Pogo
> Can you turn a Pogo Plug into a mail server?
Of course you can. Actually I would have exactly that. IF I could put my mitts on a plug computer without paying twice the price due to shipping and customs.
Posts by ElReg!comments!Pierre
2711 publicly visible posts • joined 22 Jun 2009
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Google finally admits it wants to OWN YOU
Pwn2Own 2012 touts bigger prizes, drops mobile hacks
Wednesday 25th January 2012 18:42 GMT
<excluded>
In the case of Opera I think it's down to the cut-off you use for "major". They didn't include Netsurf or Dillo either.
On the other hand, they DID exclude Linux, since last year, didn't they... on the rather flimsy basis that it is not used on the desktop but only on servers. When asked about the date, Portnoy answered "1995, of course, why would you ask?"
Try a 'shroom before ruling on chill pills, boffin tells gov
No bail for Kim Dotcom
Wednesday 25th January 2012 02:12 GMT
On second thought...
I think my response was too harsh. After all, you're right, all a guy like Tim DoTcom needs is a tablet to start covering his tracks electronically, and release credit card details, and he might gain control of some nucular missile silos, too. All from that tablet. If you look at history, the ancient egyptians started writing on tablets, too. Well, where are they now? Extinct, that's where they are. I think we should ban tablets, there is ample evidence that tablets bring doom. DOOOM!
Wednesday 25th January 2012 01:51 GMT
You kiddin', right?
> Does he have access somewhere to stolen access data/financial data/ID data/etc. that he is waiting to distribute or would have kept for some later nefarious project or as an "poison pill" in case he was ever captured?
The guy couldn't hack his way out of a wet paper bag.
And anyway, if he was any good, do you _seriously_ think that he wouldn't have designed a "dead man" system which would make NOT releasing him much, much worst?
Dem computers can be complicated at times, for marketting hacks...
Wednesday 25th January 2012 00:12 GMT
Can't fault NZ courts
The guy has a history of evasive manoeuvre when faced with the consequences of his actions. One of his convictions in Germany resulted from his arrest while /en route/ for his hideaway in Hong Kong.
(as for the source of his fortune: in addition to the big bucks he made with Mega-* companies, he was once boasting about being able to make millions by selling technobabble to clueless, greedy investors (for which I, for one, can't blame him).
He also invested a lot of time and some money in insider stock trading scams, he's been convicted for one, I can't help but think there might have been a few with which he got away. So, yes, helicopters, why not.
Plus, with the help of his army of l33t h4xx0rz, he allegedly rooted Bin Laden's bank.... (where's the sarcasm tag when you need it).
Yahoo! revenues! continue! to! decline!
VMware busts through billion dollar quarter
Tuesday 24th January 2012 04:00 GMT 
Spammers!
Good for VMware, but why do they have to spam the hell out of me with emails urging me to "reclaim [my] week-ends" from the "3 upgrades, 15 warm sodas" hell... which is supposed to be solved because virtualization allows you to do the upgrades during work hours, apparently.
First, I don't drink soda, and certainly not warm soda. Second, if the reason you do the upgrades during the week-end is to avoid disruption, either you're not very good at what you do or your boss is a cheapstake. In the first case chances are that you will end up working on week-ends even with virtualization. In the second case you're not likely to get that purchase order for VMware signed anyway.
Thirdly, I don't like the idea of having my redundancy managed with a tool that a moron could use, because it means that sooner or later a moron (PHB?) will try, and they will make a mess that I will end up having to fix.
Lastly, whenever possible I like my redundancy at the physical level, thank you very much. It might be more expensive, but it's safer.
PS having 2 tickboxes on your "spam subscription management" page, one to opt in and one to opt out, and opting in everyone who doesn't either opt in or out might have looked clever when they thought of it, but it doesn't reflect well on their company ethos. Cheeky monkeys.
YouTube tops one hour of video uploads per second
Russia and NASA plan to COLONISE the Moon
Megaupload kingpin found in panic room when arrested, say cops
Monday 23rd January 2012 03:54 GMT
Interesting questions
However half of it is irrelevant. No gun was fired (that I know of). No gunwound is to deplore. It would make for a long fruitless thread. Letś ignore that one.
