* Posts by Jason Bloomberg

2903 publicly visible posts • joined 8 Mar 2008

Cloudbleed: Big web brands 'leaked crypto keys, personal secrets' thanks to Cloudflare bug

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
FAIL

Anyway, a proper way to prevent bugs similar like this one from happening is to built a proper automated testing into your software development process.

The proper way is to prevent them from occurring in the first place; use a language which doesn't permit buffer overflows, doesn't have a reliance on pointers where anything could go wrong, as it so often does.

It seems 'we' keep on using languages which allow things to go wrong and are continually surprised when things do go wrong. The lessons are not being learned.

Your IDE won't change, but YOU will: HELLO! Machine learning

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

The future is great, the future is <Undefined Reference>

I can imagine the time when every continent will have an AI engine and everyone can feed it their images and it will give back a simple classification such as [ "Bridge", "Brooklyn ", "For sale" ].

Google devs try to create new global namespace

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: are they trying to reinvent DOI?

What is so fantastically new and amazing about using e.g. 'doctor_wibble@example.com/smuttyp0stcards.zip' instead of 'example.com/doctor_wibble/smuttyp0stcards.zip' that is not exactly how things have been done before?

The main advantage is in being able to disassociate the file from where it is held. It seems for once I am at the bleeding edge, having just implemented an "@name/file.ext" scheme for a local content delivery system.

In your case, what happens if "doctor_wibble@example.com" is your email address, but you move all your files over to "cheaphosting.com"? There are ways to map "'example.com/doctor_wibble" to "'cheaphosting.com/users/doctor_wibble, but the "@name/file.ext" is easy to do, understand and pass around. It also allows access via this identifier and to the original and actual site locations. Where "@name/..." should redirect to can be handled automatically with servers propagating whose files they hold to a central lookup server.

I think the answer is; it's not that much of a big deal, but does have its uses. I'm happy with the concept on the local net I am using it on (and it doesn't have to be used, it's optional) but not so sure about a global roll-out and using email addresses as personal identifiers.

'Hey, Homeland Security. Don't you dare demand Twitter, Facebook passwords at the border'

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Black Helicopters

As I, and many others, have said before: what if you tell them you don't have any such accounts? And I don't mean: what if you actually don't have any accounts.

What will they do if you just tell them you don't have any details to give?

As many others have replied; you might get away with it but if they find out or know that you do have such accounts you will be up to your neck in deep shit for having knowingly and deliberately lied to them. As to what they can do to you; you are a lying sack of shit non-American, so pretty much anything is on the cards.

Besides; what does it say about you that you are prepared to lie? Of course, you have your reason for lying, but you will have proven yourself a liar, a liar who attempted to deceive US agents in the course of their duty. That's not a great badge of merit no matter how justified you think you were.

I'm not against lying; I can accept justifications for lying. I just don't see wanting to get into America to be one. Unless you were thinking of somehow 'resolving an issue you perceived there to be'. Which is probably how US border guards will also see it.

Choose the moral path; don't lie, don't go.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Won't come to anything

Terrorism is the new communism... and before it was fascism.

It's ironic really; Putin is now a Good Guy (TM), and they're rolling out the red carpet for fascism.

Google agrees to break pirates' domination over music searches

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Black Helicopters

Re: Dangerous precedent

How long before the government "persuade" the big search engine companies to remove links to things that they don't want us to know about.

They already can, and do, through laws and by pressure. Pushing the pirates down the listings is hardly the start of 'getting things hidden', the first step on a slippery slope.

It is bemusing that some people are up in arms for the first time. It proves the case that some people are only ever concerned when it affects them. And by then it may be too late. I believe Martin Niemöller once wrote something about that.

The government could not only hide every listing Google could ever give, but could put Google and every competitor and ISP out of business with the simple passing of a law. They could kill the internet in the UK completely if they wanted to. That's what governments have the power to do.

Some believe Trump's focus on "FAKE NEWS!", the "dishonest and lying media", is a precursor to shutting those outlets down. He could. He has the power to do it.

But it's no good saying they can't or shouldn't or worrying over what slippery slopes there may be. It's up to people to ensure the government gives them what they want, finds a means to make it that way.

Of course, if the majority (or whatever passes for democracy) wants it that way; well, we're plain buggered unless we change the minds of those who don't see it the same way as we'd like it.

