Posts by Marcus Fil 175 publicly visible posts • joined 4 Jul 2007
so the iPhone 6s my company bought me to replace my personal iPhone 4s, that kept dying in the cold, will throttle back, but not die. This sounds like a good idea. However, could the company have saved money by knowing that buying me a battery replacement would have fixed the original problem? I think the answer is yes - so should Apple be refunding (part of) the difference? Let the courts decide.
uh, except that companies have rules about ageing out old data (emails etc.) to prevent future embarrassment in court excessive on-going storage costs.
Perhaps the answer is for companies to offer goverments an encrypted 'cc' of all traffic, but retain the relevant keys until they see the court order. That way the governments get the bill for working out how to store and retrieve an eye-watering daily deluge of corporate 'HR' messages, dull telecons, bad jokes, links to cat videos, etc.,etc, etc. and then match their 'intelligence' with the right source at the right time to ask, nicely and legally and very specifically, for the right key. Here, Mr Fed, have your monkey back ..and I wonder how long you'll keep it once you know how much it costs to feed and water.
I am with you on this. No signal. No drones. You could pipe in natural daylight using fibre optic bundles - with suitable wide area collectors and mixed feeds making the ability to flash messages in and out rather tricky. Of course, how long before some criminal syndicate funds the development of a remotely operated tunnelling machine?
If your enemy is dumb enough, e.g., to leave useful meta data on their uploads don't FFS tell him you have noticed. Or that you recognised the location that propaganda video was made by the unique rock formation in the back ground. STFU and get on with using such information to your advantage. Johnny clever is Johnny schtum - unless you a making a play to get your enemy to change to even more revealing procedures.
If the 'BabyPod' is to be properly endorsed the effects playing of clearer sounds to the soon-to-be must be further investigated. I am therefore looking for a Research Council UK grant and some volunteer nubile, fertile, female twins.
I propose that I get both women pregnant and then have one foetus subject to thrash metal, gangsta rap and the recorded rants of the current POTUS whilst the other is given a playlist of soft classics and the musings of Alan Bennett. The resultant off-spring are then to be subject to further, on-going study into their intelligence and social disposition until adulthood. In fact, given the need for statistical validity, and an unbiased control, best make that multiple nubile triplets.
Vodaphone does not value your skills and expertise - go work for one of its competitors. Introduction of policies such as this one are generally a sign the company is "cutting costs to expand margin" i.e. screwing over suppliers and employees to try to look good to its shareholders; probably it has tried everything else to remain competitive and is still struggling. There is the hint. [Just my humble opinion.]
Popular fallacies no.1 "Satellites don't work with clouds".
Not all surveillance satellites (non air breathing collection assets) are electro-optical in nature. With the right software used by clever people even those that are can still acquire useful intelligence in cloudy conditions. No further clues.
What you say is correct, but generally if a bee is harvesting pollen it is up close and personal with the flower -so differences in lighting twix bee and flower are unlikely. The whole idea of a separate ambient light sensor on cameras, and camera light meters, has been done - even to the extent of colour sensing. As you point out it only works if you assume the subject and the camera sensor are seeing more or less the same sources - so studio work only?
'Simple' AWB (which assumes the brightest tri-channel reading is white and adjusts accordingly) works well for most images. Colour constancy (based on Land's, and others', work is achieveable with more sophisticated algorithms and probably takes care of 99.9% of situations. Since everyone perceives colour slightly differently, irrespective of any colour 'blindness', the subtleties are probably only important to people working in product photography and textiles.
I do so, so wish politicians were forced to read "The Lost Honour of Keterina Blum" before being allowed anywhere near the terrorist issue. Outlaw everything and we all become outlaws - and once we are all outlaws we might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb. Government by tabloid is not the way to go.
"I think you're right on yet another election, but absent a revolution amongst the political parties to focus on robust, clear manifestos backed by policies that will deliver what electors (credibly) want, this could go on for some time."
This. Exactly this.
