Posts by Doctor Syntax

Prominent Brit law firm instructed to block Brexit Article 50 trigger

Re: From another angle...

"so egotistically cocksure of their divine right as to be dangerous."

The number who meet that criterion are a bit of a worry.

Re: From another angle...

"Sorry but that is absolutely the case due to UK Parliamentary Sovereignty, whether you or I think it is right or wrong."

Moreover those MPs were voted into office little more than a year ago by the same electorate - give or take a year's deaths and 18th birthdays.

Re: What a horrible waste of time and money

'It would be a brave new PM indeed who took up the job and said, "er, well, I'm not going to do what you asked, I'm going to do what I want to do, instead."'

It would also be a brave PM who took up the job and said "I'm going to go ahead with what you voted for even though most of you are against it now you've discovered what the consequences will be.".

52% falls well short of what you'd have to consider a "expressed will" for a change of this magnitude. First past the post might be reasonable for putting someone into Parliament to be your MP for a maximum of 5 years. It should take a lot more than that for what would be effectively an irreversible change in constitutional and economic affairs with a massive impact.

Re: What a horrible waste of time and money

"If parliment voted on it, then voting to remain would be literial, and not metaphorical suicide because ignoring the people on this issue would cause severe social unrest on a level we haven't seen in the UK since 1642"

That's pitching it a bit strong. It certainly wouldn't be the entire population rising up against Parliament given that there have already been demos against the result. You'd also have to take into account the individual strengths of feelings about those who voted Leave - which seem to extend right down to "OMG what have I done?" and "Was that for real?" and probably including "meh".

Data protection, Brexit and campaigners: Privacy policy? Eh?

"It is clear that the personal data above provides a detailed profile of the data subject’s social and political views"

Of the data sources listed the only ones which would provide this information are the social media ones - i.e. those where the data subject has actually proclaimed those views. I don't see how even voting in the general and local elections could provide any significant data: the most they could tell is whether the subject supported one of the parties standing in that particular constituency and as that almost invariably includes all the main parties it's not exactly a very specific piece of information.

Nevertheless the use of a supplier in a country with such a lackadaisical (I'm being generous) approach to privacy is a major concern.

London Stock Exchange's German mega-merger: It's a go, despite Brexit

Re: Even with Article 50 by November...

"UK will be out of the EU by November 2018."

Given that the majority of all major parties seem to to want it I reckon the likelihood of the whole thing being kicked into the long grass must be about 50:50.

The worrying thing is that a lot of Leave voters will be glad to see it go. What was that about taking back control?

Humans and bees share the same sociability genes

"As I said, if the retention of growth control genes between archeoforms and more modern organisms has been proven, which it has, then it is an eminently reasonable hypothesis to state that it is likely other gene systems would have evolved once and been retained since."

This assumes that such systems evolved before the lines separated. That's not a given. Results like this serve to tell us how ancient such systems are. That's new information.

"This isn't a surprising result it's almost blatantly obvious."

No, it might be a blatantly obvious hypothesis to you (when did you publish) but even so, a hypothesis needs to be tested. It's the confirmation that makes it interesting.

SQLite developers need to push the patch

Re: Not Open Source

I think you're confusing open source with GPL.

Microsoft: Enterprise Advantage will be 'a step in quite a long journey to modernize our licensing'

And if you're an SME that doesn't trust cloud?

fMRI bugs could upend years of research

Who'd 'a'thunk it?

Clustering software produces artefacts.

Re: Any decent scientist checks the tools for accuracy

To a very limited extent I agree with you. I used to be a Tutor Counsellor back in the early days of the OU. The kit sent out to foundation science students included a simple beam balance. Two of my students were teachers and they objected to this because they had nice digital balances at school - the lure of the numerical readout. I pointed out that with a beam balance they at least could see what their standards were. When my lab acquired its first digital balance (we'd lost our original kit in a fire) I took advantage of the fact that the local Weights and Measures folk were next door and went to borrow a standard mass from them to check it.

Apparatus that you put together yourself (which you might well do if you're in a field where COTS kit isn't available) can and should be carefully tested and calibrated.

But given the complexity and quantity of commercial stuff in any lab these days it's not feasible and the manufacturer's reputation has to be relied on.

Re: Cargo Cult Science

"They underlying root cause is that statistics is not taught to biology/med science majors properly around the world."

In my day, if we had a statistical problem we went and asked a statistician. I recall one such visit where a very simple test gave a 1 in N chance of a random pattern match. When we left he was still shaking his head and muttering, about N "That's a very big number".

In this case it's a matter of not so much understanding the statistics but the code of a function. It's not clear from the report whether or not the function was open source or, even if it was, whether users would necessarily know it was incorporated into proprietary software.

