* Posts by The BigYin

3080 publicly visible posts • joined 25 Mar 2008

US patent office gives i4i Word up in Microsoft snub

The BigYin

As the great philosopher once said:

"Get it reet up ye!"

Patents, by and large, are a detriment to software. There probably are a few occasions where a patent protects masses of R&D on something truly novel but most....most protect the blatantly obvious or otherwise predictable.

Whilst I am deeply enjoying the Schadenfreude of MS getting reamed by a patent, I would much rather that i4i did not have this patent (or only had a seriously time limited) and that MS did not have its bollocks patents of FAT etc.

But if MS see fit to screw over HTC, TomTom and threaten the world with their mystery patents; then it is only fair that the world can screw them back.

Top tip to HTC, TomTom et al: chuck some money at F/OSS. Get them to write drivers that can be istalled on Windows for EXT2/3/4/Whatever and then stick two fingers up to the MS bully-boys.

Ubuntu Unity interface flashed for speed freaks

The BigYin
Thumb Down

@Spin us another one, Shuttleworth

I agree. It's disgusting. It's so hard to change as well . So hard. So really, really hard. Impossible even!

And there is no alternative! If you use any other Linux distro, small imps will appear and roast your genitals over blazing chilli-peppers whilst stabbing you in the eyes with rusty spoons (and not clean ones either). So run Ubuntu or BEWARE!

To be honest, the left controls weren't as bad as I thought they would be and I haven't accidentally closed a window yet. I may change the location*, I may not.

* Right click "Applications", left click "Edit Menus", select "System Tools", enable "Configuration Tools", click "Ok". Select "Configuration Tools", dive to "apps/metacity/general" then play with "button_layout" [this ignore all non-GUI options]

** Yeah, it would be nice if this was available a bit more directly like from the "Theme" dialog...but there's just so many options on Gnome (never mind KDE!); where do you draw the line?

The BigYin

Interesting

Although it does worry me slightly that the general public could come to see Linux as nothing more than a light-weight boot screen before Windows loads, rather than the serious contender it could become.

One thing is, the more Unity does the bigger it must be. So the slower it must become. If the stories are true that Linux can boot in sub-10 seconds on an SSD device; does it actually need to be lighter? Wouldn't using (say) FluxBox gain enough ground for advances in SSD et al to make up the rest?

The BigYin

Fanbois...

News at 10. Fanboi in "companies need to make money to pay the bills" realisation shocker.

Who, exactly, is forcing you to use Ubuntu?

If you don't like the way Ubuntu is going (and personally speaking the whole "social computer" thing irks me) then don't use it.

From what I can see most of the problems I have are with Linux in general*, not with any particular distribution.

*Printing, multi-head support**; you've heard it all before.

**Yes, I know it can be done. But it still sux compared to the "best of breed" that Windows seems to exhibit.

Bill Gates chucks cash at climate cooling cloud creator

The BigYin
Flame

Great.

And in 50-odd years the headlines will read "Turn everything on! Heat the planet before we all freeze to death!"

This idea is, of course, is nothing more than a salve to the American conscience. Something to make the Yanks think it is still A-OK to drive their 5-litre behemoth the 250 metres to the gym every other day. Because, yea, there is a ship at sea "off-setting" all that "heat".

Why not just blast a giant filter into space, place it between us and the sun. You could even make the opacity controllable. Heck, I am sure a clever person could even use it to write messages "Today brought to you by XYX Ltd. Yes, we commoditised the sun".

Either way, it amounts to the same thing. The Yanks can keep chugging that oil down (until the local supply runs low, then it's just a few wars to secure more) and do the square root of feck all to actually help the situation. Same holds true for China, S.Korea etc and will hold true for India et al.

Unless a politician can see a way of getting a tax from it, they don't care. In Europe we have the taxes, but they don't go to investment in viable renewables or anything. Nope, it's there to subsidise the champagne. You can tell that because the idiots still can't make up their mind where to have the EU parliament. If they really did see global warming (or whatever they call it this week) as a threat they would stay put in ONE building. And not a new one at that. Something recycled.

