* Posts by Vic

5860 publicly visible posts • joined 7 Dec 2007

BT broadband packs up again - second big outage in a fortnight

Vic

Re: 12 sites down

> I've always found Demon really reliable for me.

They're a pain when there's a problem, though.

I had a customer with a Demon connection. It had failed, and I had to get it sorted pronto.

Their "help" line looked at the account, and proclaimed "Oh, that's a business account. I'm not trained to do Business support".

Three times they cut me off before I got someone who would actually look at it.

Vic.

GPS spoofing countermeasures: Your smartphone already has them

Vic

Re: The Rise of the Neo-Luddites

> Could be Seattle, could be Cupertino; can't tell.

Slough.

Vic.

Take a look at atom’s shadow

Vic

Re: that's actually pretty cool for Australia’s :)

> Why are so many people so useless when it comes to apostrophe's?

*snort*

Vic.

So, that vast IT disaster you may have caused? Come in, sit down

Vic

Re: Normally the actual cause is not the person in the room.

> PCWH Version control - Why waste time with that JFDI

That one, at least, is easy to fix. You do JFDI. Installing Git or similar takes no time flat.

Some time later, the need for VCS becomes apparent, and much fretting occurs. That's the time to mention in passing that you might be able to ressurect some data from some random copies you made earlier. It'll take a few hours :-)

Vic.

Vic

Re: wow, who the hell . . . . .

> I never fsck things up, know wall the obscure commands

You just did fsck things up. See how easy it is?

Vic.

Microsoft takes a $6.2bn bath with aQuantive web ads write-down

Vic

Re: Microsoft's descent started when Bill Gates left the helm.

> OS/2 would have been better.

OS/2 would have been a better *product*.

Whether that would have meant more success for Microsoft or not is a rather different question...

Vic.

Puny US particle punisher finds strong evidence for God particle

Vic

> Scientific seminar should soon supply seminal six-sigma solution surrounding subparticle search?

Shouldn't you have prefixed that with "Let me come with you, Pontius. I may be of some assistance if there is a sudden crisis"?

Vic.

Microsoft sets the price for a Windows 8 upgrade at $40

Vic

Re: I upgraded from Win 7 to openSUSE...

> Update the kernel and you may end up loosing graphics.

Might I?

Wow. thanks for telling me. I'd not have known if you didn't. It's awesome what you can learn on this forum, isn't it? I'd always thought using the dependency tracking of kmod-nvidia did the job for me, but it's always good to learn new stuff.

Vic.

Vic

Re: I upgraded from Win 7 to openSUSE...

> 7 recent Linux installs - NO drivers needed

I often use a Linux LiveCD to boot hardware so I can download the relevant Windows drivers & fix the Windows partition on it...

Vic.

Leap second bug cripples Linux servers at airlines, Reddit, LinkedIn

Vic

Re: Phew...

> you needed a multi-CPU system for the problem to show itself.

I'm running quite a lot of those, across multiple sites. I didn't have any machines lock up.

Of course, those machines run very little Java. That's probably unrelated.

Vic.

Viviane Reding says imitate US and form FEDERAL EUROPE

Vic

Re: 'Far too many religious nutjobs' indeed

> Do unto others as you would have them do to you.

I thought it was "Do unto others before they do unto you"...

Vic.

Vic

Ick!

> just goggles and swimsuits

You want to see Theresa May in a swimsuit?

*shudder*

Vic.

HP open sources WebOS TouchPad tablet GUI

Vic

Documentation Fail...

This code dump is licenced under APL2.0 unless explicitly mentioned otherwise - but you have to download it and look through the tarball before they'll tell you that :-(

Vic.

Raspberry Pi to skipper microship across Atlantic

Vic

Re: You're missing out on the whole point of this

> PiPlane completely FAILS at this essential pre-requisite

Doesn't that rather depend on how many wings it has?

Vic.

Apple wins US ban on Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1

Vic

Re: Fandroids at it again....

> So obvious that nobody else thought to make a capactive touchscreen operated tablet

Everyone else thought of doing that. But the costs have historically been such that the product was not viable.