A trip to the Twilight Zone with a support guy called Iron Maiden

Re: Only 15 months

@ Nixinkome

I don't know you parents so I can't exclude the possibility that they have the child they deserve. On the whole, however, if they decide to spend your inheritance I can't say I blame them given your attitude to them.

In general you'll find that we oldies do think of our children and grandchildren when making decisions that might affect them. Clearly you parents made a choice that you - and for that matter myself - think is the wrong one. But that doesn't excuse your attitude.

Re: @ Esme where the Remain side got things so horribly wrong

"It was Farage who had said that voting figures like those ought to lead to a second referendum - when he thought he'd lose. Likewise the petition about voting came from a Brexiteer, before the result, because he thought they might lose by a small percentage."

The trouble with the second referendum idea is that that might also give a small margin one way or another so do you then go for a third - a fourth...?

The answer is to realise that the margin for a change needs to be substantial - 60:40 or maybe 2/3:1/3. We've had a referendum. It didn't make those numbers. End of story.

Re: Depressing

'but imagine what you could do with a 16" amputation knife'

"No, this is a knife"

Re: Not sure it's your brain Dabsy

'I know how to spell "lose".'

Upvoted but your hearing does seem a little loose.

Re: Depressing

"Would you like a constitutional crisis with nobody having any idea what happens next, no effective government, a power vacuum, and politicians stabbing each other in the back for possibly weeks on end?"

Can I just have the last bit of that, please.

Man killed in gruesome Tesla autopilot crash was saved by his car's software weeks earlier

'One of the few times I've taken a taxi, I watched as the "driver" plopped a paperback book on the steering wheel and proceeded to read it.'

I've also watched a long-distance coach driver doing his paper-work as he threaded hisour way through SW1.

"If you can't do that, get a taxi."

And let the taxi driver not be alert instead. On one of the few times I've ever taken a taxi I watched for several hundred yards whilst the driver ignored a car pulling out from a junction in front of him and eventually T-boned it.

Microsoft's Windows 10 nagware goes FULL SCREEN in final push

Re: Ouch

"Again, measurements please."

And especially with regard to measuring desktop excellence.

Re: Advantages to Windows 10

"Over 7? The support for modern hardware is better. "

That's no advantage for an existing W7 system on its existing H/W nor on a VM..

In general you have a tiered arrangement for dealing with legacy Windows applications when to Linux or BSD for general use:

Native applications to replace those on WIndows.

Windows applications on Wine.

Windows application in a VM running an older version of Windows (the limited amount of Windows-specific stuff I very occasionally need run better on 2K than 7) which is kept off-net if possible,

Windows applications running on well-isolated H/W where there are unavoidable legacy H/W requirements such as talking to your £2m MRI scanner.

Fear and Brexit in Tech City: Digital 'elite' are having a nervous breakdown

"I don't know enough about Parliamentary Law to know if a Government can ignore a defeat in the House of Commons, but if they do, they certainly risk a vote of No Confidence by the Opposition, which might just be carried by a few dissenting Tory MPs and result in a General Election."

I don't think it's law, just procedures of the House.

If it was a free vote then AFAIK there are no consequences at all, likewise if it was a minor element of a govt. bill.

If it was on a key principle of govt. policy and the govt. had an overall majority then a govt. might resign although resignation as a point of honour seems to be out of fashion these days. If it didn't there might well be a vote of no confidence (respecting votes of no confidence also seems to have gone out of fashion, doesn't it Jeremy?).

With a minority govt. there'd be more of an expectation of the govt. just continuing on the basis that it couldn't really expect to get everything through and there might not even be a vote of no confidence if the opposition didn't fancy facing an election at the time. In any case there's no precedent for this with the current law on elections which was partly intended to avoid this turn of events for the late coalition.

The real issue here is what happens in the event of a motion that most members of most parties don't want, isn't govt policy (assuming a remainer becomes PM) but has come about as a result of a non-binding referendum. I'm sure that must be totally unprecedented and very hard to call. Labour might try to play politics and abstain, turning it into a Tory in-fight. However with their own party having its own problems at the minute do they really want to provoke a major constitutional crisis?

There could well be a case of here's the referendum result, here's a free vote on it and let's tip-toe around it and carry on.

Re: Really its up to Boris to take the lead now

"They need to find a victim who will take the job, serve section 50 notice and then resign, clearing the way for Boris (or whoever) to place ALL the blame for the big mess that ensues on the sucker."

No, your victim's successor will have to do some real work clear up the mess, if that's possible. The only possible good job on the horizon is the one after that.

Re: Cheap labour? Wait until the Convervatives get busy

"There is a pool a people ready to jump at £7.20"

I'm sure this is one answer to the lack of increased productivity in the economy that puzzles economists. It's cheaper to simply add more cheap labour to cope with an increase in demand than to invest in more productive machinery. The other answer, of course is multiple layers of management occupied in pitching PowerPoint presentations at each other, probably about the advantages of using more cheap labour instead of investment.

