* Posts by JaitcH

3904 publicly visible posts • joined 12 Oct 2009

New PayPal T&Cs prevents sellers trash-talking PayPal

JaitcH
Thumb Down

Re: Bad Mouthing

YES THEY CAN! (Does this mean they could do the same thing if someone in the UK was trying to buy something from someone in Damascus and was paying by Paypal?)

PayPal is a bank under US law and as such subject to the petty prejudices of the current US administration.

PayPal often applies it's own restrictions as to what it's services can be used for. Some of these account restrictions can last months with the vendor getting no money.

JaitcH
Alert

Re: I can't even remember why I hate paypal.

Knowing that they are regarded as a bank should be enough. The fact they are an American bank should increase your concerns.

JaitcH
Stop

PayPal Operates Under US Banking Laws and Collects Data Better Than Your Hoover . . .

collects dirt.

PayPal is, in reality, an extension of the US Government particularly since it involves transmitting funds internationally and for 'small dealers' which might well fit the description of social drug dealers and out-of-country prescription drug dealers.

PayPal not only generously make their transactional data available to agencies such as the Department of Revenue, DEA, FBI, and the rest of the alphabet agencies but they also sell their data to credit reporting agencies and tracing agencies (unpaid child support, other debts) including bounty hunters.

Furthermore, PayPal has a habit of freezing accounts for various innocuous reasons which can leave vendors hanging in the wind as their cash flow ceases.

PayPal - a company that should be avoided by a 'country mile'.

P.S. A "country mile" in the USA is equivalent to "all the way over thar" or " a fur piece" or " way over yonder" or just means basically a good amount of distance.

A country mile is also described as the distance between roads when you get out in the farm lands or country in the USA. it was said that the land was originally divided into ten square miles give or take, and then subdivided into 640 ten acre lots.

Bloke, 27, arrested, tech gear seized by cops over UK Sports Direct hack

JaitcH
Meh

Never Cared for The Cloud - Better to Use Your Own Storage Off-Site/Out-Of-Country

The ease with which Plod or Cops can seize accounts, etc. can only exist because you don't have personal control of the data that you have when the data is in your own equipment.

The Plod/Cops also know about WiFi connected storage in nearby sites as a few dealers in graphical material in the USA have discovered. The only way is to store sensitive/purloined data on a server in a country whose judicial interests are less concerned with computer technology. The Continent of Africa offers several solutions.

Grumpy Trump trumped, now he's got the hump: Muslim ban beaten back by appeals court

JaitcH
Happy

Some so-called President

Judges are human and they read / listen to the news.

For this so-called president to have Twittered away negatively just demonstrates his immaturity.

This undoubtedly spurred the Appeals Court to work overtime and really issue a Decision that the so-called president would have a hard time fighting in the superior courts.

Big blues: IBM's remote-worker crackdown is company-wide, including its engineers

JaitcH
Thumb Down

IBM CEO Ginni Rometty . . .

is a Trump supporter.

'Nuff said.

Millions of Brits stick with current broadband provider rather than risk no Netflix

JaitcH
FAIL

So Much For a Leading Technology Country - The Last Mile Hassle

It is my submission the switchover problems are a failure of OFCOM to kick a*se.

Would you tolerate a day without water, electricity or gas is you chose to switch suppliers? So how come the telecoms industry can get away with it?

I live in a country with several country-wide cable, InterNet, landline and cell providers - some government-owned and others privately owned. They are co-operative competitors.

Somewhere, I have yet to discover where, there is a meeting point, a bloody great terminal box. maybe, could be a shared facility (building) and from these mysterious destinations (deliberately rated as a national security item) emanate cables, or drops, to individual business and residential premises.

The first building occupant pays about USD$50 to any service provider who, in turn, contracts it to a cable pulling cable company to install the fibre cable into the subscribing building. By the time a building, either single or multiple occupancy, is authorised for occupancy all utilities are up and running. I built a double apartment-over-a-commercial-space building (I think the Brits called them 'parades') and I had to tell NOT to come in until called.

