Posts by Daniel Winstone

Paris Hilton - the compromised candidate

Room mates and yes I'd vote for Paris

What do you want in a President? An easy going, get on with it, here's what you want and here's what you want mentality, or a my way or the highway president?

I don't believe Paris is stupid. Far from it.

There is a difference between being stupid and having a very small amount of common sense for example:

My house mate - two degree' under his belt and a BSc degree as well. Lived in Spain before coming to England (I'm not going to specify the city) and had a conversation with my other house mate who told me he didn't understand why they couldn't just milk the bulls they had over there.

I suppose it's the difference between knowledge and wisdom. One more example, knowledge is knowing that tomatoes are classified as a fruit, but wisdom is not actually putting them on a fruit salad.

Anyway, Paris for President!!! And yes after watching the clip on the Messenger pop up page this is the first place I came to.

Thanks El Reg for being so regular. The Regular Register in fact. Where IT and Popularity merge in to one and it's only the fan bois that can tell the difference.

Reg April Fools '08

What if an ElReg'.....

Forgets he made up the story as an April Fools day joke??

Maybe it's happened but we'll never know as it could turn into a self fulfilling prophecy!!

Where's a Harry Potter Icon for those times when believing in Magic (and the power of Courage and Right) is easier than believing in technology, ISO and the Lester Hain's stories??

Sometimes it's best not to use an icon!

Official: OOXML approved as international standard

For the non-technical

aka - those who come here to read the BOFH stories.

What does a Standard require to become standard? Although reading the story and the comments, I'm not sure the ISO actually knows any more.

Wouldn't it be more fun if formats and Standards, were made to battle it out like the Betamax vs VHS and more recently the Blu-ray vs HD DVD (won surprisingly it seems by Blu-ray, I have a suspicion that the developers and makers were only interested in charging far far more for the hardware and then software than they would have got for the DVD equivalent).

So the crux of this message is. What is a standard. Could anyone create a standard no matter how theoretical, and erm, does copyright/licensing laws still apply to a file format that obtains the ISO "Standard" mark?

The icon, because now I truly know how little I know about software and hardware. Occasionally I value my ignorance, but on this matter I believe answers will help a great deal.

Reg April Fools 2007

Do you think technically competant people....

....reads anything on a website on the First of April??

I assume most take the morning off, and just to be on the safe side take the entire day off as a sickie.

Even if they have left surprisings in the style of the BOFH, it's usually a good idea to be far away or at least in communicado (a country in Spain I think) so why keep making up stuff for an arbitrary date on the calendar?

Naked old pilot executes unauthorised barrel roll

A trip to the local what?

Even if it's a pub it doesn't make any mention about the existence of a tab.

Three hours on, four days off sounds bloody great to me though. Do I need a journalism degree or just the ability to prune stories from the AP feed?

Blade Runner replicant checks into rehab

Alcoholism a disease??

First the quote

"Her PR firm announced yesterday: "Sean Young voluntarily admitted herself yesterday to a rehabilitation center for treatment related to alcoholism. It is understood that Young has struggled against the disease for many years." "

PR companies are paid by their client to type and write this puke, but really when has alcoholism been a disease? A Disease is a virus, as Ash said, it's not really contagious it's not airborne (further studies may be required, a grant for research would be nice) it certainly isn't DNA dependent. So it's a psychological issue of stimulant= feeling good - making an idiot of yourself in public/losing your driving license (cus you were that stupid) = losing your job, losing money, stealing to pay for cheap cans of stella and so on.

Can a poor person be an alcoholic? Can an actress whom not many people would know unless they saw blade runner and liked it and realized twenty years after the fact, realized who it was come be called a famous thespian enter a rehab without press attention?

As a fellow human being, I wish here well in overcoming her demons - if she believes she has any.

Me, I'm going to the pub. It being an evening. It being a day off. And of course there's darts as well.

Alcohol where the sun doesn't shine, and nanotubes darker than that

Luther Blissett vs AMFM

I think we have either uncovered the true name of our friendly alien, or there should be a grudge match between them both.

Game on I say.

Dell parks itself in PC superstores across Europe

Dell and PC World

I bought a Dell PC about three years ago. The support was alright I suppose the problem was fixed. Otherwise I've upgraded and added parts as and when I needed to, had to, or just wanted to.

