Posts by Dr. Mouse

Re: Anyone else

I agree that Judge Koh seems to be complaining about having to do her job, but then I doubt she ever expected her job to involve what amounts to being a kindergarten teacher.

In her place, I would refer them both to the reply given in the case of Arkell v. Pressdram.

Was there a cat on the keyboard?

Maybe, and it may be dead. We'll have to have a look...

Re: About bloody time!

"They could have build a dozen of these... and had them wandering all over Mars by now"

I have been wondering why, now they have a "proven" platform like Curiosity, they don't build a few of them and send them all at once. It would work out much cheaper on a per-rover basis, and they could land them individually at different points around Mars.

There are probably good reasons why they don't (probably involving money) but it would seem to be the most efficient way to get a load of them out there, and a more efficient use of time as well.

Re: This is victim blaming!

"Er . . . we DO tell people not to enter other people's houses and take their stuff, don't we?"

That's my point. Even though people are told not to do something, doesn't mean nobody will. So we lock our doors.

Just as we tell people not to hack into another person's accounts, but we should still use strong passwords.

Re: Who watches...

"as she might have been using the government network for private activities"

Surely, our elected officials would never be allowed to abuse government systems with personal use?

Re: Oh FFS

"the problem we're seeing now is exemplified by the tweeting twit, Sally Bercow: things that are mentioned as one might down the pub with your mates - possibly after a drink or two - with no thought about exactly what you're saying and to whom."

This is what I think, too.

Yes, current rules should apply to the internet. But the problem is that there are a large number of people who do not think correctly about their actions.

I often quote a simple analogy. When using Facebook*, you are with a group of friends. Your posts and comments are like a chat with them over a beer in the local pub, or in your living room over a cup of tea. However, using Twitter is like standing on the table in the local pub, or hanging out of your window, or walking down a busy street, and shouting out what you say for all the world to hear.

So, while you may have discussions in the pub about controversial subjects, you would not run down the street shouting about how a random person was a paedo (at least not when your mental age passes 12). Think in that manner and you will be fine.

*I do mean using Facebook as an individual and as it was intended, not through a group page or, of course, if you randomly add random strangers as "friends" without appropriate privacy controls in place.

"Secondly, the "£25" computer is a myth. You have to buy cases, SD cards, highly-regulated power supplies, plus something for it to plug into (like a monitor for a start). PER DEVICE."

I call bollocks!

I have to agree with many of the comments made in the article and in these comments that the Pi can't really be a "mainstream" computing teaching tool. It can't replace the PCs used for teaching IT or using computers for other subjects. It is a fairly specialised item. But it does not need additional monitor/keyboard/mouse to plug in to. For the specialised use it is put to, set of extra cables could be used to plug in to from a PC (maybe a KVM switch) which would be useful for other purposes anyway. It can also plug up to old TVs. It doesn't need "highly-regulated power supplies", a cheap phone charger will do. For some purposes, you can even (just) run it off the USB port of a PC (I know, I have done it myself). One of those dual USB leads also works well. For it's intended purpose, it doesn't even need a case. All you really need is an SD card, adding maybe £5 to the cost of the device.

I can only see it being practical for teaching small groups of the most enthusiastic and/or able students. Most won't be interested or capable of learning programming, but (from my own experience) maybe 5 out of a class of 30 would. This would leave a great opportunity for that top tier to learn. They can each bring in their own SD card, containing their own work. They can learn to program, build hardware, or hack at the kernel. All is done on their own SD card, so a mistake doesn't break the whole machine.

The only reason that the Pi's costs skyrocket in school environments is that they want to use them as computers. That's not a practical use for them (in schools). Leave them as bare boards, allow the (selected) kids access to electronic components and prototyping boards, and guide them in developing their skills.

Of course, this would need real IT teachers, not those who just know how to adjust the font size in MS Word and struggle to even print the document when they are done.

Reminds me of several other industries out there which are currently being dragged kicking and screaming out of the 20th century.

Re: It's life, we're not that special...

"stop fighting over the blue and the red hats"

Yeah, they were supposed to be green!

Re: SIXTEEN GIG!!!!!!!

TWENTY-NINE GIG!!!!!!!!