I suggest Sealand.

Then we can torpedo it and be done with the entire horde of parasites.

[Note to the CPS: The last line is not to be taken as a serious threat to torpedo Sealand or any other [ex-]military structure. Nor is is to be taken as a serious threat to attack MEPs or any of their unelected and secret committees. It is meant in as a satirical (well, OK, sarcastic) statement and a point of discussion, nothing more.]

US prosecution of McKinnon 'spiteful', says ex-top cop

The BigYin

Yes, it is ratified

As 30 seconds on your favourite search engine would have told you (it was tratified years ago in point of fact).

It is, however, still a very one-sided treaty and the Yanks can (pretty much) get whomever they want for any reason and there is little the UK courts can do to stop it. They don't even need to have evidence. The UK, on the other hand, must prove that it has evidence, case, a crime was committed etc.*

Our government basically abdicated it's responsibility to protect the people from foreign powers. That's treason in my book and another reason that Blair, Brown et al should be in jail.

Don't expect the new incumbents to change anything. The Lib Dems have no spine, Tories are part of the problem.

[*All heavily abridged.]

The BigYin

I get the he "hacked"...

...what I really don't get is why the USofA are so worked up about it. He did the equivalent of shoving his head through the electronic door and yelling" Coo-ee! Any aliens here?" Perhaps if the USofA actually LOCKED THE FRIGGIN' DOOR rather than just putting a "Post-It" not on there that said "Secret - please don't come in" we wouldn't be in this mess.

Give McKinnon a community service order or something and tell the Yanks to shove their request up their collective arsehole. It's what they'd say to us if the roles were reversed.

Secret forum reveals Oz firewall backroom dealing

The BigYin

Just like the UK then

"We know that X will never work and will waste billions, but it will make us look good to the poorly educated* and gutter-press reading masses, pump those billions into the coffers of our pals and ensure we can get re-elected or at least a cushy directorship. So we will do it anyway, hand over your wallet."

*Only poorly educated because schooling standards have dropped so low and our degrees are now a joke. I don't blame the teachers, they are often doing the best they can with very little support form the government and parents. Ignorance begets ignorance.

Voting chaos in not-fit-for-purpose electoral system

The BigYin

I guess...

...there a chance that can spell "their"? Just sayin'. :o)

I agree with the sentiment though, loads of time to vote. No excuse really. People expect to be spoon-fed these days.

Mobe-wielding drivers getting away with it

The BigYin
Flame

What do you expect?

Labour decimated Traffic Police in favour of cameras. More revenue y'see.

This is also why 60s are becoming 50s. They need the money rolling in.

Safer roads? Not a priority, just money, money, money.

Javascript guru calls for webwide IE6 boycott

The BigYin
FAIL

why not step in?

Get the FF code and support Tiger yourself. Can't do that with IE can you?

Oh, wait, this'll mean actual effort on your part Diddums.

Sheffield hospitals pay thousands for dodgy software

The BigYin

OpenMolar is a good example

I have a pal who is a doc...some of the stories you get to hear are shocking. Thing is, who is going to pay for the open source software to get written? I can't see it being hobbyists, you are talking about a huge infrastructure.

OpenMolar is miniscule by comparison.

Internet Explorer drops below 60% market share

The BigYin

Er, yes

There's stats, stats and then there stats. Every website I have done must support IE6. Every customer I have worked with, uses IE6. Every solution I have seen must support IE6. Every...well, you get the idea. I don't like it, but that's the way it is.

As for Window 7....if it can't run IE6, corporates will not upgrade. Too risky. I really wish I was joking.

The BigYin
FAIL

You can't actually delete IE

You can remove a few shortcuts etc, but IE is tied into the Windows OS far too deeply to be removed.

