* Posts by yeah, right.

639 publicly visible posts • joined 17 Apr 2007

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Firm claims fake spy rock plane drop prize

yeah, right.

@ Knox (obfuscated title)

Sounds more like the Vulture responsible for titles had just finished a 4 hour liquid lunch when this article passed his (or her) desk. After all, it was posted around 5 pm, so they'd probably had quite the head start...

I'm jealous, of course.

Biologist 'discovers' scentless giant peccary

yeah, right.

Monkeys?

He was keeping monkeys in cages? So that's the IT angle, is it? Why didn't you just say he was running a support desk for Microsoft?

Mac OS X firewall blocks Skype and online gamers

yeah, right.

Leopard = Vista?

I wonder what happened to Apple? Did they decide that since Microsoft got to call Vista "an outstanding success" that they too should leave their customers out standing in a field of bugs somewhere?

Or have they gotten just big enough that they think they really don't need to give a shit about the customer anymore? Not that I think they every did - they just care about design and doing things THEIR way. They've got great design skills though, so they've gotten away with it so far.

Ah well, that's why I'll never be an early adopter. Let's see how long it takes for Apple to fix this latest pile of buggy cack. They'll have to be really slow to win the "how slowly can you fix your crap" contest with Microsoft...

Writers' strike hits US talk shows hard

yeah, right.

Tempest

I'd say it's a tempest in a teapot, but the tempest is more like a mild breeze and the teapot is nano-scaled. What an utter load of bollocks!

Then again, I haven't owned a TV for several years now, and I haven't missed it at all. When I do catch a snippet or two, I still notice that there might now be 570 channels, but there's really still nothing on.

Let the writers keep striking. Who. Really. Gives. A. Flying. Toss? I mean, really?

Lost CD may put pension holders in peril

yeah, right.

Encryption?

Why in hell was this information not encrypted? The company should be slapped hard for not doing so, and the government should be slapped even harder for not requiring it. Of course, neither will happen.

I can see why it wouldn't be securely uploaded rather than couriered. There are still many companies out there who think dialup is a perfectly good means of communicating with the outside world. It takes 5 minutes to burn and post a CD. It takes a lot longer for these people to upload 700Mb of data, even assuming that they're uploading it to the correct location in the first place. After all, aren't these the type of people who fax confidential information to unsuspecting scrap yards or something? Who knows what they could do with a mis-typed URL.

No email privacy rights under Constitution, US gov claims

yeah, right.

Encryption (@ Wilkinson)

The point I'm making is that if more people do it then they won't be able to do what you suggest. Right now, yes, there are few enough people doing it that they could probably do what you suggest.

What I'm hearing you say is that I should censor myself now and let the government (pick a nation, any nation) just in case the government will eventually do it to me, because it's all going to hell in a hand basket anyway? Christ, and I thought *I* was a pessimist!

yeah, right.

Solution: encrypt

The solution is obvious: always encrypt. Whether you're sending a quick hello to a friend, or a sales projection to a colleague, always encrypt your email. If everything is encrypted, they can't sort the wheat from the chaff.

Yet I'm having a devil of a time convincing even die-hard privacy activists to encrypt their email. It's not that difficult to setup on Mac/Windows/Linux, yet they just won't bloody do it. People who have gone to great extremes to protect their privacy are still not encrypting their email as a matter of habit. I find that really strange, and I have no explanation for the phenomenon.

EU cracks down on fake blogger astroturfing

yeah, right.

Pro-consumer

The E.U. and most of its member countries have always been much more pro-consumer than North America. I can only hope that this law has a whole bunch of useful side effects, much like the one mentioned by Mr. Coward above.

Such an attempt for fair advertising wouldn't ever be considered in Canada or the USA, as it's the corporations that run things there, not the voting public. The corporations buy the election for the political party of their choice, which when elected turns around and gives the corporations what they want, under threat of not getting money for the next election.

Confused BBC tech chief: Only 600 Linux users visit our website

yeah, right.
Stop

Lies and stats

So let's see. They launch with great fanfare saying "we only support MS Windows products, if you use anything else just fuck off". Then they wonder why people using something other than Windows might not even try. Then they use 2005 data (2 years out of date) to support their decision. Then they fail to take into account that many web browsers lie about what they really are because website developers are too stupid and lazy to code for anything other than I.E. To top it of, they then lie about the numbers that they cooked in the first place.

