* Posts by John Brookes

54 publicly visible posts • joined 23 Aug 2007

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Gov claims 'password protection' OK for sensitive docs

John Brookes
Joke

They know nothing about security!

If they wanted it to be REALLY safe they'd have used a substitution cipher on it too!

Mine's the diamond-studded one made of gold thread in the unlocked, papier mache safe... Oh, and watch out for the guardsnail!!

BitMicro gives 1.6TB SSDs some SCSI lovin'

John Brookes
Coat

@alistair

.....Corner Alert.....Pedants Corner Alert.......Pedants Corner Alert.......Pedants Cor...

The example given isn't so much a density thing as a scale thing.

Mass increases with the volume (that is to say (extent measurement)^3) whereas surface area goes with (extent measurement)^2.

Terminal velocity = sqrt(mg/<rho>AC) (where m=mass; g=accln. due to grav.; <rho> is the density of the medium; A is the presented area and C is the coeff. of friction)

All other things being equal, therefore, the terminal velocity increases with sqrt(r), as (m/A) is proportional to r^3/r^2 = r....

Barracuda plays the hippie card in Trend Micro patent row

John Brookes
Paris Hilton

@ solomon 3 + anon coward

Further to previous responses that explained how companies can make money out of OSS....

Reasons why people develop software:

1) It's their job to develop that piece of software, hence: Money

2) They don't get paid to develop software, but developing _this_ piece of software will make it easier for them to do whatever it is they get paid to do.

3) They want their computer to be able to do a particular, non-work-related thing, but either there is no software available, or they can't/won't pay for software already on the market.

4) Somebody mentioned an interesting problem to them, they've grown out of Meccano, jigsaw puzzles seem pointless and they don't have the time, funds or hangar to build an F15 from scratch.

5) They see a piece of OSS in an area in which they'd like to work (eg games, graphics, technical computing), but in which they have insufficient experience. They do it to familiarise themselves with the concepts/gotchas/techniques.

In the 1st case, there would obviously be no question of sharing the code and the Mill Owner might not be keen in the 2nd case.

For the others, though, what is to be gained by _not_ sharing? If the software becomes popular, the OSS developer gains kudos - kudos is a saleable quality - and you will probably know more about the software than anyone else (at least initially). If no-one but you ever uses it, you can view it as having gained development experience rather than rueing it as a failed get-rich-quick scheme.

PS Paris because she's living proof you can make millions by showing everyone your bits ;-)

No data protection exemption for YouTube baby battle video

John Brookes

Recording calls: tea, or nay?

iirc, when the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police (Ian Blair?) was found to have recorded some phone calls, it turned out he hadn't broken the law, as either party is allowed to record a phonecall for their own personal records. The logic is, I imagine, that - as you've already heard the conversation - there can be nothing wrong with you hearing it again. It's only when you want to play the recording to others that permission from the other party must be sought.

@ISP - Pretty sure your company is breaking the law unless the recordings are covered in the T&Cs(?).....

Re: Social workers

I know a few people who work in social services and they're all conscientious, well-meaning and smart. They're also massively underpaid for the burdens their jobs entail, so it doesn't surprise me one bit that some social workers are lazy, power hungry and/or stupid.

Any role that gives you power over others is bound to attract the minority of people who just want to have power over others; it's human nature. Add in the fact that a person's most keenly-felt responsibilities are to themselves and their loved ones and the need for accountability is a no-brainer. How far you are prepared to go to make them accountable is a matter for your own conscience, but if you are prepared to go beyond what is permissible under law you can hardly be surprised when the law comes and bites you in the ass.

Just my 2p-worth.

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