Posts by Vociferous

Taylor Swift dumps Spotify: It’s not me, it’s you

Global distribution

>Perhaps fewer artists would complain about lower rates if the promise of a global distribution network was fulfilled

You mean the thing the record companies have spent a decade and tens of millions to lobby against? It is currently not possible to buy MP3's across country borders even inside the EU thanks to record company lobbying. It screws the artists, but protects record companies from international competition.

For the same reason it is currently impossible to listen to Pandora and other US streaming radio in Europe.

'You have no right to see me naked!' Suddenly, everyone wakes up at the Google-EU face-off

Re: Wrong Target?

> What they should be doing is saying "thank you for the additional source of relevancy data

Sweet jesus, you don't actually believe that do you? Censorship is good? Because this is censorship. This is an explicit statement that your right to be forgotten trumps my right to free speech.

the EU has gone full retard on Google.

And I don't understand why. Yes, there are some French search engines the French government wants to protect from competition, but surely even the French can't derail the entire EU leadership?

And I don't really need to point out how disingenuous it is of EU to complain about Google privacy issues when the EU is constantly mandating more intrusive government surveillance and censorship of the net, do I?

Oculus Rift tech-specs 'many months away' from hitting the shelves

> Oculus VR is primarily aimed at the PC

Was. It WAS primarily aimed at the PC.

Re: Google Cardboard to the rescue!

"it just seems very very niche to me"

Didn't you hear? Computers are dying, and will be replaced by pads and cellphones! Just ask Ballmer and Sinofsky!

Developing support for cellphones is a big part of the Oculus Rift's delay, as is developing virtual Facebook hangouts. If the focus of the Rift was still on gaming, it'd probably have been out for christmas.

Because the specs have changed.

It's not about gaming any more, it's now about virtual Facebook hangouts and cellphones, which require different software infrastructure.

Google's 'Right to be forgotten' roadshow is just a 'distraction' – EU digital rights group

No, it is not in Google's interest to have more regulation -- but it is in the EU's.

The EU is clearly intent on making sure that the local security services are the only ones freely watching EU citizens every step they take, every move they make.

Windows XP market share fell off a cliff in October

Windows 7 crushes the opposition.

Drives them before it, and hears the lamentation of their women.

And that wont change until Win10 is released.

Bona-fide science: Which forms of unusual sex are mainstream?

Re: "view the psychology departments of the world primarily as a source of entertainment"

No, psychology isn't science. And neither is statistics, which this is. But statistics is not subjective, which is good as it's what most policy is based on.

What?

"if you regard the function of scientific research as pushing back the frontiers of human knowledge, this could all be regarded as rather a depressing waste of money"

I don't see this at all. Is the point that the author felt "everyone already knew" the findings?

Snapper's decisions: Whatever happened to real photography?

Re: Many good points - however

Good point.

For personal vacation snaps I use a Canon Powershot G15 compact camera: small enough to pocket, image quality good enough to print.

> what options does this kind of hobbyist have?

A digital SLR.

They are not as good as they could be because, as the article observes, the manufacturers have focused on low cost rather than high performance, but even a modest dSLR is still head and shoulders above anything any cellphone can produce.

The author is a medium format enthusiast. For good and bad medium format enthusiasts have always been the "linux crowd" of photography.

Oh, dear! Scientists uncover Afghan VAMPIRE DEER

Re: Move along nothing to see

Actually transplanting these deer to the UK might be the best way to preserve the species. Preserving in captivity is controversial, but it does work, and has to date saved a dozen large mammal species from complete extinction. It could save these guys too.

"We hope that conditions will stabilize soon"

Yeah, it's toast.

Google’s dot-com forget-me-not bomb: EU court still aiming at giant

Re: If you search within the EU, it *IS* applied to Google.com

> the article will not show anymore when searching for your own name; but it will still show up when searching for "Tim Cook".

*False*

Try with one of the censored searches.

If you search within the EU, it *IS* applied to Google.com

Also to Google.au, Google.cn etc.

Google redirects all calls to the nearest data center, and all calls to European data centers are now censored. Test by pinging (you'll get same IP) or with one of the censored searches from e.g. the BBC.

To get around the censorship, use https://www.google.com/ncr

Also, free tip: if you want an article censored, post an obviously inappropriate comment to it under your own name, then issue a request to have the article forgotten.

'GCHQ's surveillance data gulp is BULKY and WARRANTLESS', human rights groups moan

Re: Easy way around the law

They do.

Multiplicative capabilities

I'm still waiting for the EFF and others to realize that not only do every Western intelligence service do about the same amount of surveillance as the Russian or Chinese secret services, but the Western ones cooperate with each other to get around what few limitations their governments have imposed on them.

