Posts by ma1010

Submarine builder admits dismembering journalist's body

Re: Not very clever

Remind me not to take a sea voyage with you...

Seconded! I'd just as soon go on a boat ride with Tony Soprano.

Wow

This guy has more stories than the Arabian Nights.

Paris, because she's the only one who might believe anything this clown says.

Go on IBMers, tell us what you really think

In the words of the PFY...

"Is CRAP on the list?"

UK.gov: Use police body cams to grill suspects at scene of crime

This strikes me as a bad idea in some cases

This might work fine in less serious cases and could be quite useful. However, for more serious crimes, suspects and reluctant witnesses should be interviewed at the police station partly because they'll probably get a better recording (without, e.g. a big truck/lorry going by).

There are also psychological reasons: criminals and reluctant witnesses are less likely to speak when they are on their "home turf," where they are more comfortable. If the crime is a serious/violent one, being taken to a police station for an interview underlines the seriousness of the matter to the suspect or witness.

If you say it loud enough, Uber will sound atrocious: Super Cali juristic discrimination process

Uber did something sexist and illegal?

So, business as usual, then?

Paris, because Uber doesn't seem to have a clue, either.

Drones thrown a bone: Americans can ask nicely to go where FAA says they can't roam

Speeding up approvals?

Who knows? Maybe someday they may even approve LOHAN.

Rob Scoble's lawyer told him to STFU about sex pest claims. He didn't

Some people really are totaly oblivious

This guy's "defense" sort of reminds me of some Nazis after WW II. When Goering turned himself in to the Allies, he actually seemed to think that he was going to be offered some position in a German post-war government. Instead, he was arrested and treated as the criminal he was.

This guy has the same sort of attitude; "I wasn't harassing her; I just wrote down and sent her all my sexual fantasies," etc.

Rarely have I seen anyone in more need of a clue.

Even more warship cuts floated for the Royal Navy

Look at the bright side

The UK's energy problems are solved! Just go down to St. Paul's and locate Lord Admiral Nelson's tomb and hook up a generator because I'm sure he's spinning quite rapidly. In addition, Churchill and many others are also potential power sources.

Knock, knock? Oh, no one there? No problem, Amazon will let itself in via your IoT smart lock

NO, thank you

That is all.

'Screaming' man fined $149 for singing 'Everybody Dance Now'

Re: Not only for fatalities

I work at a court in California. Generally speaking, citations issued to those not operating a motor vehicle, but walking, bicycling, skating and such are not reportable to the Department of Motor Vehicles and do not put points on one's driver's license. That said, there are non-driving offenses that can suspend one's license, such as a minor (under 21) in possession of alcoholic beverage, not paying court-ordered child support or not paying a judgment resulting from a motor vehicle accident.

Your data will get hacked anyway so you might as well give up protecting it

Re: Technically, Jesus.

Easter comes from "Ishtar," an Assyrian goddess of love and fertility (think Venus), which is why it is associated with fertility symbols like eggs and rabbits.

Re: You'll be revived on mars, or worse...

Larry Niven wrote a short story called "Rammer" and then turned it into a novel called "A World Out Of Time."

Both worth reading, IMHO. The State had confiscated all the wealth of "corpsicles," and when revived, they were put to work doing jobs that required "expendable assets." He also pointed out that their cells had been destroyed by freezing, so they actually extracted the memory RNA and put it into the body of a criminal who had been mind-wiped. And if the newly (well, "revived" isn't exactly the word - "reincarnated"?) don't pass their tests, they just wipe the mind again and start over with another candidate.

Lucky Canada. Google chooses Toronto as site of posthuman urban lab

Oh, more than that!

...and 200 channels of reality TV for entertainment.

The reality TV will be much more than a mere 200 channels and quite easy to supply as it will be live video and audio of all the doings in others' apartments (and they get to see you, of course). And government will certainly endorse it. After all, this is the surveillance state on steroids Google's grand and glorious vision of the future.

Who needs telescreens to keep an eye on the plebs when you have Google's sensors?