A 1922 Committee organiser was asked on television what caused the rout; he totally failed to see, or at least admit, that it was not just a few manifesto issues (mainly social care), but the whole, arrogant, gab bag of insane irrelevance (e.g. backdooring encryption, fox hunting, Grammar schools) coupled with the poor track record addressing the real issues (Trump, NHS, domestic terror, post BREXIT).
Now May is cosying up the UK's own religious fundamentalists to cling to the illusion of power. Maybe if the Tories had had to pay for the whole sorry debacle out of their own pockets, instead of ours, they would have applied more than 5 minutes of thought to the exercise.
Labour's manifesto may have been heavy on rainbows and unicorns, but it also resonated with the electorate for trying to address some real world issues (like why are Southern Rail executives still receiving an oxygen ration?). Maybe a few more rounds of fight are required for a victor to emerge with a real plan.
In the period immediately after World War II the British Special Forces and SOE were wound down - the thought of semi-autonomous units who played cricket by different rules did not sit well with "upper management". It was quickly realised that actually some of their skills may yet come in useful in a colder war and the Special Forces were re-establlshed. Likewise people in MI5 probably knew the enemy may change clothes and motives, but there will always be an enemy and they had the necessary skills to counter. What Stella articulated, perhaps badly, is that the incumbent government, constantly juggling an insufficient budget, will quite often make short-sighted savings to the long term detriment of our nation.
..astronauts are a sub-species bioengineered to withstand radiation, acceleraton and solitude, with reduced calorific intake and appropriate lifespan. The few, smarter, commanding and science officers occupy the better protected quarters leaving the more numerous drone operatives to take their chances.
"Maybe if more people were willing to engage directly rather than moaning about it to others who already agree with them, then just maybe we'd get politicians to say something slightly more sensible."
Not worked with many politicians have you? They are not all bad, but the good ones are few and far between. I suggest a test, let us all write to our local MPs on a subject we understand and see how many of the replies make sense and do not just reflect the pat party line. Don't get your hopes up.
Too much of the nation's infrastructure is vulnerable and in practice undefendable. You don't worry about the odd riot on a sink estate though God knows that puts the willys up the powers that aren't. You worry when the National Grid goes sideways at 2 am mid February and GPS and GSM are subject to hundreds of 10W jammers. Hell hath no fury like a middle class spurned - cause they knows how stuff works - or not.
You can demand that encryption is weak and record every damn phone call you like, but people who are smart enough to know they are likely surveilled are smart enough to route round it. How long did it take to find Osama? He may have been smarter than the average bear bullet, but how would he compare next to some of the nations' (sic) best gamekeepers turned poachers?
People who sneer at Snowden and label him a traitor are missing the point. The real traitors are those walling themselves in against being called on their own self-interest and public failures - and removing everyone's right to freedom and privacy in the process.
The stupid (you know who you are lady) taking bad advice from the power seekers and turning it into populist sound bites would do well better to STFU; instead listen to the much scourned real experts whilst they are still, actually, on the same side. God help all of us when there comes a time when they are not - it cannot end well so best not start it.
GPS is 'bad'. Could be terrorist action or space weather - difficult to tell at this time. Since a lot of the mobile network is using GPS to sync its clocks the network is progressively falling over and coverage is patchy with remaining cells becoming overloaded. You need to get to non-descript government office that you have never even heard off to help sort this mess - now, Black Cab or Uber? - your call.
For a cab driver reversionary skills must include the ability to speak the local language and read a paper A-Z. Trust technology to fail - have a backup plan.
On remand awaiting trial etc., innocent until proven guilty and convictions = 0. It just maybe harder than it looks because of how the data are structured, how disjoint and 'mandrolic' so much of the process still is, and the massive lack of IT skills in a body of people who signed up to catch wrong-doers and wear a natty black costume (call them 'costumes', because it so annoys people who wear uniforms, kit, livery, vestments etc.)
Of course we could demand that the system is improved so that the innocent do not get collectively lumped with the guilty, but that would cost money. Just wait for the 'Daily Fail' headlines about how money is being diverted from frontline policing to appease the demands of civil rights activists and anarchists.
