* Posts by Will Godfrey

5893 publicly visible posts • joined 8 Sep 2007

ISPs torch UK.gov's smut-blocking master plan

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Re: Make it Illegal

I have a better idea. Make it illegal for any *parent* to have any internet service if they have children under 18.

PR mag: Let promoters edit clients' Wikipedia entries

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I wouldn't trust a PR 'professional' as far as I could throw him/her/it. Their idea of facts never seems to match anyone else's

Compulsory coding in schools: The new Nerd Tourism

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Meh

In the 1960s I went to one of the (new) big comprehensive schools. What I, and my peers gained more than anything else was that we actually had a taste of a wide range of languages, arts and engineering. Within one term we all pretty much knew what our interests were and were streamed accordingly.

This is where I would like to see programming fit in, not as a must-do separate entity, which will be slow enough to frustrate those with natural talent and esoteric enough to bore the rest out of their skulls.

Lesser-spotted Raspberry Pi FINALLY dished up

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Re: It's an admirable project to be sure...

Python is in fact a very flexible language and easy to learn. It can be used straight from the command line or as a program and in a procedural or OO style or a combination of both.

Add pygame to the mix and you're off and flying - and not just for games. Based on SDL it's pretty neat for HMI stuff.

Developer leaks Microsoft product plans for next two years

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Re: Ah yes. The insanity defense.

I agree - it's bad enough that he does it, but to then publicly announce the fact.

{shakes head in bewilderment}

Laptop computers are crap

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Re: External monitor

Turn 16x9 screen through 90deg

set xrandr for 90deg the other way

perfect screen for documents!

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Re: Virtual desktops

Surely 4 screens is enough for anybody

Life on Mars found – in 1976

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Never mind life on Mars, it still hasn't been established whether there is intelligent life on Earth.

Bacteria isolated for four million years beat newest antibiotic

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Re: Meanwhile -Capn Hook

'sOK a few more of us have vote3d it back up

Student's Linux daemon 0-day triggers InfoSec Institute outcry

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Meh

We seem to have a mini-rash of these OMG non-stories lately. If I was the paranoid kind...

Vintage alien tech crash-lands in field

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Some people have entirely too much free time on their hands...

To my great delight!

LOHAN lifts lid on revised mission summary

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Re: Why a titanium rod?

If you have the engineering facilities it might also be worth putting a slight taper on both the rod and the sleeve(s) that LOHAN hangs on with. That way, as soon as it starts to move friction will rapidly fall away to virtually nothing.

Windows XP support ends two years from now

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Re: Will be with us for a while @Dave126

About 3 years ago I was repairing such a machine :)

Not only was the program stored on 'high speed' cassette, but you then had to remove it and load another cassette with the job data.

The machine had a 'program' mode where you manually moved the cutting heads, dialed in the speed etc... rinse and repeat, then saved the lot to a new data tape. I don't know how many steps it had - quite a lot I think.

The company was mooting the idea of a tape recorder emulator, but thanks to our wonderful economy and unbelievable support for small business, they went out of business and all the machinery was broken up for scrap.

Rabid skunks attack US

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Meh

Erm..

Guys, guys. This is a British English forum. We have plenty of our own low-life to compare. We don't need the west ponders too.

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Re: Whatever.

You owe me a monitor and keyboard!

MPAA boss: 'SOPA isn’t dead yet'

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See. I told you. It's not dead until it's lying in the gutter with a stake through its heart.

HTC sues fans for premature unboxing

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Meh

Wearing my cynical hat, this could simply be HTCs way of getting mass advertising of a new product for free.

Blighty slaps £100m spending cap on govt IT projects

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Hark, Hark!

Is that the flapping wings of a flying pig I hear.

Use the holy word of God to stay secure online, says bishop

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I prefer something along the xkcd lines, with an element of the ridiculous to make it even easier to remember and harder for anyone to guess. For quite along time I used the phrase:

"Do not squeeze the elephants"

Apple drops 'thermonuclear' patent bombshell

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Not bad. Not bad at all, although I always treat everything on April 1 with extreme caution.

... and to the commentards that got all serious.

You must have an incredibly unhappy life!

Capita poises axe over 1,000 staff - jobs headed to India

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If I was being made redundant and told to train my outsourced replacement I'd refuse, in writing, stating that I wasn't prepared to risk being accused of sabotage when the inevitable screw up occurred due to comprehension/language 'errors'.

Finally I'd advise them that if they didn't find this acceptable I would be quite happy for the matter to be referred to an industrial tribunal.

Storage upstart boasts of not losing a single customer...

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Hmmm

So is it flash in a pan, or conventional vapourware?

Osborne+ and Schmidt+ say 'the internet' = 8.3 per cent of UK GDP

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Clearly the government is operating absolutely normally.

Move along - nothing to see here.