You can't find tech staff – wah, wah, wah. Start with your ridiculous job spec

Re: The Missing Elephant

Have an upvote! Some fellows are lucky enough to avoid this, but many of us ARE victims of ageism, including myself.

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

Re: Credentials

I know what you mean by "driven by marketing wonks and politicians" but what if we take it literally and actually issue the first self-driving cars to those folks?

We could give them special patches to seek out hovercraft ramps or cliffs; probably be cheaper than building and launching "B" Ark, with the same happy outcome.

What the fdisk? Storage Spaces Direct just vanished from Windows Server in version 1709

You're expecting sense?

This is Microsoft, which is warping out for the Twilight Zone, faster and faster all the time.

Please understand that I was a Windows and MS evangelist all through the 90's and early 2000's. Then we all saw the totally insane and schizophrenic MS phone "strategy." Then there was Vista, then the Win 8 and Win X debacles. I switched to Linux, starting from ground zero knowledge of it, but I just had to do that, or give up using computers.

Now it's time for popcorn as I watch the slow-motion train wreck, although it's rather sad. Sometimes I wonder what Bill Gates thinks of MS's current directions.

NYC cops say they can't reveal figures on cash seized from people – the database is too shoddy

Contempt of court?

Obvious bullshit!

The judge should tell the police that if they don't produce the documents, the police chief will go to jail until they DO produce the documents. Send in the New York State Police (or National Guard) if necessary to make the arrest.

Even our Congress here is taking bipartisan action to somewhat reign in this runaway asset seizure crap. IMHO no assets should be seized unless a felony arrest is made, and any seized assets should be returned unless there is a conviction related to those assets. Some folks here refer to the Russian or Ukrainian governments as kleptocracies, but until we fix this problem in our own house, that accusation rings a bit hollow.

Now German companies are beating the drum over poor patent quality

They want it to be like the US one?

In that case, they can probably get by with one clerk who just stamps "APPROVED" on every application. "Grant all applications. Let 'em fight it out in court" is pretty much the motto of USPTO. I'm expecting them to hire Battistelli at USPTO, unless he takes a job with ICANN.

OnePlus privacy shock: So, the cool Chinese smartphones slurp an alarming amount of data

So add another intelligence agency to the list syping on us

Whatever the ROC calls their electronic spies - in addition to the NSA, GCHQ, FSB, DGSE, etc.

Dumb bug of the week: Outlook staples your encrypted emails to, er, plaintext copies when sending messages

Well, of COURSE!

This is the new Five Eyes-mandated encryption system. Get used to it. You know, 'cause terrorists.

'There has never been a right to absolute privacy' – US Deputy AG slams 'warrant-proof' crypto

There are ways around encryption without magic back doors

Obligatory XKCD here.

How many times can Microsoft kill Mobile?

Re: Microsoft is trying very hard to kill itself.

@Chemical Bob

Well, they could try animal husbandry, I suppose. But, like the BOFH's boss, I doubt they'll get very far beyond the wedding night.

Microsoft silently fixes security holes in Windows 10 – dumps Win 7, 8 out in the cold

It's best to avoid Windows entirely

if you can do that. Unfortunately, many folks are locked into "windows-only" software for some things, including me.

I use Linux when online and keep my Windows stuff offline as much as possible.

Li-quid hot mag-ma: There's a Martian meteorite in your backyard. How'd it get there?

Please tell me that

...depleted shergottites...

has nothing to do with shaggoths! If so, early Mars might have been a very scary place.

Dildon'ts of Bluetooth: Pen test boffins sniff out Berlin's smart butt plugs

True story

"Having an adult toy unexpectedly start vibrating could cause a great deal of embarrassment in some situations."

Definitely true as I know one of the cops who was there.

A couple came home and heard thumping noises coming from inside their apartment where nobody should be. Wisely, they called the sheriff's department and reported an apparent burglary in progress. Deputies arrived and checked the apartment out, looking for a possible burglar. They located the source of the sound which was coming from a bedroom drawer containing a large dildo running on full vibrate.