One telephone call to MY choice of provider(s) resulted in a single modem being delivered (another USD$50) by courier and by the time I had plugged the thing in I had 100 Mbyte InterNet and, had I wished it, cable and telephone service. All within a day or two of my initial request.

In Canada the telco's, some many years ago, pulled in cables along every street in the cities and where streets intersected, the intersecting cables made 'appearances'. When service was ordered some Squaddie would start at the switching centre and streetbox by streetbox connect intersecting cables until dial tone appeared at the subscribers premises.

In my present country of residence the rural areas are served in a similar fashion. A cable emanates from a town or city and follows a highway, underground, and every time it passes through a village or hamlet 'appearances' emerge every 500 metres. In the event the trunk cables are overhead, the DSLAMs (digital subscriber line access multiplexers) are pole mounted!

Everything points to an abject failure by the UK regulator and BT in doing their work. Why is it so difficult for a new service to be connected to a drop by a technician, who is more than capable of disconnecting an existing service?

BT's profits plunge 37% following Italian Job

JaitcH
WTF?

Why is BT even operating . . .

in Italy when it hasn't even finished putting fibre optic in all the valleys and hillsides of the UK?

It's activities should be constrained to the UK.

Euro space agency's Galileo satellites stricken by mystery clock failures

JaitcH
Happy

Could it be another Stuxnet-like operation?

A big- mouthed American general stated, even before Galileo satellites were launched, that the USA would destroy the G-satellites if the operators didn't 'comply with American orders' to shut the system down; in times of conflict.

Could these clock failures be due to a Stuxnet-like piece of malware?

BT installs phone 'spam filter', says it'll strain out mass cold-callers

JaitcH
Happy

The Most Harassing Cellular Calls Often Originate With The Celco

I have to keep my cell handset on in order to receive SMS messages from overseas time zones where family and friends still think the Earth is flat and we are all on the same time.

Here in VietNam, with 6 or 7 physically separate networks - not resellers, advertising is rampant. Such advertising is provided either through the celcos or through standalone computers attached to the celco switches.

Some of the worst offenders for sending SMS messages between 00.00H and 06.00H are celcos themselves.

After months of digging I obtained the cell handset numbers of many celco executives as well as installing at our company a SMS Messaging Administration system. Unlike North America, cell handset numbers readily identify the network which originate the calls.

Our SMS system now captures overnight messages, identifies the originating network and simply forwards the unwanted messages to the executives numbers.

Their reactions are invariably quick, and effective, and result in these late night SMS advertisers being suspended.

UK can be a 'world leader in 5G', you say? Er, our 4G still takes a beating from Peru

JaitcH
Unhappy

Why is the UK so technologically challenged?

The UK is a technological laggard in so many ways and for no good reason.

There is nothing especially difficult about the territory. The country is small and it's geographical profiles similar to many other countries, or at least no more challenging than others.

Which leaves only one area that is different - the human element. BT should be relegated to be a 'gridmaster' where it provides the back bone services.

The recent UK story of a woman starting her own ISP from a single link is a heartening one, and should be a way forward for many to follow.

Rackspace enters tipping-point year with newly minted sales chief

JaitcH
Meh

For the sake of transparency ...

why does 'The Register' never disclose it's relationship with Rackspace?

After all, The Registers reson d'etre is transparency.

ZTE laying off 3,000

JaitcH
FAIL

The ban was first announced ... after the US found ZTE was using front companies

I do support work on equipment legally sold to the DPRK (North Korea) before the latest (ineffective) sanctions were announced under US sponsorship by the UN, are working here they would be shocked.

If the USA realised just how many hundred of it's citizens, and thousands more from other countries employed by well known international companies.

We travel through gateways not used by tourists, we travel openly and some even have motorcycles with them.

