* Posts by xeroks

328 publicly visible posts • joined 7 Jun 2010

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User left unable to type passwords after 'tropical island stress therapy'

xeroks

Re: One week at Bigger Blue.

A friend was a BT engineer in the 80's. They had to wear suits to any client visit, with overalls (on top!) when clambering through dust.

A suit on the first day at a job, especially first day ever, isn't unreasonable. Second day... you're right, he should have taken the cue from his colleagues.

€100 'typewriter' turns out to be €45,000 Enigma machine

xeroks

Re: Ethics failure?

€100 seems steep for an old typewriter. Perhaps the seller was already making a huge profit already.

I remember reading (years ago) about a woman who sold her house to a bloke for double what she thought it was worth. She was very happy, even when, hours later, he sold it for double again to a supermarket who needed the land for their development.

Of course he knew about the supermarket's plans, but I suspect was able to gauge how much they were willing to spend.

OMG, dad, you're so embarrassing! Are you P2P file sharing again?

xeroks

That's what I thought.

I've found streaming a cheaper way to legally listen to music a few times out of interest.

For instance, while being familiar with the singles, I realised I'd never actually listened to the Beatles albums.

I was able to stream them while at work, came across a lot of interesting stuff. Would I have spent >£80 to buy them? No.

Will I listen to them again? Possibly.

It can be great value for money. And some of that money gets back to the artist, unlike streaming or youtube.

(actually if I could trust it to go to the artist rather than the streaming company, I'd pay more for the service.)

America's mystery X-37B space drone lands after two years in orbit

xeroks

the real question

The point of this vehicle - and the shuttle - is not about what it can put into orbit, but about what it can bring back.

They have spent a LOT of money giving themselves the ability to land space things from inclined orbit.

Comet 67P's oxygen could be a breath of fresh air

xeroks

However, the presence of oxygen is a dead giveaway: there are oxygenic lifeforms on that rock.

The only open question is on whether they use photosynthesis, a chemical pathway, or both.

CompSci boffins find Reddit is ideal source for sarcasm database

xeroks

correct use of /s in reddit

An important feature of reddit that I don't recall being mentioned in the article is that redditors are able to retrospectively edit their comments. Like many online comment environments with this feature, the etiquette is to add an "EDIT:" postscript explaining any changes.

The majority of sarcastic comments in reddit do not initially have a "/s", as the author expects the readers to understand the context, and that they were being sarcastic.

In the circumstance where the comment gets a lot of flack and downvotes, they will often edit their comment, adding something along the lines of:

EDIT: added /s - Don't you guys get a joke?

Exploding femtocells: No need for a full recall, says Vodafone

xeroks

are these different from the femto cells Three supply?

Three gave me a femto cell unit because of lack of reception at our flat. No idea what model it is, but it's a very different design, just plugs into your ethernet.

Interesting Vodaphone charge so much for what seems a similar piece of teckery.

Switch on your smartphone camera and look how fertile I am

xeroks

Escrow?

Companies whose hardware requires internet services to work should, in the event the product is dumped, provide the code to the customer base.

People would be more happy with buying a product if they had reassurances this would happen. It could be done via escrow if the company was concerned about giving away code while it was earning money.

Put down your coffee and admire the sheer amount of data Windows 10 Creators Update will slurp from your PC

xeroks

Re: W7?

If the telemetry is purely to help diagnose crashes - no it shouldn't be, as MS would invest a minimum in their old platform.

If, however, the telemetry is to be used to target advertising, sell, pass to government agencies, or just hang around waiting to be stolen then I'm sure it's in the pipeline.

Europe to push new laws to access encrypted apps data

xeroks

Re: And how exactly will this stop unmonitored random nutters driving cars at people again?

what it will do is make it easier to identify the bad guys.

If(I decrypt this person's message)

they are probably a goody

else

they are probably a baddy

Boffins reveal how to pour a perfect glass of wine with no drips. First step, take a diamond...

xeroks

...yet no-one has applied the concept to wine bottles before.

