* Posts by Alister

4259 publicly visible posts • joined 19 May 2010

Full disclosh: Facebook to pay shareholders $35m over IPO non-disclosure claims

Alister

I couldn't work out where dishcloths come into this story...

Ohhhh-klahoma! Where Verizon's sweeping legacy down the drain

Alister

So, if I understand this correctly, each mobile tower / base station has a minimalist hardware footprint, and passes every transaction back to software in a data-centre for all the usual handshaking, registration, call-handling etc, is that right?

Intellisense was off and developer learned you can't code in Canadian

Alister

Re: I've never quite understood

I have always used the H in honour

So you pronounce it hhonour?

How strange.

Alister

Re: I've never quite understood

The H isn't silent in 'Honour' except in America

What nonsense, I've never heard it pronounced with a hard "H" ever, on either side of the Atlantic.

That microchipped e-passport you've got? US border cops still can't verify the data in it

Alister

Re: Just a TSA anecdote

, "Dieu et mon Droit" proudly emblazoned in gold letters across the bottom of the majestic royal coat of arms.

You should have claimed to be French, that would have fooled them...

He's cheesed it! French flick pirate on the lam to swerve €80m fine, two-year stretch in the clink

Alister

the district of Montrouge, south of Paris.

Isn't Red Mountain a brand of coffee?

Not from there though, apparently.

Bad news: 43% of login attempts 'malicious' Good news: Er, umm...

Alister

Sorry mate.

I admit I wasn't at all sure until I looked it up.

Alister
Headmaster

Sorry, Sir Spoon, but I think "past" is correct in that sentence, see here:

https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/01/07/passed-past/

Alister

As others have said I'm surprised that the quoted figure is only 43%, but then their data collection only accounts for an unrepresentative sample of the problem.

Anyone who administers internet facing servers of any kind, be they web, email or whatever, knows that a high proportion of each day's logs will be taken up with automated login attempts of one sort or another.

If at first you don't succeed, you're likely Intel: Second Spectre microcode fix emitted

Alister
Facepalm

Re: So do you Spectre me to Talk?

/pendant

Oops!

NASA is sniffing jet fuel over Germany

Alister

Not sure where you get "based on the DC3" from, it's got nothing in common with the DC3 apart from the manufacturer.

The DC8 fuselage is 50% wider than the DC3, and the wings bear no resemblance, being 30o swept back on the DC8.

Euro Space Agency probe begins search for guff gas on Mars

Alister

According to the articles I had a quick skim through, on Earth, Methane that forms hydrate can be both biogenic, created by biological activity in sediments, and thermogenic, created by geological processes deeper within the earth. In thermogenic formation, the gas is formed in the same manner as natural gas…through catagenesis of kerogen. I was unable to determine, from what I found, what the relevant percentages were of biogenic to thermogenic Methane.

Alister

Re: Hmmmm

It sounds like you are talking about Methane Hydrates, which are known to exist under permafrost layers in Arctic regions, and also under the sea floor.

UK local gov: 37 cyber attacks a minute but little mandatory training

Alister

Email would not be stored beyond collection on it and full Erasure of email once downloaded by clients would be recommended.

This goes against all sorts of rules about data governance and audit trails for government entities.

Alister

Reporting Cyber Crime

I wonder how many commentards who work in the UK actually know where you are supposed to report a "cyber" crime?

How many of you have heard of Action Fraud?

Just interested.

Australia joins the 'decrypt it or we'll legislate' club

Alister

Re: Good luck...

Seriously, what are they going to do? Make mere possession of software such as Signal a criminal offence in Australia?

Yes, that's probably what they will want to do, just the same as the UK and the US and various other governments.

UK and US have already made mutterings about banning use of Tor and Telegram, so what's one more to add to the list?

Japan's Robo-Bartenders point to a golden future

Alister

a last squirt of foam ensures the perfect head.

You always need a last squirt for good head...

Iiyama reanimates LCD cartel lawsuit corpse, swings it at Samsung

Alister

I don't know why you got a downvote, I was going to post something similar, the article is quite confusing and ambiguous in its choice of words.

Iiyama are a maker of monitors and TVs, (not screens) and they purchased LCD panels from Samsung and others. They definitely didn't buy complete monitors.

Crunch time: Maplin in talks to sell the business

Alister

Re: But seeing in store

@MJI

Yep, I agree with you that for TVs it makes sense to go and see one working, as the price difference doesn't necessarily portray the real world performance. But why do we feel the need to to that for washing machines, dishwashers etc? It's not likely that you can see them working.

Alister

Just musing to myself, I used to love going to Maplins to just browse the vast array of switches, resistors, capacitors and ICs which they stocked, as well as their enclosures, fans and so on.