But if you check our passports - nothing! The DPRK issues 'loose' visas that are stapled into the passports - not glued. My cell handset has two SIMS - one that international visitors get to make visitor-visitor and international calls with, the other for talking to other numbers as accessed by ordinary citizens. All traces of travel are removed from the passports.

There are fibre optic cables linking major cities to the 'Cloud' but use and access to web sites is strictly controlled.

So much for US 'bans', just another feel good exercise by Washington.

Routes taken by UK prosecutors over supply of modified TV set-top boxes

JaitcH
Happy

We can buy 'hot' TV boxes but they are legal . . .

as they are unmodified and come with no means to convert when you walk out of the store.

But watch your mail box - a couple of days after you buy a converter a lumpy envelope arrives and the wherewithal to access all the forbidden channels is revealed with very complete instructions.

The 'conversion' process is easy enough for a child to do it. And for continued monthly updates, just watch your e-mail or SMS messages.

I don't actually use the service as I don't have a TV in my residences!

Travel booking systems ‘wide open’ to abuse – report

JaitcH
Unhappy

GDS - Major Data Source for ALL Intelligence and National Police Services

The data retained by GDS is accessible, without warrant or other impediments, by all major intelligence agencies and the larger, or national, police entities.

Many Third Party Res systems run by some notorious on-line travel agents' also have unlimited access. too. This includes several in the USA and a couple in the UK.

Unbelievably, when the GDS (read > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Distribution_System <) were developed by the airlines, there were few checks - everything was based upon 'trust'. After all, these systems were subsets of airlines.

Then they started interconnecting and do bookings for Third Parties and ticketing commission was viewed as potential compensation for the costs of running these systems. To avoid claims of conflict-of-interest the systems were hived off from the carriers but still based on 'gentleman's agreements'.

Gentlemen's agreements are defined in Wikipedia as: "A gentlemen's agreement or gentleman's agreement is an informal and legally non-binding agreement between two or more parties. It is typically oral, though it may be written, or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or through mutually beneficial etiquette. The essence of a gentlemen's agreement is that it relies upon the honor of the parties for its fulfillment, rather than being in any way enforceable. It is, therefore, distinct from a legal agreement or contract, which can be enforced if necessary.'

In fact, the airlines/carriers relied upon these former carrier entities to do their ticket accounting!

The GDS/CRS systems used to deduct their 'cut', aka commission, from the money they paid to the airlines. From this 'cut' they would pay commissions to user travel agents.

When the airline business was stressed, the airlines started to use software to ensure that the GDS/CRS commissions were credited when tickets and - surprise, surprise - the airlines discovered they were being bilked for hundreds of millions of US Dollars (the currency upon which the back-end of the travel industry is based).

The carriers, after wrestling multi-million refunds from the GDS/CRS, then implemented stricter ticket accounting systems.

Meanwhile down at the Travel Agent level, many discovered they could earn 'points', 'credits', 'awards' by ticketing through GDS/GRS. As the Agency accounting was still done by the GDS/CRS, the TA's (Travel Agents) were able to scam the Res systems because of their weak accounting software by booking travel for fictitious PAX (passengers).

These 'ghost bookings' were cancelled and the TA's still earned their benefits! Scammers scamming the other scammers.

Around this time, about 15 years ago, I was involved in developing/installing Agency automation so that the Agents became as technologically advanced as the rest of the ticketing system.

Our software revealed that Agencies were getting ripped off by the GDS/CRS by way of omitted ticketing credits.

I believe in transparency and a trade paper was alerted to this fraud. A court case filed by a GDS/CRS based in Chicago, and founded by United Airlines, sued a Toronto Travel Agency and, as a sidebar, obtained an Order from the court that prohibited me from revealing what I knew about GDS/CRS scams - effective only to the 12-mile limit surrounding Canada. I no longer live in Canada.

The case was settled on agreed terms and SEALED. As a Petty to the proceedings I was entitled to documents which can be found on the InterNet.

As for 'main frame', perhaps someone could explain how a hundred or so PCs in Denver, Colorado, on which a GDS/CRS was using as a central system meets the definition.

