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* Posts by The Original Ash

617 publicly visible posts • joined 11 Jun 2009

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HTC Desire S Android smartphone

The Original Ash
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Ooooh so close!

You just HAD to spoil it with those last two lines, didn't you? You went from informative and unbiased information to frothing Apple-bashing Android fanboy in two lines... Such a shame. There are HTC phones running Android which are now being vendor-locked, so it's really no more open than the iPhone (which you can jailbreak).

Disclosure; I've used HTC phones since the Himalaya (2004) and have been part of the XDA-Dev community throughout, so I'm as likely to bash Apple as anybody. Just not when I'm trying to extol the virtues of my handset of choice. It's a "you must be a terrorist if you don't agree" way of thinking.

5 4

It's the oldest working Seagate drive in the UK

The Original Ash
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Wow

And I thought 7 years out of a Hitachi Deathstar was good!

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Operation Ore was based on flawed evidence from the start

The Original Ash
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Unhappy

A quick look at your name...

... is all the information needed; Your video is Norfolk 'n' Goode. The very first six words of the first image in the video are "In Praise of **THE FIFTH AMENDMENT**..."

This is the UK. We have no ratified Constitution, and we have no Amendments to it. Our officers do not state at arrest that evidence can and will be used *against* you in a court of law. They say "If may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything say do may be given in evidence."

This is not America. The advice is not pertinent here. If you are put in a situation where you are formally questioned by police, ask for a court appointed legal representative and do not answer any questions except to confirm your identity. If you're asked further questions, reply (if applicable) "I'm very sorry, but I've not been in this situation before. I don't feel comfortable answering questions without first speaking to a solicitor.'

TL;DR: That video's useless to Brits.

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The Original Ash
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FAIL

Fail troll fails

Anybody with the most basic knowledge of browsers knows that, firstly, they cache pages for fast loading. This is a feature from the dark days of 28.8kbps modems where pages with pictures took upwards of 30 seconds to load. Caching made sure that the page was available quickly next time.

Secondly, anybody with the most basic knowledge of browsers knows that they load the whole page requested, and there's no way of knowing the content of that page until it is requested. The top of the page could be My Little Pony Play Ground Adventure Ride for 3 - 5 year olds flash game, the lower portion (which you wouldn't scroll down to if you only wanted to play the game) could be all manner of horrific content. This goes without saying that scripts, single-pixel forced size images, pop ups, pop unders, frames, cross sight scripting, flash, blaa blaa blaa which can load images into your web cache without you noticing.

The mere presence of images in itself is not an indication of meaningful perusal of such content any more than walking by a TV in a shop window showing a car chase is an indication that you are a car thief.

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Judge hits police with massive bill over false Operation Ore charges

The Original Ash
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WTF?

Since when do the police decide anyway?

I thought it was the job of CPS to decide if cases were worth prosecuting.

Police collect evidence, CPS assess it for potential of conviction against public interest, courts prosecute. That's the separation of power. Police have no place in deciding if a case is worthy of prosecution.

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Oxfordshire cops switch speed cameras back on

The Original Ash
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Re: Right to Travel

Indeed it is! You are more than free to travel by foot, bicycle, or any of the state and privately provided services, i.e. rail, bus, taxi, tram, and light railway.

You don't need a car to travel.

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The Original Ash
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@nsld

You're believing the hype. The statistics don't show that speed causes many serious accidents. They show that speed *is a factor* in many serious accidents in the same way that alcohol *is a factor* in many serious accidents.

The way to look at this a paraphrase: Someone was moving at a speed when the accident occured. That speed could have been below the speed limit, but may have exceeded the safe speed for the road conditions.

The person had alcohol in their system. It may have been below the level allowed by law and it may not have been the major contributing factor to the cause of the accident, but someone involved had alcohol in their system.

Got a little off topic. My point is that a "safe speed" depends on the conditions of the road and the car. We have speed limits because drivers can't be trusted / don't know how to make that judgement for themselves.

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The Original Ash
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@vulcan

The great thing about an idiot biker over-cooking it on a corner is that, by virtue of the fact that it is a very small vehicle with a squishy meatsack on top, it's quite unlikely to take anyone else with them, especially on country lanes. I call that Darwinism in action.

Full disclosure: Ridden bikes since I was 16 (over a decade ago). I have no sympathy for teenagers on pocket rockets who have no idea of how to handle them, and they should be off the road as fast as possible. This reflects well on my earlier comment of "too fast *for the conditions*" being the major factor in accidents, not necessarily faster than the speed limit (which is what cameras catch).

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The Original Ash
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Stop

@Chad H.

If you think obeying the speed limit and stopping for lights is what it takes to make you a good driver, you have no business telling me to get off the road.

