* Posts by The BigYin

3080 publicly visible posts • joined 25 Mar 2008

Mumsnet backtracks support for net filter

The BigYin

Keep YOUR kids safe?

Run your own net nanny.

Don't know how to run your own net nanny? Learn!

You teach them how to cross the road, so teach them to be safe online.

Do not abidicate YOUR responisibilities to YOUR kids to the state.

YOUR kids, YOUR responsibility.

Wii Countdown conundrum brands family 'SH*THEADS'

The BigYin

So would...

..."lexicon".

And if the kid is so bright....

1) Why does he need to increase his "word bank"

2) I would assert that long-reading would do a better job

3) What makes her think he is not already perfectly aware of the word "shit"?

Dell unveils 10-inch Windows 7 tablet

The BigYin

Well...

...that's the end of Dell's Android tablets then. MS will simply not allow Dell to ship non-Windows units (not without swingeing penalties at any rate).

Linux vulnerable to Windows-style autorun exploits

The BigYin

@Chemist

IMHO even bringing up the dialog is a step too far.

The BigYin

Thin end of the wedge?

Another chink in the penguin's armour? Maybe not. If someone has physcial access, all bets are off. Really. And whilst I realise that users/admin will have had to have been pretty stupid to let this exploit work but let's face it, people *ARE* stupid (and I include myself). So there is only one answer - kill any form of autorun dead. Now.

The most *ANY* OS should do is mount the device and indicate, by some means, how the user can access it. That is all. No launch, no dialog, no guessing from content what is to be done, no offering to run a program, no bullshit. Just mount the fecker and be done with it.

---

"This device contains music, do you want to open it in RhythmBox?"

No. No I do chuffin' well not. It has videos, documents, pictures, encypted files and all sorts. Why not offer me an application for every media type on the drive, you stupid desktop.

Actually, here. Open this *thump*

Lexmark Genesis multifunction printer

The BigYin

Linux support?

Really? Really really? Sweet!

Shame I don't have £400 to spunk on printer though,,,

Norway to probe Sony's PS3 Linux 'downgrade'

The BigYin

@AC

"Nobody cared about OtherOS and Linux when it was there"

Really? Ever heard of the United States Air-Force (to name just one entity)? They cared rather loudly.

BBC iPlayer iPad app out this week

The BigYin

@Eponymous Cowherd

The iPlayer add-on is working again in XBMC (I am using it on Linux and an original xBox).

The BigYin

@Martin

"it's the law that I have to pay them"

No, you don't. Not always and there's even precedent for not having to pay when you have a working tuner (but that was a very edge-case scenario).

---

Other than that, I agree with your sentiments. It's a shame that one has to use a third party system (e.g. XBMC) if one wants to watch iPlayer on Linux (although it does work quite well, even on my aging lappy and original xBox).

Maybe that will change when they release a Droid app. Which, really, they should have done first but I guess the iPad gets them more PR. I can't wait to see the complaints from all the Yanks about how their BBC app doesn't work. :o)

The BigYin

No

Whilst the BBC acknowledges that Android has a position with the sphere of the mobile application user experience, the vision of the BBC does not synergise with the multi-faceted plane of operations that exists within the Android universe.

As a leader in beyond-blue-sky rolls-outs and co-laterisation of dynamic consumption methodologies, the iOS framework is a much better partner for delivering ad hoc, viewer determined entertainment within the scope of the personal media utility system.

Or something like that.

Probably.

Mozilla plans four Firefoxes in 2011

The BigYin
FAIL

@Anon

"Computing's turned from tech male dominated to Hollywood pink."

May I just say "Alan Turing" and then "Now shut up"?

Thanks.

The BigYin

@SilverWave

Nice bit of partial editing. That page talks about "priorities". So it could be read that the various Linux releases are pretty good and that the releases mentioned are lagging behind.

HP intros 'lay it flat' all-in-one touchscreen PC

The BigYin

When is soemone...

...going to stop the US patent office from publishing these stupid, stupid patents?