Most invention is applying old ideas to new areas. If it makes the world a slightly better place, I'm all for it being patented.

I'm not clear though why the lip can't just be included in the mould - is that too fine detail for glass?

The future of storage is ATOMIC: IBM boffins stash 1 bit on 1 atom

xeroks

Don't worry about it too much. I'm pretty sure we can go well beyond a single bit per atom. and there's always the option of 3Ding it.

After 20 years of Visual Studio, Microsoft unfurls its 2017 edition

xeroks

Re: I count the word "mobile" there twice

Except the whole point of Core and Xamarin Forms is that they are cross-platform. You don't write an "android" app or a "windows" app.

At least, that's the theory.

Tuesday's AWS S3-izure exposes Amazon-sized internet bottleneck

xeroks

Re: In an ideal world

but the point is ... your cloud solution has not been costed correctly, if it doesn't have that DR element.

While your accountants love cheap cloud it while it's all working, they won't if revenues start going down the drain.

Essentially you're placing a bet that it all keeps working. Depending on your business, that might be a risk you can deal with.

Autonomous cars are about to do to transport what the internet did to information

xeroks

Re: Works for cities

I can't see auto deliveries working well where I live. At least not until there are car parking spaces available with some reliability.

Apple's Watch charging pad proves Cupertino still screwing buyers

xeroks

Re: Don't understand the rage

and don't forget the BMW sat navs

The £1000 to have it in your car. So far, so expensive - but you'd spreadh the cost over some years, and recoup some in the resale cost.

However: £400 to update the maps? Really?

When a £200 touch screen device comes with lifetime mapping?

so: not only Apple.

Devs reverse-engineer 16,000 Android apps, find secrets and keys to AWS accounts

xeroks

Not worked with 3rd party APIs on a commercial basis, but you could create your own webapi which made teh call to the 3rd party. It adds an extra step to any calls you make, but at least it's server to server and optimisable rather than across a potentially dodgy mobile connection,

SpaceX makes successful rocket launch

xeroks

Re: Culture

It's an interesting note that he named the launch pads but not the rockets. It might just be because the rockets are expendable, even the first stages.

However, I'd like to think Musk is secretly using the the launch pads to test AI: that the name applies to the AI and not the hardware.

xeroks

Re: What does it say on the landing pad?

it's the names of the ships, both are nods to Iain M. Banks.

Fake History Alert: Sorry BBC, but Apple really did invent the iPhone

xeroks

Re: Invention of iPhone

The ground breaking elements of the iPhone were all to do with usability:

The fixed price data tariff was - to me - the biggest innovation. It may have been the hardest to do, as it involved entrenched network operators in a near monopoly. The hardware engineers only had to deal with the laws of physics.

The apple store made it easy to purchase and install apps and media. Suddenly you didn't have to be a geek or an innovator to make your phone do something useful or fun that the manufacturer didn't want to give to everyone.

The improved touch interface, the styling, and apple's cache all helped, and, I assume, fed into the efforts to persuade the network operators to give the average end user access to data without fear.

Slim pickings by the Biggest Loser: A year of fitness wearables

xeroks

Re: Sorry for your loss Alistair.

what he said.

Despite a couple of big frights, all my loved ones are thankfully still on the same plane of existence as they were in 2015.

"Enjoy yourself. It's later than you think."

Chinese boffins: We're testing an 'impossible' EM Drive IN SPAAAACE

xeroks

Re: There is one born every day...

The golden rule when you're faced with a scam is: if you can't see the mark, try looking in the mirror.

(I just made that golden rule up.)

View from a Reg reader: My take on the Basic Income

xeroks

Re: Can't you find a different forum?

BTW - Worstall was in favour of UBI - or at least some implementations of it.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/02/08/worstall_i_support_the_green_party_natalie_bennett_minimum_basic_income/

Local TV presenter shouted 'f*cking hell' to open news bulletin

xeroks

Maybe the people watching were also Geordies, and could understand him?