Meanwhile, money is magically available for the latest 'Wunderkind' Home Office project to use AI to identify the farts of potential offernders or some such. If you don't like the status quo then write to your MP, local police and crime commisioner (*giggles*), BBC Watchdog or El Reg comments pages. Remember, for the moment at least (until your conviction for conspiracy to tell the truth), that you have a vote - FFS exercise it with some consideration; checking your prospective MP has at least half a brain and some semblance of moral compass might be a start.
Juptier next at perihelion in Jan 2023 - bit of a wait for some higher flying atmosphere. Can the current spacecraft change aspect/shape a bit and increase what little drag* it is currently experiencing? Every little helps as Tesco says.
*Okay, so say it is 10 times higher than we normally worry about drag - I am still willing to bet there is more than none. Anyone got a licensed copy of STK?
but really people if you cannot read the writing on the wall get ye to SpecSavers. Creative Suite 5.0 aleady on VM, CS 6.0 soon to join it on my next machine update. I stopped filling Adobe's coffers the moment it moved to rentware. Very few people listened to us naysayers at the time. Tell me, do you rent your car or do you own it? If you live in Europe chances are you own it. Why is that?
"Please tell me what sort of innovation you are thinking Apple should be doing, or are expecting from anyone else."
How about a battery/stored energy that lasts a week (like my Ericsson, before Sony, mobe used to)?
How about surviving a drop of 1.5 m onto gravel - without needing a new screen?
How about a waterproof SD-slot?
How about £200 off the cost of a handset?
There is room for innovation - just not in the direction that Apple favours.
but tricky, not impossible to excecute. With large amounts of cash ring-fenced it even looks like Lily was trying to do it legally. However, lying on promotional videos is inexcusable (unless, apparently, you are a presidential candidate in which case "caveat auditor"). For everyone talking about vapo(u)rware - if something has reached flying prototype it is not vapourware - it is just not finished; a few choice words of text overlaid on the video would have cleared them of deceipt.
I have backed several Kickstarters - only one delivered something slightly less than promised, but quite a few took far, far longer than they first expected. A good company keeps you up-to-date, delivers bad news early, does not lie. If you are the sort of person who experts TRL.9 for your money, don't back innovation and live comfortably behind the curve. However, if you want technology to progress understand it does not do it itself (yet?), it needs R&D, someone to do that, someone (else) to fund it and "R&D has no guarantee".
Hindsight is twenty-twenty - the words of Antoine Balaresque to the video company are worrying, because they indicate an amoral marketeer not a pragmatic expert; leading edge tech needs pragmatic experts - 'BS'ers are not a reliable substitute.
Perhaps most worrying is that as of this morning the Lily website appears to show a going concern rather than have a big red "Sorry we f***ed up and lied" notice.
I am unsure what fair trade agreements exist across the (dis)Unitied States, but I think is pretty unfair that the manufacturer or supplier should be bear the cost of this device just to sell in one minor state. I think would be far more reasonable for SC to fund the creation and installation of the necessary technical solution since it is the state that seeks the local benefit.
It just so happens that I have a solution ("The Magic Fairy Porn Blocker Cookie") that can achieve the desired filtering task. It is available on all platforms with a web browser that have cookies enabled. The license costs $21 per platform with a limited guarantee* to refund the $20 state disabling charge on any platform where a user complains it failed to block porn even though they had not paid the fee.
*Other terms and conditions apply. The local laws of Ellsworth Land will apply in all matters except where restricted by extraterrestrial treaty.
UNIX - that runs Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, Mathematica, Maxwell, Modo, Rhino etc. and still has a bash terminal. FYI Linux is not UNIX - looks like it, but it isn't - ask a grown-up to explain the fundamental differences. This is the MacOS advantage that Apple seem to ignore in moving their platforms towards the exclusive use of coffee shop poseurs (I am using a nice term here, but I don't know why).
