Posts by Dr. Mouse

@Paul Murphy 1

"Also when is the diesel version coming out? that would be more efficient that the petrol one I would have thought."

Not necessarily.

One of the main things that determines an EV's range is weight. A small petrol engine for extending the range weighs less than an equivalent diesel. Therefore with an equivalent-powered diesel engine, the car would weigh more, reducing the range before the engine had to kick in, and reducing the fuel economy.

It may produce better economy on longer journeys, but not necessarily on this 'urban' classification.

Obviously I haven't actually done any calculations, but this is just an overview of the balancing act.

Is it just me?

I know that there ould be some issues, but...

Why not bury it? Cab is 1.8m tall, dig a hole 1.8m down and big enough that a person can get in too, cover as per manholes, put a small cab on top to deal with cooling. Simples.

I know it's not as simple as that, but it's a good solution IMHO

It will probably be crap, but...

I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT I WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANT IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!

Luckily for me that's FAR too expensive for me, so I won't get drunk and 'accidentally' buy one.

OFCOM

Have once again shown they are buffoons.

The requirement for a PAC is to stop networks from stealing each other's customers without their knowledge. It is a security measure, and no-one will convince me that getting rid is a good idea.

However, the call forwarding malarkey is tosh. What ofcom need to do it have the number transfered to the control of the new provider. It's not a difficult one.

Or even better put mobile numbers in the hands of someone neutral and let US own our mobile numbers.

Martians, beware!

"NASA now plans to despatch a new, much larger - Humvee sized - nuclear powered rover"

So they are going to crash a large, nuke-powered 'bot onto Mars. Up to now, the Martians have been getting on with their lives in their underground cities, but they may take offence to us chucking a lump of unstable, radioactive material at their home. They may see it as an attack, and despatch their fleet (carefully hidden until now) to wipe out their unfriendly neighbours.

Couple of points...

@Steve 18

"Unfortunately, since there are an infinite number of real numbers between every positive integer, 6 and 147 are infinitely far apart."

Yes, but as there is an infinity quantity of real numbers between 0 and 6, and an infinite number of real numbers between 0 an 147, they must be the same number! :P

@Chris Thomas Alpha

"What should we give your score for not realising that 6+140=146 whereas in the article, you state 147"

He was saying it would be great IF the figure was within 140. It isn't, so it's not great.

Please

I have asked this before and would really like to understand the answer:

Why is he being extradited?

McKinnon was in the UK when the (alleged) offense took place. He did not travel to the US. "Hacking" is an offense in this country (quotes for obvious reasons). Therefore he committed an offense in this country. So why is he being extradited, when the "crime" was committed here?

Where is the line drawn? I really do fail to understand. Maybe I am just being stupid, but if he can be extradited for this, does that mean we all have to make sure that everything we do on the 'net is legal in every country in the world, just in case the server we are connecting to is based in a country where what we are doing may be illegal? Or is it just American laws we need to learn, as they have taken on the role of judge, jury and executioner for the entire planet?

@Chris W

"nobody would even consider getting out of bed for 5 quid an hour"

Actually, I think you will find that many people do. In fact, many people have no choice. It works out as more than you get on the dole, and especially if you have a family to support, what choice is there? £200/wk is better than nothing, in the end. You will find that many honest, hard working people will accept whatever work they can just to give the best possible life to their family, even when they know it is barely worth the effort.

Personally, I would have to be quite desperate to accept such a job, but I would do it rather than live on the dole for too long.

Wish I could afford it!

A bar at my university got in a bottle of 40-year-old Scotch. Me and a couple of mates went down to have a wee dram, and it was one of the loveliest drinks I have ever tasted.

However we were quite fortunate. Although he was only selling it at cost, it was still very expensive (I have no idea what the price, not £50 a shot of course but expensive), but the stupid barmaid didnt realise it was any different to the normal stuff. Hence we got it for normal price, about £1.50.

DRM/WGA etc.

Lets face it, all copy protection will be compromised eventually. Just like all encryption algorithms. In fact everything will be found to have some exploitable flaw sooner or later.

In the end all these 'features' do is piss off the paying customers. Take, for example, games which refuse to work unless you have the disc in the drive. Why? I have paid for the game, and I don't want to have to hunt for the DVD every time I play it. I have plenty of HDD space, everything is installed anyway. Hence, even if I have paid for a game, I will download the no-cd crack. If I am doing that, why not just download the game?

The more DRM shite they bundle on software, the less likely I am to buy it. Hence they would probably make MORE money if they just didnt bother.

When you add to this that MS is known to, indirectly, make more money from pirate software than it looses (by maintaining it's "monopoly" instead of causing those who cant afford / don't want to pay move to alternative OS's), I could see MS actually releasing cracks themselves.