For security and most privacy, out of Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre or Worldspan (they use many other names, too) I ONLY use AMADEUS which is based in Madrid and therefore the EU data rules. They have central sites in Madrid (Corporate Headquarters & Marketing), Nice (Development) and Erding (Operations).

British military laser death ray cannon contract still awarded, MoD confirms

JaitcH
Unhappy

The Usual UK Government Leaches Reinventing the Wheel

Instead of enriching the usual financial freeloaders, why doesn't the UK government do a deal with it's 'best friend' nation (allegedly the US of A) and buy some of the work the US government has already paid for?

And, before spending much more money, they should do a patent search, there's an amazing body of research out there on file - I know because many companies in the 'non-aligned' (military) world get so many of their ideas from patent filings.

Did EU ruling invalidate the UK's bonkers Snoopers' Charter?

JaitcH
Unhappy

Since when has GCHQ or the MI mob ever been bothered with the law?

All the Mad MAY legislation did was to make everything that GCHQ and MI ever did legal.

Where, I wonder, was the castration of Kenyan Freedom Fighters ever within the law?

Ham-fisted: Chap's radio app killed remotely after posting bad review

JaitcH
Meh

Re: In principle...

QUOTE: "The company disabled only their own software, nothing else. It's still a fantastically stupid thing to do, not just because of bad PR but also because you could construe this as fraud "

Perhaps Samsung should think about this with respect to their mainly crippled Note 7s.

JaitcH
Happy

Re: I remember when ...

An old friend who believes in guitars and Williamson Amplifiers (1947-1949) (featured in the late lamented Wireless World in the late 1940s) now has an audio amplifier with a pair of 807s as a final, push-pull pairs in class AB1 or AB2 giving up to 120 watts of usable power.

See: > http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/tubes-valves/239713-low-cost-class-hi-fi-amplifier-807-s-e-ultralinear-pentode-drivers-6g6g.html < and still available > http://www.tubes-store.com/product_info.php?products_id=309 <.

The 807 was the backbone of the military. The No. 19 tank set had one; the British Amplifier No, 2 Mk 2 had a pair of 807s;

JaitcH
Happy

Re: I remember when ...

I actually used chips of coal as a diode!

JaitcH
Unhappy

I remember when ...

Amateur Radio operators used to build their own rigs. From ordering an alumin(i)um chassis from Radio Spares (now RS Components), cutting holes for valves/tubes in them with Greenlee** holes cutters, then wiring up the whole thing. We even used inverted baking/roasting pans when money was tight.

What more fun than could be had than waiting in anticipation for the valves/tubes heaters to glow and for the rig to actually work!

What better hand warmer can be found than an 807 power beam tetrode valve/tube?

Many of today's Amateurs are little better than box operators and now Apps!

At least many have to erect their own HF antennae - I have a long-wire receiving antenna that runs across the farmers field next door.

P.S. If you need to cut smaller-sized holes in wood or metal few things beat a "Stepped" drill bit. Magical. And RS doesn't sell alumin(i)um chassis any more.

Cops, Feds spaff $100m on Stingray cellphone snooping gear – and there's sod all oversight

JaitcH
Happy

Harris (Stingray) Doesn't Do MESH!

There are Apps, at least for Android, which use the WiFi features for confidential communications called MESH radio.

One Google Play App is called SERVAL.

SERVAL is also the name used for the many projects developing this technology. Just Google 'SERVAL'.

And the best part is neither GCHQ or the NSA can eavesdrop on traffic, just like Harris.

Amazon's first live drone delivery flew last week in Cambridge, UK

JaitcH
Thumb Down

Amazon NOT First Flight - Just More PR

The first drone delivery in the USA, approved by FAA officials was made, thanks to drone startup Flirtey in collaboration with 7-Eleven. It successfully carried and dropped off a chicken sandwich, hot coffee and donuts from a 7-Eleven store in Reno, Nevada

Tough, Amazon, that makes your delivery number two.