Wow.

Sounds like a government department to me! This is the agency the British expect to provide useful, accurate news? Because their PR on this sounds more like a Sun article written by a News Of The World author. Or a really really drunk Vulture writer...

Ubuntu laptop clan trapped in hard drive hell

yeah, right.
Flame

Sorry, but it IS an O.S. problem.

The goal of an OS is to manage the hardware. If the hardware is doing stupid things, the OS needs to get in there and override the settings if it can.

So yes, it's an OS problem. The Linux crowd is going to have to learn to get away from putting the onus on users to fix "well known" issues with hardware. Especially since they can do it so easily on boot because the OS provides the tools to do so.

On a different note...

...it might nice if, for once, the Microsoft crowd would desist from using "fanboi" when referring to Linux or Mac users, with obvious reference to Japanese "yaoi" or boy-boy hentai manga. Yes, the Linux/Mac proponents are rather over-the-top rabid in their opinions. However, using the term just makes the Microsoft crowd look like Bill Gates wanna-be towel boys picking up soap in the shower. Now, the just as rabid Microsoft crowd might enjoy being raped by Gates & Co which is why they keep on bringing up the gay sex theme, but it really doesn't do their cause much good to continue reminding everyone.

Cops expose cross-dressing Catholic school principal

yeah, right.
Paris Hilton

Choir boys.

At least he wasn't busy buggering choir boys. Maybe he was going to one of Paris' Halloween parties?

IEEE powerline networking group selects HomePlug AV

yeah, right.
Unhappy

Standards and patents

So long as those who win the "standardization" tag have to put their patents in the public domain, that's great. But if the IEEE is simply pushing one product over the other, and anyone using the technology then has to pay huge amounts in patent fees to follow the standard, then the whole standards process is fundamentally flawed.

Macs seized by porn Trojan

yeah, right.

Call me

Call me when something is found that can compromise root on the Mac without user intervention. Then the Gates towelboys will start to have a valid point.

I'd hardly consider social engineering to be a platform issue, more of a clueless user issue. Unfortunately, those types of users exist on every computing platform that has ever existed. Simple fix: I've disabled root/admin access to users on machines I administer. Easy to do on Unix/Linux/MacOSX. Much harder on MS Windows.

So my users have received several trojans, but it has no effect because Unix/Linux/MacOSX systems have adequate (but not great) security. The very few remaining MS Windows users have, unfortunately, managed to corrupt their systems even with all the extra software and hardware that has been deployed to protect users from their own idiocy. Frankly, they're more work than it's worth, and I've given them notice that their support for MS Windows terminates at the end of the year.

In summary, in Unix/Linux/Mac you can avoid a lot of user problems by not giving the user root access. In Windows... you can't, because at its core it's still a single-user system and applications constantly require root access to operate successfully. So applications have to all run in root mode, with horrible consequences.

All commercial operating systems made to date have serious flaws, mainly due to flawed design processes that are driven more by marketing than by science. MS Windows, unfortunately, has more flaws than most. No amount of marketing can change that fact. Just because it's popular doesn't mean it's any good.

Reg lexicographical Shock Army liberates mobe

yeah, right.

Links please

Could you please provide links to appropriate websites as reference for your articles? In this case, it would be to your drug supplier of choice, because you seem to have gotten a very interesting batch this time.

Woman murdered after answering Craigslist ad

yeah, right.

Tact?

Blimey but there's a lot of bilge on here.

To those who really think that this murder is newsworthy, but the dozens of other ones from the same location aren't: get a grip. The woman lived in the USA. In Minneapolis alone there have been 38 murders so far this year. What makes THIS particular murder newsworthy compared to the hundreds of others happening every day in the USA and elsewhere? Other, of course, than the sensationalist voyeurism of finding even a vague IT reference in a murder?

But please, spare me the false outrage by raging hypocrites at my supposed "lack of tact".

yeah, right.
Stop

So what?

People get murdered answering ads from local newspapers too, but it doesn't get trumpeted in so many newspapers. Why is this newsworthy?