@ Dibbles

"... the problem is that while Twitter has a remarkably low penetration ..."

You owe me a new keyboard!

All this talk about twats on twitter, and you HAD to mention penetration!

(TBH Considering the average twitterer, I would say the comment is correct)

Typical

This was obviiously a trial of technical feasability. They have proven it is possible. They don't care about the rest, they just wanted to know if they COULD put a filter in place, so now they will do so.

And, yes, they will build the goal posts around the results.

@Will 22

"This isn't about enlightenment, it's about basic fucking biology. If you don't pack the gear (borrowing a line from Full Metal Jacket) to make a baby then you shouldn't have one. My point of view isn't based on any weird religious grounds but simple logic. Two guys can't make a baby, nor can two women so they have no business obtaining one using methods which, let's face it, were set up to assist infertile heterosexual couples."

Erm, on these grounds surely "infertile heterosexual couples" also "don't pack the gear... to make a baby". I am not expressing an opinion either way here, but your argument falls flat on it's face.

Back into the spirit of the discussion, if any Swedish lesbians out there need 'assistance', I'd be happy to oblige. I have plenty going spare, and I will accept cash for a simple donation of fluid, or else we can go the traditional route and I will provide the service for free.

My 2p

The problem is that a promotion normally involves being 'in charge' of a team. I certainly don't want that. I am not a manager, and likely never will be.

From what I have seen, the only real way to get a promotion from a technical role is to be bad at your job. Good engineers/programmers etc. are kept doing the job they are good at. Those who are crap at their job are promoted to management.

As has been stated previously, the main career path open to skilled techies is to move to another company, or to threaten to do so to your current employer (if you are valued enough), which gets you a better salary but no real career advancement.

In short, techinical roles are not a career, they are a job, just like shelf-stackers in Tesco. Work through the week, party at the weekend, and always keep your eye out for a better [paid] job.

Suits me fine, but then I work to live, not live to work, and the main things that differentiate a good job from a bad for me are the pay packet and how much your boss/colleagues/others within the co appreciate the work you are doing (I know it's not much, but a pat on the head every now and again, maybe a bonus or pay rise, do actually make a big difference to me)

Ha!

OK, these may already have been addressed but I got bored with reading all the comments so I'll just add my own 2p

The point about this is not about bundling a browser. It is about abuse of monopoly. This one is aimed at all those who say "It's MS's OS, they can bundle what they want."

This IS abuse of their dominant position. Imagine if MS decided to bundle Office with windows. The majority wouldnt even look at another product, they would just use whats bundled, hence killing the competition.

Similarly, think of Windows Media Player. Because this is bundled with the OS, most people don't bother looking at better alternatives, they just use what's there. This artificially inflates their market share, and makes it harder for people to compete in this market.

Those who say "Well Linux bundles browsers", well yes they do. Actually, this just proves the point, they bundle BROWSERS, plural. And you can easily remove them and install something different if you wish. However, even if they did only provide a single browser, they do not have a "monopoly" (the quotes are there because it isnt really a monopoly, but it is a very dominant position which puts it on the same footing) so their actions are not anti-competitive.

"With great power comes great responsibility". When a company has such a dominant position in one area of a market, it cannot be allowed to (ab)use that position. For all those pointing out the car analogy, imagine there was one car mfr who had a 99% share of the market, who went into the oil business and started setting up their own petrol stations, giving away the petrol to owners of their cars. This would force all other petrol co's out of business, at which point this car co would have a monopoly on petrol aswell. Although at the start, people would praise the co for giving away petrol, once the monopoly was established and they started charging what they want, what do we do then?

You have to think long term, and the EU here is just sticking up for us, as it should. MS just threw their rattle out of the pram in what they did, but I am sure that anywhere they sell Win7E they will just start giving away CD's containing a browser, or a few browsers. Theres no problem here, and those who are whinging should seriously look at the facts and THINK (If they are even capable of this, which judging by their comments is unlikely)

Clarification

This legislation seems (as was stated in a precious quote) quite vague. Is this aimed at those who are working with children, or those who have regular contact with children (or vulnerable adults).

Let me explain in terms of an example. Say I am a member of an amateur dramatics society, which puts on a Pantomime once a year. The rehearsals go on for 3-6 months, and children are involved. Now, none of the adult members are "working" with children, but all have regular contact with them. So would all the members of the society have to be vetted? Or just the committee? Possibly only the MD/Producer etc? Where is the line drawn?