But it's probably always been that way since we first came out of caves.

Installing disks is basically LEGO, right? This admin failed LEGO

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

From the other side of the call out experience

I remember we had a PC go down, pulled it apart expecting it to just require a new disk or cables reseating. Took one look inside and it was something we had never seen before; an octopus-like plastic box linked motherboard and everything else together, dozens of IDE and other cables. We decided to call outside support.

An engineer arrived and after half a day poking at it reluctantly admitted he hadn't got a clue, but unfortunately had pulled it all apart and had no more idea on how to put it back together than we did.

The icing on the cake was when support called us to rate their service; did the engineer arrive on time? Was he smartly dressed? Was he polite? Everything leading to a 10 out of 10 score and self-congratulation at a job well done without ever asking if the engineer had actually fixed the problem, done his job. The ear-bashing rant they got from our PM was quite enjoyable for us, probably not so much for them.

US visitors must hand over Twitter, Facebook handles by law – newbie Rep starts ball rolling

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Black Helicopters

Re: This is what you get...

It is as much about power, control and compliance as it is about information gathering. You are either with us or against us, and if you can't demonstrate you are with us ...

The very fact people here are talking about lying, hiding accounts, using false names, complaining, indicates they know they aren't the people America wants. They know they aren't compliant, don't belong. It's working as intended.

Are you with us or against us?

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Big Brother

Re: Glad the translation will be supplied by me

Allahu akbar? Oh that just means "y'all have a nice day now"

Pretty much does. It is as casually used as "Howdy" and "G'day". It is simply that the public have been brainwashed into believing it is indicative of something far more sinister.

It has been such effective propaganda that false media reports these days of someone shouting "Allahu akbar" is enough to have most people blaming Muslims for whatever happened. Even when it turns out to be a Le Pen loving white extremist murdering Muslims in Quebec.

Why I had to sue the FCC – VoIP granddaddy Dan Berninger

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: "We should be turning off the POTS telephone network"

Do you pay "rental" for the electrical supply cable coming into your home, or for the pipes connecting you to the water supply, or for the cable connecting you to the cable TV service?

There used to be such things as "standing charges" which are equivalent to line rental charges. It used to be a way to separate the cost of maintaining the delivery infrastructure from the cost of the product being delivered.

We also have "road tax", "council tax" and "TV licensing" which are also comparable.

Global IPv4 address drought: Seriously, we're done now. We're done

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Coat

Re: IPv6 is fundamentally broken

2001:db8:42:1::2

But what the fuck does that mean?

Maybe it's just that I'm so familiar with IPv4 that it has become easily understandable over many years, or perhaps IPv4 ir simply so simple that I have even been able to explain it to non-techie friends.

I haven't had the time to investigate IPv6 nor the inclination. With a bit of luck I'll be out of the game before I have to. I suspect I'm not alone in that hope.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Actually IPv5 would have done it; just add an extra octet.

Okay; it's a bit more complicated than that but I think everyone would have understood it, got behind it, and embraced it more readily than IPv6.

They could have extended the first octet to be 16-bit and most people would have hardly noticed any change, just discovered 256.x.x.x to 65535.x.x.x had sprung into existence. Yes, things would have had to change to support that, but probably not half as much as they have had to in adding IPv6 support.

And maybe they could have added a trailing octet or two, used that like a TCP/IP port to specify a local device on the LAN if included, with a 0 default if not.

It's not perfect, but I would expect everyone who understands IPv4 reading this can understand the proposal while I suspect most haven't a clue when it comes to IPv6. The problem with IPv6 is it attempts to do more than just solve the shortage of IPv4 addresses; KISS.

Google claims ‘massive’ Stagefright Android bug had 'sod all effect'

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Black Helicopters

Risk assessment

What we have seen recently, in terms of software security, the arguably more serious issue of terrorism, and for any matter of concern really, is the propagation of the notion that if there is a risk it will be exploited to the maximum possible extent.

Exaggerating the risk is simply fearmongering, but it plays well to the audience of paranoiacs who believe that if it could happen it will happen and there's no guarantee it won't.

People simply need to get a grip. But that's not the nature of the world we live in today.

Third time lucky: ICANN beats off .africa ban

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

ICANN

A swamp which needs draining.