As for search engines - you can actually change those; you know that? And if you want to type the URI in, you can do that too.

Also with browsers, there is actually a choice. Something MS does not give you (because, as I stated initially, it is not possible to completely remove IE).

The BigYin

Utterly irrelevant

The public could stop using IE tomorrow, but it still wouldn't matter. IE6 is *THE* standard browser because it is what is used in the corporate enterprise. It's a pain in the ass, I agree, but that's the way it is. We may see uptake of IE8, but that still won't really help. It'll be running in "quirks" mode to support all those sites coded for IE6 that people are too scared to change (or can't because they don't have the code, it's all proprietary and the vendor has gone bust - this is why you need to buy open source!).

FF, Opera et al are pissing into the wind if they thing they will get anywhere in the corporate world given there current support for roll-out etc. And why would any corporate install another browser when Windows comes with IE "for free" and IE can never be uninstalled? The likes of FF don't even make it easy for corporate roll-outs or to respect group policies etc. They just don't care about the corporate world - the first browser to actually address this *may* have a chance; but I am not holding my breath for someone to create such a thing.

I displike IE for its lack of standards compliance and I utterly despise IE6. But I know the reality of things, it will be here for a long time yet.

Apple boots STD psychic healing app out of bed

The BigYin

Damn!

And I was going to host my "iChiro" app today as well. It would correct spinal deformities (which would cure everything from hiccups to cancer and bulimia) by reducing the quantum flux distortion caused by all that money in your pocket.

Microsoft defends death of free video in IE 9

The BigYin

h264 costs to rise

So MS are losing money? Prediction: once h264 is ubiquitous the licensing costs will rise so MS and Apple can provide a decent RoI and coin it in. The public will be screwed over (again) but the fat cats an continue to get fatter and grease the palms of the parliamentarians, so that's OK then.

Pedantic: "codex" != "codecs". "codec" is from "compression-decompression" whereas "codex" is generally considered to be a bound (stitched) volume (book) as opposed to individual scrolls.

Applesoft, Ogg, and the future of web video

The BigYin

Umm...

...don't install it then? Try Kubuntu, or Xubuntu. Or Mint. Or Fedora. Or OpenSUSE. Or Mandriva. Or MacPup. Or Slackware. Or....or...or...

I dropped 10.04 on the other day. So far I have left everything at default (yes, even the window buttons). It seems slick enough to me (boots fast enough), stable. Only complaint I have is that Ubuntu One seems to be as chronically unstable as ever.

Google borgs 3D desktop

The BigYin
FAIL

Umm....

...search function? Just a thought.

The BigYin

Desktop organisers?

WTF? Who needs them? Who puts so much crap on their desktop that it needs to be organised? That's what folders (and other, umm, organisation systems) are for. One actually needs precious few (if any) icons on the desktop. It's usually hidden by windows anyway.

If you want to see desktop organisation done properly, look at KDE (and this is coming from a Gnome user).

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 shuns open video

The BigYin

You forget...

...Google are going to open up VP8. Ogg Theora is basically VP3 and some people argue it can approach n264 (I've new compared, I can't comment). However, when VP8 is opened and supported by Chrome, Firefox, Opera and others, h264 will hopefully fall from favour.

Technically there is nothing wrong with h264. It's a good codec.

But there is that poison, proprietary pill and for that reason alone it should not be used.

Student found guilty of obstruction in Sarah Palin email trial

The BigYin
Flame

How about...

...if Palin hadn't BROKEN THE LAW by using a "personal" account for government business. When will she be in the dock? If anything this kid should get "whistle-blower" protection and be praised for exposing illegal activity.

One law for the proles, one law for the elite.

This poor kid will be left to rot and in a few terms the Yanks will have that muppet as Prez.

May the incorporeal supreme being of choice have mercy on us all.

