* Posts by Mage

9262 publicly visible posts • joined 23 Nov 2007

Google open sources Thread in bid to win IoT standards war

Mage Silver badge

Re: Do we all need to feel like we're in a sci-fi movie?

No proper security / alarm system relies on wireless either, those are the consumer junk for people not wanting to run 4 core. Denial of service is trivial on a wireless alarm/lock/security. If it has an "RF interference / blocking alarm, then the criminal will set that off frequently ($50 handheld gadget) till it's disabled (Cry Wolf attack) then do DOS to break in.

Mage Silver badge

IP addressing is increasingly accepted as the best way to build out an IoT global infrastructure

Only if you don't care about security or privacy. It's also a huge overhead in memory and CPU

I'd rather they all used zigbee or simpler (even an encrypted ASK/OOK 433MHz/385MHz or whatever depending on country) and then a single secure dongle connected at your router via ethernet. Hardly any of these companies have shown any competence in WiFi security, allowing miscreants to use the coffee maker to filch your WiFi password/security settings!

Also they should be 100% functional without

a) Providers' so called "cloud"

b) Optionally any internet at all.

Unicorn adopts rainbow as logo

Mage Silver badge

Re: Well to be honest, it was dealing with photographs

"Just think about Apple which is a rainbow. (I believe it was in a circle, but I haven't seen it for years)"

The original was an apple with a bite out of it with six color stripes, no gradient. Inspired by Beatles "Apple Corp". They got sued several times by Beatles.

Original Apple Logo

Curiously the order is Green, Amber-Yellow, Orange, Red, Violet, Cyan!

A rainbow would be Red, Orange, Amber-Yellow, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Violet (with no steps, pure graduation of millions of hues in reality). There is no magenta in a rainbow, as those "colours" are mixes of red and blue parts of spectrum with no green part of spectrum. Because we have three overlapping sensors peaking in Red, Green and Blue, the "magenta" is a sort of optical illusion. With a prism it gives light at both ends of spectrum and gap in the middle.

[Apple also pinched iPhone name from Cisco and iPad name from Fujitsu and their clock's appearance from Swiss Railways. Ives minimalistic white styling is "homage" to the designs Dieter Rams did for Braun, nothing original]

Windows 10 build 14342: No more friendly Wi-Fi sharing

Mage Silver badge

Re: symlink support for Linux subsystem

Existed in NT3.5x if not always in NT.

Mysteriously the user interface changed or something on later versions. Not new for Vista.

Blocking ads? Smaller digital publishers are smacked the hardest

Mage Silver badge
Black Helicopters

Re: Who knew ?

The stupidity is 3rd party domains with SCRIPTS and iframe being used for ads on a website. That's a potential malware vector, so I block all behaviour like that. I don't specifically set to block adverts.

Static images and text hosted by the website you are visiting might be less convenient to bust people's privacy or manage for the advertiser, but it's surely not going to get blocked!

I've no sympathy for the big players or small ones serving adverts, and slurping privacy, both using tech in an irresponsible way!

Ireland's international tech sector bumps up against language barrier

Mage Silver badge

Re: Other languages

C#, C, C++, PHP, Java, javascript, coldfusion, actionscript, ASP, SQL, php, ruby etc.

I totally agree actually that you need native speakers for localisation. The only thing Native Irish speakers of German, Chinese, French etc would be useful for is translation of foreign documents into English.

Due to USA dominance in software and Internet global companies, and the "English" nature of programming languages, the "foreign" person with English as a good second language is at an advantage over UK, Irish or English speaking Americans.

Mage Silver badge
Alien

Languages

All the people I met in MS Dublin "localisation" were from rest of Europe. French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese people.

"Native" Irish are rubbish at languages, on average, there are brilliant people. Despite Irish in every primary and secondary school, less than 10% have any Irish fluency, likely outnumbered by Chinese speakers. Loads of Polish, but only by people from Poland!

Even for jobs only needing English in High Tech Dublin, there are loads of French, South Africans, Germans, Polish, Ukrainians etc. There are not enough local people with suitable qualifications. Also people from elsewhere don't realise how expensive Dublin is till they have the job and it's too late!