PC World stores (sorry Adam Szostak) at least in the Bristol area are no more than warehouses with weird layouts and very few staff manning the aisles/departments. The last piece of hardware I purchased was a hard drive and not having fitted one before, I phoned up the independent store and got walked through the whole set there and then. No call center, no hassle.

It's not difficult to hire PC hobbyists (not qualified engineers or anything so expensive) that take a passing interest in computer hardware/software, gaming, connectivity and heck why not consoles and of course enjoy the role of customer service, and I'm sure a high percentage of your own staff are in that mould. However if you pay peanuts, you will find more monkeys.

Being able to buy Dell in a store however kind of defeats the "Taylor made for you" tag line that they sell themselves on, but waiting for 14 days or so to go back to the retail hell of the average UK Mall, isn't so nice at all. Maybe it would be better to order online and then pay and collect in store once the unit is ready and has been delivered to the store most convenient to the person - beats waiting at home for a delivery person that may or may not arrive.

Yes, I'm sure it will be a good deal for the high street stores and Dell, as long as the customer service levels at both ends of the chain are properly managed. That's all anyone really wants isn't it? A solution when a problem arises.

AMD to experts: Experts don't know jack

Quad Core Chips

Especially in a home PC, and to be blunt, even in an office environment. There's few applications that can harness the power of Dual Core, let alone quad core, so what is all the fuss about really?

In gaming terms their ownership with ATI will (alright, SHOULD) help to integrate the motherboard, pcu and graphics card letting it do the work it should be doing (I've always thought of graphics cards as floating point units that were under-utilized by the programmers.

But I'm not a technical type of person, so this all may be just bum smoke. My last two cards have been from ATI on an Intel based pc, however with many games reportedly being "better" (read: More stable) on the nVidea chipset it might be time for a change.

It does sound reasonably reasonable though right?

Wikipedia COO was convicted felon

They don't know anything

It all happened before the current management got there.

My goodness, such accountability within their own organization and it's supposed to be an unbiased (yeah right - read previous Reg reports) font of knowledge.

Can't wait to see the final audit, I wonder what Wiki needs to spend money on, and how their contributors feel about it.

EVE Online update kills Windows PCs

Learning Process

This can be seen as a learning experience both by CCP to non geeky Eve players. Some of them (pure mission runners) will be so crazed about this they will finally go back to WoW where they deserve to be, in all its PvE color.

Saying that though, if you don't know about the boot ini being deleted, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't tell you, how are you supposed to know, unless you play the game for several hours (it was released early) and hear about the possible fhubar.

Court date for challenge to 'new' patent rules

The Paperback novel and source code

The both have a beginning middle and an end, and the best books ( like code ) can run infinitely until the paper wears thin.

Surely code could be copyrighted under the same laws that govern books ( and I assume e-books ).

Programmers merely become authors, of a predetermined "story" that follows the rule set of the authors creation.

Maybe software isn't an invention, but it is someones design. A set of "chapters" that enable the user to carry out whatever it is the author wants the user to go through.

On a side note - Bill Gates for Horror Writer of The Last 40 Years?

UK gov advisor proposes 'licence to smoke'

Stop PRESS

People are gullible.

Not as gullible as people who are in Office though. Even the guy who presented it said it was unworkable.

Ladies and Gentleman it's just padding in a report that's needed to justify his huge stipend (sic!).

Seriously, don't take this seriously.

Paris Hilton heads for the cryogenic freezer

The only thing harsher

Than debugging a poorly documented language with no prior experience is the El Reg readers on the subject of one Miss P. Hilton.

Really you should all be ashamed of yourselves.

I bet she's more particular than the media makes her out to be.

She could offer the World so much more in the future than she can now, let's hope she's the last human being to be woken up otherwise they'll never do the procedure again. As an example of Humanity in the 21st Century, she accurately portrays societies lust in gossip, fame and vacuous beauty.

Perhaps if she does do something wonderful for the rest of her natural life (I mean this one) she'll be forgiven for past errors of judgement....

Nah - El Reg readers are too cruel to ever let that happen.

Brazil braces for TV soap-induced blackout

Amanfrommars making sense.