Nah, what are the chances?

Take that, creationists: Boffins witness birth of new species in the lab

xeroks

Re: Shame " epic scientific smackdowns " link down

not for me.

Donald Trump confirms TPP to be dumped, visa program probed

xeroks

Great news

For those of us outside the US, that is.

Import taxation makes everything more expensive in the US, which means their exports will also be more expensive. That makes our competing products cheaper in comparison.

Win! Thanks Mr PEOTUS!

Shhh! Shazam is always listening – even when it's been switched 'off'

xeroks

Pause for thought

Sounds like shazam should think about calling their current "off" funciton "pause" instead, then add a new "off" which actually switches it off.

I would expect most users will eventually just pause, but they should be given the choice.

Former Autonomy CFO indicted in USA for misleading investors

xeroks

The thing that's wrong about this

as we all know:

When this bloke is extradited, he will plea bargain, and will spend some years in prison. This will happen without regard to whether he actually did anything illegal in any country.

It also seems to be without regard to whether the prosecutor has evidence to backup their assertion.

Is that fair, or just?

'Hacker' accused of idiotic plan to defraud bank out of $1.5 million

xeroks

Spoilers

Didn't Richard Prior played this guy in Superman 3?

If someone this idiotic can do this stuff, imagine what havoc competent people could wreak.

Exit through the Gift Shop? US copyright chief was assigned to shop till, tweeting

xeroks

not just locked out of her computer

The letter suggests she lost clearance to get into her office.

I'm struggling to think who could have leaked this correspondence.

And for our next trick, says Google while literally wheeling out a humongous tablet ...

xeroks

Portait layout?

Typically flipboards in meeting rooms have a portrait orientation, which seems to work well.

Any idea if this can spin onto its side?

Gravitational lensing event could provide ideal conditions for planet hunting

xeroks

Re: Oh no the planets are too small to see directly

Don't worry: they're past their warranty period. We wouldn't get our money back even if we were simply looking up at them in wonder.

DARPA unveils robot co-pilot

xeroks

Your Plastic Pal Who's Fun to Be With!

(c) D.A.

This speech recognition code is 'just as good' as a pro transcriber

xeroks

This speech recognition code is 'just as good' as a pro transcriber

"Can it handle Rab in full flow? If not then they should hold their wheesht."

Looks like you need to upgrade your transcriber: The word is "haud".

Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi you, you're fired: Apple sacks staff secretly snapping shoppers

xeroks

Not sure what the problem is

That kind of thing is clearly just Locker Room Talk™

'Please label things so I can tell the difference between a mouse and a microphone'

xeroks

Re: Easily fixed...

For the mouse button scenario, I think what happens is that right handers will tend to replace the word "right" with "the one you use automatically", and "left" with "the other one".

The basic problem is that the primary mouse button is (by default) on the left instead of the right. And that many - if not most - people don't have the concepts of "left" and "right" hardwired into the way they think about their bodies.

(If it's of significance, I'm right handed, but usually use my mouse with the left hand, with the buttons in their default configuration.)

Boy, 12, gets €100k bill from Google after confusing Adwords with Adsense

xeroks

Mix ups are easy if you don't understand the ground rules

And are of an optimistic nature.

A girl I worked with entered a radio competition a while back. All she had to do was guess the price of a guitar. The guy on the telephone was really helpful, and hinted that it was "more than £900". She said £1200.

She got a call back later that day to say she'd won the guitar. And to double check that she realised it was a charity auction...

Amazon supremo Bezos' Blue Origin blows its top over Texas desert

xeroks

Re: Retros?

must...read....article...stop...watch...ing...pretty...pictures

xeroks

Retros?

According to the commentary, there was supposed to be a brief firing of retros just as the capsule hit the ground. I didn't spot that happening. There was a puff of dust, but it looked to me more like the result of the impact.