One of the cops pointed out the source of the noise to the residents and told them "We found your burglar. We turned him off."

US yanks staff from Cuban embassy over sonic death ray fears

Re: This is what it is

@Mahhn

That's the first time I've read any plausible explanation of this phenomenon. It's horrible. It seems obvious to me that this is something that should be banned internationally, rather than, as the author of the article seems to suggest, used in shopping malls to beam advertisements into people's heads. (I hope the author was just taking the piss on that, but I wouldn't bet on it.)

False flag event? I hope not, but can't rule it out. So much of the time nowadays it seems like the US government is slipping back into the 1950's when they could do just about anything they could imagine and get away with it. Back then it was "'cause Russians" and now it's "'cause terrorism." Hopefully there's something that's going to stop them as happened back in the 1960's and 70's.

30 strong fingers but still no happy ending for robotic back rub

Sounds about right

"...untick if you don't not want your map data not to be not unused"

I've seen language similar to this on ballot measures in California. Probably the same lawyer writes those T&Cs.

Carrying this idea out, I get a bad movie plot idea: The secret robotic overlords take over the law profession and remake society in a way that makes all humans want to kill themselves to escape. When you think about it, it's at least a little bit plausible. Reading the news, there are times I suspect they are already at work.

FCC commish cites infamous porn ruling to slam shady US mobile competition report

And the beat goes on

"...overly friendly relationship between the federal regulator and the companies it is supposed to oversee and moved it to a new level."

Got the K-Y, Ajit? Oh, wait, it's not Ajit who's getting the shaft -- it's the American consumer. So, business as usual, then. Carry on.

NBD: Adobe just dumped its private PGP key on the internet

Really nothing new

Change the name to A-d'oh!-be

They wrote Flash years ago, didn't they? I rest my case...

GNOME Foundation backs 'freedom-oriented' smartphone

Re: We don't need more hardware!

*COUGH*CayanogenMod*COUGH*

Black screen of death after Win10 update? Microsoft blames HP

Obscure registry keys

Reminds me of this.

Signs of ground ice found on ancient protoplanet asteroid Vesta

I prefer my ice in cubes

and I've heard of crushed ice, but I suppose you could grid it up, too. But I doubt it's for mojitos; surely the ice is for making ginnantonix. Different species, different preferences, I suppose. Make mine a double, please!

Credit reference agencies faulted for poor patching

If Experian failed to patch...

...then I hope they get their hind legs sued off. I'm one of the poor buggers whose info is now public domain thanks to them. What kind of security people do these idiots have working for them? I heard that they hired a security firm AFTER they were penetrated. WTF?

You folks in the EU are lucky with the new data protection laws coming over there. If we had those laws here, and they were in effect now, Experian would likely be going bankrupt, as it deserves if it was penetrated due to a known, but unpatched vulnerability.

Chill out about net neutrality, says FCC head, because mobile phones are great

"...it's just part of a comprehensive strategy ... for expanding next-generation networks. keeping the current oligopolies firmly in control and not endangering their profit margins, regardless of the terrible cost to the country and consumers."

There, FTFY, Ajit.

This article has been deleted

And in other news...

Drug-related murders continue, police baffled.

But they were working this more important, high-profile case!

FCC taps the brakes on fudging US broadband speed amid senator fury

Don't worry, it won't matter

Comment all you like, but Pai won't do anything to upset his masters at Comcast, Time Warner or AT&T.

New threshold for "broadband" = 600 baud down, 200 up.

Once Pai gets that into effect, America will instantly have 100% broadband coverage! All thanks to the forward-looking FCC! (While in reality, the American oligopolies he whores for charge premium rates and provide service that would make many third world countries blush.)

Twitter is just randomly deleting people's lists – and no one knows why

Welcome to the Cloud...

Yes, indeed, have information critically important to you (thousands of hours worth of work would sound a bit critical to me) stored out "in the cloud" where you have NO control of any of that data. Nor, apparently, a local copy of that data.