More and more of his comments I'm beginning to understand, I no longer have to read the post four times before I realise it's nonsense, now this one and a couple I read before are making sense on the first read.

Should I be worried?

Atleast I'm in the company of Paul and Richard. Get the beers in guys.

Chuck Norris to do battle in El Reg Arena of Death

12 rounds or the full 15?

I hate the chuck norris "gags" and even the one liners. He's a second rate actor at best, who was at one point quite good at pretending to be an action hero of sorts.

I doubt he has ever really hurt someone on purpose, in a pyshical way. Letting down all those fanbois must be a strain on his ego though.

Please the Shao-Lin monks have more class and depth of talent and character than Mr Norris.

Come on! The name sounds like a postie or milkman!!

MIT student walks into airport wearing circuit board and wires

She's an Idiot, and...

If she wanted to dress up in something arty next time, leave the electronics at home. Although even the shirt didn't look as weird as what she was wearing on her head, was it a hat, or a wig? Combine the two and yeah you call security in the hope that whatever is sitting on her head is contained and dealt with.

As for this happening in the States, that doesn't surprise me at all.

ElReg40™ seeks the world's worst web 2.0 ideas

You woke me up for this??

I said it before, until someone comes up with a fully functioning Holodeck, I'm still sleeping.

World of Warcraft smites den of orc and elf sexual delinquency

The online content may vary

When you go online, you have to work bloody hard to find a guild that can role play to a high degree. The above Guild(s) are taking the easy option in that they don't really need to take into account any historical or current geo-political storylines into account.

I just hope they realise they're having virtual sex with 30+ year old single guys (still living with their parents) who have to muffle themselves so their parents can't hear them from their basement apartment.

How does a flatsharing 31 year old stand? noise or muffler? Who knows?

Space watchers spot pulsar eating a star

25,000 years ago

Is what we're seeing today. It's a shame we can't really get closer to the event and relay the images in double...more than that even quick time.

I wonder if it's even there any more?

Great British fry-up under threat

Farming, Subsidies, Global Economy

The selfish part of me says, bugger for more expensive food - that's been flown in from half way around the world - it comes to something when the average potatoe or pork based product has travelled more air miles than the regular customers.

The other part of me insists that farming on a global scale will never work and is unsustainable. In the age of allotments (and there are still those around in the UK and not just featured on Eastenders) - most fruit/veg and herbs can be grown for personal use. If you could ever get planning permission to have a chicken or four that's your eggs and your sunday dinner sorted out.

But how bad will things have to be in order for people to return to living off the land? More importantly do we still have the skills (or the stomach) in which to do so?

Artist formerly known as The Artist Formerly Known As Prince attacks internet

More tat from artists

Chris wrote "....In this case, someone making a clock with Prince's picture on it shouldn't be sued unless Prince (himself or an authorized company) sells clocks with his picture on it. These infringers are simply filling a demand. If the rights-holder is not willing to fill this demand, then someone else should legally be allowed to."

That would just mean more tat on the shelves for the overhyped pop generation. It's bad enough seeing all the HP merchandise available, and lets face it - the collectibles are just expensive forms of dust collectors.

It's a good idea though, and I know what you're saying, but any unlicensed likeness should be a copyright infringement because it means an author/singer-band whoever that doesn't want to fill shelves with tat will have to - to protect their own image, should things with their name on start rolling out of sweat shops.

US outfit whips out mp3 vibrator

Not really portable as such

Sure for the (non- PC?) PC enthusiasts it's certainly a niche in the market though.

Now unfreeze me when they develop the fully interactive holodeck will yah, cus everything else before that is just mucking about.

Pinwheel galaxy boasts edgy star formation

It's a re-run!

Not really a re-run as such, but whatever we're seeing from Earth surely has already been and gone as such by the time the light arrives here?

I wonder if there is a way of truly knowing what the real time situation is at the M101 galaxy.

Why oh why do rock stars die young?

Paid for not in cash

but in kilos of pre-cut cocaine.

Not only do they perform on stage, but they hand packets around afterwards now eh?

Maybe if all the drugs were legallised overnight, you'd see Amy Whinehouse branded meth/cocaine/pot and whatever else.

If individuals can't say no - they are easily led and that's probably why they're on crap percentages and paying management plus agent fees.

