Posts by Insert sadsack pun here

Ericsson report details how it paid off Islamic State

Re: "the US foreign ministry" ?

If you're gonna be a pedant about it..."foreign ministry" isn't capitalised. El Reg knows it is not the proper name. The State Department is the foreign ministry of the US.

Ukraine seeks volunteers to defend networks as Russian troops menace Kyiv

UEFA, FIFA and F1 can do one."I am shocked, shocked, that this government from whom we have been happily been collecting sacks of cash and souvenir Rolexes for many years has Turner out to be not very nice". Get stuffed.

Ukraine's IT sector looks to business continuity plans as Russia invades

"Russia will stick to it's stated aim of securing the breakaway regions within their traditional borders."

What kind of credulous idiot buys this bullshit even after Russian paratroopers land in Kyiv? Putin says Russia's traditional borders contain Ukraine in its entirety.

Construction starts on another Asia-Europe undersea cable

Re: Diverse routes are also needed

"It would be a good idea to avoid Egypt and the Suez Canal altogether and route a portion overland..."

Running cable underwater is preferred because you only need to get permission once in each country (instead of planning permission along the whole land route), you don't need to dig a trench the whole route (so that people don't trip over it or dig it up), and you can just fling it off the back of a boat (instead of hiring a new crew in each country).

EncroChat defendants' lawyers make bid to halt trial

"The chances of the EU intervening in ongoing court cases seems very low. Campaigners complained that prosecutors have given contradictory stories to courts in different countries about the lawfulness of the deployment of malware and subsequent interceptions."

1) the EU is not going to intervene in criminal prosecutions in individual EU member states because it has no right to do so.

2) of course prosecutors in different countries are going to give different arguments about the admissibility of the same or similiar evidence. Different jurisdictions have different laws on evidence.

Geomagnetic storm takes out 40 of 49 brand new Starlink satellites

Re: At least they're not additional, long-lasting space garbage

"if the satellites don't initially pass system checks, de-orbit and reentry will occur without producing space junk."

I don't get it - do they burn up on re-entry? Or instead of creating space junk do they just end up creating earth junk as thousands of non-biodegradable pieces of satellite are spread across earth?

Facebook fined peanuts after Giphy staff quit and firm didn't tell UK competition regulators

"there are valuable and worthwhile services government is expected to provide for the citizens it serves..."

The state also provides services to private companies (for example, by restraining angry mobs from burning down their offices and server centres in response to their shitty behavior). Often those private companies are not owned by citizens of the states in which they operate. Private companies should pay their share of taxes.

"I could never get any information about how much fines the Australian government hands over business against how much they have collected"

I have no idea what you're on about. Are there words missing from that sentence?

Former tech CIO jailed for setting up £475k backhander scam with IT outsourcing firm

Re: DV?

"When I worked for BT* we were told that a security clearance was not to be stated on a person's public profile..."

This was still the official guidance 1.5 years ago.

Brocade wrongly sacked award-winning salesman who depended on company insurance for cancer treatment

Re: A timely reminder

"There is always the NHS to fall back on (although I have a cautionary tail that I won't share here)."

If you had insurance you could have gone private for a tailectomy.

Tesla to disable 'self-driving' feature that allowed vehicles to roll past stop signs at junctions

Re: Full Self-Driving

"The alternative would mean the car drives itself"

Like some kind of autoautomobile, you mean?

Comcast fixes broadband cables 'peppered' with holes after Oakland drive-by shooting

Re: Wow.

US people are already in danger: all the police have guns.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/

https://gothamist.com/news/nypds-firearms-training-woefully-inadequate-former-trainers-say

Re: Wow.

"So the gun problem in America has got so bad they need automated microphone-based AI systems to keep an eye on it?"

If it makes you feel any better, the ShotSpotter system is completely crap, as covered by El Reg last year: https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/25/shotspotter_chicago_report/

North Korea worried a lot of countries when it said it test-fired a hypersonic missile in Japan's direction

Re: Geography?