Apple was never cheap, but a lot of people commenting are talking about Apple laptops 6 or 7 years old and still going strong. Apple, it seems, don't like that - you need to get into a 3 year refresh mentality - except serious users are not going to accept that cycle at Apple prices (or anything close). They are also not going to accept a reduction in utility in exchange for a price hike and a need to to buy a load more bits.
Maybe USB-C is the future, but it is stuff all use if you want to use your laptop in the present (you know connecting to real world things like 3D printers, iPhones, datasticks etc.). Carrying up to 17 adapters about makes you look like the fanboi twat you obviously are; adding an adapter hub is also a) not an answer if you are out and about and not chained to a desk b) adding back all the weight saving, and then some, that Apple kindly introduced when you did not ask for it. The Macbook 'lite' platform was the bloody Air for those poor souls who could not lift more than a laptop and a skinny latte; the Pro is supposed to be the workhouse platform - the clue was in the name. The 2016 MBP is a cluster fuck and Apple has been called on it - does it listen or does it drive itself to the mortuary?
FTFY:
"they;are looking to cross sell laptops and the essential alternative cables to iphone owners and not vice versa."
I am a long time high end Apple laptop user - best portable UNIX (+VM LInux and Windoze) platform there is. I am also an iPhone user (always a generation behind). Apple will not be selling the new MBP to me unless the next refresh sees a return to sanity. Some, or all, of the following required in order of sheer bloody utility: at least one USB 3.0/A socket, SD socket, magsafe power. A bigger battery and more RAM would also be nice.
However bad things seem to get there is always an upside. Now I suspect Donald 'J' has only a tenuous grasp on the intricacies of international trade, but so what? If Apple get wedged between a populist president and an understandably miffed China it could be good news. Those Chinese factories that churn out Apple goods will need to be redeployed to keep China in noodles. With the gloves off why should China respect US IPR? Which means the Chinese could make a MacBook Pro clone, and fix all the problems with the 2016 Design Fail Pro about which Apple seems deaf to criticism. See win, win! Never thought I could grow to love the strangely quiffed, orange blusterer.
or the year that Apple ceases its onanistic nombrilisme and releases a revised laptop worthy of the 'Pro' monicker? You know, one that loses one USB-C port in favour of a 'legacy' USB-3.0, restores the SD socket and (maybe) even supports HDMI-4K without need of bloody dongle. While Apple is there, how about it also supporting up to 32GB RAM and more battery life; perish the thought it might actually be 15% thicker, but 100% more useful out in the real world.
Roku, or similar, for about £30. Even if you have to replace it in a couple of years still cheaper than a smart TV. Learned the hard way when my top of the line 3D LG 55" started getting dumber and dumber. Note to TV manufacturers - not buying another smart TV - EVER, EVER. Probably build my own rig with 3D 4K projector next.
Three cats in the household - all have email accounts. Need to count the surviving guinea pigs and give them accounts too. Then register them all with Auntie. Members of the household so covered by the existing licence. I am willing to bet the guinea pigs will watch some absolute dross.
Yes, but... we possilbly could have an "autopilot" complete with computer vision, LIDAR etc. that could safely negotiate the centre of Manchester at rush-hour at a top speed of 7 mph. However, at some point it is going out onto faster roads and if it is still going 7 mph it is going to get stopped by the cops (has it even been programmed for that?). Speeding up the processing, LIDAR sweep rate, adding more pixels to the camera etc. still does not solve the fundament problem of dealing with the unexpected at sensible, usable road speeds. Why? Because it is hard to program for the unexpected. Mobileye sensibly say "driver assist " because their technology is an aid, not an abdication of resposiblity. Are they being pragmatic in recognising that technology cannot replace a little light thinking? Those who advocate "autopilots" as the answer to safe driving for all need to spend time awy from their simulators and keyboards and much more time behind the wheel - all around the clock, all around the world and in every climate and season. Once you appreciate the scale of the problem see if you remain so confident "autopilots" can fix it.
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