Posts by Waggers

Southampton Uni slaps IP notice on FOI requests

@Trey Pattillo

"And ALL information of a public organization is "public" information"

In the USA maybe, but not in the UK. Ever heard of Crown Copyright? Also, in some cases, publicly owned organisations can compete with each other (and with the private sector) for contracts, and the information they hold is "commercial in confidence" just as it would be in any other setting. And then there's a further distinction between state-owned and state-funded.

Oh, and by the way, "organisation" is spelt with an "s" on .co.uk websites :)

Month of Facebook flaws gets underway

good responses

Well done to Zynga and Facebook for patching their apps so quickly. Makes a change from the Microsoft attitude of "ok, thanks for telling us" followed by deathly silence for a few months until a patch appears.

Adobe tries to rub out LibDem airbrush claims

how long did it take...

...you to come up with this sentence?

"But Adobe's products undoubtedly allow picture editors unprecedented latitude in touching up models. "

Google polishes Chrome into netbook OS

re Chrome for Linux

"Does this mean Google will finally release a version of Chrome for linux?"

No, it means they've tried and failed to get Chrome working on any existing Linux distro, so they've had to create their own just to get the browser working on Linux.

BT abandons Phorm

BT's reputation...

...will be forever tarnished by the fact they even *considered* implementing Phorm. They've made a good decision today but should never have let it get this far.

Street View projects Woolworths through temporal portal

unaware?

"That's the Edgware Road branch of Woolies in London, seen in better days and evidently unaware of the terrible fate which awaits it." Looks pretty aware to me, given the huge "sale" posters and the covered-over windows.

School worker's Facebook post prompts suspension

Another fuss over nothing

Firstly, "just as bad" isn't saying they *are* bad, it means the same as "just as good". She did not call the class "bad" as reported, she just likened it to another class. It's like saying "El Reg is just as bad as the best website I've ever come across" - does that statement say El Reg is bad? No, it does not.

Secondly, doesn't "bad" mean "good" in some forms of slang anyway? Similar to "wicked" etc; think Michael Jackson...

Paris because she's bad...

Strumpets strut Spain's Street View

@Ian Ferguson

"If I don't want my privacy invaded by Google, there's an easy solution: Paste posters of my face ALL over my house!

Then Street View will show nothing more than a giant blur where my house was."

So then we'd all know where you live - the only house with blurred faces all over it. As things stand, there might be a picture of your house on the internet but nobody knows it's yours, so your privacy is perfectly in tact. Streetview != privacy invasion. Please get that straight.

(And no, I don't work for Google)

Tree huggers will confuse shoppers, says Amazon

Amazon are being silly

The notion that anyone stumbling across the Amazee website by mistake might think they've arrived at a new-look Amazon site is preposterous. Besides, if you name your business after one of the most threatened rainforest areas on Earth, some confusion is to be expected. If anyone is at fault here it's Amazon themselves - they're making a mountain out of a molehill but if there is an issue, it's of their own making.

Microsoft gears up for Windows 8

Money making machine

Thad is right, the reason for this is just to keep the Microsoft Money Machine working. If they were really interested in producing a decent operating system they'd concentrate on making one excellent system rather than trying to resell the same old rubbish with a few minor improvements.

Interesting how this news comes out on the day the next version of Ubuntu is released...

Councils to lose some spy powers

What's the alternative?

"This could limit the RIPA-empowered investigation of offences such as dog fouling and restrict the use of surveillance to offences like fly-tipping and rogue trading."

This is bad - councils (and the police) don't have sufficient resources to manually police every street corner and potential fly tipping site. Dog fouling has serious health implications and fly tipping is a major problem in the UK. While I don't want to see CCTV replacing real police patrols etc., CCTV is the only realistic way to gather enough evidence to prosecute fly tippers etc.

Microsoft and Yahoo! resume mating ritual

Search and advertising partnership

Yahoo! = search + advertising - there's nothing else to their business. So this "partnership" is more of a "merger", which will essentially equate to a "takeover". It's just symantics, the outcome is the same.

Most undergraduates 'show fear when asked to do maths'

I'm with Pete

I studied maths at uni for 4 years and have a masters in it - yet I would show symptoms "such as tension, nervousness, concern, worry, edginess, impatience, confusion, fear and mental block" when asked to tackle mathematical tasks in such circumstances too. It's not maths people fear, it's tests, exams and experiments like this one.

BBC Trust moots new licence laws to cope with net

Freedom

The World Wide Web was invented by Tim Berners-Lee while he was working at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research). On April 30, 1993, CERN announced that the World Wide Web would be free to anyone, with no fees due. Neither the government nor the BBC Trust have the authority to change that decision. If the BBC choose to post their programmes on the web, that's their decision. I didn't ask them to do that, and I shouldn't have to pay for it.

Google debuts JavaScript playground

re:Internet Explorer browser share

That's a big story - since January 2009, Firefox's user share has been higher than all versions of IE combined. The problem is, the stats are based only on visitors to W3schools - who tend to be web developers, who tend to use standards compliant browsers. Unfortunately it's not an overall indicator of browser usage.

