Posts by Dr. Mouse

Bored now

I am simply bored of this now.

Note to Microsoft: put up or shut up. If you have valid patent claims, tell us what they are. If you don't, FOAD!

That is all.

No Shit Sherlock!

"If you're talking to a student about cheating on an exam, and one of these ads comes up, you can bet they are headed straight to the bar."

Select a random student, at a random time, and I would place money on them being either in a bar, heading to it, or heading from it. They're students!

There's a time and a place for everything, and that place is college...

I beg to differ...

"The crucial thing, of course, is that vendors are working on this technology now, ensuring it will be in place in time for the emergence of LTE networks."

For me, the crucial thing is that there will already be a second-hand market for LTE devices by the time it rolls out in this country. This will mean a wider-spread uptake at the start, helping to lower prices, and get the technology established quickly.

Only my opinion, but if this doesn't happen it'll be a few years after launch that most people will be ably to afford the tech... as with most things only the rich get the newest.

OK then...

If it's so dangerous, ban smoking.

In the same vane:

* Ban alcohol because of the amount of trouble it causes

* Ban cars because of the number of road deaths

* Ban TV and computer games because it causes obesity in kids

* Ban fatty foods because they cause all sorts of health problems

* Ban knives because they can cut

* Ban food which hasnt been reduced to a milkshake-like consistency because people could choke on it

* Ban movement because people can hurt themselves (twist ankles / fall over etc.)

I am a smoker. I don't like the ban on smoking in pubs, especially pubs like my local where the majority of people smoke, so the pub seems empty until you get to the smoking area at the back, but I live with it. I respect others right to choose, so I wouldn't even smoke in my own car with a non-smoker if they didn't want me to, or in my own house. Can other people PLEASE respect my right to choose and stop with this bullshit research which is never backed up by real evidence?!

Very obvious...

"MusicDNA files will be backwards compatible with existing MP3 players though, so will offer no improvement in sound quality"

The music industry wouldnt want an improvement in sound quality. Most of their (newer) artists sound aweful, so bad quality (and audio processing) hide this.

If they want me to buy "digital" music:

a) Produce music I want to listen to, and

b) Sell them in FLAC

Something escapes me....

1) Put satellite in space

2) Convert light energy into electricity

3) Convert electricity into light

4) Send light to earth

5) Convert light energy into electricity

6) ....

7) Profit

Surely you could do better with mirrors and optics to skip steps 2 & 3? I know, there are probably advantages when it comes to wavelengths etc, but then again the photovoltaic cells really arent that great yet anyway. Focus sunlight into a concentrated beam and send it to earth, bypassing the middle man

What we really need is a giant 'leccy cable into space... Anyone got a spare extension cord?

I hope...

that these free Laptops and Net Connections will be restricted to use only for jobsearch. I can just see all the unemployed who are not looking for a job jumping at this.

IMHO if the govt want to do this, all PC's should be locked down so no additional software can be installed, and 'net access run through a proxy restricting them to a whitelist of services. No games etc to be installed on the PC, no access to facebook, just jobsearch.

To keep costs down, a thin client would be best, and the broadband connection connected to a private network ONLY allowing them access to the terminal server (preferably Linux-based, again to keep costs down).

Alas, what I see instead is Jobcentre paying for a broadband connection and PC, then all the jobless scroungers spending all day on Facebook.

Hmmm

On the one hand, I can see why BT need to raise revenue.

BUT, it is them who should shoulder the costs, not everyone else. They could always raise their own broadband package prices.

I dont know, just smacks of "We need money, give us money" to me...

100% bored

of all the eejits with their "it's their OS, they can do what they want" rant.

I will summarise my thoughts quickly:

1) Like it or not, there are rules when you are a monopoly. MS have broken them.

2) I don't care about Opera, I don't like their browser, but at least they have made the effort to push the EU into protecting our consumer rights..

3) The issue with this ballot screen is that it still leaves IE as the easiest choice for consumers, and consumers are lazy. They need to present a level playing field, and preferably not have IE installed at all. A separate, simple app to grab a list of download locations & descriptions from a central server, and display a choice, would take no time at all to build. Then which ever browser you choose, it needs to download it and install it.

4) Those who complain about OSX & *nix bundling browsers: they are not in monopoly positions, and Linux based distros normally come with several open source browsers.

reprehensibly criminal

"by suggesting it is both reprehensibly criminal and simultaneously a useful national security skillset"

Lets list some others...

* Breaking and entering

* Killing someone

* Creation of fake identities

* Secretly recording someone without their knowledge

* Destruction of property

* Driving at high speeds on public roads

* Detaining someone against their will

All "reprehensibly criminal" when performed by a normal citizen, all "useful national security [skills]" when known by officially-sanctioned personnel.

@JMiles

Actually, I hadn't thought about that, but it makes sense.

The main limitation that I can see in Linux on the Enterprise Desktop has been a lack of a complete Office suite, a la MS Office. There have been the tools, but they have been fragmented. If Oracle was to get hold of Zimbra it could package these all up together as a complete, open-source alternative to MSO & Win Servers (Except for AD Domain stuff, till Samba4 &/ Franky get off the ground). And it could still be used on Windows desktops, as well as Linux & Mac. It could be the kick up the Rs businesses need to try out Linux on the Desktop, 'specially coming from a well known & respected co like Oracle...

Doubt it, but it sounds like a plan.

@Sam Liddicott

Yes and No.

