Posts by JaitcH

BT ... GCGQ's silent partner

BT is a good buddy to GCHQ, making all those party lines to Gloucestershire work so well.

Edward Snowden ...

a force for good (except if you are a US cloud vendor).

Where's his Nobel Prize?

NSA and GCHQ - HuaWei's ...

best marketing / sales scheme ever devised!

Mind you Obama shouldn't be forgotten for all the lies he spouted on his world tour last year, either.

Historically, the market leader has been the ...

victim of copying.

In this case, second-placed Apple is accusing first-placed Samsung of copying.

Theoretically, copying a less favoured second place holder would drag the first placed holder down.

Apple is always trying to change laws of physics and history. Better they spent time improving their products like making an SD socket standard. Next they will be patenting electromagnetic communications, especially now Marconi isn't around to explain what he was doing in Newfoundland a century ago.

I find it humourous that ...

all the 'freedom' loving countries are also the leading the government requests stakes.

Of course, the biggest hypocrite of all is the USA who is always lecturing others on Human Rights, Freedoms, etc., whilst it kills hundreds of innocents using drones.

No problem: Do what the USA does with trade agreements - ignore the WTO & NAFTA

When the US is on the losing side of a trade arbitration it simply ignores the decision.

Witness the argument with Canada over hardwood shingles (wooden roofing tiles) and softwood lumber (2x4's) - they simply blackmailed Canada into doing a quickie bilateral agreement - Britain has signed those, ask Blunkett, so UK perps (alleged) can get deported to the US for trial.

GM had a rare metals operation once, but it sold it off - with US government blessing - to /drumroll/ the Chinese!

Don't know why the Japanese are complaining - they have an exclusive on a mining hole in Northern VietNam whereby they ship all their rare stuff back to Japan for refining.

At this very moment the US is bashing VietNam over the head with threats to block the ever popular Tiger Shrimp business with a surcharge ... unless the VNese bend over and submit to yet another bilateral agreement.

I think we should block McBarf and Starbuck (where the hookers hang out) operations until the States gets the message. Back off, Bully!

Apple is simply bloody minded - and is out to shaft it's Customers

Whether it's using non-standard screws, copying Japanese rice cooker connectors, messing with head phone cable standards, adding resistors to make charging iThingies difficult, using non-standard connectors, glueing cases together or whatever, Apple is simply demonstrating it cares about nobody, other than shareholders,

Jobs was a petty minded individual and Cook is emulating him.

And filling garbage pits up with their discarded unrepairable trash.

Still, the iSheep must like it, they come back every time and bend over so Apple can screw them all over again.

Not me: I use Tor, PGP and air-gapped MS Office

No longer can the cops and Plod demand things ad nauseum, the general public has learned much since World Hero Snowden released his NSA library.

It seems only just that if they want to see my stuff, they have to work their buns off for it. Somewhat of a self-defeating exercise, though.

If media companies remunerated artists ...

equitably, I might have some sympathy. Performance money theft is rife in the business.

These media companies only seek to maintain their excessive income, so I have no sympathy with them or qualms in 24/7 downloading via commercial fibre optics.

That's ignoring the fact few originals are available here.

Given the rampant lieing as to 'successes' by the software industries, I doubt these figures are accurate, especially since the new encrypted downloading became available.

My wife's new hotel uses only LED lights ...

and to determine if there was any benefit between the brands we carefully numbered each 'light' and it's location.

After a year of use we found the 'Dutch Masters' products were WORSE than cheaper OEM/No Name Chinese knock offs that have a 5-year warranty.

The Phillips mini-fluorescents also have a high fail rate BUT the difference is we can get them refurbished for a $1 (including a one year warranty) from a hole-in-the-wall entrepreneur.

All our lights are tied into our computer controlled fire alarm system which uses lighting to indicate the nearest exit.

What about Boeing's super glued, super secure ...

cell handset that self-destructs when opened?

A bargain at $650!

We expect better from El Reg

QUOTE: "The New York Times and Der Spiegel have reported another communiqué from their source-in-exile"

Read: https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/03/23/facts-nsa-stories-reported/ for the FACTS.

Nothing better demonstrates the convoluted US idea of security

The US, through Obama and Mike 'Mouthy' Rogers, claims that the Chinese government is linked to Huawei through former military CEO Ren Zhengfei, but that CISCO is different notwithstanding it hired Lt. Gen. Steven W. Boutelle upon retirement as the Army's chief information officer and appointed vice president of the Global Government Solutions Group at Cisco Systems.

