Posts by Spud2go

NZ erupts over Dotcom corruption accusations

"NZ ERUPTS OVER DOTCOM CORRUPTION ACCUSATIONS"

Actually, No - It's merely another national media feeding frenzy that adds little value to your average New Zealanders daily life - move on.

Facebook IPO: The date is set, Zuckerberg casts the dice at last

Alternative spelling of "Bubble"

P - O - P.

If my fund managers screw up over this, can I sell their kidneys to recover some of my retirement investments?

Zuckerberg: Now share your organs with Facebook friends

Re: Can we have your liver, then?

Ah, yes - Monty Python's "The meaning of Life"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aclS1pGHp8o

WARNING! Not for the faint hearted

Wind farms create local warming

Think I have a solution to all of this

Gather all the climate-change botherers in all their denominations (be it scientist, activist, politician or general loud-mouth) together, seal them all in giant barges constructed from all those over subsidized solar panels & driven by all those over subsidized windmills, steer them to the deepest abyss of the Mariana Trench & sink them all so that myself & all the multi millions of other averagely bright, averagely paid, hardworking, generally tolerant folk on this planet can get on with having a life minus the parasitic affliction that this self appointed minority has foisted upon the global population. Climate has always changed, will always change & will change forever more & there is not one damn thing humanity can do to alter that irrepressible & uncontrollable force of Nature. Earth has been cycling through climactic variations for millennia & has generated extremes the likes of which we could scarcely imagine & will continue to do so without regard to human perceptions or affectations.

I'm being presumptuous in saying this, but i'm pretty sure I speak for a lot of people when I say I'm simply tired of all the bollocks around the entire climate charade, so for all the climate charlatans out there, get your thieving hands out of my pockets, STFU & go home.

OK, rant over. Sensitives, do what you will.

Steve Jobs' death clears way for Broadway star to play Woz

"But we STILL don't know who'll play Ballmer"

My pick - Bob Hoskins

Facebook wonk among 'digital' advisers to Cabinet Office

Strategic

Nothing like having an inside man.

China's rare earth policy backs Apple into a corner

"- cutting back on the mining of rare minerals apparently due to environmental reasons."

My bollocks - since when has China considered the environment in any of it's industrial and/or idealogical endeavors? If the figure of 97% is accurate, then it's simply about control - in the global market, the tech world and international politicking.

Four CEOs better than one as Huawei profits slump

Could it be as simple as international paranoia?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/25/huawei_nbn_ban/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/27/symantec_huawei_china_spying/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/01/05/us_lawmakers_call_for_huawei_probe/

I sense trust issues.

Gore, Bush, and Berners-Lee rock into 'net Hall of Fame

Please not Gore

If the man's head gets any more over-inflated it could get messy!

Arctic Ocean may be releasing its methane

"Arctic Ocean may be releasing its methane"

Whale farts?

Apple sued for every touchscreen device by Flatworld prof

The only thing I learn from this..

.. and all the other infringement cases before it is that the patent process/business itself is "patently" broken. While Flatworld may have a case, for me this comes across as yet another litigious money-grab which, as time progresses, seems to be what patent law is turning around to.

VC Horowitz: 'Why we only made $78m on $1bn Instagram sale'

Where do they get these numbers from?

Seriously - $1bn for Instagram, $8.5bn for Skype - these are obscenely huge amounts, even as strategic buyouts.Are these authentic investments or is this simply shareholders & directors finding new ways to line their pockets? I'm genuinely curious.

Google Street View comes to Israel

Lets hope Google behaves this time.

I hope, for the sake of the Streetview contractors, Google doesn't pull the same 'slurp & spin" nonsense of the past. The last thing any of them would want is Mossad on their back.

Megaupload case near collapse: report

Worst intentions?

