* Posts by Charles 9

16605 publicly visible posts • joined 10 Jun 2009

Get ready for Google's proprietary Android. It's coming – analyst

Charles 9

Re: It isn't like Google has the only maps

Plus there's the matter of context linking, where a map search has a logical connection to a Web search, a contact search, and so on.

Charles 9

Re: Hopefully leads to devices getting patched

"But accusing the world's medical scientists of a global conspiracy to keep cures off the market because profit is more important to them (the scientists themselves, not the companies) than saving lives, with zero evidence, is a whole new step into tin-foil hattedness."

Who pays the scientists? Who is willing to cross the boss and get kicked to the curb as a result? And if you want evidence, look at the human microcosm that is politics.

Charles 9

Re: GPL?

No, they can just do what Tivo does: open-source the kernel itself but keep everything else under lock and key. Look up "Tivoization".

Charles 9

The point is that with the code completely under Google's control, they can get the code from the chip makers directly (which they MUST provide to get their stuff working on Android in the first place), going around the phone makers who aren't motivated due to market pressures.

Charles 9

Re: Hopefully leads to devices getting patched

"Saying that phone vendors don't do updates because they love built in obsolescence is art school level of analysis. you might be right on occasion, but your reasoning is suspect."

Not art school. Economics 101. There's no business like repeat business. That's why they don't make vacuum cleaners that last for decades anymore like Kirby or Electrolux. That's why medical companies make treatment regimens, not cures. There's no money in a one-and-done.

Charles 9

If you plan to make an audio CD that correctly plays in all the players on the market, or make a player that can correctly play all those CDs, then yes, you need the "Red Book" which specifies the formats and so on for them (IOW, it's the interface for making audio CDs). And last I checked, you have to PAY for the Red Book. And there are plenty of other interface books you have to PAY to access.

Charles 9

Re: Why this will actually NOT happen

1. Would Chinese manufacturers be willing to submit to Microsoft's terms any more than the terms they have now? They could just fork the last AOSP version and go from there, but that has its own pitfalls as Amazon can attest.

2. But it's still full of bugs no manufacturer wants to patch. Even the blanking KERNEL has bugs. The only way Google can force them to be fixed is to go full vertical integration the way Apple does.

3. The Tivo kernels are GPL Linux, too, but that never stopped them. Google can release the kernel clean as day, but everything ON TOP of it can be proprietary. Also, with dm-verity enforced in Marshmallow and up, they can check for modified kernels, too, all without violating the GPL (see "Tivoization").

4. The manufacturers are aware of the switch part already, meaning the bait doesn't mean anything to them anymore. Did you read the part of the article where Samsung gave up trying to make their own services?

6. Closing AOSP is meant to make the manufacturers moot, not force them to update. The idea is that the software becomes wholly under Google's control, meaning they can push the updates as needed instead of waiting on manufacturers who would rather you junk you phone. Increasing legal pressure means Google HAS to take this route or face potential civil and criminal penalties for increasingly-vulnerable installations that, at the last, falls to them.

Charles 9

Re: Could be interesting....

"...especially if all the Asian manufactures get together and dump it like a hot potato."

Dump it for what? No other mobile OS open to them has nearly as much in terms of availability, and apps require the Network Effect to really take off. Google had the resources to play the long game, and that's pretty much what you need, especially with incumbents already in the market.

Charles 9

"This goes against the entire reason Android was created. Highly doubt it's true. Many devs choose Android (over Apple) specifically because it's open-source."

NO, many devs choose Android because of audience penetration. Once upon a time, many of them stuck with iPhones...for the same reason. Until a few years ago, devs made iPhone apps first, then jumped to Android.

Charles 9

Re: Speaking as a consumer ...

"All I really care about, is to be able to buy a phone, and have control over what crap I do - and don't want on it."

So what do you do when you come across a closed market where NO phones are customizable and all the existing customizable phones are hopelessly out of date?

FBI tries again to get warrantless access to your browser history

Charles 9

Re: Bah!

Wouldn't they just invent a filter to screen them out based on timing and pattern matching?

Charles 9

Re: Is there a crime for "wilfully adding the breach of constitutional rights"

No, because treason is explicitly and narrowly defined. Unless they actually take up arms against the US government, they cannot be tried for treason. Plus most people in office are immune from direct prosecution and have to be impeached and removed first. Breaking the Constitution in other ways can be impeachable offenses, but Congress does look after its own.

Charles 9

Impossible. The snoops can always dig up existential threats to the government, and government by default has a self-preservation motive...

Charles 9

Re: Coward

Apparently, a republic doesn't work either, because it ALSO sits around all day spending others' money. In fact, ANY government is at its core a bunch of people (a bunch can be one sometimes) spending other people's money. Kinda comes with the territory.

Charles 9

Re: Spoilt brats

"It is called a leather belt, and it is applied judiciously to the bottocks."

Unless the brat's a masochist, in which case the belt only solicits cries for more, along with some erotic moaning. With some people, you just can't win because they like it BOTH ways...