What Apple did best - and for which they deserve huge plaudits - was getting the component prices reduced such that it became cheap enough to make these things. And I cannot overstate just how much that effort has helped the entire market.

But Apple didn't design the tablet from scratch; it's been hanging around in Sci-Fi for a very long time. Apple turned it into Sci-Fact, and that was a great thing to do - but it doesn't give them ownership of the concept.

Vic.

Vic

Re: Rounded corners - prior art

> Somewhere in my attic, I have a Siemens SIMpad that came to market in about 2001

In my front room, I have a table that dates from the 1930s. It is predominantly rectangular, with rounded corners.

I think it predates Apple's patent somewhat.

Vic.

RBS IT cockup: This sort of thing can destroy a bank, normally

Vic

Re: @Graham Marsden

> They are total bastards when it comes to getting it out again

As I said, I've not experienced that yet. I've been with them for about 3 years.

Vic.

Vic

Re: @Graham Marsden

> Santander, widely seen (until now) as Britain's worst bank for customer service.

I've seen this many times, but I have to say, I've found them pretty good so far.

I've had a much more lpeasant experience with them than the one I got from HSBC :-(

Vic.

Mensch pal Bozier defends Menshn security, dubs critics 'snippy geeks'

Vic

Re: politics

> A good enough reason to stop someone becoming a politician should be that they WANT to be one.

Not *entirely*...

A few years back, I was toying with the idea of standing for Parliament. Not because I want to be an MP - I just want rid of the incumbent numbnuts.

Sadly, I live in a "safe seat" area :-(

Vic.

Why I love Microsoft’s vapourware tablet

Vic

Re: Sure is

> I've stopped reading the 'Open and Shut' stuff from that ex Ubuntu guy, because most of it is rubbish.

Yep. Me too.

> Although he's written a few good ones

I'll have to take your word for that.

Vic.

Finnish PM rules out Nokia rescue package

Vic

Re: The Seeds of this were sown long before Elop

>However poor you may think Elop’s judgment is, he is definitely a leader rather than just a manager.

So was Lord Cardigan

Vic.

Vic

> the only long term they have now is "get as much out of MS as possible"

You think so?

I reckon a complete about-turn would give them a survivable future. Get a few Androids out for cashflow, then run Symbian & Meego (or similar) for a bit of market value.

This is obviously an uphill battle - Nokia having lost so much traction, kudos, and staff over the last little while - but does *anyone* think they're going to make a go of Windows Phone?

Vic.

Vic

Re: Flops mission is complete.

> Nobody has explained why Nokia would sell MS their patents and other IP on the cheap

Nobody has explained why Nokia would bin their entire product line and hitch their wagon to an essentially inknown product from a software vendor with a very chequered history in the consumer marketplace.

But they did.

Elop is very clearly a Microsoft fanboy, even if he isn't a plant. Why would he not go cap-in-hand to Ballmer when he starts running out of money? As long as that happens before an official bankruptcy, MS is quids in...

Vic.

Oracle accepts a nice round number in damages from Google

Vic

Re: Serves Oracle right

> in exchange for JavaFX going into Android

AIUI, Google didn't want Java code in Android; Dalvik is a much better fit to their view of how phones should work.

The Java API use seems to be more about giving developers an environment to which they are already accustomed...

Vic.

Vic

> I expected $1 more...

I expected a £50 slap on the wrist. Technically, there *was* infringement, even if Alsup was less-than-impressed with Oracle suing over code erroneously incorporated and already removed. As for RangeCheck() - well, how else are you going to code it?

BSF are taking this to appeal, of course. Just like they did with SCO's case. I expect they'll have a similar amount of luck with that...

Vic.

CIOs should fear the IP police ... have your get-out-of-jail files ready

Vic

Re: Copyright nightmare.

> Teachers copy, all the time, for simple convenience.

And they may well be permitted to do so.

Section 32 of CDPA88 is quite permissive when it comes to schools. For example, 32(1) says :

"Copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work is not infringed by its being copied in the course of instruction or of preparation for instruction, provided the copying—

(a)is done by a person giving or receiving instruction,

(b)is not done by means of a reprographic process, and

(c)is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement,

and provided that the instruction is for a non-commercial purpose. "

> I have on one occasion had to confiscate a teacher's video of MLK's 'I have a dream' speech

You might not have had to do that at all...