Grumpy Trump trumped, now he's got the hump: Muslim ban beaten back by appeals court

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Such a loser...

You forgot to end with: Sad.

And you forgot to end with an exclamation mark. So poor. Sad!

Cardiff researchers get £250k to monitor Brexit hate crime on Twitter

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Who defines what Brexit Related Hate Crime is?

Even bike theft has been recorded as a hate crime.

Whether hate or not depends on context, what the motivation was.

Stealing a bike without regard to who the victim may be is rather different to stealing a bike because the victim had a certain skin colour or followed a particular religion and was done primarily, not to advantage the thief, but to disadvantage the victim.

If a crime is motivated by hate it should be recorded as such.

Vintage Space Shuttle fuel tank destroyed by New Orleans tornado

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Facepalm

Please, please, please...

Can we have an education programme which tells people that when they are filming things they should hold their phones with landscape orientation.

It is not hard to learn, doesn't take more than the time it took to read that sentence, and we would all be better off for that.

Android Wear: The bloatware that turned into gloatware

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

I actually like the idea of the Neptune Prime and similar; too big to sensibly be a watch but potentially a convenient micro-tablet. But they don't cost £20 nor last a month without recharging so I am not that interested. I'll be sticking with my Casio watch and an Android phone in my pocket.

Conviction by computer is go, confirms UK Ministry of Justice

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: What about the consequences of admitting guilt?

People will have to tick that "I'm a criminal" box whether they admit guilt online, in court, or are found guilty by the court.

I can see no advantage to going to court and pleading guilty over doing that online. In fact, going to court would likely be the more expensive option.

The rationale for the scheme is that it costs money and wastes time to have people come to court only to admit guilt and have a judge sat there rubber stamping that. And other cases, which do need to be heard in person, will be delayed while that hearing is in progress. There are savings to be had if people who are going to plead guilty can avoid court appearances completely.

Chrome 56 quietly added Bluetooth snitch API

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

The sky is falling

you can also find out what phone/s are in the house, whether they're using Philips or Osram smart lights, their TV and so on

For all the good that will do them. At best they'll be able to target ads a bit better, set some flags for me in their database, but I am struggling to see how it would actually and profoundly impact my privacy.

Even if they discovered a cache of Bluetooth-enabled sex toys I can't see how they'd use that against me or that they would.

I know, I know; if some fascist regime comes to power and seeks to round up everyone with a Nexus phone or who uses Colgate toothpaste I'll have to eat my words. In the meantime I'm pretty satisfied that all they'd be collecting is data which is of no real use to man nor beast, and that some people have a concept of 'privacy' and 'personal data' that goes well beyond the sensible.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: perfectly reasonable?

A web site only ought to know the window size.

And perhaps not even that. But browsers have become far more than rendering engines; have become the thin clients of today.

Some people really do want to interact with devices through their browsers, want to be able to 'one-click upload' their health tracking dongle data and have it appear as a graph before their eyes. Browser manufacturers can either tell those users to fuck off or cater to their whims.

Who do you want to be Who? VOTE for the BBC's next Time Lord

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Thumb Up

"Black, Lesbian, disabled migrant should tick all the BBC's boxes."

Excellent, if you can point to such an actress, then that's the one.

Liz Carr (Clarissa Mullery - Silent Witness). British born but otherwise scores three out of four

And I bet there are more. Not sure if I should be ashamed of not knowing who they would be or can put that down to not classifying people by such attributes.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Trollface

Chris Evans

Ducks and covers.

Humanity needs you... to build an AI bot that can finger rotten headlines

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Not again

Last time they tried this it was an utter failure.

That's how easy it is to create fake news.

Ohio bloke accused of torching own home after his pacemaker rats him out to cops

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: "pacemaker that called his alibi into question"

People can do all sorts of unbelievable things when their lives are in danger.

And is probably accompanied by an increased heart rate - which I think is what this all boils down to; the biological recordings not reflecting the narrative he wants to have believed and the exertion which that would have involved.

Moral of the story for the rest of us; don't publicly log your FitBit* data if you want to claim you ran all the way when arriving somewhere late unless you actually did.

* Other lie revealing devices are available.

Millions of Brits stick with current broadband provider rather than risk no Netflix

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Not always

But while you can keep your number when moving from any provider TO Virgin, if you try switching from Virgin/Cable back to BT or Sky etc you'll get told no, can't do it.