See: > http://phys.org/news/2016-07-donuts-flight-us-approved-drone-delivery.html <

IBM boss pledges to hire 25,000 Americans in next four years

JaitcH
Unhappy

Give her a hair cut and she would look like ...

Drumph.

Just the wealthy getting their hands on more public money.

Samsung SmartCam: Yes, those eyes really are following you around the room

JaitcH
Happy

Why Bother To Steal The SD Card

"the fact is that if you do have some footage of a burglar, and they see the camera ... it is very easy for them to simply take the SD card out and walk off with the evidence."

Easier just to grab the whole damn thing ... should be good for a bag of something from the local drug emporium.

Europe to launch legal action against countries over diesel emissions cheating

JaitcH
WTF?

I Have a Question: Why Is It That In The U.S. of A. is Volkswagen ...

buying these fraudulent cars back but the cash-back offer is not being made in in the EU?

Perhaps it's something to do with The Drumph not believing in climate change ... notwithstanding the inches, centimetres, feet or metres of the white stuff that has covered half the country in the past week.

Happy white Christmas to everyone!

Samsung, the Angel of Death: Exploding Note 7 phones will be bricked

JaitcH
Happy

Re: Is this even legal in the EU?

Our company served notice on Samsung that should our equipment be degraded they would be sued for a laundry list of civil claims.

We were requested to bring our devices to a certain service centre (there are many in the country) whereupon a patch would be added that would remove existing, and prevent future, deleterious patch transmissions. The technician, who we have known for years, confirmed it is a 'good' patch and that several others have been given the same protection - after their lawyers contacted Samsung.

We were not required to a sign any document although they 'hoped' we would be discrete with the information!

Canada asks citizens: How would you like us to spy on you?

JaitcH
Happy

So very Canadian ...

unlike the despots of the USA and the UK.

Nice to know they care enough to ask ... even if they ignore you later!

The UK's Investigatory Powers Act allows the State to tell lies in court

JaitcH
WTF?

Why The Fuss?

Plod, et al, have been lieing their heads off in court for years.

This legislation just legitimises it.

Jersey sore: Anchor rips into island's undersea cables, sinks net access

JaitcH
Unhappy

What a Pity! On the very day that ...

the Tap Anything rules came into play and the GCHQ are losing all the data about bent banking in Jersey.

Poetic!

Vegans furious as Bank of England admits ‘trace’ of animal fat in £5 notes

JaitcH
Happy

Did the Vegans Check for RFID chips?

The test is simple.

Fill a mug with cold water and place in a microwave oven. Add the new note and run on High for 60-second periods.

If/when a burning smell is detected, and your oven is clean, check the note. RFID chips usually get so hot they melt the Kevlar.

Ofcom to force a legal separation of Openreach

JaitcH
Happy

Why is the High Tech West so Technically Challenged?

It's sad to read about the InterNet deprived areas in the UK and the USA. Canada has an InterNet that connects even the North Coast of the country.

Couldn't an equivalent to the electrical grid be put in place?

Out here in Indochina fibre optics is revolutionising the place. In VietNam, in particular, the fibre optic tentacles are reaching the extremes of the country. In Ha Tien, on the border with Kampuchea/Cambodia they have announced there is enough backbone capacity for every household to have 50 Mbyte service. This is in addition to 200-channels of fibre optic TV.

What gets me is whilst there is commercial competition, technically the three government-owned entities and the four commercial entities are cross-supporting each other. First company into a property gets to run the fibre optic cable - with the subscriber paying USD$50 (equivalent) for the installation and a modem (HuaWei HG8045A) that outputs LAN1-LAN4, WiFi, Telephone (2 lines), Cable TV, USB Storage, FAX. There is also an input for standby power!

We can order InterNet from one provider, cable from another and telephone from a third. And no house calls.