Can ad biz’s LEAN avert ADPOCALYPSE?

Mage Silver badge
Big Brother

Blocking ads OR blocking potential malware and preserving privacy?

I have never set out to block adverts.

Some sites I visit with ads (according to others) are ad free to me.

The issue is 3rd party hosted scripts and iframes on a site you are visiting. By default I have to white list any javascript. This is to protect privacy and security. I almost never whitelist 3rd party domains. Some 3rd parties may use unique per session URLS to track (thus ANY content can track you) or javascript. Not just cookies or a transparent GIF with unique name.

Each of those 3rd party servers also will know what page you are on and due to privacy fail in Browser design / HTTP what your previous page was?

Many websites are now a total mess of different sources.

Privacy and Security are my issues. "LEAN" does nothing for that.

Also "cookie" design is the wrong way round. You have to blacklist sites and delete cookies. Why the hell isn't it the other way round for privacy?

Any adverts that are static and hosted by the site I visit are 100% seen. I don't have an issue with that.

Google, Honeywell put away Nest patent knives

Mage Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: Nah

More boring double glazing, building insulation and wearing sensible clothes rather than only a T-shirt and shorts saves more environment and money. Maybe sun blinds and heavy night time curtains too. A couple of zones via electric valves with simple mechanical/electrical thermostats and a time switch is all that's needed in most cases.

No-one needs Nest. Honeywell makes all the regular sensible stuff too.

Mage Silver badge

Honeywell

Honeywell: Doing Industrial & Heating control since forever.

Nest: Hipster clueless startup bought by Google because it can be used to slurp more private data. Google might lose interest tomorrow and shutter it, or buy Honeywell. Which ever helps them make more money from adverts.

'Bitcoin creator' Craig Yeah Wright in meltdown

Mage Silver badge

re: Spartacus, the truth revealed

Is that supposed to do nothing?

'Apple ate my music!' Streaming jukebox wipes 122GB – including muso's original tracks

Mage Silver badge
Devil

Re: Really?

I only connect my Kindle & Kobo via USB, Only in emergency using WiFi / 3G and only if it's all backed up on two different computers via USB first.

I backup on 2 x standalone HDDs, and copies on laptop, workstation and my server, also private SFTP to my hosting.

I don't use any library/management program that doesn't work by importing a copy, and thereafter never touching the original file.

Netflix only doesn't delete DVDs, and Apple CDs because they are inaccessible.

I don't trust any of these "corporates". Cloud is only subscription hosting that someone else controls. The much vaunted "sync" on most services is liable to screw up your data, or metadata (such as categories etc) and often if you cancel, change account or delete account data anything you didn't buy is deleted and the "backup" cloud when you re-instate your account only has the stuff they sold your (if it has anything!).

ZX Printer's American cousin still in use, 34 years after purchase

Mage Silver badge

Re: Good tip

Fax not common, but paper still sold. Thermal POS is very common.

As is pointed out, this isn't a Sinclair printer.

Mage Silver badge

I have a Mac at home that's a few years old

But what if it was the ROM based 68000 Mac?

Or the rather crazy tinted plastic box with CRT iMac?

Router hackers reach for the fork: LEDE splits from OpenWRT

Mage Silver badge

I have no idea

Perhaps we will see how it works out?

I'd not automatically brand them as "petulant child types". I've using OpenWRT for over 10 years and the forums etc are not the most useful resource. It's been very quiet outside of OpenWRT. It does need to encompass a bit more than simply being a replacement for SW on a retail router. In place updating rather than create a "from scratch" install and the put back in all the old settings seems tricky.

FCC gives the nod to $17.7bn US cable mega-merger (no, not that one)

Mage Silver badge

Re: smaller, financially weaker, but conveniently foreign Altice.

But they aren't an Irish foreign company.

Oh but they are Dutch!

Mage Silver badge
Mushroom

European company controlling swathes of American cable infrastructure.

Ha!

They worry about the wrong things.

Besides what about MS, Oracle, Murdoch, Apple, Google, Facebook, CIA, NSA etc. The pain the pain!