Data recovery firm sounds Mac hard drive damage alert

yeah, right.
Jobs Horns

Remember:

All hardware sucks. All software sucks. The rest boils down to personal preference.

My preference is a Mac. As a machine and operating system it's very cost effective with a very low total cost of ownership. That said, I'm far from a fan of Apple, the company.

Apple seems to be starting another "90's crap shoot",

and is desperately trying to piss off as many Mac customers as possible. From the iPhone to not recalling these defective drives, they're really taking the piss. Personally, I blame Jobs, or rather his ego. He really has gone off the deep end with his Borg impression. I don't know, maybe deep down he really wants to be Bill Gate's towel boy?

(where's my icon for (devil gates)+(devil jobs)+(IT sucks)??)

Prince's anti-YouTube crusade halted by American mommy

yeah, right.
Flame

Needs a good flogging.

Prince and his ilk need a good flogging. CopyRIGHT law exists mainly to enforce fair use. Or rather, it used to, before the RIAA and other vultures got their teeth into it. Prior to the Statute of Anne of 1710, there was no fair use. There was no public domain. There was only the London Company of Stationers and their monopoly on ownership of works.

Now Prince, thanks to that 1710 law, can actually own the copyright to his own works. But along with that ownership comes the responsibility to allow others to use that work under the "fair use" doctrine. A doctrine enshrined in case law since the 1740s, and only recently decimated by wanna-be inheritors of the London Company of Stationers.

Does Prince really want to go back to the days when he couldn't legally own his own works, but instead had to take a fixed, one time payment from the monopoly owner of all published works? Because that's what it was prior to 1710, and that's what we're ever so slowly heading towards again.

World's most gullible supermarket chain falls victim to online scam

yeah, right.
Paris Hilton

Pity

It's a real pity that it's still completely legal to be an utter incompetent moron. Wow! My gast is flabbered.

Was Paris involved?

British computer society blunders on BCC

yeah, right.
Flame

grandfathered

It used to be the BCS would make you a member simply by paying your dues. Much like the American ACM or IEEE today. Now, they require all their "members" to do exams, pass courses, and generally pretend to be more knowledgeable.

Unfortunately, the BCS grandfathered all the "members by payment" into the system. So you now have a society whose senior members didn't have to show any competence, and those members are lording it over, and running the show for, those people who did have to show a modicum of competence.

From what's happened here and elsewhere, it seems that the people running the show at BCS really don't have a clue about IT, or what it takes to run a "tight ship" in the IT world. Maybe they should be made to take their own exams, for once? Making such stupid errors really speaks volumes about their commitment to IT in general, vs their commitment to sucking as much cash as possible from their members.

Microsoft-Facebook: Welcome to the Hotel California

yeah, right.
Thumb Down

1.6% = ownership????

They bought 1.6% of the shares. That's not even a blip. Yet suddenly Microsoft is "in control"? What's to stop Google from buying, say, 5% of the shares and outvoting Microsoft? Or is that 1.6% not really 1.6%, but actually 51% of the voting shares, which comprise 3% of total shares?

Because as it stands, all these news stories about Microsoft "taking over" Facebook don't seem to have any basis in the facts that we've been presented with.

Techies oppose US patent reform bill

yeah, right.

Of course they're opposed.

As soon as I see people with a vested interest in the current (broken) system objecting to changes, I know those changes are probably real.

So the patent agents don't like the proposed changes? Wow. What a surprise.

Online trading site was left wide open

yeah, right.

Coders vs developers

Gumby, not Mr.Coward, is correct. Coders follow specs. They have to, because each coder is rarely given a view of the entire project. They work on their module, and if it meets the spec that's it. I've been reprimanded several times for questioning poor specs rather than just following them. Turns out I was right, but as I wasn't the person in charge I was still reprimanded (the products were flops, BTW, and I don't include them on my CV. Ever.)

It's up to the people who have the overview - the architects and senior developers - to make sure the spec given to coders meets the real requirements. So definitely, hang the architect out to dry.

Although what probably happened is that the customer didn't bother with a qualified systems architect. They took Joe from accounting who has a computer at home and is therefore an expert, had him draw up the spec, which was then forwarded to coders directly.

