Posts by Chris 3

Overly simplistic

Internet privacy isn't all or nothing. You choose how much of your personal information you give up whenever you use a service. El Reg know my IP address whenever I visit, and since I'm currently logged in, they can associate more detailed information.

Google? You can use search without logging on. If you want to use more of its services you pay with your information. Fair enough.

Facebook? et al - don't put anythng on there that you wouldn't want to be public. I don't. And lock all the apps and tagging down to zero.

Government agencies? This is where you need to be writing to your MP/MEP to ensure that information can only be gathered with a court order or warrant.

Internet privacy is only dead if you want it to be.

Re: Other Foam (no, not fanbois, or even Santorum - too messy)

Sorry, but what's stopping you from updating to 10.6.8? Genuine question.

Re: Software patents are bullshit - we all know it - don't defend it.

How dare you come in here with your nuanced arguments.

RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE

Re: Like the EU the IETF is full of academics

The problem with the IETF, the EU and all these other standards and other rule making bodies is that they start from an academic (read purist) position

Ahem

http://www.ietf.org/tao.html

"In many ways, the IETF runs on the beliefs of its participants. One of the "founding beliefs" is embodied in an early quote about the IETF from David Clark: "We reject kings, presidents and voting. We believe in rough consensus and running code". Another early quote that has become a commonly-held belief in the IETF comes from Jon Postel: "Be conservative in what you send and liberal in what you accept"."

Re: What if I want a one-off?

As noted in the story, Google's dashboard page already offers similar functionality.

Re: Pacifist aliens?

" I saw 2 minutes of the latter on a demo screen at HMV and it seemed pretty terrible"

I saw 2 minutes of Citizen Kane once. Looked dreadful.

Re: So do people actually scan these things?

>How easy is it for someone to replace phone numbers on billboards?

Quite tricky. You need to get font, size, colour, any glow effects, drop shaddows etc. correct. Often the number will be overlaying another image or color so you have to get that right too.

As opposed to a QR code where you simply have to ensure the square is big enough to cover the original/.

Re: Do what I'd do...

Yeh, because I bet HR has all the login details for every hack who works on El Reg.

Personally, if I were asked, I would say

"I'm assuming you are asking this to see whether I am sufficiently Internet savvy to be aware of the issues involved in sharing a password with someone, both in terms of breaking the EULA , and the possible problems in employment law, opening a potential employer up to accusations that they made their decision based on marital status, sexual orientation etc... so the correct answer is, 'i'm afraid I have to decline'.

I don't give anyone my passwords, ever.

Re: I think it'll be useful

Agreed. Good for updatng RSS & Sending an e-mail.

Anything complex is stained with socialist dogma, lies and bias.

[Citation Needed]

Re: Actually PP may be doing the right thing here

Agreed. I strongly dislike PP, but their Ts&Cs do clearly state that if you take payment it has to be for something you can deliver, not for something you claim to be able to deliver in the future, I believe,

Re: Connectivity

Yup - £25 extra for the connection kit:

http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC531ZM/A?fnode=MTc0MjU4NjE

Re: Why are they dumping Blackberries for Iphones?

You misunderstand. It doesn't matter what an engineer wants. It matters what the CEO, COO and CEFO want.

Re: I overheard a guy on the train the other night

It's alright for him - I installed it oin Virtual Box on my Mac to have a play - I couldn't actually ever work out how to shut it down - presumably I need a Windows key, mousing to the bottom left didn't bring up a start-button equivalent - is it meant to?) In the end I had to issue a shutdown through VB.

Re: Re: Perfectly readable

It's a slog at the start, but it really really *is* worth reading. Once of my favourite Banks books, despite the struggle, immensely imaginative. Seriously, give it another go.

Re: I'm impressed!

It was an interesting article and really refreshing to just have it reported straight.

Good lord man...

... you use maps? Isn't that rather effete? You should be judging North from the moss on trees or possibly using a compass and sextant. And using a *car*?? Whatever next?

Personally I find a sat-nav extremely useful, especially when ferrying two chatty under-eights to somewhere obscure in the London suburbs.

Hold your horses

This article is a journalist's supposition based on an analyst's cagey interpretation of a conversation.

I think you may be conservative with Conservative. The former isn't a political ideology, it is a mindset more than usually fearful of change or the unknown. As far as I can see the study doesn't frame things in terms of left wing or right wing.

Also slightly confused by why we are concentrating on Apple

Is it significantly easier to crack than TrueCrypt? the article didn't appear to say.

Cookies

Yes, I did notice that. Actually I thought the modal 'closing this signals your acceptance to cookies' was rather a clever way of setting the policy to 'accept cookies or piss off'. Might use it on my site.

>And consumer privacy trumps anyone's profits. Or it should do.

Which is fair enough as long as everyone is happy to be redirected to a 'Goodbye' page.

Personally I think that the Directive is fine, in general but yes I do use Google Analytics to track how the site being used, what content is most popular, what keywords are being searched for etc. The Directive effectively outlaws the use of Google Analytics without someone explicitly opting in. That's going to cause a lot of pain for Web sites that aren't otherwise intrusive in terms of privacy.

It's a trade agreement

Nothing gets passed into law.