Filesharing is technically neutral. Free centralised e-lockers can be used for good, or bad, or goatse. They do not, in my admitedly "small minded and unreasonable" brain, have any intrinsic technical or cultural value. They can be convenient for some, and I would hate to see them disappear, had I been foolish enough to rely on them. But they are little more than convenient ftp replacement for the lazy/cheapstakes/technically challenged. Or for people trying to avoid lawsuits. Decentralised -AKA P2P- protocols, however, do represent a technical improvement, in and by themselves, and THAT is worth fighting for; regardless of the content they convey, they can work around bottlenecks, they deal well with localized catastrophic events, and they trump localized abuse of power (the latest might be why the Recording Industry Ass. of America and friends want to see them dead). Network-wise, they are the solution to a lot -if not most- of the problems in the traditional client-server information transfer model. (-1 point to me for the buzzphrase, I know; sorry, don't know how to express it otherwise).
So, what's my grade?
Monday 23rd January 2012 00:07 GMT
Contempt notwithstanding...
As much as I despise the guy, chance are that IF I had a panic room I would most probably have in there the nastiest knock-back, close-quarters-friendly weapon that the law and my budget would allow. A short 10-gauge shotgun and a stock of buckshots seems likely.
Also, if I was a dubious-character millionaire in such a big mansion, chances are that IF my door was rammed down at dawn, I would make my way to the aforementionned saferoom as fast as I could (which, IF I was 140 kg, would not be very fast, probably).
There's nothing here that modifies my opinion on Kim Dotcom, either in good or bad. He did what anyone would have done in similar circumstances I guess.
The story does not say whether he contacted the local authorities from the saferoom, and why he did not open fire on the "intruders" when the door went down (although I have a hunch that the local police might not have been notified of the operation. [SRCSM] Why would an US-mandated operation worry about local law enforcement... [/SRCSM])
Apple launches three-pronged education assault
Saturday 21st January 2012 02:14 GMT
@ Chad: "I disagree"
"The iPad seems to hit at least 3"
You can drop it -nope
> battery life
More than one day use away from the mains -nope
Charges over USB 2.0 -nope
> easy to update
Could be discussed. Easy when you can log on your Apple account. Tied to some form of access to your hard-earned (updates won't be free -not that they necessarily should). Let's put this one on the "maybe" pile.
> be inexpensive
That one hardly needs adressing.
So that's 3 definite "No"s and one "maybe".
Please explain the train of thoughts that lead you to post that the iPad meets "at least 3", or be labelled a fanbuoy (oh, the infamy!).
Disclaimer for the thought-impaired: getting the facts right is not a dig at anyone's personnal cult. Sheesh, kids these day.
Thursday 19th January 2012 20:07 GMT
Oh good.
So, that's Apple entering the eBook market then. Not sure where they pulled the _text_book part from though. Perhaps to appear like they "created" a new thing instead of looking like they just joined a segment that has been around since the seventies. After all, they created the portable music player, they created the smartphone, they created the tablet PC, etc...
Apple's PR department is definitely very good.
Windows Phone to overtake iOS in 2015
Saturday 21st January 2012 01:38 GMT
to be honest...
... I have noticed a definite trend towards the lowering in the biting rate these days. What happened to the " biting the hand that feeds" motto? Concurrently, the readership figures apparently jumped through the roof. Less marketting strategy and more teeth would be welcome.
Oh noes we've lost pulse! Charge. "STAND BACK!". Shock.
Rince, lathe, repeat.
Saturday 21st January 2012 01:13 GMT
> you're assuming that iOS will remain static.
History says it mostly will
> And WinPhOS hits its targets.
History says it mostly won't. History also says it probably won't matter.
That's not a judgement on the merit of the platforms. Just an observation. iOS saw pretty little actual changes since its creation*, and MS current overwhelming desktop dominance doesn't have anything to do with reaching targets.
*well, appart from the token fixes of deliberate omissions like copy/paste ans such
Saturday 21st January 2012 00:54 GMT
If you have to ask why...
TL-DR: you missed the point by a Brontosaurus or two.
Build a popular platform and the malware will come. There is Android malware because Android dominates the market. Even the walled garden doesn't suffice to keep the malware away from fruitphones, as has been showed several times. Although it does help: there is always a compromise between openness and security. My personnal needle is biased towards the "open" side of the dial, but to each its own (I don't own any android device, though). In passing, that is the exact recipe that made early Windows' success, and one of its most crippling woes: anyone could write stuff for the platform and get anyone else to install it, which attracted weekend developpers and malware writers alike.