Appeals court rubber stamps FCC's DSL (de)regulation

yeah, right.

@ E

The American public is the most propagandized group in the world, trained from birth to react appropriately to the message they get from their docile press. In other words, they'll do what they're damn well told to do.

Remember, 99% of news outlets in the USA are owned by the same people with major stakes in the affected companies. Note also that their constitution only covers freedom of the press with respect to the government, not with respect to the megacorps that are really running the show.

<insert black helicopter icon>

yeah, right.

sounds about right.

That's really the gist of the current American administration really. Those with the money get to make the rules. Those who make the rules do so in order to make more money. Period. End of statement.

All the organizations that were theoretically set up to protect the American consumer have been turned around into organizations that benefit their large corporations first. The FCC, showing its true colours with this latest ruling. Their FDA, allowing the companies seeking approval for their drugs to decide on the safety of those drugs.

More gnashing of teeth after Microsoft update brings PCs to a standstill

yeah, right.

@ Coward

Are you really that stupid, or do you just play one online?

Sample exchange:

PC: I'd like to download the next patch please, now that Microsoft has closed off the only viable alternative.

MSUpdate: OK. Please send details on current system.

PC: No problem. I did a full search and found the following (2k compressed file)

MSUpdate: Thanks. IP address tracked, system serial number tracked, drive content list stored. Here's your update (10Gb)

If they have the bandwidth to handle all the updates in the first place, how much extra do you really think it would take to do what I've suggested they could, Mr. Coward?

Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they aren't already doing it.

yeah, right.
Gates Horns

That'll teach them.

Lie down with shit covered elephants and you're not going to be happy. That's basically what's happening to these people. They have put ALL their eggs into the basket of a company that has repeatedly shown they really don't give a damn about their customers, only about their profits. These idiots have only themselves (or their pointy haired management) to blame.

I can't help but wonder if this "search engine" isn't reporting things back to MS if it finds "pirated" software? ie: software for which Microsoft hasn't been paid, regardless of who actually created said software.

Google funds hold Firefox fate (for sure)

yeah, right.
Thumb Down

except that...

Except that Adblock Plus doesn't block the simple text ads that Google puts up. And I don't care, because they aren't intrusive in the least. Adblock is, however, incredibly good at blocking the jittery, annoying crap that makes me stay with Firefox, as it's the only one with an ad blocker that actually works.

I actually find that NoScript blocks more of their ads, mosty unintentionally, because they've invariably embedded with javascript - which NoScript doesn't allow to be run indiscriminately.

Note to advertisers: want people to see your ads? Don't treat people like walking wallets whose sole purpose for existence is to see and react to your ads. But hey, you're probably too busy coming up with the lastest version of punch the monkey or the newest popunder equivalent to actually give a shit about listening to the people you're annoying.

IBM patents making money from patents

yeah, right.

Might be good

If IBM decides to not license the patent to anyone, then all the patent trolls suddenly open themselves up for some seriously nasty litigation. This could be a good way to put a stop to the patent trolls - use the completely fucked up American patent system against them.

Ubuntu's latest OS not so Gutsy

yeah, right.

bleeding

Use bleeding edge, get cut. Any new release is bound to have issues. At least the Ubuntu crowd will probably have these things fixed in a week or two, unlike some other operating systems I could name where it takes then 2 months just to admit there's a problem.

I'm still on Dapper for my test stations. It works. I don't need it to do more than what it does. So I'm not changing. People who change for the sake of change really shouldn't be listened to when they whine about it.

Nasty PDF exploit runs wild

yeah, right.

@ Aubry

It's from the same department as those who make the signs saying "imported bananas". Because we all know the ones that aren't imported aren't as good. Or something.

Space shuttle Discovery launched

yeah, right.
Coat

In tow?

Really? They're towing it up? Damn, I would really have liked to see THAT launch! Did they have a separate burner on the trailer, or did they just tie it really well to the main vehicle?

US Border Patrol laughs off spyplane prang wristslap

yeah, right.

@Dotes

This Emperor has minions who aren't so stupid. He will continue to befuddle the masses by letting them believe they still have a Constitution. He even parades it out every so often. Meanwhile, he and his buddies are busy raping it in the back broom closet.