Reminds me of that old saw about all the eggs in one basket.

I'm sorry for those who lost data, but really, what can you expect to happen to your data when you have NO control over it and access to it can be denied or the data deleted at any time by some third party you have no control over? If your data is not backed up in at least two places, and at least one of them is under your physical control (and anything not under physical control is under enforceable, legal contract), it's not backed up. Expect the worst, because it's not a matter of if, but when it happens.

It's official: Users navigate flat UI designs 22 per cent slower

It's everywhere, but sometimes you can fix it

The rot has even gotten to LibreOffice which installs by default its "human" interface with fugly flat monochrome icons. Doesn't look to me like it was designed for humans.

First thing I do when installing it is download the "galaxy" interface and switch to it - color 3D icons that actually have some resemblance to what they do. But it IS a matter of taste, so YMMV.

Deputy AG Rosenstein calls for law to require encryption backdoors

And in other news...

A new bill was just introduced into Congress to repeal the law of gravity. "After all," stated a congressional spokesperson, "it's a LAW, so Congress has the power to repeal it, at least in the U.S. With gravity under our control, it will be much more economical to explore space since the rockets won't need as much fuel to take off. We're also looking into making both pi and e equal to 3.0 to simplify mathematics for our children and bring up STEM scores."

Uber sued by Uber for tarnishing the good name of Uber

Maybe just change your name?

Poor Uber Operations. It's like having the name "Adolf Hitler" in the 1930s. Not good.

Now, just because you have the same name doesn't mean you're the same wanker or anything like them, but it's human nature to associate things like that. Sounds like Uber Operations needs a name change. Maybe the boys at "the evil Uber" can foot the bill for it?

Paris because the situation can be confusing.

Some positive news: LG, Hitachi, NEC charged $65m in li-ion battery price fixing shocker

Oh, yes

"The Settlements alleviate certain risks inherent in litigation, while also providing cash to the Settlement Class, valuable cooperation to Class Counsel as they continue to pursue claims against the other Defendants, and the potential for Class Counsel to recoup certain out-of-pocket expenses incurred so far in this litigation.

As well as make Class Counsel a large pile of swag without having to do any more work for it, while the class members each get a check for 67 cents.

What's the percentage of this settlement that's going to Class Counsel, I wonder, vs. how much for those out-of-pocket expenses?

But at least it punishes the crooks a little bit. Too bad they can't throw the managers who approved the scheme into jail where they belong. But it's business as usual: steal $10 and get jail time; steal millions and get promoted.

Kiwi prankster 'oinks' down cops' radio and sings Old MacDonald

They should mobilize their amateur radio people

We've had these kind of prats (and other interference problems) in the U.S., and hams have been asked to come out and "foxhunt" the source of the problem. They're generally pretty successful at it, too.

Blocking emergency frequencies can endanger people, and there's no reason or excuse for this sort of thing.

VW engineer sent to the clink for three years for emissions-busting code

Re: Did He Have An Option ???

When your employer asks you to break the law, you refuse and you try to find a new job before the investigators show up.

Absolutely! And also dob them off to the authorities. When you are doing something you KNOW is illegal (designing a device to defeat federal-mandated testing is pretty obviously illegal, I'd say, NOT a hell of a lot of gray area there), you need to not only not do the crime, but also report it if you know they are going ahead and doing it anyway.

The general principle is this: when a crime is committed that you had knowledge of, the cops will generally classify you as either a witness or a co-defendant. Witnesses don't go to jail. If you go to the cops before they come to you, it helps your credibility and goes a long way to making you a witness.

Better to be looking for a new job than to go to prison, I'd say.

San Franciscans unite to smite alt-right with minefield of doggy shite

Yes, alt-right are idiots, but...

But all they're doing is having their little get-togethers. Or posting crap on the Internet. Anyone who disagrees with them has the right to protest their views PEACEFULLY, but why is it necessary to start flinging (or depositing) excrement and acting like a bunch of childish wankers? It would be more dignified to just stand around with anti-nazi signs or, at most, chant or sing. Escalating to your own hate speech and poo-flinging and other such behavior just makes you look like wankers and helps validate their own feelings more. Even if they're spouting total bollocks, THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK, just like everyone else has the right to speak. To do anything to abridge their right to speak is to act much like the real Nazis did with their SA thug tactics.