Revealed: How NASA saved the Kepler space telescope from suicide

Mage Silver badge

Re:If satellites had been designed from the start for in-orbit maintenance

Yes. They should be. The Robotic / remote repair needs craft designed for it. But it is a live project as the the rubbish collection.

However working in spacesuit is REALLY hard. A remote or robot could actually be very capable.

Mage Silver badge

Engineers and Scientists

No, it's why we need good education and people doing science and maths at school.

The jury is out on space elevators.

Some sort of robotic repair spacecraft able to stay in a high orbit and be re-supplied from a craft docked at the ISS would be possible today.

While I like the romance of manned (or womaned) space exploration, till we figure Starships (if ever), robotic / remote ships and probes are better. We do need orbital repair bots and orbital "sweeper" bots. Still, amazing how cheap India did a Mars Mission.

[Even if the material issues of the cable of a space Elevator can be solved, the central platform has to be built in orbit. Then you have maintenance. The building of it needs a horrendous number of launches. Mars and the Moon are better candidates for a space Elevator as Kevlar could be used, but some other launch mechanism likely cheaper on Moon (see The Moon is a Harsh Mistress) and maybe on Mars too. A space elevator is a nice idea in a story. The reality is problematic ]

The Lonely Pirate MEP's Holocaust copyright stunt backfires

Mage Silver badge

Re: Another MEP lacking all common sense

DRM is evil and in theory can be contrary to Berne Convention on Copyright.

Mage Silver badge
Devil

The real issue

It's not Google, Facebook, Youtube etc vs the creator or artist.

Julia Reda is fighting the wrong war. Most creative types are simply treated as employees. The Corporation gets the patents, design rights, copyright.

The USA Radio pays less to music than European as they only pay composer /lyric copyrights, not performance rights to the "band".

A book author only gets 5% to 10% royalty. Or nothing other than wage if a hired writer.

The "war" is between the new Corporates and traditional publishers (Disney, Hollywood, Marvel, DC, Big Six Book publishers, record labels etc). The extensions of copyrights mostly benefit traditional corporates, not authors, though they get something.

Google (Youtube) wants to give nothing.

Amazon at least in cutting out the Publishers, do want to give authors decent royalty, but they want to be the ONLY publisher (then how much will people get?). KDP select is evil.

Engineers and Programmers creating stuff should get same rights as fiction authors, painters, musicians and composers, who may get paid as well as a royalty.

We need better designed Berne Convention copyright, better enforced copyright, encompassing all creative works. Not longer, not secret TTIP, DCMA, not weakened to suit Advertising driven parasites like Google (YouTube), Facebook, Pinterest (maybe they are just a parasite).

Not to create publisher monopolies (Amazon owns IMDB, Goodreads, CreateSpace, Book depositary and more and aim is to completely control book publishing)

Nor sites persuading people to give away their rights such as Flickr, most people don't understand CC.

Wikipedia can't simply be walking over copyright either.

So at the minute Copyright benefits one group of companies (the ones that have directly exploited the creative workers) and are being fought by a newer group who don't want to give as musch, or anything to the real creators.

The anti-copyright lobby are hoodwinked by big corporates like Google. Let's figure how to compensate the real creators better.

IBM's quantum 'puter news proves Big Blue still doesn't get 'cloud'

Mage Silver badge

Cloud

"Cloud" is purely hype and marketing for rented hosting.

The fact that it's usually easy to sign up (waste your money?) is irrelevant.

I don't see a huge problem with IBM using the same tired market droid press release hype as everyone else.

A Brit cloud biz and an angry customer wanting a refund: A Love Story

Mage Silver badge

Threats?

At what point did the customer threaten the company?

Intel has driven a dagger through Microsoft's mobile strategy

Mage Silver badge

Re: ARM PC

Archimedes. possibly in 1985 with RISC OS (UNIX in 1987)

Apple has now got a tablet with stylus and keyboard running ARM.

They have growth in iTunes revenue.

How much money does Apple make from x86 Mac?

How much money do Mac OS users make on iTunes for Apple?

Mage Silver badge

Re: AMD? VIA?

