* Posts by Mad Mike

1379 publicly visible posts • joined 30 May 2007

Xbox modder can't claim fair use, says judge

Mad Mike
Thumb Up

I wasn't talking about XBOX360s, but general principle.

@AC 'for all it worth, when it comes to the Xbox360, modding it, is not enough to allow it to play Japanese imports* you have to do something else as well. Modding it _only_ will allow you to play pirated games... errr sorry, I mean, _backup_ games as well as homebrew.'

That's why I didn't limit my piece to XBOX 360s, but made it a more generic posting on the general issue. The exact implementation will vary from hardware to hardware and what needs to be done for each situation. However, the same general principles apply. That's what I was posting on.

Mad Mike

@Obviously!

Unfortunately, you are missing a crucial point. Companies actually enforce terms of sale on their customers all the time and then sell mods that actually break those terms. The reason? The new mod can be sold for some more profit. Therefore, they actually believe they can change the terms of the original sale contract simply because they were one party to it without your permission. This is, of course, not true. If they wish to change that term, I could return the item and claim a full refund as the contract has fundamentally changed. Of course, they won't offer that.

Let's take an example. Suppose Microsoft sold a version of the XBOX 360 for £5000 that had all the copyright and region etc. protections removed. They sold it at this inflated price knowing people would play pirated games etc. on it, but they don't care because they get £5000 up front. Whether it's a valid business model or not is irrelevant. Would they then be accused under some sort of anti-piracy law? Highly unlikely. Are they not guilty under the DMCA? After all, they have willfully removed a copyright protection device and are selling them at immense profit? Still won't be prosecuted.

And before someone says they're removing their own protection.......Well, there's lots of game manufacturers out there and not all are owned by Microsoft. So, surely they should be prosecuted by one of the independent software houses for violation? They are encouraging piracy!! Won't happen because Microsoft own the government and the judiciary!!

Rather makes me think back to the times Microsoft have tried to retrospectively change their Windows licences to avoid people making money out of loopholes in them.

Mad Mike
FAIL

Some people can see past the DMCA.

Ac said 'Quote:

Crippen, who if convicted faces a maximum three years in prison for selling modded Xboxes

How can you claim fair use for selling hardware which you have modified to bypass copyright security.

People claiming fascism and typical US court systems should read the information first before commenting.

He was making a profit, selling modified hardware designed to allow people to use pirated software. Regardless of how you try to turn that into a pretty picture of someone trying to allow people to use backups of software they own, you can bet your bottom dollar that those people were only interested in using backups of software that "Other" people own.

He failed, and those saying the system is corrupt fail too.'

Yes, he has modified these boxes to bypass copyright security, but that doesn't mean someone is going to. It's the difference between thinking and doing. Thinking of a crime should not be illegal. Even preparing for the crime shouldn't be illegal. Only carrying out or attempting to carry out the crime should be illegal. So, modifying a console to allow the playing of pirated games should not be illegal, but using it to play a pirated game should be. They have failed (as far as I know) to prove anyone did play a pirated game on any of these consoles. They are simply making the assumption and assumptions of guilt should have no part in any judicial system.

The companies have actually played upon this to their own ends. On other consoles, the regioning system used to keep game prices high in some areas, was deliberately merged with the copyright protection devices. Therefore, anyone simply trying to modify their console to play say Japanese games on a US console, committed the offence even though they may have no intention of playing pirated games.

In the UK, copying anything under copyright is illegal. There is no 'fair use' in UK law. Video recorders and all later equivalents are all illegal as they copy the material. Difference is, the powerbrokers (e.g. companies) don't want to enforce that as it removes their market. MP3 players are still illegal for the same reason. Don't see Apply being prosecuted for selling a device in the UK that can only be used to violate UK copyright law!! They are enforcing the laws as big business wants and not enforcing it when they don't. If they wish to continue with these preposterous assumptions of guilt and thought crimes, let's actually turn it around and prosecute ALL violations of the law. Apple alone would be liable for tens of billions for providing the hardware to allow copyright violation on an epic scale.

Don't see it happening though, do you? Why? Because companies pay for politicians and can fight back, individuals can't except through collective action.

