Posts by Fred Flintstone

Re: Where are testers on that list?

"Users"..

Re: " changes how people think about our past climate and what our future holds"

The problem I have with both camps is that I no longer know who I can trust. I DO think we need to take more care, but the offered methods by which are often so stupidly ineffective that you know they're just supporting someone's agenda.

What I DO know as fact is that our dear financial community has enthusiastically started flogging and trading carbon credits, a concept so nebulous it is almost guaranteed to incorporate large buckets of fraud (IMHO fuelling - pardon the pun- much of the aforementioned enthusiasm).

Re: Erm.

Cover the keypad, they cant see your PIN and cant use your card!!!!!

I suggest you enter "fake atm keypads" into Google and look at the images..

Re: Disguises

Google Glass? No, *that* would have made sense - I can see them being banned near anything sensitive anywhere.

Re: can't resist

Sure, but you'd be chilled about it. That should make support calls interesting :)

Re: Its nice (in a borat voice), but 99.9% ...

Not sure about the office you work in, but most offices I work in experience at least 4 hours downtime every Friday.

There's a difference between expected and manageable downtime and "the %&* service is down and I have a deadline to meet" :)

Re: Hipster will get one....

Just have the piercing printed as well, already in the ear.

Re: Bravo!

"Reader, Flash and Air are - alongside Oracle's Java browser plugin - the screen door through which the raw unfiltered sewage of the internet oozes into the homes of netizens. These products are awful, the security is worse and the management of them over the years beggars belief."

I have never seen this sentiment better expressed.

I second that.

In addition, Adobe uses another trick to make security harder than it needs to be: it uses its own downloader. When you download Adobe products, you often don't actually get the product, but only a downloader - which means that the software you screen and virus check is not the software that actually does the job post install.

Bet there are a few tight buttocks @ mission control...

For a machine that has somewhat outlasted its design specs (my first extraterrestrial understatement)?

I don't think so. It will offer someone a challenge to make it start again regardless, but the machine was officially written off ages ago. Having said that, making it work AGAIN regardless would be a *seriously* cool hack.

If those devices were any closer together they could get one to trundle over, swat any residual Martians off the reset button, clean its windows and solar shields and get it on its way again. IMHO, that would be so übercool it would provoke a Martian winter all on its own..

Re: Evil Robots

Yup. The short summary is that if you want the privacy you are actually entitled to by law, you have to do it yourself. Because the law is not enforced, which is about as useful as not having laws in the first place.

Re: Shows

Apple take product quality seriously, other manufacturers could learn something here about not sending out a substandard product.

Yes and no. Good points for sending back substandard gear, bad marks for not spotting a production going off its quality bell curve before so many units were manufactured: it seems to suggest Apple is quite a distance from the production quality control, which has resulted in a substantial supply chain hit.

I have a very easy solution..

Just put a "Google Streetview" sticker on it before you let it hover over his house. Easy.

And Sony Clie?

Yes, although I do struggle a bit with the idea of finding a computer sexually arousing. But OK, I'll play along.

The handheld computer I liked most was the Palm derived Sony Clie, specifically the NX70 series

It was ahead of its time (already did video recording), was damn useful once you installed a decent calendar app and small in the way Apple made its name with a couple of years later. It was genius. As a matter of fact, I have been toying a while back with digging one up on eBay, but by now the batteries must be all but dead.

Which brings me back to especially the S3 - it ran on 2 AA cells. Never a problem buying those when you travel..

Alternatively..

I suppose they're going to generate huge virtual TVs on the clouds and distract the enemy with 'X-Factor

Or project a *proper* Bat signal :)

Re: Mars writing entire sentences?

You're almost starting to make sense by writing those entire, often grammatically correct (though I'll stop short of describing the content - leaving that up to our Esteemed Readers as well as your Worthy self) sentences.

If it's OK for GCHQ to use plaintext for passwords, it should certainly be OK for amanfromMars to use clear text as well. Personally, I sensed quite an intel awareness there and I haven't had that much trouble decoding his posts.

I bow my head in utter respect

Honestly, this is one heck of an elaborate Friday p*ss take. Brilliant!

More, please!

Re: Four systems

You'd not heard of GLONASS? Where have you been, the stone age or something?

Yup. Been dropping rocks on middle management monkeys :)

Re: Unity, or...

I think it's more like: the various countries implemented EU rules. Google (allegedly) breaks those rules. Therefore Google is (allegedly) committing an offence in every country of the EU.

Correct. The main thing that Google screwed up was the chance to address the issue in one go for the whole of the EU. Now they face 27 or more separate battles, and a win in one jurisdiction will not help them one iota in another one as precedents are not shared between jurisdictions and an escalation to EU level will simply use the original warning as evidence of mal intent. Out of all the things they could have done, they chose the worst possible option: do nothing at all.

As I said elsewhere, it's time to stock up on popcorn. This has the potential to get both interesting and ugly. No doubt the apologists are being briefed and bribed as we speak.

Re: Ads on the home screen or April Fool

Well, there are more fools than Aprils .. :)

Re: What a joke

There is no god given right to use a cellphone or be immune from people listening into electronic communication

Ah, the joy of spouting own opinion as alleged fact..

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 12

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Note that this right is classed as inalienable, you may want to look that up.

The US signed that too. Some countries have it even in their Federal Constitution:

1. Everyone has the right to privacy in their private and family life and in their home, and in relation to their mail and telecommunications.

2. Everyone has the right to be protected against the misuse of their personal data.

(official translation)

The consequence of the UDHR declaration is that undersigning nations are compelled to take that into their legislation one way or another. As we've seen over the last few years, law enforcement is trying to avoid Due Process to infringe on those rights and they are *seriously* getting in the way of Google and Facebook making a profit off your personal life, but for now you still have them.

You may want to put some effort in keeping them.

Re: Is it just me?

I guess the ultimate goal might be to have a device that has no conceptual front and back, or top and bottom

So that'll be a ball then :). Use wireless charging and connecting and a Bluetooth headset and it doesn't even need to have holes, so it could be waterproof too (and no searching for the connector jack). Alternatively, a cylinder.

Is that your phone in your pocket or .. (etc)..