"Couldn't Microsoft just hire them to create a low-powered x86 on par with the Atom?"

The Atom was never going to do it.

The problem is the x86 architecture. If you can do tricks to get an Atom running at decent speed at say 1W, then an ARM doing same job in a phone/tablet in an SoC will use 0.1W

The x86 can't compete with ARM in mobile period. If Intel can't do it, AMD certainly can't!

Mage Silver badge

Re: Just remember... If IBM back in 1890

That would have been when they were called Hollerith and used punched cards, no CPU.

Yes, 1980. But the PC was a rush job out of a catalogue. IBM themselves had better CPUs. It wasn't meant to be a success and set an industry standard. That's why they didn't even bother with an OS, just let MS supply the one that MS just bought reverse engineered from CP/M 86, which was easy to port from CPM as the 8088/8086 was so similar to 8080/8085/Z80 that Intel's machine code translator worked well (after all you still only had 64K RAM at a time, even some 8085/Z80 systems had more than 64K then via external paging). It was pretty much same architecture and instructions, just added segment register and memory management instructions. Writing for PC DOS was pretty identical to CP/M on 8 bit. Even a lot of the system calls / Software interupts etc are indentical, hence almost instant Wordstar and Supercalc.

Mage Silver badge

Continuum today is dead.

Unless MS ports EVERYTHING to ARM.

But that doesn't fix Sage Accounts and all the other legacy stuff, too much of which now runs badly on Win 10.

They sacrificed Windows Desktop for a market that they can't get into. They can hardly even sell ARM based Windows phones!

The entire Zune derived Modern UI strategy was stupid and now is dead.

If I had all the Android apps to do what I want, I can actually plug in a keyboard, mouse and HD HDMI screen to my ancient Z1 Sony phone.

But actually I have a laptop with XP no longer on Internet for legacy stuff and 2 off 1600 x 1200 screens on a high power Linux workstation for most work. Some of the Windows stuff works on WINE. Linux Mint + Mate has many native versions of applications I was using on Windows. Android is too lacking in Privacy (as is Win 10) and the applications, like MS Modern UI are mostly too lightweight and widgety.

No way Intel has any traction on IoT.

Argos defection to Tech Data whips Ingram Micro's bottom... line

Mage Silver badge

Argos?

Their parent has just sold Homebase, so aren't Sainsbury or someone buying them.

Argos owner was formerly Great Universal Stores, 1920s to 1980s Catalogue seller. Maybe earlier for all I know.

Devs claim charger uses 'photosynthesis' power battery charger

Mage Silver badge
Boffin

Still nonsense

Photosynthesis is like a solar panel. It's not feasible to get this sort of power from sunlight via bacteria in this area of plant pot.

This sounds more like a battery. How long does it last before it wears out?

I am Craig Wright, inventor of Craig Wright

Mage Silver badge

I dunno

makes as much sense as the BBC generally does.

Old, complex code could cause another UK banking TITSUP – study

Mage Silver badge

Outsourcing

Losing core competence due to outsourcing, so called "cloud" or simply off shore developers is stupidity.

These business need to be just as expert at software development as at trading and marketing or else ultimately they are not actually really banks or other financial institutions, but just resellers.

Hold on a sec. When did HDDs get SSD-style workload rate limits?

Mage Silver badge

We need more reliable, not just larger.

Half the capacity and four times more reliable is obviously better if space and power isn't an issue.

Is the solution taller drives with no shingles and bigger tracks, i.e. more platters?

Legal fight against USA Today's news app info-flogging OK'd by court

Mage Silver badge

Re: Beyond a visitor who clicked on a website.

No, the report implied that for some reason web users don’t deserve the same privacy as app users:

"In doing so, the judges argue that folks who download mobile applications should be classified as "subscribers" with additional protections on personal data not given to website visitors."

I agree that Mobile app users are in a sense "subscribers".

But so are web users, even if you don't pay. Even if the web users are not "subscribers" and app users are, it's a bizarre world where a perhaps known subscriber is entitled to more privacy than a supposedly anonymous web user.

Mage Silver badge
Devil

Beyond a visitor who clicked on a website.