All the services have unique limitations and unique capabilities, and by cooperating they can use the capabilities of others to bypass the legal limitations of themselves.

The difference between the West and Russia/China isn't the amount or intrusiveness of surveillance, it is what is done with the information. You will not be beaten or murdered for exposing corruption in London city hall, you will not be imprisoned for joining the Animal Liberation Front.

WHITE HOUSE network DOWN: Nation-sponsored attack likely

Re: Article speculation

> Would love to know what this statement really means...

It means that the GCHQ or Surete or Mossad have intercepted communications about the attack.

> What is the difference between a state attack and a normal attack ?

IP is a military installation, or resources are used which have been used by state hackers before (e.g. malware), spear phising mails designed with info not known to the public, or zero day exploits are used.

> The Iranians, Chinese, Syrians are not so dumb either

The "Syrian Electronic Army" are Russian state hackers.

Retaliate!

Shouldn't the US retaliate? If the US, let's say, made five billion of Putin's personal wealth go poof every time Russian state sponsored hackers attacked, I'm sure frequency of attacks would drop sharply.

Swedish 'Future minister' doesn't do social media

Re: It seems I am under-qualified

> A degree and thirty years of programming experience means nothing, clearly I should be posting about my lunch on FaceTwatter

Welcome to the media's understanding of IT.

I will NEVER EVER criticize someone for not being on Twitter.

It is a bullshit platform aimed at journalists. Do your homework, you lazy pillocks.

Weekend reads: Russell Brand's Revolution and Joy Division's Ian Curtis gets lyrical

> "I interpreted the word 'desire' (in the context of what I understood the book to be about) not to mean things like 'desire to not be attacked' but 'desire for new smartphones, iPads, nice cars"

I have no doubt whoever said that meant earthly love and consumerism. It is very popular among cults to demand that members give all their money and all their love to god (the cult), because that's after all the only way to truly be one with God, right? To avoid distractions, amirite? How can you truly love God if your loyalty is divided to your family and friends? How can you ever become one with god if you spend time and money on toys?

That is clearly inappropriate. You must focus on what matters, you must focus on God. Give all your money to the cult, and it will make sure it is used wisely. And cut off your friends and family, it hurts, I know, but all your love must be focused on God. Nothing is more important than being at one with God. All other desire is inappropriate.

Re: "“All desire is the inappropriate substitute for the desire to be at one with God.”"

> I didn't see the word or even concept of "church" mentioned at all.

Insert gatekeeper to divinity of your choice, then. You can't give your money to God directly, so you give it to the gatekeeper, the guy who told you it is inappropriate to care about anything (e.g. money or family) than god.

Re: "“All desire is the inappropriate substitute for the desire to be at one with God.”"

What's scary about it... Let me break it down:

1) The statement is on the face of it absurd. For instance, your desire to not be attacked by a swarm of bees isn't an inappropriate substitute for the desire to be at one with God.

2) The statement suggests that your life, the lives of those around you, and this world, are all irrelevant: only God matters. That way ISIS lies.

3) The statement suggests you should feel guilty for, for instance, wanting to own a house, instead of donating the money to <insert church>. Your desire to own the house is inappropriate.

4) The statement implies that individuality, i.e. having any goals except those imposed by your church, is inappropriate. That way Jonestown lies.

Basically the statement is the linchpin of the very thing you agree is scary: religious authoritarianism.

> "“All desire is the inappropriate substitute for the desire to be at one with God.”"

It's scary that there are people actually believing this. Not Russel Brand, the confused anarcho-communist, obviously, but someone gave him that line.

Men who sleep with lots of women lessen risk of prostate cancer

Almost certainly junk science.

I'll happily bet that these results will not survive with a bigger sample, or a different sample, or being analyzed by other researchers.

BAE points electromagnetic projectile at US Army

Re: Wrong platform?

> Just think of it as one big fuck-off Uzi

The Phalanx CIWS is a big fuck-off Uzi, AFAIK rail guns are more like big fuck-off sniper rifles.

Re: Wrong platform?

"railguns are being touted for anti-ship missile defense"

Seriously? To me it seems like a weapon firing a ten kilo chunk of metal at mach 7, capable of punching through three successive reinforced concrete walls, with an effective range of 100 miles, but with a slow rate of fire, is not an ideal weapon to use against low-flying hypersonic missiles.

To me that's a weapon to sink ships and blow up bunkers, possibly also tanks and bunkers.

Does the Googler tapped to run the US Patent Office still believe in patent reform?