Go look up "defensive driving" and maybe consider a course.

By the way, you're part of the 70% who think's they're the 30%.

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The Original Ash
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Look up the phrase

"Low hanging fruit"

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RSA explains how attackers breached its systems

The Original Ash
FAIL

Cool

Now tell us if SecurID is still secure, and what the hell you're doing about it if it isn't.

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The Register Guide to London's Silicon Roundabout Tech Startups

The Original Ash

I wondered when this was coming...

Bravo.

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Official: PS3 has more fanboys than the Xbox 360 does

The Original Ash
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Who needs a 360?

I'd buy a Kinect to use with my PC. No console required.

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Adobe Photoshop Express 2.0

The Original Ash
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Also available...

... for Android.

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FBI asks for help to crack mystery code in 12-year-old murder case

The Original Ash
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Prior Art

The Unabomber did exactly this. The investigation into cracking the codes was lengthy and expensive, in fact the most expensive investigation on record.

They were all rubbish. In the end, his brother recognised his handwriting and shopped him.

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George Lucas 'very happy' with 3D Phantom Menace

The Original Ash
FAIL

A polished turd

is still a turd.

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Praying for meltdown: The media and the nukes

The Original Ash
Joke

Don't anthropomorphise nature;

It hates it.

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Libya fighting shows just how idiotic the Defence Review was

The Original Ash
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Allow me to retort

1. This just means that they are an effective deterrant, and they should be updated regularly (at multiple billions of taxpayer money) in order to remain effective. Nobody cares if you never fire a missile, as long as you keep buying more of them.

2. A display of force is obviously effective in proving that you aren't to be trifled with. However, what we have here is three countries plus NATO launching missiles from the sea into a country with jets and defences two generations out of date. This would be like William Wallace and his men standing their ground while muskets fired at them.

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The Original Ash
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Joke

Fnar fnar!

"/runs"

A jab at the French?

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RSA won't talk? Assume SecurID is broken

The Original Ash
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FAIL

Then they should say that!

We'd all like to hear "Existing tokens can now be compromised by revealing the serial number; Don't do that. Increase your second factor security for the time being. We're generating new seeds and buying new tokens in as we speak. Japan silicon fab'ing being down has made this slow, but not impossible. Be patient, and contact your supplier for availability of patches and tokens. There will be no charge for replacement of tokens."

What we have instead is week-long silence on an important issue, specifically affecting one of the most paranoid groups of people in the world (IT security folk and network admins). It couldn't be a more idiotic move on their part.

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Spotify splattered with malware-tainted ads

The Original Ash
Black Helicopters

IT'S A TRAP!

What a great way to get folks to stump up the cash for a premium account, eh?

>_>

<_<

>_>

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Judge to music industry: 'Worth trillions? Forget it'

The Original Ash
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It's a tactic

One used by teenage girls all over the world;

"If you want a puppy, ask for a horse."

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Sensitive data easily swiped from eBayed mobiles

The Original Ash

Phones with memory cards

Remember folks; Deleted doesn't mean wiped. If you can mount it as mass storage, numerous free tools are available to assist in data recovery.

Either use a data destruction program (I use Eraser for USB mass storage, DBAN for internal drives) or keep the memory card, or physically destroy it.

If you can't mount phone memory as mass storage, it'll be more difficult to get your data. Do delete it, though.

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HBGary's nemesis is a '16-year-old schoolgirl'

The Original Ash
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Don't forget

She does all this behind seven proxies.

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Jon Bon Jovi accuses Steve Jobs of murdering music biz

The Original Ash
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IT Angle

Indeed

He's pretty much Damned Steve Jobs. Then again, Jobs and the music industry have been In And Out Of Love for quite a while. I hope Bon Jovi doesn't Runaway on a Silent Night, Living on a Prayer, lying on a Bed of Roses, looking for Bad Medicine.. You know, Something For The Pain.

I Believe, These Days, We Weren't Born To Follow. Hey God; It's My Life! Someday I'll Be Saturday Night, One Wild Night! As My Guitar Lies Bleeding In My Arms, You Want To Make A Memory. It's My Life; No Apologies.

Thank You For Loving Me.

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Privacy group demands answers from Skype

The Original Ash
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FAIL

Grok fail

Full names being displayed isn't the issue they are referring to. The issue is that I can set up a Skype account *with your name* and others can search for it. Unless there's some other authentication vector, that's it; I am you to that person, and I am you to anybody listening in to the conversation.

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The Original Ash
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Re: why are they concerned

Skype is "used to connect you with family and loved ones across the world for free" in the same way that BitTorrent is used to distribute Linux ISOs, VCRs are used to record TV shows for later viewing and personal use only, and the road network is used by properly licensed drivers with tax-paid vehicles either below or at the speed limit.