Phorm CEO clashes with Berners-Lee at Parliament

@Wayland Sothcott - "Small ISPs who go through BT"

It will no doubt vary from ISP to ISP but according to official responses from some of the ISPs on this forum: http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/showflat.php?Board=freenetname&Number=3281353&fpart=all&vc=1, it applies to BT retail only, so other ISPs won't be forced to adopt it by BT.

In the case of Madasafish, they have no plans to implement it at all. I'd try Googling your ISP's name with the word "phorm" in the search string and see what comes up.

UK childcare voucher site offline after security snafu

"We've never had problems before"

Oh yes you have. The Citrix plugin doesn't work at all under Ubuntu, for example. Since I changed my OS at home, I now have to email them with any payment requests, since there's no web based interface available for me. There's nothing technically challenging about the Windows 2000 application that couldn't be translated into a straightforward (but secure) standard web form.

ITV 'could dump' Friends Reunited

Stagnate and die

When it was launched, Friends Reunited was a real pioneer, a brilliant and original idea that was well executed. But, along with the rest of the world, when I discovered that I could catch up with long-lost old friends for free via Facebook, while Friends Reunited was still charging, I switched to FB and didn't look back.

Friends Reunited was in a brilliant position and had the potential to be what Facebook is today in terms of market share and popularity. Instead, they took the money-grabbing route - let's call it the Microsoft Way - charging people for what they can get for free from an alternative supplier, and the inevitable seems to be happening.

It's a shame, given that FU was a British invention and FB is the later imitation from over the pond, but that's the way of the world, isn't it?

Woman sues over Vista to XP 'downgrade' charge

Before anyone else says it...

Save your money, install a Linux distro instead.

Missed flight woman goes absolutely mental

Why the hidden camera?

Do we know why the check-in staff had a hidden camera secreted on their person? Given that it would be picking up all the names etc. on the flight itinery, I think that's a bit dodgy. What were they planning to do with the recording? I'm assuming they weren't just recording on the offchange of a loony passenger turning up...

Spooks foils fictional Russian plot

Techy TV plot not too realitic

So what's new? Do I detect a slow news day at Reg HQ?

Fish snapped snacking at 4,200 fathoms

Japanese research vessel

You mean, they took a break from whaling to do some actual research?

Secret Windows 7 screens leaked?

"You may catch them there before they're gone"

They're gone.

Aero?

I prefer Wispa.

Google releases open source browser

small, fast and stable

I was going to simply type that and say Firefox already does that - but actually this sounds like something much better. I hate it when one page is taking ages to load and Firefox freezes while it tries to load it, and I can't view the other tabs. Once again Google seem to have spotted something good and figured out how to do it better.

Being open source, we can also check that Google aren't using it to watch our every move. And, hopefully, we won't have to wait too long for Firefox to incorporate everything Chrome offers.

Pirate Bay evades Italian blockade

What a load of tripe

"As far as I know it would be perfectly legal for me to make a copy of a Rolex watch if I had the skill."

Nope, not if you use the Rolex brand name, logo and any other registered trade marks on it. And not if the design of the Rolex has been patented.

Similarly, it would be illegal if I made copies of my favourite CD and gave them away to my friends - or posted the same music on t'internet for anyone to download.

"Passing on a copy of something is only theft if money exchanges hands for the copy". Nope. By passing on an unauthorised copy of something the recipient should have paid the originator for, you are denying the originator funding that is rightfully theirs. In other words, you are taking something that belongs to them away from them without their permission. That's theft.

Jeremy Clarkson tilts at windmills

Why all the "sadly"s?

Sadly, there's nothing sad about the fact that the system, sadly, works. If you seriously can't, sadly, get behind of the wheel of a car without, sadly, committing a criminal offence (that's what speeding is, sadly, in case you'd sadly forgotten) then, sadly, you shouldn't be driving. Sadly.

BBC continues to milk great tits

Nothing to see here

The previous offering was definitely milking it, but this one seems quite innocent to me. So there's a species of bird called the "great tit" - that doesn't mean the BBC are trying to insert some childish innuendo every time they write those words. I think Lester needs to take a cold shower and calm down a bit.

BBC's Today Programme shutters message board

Good move, beeb

The BBC have long held a policy that they won't provide stuff online that's available elsewhere (at least, that's the reason they gave for shutting down their free fantasy football service - I haven't found anything quite like it since), so this accords with that approach - there are hordes of other places for the fascists to go and voice their narrow opinions.

The forums were a great idea but they *were* overrun by a vocal minority of right-wing extremists, most of whom were almost certainly not Today listeners. (Judging by the level of illiteracy on the boards, very few of them would actually understand much of what's said on the programme).

F1 chief seeks French ban on orgy video

Idiot

What a stupid thing to do - the more he launches these silly legal cases, the more publicity it drums up, drawing more and more awareness of the very thing he's so desperate to hide. Get over it, Max, move on.

A380 passengers to enjoy 'military-style' urinals

poster

Note the poster in the picture above the urinal, complete with detailed instructions and diagrams. Knowing what the queues are like sometimes on long haul flights, I don't think many passengers are going to have time to read that lot.