In the days before the internet, it was somehow more satisfying to be able to do that, rather than dig through the massive mail-order catalogues that both they and RS used to produce.

Nowadays, it's very easy to buy anything you want online and have it delivered to your door, and for components, that's what I would invariably do.

Strangely though, for things which by their nature you would normally have delivered - I'm talking about domestic white goods, televisions, stuff like that, I wouldn't order them off the internet, I'd much rather go to a store and see the things in the flesh, and be able to prod and poke the real thing before ordering.

Which makes no sense, when you think about it. I mean, if you are buying a new washing machine, you can't take a basket of mixed coloureds to the store and run them through the machine, the best you can do is stare at serried ranks of different makes in the store, all new and shiny and unplugged and not working. So what's the point?

But for me, I just feel happier to go and see the thing, and order it from a store, instead of sitting at home and buying it off the web.

I'm obviously not the only one who feels like that, as the likes of Curries seem to be packed with people of all ages staring at washing machines and cookers and dishwashers and televisions. Maybe some of them go home and order it off the web afterwards, but they still feel the need to go and look at them in the flesh first.

Aren't humans weird?

Alister

Back in my teens, Maplins were on a par with RS and Farnell for their stocks of electrical and electronic components, with the added bonus that if you lived near one of their shops you could just nip in and get what you wanted - not something you could do with the other two.

Unfortunately, in an effort to remain relevant, they've almost entirely stopped stocking the electronic components in their stores, and it's mostly overpriced consumer tat, instead.

I agree with AMBxx above, they should have moved to a purely online presence, as the others have done, and maybe they would have maintained their relevance.

Alister

Re: Edinburgh Woollen Mill?

Damn, you beat me to it.

I was going to ask when their new lines of WiFi enabled tweed caps would be on sale.

A print button? Mmkay. Let's explore WHY you need me to add that

Alister

Re: Why have a print button?

Dinosaur

Ignoramous

Alister

Why have a print button?

Because, as noted in the article, "people" don't always use software in ways the designer expected.

Fr'instance, I have heard an anecdote where a secretary used to intercept and print out all her boss's emails, and deliver them as a stack of paper on his desk, as that was how he had always worked.

Despite all the many initiatives designed to promote a "paperless" office, it's just not going to happen, untill perhaps tablets or phablets are completely ubiquitous and software is available to allow you to annotate any file as you go.

But for now, if I'm going into a meeting, I usually print out network diagrams, gantt charts, policy documents etc so I can scribble on them as they are discussed, and so do most of my colleagues.

So, why have a print button? Because most people will use it.

*Wakes up in Chrome's post-adblockalyptic landscape* Wow, hardly anything's changed!

Alister

The thing that advertising agencies, Amazon and Google etc, need to understand is that apart from the sheer annoyance of flashing, beeping animated shite that gets in the way of content I might want to look at, their current algorithms are designed to look at an individual's purchasing history, browsing history, etc, and then offer ads FOR THINGS YOU JUST BOUGHT!

If I've just bought a left-handed dribblepocket, then the chances are I DON'T WANT ANOTHER ONE!

Mueller bombshell: 13 Russian 'troll factory' staffers charged with allegedly meddling in US presidential election

Alister

Re: I'm Confused Still

> to which warning the FBI paid (apparently) no heed.

That's not even English.

It is actually perfectly good English, just maybe not readable by an American.

Helicopter crashes after manoeuvres to 'avoid... DJI Phantom drone'

Alister

Re: It's time...

To be fair, the incident happened in America, not the UK

Alister

Re: It's time...

The helicopter in question was at 50ft and practising ground hover taxiing, are you suggesting that it had filed a Flight Plan for that?

Alister

Re: It's time...

It's happening weekly at Heathrow.

Would you care to provide some sort of evidence for that assertion? Or shall we add it to the pink unicorn tally mentioned by A/C above.

Robot cars will kill London jobs – but only from 2030, say politicans

Alister

Re: A lot of 'hot air'

@ogi

The UK still has electric trams, in Sheffield, Manchester, Nottingham and Tyne & Wear to name just a few successful implementations, why can't London?

Alister

I notice that the Oxbotica "self-driving" delivery vehicle has two human occupants for safety.

I also notice that (from the marked compartments on the sides) it can apparently only carry items for a maximum of 8 different destinations.

In the rush to adopt autonomous delivery vehicles, scant regard has been paid to the necessary changes in social behaviour required to make it work.

There will be no more "home delivery", as there is no way for the vehicle to place packages on or in the recipient's property - and no more post through the letterbox.

Instead, householders will have to fetch the delivery from the vehicle themselves - not practicable if you are out at work - or arrange to pick up the delivery from an agreed holding point, in which case there's no need for the delivery vehicle anyway.