Assange fights extradition in court

The BigYin

This is the USA...

...if they really wanted him they would just come and take him. Then torture the correct answer out of him. You think our MPs would stand up to their masters?

Robot naval stealth fighter takes to the air

The BigYin
Joke

I hope...

...like hell that that thing does not run Windows.

Russia has 'secret space warplane' to match US X-37B

The BigYin

Can't be seen?

Am I missing something? Take a big ship (pref. nuclear powered). Fit some muckle dishes. Sail it out to sea. Scan the heavens. Repeat until you (and you allies) have coverage.

Google to site devs: 'Please code for Google TV!'

The BigYin

@Ian Michael Gumby

"So if I want that picture, I can't say no to the other features."

Hear, hear! What I want, basically, is a 37" monitor optimised for distance viewing.

Do I want Freeview? No, I have tuner cards/set-top boxes for that.

Do I want multiple HDMI? Not really, I want to pump everything through one box if I can.

Do I want USB? No, I plan to have a media server for that. Acting as a hub is useful though.

Ethernet? Well, if DLNA actually worked I might be interested, but as it doesn't (unless you get a 'magic' combination of devices) then sod it; I'll pump it all through my media server.

Do I want a PC in my TV? Crap no. How the hell am I supposed to patch/secure that bugger? I'd need another PC as a gate-keeper and if I have that, it can be a front-end. See all of the above.

Can I get one of these simple TVs? Can I hell. Each manufacturer wants to lock you into their own walled garden, which might allow the accountants and MBA-dingbats to create their own little fiefdoms, but it stifles innovation and restricts the free market. The companies could take their money/energy and invest in other companies providing the services to all. Imagine Sony making a profit out of Panasonic TV owners - what a larf!

Some example projects/companies; XBMC - pretty bloody good really. UI needs a bit of polish, or maybe that's just me.

MythTV - awesome. Maybe they'd like a few tech authors and some tuner schematics.

Netflix - I hear this is good, but I don't know at the anti-competition license restrictions prevent them from operating over here.

Hulu - see above. Although a VPN/proxy solves both issues - and only costs a few quid a month.

iPlayer - seriously; ITV? Channel4? Give up. Your offerings are vomit (I often find it easier to get your programs from 'illegal' sources). Join with the BBC and help build the platform. the BBC can keep their bit ad free, you can do what the chuff you like (probably screw it up....)

Apple - yes, I know. But admit it, the Apple TV2 isn't half-bad.

Boxee - all they need is someone to explain "currency conversion" and allow their services to work outside the USA.

Etc.

But first...can I please just buy a dumb TV? I've got a lovely Dell branded monitor here (it's probably a ViewSonic/LG/Something) it's a USB hub, has multiple format inputs, does audio pass-through and P-I-P. That's it. Doesn't try to do anything else. Could you just super-size it, please?

The BigYin

@Craig

(I am so going to get flamed for this)

If one is blasting one's personal information out to the world unencrypted and for all to hear, then one can't complain when some third party listens to it. Google did nothing wrong - the data was in the clear.

The analogy with the car is nonsensical, Google stole nothing. Hopefully this will act as a wake-up call for people to switch their SSID off, switch to WPA-2 and use a gobble-de-gook password. And, to come back to the car thing; if one doesn't secure one's vehicles, then one might thind that they have no insurance cover - ever heard of "negligence"?

---

"Facebook et al...can't reveal your information if you don't sign up to their services.... Google have previously released their entire list of searches..."

Can you see your total logical disconnect? Don chuffin' use Google if that's how you feel (or use blockers/deceivers e.g. TrackMeNot, CustomizeGoogle, NoScipt, CookieCuller, Scroogle, TOR...). So it's Google's fault that you choose to use Google?

"Google is a general purpose tool and ubiquitous, it isn't a specific "social network"."

WTF? You do know that FB tries to stalk one around the net if one is retarded enough to use FB?

---

Gawds I must sound like a Google fanboy. Eww. But that doesn't change the facts.

1) Secure your networks people, anyone could be listening (you could even do your own PEN testing...)

