Posts by Dave

Hacked flight sim site in catastrophic crash and burn

A backup does exist

Only it's distrubuted amongst the community af AVSIM users. Though the structure of the HTML etc may be retained by places like Wayback, Archive.org and Google's cache, the actual binary files (arguably the most valuable part of the site?) will be sitting on the HDDs of the 60,000 members. After all, these files are valued and in some cases paid for. Can't the community pull together and reconstruct the binaries from the user's own HDDs?

GM, Segway to unveil iPhone-driven wheelchair e-car

Bicycle

Is cheaper, takes up less space, improves the health of the rider and doesn't need batteries.

Ah, but these gizmos are designed for people who don't like to exercise, aren't they?

Nokia to preinstall Skype on handsets

Not just for future or n97 handsets

Didn't the Nokia announcement say that other Nokia handsets would receive the Skype functionaity by way of a firmware update? That's got the potential to be even more of a thorn in the side of the mobile operators, now they have to deal with a stack of phones that were susbsidised when sold, but are now making calls with no financial benefit to them.

Ofcom's pilot starts seeing signs

Interesting story

Seriously, it was interesting, move along if you're expecting some smarty pants comment.

The IT Crowd goes west

I'm a fan of the show

Anyone remember Jen's contorted toes after trying to wear shoes too small? Or the part were Jen was supposed to be dead and her head appears to drift past the window?

Makes me laugh anyway.

Pure Highway in-car DAB radio

Achilles heal?

So I get that DAB is arguably better quality than traditional FM, at least compared with most car stereos anyway. So let me get this right, you have a gizmo to receive DAB transmissions in all there crisp (again, arguable) stereo goodness, but you then have to retransmit this high quality audio over standard FM to be interpreted by your car stereo's FM radio?

Surely this is flawed? Neat way of obtaining more stations I suppose, particularly special interest stuff but surely not a device to get the best that DAB is capable(ish) of.

Dave.

US government forces military secrets on Brit webmaster

Incompetence

This is on the same scale of incompetence that allowed 'hacker' Gary Mckinnon to gain access to US military systems. I used the term 'hacker' in inverted commas because what he actually did was log into systems with either default or blank (that's right - blank) passwords.

Technically, the owner of mildenhall.com is now in posession of information not intended for his consumption, I wonder if these emails carried the usual disclaimers telling the unintended recipient to discard the email if received?

Nah, don't be stupid ;-)

ET is involved here somewhere, or so Mr Mckinnon would have us believe.

Commuter jetpacks offered: $100k, August delivery

Maximum weight

"and can lift a person and baggage weighing up to 180lb total" = just under 13 Stones.

Have they just ruled out 99% of their target audience?

WiHD boys signal imminent arrival of 'wireless HDMI' tech

@Colin Jackson

I think the MSP of WiHD isn't replacing 'expensive' cables, but rather alliowing more freedom/flexibility in positioning your display equipment. By the way, HDMI cables can be easily bought for less than a fiver for a couple of metres or so (5GBP for our overseas readers). hardly unreasonably expensive, unless you can make them cheaper yourself ;-)

Dave.

Employee sacked for texting in sick

Sickline?

Eh? What's that then?

Why is the iPlayer a multi million pound disaster?

Too many platforms

When are we going to see a collaborative application to merge iPlayer, 4OD and others? One application (with all its faults) is bad enough!

Dave.

Microsoft-loving (former) security czar calls for closed internet

Keynote

I watched Richard Clarke deliver his (excellent thought slightly fanciful in my opinion) keynote at Blackhat a couple of months ago and it saddens me to see him now make a fool of himself in this way. He's definitely outside his area of expertise now.

Iraq fiasco creeps into NSA surveillance controversy

RE: I would hope...

"A friend of mine once tested this by repeating a bunch of keywords to another friend of his during a phone call. The next day he received a rather lengthy visit from MI5.

"

I'm calling bullsh1t on that one.

Dave.

German police raid home of man who operated Tor server

Thin end of the wedge

Perhaps the German authorities will see these tactics as an effective way of disabling TOR? Maybe their actions will be copied by other countries who see privacy as a threat?

Apple lobs $100 credit at iPhone buyers

Journalistic integrity

Where did it go? You used to be able to take a swipe at mega-corps with style, this guy 'Meths' or whatever his made-up name is, is amateurish.

You've got competition now, you know? Lighten up, please!

Cops seek 179mph net vid biker

@ A Boyer

"Since when did Britain use miles per hour?

-A befuddled American

"

Since before you did :)

Trade unions demand right to Facebook

breaks and lunch hours

" I see no reason why employees should be restricted from using certain networking sites during breaks and lunch hours."

Apart from the 'Security' word, of course. Depending on the particular industry you're in. Which seems to have completely escaped the TUC.

Spammers debut FDF spam

Intelligence

"Pretty much nil I would imagine as most if not all, internet users are pretty intelligent."

Haha, good one :-)

FaceTime exposes prospect contact info

Secure Computing readers' trust award

Isn't this the same outfit that won Secure Computing magazine's 'Readers' Trust' award?

Gotta love the irony :-0

US wants trucks mounted with frikkin' laser beams

Brasso

Are the Taliban going to be spending more of their free time polishing their ordnance with Brasso?

Dave.

DVD ripping to be rendered impossible?

Encourage piracy

At the moment, I purchase my DVDs from online stores, it's 2007 and in my opinion, DVDs are now very reasonably priced. I can typically pick up a fairly recent film for much less than £10, sometimes under a fiver.

As soon as the DVD arrives I rip it to my NAS storage (NSLU2 with USB drive attached) for later viewing, the original disk is stored safely away. I watch the content from one of several media servers around the house (Roku HD1500, hacked original XBOX, freecom MG35).

So if the DVD Copy Control Association get their way, I will have to go back to the old fashioned way of actually getting off my arse to insert a disk and change it again if I realise I'm not in the mood for Dumber and Dumber and would prefer BlackHawk Down instead (it happens).

But there's another way, I can stop buying disks altogether and obtain ready ripped versions from somewhere instead.

So, just what kind of behaviour is the DVD Copy Control Association trying to promote again?

Get a grip.

Dave.