Calling that "the malware issue" is, in my opinion -and for the downvoters I guess- misguided at best. There is some bad stuff around targetted at Android, yes. There is some bad stuff targetted at iOS, too (malware and scams alike; "I am rich"...). From what I gather in my social circles and in news outlets, it is very marginal (for iOS and Android alike). It regularly makes headlines only because quack infosec specialists are loved by mainstream media for their ability to provide doomsday headline.
Kiwis collar Megaupload kingpin, Anonymous exacts revenge
Friday 20th January 2012 01:49 GMT
Kim Dotquack
See Attrition.org* for some fun facts about Kim Schmitz , AKA Kim "dotcom", AKA Kimble; and this "secret hacker army" of his. No tear will be shed this side of the discernment line.
Although the response does seem a bit heavy-handed. Wasn't Kim supposed to be BFF with the FBI? Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer. And above all keep your "friends" closest!
* http://securityerrata.org/errata/charlatan/kimble/
Post edited to avoid El Reg'ing Attrition.org's primary server.
Facebook registers mysterious fBoriGin domain names
Record numbers of readers flock to The Register
Thursday 19th January 2012 17:31 GMT
So, for the sake of comparison...
... how well is The Inquirer doing?
About that infamous MS ad: first time I heard of it is here, and now. I do have JS turned off at all time; these days, I don't see any ad but the text ones. I suspect I might be stealing -part of- El Reg's lunch by doing so; serves you well for relying on JS.
Rumoured 'GarageBand for e-books' to bulldoze textbook biz
Tuesday 17th January 2012 23:55 GMT
@ Daedalus
"School textbooks in the US are [...] often politicized."
teaching has always been politicized. Always. That predates the invention of books. "history is written by the victor", as they say. Someone's freedom fighter is always someone else's terrorist. etc...
If anything, allowing anyone to write textbooks will make it worst, because it removes the control that the publishing process brings. When publishing is dirt cheap, you get the textbook equivalent of Geocities: a soup of nonsense with extra bits of drivel. If a few good things manage to stay afloat, it's purely by chance.
Tuesday 17th January 2012 20:40 GMT
Books a-plenty
So that's billions upon billions of books that will be read solely by their author -and maybe close family- then. A bit like GarageBand gave birth to billions upon billions of songs no-one ever listened to.
This thing might make a small dent in the LaTeX market share; it will certainly be a successful photo album tool. I'm quite sure that textbook publishers are not shaking in their boots quite yet.
The Sons of Khan and the Pascal Spring
Wednesday 18th January 2012 19:31 GMT
Great job
Each time I read a Stob article I 1) laugh out loud, as the kids say and 2) think to myself "Well I should probably give Delphi/Lazarus a try... and 3) have a quick look at it and think to myself "What the effing eff, why not Visual Basic while you are at it". Which is probably not making Delphi justice, I know.
Footie club sacks striker for homophobic tweet
Google to join Wednesday's anti-SOPA protest
Wednesday 18th January 2012 02:05 GMT
Could be worst
Google has to take steps or MegaVideo will eat them!
More seriously, the distribution channel -or indeed the "property" at stake- is unimportant. The rules should be consistent. I can't get my neighbour thrown in jail just by sending a nasty letter suggesting that he might have stolen my lunch. In all modern judiciary systems (excluding the US, apparently) the burden of proof is for the accuser to deal with. I'm all for intellectual property protection (I make a living exclusively from my intellectual process; that should count as intellectuall property. Although for some reason involving me no having billions to spend on lobbying, it apparently doesn't). This SOPA thing is just ridiculous.
Microsoft aims at VMware with System Center 2012
Wednesday 18th January 2012 01:18 GMT
Yes. What's your point?
Perhaps the comparison is wrong. Perhaps the title should read "Microsoft aims at VirtualBox [...]"
With Oracle in charge, it's only a matter of time untill MS' offering matches of exceeds what is now Oracle VirtualBox' offering. If they can get the pricing right, and fix the teething problems, they do have some room for growth here I think. Of course they will have to work hard to match VMWare's offering; my guess is that they won't even try: they'll pull the same old integration trick and sell it as a bundle. It might just work. VMWare stuff is very good indeed, but a tad expensive when extreme speed is not the main need. VirtualBox used to be an "almost as good" alternative. With Larry E. in charge, sorry, but not anymore.
