* Posts by Mark 65

3432 publicly visible posts • joined 11 Jun 2009

Assange granted asylum by Ecuador after US refused to rule out charges

Mark 65

Re: Best outcome.

"The (UK) law that enables this was brought about after the shooting of policewoman outside the Libyan Embassy - we should be reserving the use (or threat of use) of that power to similarly dangerous situations."

Given how most laws intended for use in such cases have gone I'd not be surprised to see the local council storm the building looking to drag him out for letting his dog shit on the pavement.

New MPEG format paves the way for UHDTV

Mark 65

Re: The critical measure here is the bit rate

"Multicast IPTV over GPON Fibre"

Bless you. Hope you get well soon.

SurfTheChannel Brit movie pirate gets 4 YEARS' PORRIDGE

Mark 65

Re: What else gets you 4 years in chokey?

Wrong AC, killing someone isn't necessarily murder. Especially over an argument, where it is more likely to be manslaughter rather than having malice aforethought - although I confess I have not read the case but the OP states 'jailed for killing' not 'jailed for murdering' and there is a difference in the eyes of the law.

The point the OP is making is that during an argument someone lost their life and those involved only got four years - it kind of puts a clear value on a human live versus some shitty films or songs.

Video shows armed assault on Kim Dotcom family home

Mark 65

Re: There used to be a time

"Remember that he met the police with a shotgun to hand (according to them, anyway)."

Yep and, likewise, that Brazilian electrician looked like he might have a bomb under his jacket. No more truth in that one.

Mark 65

Re: S.T.G raid

Aww, it's a big house and there was only about 25 of them looking. Well, make that 1 or 2 looking and the rest high-fiving.

Snap suggests Apple out to 'screw' hardware hackers

Mark 65

Re: No problem

That plus how long would it really take for someone to cast a mold off of it to start cranking out screwdrivers?

Banking IT cowboys 'need whipping into shape by watchdog'

Mark 65

Yep, I was about to post similar welcoming this mob to the real World where the parts of the business that can make the most profit get invested in over making the customer feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It's a business out for profit and research has shown how much inertia there is in changing banks so why would they bother?

Mark 65

Re: Intellect?

It's hidden near the bottom, the recommendation that banks move their non-competitive elements to a central cloud-based system.

T-Mobile puts 'Full Monty' tariff on diet

Mark 65

Re: Tethering - one way to detect

From apcmag...

"Carriers set three APNs -- data, MMS and tethering. In the telco's billing system, the data and MMS APNs are enabled on your account normally by default, but the telco will only let the iPhone connect to the third APN if you have 'bought' the tethering option from them [in Australia all the major telcos provide it free of charge but it won't necessarily be enabled on a SIM card that wasn't provisioned for iPhone use by the telco]. The iPhone checks if it can connect via the tethering APN and if it can, it will show you the tethering option. If it can't authenticate via the tethering APN then it won't show you the option."

Sharp cuts exFAT deal with Microsoft for Android mobes

Mark 65

Re: Still Using FAT ??!

@Lee: Not quite. I'm thinking that for large transfers it may have been setup this way so that users can stick the SD card directly into a reader or PC slot and read/write to the card. I think that the only realistic way to achieve this is to make an ext2/3/4 driver available with your CD containing sync software and other crap. They have litigated over Android phones in this case but this just as likely applies to compact cameras etc. I think that you do have to cater for direct access as such.

Bill Gates, Harry Evans and the smearing of a computer legend

Mark 65

Re: I am thoroughly confused by it all

@Dick: The API a crucial part of the IP? Do you work for Microsoft?

Seriously, you are saying that if a product API implements a GetScreenDimensions() method then nobody else would be able to implement that for compatibility sake in their competing product? Way to miss the point.

The whole point is that the API is the freely copy-able part of any software to enable competition in the market to thrive and it is the underlying implementation of that API that may or may not be the IP but is probably copyrightable. Remove implementation of the API and you utterly stifle competition through compatibility.

Office for ARM will lack features, report claims

Mark 65

Re: Oh come on

"Killing VBA on Mac was not a matter of porting code. It was a genuine desire to kill VBA. It was great in its day but had a lot of issues going forward. MS is trying to shift Office extension work to web oriented tools and APIs, which hooks into where so much else is happening today."

and yet, undoubtedly, VBA will live on.

