Posts by Tom 13

@ Darryl

That's nothing! I could do that with Vista and no AV software.

Re: That's just ostentatious and self-gratifying

I suppose if you assume "worst software on the planet" infers it is still being sold. I think the worst software ever on the planet was Bob. It was so bad, even Microsoft hasn't re-branded it and they re-brand ALL their failed products.

Re: We're a lot further to the right on that graph than shown.

Software is protected more by copyright than patent. Frankly, in most cases I think it should be patent not copyright, both for the shorter time and the ability to challenge the protection. There are few instances in which I can see software requiring more than 15 years of protection, in fact I think 7 should be the mean. I'd be willing to flex and make it more like trademark: you can keep it so long as you are supporting it.

But that sort of change will never make it through Congress.

Re: being first to market is an advantage.

There is a story told here in The States to remind our manufacturers that they no longer rule the world. One of our wire manufacturing companies created a new thinner wire that required significant advances in tooling technology. They proceeded to send samples around the world to show everybody what they had done. Before they had their manufacturing line tooled and running the sample from Japan came back. It had been threaded with a smaller wire.

Being first to market is also clearly not beneficial in places like pharmaceuticals. The cost is all in the research and testing. Once you've got a sample it's fairly easy to break down and synthesize the drug. With no research and testing costs to recover, you can undercut the originator's price a hundred fold.

Re: recipes themselves ... are not copyrightable

I've got shelves of books of copyrighted recipes at home. There is no descriptive or artistic expression in them beyond the list of ingredients and the order in which to mix them and prepare them. Recipes are copyrightable. But rather like tape traders back in the day, most personal infringement isn't caught and prosecuted.

Re: Proof by assertion

Actually, both chefs and designers have a fair bit of protection for stealing ideas, at least in the relevant period of time. In the US both the Secret Service and the IRS are likely to get involved if you sell knockoffs from a major designer with a company and logo. Same thing for chefs and their recipes.

@ Don Dumb

While an improvement, even those don't work. I've only seen one example of the government getting this sort of thing correct, and it doesn't translate well to patents or copyrights.

In the US, for agricultural products testing (fertilizers, pesticides etc.) the government authorizes groups to set standards by which products are tested and independent certified labs perform the tests. Both the standards setting groups and the labs run fair tests because there are competing parties who would stop using the services if the tests became too biased either way. But there typically aren't two competing parties for patent applications.

Although maybe there is potential in the government authorizing private entities to issue patents and copyrights without granting them legal immunity for damages if they improperly issue a patent. Government sets out the rules just like they do now, and courts try them. But either party could include the issuing agency in the lawsuit, so there would be incentive for them to get it right. Or maybe they'd be just as prone to side with the PAE to protect themselves.

Re: Not likely

I'd notice as soon as neither my laptop or tablet would connect. Not sure about the roomie's iPad and Mac which are also on the wireless. They might auto-find and open network. But I very much doubt that after you've done a factory reset you'll be able to reset the original WPA2 key I set.

Re: risk of elevated charges.

YMMV, but in these parts so long as you didn't cop to wanting his password it would probably be lesser charges, at least in terms of actual time served.

Re: factory reset would also nuke

For the listed exploit yes, but there might be other exploits that aren't so In Your Face. Which is why neither chip vendors nor device manufacturers should ignore a thorough security review of their products.

Re: Anything the Brits know the Yanks know.

I hope not. We leak like a sieve over here. And I'd like to know there's at least one adult making decisions about international events. Yes I'd prefer it was us, but since I know right now it isn't, my second preference is a Brit.

@ Don Jefe

But what if the oil on which you are sitting and your known good cooperation with said State in the War on Terror already gets you those things?

I concur this isn't the way these things are normally handled. But it is possible somebody got miffed enough to cut off the nose to spite the face.

Re: Russians have fewer skills

It's one thing to regard a Ruskie with undying suspicion, but never underestimate their skills.

Some of the best programming ever done for HP was done by a Russian. HP couldn't afford/wouldn't pay for the source code. Long after they'd lost track of where he was they wanted the source code but couldn't locate him again. So they just kept producing the ROMs for their integrators not being able to reproduce the algorithms on their PCs. IIRC it was the 3396. I worked for a company that wanted to write some software that pulled data out of it. The data packing algorithm was even better than encrypting the data. They couldn't move forward with it until they signed NDAs and cross-licensing agreements with HP. HP got a decent program from mine, but mine got the better deal. We'd never have written a program as good as the one we did without their guidance and assistance.