Microsoft's Courier tablet dies before it lives

The BigYin
Flame

"It's in our DNA"

I hate that phrase. Utterly hate it. You get it in all sorts of PR crap from motorcycles to IT and it is just crap. It's some vacuous attempt to sound all sciency and knowledgeable and it is just total bullshit.

It's in their BUSINESS PLAN to investigate new products/innovations and to try and MAKE MONEY.

Why not just say that?

PR wankers.

The BigYin
Thumb Down

And another thing...

...Windows in charge of fuel pumps? That should be enough to given anyone "Teh Fear"(tm).

I get nervous using ATMs that are clearly Windows boxes, I wonder how many trojans, backdoors and viruses it is riddled with.

Microsoft's FUD goes mobile

The BigYin

Which is why...

...one shouldn't use FAT. Simples.

(One can install the ?FS drivers along with one's Windows integration client)

Palin email witness decries 'dog and pony' prosecution

The BigYin
FAIL

More importantly

When will Palin be in the dock for using Yahoo! for government business?

Surely her deliberate acts to try and by-pass federal law as as serious, if not more so?

Ubuntu's Lucid Lynx stalks PC and Mac converts

The BigYin
Linux

Agreed, to an extent

There are certain niche (for relative values of "niche") products that aren't available for Linux (not just Ubuntu). You will not see Visio (or any MS product) run native on Linux. Although there is Crossover Office (or whatever it's called), and various "tricks" to getting MS Office to run under WINE (I've had no luck with them personally - OpenOffice does everything I need).

Photoshop is another. Yeah, GIMP is good, but why learn a whole new program (which may or may not do the right things) simply to switch OS? AutoCAD is another one.

Many games run under WINE (C.o.D may be one, I dunno, I am not a big gamer). Native Linux games are growing (Steam seems to be coming to Linux) but it will be a few years yet before Linux truly competes with Windows as a gaming platform.

One option, if you like Linux enough but can't give up a few Windows apps, is to switch to Linux and then run WINE (for the that work under WINE) and host a virtual Windows box in VirtualBox. But if Windows is the only thing that scratches your itch completely, then use Windows; no shame in that.

My main OS is still Windows XP. When that gets too long in the tooth (and that time is fast approaching) I will switch to Linux 100%. I doubt Windows 7 has support for my hardware and, quite frankly, I don't want to blow £200+ just to be able to watch TV (amongst other things). I'll just install Myth and go from there.

I run Linux on all my laptops - it's awesome there. Way better (and more stable) than Windows ever was.

Microsoft FAT patent appeal upheld in Germany

The BigYin

A tool for a job

For flash drives, perhaps EXT2 or something like that (less write to the media IIRC)

For video on a hard disc, JFS?

For backups, ZFS?

For general use, EXT4?

(These are just examples, I am not trying to praise one over all the others)

Rather than "one size fits all" people need to realise that some file system are better at some things that others, while some are good "general dogs-bodies". Linux (and I guess Mac, BSD etc) can happily read many file systems, Windows is still stuck in the (proprietary) dark ages.

The BigYin

No FAT?

Every removable drive I have bought has come formatted FAT32. Only internal drives are blank. FAT32 is seen by people as "the standard". Hopefully now they will see sense and start to use ETX2/3/4,JFS,ZFS,whatever instead.

The BigYin

Screw MS

If enough companies get together and agree to support "?FS", producing open source drivers (assuming none already exist), supplying them F.o.C and generally building support; then MS can go an whistle. Their FAT-tax no longer applies.

As for Windows not support the FS...does it matter? It can read a CD can't it? That could install the drivers.

The BigYin

EXT2?

Umm...maybe. Ideally it should be a format that is "best" for the media. If Windows (or whatever) does not support the file system OOTB, simply provide the drivers (or get together with other companies to write said drivers). Whether it's EXT2 (or 3, or 4...) or something else entirely I do not care.

Linux et al can work with these OOTB.

WIndows users are sued to having to install and then reboot every time the wind changes direction, so they won't mind.