Cameron: We'll turn NHS patients into real-time drugs lab rats

Mark 65

Given Government of all levels capabilities with regards data retention and privacy I'm not exactly filled with confidence.

Curiosity needs OS upgrade before getting down to science

Mark 65

Re: Riskiest Moment Not the Landing...

I now have visions of the guy at the control centre getting a screen message telling him he has failed the genuine advantage test and needs to register his software/buy a license.

Scribe's mobe, MacBook pwned after hacker 'fast-talked Apple support'

Mark 65

I would guess the Apple staffer is a soon to be if not already ex-staffer. Anyone who allows all security questions to be bypassed is clearly not fit to carry out the role they have been given.

Foxconn big daddy's latest fear: An expensive Sharp stake

Mark 65

That's a big change in losses, does Sharp have a Treasury desk like the one at JP Morgan?

NHS trust: Not buying through NHS IT saved us £7m

Mark 65

Re: Not as good as it sounds.

Incompetence will always be the enemy of the tendering process.

Oz regulator tells telly-makers to mind their language

Mark 65

Re: ACCC are reasonably good at common sense

Except when it comes to oil companies and the supermarket duopoly whereby they just can't seem to find any evidence of price collusion. Yet pump prices of fuel change based on day of the week and whether the holidays are coming and do so simultaneously across all major chains and Australians pay more for just about everything even when reasonable differences are taken into account.

Seriously, they a f*cking hopeless at their remit and this action is the exception rather than the rule. When it comes to the competition areas that are really harming the consumer they bottle it.

Mark 65

Re: A victory for common sense.

A victory, but sadly no fine. You have to wonder how many $120 adaptors they sold at the typically Aussie added tax price compared to, say, the $30-40 you could pay for a WN111 USB adaptor. Seems strange to me that Apple gets fined for its 4G advert but these guys get off with a "don't do it again". They are claiming an ability that the device as sold does not have.

Climate change behind extreme weather, says NASA

Mark 65

Re: "100 percent of the money *rebated* to all legal residents on a per capita basis. "

It doesn't. If you earn up to a certain income as a family it pays back 100% of what they ***predict*** the increased costs to be but if you are over that - it often isn't a particularly realistic income level - you're f*cked. For an individual earning $50k or more or a couple with kids earning $100k or more (that's less income than two teachers would earn) you will generally be out of pocket. Hence Labour look like they will be destroyed at the next federal election and we will be ruled by the mad monk as he says he'll scrap it - you could literally get elected with that policy alone.

Mark 65

Re: Australia's Carbon Tax

and don't forget, most important of all, they said they wouldn't introduce it at the election.

Mark 65
FAIL

Re: FUD

Propaganda campaign of FUD? No my friend, it's reality with regards Oz. The populous in Australia don't like tax hikes any more than the next man and they are particularly over-taxed as a nation. The carbon tax is a tax hike hence it is political poison, and especially so considering Gillard claimed at the election she would not introduce it then u-turned because she couldn't form a Government without the Green party. Australians like lying bastard politicians even less than tax hikes and lying bastard politicians that introduce tax hikes they said they wouldn't are never going to be popular or quickly forgotten. That's not FUD, that's life.

Mark 65

Re: Hansen's got that backwards

"However irrespective of climate change, it seems stupid to needlessly pollute our own environment for the short-term financial advantage of a few."

True, but then again it makes little sense to impoverish the masses to subsidise fuel sources that clearly do not, can not, and will not work here in the UK: wind is hopeless as it requires a fossil base load, and solar laughable this far North. Nuclear is the realistic option for us but that doesn't suit the green energy lobby. By going to the other end of the spectrum and supporting the green energy lobby we are impoverishing the working classes in order to also benefit the few financially in the short-term. The rich are always on a win-win, with politicians also feeding at the same trough with their vested interests and directorships, so let's try not to keep f*cking over the poor by making them choose between food and electricity.

Judge rejects Apple's calls for Samsung censure

Mark 65

Seriously?

"In a busy day's testimony, Apple's marketing boss Phil Schiller took to the stand to defend his company's right to own such design features as a tablet with rounded corners. "

I like Apple products but I have no idea how this guy could have done that and kept a straight face. FFS, it's just plain childish.

Post-pub nosh deathmatch: Bauernfrühstück v bacon sarnie

Mark 65

Re: HP Sauce...

"as long as they don't touch salad cream. It really is sunshine in a bottle!"