Vic.

Vic

Re: Sir

> Make it complicated and people will just get fatigued

It's worse than that.

The first time you break the law, it's a big deal. Huge.

The second time, it's that little bit easier.

The eleventy-fifth time, it barely registers.

So it is that by forcing consumers to circumvent the law on a regular basis, we actively train those consumers to flout the law.

The Big Content providers are their own worst enemy. But they keep getting legislation passed :-(

Vic.

Brussels could 'clash' with London over UK snooper's charter

Vic

Re: Are the spooks really that thick?

> I think you're vastly overestimating the competence of most crooks, pervs and terrorists

If they're really that incompetent[1], what does that say about the authorities that have failed to catch them so far?

Vic.

[1] It is a common mistake to underestimate one's enemy...

Password flaw leaves MySQL, MariaDB open to brute force attack

Vic

Re: Simple security

> Your average webserver only needs :80 and :22 visible to the world

I'm quite keen on :443 as well...

Vic.

US Navy buys Linux to guide drone fleet

Vic

Re: Combining GPL + proprietary in a single program?

> So the DoD say that you can combine GPL and proprietary in a *single program*.

Yes.

> Is that first claim really valid?

Yes.

Vic.

Vic

Re: @arrbbee - distribute source with the binaries

> AFAIK, the obligation to provide source is to those that you distribute to

That is often not the case.

The GPL gives you two ways of conveying source; you can ship it *with* the binaries, in which case you only have to distribute to your immediate downstream, or else you can ship it with a promise to distribute source to *any third party*.

IOW, if you want to restrict your source shipment to your customers only, you must distribute source with every binary you ship.

> If they just package the source code with the device they'll meet their obligations.

Yes.

Vic.

Vic
Joke

Re: Yuk

> I do it regularly just to keep my hand in !

I notice "hand" is in the singular... :-)

Vic.

Vic

Re: Yuk

> should consider using licenses that disallow uses that the contributors to

> those projects would be unhappy about.

No, absolutely not.

As soon as you retain such "field of use" rights, the software is not Free. The copyright holders have unspecified and capricious rights to veto a recipient's use of the code. That's *at least* as bad a a proprietary licence...

Free software means Freedom - even if we don't like the Freedoms someone else is exercising.

Vic.

UK websites: No one bothers with cookie law, why should we?

Vic

Re: @Oliver

> can't be bothered to look for the original

It's often a good idea...

> the cookies which you should warn about are the so called session tracking cookies

This is not sufficient, per the legislation.

Regulation 6 says this :-

"a person shall not store or gain access to information stored, in the

terminal equipment of a subscriber or user unless the requirements of

paragraph (2) are met.

(2) The requirements are that the subscriber or user of that terminal equipment-

(a) is provided with clear and comprehensive information about the purposes of

the storage of, or access to, that information; and

(b) has given his or her consent.

"

Note that this covers all cookies, not just session cookies.

Whether or not any of this will actually be enforced is another matter of course. And the ICO's "implied consent" defence essentially nullifies any possible prosecution unless a site is truly taking the piss, and its users complain.

Vic.

Oz sysadmin says Windows 8 not ready for business

Vic

Re: 2013

> people even on these very forums don't get that GPL licensed software can be sold commercially

You might like to reflect on the fact that those having difficulty with such concepts are generally not those of us writing GPL software.

As with so much you read on the Intertubes about GPL, the reality is surprisingly simple, but people want you to think it's much harder. Oftentimes, you'll then find a connection between these harbingers of doom and some other company which stands to profit from that confusion. We need mention no Naughtonsnames.

Vic.

Vic

Re: 2013

> getting Win8 to play nice with AD, you're going to have a whole lot of fun with Linux.

I have one recurring issue with getting Linux working with AD: the domain admins who don't want Linux on their domain.

Once you get past the office politics, the technical side of getting Linux onto the domain is trivial...

Vic.

UK music-rights collection: Where does all the money go?

Vic

Re: Where is the Off Topic icon?

> Please do some googling before commenting

Yes. Please do.