Re: Crossing the line a bit?

What line?

The EPA, the FCC, the FDA... every organization of oversight is today filled with industry shills. It isn't an exception that a shill is appointed to oversight the industry he's shilling for, it's the norm.

Obama's consistently appointed shills to these kinds of jobs.

The worst, and most damaging, example is when Tom Wheeler, a comcast lobbyist, was appointed to lead the FCC, but Obama's been remarkably consistent.

Sunset Overdrive: Exploding teddy bears, dragon fights and more in a tangerine blast

Re: Finally!

"looks like it actually has a bit of creative licence behind it - at least from a visual perspective"

...by ripping off Saint's Row.

Re: Looks fantastic

"Twenty hours of gameplay? Is that normal for a console game?"

It's normal for all platforms today, including PC (as all PC games are ported console games). Usually they pad it by adding multiplayer.

Also normal for all platforms today is that the game largely plays itself, is heavily scripted, and that you have no freedom to decide what to do or where to go -- i.e., that it's effectively a slightly interactive movie.

Game of Thrones man stars in sci-fi bit on comet-catcher Rosetta

East-europeans can sure do sci-fi

I love this. Beautiful work.

I like that they've made the comet black, like it really is. Nice touch.

HUGE SHARK as big as a WWII SUBMARINE died out, allowing whales to exist

Correlation does not prove causation.

Their simulation (that's what it is) has the shark dying out at roughly the same time the whales evolved.

They assume the reason the whales evolved is because the shark died out, but there is no evidence supporting this except that it happened at about the same time.

Guess what else happened about 3 million years ago? The Earth climate took a nosedive. Up to that point the entire planet had been subtropical to tropical for 200 million years straight. There was no ice at the poles, there were coral reefs off the coast of britain, there were oak forests growing in what today is the northern Siberian tundra. That all changed 3 million years ago, as the first ice age (of the 20 or so there's been) encased the polar regions in ice, and changed the currents in the sea.

I'd happily bet that the shark died and the whales arose because of this very major worsening of climate, not because they ate each other.

Ubuntu's shiny 10th birthday Unicorn: An upgrade fantasy

Linux Mint.

Ubuntu done right.

'ANYTHING BUT STABLE' Netflix suffers BIG Europe-wide outage

Install Media Hint, switch to US Netflix servers.

Problem solved.

Bonus: different selection of movies available.

SKYPE has the HOTS for my NAKED WIFE

Re: Yes, I went there and said "avatars."

Just meet up in World of Warcraft.

Reg hacks see the woods or the trees In the Forest of the Night

Re: Aaaahhhh River Song

I'll drink to that!

GCHQ staff 'would sooner walk' than do anything 'resembling mass surveillance’

Re: So where the f*** is this coming from?

Disclaimer: not a network tech, so someone is likely to rip me a new one here, but AFAIK that's your computer trying to talk to your NIC over DHCP. 192.168.x.x = local (behind your router), port 67 = DHCP. Perhaps you've blocked something with your firewall that you shouldn't have.

Hahahahahaha

Yeah I realize GCHQ have to damage-control with sh!t like this to preserve the efficiency of surveillance, but come on.

It is known you're doing mass surveillance, you're so deep in the cookie jar we can barely see your ankles, so denying it just invites ridicule.

COMET 67P is basically TRAILING a HORRIFIC STENCH through space

On the subject of Rosetta...

...you DEFINITELY want to see this!

Happy 2nd birthday, Windows 8 and Surface: Anatomy of a disaster

Re: Far too kind

> Sinofsky deserves to die!

Let's not get carried away, but teamed with Ballmer he did form a kind of perfect storm of idiocy. Vista, the Ribbon, and TIFKAM -- now there's an impressive resumé!

Re: What is "the Windows client"?

The author makes repeated referencs to "the Windows client".

It might be a reference to the line of thinking that the Desktop is an app running in a sand box, not a graphical interface for the OS?

That kind of talk was very common in the run-up to Win8's release. The "Desktop" app was "bundled" with the OS so users could run "legacy applications".

Re: Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory...

How to install Firefox on Linux:

sudo apt-get install firefox

Forget the $2499 5K iMac – today we reveal Apple's most expensive computer to date

Re: Now that's just going too far

> Apple is practically just a savvy marketer of high priced luxury goods for the ultra-wealthy.

That is and has always been their business idea, and it's been remarkably successful.

Kip Thorne explains how he created the black hole for Interstellar

Sadly some other aspects of the movie are not as well researched

E.g. the reason why Earth is dying.

But it still looks like a good movie and that there is any science at all is refreshing. I'll definitely see it.