"Dumb question, but I confess I dunno UK specifics."

Not at all dumb and deserves an answer.

The leader of the largest party after an election is normally the one asked to form a government. If that party has an overall majority that's pretty well a shoo-in. If not then someone has to try to form a coalition or even run without a coalition or overall majority.

It's possible for a party with no formal coalition or no overall majority to govern; they might not get all their policies through and can be displaced by a vote of no confidence - that happened to Callaghan when he lost the support of the Ulster Unionists. In general that's not a good form of government because it's apt to hand disproportionate power to a very small fraction of the electorate.

There's an extra twist when there's a no-overall majority in that the previous governing party might try to form a government even if they're not the biggest party so everybody has to wait until they decide it's a non-starter which caused some hesitation after the 2010 election.

Once a party is in government they generally have the option to change leader and hence PM without having to call an election. That could be through ill-health (Eden and Wilson, for instance, within living memory) or by revolt (Thatcher), because the PM sees the runaway train coming down the track (Blair who handed over to Brown just in time for the latter to catch the consequences of his 10 years of pretending that housing costs could be ignored when measuring inflation, even if that meant ignoring rampant house price inflation /rant). It could also come from an intention to hand over to a new leader who'd then have time to establish himself before a general election which was Cameron's stated intent although he might have intended to leave it a little later.

During the course of a parliament a government can lose its majority by by-elections which, IIRC, was what happened to Callaghan, and then becomes victim to a vote of no confidence.

The current situation has the extra factor that there's an Act in place which imposes a strict 5-year interval on general elections. That was part of the previous coalition arrangement; it protected the LibDems against a snap election and also limited the Tory right wing's ability to rock the vote. It could, however, be repealed any time if Parliament wanted and presumably the Queen could, acting with the Privy Council if necessary, ignore it in an emergency.

An incoming Remain PM could have the option of asking Parliament to repeal that act and hold a general election fought primarily on that issue so that it would be a new Parliament that would (or wouldn't) invoke section 50; there seems to be a general feeling over the last few decades that kicking stuff to the other side of a general election is a Good Thing in that it gives the electorate a chance to reflect. Irrespective of the next PM's views it would still be a Good Thing. In fact I think even some of the Leavers were saying that - or it might just have been Boris.

HTH

Re: The current plan does not matter

"Firstly, May backed Remain. She pretty much kept her head down, but she was on the Remain side."

ISTM that she backed it only sufficiently to enable her to stay in the govt. if Remain won. She seems to have been strongly against anything from the EU that concerned her department.

Re: The current plan does not matter

"the explicitly declared will of the people"

A small minority is not the explicitly declared will of the people. It's the vague feelings of a small percentage who could have voted differently the week before, could vote differently now and could vote differently again next week. It's the tail wagging the dog. An explicitly declared will is more like 2/3 of the voters - or even 2/3 of the electorate. A change of the status quo of this magnitude should require a referendum but it should also require a majority sufficient to demonstrate that the people are whole-heartedly behind it.

Re: So any company that trades with an EU country has to open their borders to EU inhabitants?

"doesn't magically result in magical ponies roaming the countryside"

You've just shot down the whole of Leave's economic policy.

Re: So any company that trades with an EU country has to open their borders to EU inhabitants?

"No wonder Dave ran as soon as he realised what he'd been lumbered with sorting out...."

Given that he was with remain why should he sort out leave's problems. Now Boris, first coming out with the "but not just yet" line and then ducking out completely...that you can certainly describe as running away. Did he ever think about what might be involved before the result came up? And have those who've signed up to run for the leadership thought about it at all?

Bank tech boss: Where we're going, we don't need mainframes

Thank goodness for small mercies.

It's ING, I don't have an account there and if it's Dutch, as a UK taxpayer I presumably don't have to bail it out - and certainly not after Brexit.

Pollster who called the EU referendum right: No late Leave swing after all

Re: Luck, not skill?

"If you look into it in more detail, you find that Isos/ComRes's telephone polls were much less accurate than online polls like YouGov's, which more or less said it was within the margin of error."

There was a report on the Beeb saying much the same thing. However we're told that the Leave vote majority was due to all those old folk who wouldn't recognise the internet if it bit them in the leg, etc. etc. That doesn't quite fit.

"Anything can be verbed."

What does "anythinged" mean?

Isis crisis: Facebook makes Bristol lass an unperson

"Spare a thought for Isis Thomas, a 27 year-old from Bristol, who found this out when she was locked out of her Facebook account."

She should regard this as a positive thing.

Mystery black hole hides by curbing its appetite

If this is the first such survey and it turns up one then the probability that it's a one-off seems small.

The immediate thought is could this account for the missing mass? Given that it's a small black hall you'd need a lot of them.