Disagree with them? Fine

Protest PEACEFULLY against them? Fine

Throwing stuff or "mining" their meeting place? NOT Fine!

You object to the alt-right because you consider their views to be anathema to beliefs held by civilization. SO ACT CIVILIZED YOURSELVES!

How far do you think Dr. Martin Luther King would have gotten with the sort of childish tactics the protesters are using nowadays? The leaders of the Civil Rights Movement practiced NON-violence and dignity, and they WON.

British broadband is confusing and speeds are crap, says survey

And..

British and American broadband is confusing and speeds are crap

FTFY

It's not just the Brits who have this sort of problem. In both countries, the "broadband" providers give us promises that are as trustworthy as a politician's. At the same time, the politicians are in their pockets (especially in America, where I live) so do nothing to discommode them in any way like demand that they stop lying, charge reasonable rates, etc. Their service terms are a "confusopoly" (to use Scott Adams' term), an oligopoly that uses intentionally confusing language to obfuscate how they are going to rip you off once you sign up, charging premium rates for service that would be unacceptable in many third world countries. Here in America, our government's next move will likely be to guarantee 100% broadband access to the masses by the simple method of redefining "broadband" to be at least 8 bits per second down and 1 up.

Welcome to the first world with its cutting-edge telecomms infrastructure.

Spotify cleared of exposing kids to self-love innuendo in TV spot

Re: Parenting

As Alexander Pope said of young ladies, "They blush because they understand."

If the kids understand, then no harm done, as far as I can see. If they don't understand, then what harm was done? Either way...

Hate it when your apartment block is locked to Comcast etc? Small ISPs fight back

Ha Ha Ha Ha

And they think that slut of the big telecom providers, Ajit Pai, would do ANYTHING not approved by the likes of Comcast, etc? Talk about spitting into the wind...

Don't get me wrong: I think this is a GREAT idea. But as long as Pai occupies the FCC, it has as much chance of adoption as we do of seeing a stripper headlining at a Baptist preachers' convention.

Banking trojan-slingers slip past Google Play's malware defences

Re: Why ?

Well, for one thing, mobile deposits. It's nice to be able to deposit a check without physically going to the bank, and there's no way for me to do that on a PC with my bank - only the mobile app does that.

That's about all I ever do with it, but it also can show me my balance or help me find a nearby branch, etc. when I'm not home. I do all my bill paying on my (Linux) PC, but mobile is sometimes an advantage.

As for unpatched OS, whose fault is that? It's all about planned obsolescence, and most manufacturers (I'm looking at YOU, HTC) don't patch anything past 1 year. Google surprised me by supporting their hardware for a whole 2 years. Never happen, but there should be a law that they have to issue patches for everything for at least 10 years, IMHO.

Cognitive Services, Clippy? AI's silent infiltration of Microsoft's Office stack

No, actually..

It's going to be called "Genuine People Personalities."

FTC wants AT&T to kick in $4bn to help balance US budget. Why? Some dodgy ads or something

Good for the FTC!

Not only DirecTV, but AT&T. I commented earlier here about an ad mailed to me from AT&T that I would call deceptive. It told me I could get fiber Internet for only $50 a month. But the "small print" (which was quite small) referenced "other required services" which were not named. Nor priced. So here's an ad telling me I can have fast Internet for $50, but it is, at best, misleading as there are going to be other hidden costs.

Why not just be HONEST and tell me (and any other potential customer) how much your service will cost me each month? Why all the smoke and mirrors? I was somewhat interested in the service, but the ad was so dodgy (not to mention how dodgy AT&T is as a corporation) that I binned it.

Why do these corporations think it's a good idea to lie to people and try to lock them into confusing, tricky contracts so they can shaft them? This is good customer relations?