As far as I am concerned, everything VirtualBox had on VMWare just went "poof" when Oracle bought Sun -although I am not a Sun apologist by any stretch of the imagination. Now VirtualBox is just a slower, dumber, less reliable "competitor". I already switched my non-speed-sensitive VMs to qemu (easier than you would think) and the speed-sensitive ones might just go to MS (being an old geezer, I do hate it when MS come out as the good guys; whatever).
Data centers to cut LAN cord?
Wednesday 18th January 2012 00:14 GMT 
Puzzled
I'm a bit puzzled. Yes, you can make wireless links work in the datacenter by using what is basically a P2P approach. However, wired links are (and, as far as I can see, will always be) faster and more robust than wireless. In a datacenter cabling is easy; you could set up the same "P2P" network with cable and get 10x the speed. Without having to worry about the next solar flare or the guys in the unmarked van across the street (the ones with the cheesy slavic accent. Or slanting eyes, long fingernails and a long sparse beard. Or all of the above). Wireless is a very good compromise for some things (instant setup for new kit, you can move your kit around, no need to buy expensive cable, the missus won't bitch as much about the cables all over the place etc.). But in a million-dollar, fixed, dedicated structure like a datacenter... I only have a word: why?
(honest question, btw)
Wikipedia to shut down Wednesday in SOPA protest
Apple offers cash for old kit
Tuesday 17th January 2012 16:36 GMT
I <3 that
So if the kit is not functionnal they will just send it to recycling... at no cost. Not even the shipping, from what I read.
I just happen to have 12 old boxen and a couple CRTs (the monitors are in working order; the boxes, not so much) taking up space in the shed. At what time can the Apple truck come pick them up?
Man convicted of murder gets retrial after virus eats transcripts
Wednesday 11th January 2012 02:42 GMT
Your IT angle...
Well according to Fox News the state guidelines do state that every piece of electronics should run Symantec, as they won the procurement bid, only that DEMOCRAT stenographer DELIBERATELYchoosed to IGNORE THE RULES; a local source suggests that the stenograph only has 64 Mo of RAM -because that should be enough for everyone- so obviously it was 3.567 Go short of the memory required to run Symantec's slimmest anti-malware.
The OS on the stenograph's personal machine is not really important because the data should never have been there in the first place; and certainly not the *only* set. However, I read somewhere that the laptop was running OpenBSD, and that Theo de Raadt had committed seppuku over the incident.
Rather unfortunately, it was later denied. Did you know that florists don't do refunds?
Also, stenographers are currently fighting to not be replaced by audio recording in that state; draw your own conclusions.
If that's not enough IT angle for your taste, I do have more angle for you. Between these fingers, see? That's called the Kling-on salute. A bit like the Vulcan salute, but with hornier fingers*.
Higgs and cuss
--
Pierre
*Oh, how I love English and it's marvellous double-entendre potential. Wait, in that case make it triple. Or more.
Wednesday 11th January 2012 02:06 GMT
@ Andus
We already knew that man shares 99.4% of their most important DNA regions with chimps. But you're not one to be impressed by /in silico/ studies, you had to go all the way and prove it. Now THAT's dedication!
Burn, burn!*
*That line and icon for Tuthatl. Hey Tuthatl, tell yo momma I said Hi.
Arctic freshening not due to ice melt after all, says NASA
Tuesday 10th January 2012 02:20 GMT
Sets of kidneys
>IIRC it was said London water was clean because it had been through 7 sets of Kidneys already.
Yes, as any full nose, urine is usually cleaner than the tap juice we all drink dayly... it's sterile, to begin with (when it isn't, you do feel it) and does not usually contain anything toxic -unless you put something seriously wrong through your gobhole-. It is probably a bit too salty to be completely healthy though.
iPad typos are Apple's fault, not yours - new claim
Monday 9th January 2012 06:50 GMT
Re: !
>So a comment in a blog claiming he solved the problem using a 3rd party virtual keyboard is sufficient proof for you, even when the keyboard he mentions has terrible reviews.
>However you need a citation when another comment says autocorrect works better at fixing missing letters rather than extraneous ones? Bit of a biased double standard there.
Ah nope. 1 citation vs zero, I still win. No double standard here.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