I have a friend who has just done that and had no problem doing so, so it's not an absolute.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Quality of Service is probably more important to me

And if the new provider will not guarantee what speeds and QoS one will actually get it becomes a leap in the dark so often better the devil you know.

For me, and I guess many, it is not just about money. While it is nice to pay less than more, the savings are not always that significant. Plus, while one company may be cheaper than another now, the situation could easily be reversed in the future. If my crystal ball worked it would be a whole lot easier to choose.

Trump's cartoon comedy approach to running a country: 'One in, two out' rule for regulations

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Cut the bozo some slack

so he can get and hang himself all the quicker.

It's tempting to think that way, sit back and watch it implode.

The trouble is that it might not implode, may reach a tipping point after which there's no way back and you have missed your chance.

And, even if it does implode, it's a tough old route back to where you were with no guarantee you will get back there.

That applies to brexit and the rise of 'populist fascism' in Europe as much as it does Trump.

God save the Queen... from Donald Trump. So say 1 million Britons

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Not that I like Donald Trump...

I'm pretty sure that its in Britain's interest to try to get along with the guy

I'm sure it is... but not at any price if we really are looking after Britain's best interests.

Brexit may be curtailing our options, May might be desperate for a deal, but we need to retain at least some dignity and integrity and not jump into the gutter. Britain should be better than that.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Bot boosting?

Regretfully my suspicion is that there is a bot at work

It was going up so fast lunchtime Sunday that I wondered the same, decided to log the total and rates.

About 90K per hour lunchtime, 45K as evening approached, a continual fall towards midnight, 3.5K this morning, climbing back to 75K Monday lunchtime, and then a drop to 50K, and it was still falling last time I checked.

That pattern seems to be pretty human to me. Also the spread of supporters looks to be as one would expect. I think the flood really was because it was a hot topic, everyone who knew of it emailed their like-minded mates saying 'sign this'. There was a sense of solidarity with Americans protesting what Trump had done as well as upset at May for not having criticised that.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Still climbing

Which is sad really as it only needed the first 100,000 to get debated in Parliament so the later 900,000+ are just wasting their time.......

Additional signatures show what the strength of feeling is on the issue. That strength of feeling will be taken into account by those debating the issue (if it is debated) so they are not completely wasted signings.

While it may have already been decided that Trump is coming, May will be acutely aware that there are a lot of unhappy people out there; one million plus is harder to dismiss or shrug-off than 100K.

Mumsnet ordered to give users' real life IDs and messages to plastic surgeon they criticised

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Seems wrong to me...

I don't know if what you say is possible under UK law or not but it would seem, if that were wanted, it would be up to the Mumsnet CEO to have opposed the order unless such a 'safety net' were put in place.

Emergency Services Network to be hit by delays, warn MPs

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Ho hum

"It also warned the Home Office has not budgeted for an extended transition period, which would cost an estimated £475m for a year’s delay nationwide."

It was expected to save £3.6 billion over 17 years, or around £210 million per year. So if there is a year's delay that costs us two years of savings and correspondingly extends the payback time.

I appreciate it's sometimes necessary to spend money to save money but, when the cost and risks are so high and the savings so small, I wonder why they bother. I suppose it keeps people in work

Gimme some skin: Boffins perfect 3D bioprinter that emits slabs of human flesh

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Pint

An antidote to Fake News

So much stuff I read and hear these days is so depressing that I am delighted to raise a glass to all those involved.

Bien hecho.

Biz claims it's reverse-engineered encrypted drone commands

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

"They [drone-makers] are not making it NSA-proof"

But is that a real necessity?

Encryption on drones is probably to make hijacking less likely or accidental rather than prevent it entirely.

Looking around my office I don't think there is anything which is NSA-proof. I imagine the radio controlled clock could be fooled by someone with a 60kHz transmitter faking a 'Rugby' MSF time signal. I imagine that could make me late for an important meeting and ruin my life but I am not convinced it really needs to be made NSA-proof.

Lord of the Dance set to deliver high kicks at Trump’s big ball

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Paris Hilton

is there anything more patronizing than the assumption that you will change your vote because you're convinced by the political philosophy of Beyonce?

If famous people and celebs did not have the power to influence we wouldn't care when they try to.

