Posts by Ian Michael Gumby

Re: If Apple don't

You could go with a map app like MotionX. It seems to work well enough for the price. (YMMV and I am not selling the product.) I'm sure there are other apps out there.

The major problem with Google is the amount of information that they will more than likely capture while you are using their map application. ;-) Yeah that's the key. Will it run afoul of Apple's T's and C's?

So you can decide for yourself what you want to do.

If you are serious about map apps, there's always Nokia which has Navteq's map data.

@Decrapifier Re: ———> Anonymous-Coward "Contractor" <———

I'm not anonymous, but I think the point is that you definitely have a chip on your shoulder.

I know the numbers on both sides of staffing issues. (FTE or contractor/consultant)

I also know that many companies can't attract the quality of staff for a FTE position.

I also know that not everyone can be a consultant.

You seem to not understand that in the IT world, Unions don't work. There's been a guy trying to do this at IBM for the past 10+ years and its gone nowhere. Even as IBM has off shored their work.

LIke I said, contractor not withstanding, if you keep your skills within the top 10% of the industry, you can find a job anywhere.

At a former client. I have watched many of their staff jump to other opportunities for more $$$, better benefits and better challenges. And these were FTE and not contractors.

Just saying...

@Caps Lock...Re: This author has little to contribute.

Try 20+ years as an independent owing one's own Corporation.

The first thing you need to do is to figure out who does what and what sort of equity they bring to the table.

The second thing you need to do is to figure out how to take down the corporation and how to handle if someone wants to leave and cash out, or someone needs to leave and cash out.

You can find out a lot about someone from that conversation.

You need a new satellite(s)

I say plural because as we saw with the last launch, you can easily lose a satellite.

So you put up a new satellite capable of beaming higher def content. Then you need to upgrade your receiver kit to be able to handle the signal and new codecs.

One thing to notice is that to get the higher resolution, you need larger screens. They haven't shrunk the pixel size yet.

Still thumbs up.

@ H HowardRe: "virtually no explanation other than climate change"

"Great, that's that cleared up then. I'll let science know you have the answers already."

That's funny.

I mean if we forget about all of the facts on natural events which spew forth more carbon, and other organic compounds in to the air we breathe. Or that the magnetic poles of the earth are shifting.

Or the history of the earth and the cycles of climate change...

All of that information, pushed aside because of a political agenda? C'mon, really?

Note that I'm not saying that we should do more to clean up the air. Cleaner energy? Try Nuclear and spend more on fusion research. I'm all for that. Cleaner diesel and better filtration on exhaust particles. Sure.

Kill the 'burbs and move back towards urban environments w more farmland. Absolutely.

But please don't try and say that the environmental change we are experiencing is all man made.

Re: WTF?

You seem to miss the point is that while they catch one bad transaction, it is unknown how many other bad transactions occurred that did not get caught.

The probability is >1

Re: Training

Its interesting that you made that comment.

Some major corporations have taken that same attitude and have decided to push this work off to their offshore lower cost labor pool.

Over time, they may get it. Things will be easier as the tools evolve.

But the truth is that Big Data increases the required skills by an order of a magnitude.

You go cheap early, you get burned and realize that you've wasted your money and time.

Re: 1st rule of contracting

First rule of contracting... Never trust the company that you are subbing through.

Second rule of contracting... Learn to live off a smaller percentage of your wages. Its usually either feast or famine.

Third rule of contracting... Learn how to get in to the daily rate game. Then understand, you're going to be the first to be man ... err... 'asked' to stay late and arrive early.

Fourth rule of contracting... when working for IBM, don't drink the cool-aid.

He seemed to be more like the image portrayed in Flemming's Novels.

@Dave 128 Re: If Only...

I think you need to be a bit more realistic. The extradition appeals process works. While I may not buy the Asperger's ?sp? Syndrome excuse, it doesn't matter. The British Courts did and did the right thing in their mind.

You can't fault them for that.

We look at the Abu Hamza, Assange, and others that lost. Again the British Courts evaluated their arguments and the law and did the right thing.

For those who feel that sending Assange to Sweden opens him up to a US Extradition, think again and actually have faith in your judicial system.

The truth is that the UK Government just saved the US taxpayers a bunch of money on the McKinnon trial.

(IMHO it was a weak case.)

Lets be honest. If you were the US Government, who would you rather have? Abu Hamza or McKinnon?

He wears contacts.

Its really just a reminder that our Alien overlords also have to watch out that even their big brother is watching over you too.

@Shagbag .. Re: except

"I've got an iPhone 5. I'm such a cool guy. Look, see how my Maps don't work and my Photos are crap."

There's a solution for that... its called ... wait for it...

wait for it ...

NOKIA! :-)

Yes, that's correct. They have both the best and most accurate maps and the best camera on a phone in the industry.

Nokia bought Navteq which actually produced the most accurate map data. (They used to supply Google until Google went out and bought a fleet of cars that not only captured map data, but also snooped on unsecured wi-fi signals... but that's a different story.)

And if you want to read a review of the Nokia camera phone... its somewhere on El Reg.

Note: I haven't played with one, nor do I own one.