Nah, salad cream is just mayo filled up with vinegar. Horrible stuff.

Mark 65

Re: That isn't proper bacon

Thin sliced? No, no, no. Doorstops and 3-4 slices of bacon thanks.

Does Box really need $284m in VC cash?

Mark 65

It would seem from the article that money raised is inversely related to success, perhaps because the less of a business plan you have the more money you need to string out your inevitable demise. As other posters have mentioned - I've never heard of them and what makes them so great, which is not good news when everyone in the enterprise has heard of sharepoint for better or worse.

Airline leaves customer on hold for 15 hours

Mark 65

Re: The really don't "get it"

Fixing TV antennas is about all they're good for.

6 London boroughs haul all their kit to 1 Oracle biz product

Mark 65

Re: Made me chuckle.

My first thought when I read the headline was "savings until Oracle ups the fees". Then when I read this bit

"The councils have jointly appointed Capgemini to implement Oracle R12, which is a single system that manages HR, finance, payroll and procurement functions."

My thoughts moved straight to "oh dear". Strange how Government bodies of all levels seem destined to continue making the same mistakes over and over again - is there some school where they teach the career civil servants this?

Microsoft: MED-V won't help you escape WinXP end-of-life

Mark 65

Re: Key Question Remains Unanswered

Why upgrade? Hardware drivers. Once it's EOL you can kiss goodbye to them too. What are you going to run it on in the future when hardware starts to fail? Most enterprises use standardised hardware from the likes of HP etc so new desktops won't have the necessary drivers for XP as it's not like HP give a shit. Use a VM instead? That then means that you've already moved desktops to something else.

Also you'd update for software compatibility as any new commercial software you want to use won't likely be compatible, licensed or supported on an EOL OS.

In general you'd aim to update the desktops to 7 and leave the problem apps in VMs and/or on citrix and wait and see what 9 is like.

Mark 65

Re: Confused......

With great size comes great arrogance/complacency?

Mark 65

Ah, the VAX, what fond memories. VMS, CMS, purge commands. Now that was a real system.

Mark 65
Happy

Re: And When I'm in Charge

"It amuses me so much that MS's proprietary lock-in on IE6 is now biting them hard on the ass."

I wonder if at times it amuses them too? I mean, never could they have dreamed that they would have done such a thoroughly comprehensive and all encompassing job of it. In a way it has to be the most successful piece of code Microsoft has ever written.

Lords blast UK.gov's fixation on broadband speed over reach

Mark 65

Re: @AndrueC

...broadband began at up to 2 Meg...

There, fixed that for you.

Samsung docs tease 11.8in, 2560 x 1600 tablet

Mark 65

Perhaps prices/sizes are the way they are as everyone is trying to fab the tablet and laptop parts because they're higher demand thus leaving precious little capacity for higher resolution desktop screens. Therefore companies just chuck out any old shit because they're too busy making big dollars elsewhere.

Scotland Yard's hacking probe: Cops arrest journalist

Mark 65

By appointment

"The Met confirmed that the unnamed man is a journalist who is currently attending a central London police station by appointment."

That's such a pleasant way of describing it.

Copper: You have an appointment for interview at the local station for 1pm tomorrow

Journo: I'm not sure I'll be able to make that.

Copper: We'll come round 10 strong at 6am and kick your f*cking door in then.

Journo: 1pm you say? Right you are.

UK's thirst for energy falls, yet prices rise: Now why is that?

Mark 65

Re: Brinksmanship

"Wind and hydro remain a minuscule part of the energy supply, at under one per cent. If the renewable energy sector has a star, it's bioenergy - capturing gas from landfill and waste combustion."

I don't agree. We simply don't have enough wind farms. Build more. Cover the countryside. Sod green-belt, this is green. Now where did I put that taxpayer subsidy cheque? Must have left it in the East wing of the weekend house.

Mark 65

Re: "UK's thirst for energy falls, yet prices rise: Now why is that?"

@Valerion: Can you suggest an alternative to the current circus though? Supposedly we have competition but really it's just follow-the-leader on price rises.

Big biz 'struggling' to dump Windows XP

Mark 65

Re: IE6

Just what I was thinking. Oh the bitter-sweet irony.

Apple Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion review

Mark 65
WTF?