2) Don't do business with people you do not trust and then bitch about it

Flickr flap illuminates cloud concerns

The BigYin

Always 3-2-1

At least three copies, on at least two media types, at least one off-site.

Flickr counts as his one off-site. Where were his other two back-ups?

A couple of USB drives (or a NAS) would have done.

If his pictures were that important, he should have taken the trouble to work out how to keep them safe.

I always considered Flickr a viewing gallery - not a back-up location. Maybe I'm just weird.

Mexican woman gets litigious on Top Gear's ass

The BigYin

Hmm...

...IIRC "Top Gear" seem to insult everyone equally regardless of race, colour of creed. At some point everyone gets a drubbing from the oiks.

Isn't that equality?

Aussie advertisers call for more bloat in web ads

The BigYin

The average web page...

....is 1.3mb? Is it? I show El Reg at around 260kb, YouTube around 500kb and b3ta waddles in at around 1.5mb. And 1.3mb is the *average*?

Even if that were true, your browser does not download the entire page every time (unless you force it), it only downloads the changes. So after the first 1.3mb spurt into your cache, the next updates will be a few kb here and there, making 100kb a significant overhead.

Anyway, the average appears to be nearer 320kb (http://code.google.com/speed/articles/web-metrics.html) and probably around the 500kb mark (http://techattitude.com/internet/average-webpage-size-increased-five-folds-since-2003/). So that ad size increase of 60kb just bloated your page size by about 10=>20%. Nice.

I think that Mr. McDonald is full of a metric-fuck-tonne of crap.

Run something like Privoxy to kill ads at source. And if that is too much hassle, use NoScript, Flashblock and AdBlock to kill them one the page. If they had not made their ads so annoying, I would not feel compelled to block them. They only have themselves to blame.

What kind of advertising works? Getting the product right. I don't recall ever seeing an advert for Edimax, but their cards were reported to work well. I plugged one it, it worked perfectly. Then Edimax added offical support for Linux. I will now go to Edimax first when I need network trickery. Why? Ronseal principle. No bullshit, no bling, just get the effin' job done.

Marry Microsoft, analyst tells Nokia

The BigYin

Memo to Nokia

If you want to continue operating with any credibility in the mobile market, avoid Redmond like the plague.

Ok, tnx, bye!

Official: PhD in 'Essential Oils' or 'Natural Toiletries' = 'a Scientist'

The BigYin
FAIL

@sabroni mark 4

"You're not better than me because you have a method."

As a person? No. A scientist is just as fallible as any other primate. But the hypotheses that fall out of applying the scientific method rigorously *are* better than those achieve by other means (e.g. appeal to authority/faith).

---

As to your link. Well, where shall we begin? How about there (original paper)

Here's the original paper: http://journals.lww.com/smajournalonline/Fulltext/2010/09000/Study_of_the_Therapeutic_Effects_of_Proximal.5.aspx

There was NO CONTROL group! Why is that important? Well it would allow people to see if there was some other, unknown factor at play. Maybe the farm up river stopped dumping crap into the drinking water - who knows? Certainly not the study as they have no control group.

It was NOT A DOUBLE-BLIND. This is also vital. Go read about the "placebo effect", it is more powerful than you realise. Also read up on "selection bias".

There were also only 24 subjects and they were self-selected. My gast is now so flabbered I hardly know what to do. Maybe these 24 were getting better already? This is why selection needs to be random (and with controls, and double-blinded).

I need go no further. It fails the scientific process big-time, it is not science IMHO (the Southern Medial Journal has a...err...certain reputation). I do not agree with the conclusions. I will agree that "something happened" but there is no way to determine from this report what that "something" was. "Noodley appendages" come to mind.

---

"But intolerance is intolerance."

Why is intolerance bad?

Should I tolerate a fool? Should I tolerate crime? Should I tolerate violence against my person? Should tolerate the undermining of our education system and ability to think critically? The answer is "No", I should not."

---

"And if you have believe in what you're typing, put your name to it!"