However, that was all pretty impressive. Not sure if I'll tire watching those boosters land.

Level3 switch config blunder blamed for US-wide VoIP blackout

xeroks

impressive demonstration

It used to be difficult to take out a whole country's telephone network.Now you seem to be able to do it by accident.

The server's down. At 3AM. On Christmas. You're drunk. So you put a disk in the freezer

xeroks

Re: >Silly us: we blew a Christmas On-Call story months before the day.

Our local garden centre had their decorations out last weekend. I think the manager there REALLY likes christmas.

BT Openreach boss wants you to know that deep down, they care

xeroks

and in other news

Openretch (you know been reading el reg comments for too long when you start giving companies abusive nicknames) still don't have a way of letting us know what works and upgrades they have scheduled, and no way of us influencing that schedule.

e.g.:

WHEN WILL YOU UPGRADE MY CABINET TO FTTC?

MY NEEDS ARE MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN THOSE OTHER PEOPLE, DO MINE FIRST.

Tesla touts battery that turns a Model S into 'third fastest ever' car

xeroks

Flux Comparison?

For complete fairness, we need a comparison to the Flux Capacitor here.

The website only gives a proven quarter mile time.

http://flux-capacitor.co.uk/my-car-tech-spec/

'The box' Bones uses to fix any ailment on the Enterprise? Yup, it's real

xeroks

but, history...

Presumably these yeast are effectively coming up with novel drugs through an evolutionary process, rather than replicating known drugs.

Novel drugs have a history of doing stuff you weren't expecting when put into a slightly different environment. Say like a human body.

So you're huddled, with a handful of colleagues in Mars Base Alpha, and a few of you come down with a new disease contracted by smoking too much Red Weed.You dig your shoe box lab out and ferment yourself a cure. Who's going to volunteer to try it first? Do you have a large enough population to give your drug an effective trial?

The return of (drone) robot wars: Beware of low-flying freezers

xeroks

speakers

What is it with white vans selling speakers?

That's happened to me too. Is it just that the normal venues for that kind of transaction - ropey pubs - don't allow people to walk in with a stack of nicked/fake speakers?

A bad day for DBAs: MIT boffins are replacing you with a mere spreadsheet

xeroks

I can see this being very commercial

Great piece of work.

In our work we have a lot of people who use spreadsheets to accomplish things that should really be done on databases. At least part of it is being able to "see" the data as they're using it.

Sometimes they do move it to a database, but usually only once the spreadsheet is horrifically complex

Having a tool like this might well bring them over from the dark side sooner.

Loose wrists shake chips: Your wrist-job could be a PIN-snitch

xeroks

Re: Brute Force

the PIN may be for your iPhone, where you don't have the luxury of 10,000 attempts.

Crims set up fake companies to hoard and sell IPv4 addresses

xeroks

Re: and don't forget the radio hams

"A mere drop in the IP4 ocean"

I know "hobby" doesn't adequately describe ham radio, but it is 1/256th of the whole internet for a single, niche purpose.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting the status quo is wrong in this regard, or that ham radio is not important. I don't even know what they need all those IP addresses for.

Knowing the ham radio lot, the IP address block was squirrelled away at the start of the internet specifically to act as reserve tank of IP addresses should the day come that we really ran out - they 'd have guessed that it would take till 2020 for the uninvented IPv6 to come into common use.

xeroks

and don't forget the radio hams

They have 16,777,216 addresses all to themselves..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMPRNet

NASA's astroboffins spot the largest ever Tatooine planet

xeroks

Interestingly, about 40 per cent of circumbinary planets are found in habitable zones, said Doyle, who added, “I’d like to find out why.”

Not sure if "habitable" is likely to be the right word in the context of two stars orbiting each other every 11 days. Sounds like a car crash already happening.

If intelligent life evolved on a system like this, it would have a STRONG reason not just to get off-planet, but off-system.

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