Re: Hmm

Downvoted. How utterly ridiculous of me to expect £1k+ hardware to be supported past 4 years. How even more ridiculous of me to have pointed out that such behaviour is disappointing. I mean, expressing a valid opinion, whatever next?

Mark 65

Re: Hmm

I'm with Greg. For me the system is there to look like it's the better way, but really it helps the obsolescence along. I can't help but feel that they are speeding up the rate at which devices fall out of support. My 2008 Macbook may not be rapid compared to Ivy Bridge hardware but runs a W7 VM fine with its SSD upgrade. However I'm SOL with this update and would, in theory, have to part with the odd £1,000 to get access to the latest and greatest.

I find that attitude disappointing to be honest - mainly because this OS came out 12 months after the last whereas previous gaps were around 2 years which means I only have 12 months (potentially) until I get nothing in the way of security updates. It is one area where I will never criticise MS, they do give you a long period of security updates. There also isn't too much issue with hardware - a memory update to a 2002 vintage P4 and it runs W7 fine.

HP Envy 4-1010ea 14in Ultrabook review

Mark 65

Re: Mmmm - OK,

Was going to say I believe the speed is due to the 32GB SSD. IO bandwidth will be severely hampered on the internal drive of the Macbook. It is completely out-gunned by the Macbook Air 11" which is SSD only.

Mark 65

Re: How on earth

"Can an i3 processor laptop be called an ultrabook??!!"

How about a new form factor called the "shitbox" (TM)?

It's for any machine that is touted as being something it really just isn't. A poxy i3 for £600+? Tell him he's dreaming.

Facebook's Zuckerberg awarded privacy patent

Mark 65

Patently obvious

"The patent was rejected for obviousness in 2009 and then again 2011, and was only finally accepted after Zuck agreed to revise three of its claims. Even in its final form, it's arguably still very broad."

Even in its final form, it's arguably still very obvious.

Apple wins EU-wide Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 ban

Mark 65

Re: This has to stop.

Re:How many companies...

This is the best graphic I could find

http://go.bloomberg.com/tech-blog/files/2012/07/blog_suing.jpg

Iranian nuke plants rocked in midnight 'heavy metal blast'

Mark 65

Re: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Surely "Highway To Hell" given they're an axis of evil?

Time for Victoria to adapt, says Climate Commission

Mark 65

Canadians build their houses to suit the climate, Australians just buy a bigger reverse cycle system.

George Osborne accused of derailing UK.gov's green dream

Mark 65

Investors?

"Nobody wants to see a blank cheque written out for green energy," Yeo said, "but the government must provide investors with more certainty about exactly how much money will be available."

Erm, I seem to recall reading somewhere a basic tenet about risk and reward and that, as such, you shouldn't expect one without the other. If they want certainty perhaps they should invest in 30-day cash or something. All this crap about "certainty around returns" is basically just asking the taxpayer to guarantee their profits/dividends. How is that any better than the banks? Is "big business" Latin for "thieving bastards"?

Canon debuts EOS M compact system camera

Mark 65

It isn't when you think they've not given it the ability to have an EVF. Imagine trying to shoot at arms length with one of your EF lenses on the adaptor! Shaky as hell.

Don't know why, but Canon always seem to be able to slip an epic fail into products with great potential - 5D MKII has substandard focussing (9 points, 6 assist) that was remedied with the MKIII, the G1X is just slow, and this has no EVF.

Pentax K-01 16Mp APS-C hybrid camera review

Mark 65

Re: View Finders are important!

That's the point of the whole mirrorless range though isn't it? You sell the punters a camera capable of pretty good images (not DSLR quality but close) for a reasonably high cost, not too close to an entry DSLR so as to put them off, and sell the merits of IQ and size. Then the poor bastards find out that really you do need the EVF to take pictures in a range of conditions and to prevent camera shake - IS is all well and good but holding the camera up to the eye rather than at arms' length makes for a more stable shooting platform - whereby you hit them up for 1/3-1/2 the price of the camera again.

Panasonic GX1

Body only £383.95 (£50 cashback)

With 14-42 (not powered) £419 (£50 cashback)

LVF2E (viewfinder) £219

That's one expensive add-on that any sensible photographer would consider pretty essential. Nearly half the normal price of the camera. I'll leave the car analogies to others.

As for this camera, I really cannot see the point of a jumbo sized mirrorless camera. Nice big heavy glass that you're holding outstretched to take the photo with. Why?