I don't think anyone really believes they will change anyone's vote but it may help swing it for those many millions who say they don't know how they will vote; 'these famous people you (may) respect are voting this way or that way so why wouldn't you?'.

And it probably helps to reassure those who think they have made up their minds knowing that others, famous people they (may) respect, agree with them.

As far as I am concerned; everyone has a right to a view and a right to try and influence others. people can choose to be influenced or not. If celebrity gives someone a greater audience, more influence, then good luck to them.

Japan's terrifying techno-toilets will be made foreigner friendly, vow makers

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Coat

Re: Half way there

The first is for the lid, the second is for the seat

Yes; fair cop. I must have gone word-blind when reading the explanatory text under the image.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
FAIL

Half way there

What sort of 'expert' puts double-ended arrows on both an "opening" and "closing" pictogram?

If the arrows were single-ended the first two pictograms would be much more obvious.

Why Theresa May’s hard Brexit might be softer than you think

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

"1. It will go to a vote in parliament"

But I am not sure what good that will do. We will have triggered Article 50 near two years ago by then, we will probably not have any option but WTO rules and a very hard brexit looming, and it's very likely it won't be a "this or remain" vote. It will be a "take it or leave it" vote with the outcome being the same wither way.

May is merely using parliament to have a scapegoat for blame when it all comes crashing down on us. She can say parliament approved it while directing blame at those who wouldn't.

I still can't work out if May really believes she can get this great deal or whether she knows she cannot and is using it to pretend she's was not going for the hardest brexit when that was the planned destination all along.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Wait!

A plan so cunning...

Perhaps we will strike up a trade deal with North Korea, start trading Golden Unicorns in exchange for Wensleydale cheese. And I am sure there's some arms deals to be had which make us a tidy profit.

That doesn't seem any more ambitious nor ludicrous than anything else she has imagined-up in recent months.

Father of Android II: A Hardware Comeback

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: connector

Why is a connector even needed when there is a wireless capability; WiFi, Bluetooth, Zig-Bee and all the rest?

And where a connector may be useful; what is wrong with micro-USB?

When - other than headphones - was the last time anyone connected a cable to their phone other than to charge or power it, or side-load some application from a PC?

For Fark's sake! Fark fury follows 5-week ad ban for 5-year-old story

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Big Brother

"even just one day's delay is not worth the risk"

How about an article on the chilling effect of self-censorship?

BBC surrenders 'linear' exclusivity to compete with binge-watch Netflix

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: End of the TV Licence

I'd just like less videos on the BBC news site and more actual bloody articles.

I haven't visited the BBC news site for a couple of years but do find their News App for hones suits me. That seems to have a good mix of articles which appear to get cached when using WiFi at home and are therefore available when I am out without a data connection.

I don't mind paying the licence fee which is only 40p a day. Others may be half the price of that but don't, for me, deliver half as much. I am however aggrieved at their withdrawing their free Radio Times XMLTV listings service and having to resort to web page scraping.

Oracle exec quits over co-CEO Safra Catz's promise to assist Trump

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Don't like the process that allowed we the people to elect him? Move to another country snowflake, this is how democracy works.

I thought, in a democracy, people were entitled to mould that democracy into the democracy they would like, not eternally stuck with what they had.

Isn't what you saying more akin to fascism?

Amateur radio fans drop the ham-mer on HRD's license key 'blacklist'

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Pirate it

Unfortunately, people pirating software, having registered user names, registration codes and accompanying licence files pushed to what used to be called warez sites was one of the reasons companies started using on-line licence verification so they could revoke licences abused that way.

As is often the case; a small group of people can spoil things for everyone else.

There is light-touch DRM and then there is the kind of heavy handed abuse which HRD appears to engage in. With great power comes great responsibility.

Raspberry Pi Foundation releases operating system for PCs, Macs

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Headmaster

Re: I thought it is...

The Raspberry Pi Foundation are very careful to call it a "desktop environment", "built on top of Debian" with a suite of software pre-installed. It is the author who seems to have decided it's an OS in its own right.

Building IoT: Forget the vision, just show us how to build it

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

All aboard the IoT train

I guess this will at least mean fewer anti-IoT articles on El Reg. At least until the conference is over.

Facebook hires Hillary Clinton to lead assault on fake news*

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Hand on heart ...

I was recently caught out not believing a story which was actually true.