And why the hell are websites (i.e. Google mostly) allowed to do it?

It's a criminal invasion of privacy by websites.

Browser design and EU Cookie law is back to front!

By default NO tracking or cookies should be legal. The Cookie consent is POINTLESS because the default is that the browser accepts them and the only option on the website question is to accept (and they ALREADY put the cookie.)

But web and email provider abuse of privacy goes WAY beyond cookies. Evil bloody widget buttons to 3rd party sites with tracking javascript, google analytics, 3rd party fonts, 3rd party iframes, 3rd party apis and javascript.

It's disgusting.

Please stop setting "zoom: 1"

Mage Silver badge
Flame

Or why the web is so typographically broken?

from site to site is like 6pt to 16pt jumps. Or worse! The BBC even between pages on their news.

pale grey text

Giant images that convey little.

flat buttons

non-standard links

things that look like links and are not

Do the people that design sites ever try to read the articles?

Engineer uses binary on voting bumpf to flag up Cali election flaws

Mage Silver badge

Chap runs Windows 95 on Apple Watch

Mage Silver badge
Angel

Win 3.0 in real mode

DOS and Win 3.0 too easy?

I did manage to run "Beneath a Steel Sky" on my Nokia E65 about 8 years ago. It wasn't too slow, just tended to have problems, but it did also on PC.

Xiaomi takes aim at Apple, Qualcomm

Mage Silver badge

Under $50

The Apple offering only sells at the crazy price because it is Apple.

The small screen, small battery, small case means these are really cheap to make.

If it's got no phone, just Bluetooth, that saves on parts and patent royalties.

See "remainder" stock on eBay

BT only: U80, U8

BT + Phone: JV08, DZ09

These don't work very well, though nearly as useful as the expensive models, but even without software /app added to your phone, do work as hands free, remote SMS, media player etc. Charge every 2 or three days via Micro USB. Internal micro SD card for sound recording, etc

There is no reason why a "Smartwatch" can't be under $50.

If the Internet of Things will be SOOO BIG why did Broadcom just quit the market?

Mage Silver badge

Profit

It's very competitive and only a few cents profit per chip.

FCC 126MHz 5G auction

Mage Silver badge
Devil

What do TV stations and ITU think?

Propagation is too variable and far for cell type frequency re-use. That's why TV has so called "white space" (it is not "free" but part of spectrum planning to avoid interference.)

China will make the gadgets and they will be imported everywhere, interfering with Digital TV in other countries.

It's irresponsible even for USA, strengthening Cable and Satellite Pay TV over Free to Air. Non-TV already has far too much USA Spectrum. The 700 MHz re-allocaton was evil. This is more so.

800MHz, 700MHz and 600MHz is increasingly poor for frequency re-use leading to very large, erratic performance and low capacity cells.

Greed and Stupidity.

Intel loses its ARM wrestling match, kicks out Atom mobe chips

Mage Silver badge

IoT and super-fast 5G mobile broadband?

Hilarious. 5G doesn't really exist. Unlike 2, 3g & 4G it's more about a flexible infrastructure and higher level protocols than the "air interface" or Modem Chips.

Intel has already "lost" the IoT market, which is mostly bonkers stuff no-one wants. How many TV,s Routers, WiFi points, setboxes etc use Intel?

The power issues when there is no screen and GPU even more favour ARM in embedded computers. MicroChip bought AVR, they and NXP produce 50cents and cheaper ARM based SoC. I can't see x86 or Intel in that market.

Memory chips :) That's what they did before the 4004!

At last: Ordnance Survey's map wizardry goes live

Mage Silver badge

Irish Version

It will be delivered 15 years late and cost €500 a month.

Irish ordinance survey data for Radio Planing can cost €10,000 per town.

Watch it Apple: time has come for cheaper rivals' strap-ons

Mage Silver badge

Re: 1st gen device to have more than 50%

Purely because it's Apple and the market volume is so small. How many Apple fans are there that will buy ANY new kind of Apple product?

I bet they could sell 2M Pippins too, today. Actually maybe more.