To be fair to be fair, North Korea has an East Coast and a west coast - but they'd rather shoot things toward Japan than China

Super rocket might be ballistic, Nork news is atrocious?

Offering Patreon subs in sterling or euros means you can be sued under GDPR, says Court of Appeal

Re: GDPR -> Libel

The libel issue and the GDPR issue are different. The two have different mechanisms for establishing jurisdiction to sue in England and Wales.

Yule goat's five-year flame-free streak ends ignominiously

"But one thing about Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet - they actually had integrity. They truly believed that what they were doing was the right thing to do, for the good of the country"

This is complete rubbish. The Thatcher cabinet was just as filled with sycophants, backstabbers and grifters as the present cabinet. David Mellor, Ian Hamilton, Jonathan Aitkin - they all had their snouts in the trough. Even the "decent" ones like Geoffrey Howe and Ken Clarke were perfectly happy to stick up for Section 28.

I think you are right to say that Thatcher herself may have been convinced of her own policies, in contrast to Johnson who believes in nothing.

New submarine cable to link Japan, Europe, through famed Northwest Passage

"This causes a big problem for Ukraine..."

It's what you mention, and more. Right now Europe will kick off if gas supply to Ukraine is interrupted or Ukraine is "properly" invaded. Once Europe gets most of its gas through Nord Stream, they're not gonna give a f if Russia invades Ukraine or cuts off the gas (which would kill thousands of people in winter). Europe has inadvertently sacrificed its buffer state.

US bags Russian accused of bagging millions after stealing pre-release financial filings

Re: ??

"The Kremlin is an ancient citadel that's the Russian equivalent of the area of DC that's administered by the Federal government that contains all the main (and ceremonial) parts of the US's Federal government. So "ties to the Kremlin" really means "knows a Russian lawmaker or two" but sounds a whole lot more sinister..."

This is wrong. The Kremlin does not contain the legislature (or the courts). A reference to the Kremlin is a reference to the President and his apparatus. A person who knows a "lawmaker or two" does not have ties to the Kremlin.

Klyushin on the other hand DOES have ties to the Kremlin. Specifically he is a close associate of Alexei Gromov, a senior official within the Presidential Administration who manages the media, and Klyushin's company has media monitoring contracts with the Presidential Administration.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/12/21/russian-businessman-appears-in-us-court-after-swiss-extradition-a75888

Dutch nuclear authority bans anti-5G pendants that could hurt their owners via – you guessed it – radiation

Re: Ha Ha Ha

" I would like one of those £5 notes if he was offering though. At least those weren't radioactive as far as I know"

£5 notes are rarely radioactive. However, it's been scientifically proven that 95% of bank notes are contaminated by cocaine, a highly addictive and health damaging substance. The only way to protect you and your family from cocaine-contaminated banknotes is to demand freshly-issued currency from your bank, and to send me your contaminated notes (£€$) for safe disposal. My address is PO Box 123, El Reg, Vulture Towers, London CH4 RLI

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32146301/

SMACKDOWN! Reddit hires wrestling's investor relations head to helm IPO

Reddit is just like WWE except the wrestlers (content generators) send each other rape threats and the referees (moderators) take on all the responsibility but don't get paid.

https://www.dailydot.com/irl/reddit-rape-racist-comment-trolls-problem/

T-Mobile US figuring out international roaming on 5G

Who is the target market for 5G-connected roaming-enabled laptops? My last two employers just finished cancelling SIMs in laptops because they didn't want to have two subscriptions/accounts per user. Users just used WiFi or (if they were really bothered) were taught how to hotspot their phone.

Retail consumers won't bother with this stuff, will they?

International Monetary Fund warns crypto-related risks could soon become systemic

Re: "cryptocurrency easily crosses borders"

The point about crypto crossing borders quickly is that it requires financial regulators in different countries to collaborate and have a consistent approach. Even though they are widely used outside their home countries' borders, the Fed and the ECB (and their regulatory colleagues) are still able to keep a hand on the tiller of the USD and EUR. The same just isn't true of crypto.