Compiling your own kernel with only the features you require will always be quicker than running the 'catch-all' kernels supplied by the distros.

However, the problem comes when core parts are modified to support new features, and that code is not fully optimised. You need that chunk of the kernel in your own, hand-rolled kernel, but it is slower than the code in the previous release due to modifications, so your new kernel is more bloated and slower.

Ahem...

women-only carriages is an outrageously sexist concept!

Now where does the 12.53 service to Bitchslap depart from? :P

@Wayland Sothcott 1

"He could have been a child kidnapping terrorists"

I hate to niggle... OK no I don't

I assume you mean "child-kidnapping terrorist", a terrorist who kidnaps children, not a "child kidnapping terrorists", a child who is kidnapping terrorists.

also: @John Ozimek RE: "Of course police can arrest in plain clothes...so long as they identify themselves."

The comment above by doody relates SPECIFICALLY to Section 44 stop & search powers.

Quoting from Section 44 "(2) An authorisation under this subsection authorises any constable in uniform to stop a pedestrian in an area or at a place specified in the authorisation and to search..."

You note it specifically specifies "any constable ***in uniform***", so if a plain-clothes officer stopped them, it was not covered by Section 44. This is a wise part of this stupid law, as otherwise people could easily be robbed by people pretending to be cops. It needs to be publicised.

LMAO!

'nuf said

XKCD 327 FTW

"Did you really name your son Robert'); DROP TABLE Students;--?"

"Oh yes, little Bobby Tables we call him"

"We've just lost this year's Student Records. I hope you're happy."

"And I hope you've learned to sanitize your database inputs."

How Much?!

Thats VERY pricey!

@Piro: 1) Add a USB 10/100 NIC and you have it, and

2) You would REALLY pay THAT MUCH for a machine to use as a router?!

Simple, cheap solution

If the powers that be need a simple, effective, cheap solution, then look no further.

What is done by "environmentalists" when a population in the animal kingdom reaches a point where it will start outstripping it's available resources (food etc.)? They cull them, i.e. they kill a load of them to the point where they can survive on their available resources. This has been very effective in the animal kingdom.

Humans are animals. There are now too many humans on the planet for the available resources (assuming we can't reduce the resources we use, which we all know is not going to happen significantly). So we need to kill a bunch of people to reduce the population to manageable levels, and limit population growth to manageable levels. Simples.

The funny thing is, I actually think this is the best solution available. I know it is not going to happen, but the population DOES need to decrease, and the sooner & quicker it happens, the better off the remaining population will be. I know it is not going to happen, but from a completely rational, unbiased viewpoint, and considering we do the same to animal populations, it should.

Personally...

I believe that patents are a good thing, IF they are used as they were intended.

The idea of a patent is to promote publication of the details of an invention, while allowing the "owner" of the patent to be protected from people stealing their idea. This way, human knowledge is advanced, but the inventor is able to dictate terms of use of his invention (whether this be for the popular monetary gain, or for ideological purposes, or whatever they wish). In the case where a single person invents something revolutionary, starts producing a product based on this, and then finds a large organisation has wilfully "stolen" his idea, the small-fry has very little chance of bringing a civil suit successfully. This sort of tactic is the fault of our "justice" system, and capitalism in general. Even IF the guy can afford to bring a suit, his business could easily be bankrupt before the issue is resolved, and this stifles the innovation which patents are intended to encourage.

However, I do believe that patents should be invalidated if the inventor (or owner of the patent) has no intention of putting it to use, as this goes against the fundamental reasons for patents existing in the first place. If this condition was in the patent (if challenged you must prove you are not just sitting on the patent) then trolls would be out of business, and technology would advance, just as patents were designed for.

Making patent infringement a criminal offence may help protect the small-fry mentioned above, but it would be more likely to stifle innovation further, and so is not an option. What we really need is a way for the small business or individual to be able to take on a big corp who has infringed his patent without incurring crippling legal fees, and enduring lengthy proceedings. Maybe a sepparate procedure which allows a very quick way to force a review of the alleged infringement, and force an injunction against the big corporation. After this is done, a civil suit could begin, possibly with some sort of legal aid or other government-supplied help (income-assessed, or course) to ensure the protection of the invention. IANAL, I am not sure what help is out there already, and I havent had time to think this through fully, but something needs to change to bring patent law back in line with it's original purpose.

To add...

... my 2p

I generally agree with a system like this, but Jason Bloomberg's comment is valid. A tiered warning would be much better, maybe 3-tier (discrete buzz from pager, beep from pager, announcement over tanoy). This helps counter errors in the system, and simple lapses in concentration by over worked hospital staff.

Also, Evil Auditor makes a good point. Cleaners in hospitals are just like cleaners everywhere, when cleanliness in a hospital needs to be taken much more seriously. They should be better trained, better equipped, and better paid. This would both encourage and allow cleaners in hospitals to take pride in their work, and punishments for not doing so would have to be fairly harsh too.

But will this sort of thing happen over here, in our NHS? We all know the answer...

however...

... the charger and USB cables will be coiled so tight they will only make intermittent connections :)

hmm...

4086825590247331****

Ooops, I meant to say "I totally agree!" :)

I don't know many kids who actually use predictive text messaging, purely because they cannot spell. I use it all the time myself, although I wish I could find a way to make it use "mum" as the first word for 686 insteat of "nun" (The number of times my texts have started with "Hi nun")