Hardcore creationist finds 60-million-year-old fossils in backyard ... 'No, it hasn’t changed my mind about the Bible'

Charles 9

Re: re: creationism makes perfect sense. As long as you ignore all of creation?

"As long as you don't ask "Where did the creator come from?"."

A: The Creator didn't come from anywhere. He always existed, an absolute presence (and many religious people believe the Creator IS the one absolute presence in the universe): always was, is, and will be. In layman's terms, the Creator is outside of time as we know it.

US military tests massive GPS jamming weapon over California

Charles 9

Re: @Gray ... Military aggression

They can do that anyway with inertial guidance (which is impossible to jam), and if the target is big enough, drift isn't a concern, as it just needs to get close enough.

So. Why don't people talk to invisible robots in public?

Charles 9

You do know HDMI cables can now carry Ethernet? And that more and more appliances contain Whispernets?

Let's face it. Big Brother's already here, and he's not going to go away. They'll make it so that EVERY appliance you buy phones home. And then they'll find ways to disable all the ancient tech that doesn't phone home. Make old vehicles non-compliant, add new product compliance testing, and so on.

England just not windy enough for wind farms, admits renewables boss

Charles 9

Problem is the Greens would turn around and reply, "And we'd be better off for it. At least we wouldn't be running the planet into the ground."

Charles 9

Re: As I see it

"As we've seen with solar, more deployment drives research into improving the technology and the same should be true with storage; and this research may well feed back in battery technology in general."

Except there's been a drive to find a better battery for decades. Unless some hitherto-unknown "miracle" tech is discovered, we've practically hit the limits as far as physics tells us. We keep hitting tradeoffs that force us to sacrifice a desired quality until we give up too much and the result is not practical.

Charles 9

Re: Silly Article

"once the panel is there, it'll produce for 25 years, maintenance free"

Don't these things get covered in dirt and grime to the point even rain can't wash them off? What about hail? Intense winds strong enough to rip up windmills? Damage from extreme cold and so on? From what I've read, solar is hardly a "set-it-and-forget-it."

Letters prove GCHQ bends laws to spy at will. So what's the point of privacy safeguards?

Charles 9

Re: Does Intelligence provide Prime Proprietary Lead or Work to Crazy Politically Incorrect Orders?

I surmise it's simply too easy for a wolf to pass for a sheep, and once you're past the guards it's already too late to do anything. You have to be lucky forever. They only have to be lucky once.

Charles 9

But the people aren't willing to pay the price for inefficiency given how they complain about taxes now.

'UnaPhone' promises Android privacy by binning Google Play

Charles 9

Re: Terrorism!!! Are you out of your mind?

"Glad it won't be rolled out in those countries too but won't stop someone getting hold of one and taking it there and unless the mobile can discriminate between providers and refuse to work on prohibited one game over and wouldn't it be distinctly recognisable to that provider?"

They HAVE to. That's why your network call sign appears on your phone when you use it: because networks have signatures based on the SIMs and so on.

As for preferring anarchy to the police state, I don't agree. I think more likely is someone gets enough muscle to push everyone else away and create an autocracy (which tends toward police states if we go by Machiavelli).

Charles 9

Re: bend over or check out

Or maybe some people just remember that Psalm about knowing the difference between the things you can't change and the things you can change. Sometimes, you need to stare someone in the face and say, "Sir, you're demanding unicorns." But other times, the guy demanding unicorns ALSO has a gun to your head and an itchy finger on the trigger. In which case, you better start looking...

Charles 9

Re: Great for companies! @Copen

You wish, but the phone manufacturers demand control (some at the behest of other parties--like banks). So in essence, phone manufacturers can't trust the users without ticking off people writing checks. So what you can do? Unless you're willing to cobble together your own phone from scratch (realizing that each and every component could potentially hold hidden secrets you'd be unable to discover).

At some point, you have to just realize Big Brother has ways of watching you no matter what you do and decide: bend over or check out.

Why Oracle will win its Java copyright case – and why you'll be glad when it does

Charles 9

Re: APIs vs Copyright

A trademark ONLY applies to things that are used to identify you as a business. The Java Coffee Cup, for example, is a trademark. The specific depiction of the word Java and its use in a particular context are trademarks. And API cannot be trademarked because it's not used to identify it. That's a matter of copyright, but in matter of things that necessarily have to be public, Fair Use applies as in that verdict in May.

Charles 9

Re: Multiple points

Trade secrets violations are a separate matter from copyright. A trade secret violation can invalidate a copyright because the original work that got stolen would carry an implicit copyright under the law. If this can be proven. the thief gets a double-whammy: trade secret AND copyright infringement.

Charles 9

Re: This article conflates two important issues

"That has already been decided by the courts, and the answer is a confirmed, settled and now indisputable "Yes"."

Cite the case law, please, if there IS such a precedent.

"Google have already been found guilty of doing this, and Google have lost all avenues of appeal on this question. You don't need to browse the code yourself, the document that matters is the court judgement stating that this has happened."