The technology is separate from the use; Don't make the mistake of Big Media and confuse the two.

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EA coughs to Dragon Age II user ban 'mistake'

The Original Ash
FAIL

We all knew they could do this

Yet we still paid full whack for their rentware.

Ah, sorry. By "we" I mean "you" as I'm not buying it for exactly this reason.

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Assange ambushes Australian Prime Minister on live TV

The Original Ash
Black Helicopters

In other words...

"I don't recall."

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Network mapping: you know it makes sense

The Original Ash

Hmmm

I use TheDude. Free and functional.

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EA blocks user from game after alleged forum outburst

The Original Ash

Go Go Gadget Armchair Revolutionaries!

"I'm Boycotting EA!" "Should be brought to justice!" "Accepting money for a non working product!" "Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations!"

Stop.

1) Open a new tab / browser window.

2) Visit this link and read what it has to say http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/after_you_buy/making-complaint/

3) File a complaint with the Office of Fair Trading if you fail to receive a satisfactory resolution to your issue.

Whining on forums solves precisely *dick all*. Go do it properly.

Alternatively, write to EA for every game they release which you don't buy. Note, that's a *LETTER* not an email. Customer Services will send you an automated reply; Take the time to find the Head of Marketing or somesuch.

Oh, hey! 5 minutes with Google got me contact details for the board of investors.

http://investors.ea.com/contactBoard.cfm

One letter will be binned. hundreds will be forwarded up the food chain.

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DDoS malware comes with self-destruct payload

The Original Ash
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@K. Adams

1) Any Geek Squad / PC Doctor / Nerd nephew has OEM Windows install media, and booting to recovery console for fixboot and fixmbr is hardly going to cost hundreds of pounds. Failing that, slave the drive in another PC and BOOM data recovered.

2) I agree that education is the problem, however we have exploits running from compromised advertising servers or trusted sites, more and more authentic-looking phishing / spear phishing attacks (How long before spammers figure out that j.bloggs@emailaddress.com Is probably for J. Bloggs and put that in the greeting? "Dear Customer" is a clear indication of SPAM / phishing, but "Dear J. Bloggs"?) You can't tell someone to stay clear of superhorridadultsite.com when yourfavouritefootballteam.com is using compromised advertising code from the same servers.

3) Windows and Linux are both secure when configured correctly. The fact that people CAN'T configure them correctly is what I call "Job Security". Go configure it for them. Install their printer, add their office software, show them how to get onto the internet, then leave them instructions for how to install patches. If all they can do is patch what's installed, they can't hose the system.

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Launcher Pro

The Original Ash
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Contacts

It's to enable the contact widgets to function. Without that access, they would be links to the address book instead of direct-dialing shortcuts.

Talking of which, a lot of the widgets are only available in the paid version, as well as resizing widgets. I went back to HTC Sense for that reason, despite loving the customisable app drawer. I suppose I should just buy it, but Sense is good enough for me.

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Feeling heat from Macs, Microsoft sells PCs sans crapware

The Original Ash
Joke

"Selling PCs without crapware"

They're shipping Linux?

[/tongueincheek]

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RIPA changes in Freedoms Bill don't protect privacy enough

The Original Ash
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Unhappy

Indeed

Unfortunately, in a true democracy, even the persistently and wilfully ignorant can vote, typically with opinions based upon hyperbole and prejudice.

God bless the uninformed masses.

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Ex-UK spy boss says WikiLeaks sparked Egyptian revolution

The Original Ash
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I don't think he quite understands

We make decisions with the information we have at the time. If the Downing Street Memo is a misquote, then he has a duty and obligation to correct that. If he decides not to, or he's unable, then we take the information we have and base our opinions and decisions on it.

If that goes badly for him, then tough. He knows what we know. Therefore, the logical conclusion is that what he *really* said is worse than what is in the public domain. QED.

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Hollywood eyes Blade Runner replicants

The Original Ash
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FAIL

Jesus...

Not only is John Hurt the only actor of the bunch I'd trust further than a quadriplegic could throw them, but the Director has the London Olympics promotion video listed as an example of work. I did like Dan Abnett's books, though.

Still, why the Ultraqueens?! Screenplay of Space Wolf, obviously!

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Nuance Flext9

The Original Ash
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Looks good

Currently a Swype user on Desire HD. Might look into this when the open Beta is over.

Suggestions, you say? Why, I have many!