As for the design itself - what's the idea, grip with your knees and pee through the whole? A little bit of turbulence and it's wet trousers time.

I'll get my coat... to cover the embarrassing stain

Facebook says occupied territories are Israel

no surprise

This really isn't surprising. If you look at Facebook's UK "networks", you'll see that it thinks the whole of East Anglia is in London; Southampton and Winchester are parts of Portsmouth; etc. etc. - users have apparently been badgering the powers that be to get this changed for years but to no avail.

Google takes a swipe at OOXML

Good on Google

There's absolutely no need for OOXML, there's already a perfectly sufficient standard. Microsoft just need to comply with it.

But then, MS and compliance with standards don't really go together, do they?

Microhoo! or YahSoft!? The! people! must! decide!

Microhoo

Looks like this one is winning so far. A squllion quid and/or a big legal battle to whoever snaps up Microhoo.com first, then

Er...

This isn't a merger, it's a takeover. The resulting company would be called "Microsoft". But if that's the case I think we should pay homage to Yahoo! by forever referring to the new outfit as "Microsoft!"

Long live exclamation marks!

Germans to blast fish into space

Poor blighters?

Beardy Branson would charge them a fortune for the privalege

(Chose the Linux penguin just for the fish link, if you're wondering)

Line up for full-windscreen satnav

BSOD

Let's hope it works reliably, or else "Blue Screen of Death" could suddenly take on a whole new (and literal) meaning

'Death Star' galaxy blasts neighbour

re: They're merging

What, like building societies? I'm thinking Nationwide and Anglia, that became Nationwide Anglia for about 5 minutes and are now... Nationwide. Looks more like a hostile takeover to me :)

Dot, squiggle, plop

Small steps

One of my personal soap-boxes, this. How hard could it be for browsers to recognise <centre> and "colour" and treat them the same as <center> and "color"? It would take pretty much no effort at all to allow English words (as well as Americaneze ones) in languages like HTML. So why doesn't it happen?

Primary care trusts offered data analysis service

Paying twice

There are already organisations WITHIN the NHS that can and do offer services like this at no cost to PCTs and Trusts. A lot of money has been wasted by allowing private companies to take NHS data and then charge the NHS for viewing them in a slightly different way. That's all these companies offer, and it must stop.

AVG cries wolf at Adobe Reader

Re: Daniel

No, it's called "preferences" and is under the Edit menu. Problem is, when I got there I found that most of my settings were already as Daniel suggested, but Reader is still painfully slow for me. I'm off to download Foxit.

Trade unions demand right to Facebook

I'm with the unions on this one

Fortunately I work in a place where there are no such restrictions. But it really annoys me when some of my colleagues spend up to 2 hours a day chatting in the office when I'm working. Why is that acceptable and five minutes spent on Facebook (or wherever else) not?

Provided employees are doing the work they're paid for, hitting their deadlines etc., there's no need to impose such restrictions. It hardly makes them feel valued and trusted, does it? Such actions only serve to worsen employer-employee relations and as a result probably do very little to improve productivity.

Offender tagging beaten by skyscrapers

Offenders beaten by skyscrapers

Isn't this the solution - build some high-rise jails?

Scotland ranked 'worst small country'

Poster

I flew into Edinburgh a few weeks ago and there was a poster there that says "Welcome to the best small country in the world". I wonder if it's still there...

Google's Street View could be unlawful in Europe

Great

So we can spy on America but they can't spy on us - that makes a very refreshing change.

But the first poster is absolutely right - the data protection act etc. refers to personally identifiable data as people's faces etc.; as long as the faces are blurred, there shouldn't be a problem. And as far as seeing things through windows is concerned - if you have a street-facing window and don't bother with net curtains etc., what do you expect?

Doctor Who faces extermination

Why axe it?

Why not hand it over to someone else to carry on? It seems a tad unfair to the fans, and somewhat control-freakish. The attitude seems to be "nobody else can do it but us, and we don't want to do it, so it won't be done." Who do they think they are - Microsoft?

BMW helps nail 105mph V-sign biker

Good stuff

I'm glad this moron was caught, there are far too many numbskulls like him on the roads.

Man prangs £830k Bugatti Veyron

Driven by two?

According to the BBC's coverage of the crash at http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/6423241.stm, "The £800,000 car was being driven by two men."

I don't know much about the Bugatti Veyron but isn't it supposed to be driven by one person at a time? Perhaps that's the cause of the crash...

Police track 100mph urban joyrider

"If anyone knows..."

"If anyone knows of individuals involved in speeding they should contact police."

Know of it? I see people speeding every time I'm anywhere near a road. Am I supposed to contact the police every time?

Do we really need a daily shower or bath to stay healthy?

NOT "THAN"

"Different than" is NEVER correct English, unless you're looking at a difference between differences ("A and B are more different than B and C") - in which case you're actually using "more than" not "different than". The correct variants "different to" or "different from" which can be used interchangeably.

Outside the UK, "different to", although totally correct, is very seldom used. So really the only internationally recognised construct is "different from".

"A is separate/different to/from B" - good.

"A is separate/different than B" - meaningless.