

The agony and ecstasy of SteamOS: WHERE ARE MY GAMES?

Salamamba

Re: I have 34 games

Terran Conflict is excellent, and the ability to build entire fleets means I'm still playing it (having bought it when it was released). I can't play any later verisons though, as I have a serious loathing of Steam.

I used to use Impulse (from Stardock) before that got sold, and had no problems, but I found steam buggy, I ave issues with the resources used by it, and the way it desperately wants to run whether games are being played or not; and the (still) ongoing problems with running games offline.

I'm obviously not the target demographic for this system.

Scottish independence debate: STV player flops under weight of viewers

Salamamba

Scottish Currency

When currency union occurred, the Scottish economy was in such a state that the exchange rate was 7 Scotish Pounds to 1 English Pound.

Out of academic interest, I wonder if an indenpendent Scotland with it's own currency would end upback at that level*

* until forced to accept Euro as part of the EU membership rules for applicants.

French snooping as deep as PRISM: Le Monde

Salamamba

Re: Different from PRISM

If I remember, use of encryption was, until recently, a criminal offence in france, and some of the statutes remain on the books.

En Garde! Villagers FIGHT OFF FRENCH INVASION MENACE

Salamamba
Unhappy

Signal Strength

French transmitters are always more powerful, TV as well as mobile.

The brtish transmitters keep strength down to prevent causing problems in France, French transmitters don't care.

Slightly bitter for having to pay a licence fee for years for crap reception.

Adobe demands 7,000 years a day from humankind

Salamamba
Big Brother

EA EULA

Found this doozy in an Electronic Arts EULA:

"When you play this game offline, EA and its affiliates may collect and store non-personally identifiable data including your Internet Protocol Address as well as game play and software usage statistics. If and when you access online features and/or services, this data may be transmitted to EA. EA may use this information to improve our products and services and may share anonymous aggregate data with third parties."

Not content with keeping track of everything you do online (I now refuse to play EA games online because of their intensive monitoring), but downloading a patch will provoke all your user info to be upoaded.

Reebok used 'very fit woman' in buttock-related deception

Salamamba
Thumb Up

Sketchers tried using similar claims in the UK, but had to withdraw them within a week.

Sid Meier's Civilization

Salamamba
Thumb Up

CivNet & CtP

noteable absent from comments so far: CivNet & Call to Power.

Civnet - we played multiple networked games on the Uni comps - with the first player to finish starting the countdown to next turn - giving a premium to the agility of a small empire.

CtP - great concepts, still more advanced than Civ5 in some ways, but let down by gameplay. I still look at it sometimes and think, if only...

Will the looters 'loose' their benefits?

Salamamba
Happy

Rehousing

If occupants lose their council or housing association accommodation due to criminal/ASB activity, then there is NO obligation to rehouse, they count as having made themselves intentionally homeless.