Good news! Our 25 Mbyte unlimited service (USD$30/month) has been replaced with 50 Mbyte unlimited service at USD$25/month!

In Cambodia/Kampuchia in addition to cell service and cell InterNet there is live, streamed, wireless TV in the largest cities.

Obviously the neanderthals that keep seats warm in BT are the problem.

Huawei Mate 9: The Note you've been waiting for?

JaitcH
Meh

What about the battery?

Is it buried deep in the electronics like the Samsung Flaming Note or can it be swapped out?

How to confuse a Euro-cop: Survey reveals the crypto they love to hate

JaitcH
FAIL

Crypto Comms

Signal, Telegram, PGP are solutions to amoral government employees. Take a look at > https://theintercept.com/2016/07/02/security-tips-every-signal-user-should-know/ <

If you are a techie use MESH radio and load the Google App. Think smartmeter networks!

Establishing an InterNet Cafe would really conceal your InterNet activities.

If you use Apple stuff, disable Cloud backups because many of your activities and data acquisition activities are copied there and Apple can be required to produce against a warrant from Plod. URLs and calls made/received/missed are also recorded in the cloud.

The hardest thing for the government to track are PAGERS, IRIDIUM satellite pagers, because whilst they know where the messages are sent from, the NEVER know who/where is receiving them!

One pager number + a pager, coupled with SDR (Software Defined Radios) - one for each user - and using a numeric header to define recipients and you are away.

Check out: > http://www.rtl-sdr.com/chaos-communications-congress-talks-iridium-pager-hacking/ <, > http://www.rtl-sdr.com/category/satellite/ <, > http://motherboard.vice.com/read/its-surprisingly-simple-to-hack-a-satellite <. Also Google: > satellite pagers, sdr, hacking <.

And don't forget the HF spectrum in the northern hemisphere - there are very few HF listening stations active these days. New Zealand, however, has a HSA HF setup to monitor the disparate Oceana Islands. Zip or burst transmitters drive the eavesdroppers crazy.

Hey techbros, make an airplane mode but for driving for your apps – US traffic watchdog

JaitcH
WTF?

If Fines Can't Stop It, Can Technology Really Provide An Answer?

Living in a city with over 4-million motorcycles, SaiGon/Ho Chi Minh City, I watch the locals not only dialing calls but even composing SMS/Text messages with their left-hand whilst their right-hand holds the right accelerator handle.

Add to that the 1100-hundred thousand car and truck drivers who seemingly have equally ambidextrous skills, PLUS thousands of pedal cyclists who happily pedal along maintaining their social media life, it amazes me there are not even more than three traffic deaths daily.

But the smartphone DOES have moving uses. Taxi drivers are using the Apps that provide verbal translation to communicate with their passengers - and very useful they are, too. SaiGon/HCM have street names that are predominately after people with three names and yet these masterful Apps can translate from badly spoken English to understandable Vietnamese.

The fine for using cell handsets is USD$12 (equivalent), the usual bribe rate is USD$5, both quite high for Vietnamese wage earners, but this doesn't deter people from breaking the law.

A better reason for cell handset jammers I have yet to envision.

Panicked WH Smith kills website to stop sales of how-to terrorism manuals

JaitcH
Happy

Many Military Combatants Are Given These Manuals ...

in training. Many of the Skyhorse Publishing titles are dated and simply copies of US Government manuals. Publications of the US Government are not copyrighted hence the busy reprinting industry.

The best source of current titles available direct from the U.S. Government Publishing Office > https://www.gpo.gov/ <.

To think that hundreds of thousands of furloughed military personnel who have undergone improvised explosives training is disturbing. I was in Royal Signals and attached to a unit whose reson d'etre was to make common or garden things go bang.

One demonstration I remembered was an incandescent lamp bulb and a common household fluid. Impressively destroyed the room it was discharged in.

Most homes have sufficient chemicals to create explosives or even poisonous gases. And a box of matches alone can do quite a bit of damage.