- 3G Watchdog (Data tariff monitoring)

- AppBrain App Market (Notice the QCode is an AppBrain link)

- Dropbox

- GMote / Unified Remote Control (Desktop PC remote control)

- gStrings (instrument tuner app)

- Handcent SMS (Awesome SMS / MMS messaging app)

- WhatsApp (Instant Messaging over the internet)

- Lookout (Security App)

- Tricorder (Sensor data app)

- Wifi Analyzer (Networking tool)

- Vaulty (Secure storage)

Just some of the few I use, some more specialist than others.

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Euro court slaps down insurers over gender risks

The Original Ash
Troll

Going for the jugular...

Throughout the 19th and early 20th century, women have fought for equal rights to men.

IT'S ABOUT TIME THEY GOT SOME!

[Intentional troll is intentional. Tongue firmly in cheek, Ms Bee.]

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Sex offenders will get a review – after 15 years

The Original Ash
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FAIL

Serious sexual offence? Here you go

If a 17 year old sends a photo of themselves in the buff and sends it to their partner (boy/girlfriend), three offences have occured (at least). Forgive me for not knowing the *actual* terminology for the offences.

The 17 year old is guilty of distributing child pornography (you must be 18 to appear in lewd imagery).

The partner is guilty of possessing sing child pornography (as the subject is not 18).

Most worryingly, the 17 year old is guilty of sexual misconduct with a minor (as, being 17, they cannot consent to taking a picture of their own body!)

All three get you life on the register. Does that make sense?

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The Original Ash
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I approve.

When a 17 year old can be put on the register for sending a pic of themselves in the buff to their respective partner, there needs to be some kind of review process. They could do any which thing they want with any member of the opposite gender (homosexual consent is 18), but god forbid someone should see some skin on a camera!

If anything, this review process has been too long coming. Those who are a threat will still be on the register, those who did something silly 15 years ago will be aloud to get on with their lives, exactly as rehab. of offenders should work.

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FOSS maven says $29 'Freedom Box' will kill Facebook

The Original Ash
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FreeNet

Sounds like an always-on FreeNet node. If it works, then awesome. FreeNet needs more nodes to improve bandwidth (it's slow as hell right now).

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Geeky gifts for Valentine's Day

The Original Ash
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Stop being a bad consumer

You'll never help the economy by staying in and canoodling on the sofa all night. Go out and buy some meaningless paraphernalia and printed card with trite slogans and do your bit for England!

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Police hit delete on DNA profiles

The Original Ash
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Profiles linked by identifiers

Those identifiers are indexed and processed by people. If the key for your identify is linked, mistakenly, with the DNA profile of a known criminal, you become the target of the investigation. It may not get far in court, but you can bet the tabloid press would jump on "DNA databse leads to arrest of wanted pedo" with your name in lights, purely because they found the perv's DNA at a scene, but it was linked to your details on the database.

Mud sticks, and all that.

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HTC buys into OnLive for game streaming on phones?

The Original Ash
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XDA-Developers

Have you checked out the XDA Developers forums? Plenty of extremely clued-up folks there, with solutions for issues with pretty much all HTC devices.

http://xda-developers.com

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Superphone system-CRACKING cable of DOOM ... is quite handy

The Original Ash
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@AC 22:14

You attack encrypted systems while they are booted and the key is in memory. Pop open the case and look for a Firewire header you can slip either a laptop or an iPod with custom firmware onto. At that point, you can either carry on as you wish, or lift the key from memory for use later. You don't even have to unlock the workstation if you don't want to, just inject commands or read memory directly.

I carry nail clippers in my tool kit to remove the header pins.

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Texting teenager plunges to his death

The Original Ash
WTF?

New story title

"Idiot teen texting instead of looking where he's going walks over edge of car park, dies."

I learned this lesson years ago. When changing a track on my CD player, I tripped up a kerb and fell onto a nice, fresh doggy treat. The smell was much less noticeable once I'd vomited over myself. Now, the phone stays in the pocket and the earbuds come out when I cross the road.

If he'd walked out onto a busy road and been hit by a car, would we blame the driver? The local council for lack of safety measures? The government for not mandating such safety measures? The phone manufacturer?

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Ofcom okays Derren Brown psychic-baiting

The Original Ash

He spent a whole episode on it?

This guy proved a "clairvoyant" was a fraud in 11 seconds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB33z6qFJqM

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Assange fights extradition in court

The Original Ash
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Happy

It all depends

You can be extradited for only certain crimes. I don't have an exhaustive list, but this isn't one of them.

You can't be extradited without charges first being brought against you; Speculative extradition is not permitted.

If I break a law in France, then flee to the UK, I will be charged with an offence in France, and should I ever return to France and be detained I will be prosecuted for those crimes. I will not necessarily be extradited for prosecution unless the crime is quite grievous in nature.

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