I do not require belief, I have the evidence of proof.

The BigYin

@sabroni mark 3

"I can't possibly be wrong, I have my process!""

Ah ha! Now we get to the crux of your lack of understanding. It *is* possible to be wrong. That is the whole bloody point of the scientific process! The idea is to prove current ideas wrong so we can get new and better ones. And that goodness for that!

Did you know Charles Darwin was wrong? Newton was wrong? Galileo was wrong? And so on. All wrong. And by "wrong" I mean that some bright spark found an area where their ideas did not quite match the experimental/empirical evidence and came up with a better one (Neo-Darwinism, Relativity and so forth).

The current thinking requires all previous though to (in some way) be wrong. And our current thinking is also wrong (we just haven't quite figured out where yet). Wrong is good.

And if a scientist wants to hold on to ideas that are known to be wrong, what do we call them? Unemployed.

The BigYin
FAIL

@sabroni mark 2

"in what way is scientific fundamentalism as bad as religious fundamentalism?"

I shall repeat - it is not possible to be a fundamentalist scientist. When presented with evidence (i,e. repeatable experiments and testable hypotheses etc) that show the current thinking is lacking/wrong, a [good] scientist *MUST* change their mind and follow the new hypothesis. This continues until some other scientist shows that the new theory is also flawed in some way and comes up with a better one.

"It's designed to belittle people's belief and to make something sound more ridiculous."

Yes, exactly. "Belief". It is not a testable hypothesis, it is not science, it is not valid. That's it. End of discussion. There is no more. It is actually that simple.

"Try researching whether prayer is effective in helping ill people. Yes, you'll find a lot of investigations that show it's ineffectual but there's a similar number indicating significant effects."

To the best of my knowledge, the number of trials showing "significant effect" were not proper double-blinds, and small in number. If you have 10,000 instances of something telling you "X=1", one instance saying "X=2" does not make "X=2"! It's a statistical aberration and it is something scientists have to be careful about. Prayer might make people feel better (which may have beneficial effects, look-up "placebo") but that's it. Oh, by the way, the Fortean Times is not exactly a reputable journal.

"And man up and get an id you anonymous pussy..."

Oh, so "sabroni" is you real name is it? or at least your Open ID? Thought not. And cease with the ad hominems. If the argument is solid, then the argument is solid; no matter who or what comes up with it.

The BigYin
FAIL

@sabroni

"The closed mind of a scientific fundamentalist"

It is not possible to be a scientist and be closed-minded (well, not possible to be a good one). Now I suggest you go away and think again, you clearly have no idea about which you speak.

The BigYin

Here's a short list

"Herbal Medicine" (at least herbs can have active ingredients)*

---University of East London,

---Middlesex University,

---University of Central Lancashire,

---University of Westminster,

---University of Lincoln,

---Napier University.

"Homoeopathy" Hos BSc [or similar] (a good cure for dehydration)

---Middlesex University,

---University of Central Lancashire,

---University of Westminster,

---University of Salford.

Do some searching, you'll find more. It's bloody depressing. We are turning into a nation or hairdressers, tax-avoiding-fat-cats/footballers (who pay crica 2-6% tax) and certified idiots. Now if you don't mind, I think a need a Camomile tea to soothe my nerves....

*And yes, I am perfectly aware we still get lots of drugs from herbs. These drugs are created by scientists, not blasted herbalists.

The BigYin

They are scientists....

...if they follow a scientific method. Hypothesis, replicable experimentation, data collection, peer review, publication, critical analysis etc.

If they do not, then they are nothing more than quacks, charlatans and deluded fools.

Herbs do contain active chemicals, but it takes an actual scientist to work out what they are, how they work and how they can be improved/attenuated as required.

The ASA should not be in the position of determining what a "scientist" is, they should defer to an actual bone fide scientific authority. The ASA is wrong - can one appeal against this?