The Apple Watch makes less sense than Apple TV (which is Apple centric video streaming and not a TV, a Roku is better. I'd not want the Google or Amazon ones either. Actually, given cost of subs and my BB quality I don't want any of them).

Mage Silver badge
Devil

Apple Watch.

Purely a BT accessory for an iPhone. Even the strap costs more than competitors.

Since most of cost of a phone is (a) screen based on size and (b) there is overhead of phone royalties the BT only Apple Watch ought to be less than $25 if it wasn't Apple and about $49 for an Apple model. I know Apple fans that had sold them on to unsuspecting "marks".

It's a scam.

The DZ09 is pretty poor, but still better value. It even works as GSM phone on its own and has about twice battery life of Apple model. About £12 / $16 because it's a bit obsolete and clunky. Camera is only 320 x 240 but it does take a Micro SD card, charge or connect (USB storage) via micro USB. The Alarms, BT remote (hands free if driving?) to regular phone and sound recording all work.

First rocket finally departs Russia's Vostochny cosmodrome

Mage Silver badge

Location?

I wonder why it's not on the coast (safer when it falls down) which would allow further south too?

Or did someone important own the land?

Nearer equator is good, which is why Russia has a terminal at the European space port in South America.

Apple will be grilled by Irish National Planning Board over €850m data centre plan

Mage Silver badge

Re: Sounds like the site is/was a tree farm

Even better, grow native trees there and put their data centre on one of MANY underutilized fully serviced industrial estates in West or Mid West.

Perhaps that's too industrial for "posh" Apple.

It was good enough for DEC in the 1970s.

I'm not inclined to believe any promise regarding developments in Ireland, especially by an Builder, Developer or Politician*, nor Apple, masters of spin.

[*see Anglo Irish Bank, West Link, Developments on M50, Ghost Estates etc etc]

Samsung's little black box will hot-wire your car to the internet. Eek!

Mage Silver badge
Devil

It's not new either

Some young drivers due to exorbitant insurance, driven up by high jury awards, SOMETIMES for fake whiplash injuries etc have had the spy box for years to get cheaper quotes.

It's a nasty "thin end of a wedge" in surveillance society.

Kids racking up huge in-app bills on Kindles, Android is all your fault, Amazon – US court

Mage Silver badge
Flame

Issues

Impossible to give your eInk Kindle or Kobo eReader to a Kid, as is or loan it.

if you remove the account you can't even add free eBooks and the EXISTING ebooks, bought or free, even if loaded via USB are deleted.

You can't use newer Kindle eInk or Kobo eInk eReaders AT ALL, not even add free books via USB without creating an account.

Only solution seems to be to create an eMail account for kid / friend (Kobo) with no credit card. Amazon seems to need a credit card and no way to disable small kindle book purchases via WiFi or 3G (so only give kid WiFi model and keep wiFi keysecret, but they might use library / friends house?).

So the way accounts / purchases work on eInk Kobo or Kindle you buy, even for your own writing or public domain books is unacceptable today. Esp. Amazon. Kobo, at least you can create an account with no payment option.

Don't lend your Kindle / Kobo to ANYONE!

Back up all the books via Calibre / USB, as ANYONE my fiddle with settings, remove your account (no security PIN on Kobo) and thus delete everything!

The password protected Kids Mode on Kindle hides all free books, everything not purchased from Amazon. It's USELESS.

Go to Topshop, make a Bluetooth gizmo, stick it on your dress

Mage Silver badge
Paris Hilton

during a month

Only?

Exactly what "wearable" tech has been useful in the real world for adults?

Some small kids like light up shoe laces, flickery shoes, LEDs on clothes. Tiger sells a party goer fibre + LED "mohawk" headband for a few Euros.

I'm curious what there is apart from watches, rings, head up contact lenses, google glass, BT earpeice, USB keyring, vibrator with BT interface etc. Most of that isn't much use.

Embedded in clothes?

Ex-Apple gurus' elusive Android phone coming to UK next month

Mage Silver badge

designed the "Beats by Dre"

Hardly a recommendation.

The price is OK. But I'd like PACKAGE choice. EVERYONE does flat slab phones with hardly any buttons.

Anyone could have "designed" that package.