I'm beginning to wonder if reaching a court hearing was the original intention of this case - or if, in fact, it's to leave Kim Dotcom et al dangling in legal limbo & controversy long enough to wreck the Megaupload business entity & "send a message" to similar online services. The US Gov. & the FBI give the appearance of being bothered less & less about international law & protocol these days, and the scent of corporate collusion is not unnoticeable. And if it comes back to bite them, I'm pretty certain it will be expertly handled by their spinmeisters. Regardless of Megaupload's legal bearing in this case, there are ways to mount & pursue a lawful challenge. For me at least, the way this was done looks more like simple bully boy standover tactics.

Just my 2 bob's worth.

Metallic Glass iPhone 5 to battle pottery Samsung Galaxy S3

No carbon fibre?

I'm not up on mobile tech, but there must be room for a composite case, if there isn't already one in existence, for all the Ferrari, Pagani, Bugatti et al.exotics drivers - matching accessories & all that.

Apple claims Aussie 3G is so good it's 4G

Re: Marketing must love this

I know, but it still happens.

Marketing must love this

So much easier to bullshit the masses when your product is as invisible & intangible as a frequency spectrum.

I especially love it when they use the phrase "..downoad speeds of UP TO xxx mb/s..." - bearing in mind that 'UP TO' does include the number 0.

'Attitudes to robot sex will change'

Another way for technology to fuck with you.

Yes friends, a hi-tech solution for premature ejaculation - coming soon!

Facebook defends support for CISPA monitoring bill

Facebook will follow the money

Considering the fact that they're close to IPO, they will want to make the right noises to potential new clients. One of the immediate issues for an account holder I can see is how much of an individuals on-line activity they are harvesting & who they might sell it to. If, as this article suggests, the bill in its current form is 'vague" in its wording & intent and moves forward as such, the possibilities (& potential revenues) for Facebook are endless.

Personally, I cancelled & blocked Facebook a long time ago - don't like being regarded as a product.

Just my 2 bob's worth.

Publishers fork out $52m in Apple ebook pricing settlement

Right or wrong,

for Apple , this will simply be a cost of doing business. I'm sure, legally & financially, contingencies have been made for scenarios such as this, budgets & resources apportioned, risks assessed and procedures planned. Whichever way this goes, Apple will be able to afford it & simply move on to the next thing. It's corporate business today, like it or not.

Amount of ice in Bering Sea reaches all-time record

Re: Damn that unpredictable climate -

I stopped playing with models when I was 9.

Damn that unpredictable climate -

It's ruined all our nice predictions! How will we get money now?

Apple trails behind world+Microsoft in 'Flashback' malware debacle

To be expected, really.

The reality distortion field at Apple still working well, I see,

Too small to fail: Obama signs Nontrepreneurs Act

Setting up for the next financial crisis?

Or will this be the finishing touch to the current one? I get the feeling this one could be entering can o' worms territory.

US ecosystems basically unaffected by global warming, studies show

So, Nature can take care of Itself

Wow - who'd of thunk!?

'Unibody' iPhone 5 said to debut in October

"This new, sleek look will be the most important reason that consumers decide to upgrade."

If that's the projected incentive, I'm not interested. Form above function never made it in my books, especially in the case of disposable consumer tech.

Apple flooded with iPad 3 wireless connection complaints

Big letdown for some

..this kid, for example -

http://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/6708859/Teen-sells-kidney-for-gadgets

will likely be left wondering if it was really worth the sacrifice. :-(

MPAA boss: 'SOPA isn’t dead yet'

Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act

...and there's that f%#king word 'cyber' again!

30-year-old global temperature predictions close to spot-on

Curious to think...

..that the human animal seems to be the only specie hell bent on screwing itself into the ground over this contentious & self imposed issue, whilst all other existing flora & fauna on this planet will (if there is indeed a grain of genuine wisdom amongst the current paper-waving, panic-peddling & chest-beating) simply adapt.

For me, there's entirely too much money & politics in the whole climate change shooting match for anything sane or useful to arise out of it. In fact, I'm reminded of a line from a George Carlin routine many years ago - "...don't worry about the planet - the planet is fine ... the PEOPLE are fucked!"

Facebook logins easily slurped from iOS, Android kit

"Facebook was already aware of the problem and working on a fix"

So many times I have seen that line trotted out. Time to think up a new one, Faceplant.