And do not start me on the abuse of the word "engineer". I have a degree in engineering, but I am not an engineer (I do not work in that field nor am I a member of the relevant recognised body). Your heating "engineer" is not a chuffin' "engineer". They are a technician. In the same way a nurse is not a medical doctor. There is nothing wrong with being a technician or a nurse, they both perform vital jobs; but they are NOT engineers or medical doctors.

Cisco promises half a billion dollars for Cameron's BIG idea

The BigYin

Really?

"This will involve two networked innovation centres, one in Shoreditch and the other at the Olympic Park."

And who, exactly, will work there? UK workers in UK companies paying UK taxes? Or multinationals using of off-shore skull-duggery to avoid paying?

I know it won't be UK workers as successive governments have under invested in the education of "hard" subjects, just the kind of thing you'd need to work in a high-tech, high-level "innovation centre".

Still, at least we'll have enough people with degrees in advanced hairdressing and applied sandwich making, eh?

Android bites big chunk out of Apple iPad market share

The BigYin

So long as...

...tablets remain non-Windows and will thus drag standards-breaking MS over the barrel, so much the better. Lack of interoperability and proprietary standards (e.g. docx as implemented by MS, not the docx they declared as the ISO) hurts everyone.

Oracle promises to obey own OpenJDK rules

The BigYin
Thumb Down

Yeah?

When Project Harmony (plus anyone else who wants one) gets a TCK and the gob-shite suits get dropped, then we will see. Oracle is just like MS when MS MS says "Hmm, we love standards and openness" and then not fully detailing their own standards and threatening open source projects with patents unknown.

Until we see action, it's all just words; whilst the gums may be flapping in a new rhythm, the message has remained the same.

India calls RIM's bluff on email access

The BigYin
Joke

Easy answer...

...pass a law demanding that companies hand-over crypto keys for local services. Or, that such keys must be handed over upon request and that failure to do so is (in itself) an offence.

That'll work, won't it?

Firm offers punter prints pronto

The BigYin
Joke

Great idea!

Now at airports the could offer (for a fee) a sculpture of you in the nuddy after going through one of the scanners.

LCD pushbutton sunglasses issued to US Navy SEALs

The BigYin

Can we get this on motorcycle helmets, please?

Nothing worse than going into/out of a tunnel and being almost blind for a few seconds, and even the "made for motorcyclists" sunglasses steam up something shocking.

HTC DG H100 Media Link DLNA adapter

The BigYin

For that money...

...I'd get a small-footprint PC, drop a Mthy front-end, XBMC or something on to it and plug it into the network. More functionality, less hassle, less confusion.

I don't understand what DLNA is supposed to be about. Just seems like yet another way to do something that has already been solved (e.g. use CIFS, or streaming). And (from posts above) have no idea if it will work until after you have bought all the kit.

Court orders seizure of PS3 hacker's computers

The BigYin

If Sony...

...had not removed the "Run other OS" option (which was initially cynically added to get tax breaks) then they would not have this trouble. "Other OS" let people do amazing things with PS3s. Even MS have wised-up and stopped threatening everyone who hacked the Kinect.

Why is Sony not in court for breach of contract or something for removing this feature?

None of this is likely to save Hotz from serious jail time though.

MP: Googlepoly hurts British business

The BigYin

Years ago...

...everything was IBM and they were the law. Then they got two big for their boots and a little whipper-snapper called Microsoft toppled them.

Microsoft became law and got so egotistical they thought they could tell the world to not use the Internet (well, almost). They have not yet fallen, but they are looking shaky; certainly Google has them bitch-slapped seven shades of sideways on t'internet with Apple drubbing them on phone/PMP/tablets.

But Google (and Facebook, eBay...) too shall fail and die, this is the nature of things. If the Government wants to get a slice of the pie, then they need to stop funding wasteful crap like the Commonwealth and Olympic Games and start funding things that make a difference (big science, education etc).

Hell, if we had a manufacturing industry left we could make money out of Google. But no, our entire economy is based around funding the bonuses for w...err...bankers.

Mac daddy predicts all-knowing, all-seeing UI

The BigYin

Has he been watching...

..."Ghost in the Shell" or something?