Munich's mayor claims €4m savings from Linux switch

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Meh

Meanwhile

in the UK it's the usual snouts in the trough

Quitting your job? Here's how not to do it

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... however

I know of one situation where none of this applied. Guy had fully paid up mortgage, a couple of investments due to mature and more than ready to retire from a job where they'd paid him progressively less in real terms while piling on more work. Faced with yet another pointy headed manager droid he finally snapped.

His leaving was remembered with smiles from those at the coalface for years.

Google offers Oracle slice of Android profits for patents

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Well I found the article interesting until...

Mueller again!

Why do you lot persist in quoting someone with about as much tech credibility as Mother Teresa had?

Oh I get it. It's wind up, isn't it? You're just kicking our cages to see if we bark.

UK copyright exchange man: Nontrepreneurs are just stingy

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And what protection is there for those of us who release material under a Creative Commons license? As far as the collection agencies are concerned we don't exist and our stuff can be pillaged at will - and, as if that's not enough, charged for too.

Novatech pushes affordable Ultrabook

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Re: @Tom Chiverton 1

My employer has bought quite a range of Novatech kit. No problems getting Linux distros to run so far.

Sarkozy hails 'success' of Hadopi's pirate cops

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Meh

The man is desperately fighting for re-election. Is there ANY chance that he (or his minions) would make any other claim?

100 EARTH-LIKE PLANETS orbit stars WITHIN 30 LIGHT-YEARS!

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Re: Genocide

... that we can detect or recognise

Europe to assemble crack cyber-intelligence nerve centre

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And their definition of 'hacking' is what, precisely?

What system builders need to know about solid state drives

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Meh

You might be waiting quite a while then. As far as I know, HDD errors haven't been eliminated yet.

Sky boffins: The Moon is not Earth's only natural satellite

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Re: That's one Hell of a sharp turn near the start

Looks stranger than it is because it's a 3D plot on 2D. That first loop is going mostly front to back.

CD: The indestructible music format that REFUSES TO DIE

Will Godfrey Silver badge
Meh

People like having something physical they can hold in their hands, and place collections of onto shelves. Unless you find a way of changing that, CDs etc. will always be in demand.

Mind you, the industry would make a lot more money if they actually gave people what they wanted (in any format) including their back catalogue.

RAC's Bristol data centre breaks down

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So, who do a breakdown service call when they have a breakdown?

Facebook: Your boss asks for your password, we'll sue him! Maybe

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I would get up and walk out, without saying a word.

BOFH: Dawn raid on Fort BOFH

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All so true, absolutely. What is more, I bet if you took a look around where you are sitting right now, you'd find your own similar accumulations of crud.

Dr Who scores new companion from Emmerdale

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Hmm.

Pretty face, but that's about it really.

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Re: Who's better, Who's best

Oh spot on sir!

You're crap and paid too much for the little work you actually do

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Fish Size v Pond Size

Me, I'm happily swimming around in the small pond, and being noticed without having to do something either heroic or outlandish.

Trial finds eight ways to defeat Google, PayPal and other SSOs

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What is the bookish farce you speak of?

Met plod will use 1980s software to police Olympics

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Look on the bright side. After all these years they might, possibly, maybe, have worked out how to use it.

London Mayor Boris grilled on Virgin's Underground penetration

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Actually,

I would be extremely happy if nobody *ever* mentioned the O word again

Pair of double-As give you cheap, quick charge

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Pah!

Use a switch mode in-line DC-DC converter. They are cheap (around a fiver) and work most efficiently when the input is about twice the output voltage (up to 95%). Readily available from all the usual sources.

Yahoo! Facebook! litigation! trips! patent! trigger!

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The difficulty I have is trying to decide which of those two most deserves to crash and burn

Austrian daredevil Baumgartner skydives from 71,581ft

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Utterly bonkers... but good luck to him!

LightSquared sheds a lonely tear as Sprint legs it

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Re: Any bets?

Aren't you forgetting that SCO *still* isn't dead?

Vendors smack Thunderbolt punters with massive pricing markup

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I really can't understand this obsession with high capacity high speed drives. My 'office' machine that is stuffed full of audio files, images, work projects etc. is only 120G, and actually I lie, It's not stuffed full, I've only used about half the space. I'm not aware of any speed issues at all when using this system. It totally keeps up with me.

There is no way I'd even think about spending all this dosh on something that won't show any return.

Readers suggest LOHAN mount single mighty rod

Will Godfrey Silver badge

As well as having the vulture slung under the platform instead of on it, why not have it supported only by a rigid structure at the business end of the rocket, using a material that will quickly melt and get out of the way.

Lightsquared cries dyslexic Havoc, unleashes 'gods of law'

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Meh

Re: When your opponent has nuclear weapons.....

Absolutely right. We should also accept the need for filters about the size (and weight) of a house brick. Not to mention the upgraded battery to power them... for a few minutes.