Seriously, that's ridiculous! I thought Win7x64 was bad, but this must be at least a 50% increase! This when my Linux 64-bit install with 3 desktop environments and all the applications I need take up the sum total of... 6GB!

Re: Just an excuse for more Google lock-in

"there aren't Samsung fanboys, just as there aren't Dell fanboys. There are Android fanboys, but they are fickle, and have no reason to choose Samsung for their next phone just because they did with their last one."

I agree to a point, but I believe this is a good thing in the mobile phone market.

It gives consumers choice and it forces handset manufacturers to innovate. They must find ways to differentiate their phones from the crowd. Apple, for instance, don't need to do this. There is only one phone, and those with iPhones often look at nothing else. Fandroids have a plethora of options, so the mfrs need to find a way to get their attention (and cash) rather than it going to a competitor.

Personally, I would like to see Google go further and ban mfrs from forcing their Android overlays on people. Make them have an option to remove it. This would lead to better compatibility overall, as all core functionality would need to be accessible to pure Android, and the overlays wouldn't be much more than apps.

For myself, I am actually a Motorola fandroid. I have only had Moto phones since I started down the Android route. I **HATE** Motoblur, and immediately install a new ROM when I get a new phone, but I like Moto's hardware and look at their kit first.

This doesn't mean I don't look elsewhere, but each time Moto has been my choice. But the Nexus 4 is tempting me at the moment, though. I can't really justify it (My Atrix is still prefectly fine and only a year old), but that would be my choice if I was buying today.

Re: Watered down?

"Given how utterly rubbish the prequels were, they really can't do any worse"

I think they can. I hope they don't, but they definitely can do worse

Re: Fragmentation fragmentation fragmentation

"The platform is controlled. If I see reports of devices being "rooted", that implies the same problem and the same solution as iOS to break it."

Not really. Rooting is not much different to adding stuff to your sudoers file in Linux: It allows a controlled bypass of the OS's inbuilt security mechanisms. It allows you to get at the very heart of the OS.

However even without rooting, Android still allows the user an order of magnitude greater control over their device than iOS. Want to install an app from a random (unofficial) source? No problem. Want to enable tethering on a network without an agreement with your phone manufacturer? Tick a box. In general, you just have greater control.

Re: I dont know about you but....

"I like my 8(ish) cores, and you know sometimes 16gig is just not enough - and just how the hell do you expect me to get anything done with just the two monitors."

That's exactly what I used to say (subject to scaling). I had a dual Xeon machine back in the day, and I remember friends asking why I needed 2 CPUs. I was the first out of my group to buy a Voodoo 2 graphics card ("the software graphics are good enough"), the first to set up a file server ("there's enough space in your machine"), the first to set up a firewall/router ("why would more than one person need to access the internet at once?" and "nobody's going to try to hack your home network") and the first to run Cat5 all over my (parents') house (that one had my parents asking why we needed 2 network sockets in ever room when we only had 2 PCs).

Now, however, I have gone past the peak. My current kit is way more capable than I need since I stopped playing games (although it's still about good enough to play when the mood takes me). Nothing will give me a decent improvement in what I normally use the home computers for, so why pay?

If I can convince the other half, the main PC will probably be replaced with a Raspberry Pi (she's never used Linux, so may not take too kindly), and that PC moved into the office. I am even considering getting rid of my main server and firewall boxes, moving the router to a Pi and the server's roles to hosted providers (maybe AWS), keeping only my fileserver local.

Re: I can believe it too

"Stop slagging the BBC off. I am really confused about the attitude to the BBC by the people in the UK."

The BBC is a fantastic institution. IMHO something to be proud of, as a Brit, like the NHS.

However, like the NHS, when you are used to it, it fades into the background. You forget how special it is, and focus on the small problems with it. For example, I am still upset with them for spending shed loads on moving to a new building while dropping Formula 1. Also, with the NHS, people complain about waiting times etc. while forgetting all the good things it does for us. It is natural.

Let's take, for instance, cars. You buy a brand new car to replace your ageing rust bucket. For the first few months you love it. It's the best thing in the world, reliable and comfortable. You are proud to be seen with it.