PCI Council and X9 Committee to combine PIN security standards

Alister

Yep, the last stanza should be:

One ring to rule bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

Roses are red, Kaspersky is blue: 'That ban's unconstitutional!' Boo hoo hoo

Alister

Agreed. Hysterical xenophobia seems to be a defining trait of the US.

I was going to call you a Pinko Leftist Commie Bastard, but then I thought "Wolfe Tone? you can't call him communist!"

South China waters are red, Brit warships are blue, HMS Sutherland's sailing there

Alister

Re: Battle Group

Why a US attack sub when ours are better?

The Astute class might be better, but there's only three of them, and only one in current active service AFAIK.

The three remaining Trafalgar class are old, and unreliable.

Alister

They'll just blame it on Elliot Carver

Mars is red, Earth is blue. Here's a space laser story for you

Alister

Re: "SHERLOC will be calibrated, tested, then re-tested and re-calibrated "

So? No Shit SHERLOC?

Alimentary, my dear Watson.

EDIT: just seen Drop Bear's post, I win!

Alister

And because SHERLOC's job is to apply its laser to whatever it sees on Mars,

RUN Opportunity, RUN, Run and hide!

Roses are red, are you single, we wonder? 'Cos this moth-brain AI can read your phone number

Alister

Y'think we're stretching this Valentine's date thing too far?

The headlines I've seen so far have been quite clever, I thought. At least they rhyme and have the correct meter.

Rogue IT admin goes off the rails, shuts down Canadian train switches

Alister
Facepalm

just not making the grade as a sysadmin

A measure of his competence is that he used a laptop to carry out his attacks, and then handed it back to his former employer.

Even though he did make an attempt to wipe it, he should at least have changed the hard-drive, or just used a different machine altogether.

Yes, Assange, we'll still nick you for skipping bail, rules court

Alister

Re: Meanwhile, back in Ecuador

Mr. Assange may find himself without Ecuadoran citizenship and asked to leave the embassy.

That would be such a shame...

Anyone up for some Ecuadorian vote-rigging?

UK Home Sec Amber Rudd unveils extremism blocking tool

Alister
Stop

Re: Technology has been there years to do this

I wonder as an IT professional

STOP!

You are patronising.

Amber says so.

National Museum of Computing rattles the bucket: Help shift war-winning proto-puter

Alister
Pint

Re: Tourist Trap

was it some sort of military coo?

Well played sir!

Alister

Well-known actor Bandersnatchington Cumperdinklehough

In our household, he is affectionately known as Bend-him-over-the-cucumber-patch.

Icahn't get right Xerox Fuji merger spoils, cries activist investor Carl

Alister

you didn't go with

Icahn't get no... satisfaction...

Not cool, dude: Brit web host Hotchilli Internet freezes itself for good

Alister

We deeply regret notifying you of our intentions

Lol, I'm not sure that's what he meant...

Equifax hack worse than previously thought: Biz kissed goodbye to card expiry dates, tax IDs etc

Alister

Re: Clearly allowing companies to hold this kind of information should not be allowed

@AC

I am not, nor ever have been, nor ever will be a customer of Equifax. Why should they have any information about me?

Roll on GDPR when I can get it all deleted....

I would like to bet that Equifax do have information about you. If you have opened a bank account, have a credit card, or have applied for a loan or other credit, then the chances are your data was given to Equifax, as well as the other credit reference agencies.

And the GDPR doesn't give you the right to demand deletion of your data unconditionally, if Equifax can show a business need (which they can, as they are a credit reference agency) then they can refuse to delete your data.

You dopes! US state's pot dealer database pwned after security goes up in smoke

Alister

Re: That pic...

It's David Walliams

Corpse! of! Yahoo! drags! emails! of! the! dead! case! to! US! Supreme! Court!

Alister

Re: A subject close to my heart

Thanks for the suggestions.

Alister

A subject close to my heart

My ex wife died suddenly at the end of December. We had been divorced for some years but were still friends, and I am the legal guardian of our children, who have come to live with me.

Sorting out her effects has been a chore, as nobody knew her social media and email account credentials, and she didn't write them down.

She had a recent Windows 10 notebook, one of those with no discrete hard drive, just flash chips soldered to the motherboard, for which nobody knows the login, so I've been unable to access that at all - due to the EFI BIOS I can't even boot from a USB Drive or Flash stick so that's essentially useless now.

If she stored her various account details on there, we'll never know.

Thankfully all the banks etc have accepted other means of identification to allow us to close accounts, recover money, sort out her work pension and so on, but we have been unable to access her email, or close her social media accounts.

It's made me realise that I need to keep a written record of things in a place where everybody who needs to can get at them.