Apple slapped with second Siri senility lawsuit

If people are getting angry...

..because their phone doesn't understand them - they need professional help.

Senators chime in on employers’ Facebook snooping

Who's asking?

More specifics please - which companies/corps are asking? I want to know who to avoid.

Facebook 'cloaking' flaw allows unexpected snooping

Cloaking?!

for some reason, I keep thinking of that song "Star Trekking"

"We come in peace, shoot to kill..."

On a more serious (& cynical) note, I have my reservations as to this being a programming/execution error, given Faceplants track record with privacy.

Writers' alliance throws the book at Apple 'piracy'

This is interesting...

..coming from a realm where the English phrase "copyright infringement" appears not to translate well into Mandarin.

Kim Dotcom seizures 'null and void'

Makes me wonder

after I read this article -

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/12/megaupload_government_users/

if there may be some backpedalling going on in the corridors of power? Feasible?

Apple to reveal plans on Monday for $97.6bn cash hoard

Apple and Philanthropy!?

"and maybe even – don't hold your breath – the establishment of an Apple Foundation philanthropic arm."

Now that would be genuinely good to see.

Apple Store staff outnumber queues as new iPad goes on sale

I wonder - would a sheep icon...

..be too provocative for El Reg to add to its existing selection? Could be useful!

Just a thought.

Enormous Apple market cap swells and swells ... like a bubble

Everyone knows...

..what bubbles are full of, & what happens to them when they get too big.

Just sayin'

Smartphone users sue Apple, Facebook over mobile app privacy

Is LinkedIn on that list?

Just curious, as I set up an account a while ago at the behest of a few professional friends. As I worked my way thru the registration process (torturous bloody interface that it is - messy & designed to confuse at first glance, to my eyes at least) my computers address book was hoovered up - friends, family - the lot, necessitating a manual cull of the uploaded info after I had finished. Now,obviously, I messed up somewhere in the process - However, after all was done, I was left with the feeling that somehow I had been mildly misled by a process & UI that seemed to me intentionally awkward & obfuscated. I have seldom use Linkedin after that.

(As an aside, every time I ask some with an account if they've garnered any genuine business out of it, so far they've all said "no".)

Greenland melt threshold lower than thought

Over it.

Thats all

Flying Spaghetti Monster's works spotted in space

Pastafari!

All praise to the Sauce that comes from Jar!

The Facebook test: Why social Big Data is important

Employing the right person...

...for the right job is a valid consideration, but this approach is just far too big brother for my liking. For the interests of both parties, nothing beats authentic facetime, IMHO.

Why I'd pay Apple more to give iPad factory workers a break

Why I'd pay Apple less...

Because, after everyone gets paid, their product is just as disposable as all the other consumer tech out there.

Bracing NOW for fanboi onslaught!!. ;-)

SpaceShipOne man, Nobel boffins: Don't panic on global warming

Meanwhile...

...those with the smarts are still making piles of cash out of this whole debacle.

Just an observation.

Tablet sales said to surge fivefold in five years

Thats it Kids...

Listen to the market researchers & KEEP BUYING STUFF!!!

Millions face Megaupload data deletion by Thursday

I'm puzzled...

If this is a LEGAL case, shouldn't they be retaining all the data as evidence?

Megaupload kingpin found in panic room when arrested, say cops

I'm not surprised...

...hence the header.

What's the surprise?

" (N.Z.) residency was granted under provisions that required him to invest more than $NZ10 million in New Zealand government bonds for a minimum of three years"

We are talking politics here - it's a universal malady, after all.

Congress puts PIPA and SOPA on back burner

Very interesting web site

http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/

Shows where your members of congress stand on SOPA/PIPA.

Hint: try the 'sort by; $media' function - sorts members via campaign contribution. Very interesting.

Facebook litters Timeline with apps

Hey guys, you know...

that facebook isn't compulsory.

BTW, & out of curiosity, where did the '800 million facebook users' figure originate from - facebook itself?

uh huh....