Passenger cleared after TSA checkpoint stare-down

The BigYin

Ah...

...so the airline can ask for photo-id (or whatever) to check that you are the authorised flyer, the TSA can't do much (maybe check you have an actual boarding card or soemthing).

OK, thanks. Makes sense now.

The BigYin

Whilst I applaud the chap...

...does anyone else find this a bit odd?

"passengers have the right to fly without providing ID"

Really? WTF?

Seagate tells flash bigots to get real

The BigYin

@R.E. Harvey

"in the 21st century, no-one would consider even diesel for high speed operations,"

Apart from the UK, which is why the lines are not all electrified

The BigYin

Gimme...

...a small SSD for the OS and apps (8gb is ample) and a small-ish HDD for swap and data (32gb is more than enough). Heck, this could probably be done in one combined unit.

Ultra-fast boot and response, room to store stuff without worrying about the NAND wearing out.

You can't run Windows in this config, but who wants that bloated turd on their netbook?

Israeli firm readies pocket-friendly desktop PC

The BigYin
Thumb Down

So...

...you don't buy Israeli, American or Chinese (to pick just three) products. What do you buy then?

Does that extend to oil (and thus plastics)? Because just about every oil nation and oil company has dirty secrets. Then we have food and the likes of Sinar Mas, Nestle, Coca-Cola etc. Can't buy those.

Must be terrible at your work; everyone naked, cold, thirsty and hungry.

But you probably are not like that, so you do buy from women and child murdering regimes/companies (I note that men seem to be fair game; care to explain? Or do you perceive women to somehow be weaker and non-combative? How quaint.) so your pontificating is complete, self-congratulatory rot.

If you find the actions of Israel a problem (and let's face it, most people do) then there would be more mileage in creating dialogue rather than division; it's division that caused the mess in the first place (and you can thank the Brits for that).

The BigYin

If this...

...can compete with the Apple Tv2 on price, then they could be on to a winner.

Italy sues Microsoft for box-bundling bungling

The BigYin

WTF?

An Apple TV2 costs £92. At that price-point why would I build my own? I'm just going to hack it anyway (hellooooooo XBMC).

For higher-end systems you are almost right, but it can often be cheaper to buy a pre-built system and simply buy the odd tweak. Depends on individual circumstances.

Either way, as I am time-poor, I am happy to pay someone else to build a system for me. Last time I checked, MS did not do hardware, so why am I paying them?

The BigYin

Novatech?

Have you read the reviews? I was keen on them but now, no way. Which is a same.

System 76, Frostbite etc; too expensive in the UK though.

The BigYin

I have an XP license...

...I'm using right now as it happens, got "South Park" on the TV via "Media Center". Anyhoo, it has been "value for money" for me. That's OK.

But now I want a lappy, smart phone, NAS and a few other things (life changes, y'know). As far as I can make out, all the F/OSS options are all big happy-pals and (under virtualisation) they seem to work well. But when trying to buy the kit. The MS tax would bankrupt me. Sending my money co Cupertino is (bizarrely) cheaper and that still means buying something I don't need (still, at least it is Unix based).

The BigYin
Flame

Go get a grip

I am well capable of building a PC, but my time is worth more. I am happy to pay a pro to build it for me (just like I paid the guy today to fit the carpets) but I will *NOT* pay for shit I do not want.

Example: I had two rooms carpeted, I was not forced to but special shows to walk on said carpets. PCs should be the same way. Unfortunately they are not.

The BigYin

Srsly....

...Lnx s lss bt hrt thn Wndws.

[I would use vowels, but the patent landscape is uncertain]

The BigYin

A simple tale...

...my SO was so hacked off with Windows that she was ready to blow an aneurysm. I had a few Linux kicking about and she liked those. but you can't buy them so she went Apple. In her words "It's not that ****ing sack of **** that is ****ing Windows. **** it with a ****ing ****er of a..." and so on. Even though I would have wiped an MS unit, she did not want £70-odd going to the Evil Empire. So Apple it was. Evil Empire #2!