Typical two-faced hypocrisy from the US Government.

ALSO, Edward Snowden HAS NOT LEAKED ANY DOCUMENTS SUBSEQUENT TO HIS SOJOURN IN RUSSIA - journalists are responsible for the timing of disclosures at this time. See https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/03/23/facts-nsa-stories-reported/.

Fear not, ancient standards of measurement prevail in today's electronics ...

I give you the 0.1 inch hole matrix and dual-in-line pin spacing.

Not even the decimal gang have overcome that!

Symantec? I thought they had ...

folded?

Faced with a choice of the NSA or Edward Snowden ...

being the more trustworthy, my vote is overwhelmingly Edward Snowden.

No one has proved he has lied, to date, whereas Jug-eared Clapper and his pal Keith Alexander have consistently lied, wittingly or unwittingly.

Open, advertised purchasing can't be beaten for value

Given the Yard's new notoriety for accepting bribes and payoff's, this type of contract has to be viewed with the greatest suspicion.

Widely promoted, open Requests for Tender against properly specified equipment demands that allow many tenders to be made are by far the best way to go.

So what's with Thailand as a Get Lost Destination?

Thailand is far from idyllic if you want to get lost.

As a major drug growing area, the US FBI, DEA, etc. are well represented in town and the Thai government is far too friendly with the US supplying all manifests departing flights to all destinations to the big US data suck system. The UK has passport control types as well as drug Plod. The new Thai visa regime is a pain, too, as the old border runs are out.

Adjoining countries are also unsuitable. The Thai/Cambodia border is well guarded due to cross-border fighting. Cambodian immigration now has eye-scan facilities and also contributes to the US. China, Laos, Burma and VietNam are stiff visa destinations.

My choice would be 'borderless' Europe or South America.

Still, in a Swiss jail he will be well catered for, although not as well as in some Scandinavian countries.

His biggest problem will be Uncle Sam taking an interest in him and dreaming up some wild charges that will get him a room in Leavenworth for a few decades.

My meds scheme doesn't need a bloody Apple

Each morning I take my meds, then I move the two containers to just under the mirror, on my counter.

Later in the day, the cleaner comes around, cleans my private bathroom and also moves the two meds containers to the front edge of the counter.

This technique reminds me to take my medications. It's worked for years.

When I travel, I put mu meds in one pocket for even days and another for odd days. Never fails.

Postcodes & ZIPS should be FREE and in the public domain

Smart countries such as the USA, Canada, China (and VietNam) encourage the use of codes by GIVING THEM AWAY.

When Canada first introduced Postcodes they published a FREE directory.

The Canadian system also has a reverse lookup feature.

The fix is simple ...

all Apple has to do is declare that it is a design feature not understood by Techie Plebs. Or that it is an undocumented feature

Worked for Antennagate, why not now?

We all know that Apple never screws up. Ask an iPhan.

We Canadians have a Constitution; we don't ban much unlike Blighty

Thanks to the late Pierre Trudeau, Canada has a Constitution that keeps governments in line. Really.

But this little fracarse is all about Canadian content.

It's not onerous: Broadcasting Act of Canada, that radio and television broadcasters (including cable and satellite specialty channels) must air a certain percentage of content that was at least partly written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to by persons from Canada. It also refers to that content itself, and, more generally, to cultural and creative content that is Canadian in nature.

Even if the dollies are from another country, the CanCon can be met by the written, produced, presented part of the rules.

The important word is MAPL. Canadian content in a musical selection must generally fulfill at least two of the following conditions:

M (music) - the music is composed entirely by a Canadian.

A (artist) - the music is, or the lyrics are, performed principally by a Canadian.

P (performance) - the musical selection consists of a performance that is: recorded wholly in Canada, or performed wholly in Canada and broadcast live in Canada.

L (lyrics) - the lyrics are written entirely by a Canadian.

There is even a MAPL, a clever play on Maple (tree), logo which will be seen on all records and videos which shows how CanCon rules are met.

Australia, Philippines, Mexico, Nigeria, Israel, South Africa, Jamaica, Venezuela, and New Zealand, Republic of Ireland and France also have quotas.

So bring on the girls from the Miramichi, or the wild women from The Rock (Newfoundland).