Playing jigsaw on my roof: They can ID you from your hygiene habits

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Pell

On the subject of "spinning the bins", if you haven't come across Benji Pell already his Wikipedia page is worth a read.

Oz Feds reveal distribution model behind backdoored 'An0m' chat app spread by crims

Re: my oath

Ha ha ha true - but they've also destroyed all confidence in the market that anything can be trusted!

Meg Whitman – former HP and eBay CEO – nominated as US ambassador to Kenya

Kenya is a tech hub

Disappointing that El Reg didn't mention that Nairobi is a tech and finance hub for Africa. There are some great startups and incubators, and the US government has been trying to facilitate investment in the sector.

If Whitman focuses on tech (and doesn't stick her oar into politics or development) and fosters links between the US and Kenyan tech sectors, this could actually be great for Kenya. Just don't take her management advice...

https://www.africatechsummit.com/nairobi/africa-startup-summit/

https://startuplist.africa/location/nairobi

Facebook slapped with an eyepopping $150B lawsuit for spreading hate speech against Rohingya refugees

"where exactly is "here" ?"

Here, on this exact comments page on which you are commenting. As soon as Myanmar and Rohingya were mentioned, up popped someone spreading nonsense about Rohingya being non-citizen newcomers from India, and implying that it's all their fault for mixing with terrorists.

Re: It needs to be eyepopping

It would be so just if Facebook lost and there was a massive transfer of wealth from a sociopathic billionaire to some of the most oppressed people on earth.

Tech Bro CEO lays off 900 people in Zoom call and makes himself the victim

Re: I assume from it that you're not freelance.

"No-one who really contracts could think contractors are overpaid, right?"

I think the problem is when you get what is here on this thread: contractors saying that permie work is more risky BUT ALSO that contractors should be paid more because of the risks of contracting.

This sort of thread always winds up the contractors. So just for them: IR35 IS BRILLIANT!!!

Prisons transcribe private phone calls with inmates using speech-to-text AI

Jamming would be technically very difficult even if the facility were in the middle of nowhere - it would be hugely disruptive if the facility were located anywhere near a town.

Re: Hang on....

They paid minimum wage workers to do it? Seems like a missed opportunity to have the QC done by prison labour and create a closed loop AI panopticon...

They are funders and donors, not investors. Investors buy stock/shares. Charitable bodies and trusts give grants etc.

Okay - so would it be a fair compromise to have free phones (instead of this $7.50 a minute bullshit) in exchange for AI monitoring?

There is no security reason that prison phones should be so expensive.

Phone smuggling in prisons is mostly done by screws. A few prisoners may jam them in bodily orifices on the way in, but the volume of phones is such that they can only have been brought in by people with regular access.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-11606546

Re: Difference?

"Ask all those born in Uganda who Idi Amin evicted, telling them to get the hell out. The parents of our illustrious Home Secretary are amongst those who this happened to..."

As a pedantic point that doesn't really affect the overall arc of your argument: Patel's parents left Uganda while Milton Obote was still in charge, and years before Amin came to power. Amin's expulsion of the Asian Ugandans began in August 1972, several months after Patel's birth in London.

A smarter alternative to password recognition could be right in front of us: Unique, invisible, maybe even deadly

Re: On a related topic...

That reminds me, I need to fix my webcam software. When I'm on a call, it keeps streaming video of some ugly guy instead of showing my feed.

You bastard, Dabbsy. You weren't such a good housemate yourself, you know. You never cleaned the bathroom, you stole everyone else's milk, and you left your clothes in the washing machine for days at a time.

Drop dead.

Signed,

Hugh.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey rebrands himself a 'single point of failure' and quits

Re: Get while the getting's good?

That's a theme pork.

Re: Hmm

"permabanned for a single day's worth of stupidity"

Woah, woah, take it easy - if we started banning people from social media for stupidity, how would I fill my free time? You don't seriously want pillocks like me roaming the streets, do you?

Re: mmm cake; where's my cake?

"Editorial control is binary. If you have it, you limit your audience and your ad impressions severely..."