After a few months, however, you have become used to it. You start noticing small faults: The seats don't support your back quite right, the wipers are too loud, the radio sounds a bit tinny. You then start focussing on these small things, which you complain about, forgetting how damn good the car is.

"That statement was made in the context of professional software development"

I understand that. However, everyone starts somewhere. I may not be the norm, but I have nearly always started learning things outside the workplace. For example, when I was told I would be responsible for a system which runs on a Solaris box, I took it upon myself to set up a Solaris server at home to learn about it (we already have Solaris guys, but I thought I should know). I did the same for VMS, and that's the same way I initially learned about Linux, Windows domains and C/C++ programming.

"I share a developer account with friends which costs me a princely sum of $10 a year."

How big a group? I must have incorrect info, as I thought the cost was in the hundreds per year (the figure that comes to mind is $1000).

"My wife would not appreciate me installing apps on her phone without her knowing, especially ones latching on to BOOT_COMPLETE permissions (spyware comes to mind)"

I didn't do that. I had no idea how to back then. This was a brand new phone, and a very simple app which, when run, played a tune and displayed a few pictures. Basically an animated birthday card.

Even so, there must be some element of trust in a relationship. For example, I host her email on my server. I could read through her email if I wanted. We discussed that when I set it up for her. She knows I wouldn't because I respect her privacy, just as she wouldn't go through my post when it hits the doormat.

Re: wipe your glasses, Mr. iFanboy

'"Apple is known to patent the obvious", thats not how patents work, you can't patent the obvious.'

Actually, looking at how the US patent system, in particular, works you can.

The patent office don't do any more than the bare minimum of checks to decide whether the patent is valid. They also don't have experts in every field working there. Their job is to make sure the paperwork is in order, do a quick search to see if the idea is already patented and then grant it.

Then, it is up to competitors to take the patent holder to court to try to have the patent quashed (or be taken to court and then try). The patent may be blindingly obvious to an expert in the field, or may be covered by prior art not noticed by the patent office.

Re: There never has been a redirect loosers

"I've always had to add an explicit /UK on the URL if I want the UK site"

Just wondering: do you have NoScript or similar installed?

I'm only asking, because some thing it did exist and some that it didn't, so the most probable answer is different settings.

I don't know, as I don't use any Apple products and have never visited the Apple website before this court order.

Re: Bollocks !

"Following your suggestion, the licensees (apple + MS in this case) would go to court... and wait a few years, releasing no products in the meantime."

This may be how my post came across, but it not how it was meant.

What I was trying to say was that the potential licensee should take court action as soon as the negotiations over the license broke down. Yes, sell your product in the meantime, but start the court action immediately.

If you do, it is basically an extension to the licensing negotiations. If not, you are abandoning your attempt to obtain a license, and are wilfully infringing.

AFAIK Apple, in this case did not do so. I may be wrong.

Re: * DRAWER

'sharpest knife in the DRAWER'

Ooops! Sorry, my mistake. One day I will learn to re-read my comments before posting.

Re: 14 days?

There are two logical possibilities I can see with the 14 day request.

The first is that Apple want to have their legal department find another, more subtle way to word the statement without admitting they were wrong, working through legalities to push the order to it's limits. This could quite easily take their legal team 14 days, whereas 48 hours will force them to just comply with the order (or risk another trip back to court).

The second is that the bureaucracy within Apple requires so many checks and sign-offs that it really does take that long to comply if they follow company procedure.

I think the first is most likely.

Re: Main concern

"Only way I know to do that is to make sure they have no time to do it."

There is one problem with that: For genuine job seekers, they need that time to look for work, prepare for interviews etc.

The problem for some is that they can't get the type of work they want in a reasonable time frame. Maybe they work in a specialised field in which the work has dried up. These types can be the least willing to branch out into new fields and the slowest to realise their job no longer exists. The push into full time, menial work would be enough to kick them into gear just at the time when they can't spend time looking for a job because they are forced to do full time menial work.

I have been there. Accepting that you cannot get a job in the field you want is heart wrenching. Even when you know it deep down, it is extremely difficult to take the plunge and apply (especially lower paid) other jobs, let alone take one (because when you first start applying for others, you still maintain the belief you will get what you want first).