This one has learned from past mistakes, and he is doing the "slowly consolidate power" schtick rather than openly declaring himself.

Besides, when the US runs out of fresh water in the next few years they're going to want to annex Canada anyway. Not that they pretty much haven't already done so. Their Prime Minister still hasn't revealed who funded his political campaign.

AT&T embraces let's-sue-Vonage fad

yeah, right.

Sounds about right

One thing in common: all these companies have a lot to lose if VoIP really takes off, or if someone else grabs the ball they dropped and runs with it. So it makes sense that these same companies would try to sue into oblivion the one company that is trying to make a commercial go of VoIP. So it's not about enforcing patents. It's about using those possibly invalid patents (not that this has stopped anyone in the USA from using them, or the USPTO from issuing them) to try to drive a competitor into the ground.

All business as usual in the USA then.

Somehow I think that Skype being shielded by Google makes Skype a much less attractive target for lawyers. Especially those who don't want the big guy to sit on them.

Nanotubes offer self-mending aircraft wings, golf clubs

yeah, right.
Coat

cool!

kid: Oh wow dad! Look, this plane has retractable wings!

dad: I didn't realize this plane had those.

attendant: We don't.

EU, US plan 'clear to fly' checks for visa waiver revamp

yeah, right.

I like:

This quote: "biometrically verify... without requiring [persons] to stop and/or exit their vehicles."

Yes, because requiring a European passenger to step out of the airplane when he gets to the American 12 mile limit might be seen as very unfriendly. Unless the Americans think Europe is just south of Mexico and they can drive up?

Cops pull plugs on TV-links, claim 'facilitation of infringement'

yeah, right.
Unhappy

net neutrality toasted?

In other news, your local ISP is about to announce a "Safe Links" package. For only UKP 500 per month, they will check the copyright on every link you post (and erase the link for you). For an extra UKP 1000 per month, they'll check the copyright claims on every link you download and block it if any one of 666,666 organizations has posted a claim, any claim, to the material in that link.

I never thought I'd see the day when even I would even for a second think that perhaps, just perhaps, we're seeing the beginning of the end for the "internet". Seems that the last 10 years of frenzied copyright law lobbying and changes by big-name "content owners" (not creators, owners) is finally paying off for them. They're starting to reclaim the place they lost when the London Company of Stationers failed to stop the Statute of Anne in 1710.

Would the last person left on the internet please turn out the lights?

Microsoft will not appeal EU monopoly fine

yeah, right.

pocket change

It's really pocket change though isn't it? The total fine only amounts to what, 1 day's profit from their illegal enterprise? And what does that Euro 10,000 get you anyway? The same level of "useful" documentation as, say, the OOXML proposal? Something 6000 pages long and utterly, completely useless for implementation purposes?

Microsoft may have lost this battle, but the war against their illegal and predatory practices is far, FAR from over.

Science facing funding crisis, MPs warn

yeah, right.
Unhappy

knowledge != cash

Profit is such a mealy-mouthed term. It can refer only to "money", in which case these science centres are in fact not profitable. Or it could refer to "increased value", where the value is increased knowledge. Unfortunately, that's not accounted for in the current system.

So science programs will continue to be unfunded, while stock traders, who add absolutely no value to anything, take home millions.

This is supposed to influence young'uns to study science?

I say: study accounting, finance and/or law. In our current society, science is being reduced to the same level as janitorial services, except being a janitor pays better.

Of course, science underpins a lot of economic development. It's a pity that those underpinnings only see the shit that flows downhill rather than reasonable amounts of what society considers its only reward: cash.

L1NUX number plate roars onto eBay

yeah, right.

A joke...

Private plates in the UK really are a joke. Trying to massage a sequence of letters and numbers into "words"? All because the UK public is being held hostage by a computer system designed in the 1970's that nobody can change in any meaningful way? If they could change it, they could allow REAL personalized number plates, without all the faffing about with numbers and letters. But no. They've got the gullible UK punters who will pay loads for "personalized" numberplates that aren't actually at all personalized.

Anyone who gets one of these things is simply supporting bad programming and bad design, and obviously has more money than brains. P.T. Barnum is proven right yet again.