Just saying.. . :-P

@camnal Re: Nonsense.

"Considering what we've seen over the past decade, you have a touching faith in U.S., British, and now apparently Swedish, regard for 'law'. The Swedish judiciary only went ahead with their case against Assange after the Swedish government intervened and reversed a decision not to pursue it."

For some reason my first response was rejected, but hopefully this will make it past the censors....

You seem to treat the entire governing body as "The Government". You're implying something that didn't occur.

To give you a parallel case, Drew Peterson (A now infamous cop from a Chicago Suburb) was recently found guilty of having killed his second wife in her bathtub making it look like an accident.

As to what happened to his third wife is still a mystery and unless he confesses, we won't know what happened.

But I digress. The reason I point to this case is that initially the investigators considered his second wife's death an accidental drowning in her tub. It wasn't until the third wife's disappearance that they re-investigated her death.

Using your logic, the "US Government intervened" which is true since the local prosecutors are part of the US Government, yet false because it implies that someone at the Country level of government intervened.

I seriously doubt that the Governor of IL or even the State's Attorney got involved.

To your point, my faith in "law" stems from the fact that if we choose to ignore law, we're screwed.

Assange has put himself in to the spotlight and for that, it would be highly unlikely any US official will do anything that wasn't by the book. Note however, Julian has some new 'playmates' that have a serious track record of not being so nice. Lets hope Julian is smart enough to not drink the tea or to take a stroll out in the rain...

Re: A most obvious comment

@LarsG

Were it simple protectionism then the US would never have let the rest of the world take a lead in the manufacturing of telco infrastructure. I suggest you look at the companies like Motorola, Lucent and others which used to manufacture the equipment in the US.

60 minutes ran a story on this Sunday night before the report was released.

Their investigative reporting came to similar conclusions.

@Andreas Koch Re: @Michael H.F. Wilkinson - @Kevin Johnston

In your case, the SUN would have to still compensate you for your photo, unless you sue for willful copyright infringement and can show that there is a pattern of abuse by the SUN.

I'm assuming that beyond the digital watermark, you also placed a copyright notice on the page where you made your photo public?

Of the cases I've seen, companies, not the SUN, have been pilfering images around the net with the mistaken idea that if you put your photo online, its theirs for the taking. I mean that they think that its free for them to reuse.

Now some sites have a base rule that if you don't mark your images with your own copyright, its being released under creative commons. Others say that anything you upload belongs to them - be-itch!, or rather they have the right to use it as they see fit.

In terms of watermarking, it still helps you.

How likely is it that the SUN would have a photo, the same photo you have that is geo tagged and watermarked?

If what you allege to be true is true, then you would have a very easy lawsuit. You produce your image with its watermark. The SUN can't.

What's a journalist... Re: Re 'Stolen Goods' Just send ASSange to trial and get on with life

Matt,

I think you're again missing the point.

The US Government was all about to go postal on Wikileaks over the release, when a bunch of journalists and professors (Law and Journalists) decided to opine what they thought a journalist meant in today's internet society.

There's enough anecdotal evidence to show that in today's internet world, Wikileaks would qualify.

Sad, but true. Many of the liberal press who were interested in getting their hands on the raw data jumped to Wikileak's defense, not to mention the reason why Assange was in Sweden in the first place was to get more protection.

Fast forward now, Assange has a 'news' show on Russian TV.

While you and I will agree that he's not a journalist, there's enough evidence to give pause to the US in trying him and then having to deal with that US Supreme court case. There is enough shaky evidence that would raise reasonable doubt.

Having said that, and if you've read to this point, there's alleged evidence to the fact that Assange partook part in the actual theft. Journalist or not, if true, he can be charged and would face serious jail time in the US.

Re: Karma is a bitch

Yes, she is.

However I guess now we can expect to see more larger companies looking for patent reform.

Its really quite silly and the only ones making money are the law firms.

Can anyone show a software patent that holds water?

Sorry, but the courts erred on ever granting business process and software patents in the first place.

@Capt Daft.

Google and Apple are having trouble finding staff in key areas because they don't want to pay the going rates. They feel that their company name is enough of a draw. After all, everyone wants to come work for Apple or Google, right? (Puffs up your resume...)

The truth though is that All of these tech companies are reading the writing on the wall. That offshoring work doesn't work. So you bring the cheap labor back home.

Its no wonder why American kids don't want degrees in Computer Science / Engineering.

Bing Maps are Nokia/Navteq Maps

Apple went with Tom Tom, for whatever reason. Maybe they saw Navteq's maps as part of the competition because Navteq is part of Nokia and they make a competing product?

Who knows; except that there's more to mapping than the basic data, however it sounds like the stuff from Tom Tom isn't up to snuff.

Re: Cerberus app

You don't need it.

Each iPad has an unique identifier.

Turn it on and connect it to the app store.

Then see what happens...

If apple wanted, they could brick the iPad remotely.

Re: Fantastic kit, for the day.

Did you remember to put the legs down?

There were no fans and relied on convection to cool the machine. If the legs were down, and you were using it on a flat surface, like you were supposed to use it, you wouldn't burn your shag carpet, but yes, to your point, the able's surface did get warm...