> You are paying a fee to own / rent / use a reciever for whatever spectrum

No you are not.

From http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one :

"You need to be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record TV as it's being broadcast."

If you're harking back to the various abuses of WTA49 of years gone by, you should check to see how much of that has been amended by subsequent Acts...

Vic.

Advertisers slam Microsoft over 'Do not track' decision

Vic

Re: Errm did you not understand the article.

> How about we agree that Judith has the *right* to have a baby, even though

> she can't actually have one?

Judith can. It's Loretta that can't...

Vic.

Look out, world - Mad Leo Apotheker's back!

Vic

Re: The Kruger-Dunning Effect strikes again

> The success and failure of a company usually doesn't depend on its management.

Nokia?

Vic.

Microsoft and Nokia dub Google troll moan 'desperate', 'frivolous'

Vic

Re: Actually.....

> They didn't get their heads kicked in

Yeah, they did...

Vic.

Windows 8: We kick the tyres on Redmond's new tablet wheels

Vic

> the "average users" I've tried on various Linux versions normally report a much better experience

Likewise.

I've had quite a few users too scared of change to try Linux, but once forced to, they take to it with ease[1].

Vic.

[1] I have one exception to that - he "needs Photoshop". I have shown him how to do the things he wants to do with Gimp, but he can't get past the fact that the keystrokes are different. Every time he destroys a computer, I show him the price of buying Photoshop, and he decides to give Gimp another go. Then one of the other local lads turns up with a pirated copy, and he's back on Photoshop. Until the next cycle...

Online bookie can't scoop £50k losses made by 5-year-old

Vic

Re: Contracts

> Is ticking a box and clicking a button signing a contract?

The answer, as ever, is "it depends".

The last time I was in court on a contract dispute, the defendant was quite surprised that his mutterings could be - and were - considered a legal contract.

The plaintiff was even more surprised to find that he couldn't just assert his own terms and definitions onto said contract, and downright stupefied when the judge dismissed his case because he'd already got far more than he'd paid for :-)

Vic.

[I was neither plaintiff not defendant in the above. But I was working for one side...]

Vic

Re: To be secure, forms must be loaded by HTTPS as well as posted via HTTPS.

> the information is correct

Technically, it's incorrect.

If you have received the form via HTTP, it *might* not be the form you wanted. Nevertheless, you now have the form, and you *can* know where it will be submitting its data.

Having said that, I'm still loath to submit *any* form including personal data that isn't entirely over HTTPS. This site is one of the very few exceptions. And that's primarily because ElReg knows very little about me...

Vic.

MPs brand BlackBerrys for bobbies scheme a failure

Vic

Re: Interesting conclusion

> what is the collective noun for civil servants anyway?

A "nescience" ?

Vic.

Volvo claims V40 is first car with an airbag for pedestrians

Vic

Re: Good idea

> That's a really smart idea, I wonder if they'll patent it

No.

There's prior art - Jaguar won a safety award back in 2006 for exactly this idea.

See, for example, this page for info.

Vic.

'Dated and cheesy' Aero ripped from Windows 8

Vic

> Am I the only one that didnt mind the Aero interface?!?

I thought it was pointless, but I don't *mind* it - I'm just not really interested in it.

But binning it now seems ... odd.

Vic.

Vic

Re: Don't worry about it

> http://cairoshell.github.com/

Looks quite a lot like Gnome2...

Vic.

Apple's trial experts are 'slavish fanbois who believe in magic'

Vic

> real 'em in boys, real 'em in

What an incredible metaphysical allusion.

I suspect "reel" would probably have been the better word in this case, though...

Vic.

Titsup WHMCS calls the Feds after credit-card megaleak

Vic

Re: @AC 13:15 -- Yup

> WHMCS Security Question: "When was the War of 1812 fought?"

That's actually a very good security question - with the answer being something along the lines of "three squirrels and a lemon"

Vic.

Oracle juices homegrown Xen to match own-brand Linux

Vic

> The kernel will however report that it is at the 2.6.39 level, but ignore that.

What? Is this true? Have they patched the kernel to mis-report its version?

Madness.

The whole point of version numbers is to know what you've got. Bodging the code to lie about its version is just going to end in tears.

Vic.