I am sure this applies to many similar situations where a group of mainly adults includes children in their activities. I see them as important to the children involved, as it teaches them how adults interact and prepares them for life. If this legislation required all members to be vetted, you would see a dramatic decline in this sort of interaction, to the detriment of the children involved.

Now I am involved with an AmDram group, and if the legislation means I have to be 'vetted' I will not be involved in these performances again. I may have nothing to hide, but I have everything to fear.

I really don't get this case

He was in the UK. Hence he is subject to UK law. Hence he should be tried in the UK under UK law. Simple.

In the hypothetical case where, say, a UK citizen posts a bomb from the UK to the US, and this explodes and kills people, once again he has committed said offense in the UK, broken UK law and should be dealt with in the UK.

As soon as you allow this sort of thing, how can anyone be sure of which law they should be following? You could, say, post a comment on a forum which is perfectly legal in this country, but because the server is hosted in the US you are extradited and imprisoned (I know this is at least bordering on reductio ad absurdum, if not already there)

This smacks of the US govt's oppinion that it is the judge and jury for the entire world. How accurate the title of the 2004 film written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Our govt SHOULD stand up to them, but then do we really expect them to look out for their citizens interests anymore?

Godwin's Law in action

And only 5 comments in. Impressive!

"I would like to officially end this thread by noting the similarity of the aforementioned flamer with the title of a work by a mister A. Hitler from 1925."

Back on topic, Mr. Kempf: If you can't take it, don't give it!

I will add my request to the others for his contact details, so we can further extract the urine without clogging up el Reg's database.... I mean comments section.

Too right!

I have never understood why even a national identity card would "need" such an intrusive database.

An ID card (or passport) should contain all information required to verify the bearers identity. The only thing which could be added to that is (as stated by "The Original Ash" above) a hash of (some of?) that data held centrally to verify that the card has not been forged.

They could get a lot more support for a NID programme if they did this, plus one other part for the convenience of the holder: User defined data areas.

What I mean is this: The card has additional data areas which can be used by other organisations. For example, a membership number for a club, or your bank card details, even 'electronic cash'. Even a phonebook, if you wanted... the point being that ANYONE can store small amounts of data on the card (with your permission).

Now obviously this presents some security issues, and I havent thought this through fully, but the idea is simple (and I can't understand why NuLab havent pitched it to get people on board): If you want to get more people on board, give them something that will make their lives easier. The convenience of these additional features, added to the assurance that only a hash of your private data is held, would probably win over the vast majority of people, and would still be a great help to law enforcement, imigration, and anyone else who needed to verify someone's identity.

Am I the only one...

who read this:

"Human nipples, when attached to female bodies, are clearly pornographic"

and got an image in his head of people stapling human nipples all over their body, or wearing them as earings?

Yes?

Sorry but...

I pay my ISP (Be, incidentally, and I agree with Tom15 they dont complain over the HUGE amounts of data I transfer, normally filling the 18up/1.3down link) for a pipe to the internet.

They tell me it is an unlimitted pipe (somthing I have issue with, especially as since IWF came into play it is untrue for the vast majority of ISPs), so I download what I want.

They then complain I am downloading too much, as are other people.

Me: "Hang on, you told me it was Unlimitted"

ISP: "Yeah, but your DLing too much, its costing us too much, and we arent making enough money"

Me: "Tough s**t! You should have thought of that earlier!"

Simple.

If you got a contractor in to do some repairs on your house, got a quote, he started then told you he needed to charge more because the materials cost more than he thought, what would you say?*

All in all, it's the ISPs who need to sort it out, not the 'content providers'.

* I know they do this regularly, and I know a lot of people accept it (which is WHY they do it), but think on the principal...

This is gonna **** ppl off

People who already have these cameras, and already have 3rd party batteries, will install the update and find these no longer work. This will cause problems.

If safety WAS the only thing they were concerned with, surely a pop-up message saying "WARNING: This is a non-panasonic battery. Use at your own risk" or similar would do a better job. It would scare off many people and yet still allow those who wish to take the chance. The only reason to completely block 3rd party batteries is to make more money.

lazy me but...

4) BOOBIES! BOOBIES! BOOBIES!!!

BOOBIES!

I will add that if these celebs are stupid enough to take their tops off where ppl can photo them, they deserve it plastering all over the tabloids. If they dont want that to happen, keep your top on! It aint rocket science!

Hows about...

...a "theres too many icons to choose from" icon?

Slight alteration

"the increasing monitoring of citizens was breaking the bond of trust between the Government and the people"

replace with

"the increasing and already overwhelmingly intrusive monitoring of citizens is further damaging the already tattered mess of any remaining trust between the Goverment and the people"

I don't think there is ANYTHING that they could do, even if they wanted to, to regain my trust. This applies equally to all parties.