Macs...I dunno about Macs. Sorry. But my guess is that can read EXT2 or something like it.

If MS want to stamp their feet over FAT; let them. Just don't use FAT! Simples.

Hawking: Aliens are out there, likely to be Bad News

The BigYin

There is no defence

If there is alien life...

If that life is intelligent...

If that life has technology of any kind...

Then, considering cosmic time-scales, it will either be too primitive to get here...

Or so mind-boggingly advanced that it could get here and we not know one damn about it...

And if it got here with malice, then there'd probably be feck all we could do about it.

"Ah puny human, a nuclear bomb. How quaint. I'll see your nuclear arsenal and raise you that moon. Yes, the one now dropping towards you. Toodles!"

Microsoft's Silverlight 4 - more than Flash envy

The BigYin

4) Video

There's no "if", Google are releasing it.

Sky punts 'truly unlimited' 20Mb/s broadband

The BigYin

Agreed

It's either unlimited or limited. Binary choice.

Personally I find my (actual) 4mpbs (capped, shaped and limited) is good enough for my needs just now. Why pay more?

Ten free apps to install on every new PC

The BigYin

Screw VMWare Player

Get Oracle's VirtualBox.

The BigYin

No voice

That it Pidgin's greatest failing, it just doesn't do voice. Whilst the SIPE (for Office Communicator) plug-in works, it can't give you any voice support. AFAIK Digsby doesn't support voice either, so there is no alternative to MS Office Communicator.

Am I wrong? Please tell me I am wrong. I cannot stand MS OffComm.

Johnson: ID cards will pay for themselves

The BigYin

In summary

"The idea is bollocks, but we've given so much to our friends...err...spent so much on consulting that we will press on.

'Sunk cost'? Never heard of it. Is it relevant? Bloody impertinence, interrupting like that...

Well, anyway; so much has been blown on this that is it like a bank - too big to fail. It's not our money anyway...well, it is now due to the lucrative perks we've all been getting from our new friends; but again is that relevant?

Where was I? Oh yes. Not our money. We spent the taxpayer's money and we are going to get those idiots spend it again by getting them to pay for something they've already paid for.

Will it lower fraud, stop terrorism, cut rape levels? It will do, and I would like to point to the squillions we ave spunked on it as proof of that. People will be able to sleep soundly as they know there's no point in robbing them. They're either now too poor from buying ID cards, or too poor due to a cock up it with the database.

Err....you can cut that last bit.

What do you mean it's live? Shut it off! SHUT IT OFF!"

C language inventor spurns Google's language exam

The BigYin

Good. Sort of.

A professor of physics (say) is not allowed to rewire your house, even though they could explain in excruciating detail by by-passing the RCD is a "Bad Thing"(tm) and even manufacture an RCD out of duct tape and a milk-bottle top. Put simply: they are not an electrician, even though they are very good at the theory.

It's the same here. Mr. Thompson may be very good, he may be very smart; but he still has to prove that as well as being a good "physics prof" he is also a good "electrician".

Having just said that, most programming exams are a pile of crap (I've done a few). "If you see code like this, what happens A) B) C) or D)" The correct answer is, of course, "E) Find the person responsible for this incomprehensible horror and beat some sense into them". And the other classic "Is method A on class B? Yes/No" Correct answer "Umm...this is, like, why we have API docs. No point in knowing it's there without knowing how to use the wee beggar."

So yes, do not allow commits from Mr. Thompson until he passes the exam.

After said exam, do not be surprised if Mr. Thompson rips the exam (and its writers) to shreds.

The ultimate irony would be if Mr. Thompson was involved in writing/approving the exam!

'iPhone 4G' loser outed

The BigYin
FAIL

Nice PR stunt

And it seems to be working.

MS kernel patch skirts infected machines

The BigYin

Does it warn?

"Dear User,

One of the MS updates could not be installed as your system is infected with a 'rootkit'. It is string advised that you disconnect from the internet and hire a professional to fix your system."