American football power nabs phone numbers for 13,000 StubHubers

yeah, right.

RIAA influence?

I'm seeing an RIAA / Apple influence here. Take legal action against your best, most ardent customers, then see what happens. Then again, it's only American football. Does anyone who matters really care?

RIAA aims lawyers at usenet newsgroup service

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Thumb Down

RIAA hurts sales

I've not purchased anything from a member company of the RIAA for a couple of years now. Know what? Haven't missed it a bit. All the good stuff is mostly by independents and the like anyway. The more they sue people, the harder I look at exactly what I'm buying and who I'm supporting when I do.

It's about time their member companies realized that the actions of the RIAA are hurting them more than helping them. Unfortunately, I think they've lost track of their real purpose, which is to sell more music. It isn't to alienate as many of their potential customers as possible. They've forgotten that the RIAA member companies are NOT the only choice for music out there.

George Lucas announces Star Wars TV spin-off

yeah, right.
Stop

Jihad

If this damn show has anything resembling Jar Jar - which is basically a sop to Hollywoods love of useless, irritating plush toys - I'm declaring jihad against the whole thing. The madness must end somewhere.

Plan for 20mph urban speed-cam zones touted

yeah, right.
Paris Hilton

Other places.

In Japan, the urban speed limit is 30 kph. That's about 19 miles per hour. They still manage to get around quite efficiently, thank you very much.

In compact towns like the UK has, there's really no need to go any faster. Hell, in most towns you can't go any faster anyway due to traffic. Over the two or three miles that forms an "urban centre", you don't really gain much time even by having 60 mph limits.

So unfortunately I have to agree with the urban speed limit of 20 mph. Most drivers have proven, repeatedly, that they really can't handle going any faster. Paris Hilton is a prime example of this.

Bypasses, however, are most useful in these cases. "Urban" should not include "through roads" of any kind. Those should be set to 120 mph, just because.

Removable hard disks make a come-backup

yeah, right.
Thumb Down

Ah yes, how retro.

Ah yes. Drive letters. What a lovely early 1980's concept. Use a letter for a drive rather than a real volume name. Is there really an operating system out there that is so ass backwards as to still use that kind of retrograde system? How quaint. And people still use such a system? Wow, there's a sucker born every minute, isn't there?

Teen accused of hacking emergency 911 system

yeah, right.
Stop

authentication?

You'd think that a 911 system would have a slightly better authentication system for where the call was coming from. I guess I'd be wrong.

Pennsylvania woman in legal doo-doo for lav profanities

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Thumb Down

at home?

So she was in her own home, dealing with a truly shitty problem, and this asshole decides to have her charged for swearing? In her own home? This is the land of "Freedom"???? Damn.

Oh, and anonymous coward: it's only the American designed low-flush toilets that clog up if you look at them sideways. I know, I've dealt with a few. My Japanese designed one works just fine, thank you. Try buying something from a company whose executives and designers are used to not wasting water.

Microsoft drops South Korea anti-trust appeal

yeah, right.

small change

Be nice if Microsoft one day got hit with a fine that actually matches the money they've made from their illegal actions. $34million is what, 3 minutes profit for them? Poor Microsoft. Meanwhile, they keep raking in the benefits of their blatantly illegal deals.

International manhunt tracks pedophile suspect to Thailand

yeah, right.

same guy?

Odd. The untwirled picture and the one in this article don't look like the same guy to my (admittedly untrained) eye. Yes, they both have really short hair. Apart from that, the nose and chin seem different for starters.

Oh well. Somewhere out there is someone who is going to get royally screwed by the police forces of the world. Hopefully it's the real perpetrator, because nothing is too cruel for that kind of sicko. However, whether or not it's the actual perpetrator probably isn't material, so long as the police can show they can catch someone. Anyone. We can only hope it's the right guy, because whoever they catch has already been found guilty by the press and probably doesn't have much of chance with the courts either.

Cynically yours,

<yr>

Ruling allows US tech firms to dodge an immigration bullet

yeah, right.
Stop

@Blackley re @Matt

References? REFERENCES? We don't need no steenkin references! This is a comments section. We'll make things up when we feel like it. Just like regular journos. So there.

Squick.

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