Quality

Nicely done Simon!

Well, I guess it is a hard concept for a BOFH to understand, I can see the PFYs confusion. I mean, REWARDING the user for doing what he should? That's a sissie approach.

In this situation, the correct level of response would be to TELL the user to clear out his mailbox. If he didn't, delete it. Simple. The users must do as they are told, and they must learn this.

I think the company was careless anyway. They could be sued for the faulty fire extinguisher bracket!

Got bored...

I seem to do that alot, but I got about halfway through the comments here.

I agree completely that breaking the project down into chunks for each person works best, you just tie that up a bit so everyone knows a little about everyone elses part to make it a team effort.

I will paraphrase: Those who can, do. Those who can't, manage. And to be frank, I have seen this alot: Those who are good at their jobs don't want to become managers, they want to do their job. Those who are crap at their job want to train to become managers. Not always true, but it seems to apply the majority of the time.

Idiotic

Firstly, what people do and say in their own time is their business, IMHO, unless they are a public figure.

What she said may have been made 'public', but I deride my employer in the local boozer after a few beers, loud enough for people to overhear, and I do not think this should reflect on my employment status.

Secondly, as "Waggers" pointed out, "just as bad" doesn't mean they are bad, and she didnt name the school, hence it should not have brought the school into disrepute.

And last of all, in starting these procedings, they have brought it into the public eye which HAS brought the school into disrepute.

EEJITS!!

Anonymous Coward 11:24 GMT

I quite agree. There is noone running for govt who even comes close to being who I want in power. If it was possible to tick the "Vote of No Confidence" box, and it was taken into account (i.e. if enough of these are cast, noone wins) I would. But the protest vote options are limited:

a) vote for a party you dont agree with, but who is unlikely to win (e.g. Greens/BNP etc). This is idiotic in my view as it suggests you support them, and you are screwed if they actually get into power.

b) Spoil your ballot. Problem with this is it still doesnt actually count.*

c) Dont turn up. Although this tends to suggest you don't care... which I do.

I can also see a (d) of running yourself, but I would make a terrible politician. I am not a leader and wont pretend to be.

So, what can I do. a, b, and d are useless, so that leaves c: I dont turn up.

*Interestingly enough, a friend was 'used' by the Lib Dems as a 'token' candidate. He said the candidates have to all look at a spoiled ballot and agree it's spoiled. That led him to (when he lost) praise those in his speach who wrote such things (and this was a mild one) as "You can all f**k off and die for all I care".

Smacks to me of...

MS putting their (dual-)boot in, pardon the pun.

Something along the lines of "Your OEM rates may be going up soon. Now, why dont you put Windows on those netbooks and we'll see what we can do"

Backdoor politics

This is how this govt operates, it pushes everything through the back door (and I know the conotations of this sentence... it still applies which ever way you take it... and theres another pun in that too lol)

Anyway, the police will not admit it, but the more people they arrest, the more DNA on record, the easier for them in future. As you cannot object, or else they will force you, there is not much which can be done except try to get the rules changed. Untill they are, this will continue.

Once they have enough DNA on their database, of course, they will just say: "well we have most peoples DNA, so why should we not have yours. everyone is to submit for DNA sampling immediately, or you will be arrested"

Cheaper alternative

"the Windows O/S is a dog, and replacing the hard drive with an SSD looks to be the only practical way of turning our desktop mutt into a greyhound"

Also AC 11:42 "We know from history that whatever extra speed and resources we throw at microsoft they find a way to thrash them beyond their maximum!"

Yup both true. MS feels it is their right to consume all the resources in the PC, whether it be with their OS or their apps.

Thankfully there is a cheaper alternative to expensive SSDs: Run Linux. Even using a standard set up of Ubuntu (normally I use customised Debian-based setups) the interface is fast an responsive, whether on an old PC (K6-2 anyone?) or a new one, whether top end or bargain basement, and any extra resources you throw at it allow the apps to run better. Need a windows app? If WINE doesn't work for it, and it's amazing how many it DOES work for, and you can't find a suitable replacement Linux app, use a Windows install within KVM or Xen and you're laughing.

Of course this won'e suit everyone. Those who want to run the latest Windows games, or specific Windows apps, or similar, are tied down atm. But I reckon the majority would love it if they gave it a chance.

I for one...

...welcome our heavily armoured, self-replicating-like-bunnies overloards.

Well noone had posted it yet. What happens when they find that increasing their polulation is as much fun as "mount an immediate armoured assault on Beijing, regardless of nuclear response"?

PS The prospect of the software unilaterally "trying to perform those tasks to verify functionality" scares me too.