USA Completely untrustworthy when it comes to data

Not withstanding we have the World Trade Organisation, the US loves doing regional (Pacific and Atlantic at this time) and bilateral agreements (think Blunket and extradition).

Look at NAFTA (Canada, Mexico, USA). Freely arrived at, driven primarily by the Americans. Then up comes Hardwood Shingles (for walls and roofing) and Softwood Lumber (Construction 2x4). Canada starts scoring big time, apparently our cold winters harden up the hard and softwood trees and produce a superior product AND it costs less because of the dollar differential.

USA applies unlawful surcharges, Canada goes to mediation and wins. USA then applies taxes in lieu of stumpage charges (replacement trees), Canada appeals and wins. After a third shafting by the USA Canada decides enough is enough and signs an amendment to NAFTA.

Mexican drivers can't bring their vehicles into the US, although NAFTA allows this to happen after 5 years. Another country screwed by the USA.

And here we are again, the old US divide and conquer routine, with a handy bilateral agreement between the UK and the US. Brits better get ready to bend over, Uncle Sams about to do it all over again.

P.S. I hold Canadian, UK and US citizenship, so don't go calling me anti-anything!

Why do Brits accept Rip-Off Pricing? No Batteries or SD Memory?

Retail consumers in the States pay at least ONE tax equivalent to VAT, other places TWO!

The difference is easy to calculate and to demonstrate that VAT Free prices are way out of line when compared to North America and mainland Europe.

As for batteries, if I can't swap a battery out, I will NOT buy the cell handset.

Similarly, with extension memory. With the UK Border Bods along with the US ICE men (and women) happily interrogating the contents of cell handsets as well as laptops, a la Miranda, I always transfer any hot data from the system memory to SD memory and then lose the chip somewhere about my body.

ICE men even get their knickers in a twist if you have downloaded video on your handsets and use this as an excuse to impound your gear.

Unfortunately, in cities around the world, going 'on the game' ...

is a fact of life for many single-parent mothers when either the food budget hits zero or the rent is due.

I have seen this in Canada, China, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, the UK, USA and VietNam. Pity they don't sling the absent fathers in jail. As well as the Camerons of this world who think slashing welfare budgets is a smart thing to do.

Even if Apple declines a comment, birds can ...

by doing a dump all over the statue.

Most fitting.

Want to see how the NSA cracked "elliptic curve cryptography"?

A fascinating YouTube series of what should be a totally boring subject is absolutely viewer/reader friendly.

Start here: < http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/02/inquiring-minds-edward-frenkel-math-doesnt-suck >.

Check out the whole series - truly mind grabbing.

Another Boeing Project 25?

Boeing, a sweetheart of the NSA, didn't have too much success with Project 25, so why should we expect much better this time?

Additionally, why would anyone, other than the American government, trust Boeing or any other American company with security?

Requesting "permanently withheld from public inspection" is simply a Drama Queen act - which many companies employ. And what is a piece of paper worth? They can collect as many NDAs as they want but if someone wants in, they'll find a way.

Secret screws didn't do Apple any good, and epoxy is easily defeated - after the cell handset has been appropriately rendered inoperable through it's local environment.

There are places in China who can, for a fee, reverse engineer 'secure' electronics products using X-ray techniques, followed by applications of choice concoctions of heated nitric or sulphuric acid along with 2,2,2trifluoroacetamide gas. They also use chemical and plasma etching.

As for the memory fuses to stop duplication, they are a breeze, too.

Me, I would go for Phil Zimmerman's BLACK PHONE, just announced, at least he has the credits for standing up for Uncle Sam.

So away with you Boeing, go fix those batteries that keep catching fire.

Pure bloody unfounded prejudice

@ frank ly:

I guess England has never had the Kray Brothers, the Train Robbers, etc. - all pre-bred English people.

My aunt lived out in the country with a famous line of pure bred dogs, nearby a Travellers site (legal). She fell over one day and couldn't move. One Traveller noticed the change in the dogs barking and he investigated, then called the police.

The aunt never lost a thing to theft - in fact the Travellers even kept an eye on her premises when she attended dog shows.

I suspect immigrants do less major crime than English-born people on a percentage basis.

P.S. LY doesn't sound too English, either.

Apple doesn't comment on ongoing legal disputes.

Too long, and redundant.

Apple doesn't comment is quite sufficient.