Or something. If they don't do that the n they are not helping to stamp out the millions of infected Windows boxes that plague the net

Apple bans Pulitzer Prize political cartoons from iPhone

The BigYin
FAIL

Cretin

Think what you like about Jobs, but he is no Hitler. Your moral relativism is disgusting and belittles the suffering and deaths of millions. Go hang your head in shame.

Chinese go beyond binary with ternary molecule

The BigYin
Joke

EmoBooleans!

True

False

Meh

Volcanic ash grounds dozens of UK flights

The BigYin
FAIL

Umm....

...it was filed under "Physics". You could maybe argue that it should have been filed under "Geology", "Meteorology" or even "Geography"...but that's it. It's deffo news, it's deffo important.

If you don't want to read the non-IT news, can I suggest you stay out of the non-IT areas or simply not click on them?

Is using your brain simply too much to ask?

I am sure Ms. Bee has contemplated finding me and slapping me on a few occasions; but I hope nothing I have said or done has been as vacuous and pointless as your derisive missive.

Commodore 64 may come back as Warren Beatty

The BigYin
Flame

Not new

When this story last broke it was pointed out that this case and system were already on sale (http://www.cybernetman.com/).

So, El Reg, why not do some journalism and ask these jokers how they think they can get away with claiming someone else's product as their "own" and simply re-branding it for cool?

They've not even bothered to try and get a customer case/colours/keys FFS!

The Cybernteman looks like it could scratch a few itches and if the Ubnutu distro was properly re-themed and configured, you could maybe ape some Commodore cool (pre-installed Commodore emulator, games etc).

But this? This is a feckin' joke.

Milkman skewers Google Street View over garage break-in

The BigYin

In this case...

...you may well be right. It smacks much more of a crime of opportunity, and if it wasn't - a lot of effort went into stealing £50 worth of bike! This does not negate the fact that Street View and Google Maps could be a valuable assets to the criminally minded.

The BigYin
Joke

House stolen?

Cripes. I've heard of shoplifting, but houselifting?

The BigYin
FAIL

Sorry, you fail

If he didn't open the door, how would he get the car (or anything else) out?

*LEAVING* the door open for extended periods without good cause is the issue.

The BigYin

You can bet they are...

...the police use Street View for planning raids FFS! You can bet your arse that the (smarter) crooks are using it too. Rather savvy, the modern day scum.

Oracle freshens its VirtualBox

The BigYin

Hardly matters...

...and this is what is good about F/OSS. If enough people find that VBox scratches their itch, if Oracle do something stupid a new version will come from another quarter befor you can say "Fork in hell!"

A F/OSS version would lose USB etc, but I am sure a way around that would be found.

Visual Studio 2010 opens Windows to outside help

The BigYin

Is MS scared?

If so, what of?

As far as I can tell, Linux* is still no threat, nor is Apple. Or is Linux a major part of the cloud-world (something I have nothing to do with) and giving MS cause for concern? Or have they some crystal ball and can see a paradigm shift coming (Linux** on mobiles, set-top boxes etc).

Their talk of "community" amuses me. All the "communities" I am involved with have rather open and frank debates, usually with the oh-so-precious code clearly visible, showing its warts to one and all. Anyone is free to update, add-to or even fork the project. No way in hell MS will truly engage with any community in what one could call and "open" manner.

MS do make some good GUI tools. Previous versions of VisualStudio have had quite a few things going for them. If MS want to help a community, how's about they help the already flourishing Eclipse community? Hmm, wossat? Not a chance in hell? Yeah, thought as much, just more empty words and double-talk from the Beast of Redmond.

If they actually did what they said they wanted to do, then they might just get a positive response. Instead I think we'll just see more words and then another lawsuit or something.

*Sub 1% penetration - but it does depend a lot on how you slice 'n dice the figures.

**I say "Linux", but it really could be any non-MS OS. e.g. BSD, Haiku...