Re: Typo?

I'm surprised anyone was willing to invest in a company called typo. The whole thing smell of the plot line from The Producers.

@ David W.

I've never much cared for the BB keyboard, but then I've never cared much for any of the smart phone keyboards. They're all too damn small for me.

But I generally concur with your remarks. They do seem to have put some R&D into it and deserve at least a preliminary hearing before being dismissed. I do however wish they referenced the specific patents in question so we were better able to evaluate their argument. They do seem to have gone to the trouble to put some legalese on the website to protect from some sort of shareholder lawsuits.

Re: What matters is that the holier-than-thou attitude

Pot? Meet Kettle.

Resolve that and then we can have a civil discussion. Until that time, if you insist on burning me if effigy, expect me to one up you in reply.

Re: Lest we forget

Yep. Ice during the melting months of summer where there was none 100 years or so ago.

And irony of ironies, they went down for the specific purpose of proving the ice was retreating like Napoleon after invading Russia.

@ gazthejourno: No, no. I've got this one.*

Mahatma Coat you do know that:

1. A single season weather does not make climate.

2. That's only Australia. You need the average over the entire surface of the globe, not just a little region of it. I mean, your continent is barely 7% the size of Europe and Warmists write off the entire Little Ice Age as a "regional" event.

*Your point is valid and obvious, but I want to the chance to play by Alinsky's rules. It's so much more fun to be using them than being abused by them.

@ TonyJ

You're right, you're going to collect a lot of downvotes.

Given that you have self-identified that this is a niche use and added the caveats about traditional desktop/laptop devices, I figured you've earned an upvote from someone who despises the direction MS is trying to force on the market.

Re: by just 25 per cent year on year

But, but, but, they HAVE crashed!

Last year those were triple digit numbers. And all the tech polls told me real programs are dead and the only way to make money in the future will be with Apps. And those Apps installs will keep up their insane installation numbers.

/end sarc

Where's the "whiny voice" icon?

Re: But there isn't a dislike button ;-)

You know, there might be a monetization angle there....

Re: It is not a national institution, to be defended.

Yes, it is.

But beyond that, I detest screeds along the lines of "Jews are rats so its okay to kill them" regardless of what the topic is.

If you want to talk about the industries that have truly lead to the American obesity epidemic, you and I are working in one of them. People use to get out and exercise. These days they sit around watching the telly or playing on their PCs/Tablets/smart phones.

Re: This car may not be for you

Please! I live in the US. The UK objections being raised are quite valid for at least 80% of the people living in the US. Living in one of the few areas where this might be marginally useful has obviously baked your brain the same way that car will get baked in the sun.

Mnay US residents, like many UK residents, live in heavily urbanized areas. In these areas most people can't street park their cars even assuming they've got sufficient sunlight vis-a-vie the weather. If you're not in an urbanized area the 21 mile range kills it. What you've got is a market for maybe 100,000 people all across the US, including greenies with too much money on their hands.

Re: "concept vehicle"

Significant?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2y8Sx4B2Sk

This vehicle deserves four out of five yawns on the Yawner scale.

Re: They haven't since about 2007

Most Reg commentards do read the post and respond to specific items in the post. It's only the Fanbois who cause problems.

In particular, you'll note the strawman shift; changing what was written to something which is obviously false. I expect now that he's done showing here in the forums, he'll pop on over to a gambling site "IQ" test.

Re: and I'll say it again....

Because contrary to your fevered imagination, the purpose of grunts on the ground isn't to kill every thing in sight. It's to make it NOT necessary to nuke 'em till they glow.

Re: all that money on doing nice things for people

Actually, we spend more than that doing nice things for people every year. It doesn't work quite the way you think it does.

No, we don't do it through government, because that never works right. We do it through non-governmental agencies, (e.g. churches), and even direct giving.

Re: Any chance...

Sure. Right after all the bad guys beat their weapons into plowshares.

Until then we follow Tubal not Jubal.

http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_jubal.htm

Re: until we really can put infantry drones on the ground

Even if we could technically do that, I think we'd still need people on the ground. Pacification is more psy ops than tactical. It's about getting people feeling safe enough around you to tell you the stuff you need to know and allowing them to construct a working local government not intent on killing and maiming people. Since the drone puts you well out of harm's way, I see them undermining that function.