The Vietnamese government is very aware of these things and there is a general prohibition on fireworks, although sparklers have recently been approved. Matches are prohibited but lighters are approved. We can't even buy nail guns or ammunition.

The annual fireworks displays celebrating Georgian calendar New Years and Tet New Years are mounted by the military - and they make really, really, big bangs!

GoPro drone moan brings more bad Karma

JaitcH
FAIL

GoPro no longer market leader - Check Out SJCAM

SJCAM doesn't need accessories - they are all included in a price that is lower than GoPro.

And SJCAM has additional features including Steadycam.

Flash crash trader takes plea bargain, cops to 'spoofing' and wire fraud

JaitcH
FAIL

It's OK when the thieves on Wall Street do it ...

but when a Foreigner joins in that's totally different.

America doesn't do justice, it's more like 'Make A Deal'. It takes a brave person to fight them.

What's even worse, the Tory government participated in this miscarriage. Wouldn't happen in France - they don't extradite their own.

Trump's torture support could mean the end of GCHQ-NSA relationship

JaitcH
WTF?

"This presents a huge challenge for oversight, who need to be aware of the possibility that GCHQ..."

So what's new?

That bunch of thugs from MI have already participated in American torture sessions, they even had squaddies participating in Guantanamo.

Then the hypocrisy of Western combatants turning around and squealing about their men being tortured and abused by the Freedom Fighters.

Just because Americans wallow in their idea of 'fun' at ABU GHRAIB doesn't mean to say we Europeans have to join them, In earlier times that would have been enough to stop supporting them.

Chinese chap in the clink for trying to swap US Navy FPGAs with fakes to beat export ban

JaitcH
Meh

"When told it is illegal to export the chips to China and that the components are only ...

available to the US military ..."

The US trade regulations are easily circumvented.

I worked for a company that bought high-voltage switches used in nuclear devices. The thing I remember about them was the cute blue colour they had. They were very delicate.

On occasion they were damaged and the only requirement was send a picture, and an affidavit, stating it was damaged and how, and everything was hunky-dory. A vice-president then devised a scheme whereby these switches could be sold to a country near India.

He drove nice cars and had an impressive looking house.

In my work sojourns in to China and the DPRK I frequently see equipment and devices made in the USA that have restrictions on their uses.

Money drives the world and since China has a lot more than the USA, I'm not surprised what they get their hands on.

Handling tech baggage: How American Airlines, US Airways merged IT

JaitcH
Unhappy

Out of the AA Group Sabre Reservations ...

had the sharpest programmers.

But American split Sabre Res off and sold it to get some cash.

UK prison reform report wants hard-coded no-fly zones in drones to keep them out of jail

JaitcH
FAIL

Prison Reform from Cloud Cuckoo Land

I guess these airheads have never heard of hacking.

Several drones have "hard coded" geo-fencing. Unfortunately, there are details on the InterNet as to how to remove these irritants.

Banned - the governmental favourite response.

New MH370 handshake and wing debris analysis suggests rapid descent

JaitcH
Meh

Having Sailed on the Met Office Weathership Service ...

many, many, years ago I was on the dock in Greenock, Scotland, when the ship that participated in the recovery of a flight of the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) (an inactive US Department of Defense Unified Command) returned.

It was a mess. Most of the bodies had detached heads. The only complete bodies were that of the cabin crew who were seated facing towards the rear of the aircraft.

Beats me why aircraft seats are facing forwards.

So. What's North Korea really like?

JaitcH
Happy

Fair points though one would assume that if every room is bugged ...

I go for a lot of walks in the open when I am there. When someone suggest we 'go for a walk' often we end up in a local restaurant (a stretch of the word) and drink tea and talk in low whispers.

Usually both parties list items of a conversation so if asked we can answer honestly if incompletely.

Before I visit people's homes, the inviter usually advises their manager. My trips are usually over two weeks in duration and they realise I want to have breaks. My guide and I often take her children to places of entertainment or parks where we can be 'spotted' from a distance. She says her house is 'clear' of 'intrusions' but we still limit our activities to innocuous things such as I teaching her English.