Those Xbox Fitness vids you 'bought'? Look up the meaning of the word 'rent'

Re: Refund? @Doctor Syntax

"That case relies on the particularly consumer friendly court system in California. It's pretty much not applicable anywhere else in the world."

It might be unusual in California but consumer protection is widespread in Europe. I don't know about the rest of Europe but the UK has a small claims court.

"how many people are prepared to try to claim back the cost of their VHS fitness tapes, because you can no longer buy a tape player"

Not a good analogy. The equivalent would be Jane Fonda knocking on your door and demanding her tape back because you'd watched it.

Re: There's an old saying

"problem is that Microsoft has billions still to burn before they finally fold"

But it wouldn't be yours.

Re: Refund? @Deltics

"but how many people are prepared to take on a company like MS in the courts!"

Maybe you missed http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/06/27/woman_microsoft_windows_10_upgrades

The trick is to go for a small claims court - and presumably the amounts here are within those limits - which negates MS's size advantage.

I wonder if it will find its way onto this guy's to-do list http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/06/28/chatbot_kills_parking_tickets

Chatbot lawyer shreds $2.5m in parking tickets

Re: A small omission?

"So, by your definition, anything that is legal by the letter of the law is automatically morally and ethically right as well?"

Who were you replying to?

If it was me, then let me restate my point. If it's legitimate it's legitimate by definition. It would be a non sequitur to imply that something is moral, ethical, both or neither on account of whether or not it's legitimate. Or do you think that legislatures invariably act in moral or ethical ways?

Florida man sues Apple for $10bn, claims iPod, iPhone was his idea

"It looks exactly like an iPad type device except its square not rectangular. Yes, it has round corners."

And don't forget http://dilbert.com/strip/1995-04-03

Evernote riles freetards with two-device limit

"lifetime upgrades"

Whose lifetime?

No means no: Windows 10 nagware's red X will stop update – Microsoft

"Yes it has telemetry enabled, but that is easily switched off and helps provide valuable feedback on how people use the OS so Microsoft can improve it even more."

1. What's easily switched off is easily and surreptitiously switched back on by the next unavoidable update.

2. If the telemetry is so harmless, not to say benign, why do MS's T&Cs make no attempt to exclude themselves from recording what's none of their business? If you don't believe me go and read the privacy policy for yourself and try to find the bit where it confines their rights to recording transactions and access credentials to those relating to themselves.

"a class action is on the cards if they bork thousands of pc's with unwanted upgrades."

They'd almost certainly prefer that to a death of a thousand cuts in the small claims courts. They'd be able to settle a class action with a big payout to lawyers, and either peanuts to the losersplaintiffs or a donation to EFF or maybe a charitable organisation of their creation choice.

Re: Loving windows?

"When there are more mainstream GAMES for Linux than for Windows, THEN they'll pay attention. Otherwise, they pretty much have a captive market."

So what you're saying is that Windows is only fit for playing games? For real work something else is better?

'Trouble is, as later drug ads showed, "They don't take no for an answer."'

I see you've understood the analogy.

Re: Gun, meet foot

"a machine purchased without an OS is a lot cheaper."

I'm not sure about that. The Windows free-trial bloatware can more than subsidise the Windows, at least that used to be the case - I haven't looked a buying anything new for some time.

Re: Gun, meet foot

"Web browsers get pwned more easily than custom software. Didn't the Target and Home Depot attacks teach them anything?

As for LibreOffice, that's all fine and dandy unless you use a lot of macros and other stuff Libre doesn't do very well (if at all, like macros)."

Macros get pwned more easily than custom software. I'm not sure about Target & Home Depot but in a lot of cases the attack that came in through a browser and/or email was actually in a Word document with a malacro (TM) in it.

"We started our journey with Windows 10 with a clear goal to move people from needing Windows to choosing Windows to loving Windows."

It seems to have moved some people from needing Windows to realising they don't need Windows.

Re: Yes, I know, but Apple --

"But then Sid Stupid doesn't realize this, the update goes uninstalled, and he gets pwned due to a wild exploit the update would've quashed."

There are a couple of issues here.

Firstly, IME, Windows updates take a very long time to install and give the user very little feedback if they want to see it whereas Linux updates, again IME, are applied quickly and, if you're interested, tell you what's going on. This is exacerbated by Windows updates being saved up for big monthly releases while Limux updates are released as available so the updates, although more numerous, are individually smaller.

Secondly Linux updates do not call for reboots. If software for an individual service is updated the service is stopped and restarted whilst the rest of the system continues to run. Even if the kernel is updated the original kernel is left in place and running until such time as the user finds it convenient to reboot in order to run the new kernel - in some distributions there are even live kernel updates.

Taken together these mean that there's no particular incentive to bypass Linux updates.