This isn't true. There is a spectrum of editorial control: you could have none, you could have AI editors (naughty word bots etc), you could have light touch human editors (moderators), you could have full editorial control of content (every word reviewed and approved by professionals), and any intermediate point along the way.

Neither is it true that editorial control would shrink audience and ad impressions: you'd lose a few bots and extremists, but if the Twitter product were more sane you might gain more "normal" people like you who don't want to swim in the current cesspool.

"only newspapers have mastheads"

Ha-harrrr, matey, landlubbers like ye have no idea of the true meaning of words! The masthead of my pirate schooner, Yachty McChatbotface, has seen all seven seas!

UK competition regulator to Meta's Facebook: Sell Giphy, we will not approve the purchase

Re: Real problem

"Not sure what is the point of that organisation then."

TBF, the clue is in the name. The Competiton and Markets Authority "work[s] to promote competition for the benefit of consumers, both within and outside the UK". If you're worried about dodgy tax affairs, then the right government department would usually be HM Revenue and Customs.

The CMA regularly makes decisions about corporations that aren't managed from the UK. Just look at the recent list: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases Air Europa, Nvidia, Sony Music...

Facebook thinks it's a special case but it ain't. It's already been fined 50 million quid by the CMA over its Giphy antics. The CMA has teeth! https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-fines-facebook-over-enforcement-order-breach

Indian government warns locals not to use Starlink's internet services

Re: it does not have a valid license

As with all things Musky, things like "licences" or "tax" or "transparency" are low down the list of "Things Elon Gives A Shit About".

Toshiba to become Threeshiba – company split to spur growth as strife persists

This is very interesting. In the past couple of weeks, two US conglomerates decided to break themselves up: GE and Johnson & Johnson. It might be that the age of conglomerates is over.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/ge-j-j-breakups-add-213854338.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucHJpdmFjeXdhbGwub3JnLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJCF6U_p9r0pqNJovFC9QH4dbo_r6uHRAc5oSkDIHfdlt9nzV4dlIaM3mItGs-Kkp0eG5mYIQdInzlKik7yMTVhnQoKafOSAPpdB-ymHdsuVN1kP1pKfYYSrtnI9BqzYWiSBUmE9K2nac7COMSr64g2X_K2zGfMDHM5IgTTuONHF

Ofcom announces plan to protect endangered species – the Great British phone box

There's a few of them around in London. They're just electronic billboards. They do offer free calls - but no receiver. Not sure how the option of yelling into a speakerphone on the High St is going to be of much use to a vulnerable kid that wants to call Childline.

Truck, sweet truck: Volvo's Chinese owner unveils methanol/electric truck with bathroom and kitchen

Re: Just don't use it in Europe!

Unbelievable. Next they'll be asking for a living wage.

BlackMatter ransomware gang says it's disbanding – again – after Ukraine arrests

No way would these criminals call themselves DarkMeta - they wouldn't want to damage their reputation by associating themselves with dodgy characters like Zuckerberg.

Australian cops find cocaine stash in PS5 from Portugal

Re: State of the world

As of a couple of years ago, the typical price of a gram of cocaine in Australia was reportedly just under AUD 310 (GBP 168).

https://finance.nine.com.au/personal-finance/australia-has-the-second-most-expensive-cocaine-in-the-world/9cf2a89d-efe2-45d3-a91b-3c1137edc55d

What a Mesh: Microsoft puts Office in the Loop, adds mixed reality tech to Teams

Re: Great...

The good news is that I'll be able to send messages to myself, like "who on earth wanted to have a 3D avatar meeting that makes us look like we're in Knightmare?"

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knightmare

Twitter's algos favour tweets from conservatives over liberals because they generate more outrage online – study

Re: Twatter

"Twatter" wasn't that funny the first time you said it, and making the same joke three more times didn't improve it.

Re: Another explanation

"Of course this comment will never be seen by anyone because it will be moderated out of existence."

And yet there it is, right on the comments page, currently enjoying a 4:1 upvote to downvote ratio. Why the persecution complex?