The worker hotel I stay in might be bugged but given it's minimal decoration it is unlikely bugged. I use various ruses when securing my bags and I have never detected them having been touched.

JaitcH

@ Anonymous Coward - Questions about the linked article.

- "The first thing that jumps out at you are the badges. ...

Remember. most Western visitors see the show case DPRK - what they want the West to think. I, however, go to places where few Foreigners are allowed to even see from the outside. People are people and the BS is quickly disposed of as soon as BS Senior Management goes away.

- "For men, it is compulsory to wear

People can only buy what is available in the stores - unless someone has remarkable sewing skills or access to a sewing machine.

I am now quite used to having people reach out and touch my clothes, my shoes and my skin - Foreigners are a very rare occurrence in centres outside the capital. I consider it an privilege to be able to share my life with my colleagues over there. I never abuse my privileges as the people who suffer are those supposed to be escorting you.

I am apolitical. I neither express an interest in their system, neither do I support it. But that is OK with them as they understand my position. During the first few visits I was treated as tourists are in the capital but since then we are what I consider 'friends'. My special friend, the guide/escort lady, has shared many things with me because she has good English communication skills.

Visiting people in their homes are one of the things that I treasure.

As for the InterNet, there are many restraints on it but it is available in most sizable communities. I can actually connect to the InterNet under the supervision of Senior Management when I urgently require technical information. It takes about two hours to get approval. I am not allowed to use e-mail.

JaitcH
Happy

Job for Life?

@ John Brown (no body)

In actuality gifted people, women as well as men, are talent spotted and promoted to where their skills are most beneficial to the State.

I have witnessed in the client work centre where I go in the DPRK, several sharp people in their 20's have now risen above their typical scheduled promotion.

Capita STILL hasn't delivered usable Army recruitment IT system

JaitcH
FAIL

So long as Capita provides continuing Financial Support to the Tories ...

it will continue to be granted contracts with the most supplier-serving terms. The same applies to G4S and the other back-handers.

I remember when the WD, yes the War Department, issued contracts and insisted that all the terms be met. What's with today's defence contractors?

And the worst thing is whilst these grafters are making a profit, UK military front-liners are paying the price.

Smart Meter rollout delayed again. Cost us £11bn, eh?

JaitcH
Happy

What's to Reinvent? With Successful Deployment in the USA and Many Other Countries ...

the hard work has been done. But, as is often the case, the UK government wants to reinvent the wheel.

I live in an area of 'smart metering', albeit a trial area, and it's going really well.

There are two types of accounts: Prepaid and Post-paid. Thoughts of the coin fed gas and electric meters in the UK cross my mind.

And all usage activity is available through a multi-lingual website. Also available is a choice of power options and notifications with respect to reduced power cost.

There are bands of increasing pricing dependent on the total amount of power consumed but poor people who need (use) less than 100KWH monthly get a special rate. The Pre-Paid accounts are charged at this rate.

Payment is simple. All you have to do is locate a credit card swipe machine and the store will issue a top-up card (similar to prepaid cell handsets) in 100KWH amounts so the consumer can load their meter at their convenience. Post-paid accounts are paid similarly - just hand the store your plastic ID card, they swipe it and the terminal states the amount to be collected.

No fuss, no muss.

I guess the Tories want to involve their favourite government contractors so collections at election times continue unabated.

Whoosh! China shows off J-20 'stealth' fighters and jet drones

JaitcH
Meh

"It looks a lot like an F-22 fuselage mated with an F-35 cockpit section ...

and with the forward canard delta wings of a Saab Gripen or a Eurofighter Typhoon grafted on; a visual mishmash of features from successful Western designs."

This might well have been caused because the hackers who copied the designs from the 'super secure' US defence industry mistakenly copied the wrong files.

The significant thing is the Chinese have achieved a remarkable milestone however they managed it.