Where does it all end? Don't you remember that group with the song waterfall or something like that, who were #1 in the US charts and certainly big in Europe as well, but they were declared bankrupt at the same time.

Texas Instruments stands out with 3D TV

Last invention of the Human Race

Will of course be something very like a Holodeck.

Programable and voice controlled. Interactive hologrames. Weapons and or sex toys.

I give the human race about a 30 day life expectancy after the technology has been sorted out and everyone gets one in their spare room.

Or main room of course.

On the upside - interior designers will be the first to go.

Thieves swipe biker's prosthetic hand

Title

As an inhabitant of Bristol I'd like to say I find the "HAND THEFT from AUTO" comment hill....very funny indeed.

That said though, does people need a constant reminder that they COULD be VICTIMS of crime despite the fact they haven't suffered from it personally for years or ever even?

Stupidity dictates that the guy left something removable on a BIKE!!!! of all things. I read this story in the local paper and I'm sure in todays paper (28th August 2007) that someone left their bikes in "plain view" while on the bath to bristol cycle track for no more than 20 minutes and never more than 20-30 feet away and returned to find one bike gone. Vanished. Probably global warming. Or aliens.

In the same paper it was reported on the front page that a guy had ten+ credit cards and bought pubs, lost money (cus he must be a crap manager/owner) and developed a drinking habit but doesn't really blame himself but the credit card companies, but acknowledges the fact that the debts are his responsibility but feels they shouldn't have allowed him so many cards with such high a limit. Duh! You're responsible for living within your means and yes taking a risk is valiant and hero like but only when it pays off. If one company goes under, maybe you might have better luck with the second, or even the third but after that you should accept the fact you don't know what a spreadsheet looks like or how to control your expenses and admit to yourself you like wearing nice clothes smoking cigars cus you own so much property you owe more than your minimum wage employees.

Please give me a break (or 100K pounds to see how I'd cope with being an owner/manager)

Deceased Malayan hit with $218 trillion mobile bill

And you thought BT was expensive

I'm just waiting for the ad campaign that says you can save trillions of dollars by using a different service and payment plan - no doubt via direct debit of course.

Of course being able to contact living and deceased relatives do come at a higher premium, especially as all those bead curtains and candles can be expensive.

I suppose this is what happens when you use a faulty non checked automated process.

Woman arrested for WoW love affair

Conspiracy to...

Kidnap is a crime if it can be proven that she was going to take him back to Australia. As he's a minor it makes little difference if he was going of his own free will, as the law is written at least.

Hopefully common sense will prevail and this won't even make it to court.

As for being a 31 university student and a WoW player I find the combination very hard to believe!!!

Tiscali TV reaches for Sky channels

Sky 1, 2 and 3 - NOT

As far as I can tell, Virgin TV nee Telewest never did have Sky 2 and 3.

I believe on a basic package with a monthly subscription but without movie or sports channels there's more choice with a Free view box these days.

Some people got several months half price, others didn't. Depends how you ask I suppose.

Yahoo!'s pink liberation army a threat to America's youth

This isn't an article

It's a blog entry. Nothing more nothing less. When did Reg! become a bloggers home in the guise of journalistic reports??

Haven't been around the site for too long but I still think it's not that long ago.

Rufus fights back

It's already Acceptable...

To politely end the call if a customer is getting personally rude and obusive.

That said, there's a difference between being rude and being a tad slow on the uptake.

When it comes down to company/legal limitations as to why you can't help that person I've found the best way is to let them blow off steam for a bit, and hope there's a few key words they use that could be used to get deeper into their issue.

Being too polite or too understanding can still come across as condescending so there's a line both ways that can be crossed by the unwary.

Harry Potter and the Pedant of CIX

Nostradamus?

Maybe the book is filled with so much and covers the entire gammut of sub-plots, twists and themes that it'll be like a short term version of predictions.

Thankfully the Potter faithful won't have to wait so long to truly find out, but for many it sure feels like an age.

The best way to write a book of predictions is to make sure everything occurs a very long time in the future when a) language will have changed its meaning and there-fore be able to be twisted to fit the occasion b) well out of the living memory time frame. Of course you may not get rich for such books, but it's nice to see your name in print sometimes.