Again, cite it, please. Highlighting the pertinent section where they can prove beyond reasonable doubt that the code was copied direct from Sun and not clean-roomed.

Even in remotest Africa, Windows 10 nagware ruins your day: Update burns satellite link cash

Charles 9

Probably because lots of people are locked into Windows-only software with no viable substitutes.

Charles 9

Re: Should be running CentOS or some other LTS Linux

Have you ever given thought to the possibility their key software may be Windows-ONLY? Meaning they CAN'T jump?

Charles 9

Re: If you use Microsoft products...

Trouble is, in many cases, a viable substitute ISN'T available. For example, serious gamers can't really jump to Linux without abandoning access to a vast number of games: especially new headliners that aren't WINE- or VM-friendly. And you can write the developers all they want; some like Bethesda (Fallout 4) have sworn off Linux as too complicated to develop for (because it isn't united unlike on MacOS or Windows). Plus once DX12 games come along, there will be new translation headaches (especially since DX12 is closer to the metal and may not have substitutes even in Vulkan).

Smartwatches: I hate to say ‘I told you so’. But I told you so.

Charles 9

What about all those who lose their phones in their purses and always miss calls because they lose time hunting around for them?

Computerised stock management? Nah, let’s use walkie-talkies

Charles 9

Re: SAP? ..for Inventory Control? Are you mad?

Then you're supposed to say, "The Customer Is Always Right. If you don't make this right by the time a policeman shows up, you're going to have a lot more than just F'n Staples Online to worry about, or are you aware of the crime of False Advertising?"

Air-gapping SCADA systems won't help you, says man who knows

Charles 9

Re: Excellent

"To summarise, security costs money; if you cut corners you'll get what you paid for."

But tell that to the accountants that just gave you a shoestring budget.

Charles 9

Re: Excellent

But that's REactive, and as noted, that's not going to work because by the time you react, it's already too late. In a world where a split second is enough, you MUST be PROactive. Yet you're saying you CAN'T be proactive because the only warning signs come AFTER the fact. That logically leads me to believe there's no way to protect a mission-critical system. Meaning we're basically all screwed.

Charles 9

Re: Excellent

"For anything remotely distributed (i.e. most utilities) the air gap WILL be breached somewhere and no, you won't know about it - until it's too late..."

So what can you do about it? You can't go after the face because by the time it's breached, it's already too late, the damage is already done. Yet you're tasked with making sure it's NOT breached for national security reasons. By people who can direct you with legal force, "Stop all breaches. That's an order."

Flash. Bang. Wallet: Marcher crooks target UK Android users

Charles 9

Re: Verification image

But it's a quick step to doing MITP, secretly stepping in between the actual app and the user and logging everything the user sees and does so as to defeat that kind of authentication. And as noted, you can't use another factor for authentication when the phone is the ONLY factor they frequently have. You can't do two-factor authentication without a second factor, after all.

Universe's shock rapidly expanding waistline may squash Einstein flat

Charles 9

Except there are other constants in the universe that ARE holding: like Avogadro's Constant and Planck's Constant. If either of those constants AREN'T, then we have more serious problems at hand.

HaLow, is it me you're hacking for? Wi-Fi standard for IoT emitted

Charles 9

Re: Poor use for the band

The stories were about changing emergency comms standards, not frequencies (which are already allocated by law and IINM are around the 800MHz range, which combined with better antennae provide plenty of range).

'Windows 10 nagware: You can't click X. Make a date OR ELSE'

Charles 9

Re: Fit for purpose

"If you're sent a document that contains scripts, I suggest you treat it as malware."

That kinda limits your options when it's the ONLY legal way to interact with the GOVERNMENT in a particular instance. AND it comes from a signed government website.

Charles 9

Define "reasonable". Microsoft will be happy to offer a counter-proposal...along with their army of lawyers.

Charles 9

Re: I can't wait until this free upgrade is over....

Personally I haven't had any real issues with Win10 on three machines. Two Dells one desktop one laptop, but both were on 8. The other was a homebuilt with 7, but it went pretty smoothly despite the mobo going on 9 years.

Charles 9

Re: Is this legal?

They probably also have better lawyers this time.

Charles 9

Re: Kill its access !

They'll just undo your work with a boot time program where the system is still in single user mode. If not now then later.

Charles 9

You forget the blanket "We reserve the right to revise this EULA at any time without your further consent" that would've been on the original EULA giving them an out as you agreed to the terms.

Charles 9

Re: You can't click X. Make a date OR ELSE

Or else it just does RIGHT F'N NOW! If you try to turn it off first, it'll just do it once you turn it on again.

Charles 9

Re: Litigation

Nope because Microsoft will just counter, "Aren't most of your copies COUNTERFEIT?"

Charles 9

Re: can Never10 really work, tho?

Until they realize all their software is Windows-only with no substitutes (particularly games). What then?

Charles 9

Re: Windows 10 Pondering

That was THEN. This time Microsoft probably has better lawyers. AND the NSA on their side.