Mad Mike
WTF?

Wrong Angle

The issue here is not what he was doing per se, but the intent. If you own the equipment, why should you not be able to do with it what you want? Or, for that matter, pay someone else to do it for you. There's no logical difference there. If copyright protection features were used solely for that purpose, then breaking them could be taken as evidence of violating copyright, as what's the point otherwise? However, on most consoles this isn't the case. You have to remove copyright protection features to enable homebrew code etc. and therefore the feature is actually an unreasonable restriction on your ability to use your own, perfectly legally purchased hardware. What they're doing is implementing the assumption into law that violating a copyright protection feature is evidence of copyright infringement, which is blatantly not true. By the same logic, buying a CD or DVD burner for your PC could be treated the same, as it allows copyright infringement, but certainly doesn't require it.

A good example are the cards for Nintendo DS consoles. Sure, they can be used to play pirated games, but they can also be used to play videos, music or homebrew games. So, saying possession of one is proof of copyright violation is simply not true. But, this is exactly what this law and the judgements based on it are saying. Effectively, it's removing the most basic tenent of any sensible judicial system and that is removing the requirement for proof of violation. This is one, not very large step, away from thought crime. After all, why would you think of a crime unless you intended to commit it. Therefore, by the same logic, surely thinking of a crime is good reason to bang you up? As you can't prove what you have and have not thought of (proving a negative is impossible), you are automatically guilty on accusation.

All this is the last death throws of various industries trying to maintain an outdated business model that they have been profiting from for years and are too lazy to change. The music/film/games industry are never going to get round people copying their goods. As soon as optical drives and PCs were widely available, this was always going to fail. Rather than change their business models to something that works in this new dawn, they simply get their puppets to implement more and more harsh laws to enable them to keep raking in the profits without doing anything. Used to be they had to find pirated games on you or at least prove use. Now, they simply have to prove you thought about it.

It will all fall apart in the end (unless they lock everyone up); it's just that in the meantime some quite decent people will suffer at their hands. Their model cannot work long term. Copyright in the old form is dead. Live with it and move on. Give music away to pursuade people to come to your concerts. Make money from the hardware and not the software. Actually encourage people to write their own code etc. for your platform to make it more desirable!! There are plenty of ways of making money in this new world, but these companies can't handle the change.

Even if he was running a business for profit in modifying these consoles, he has committed no moral crime unless he actually pirated the games. Otherwise, the companies that supplied him with the components he was using are just as guilty for supplying goods allowing someone to do it!! After all, if he is guilty for providing the facility for someone else to bypass copyright, surely his suppliers are guilty for providing him the goods to allow him to provide the facility?

Global warming is actually good for rainforests, say boffins

Mad Mike
Thumb Up

Nature is all powerful

As a species we have an inbuilt need to feel all powerful and imporant. The idea that something might be more powerful or stronger than us is not allowed. Therefore, when global warming came along (or call it by its more common name these days, climate change), it had to be our fault as we're all powerful. It couldn't possibly also be the planet simply changing, much like it has done countless times in the past. We've had ice ages and periods of significant warming over history, even quite recent history. The middle ages were relatively warm compared to today. But, no, it had to be us as we're all powerful. So, using the same logic, if it was to be fixed (does it actually need fixing?), we had to do it. Hence, the entire climate change religion. The idea that nature might actually be able to keep it in balance is silly as obviously we're more powerful than nature.....aren't we. So, if CO2 levels rise, rain forest etc. gets bigger and keeps it in check!!

Now inconvenient.

Cambridge chap's todger topiary gets the chop

Mad Mike

Mirrors

I guess everytime they walked past, the police assumed they were looking in a mirror. How can they 'threaten' him with a fine. Firstly, they collect the evidence and the CPS then decide to prosecute or not, not the police. Secondly, what the bush looks like is very much in the eye of the beholder. It isn't exactly a detailed artists sketch after all!! I guess people will be prosecuted for displaying odd shaped fruit and vegetables in future, just in case some killjoy, humourless idiot complains.

Youth jailed for not handing over encryption password

Mad Mike
FAIL

Missing the Point

People here seem to be missing the point. Consider the following:-

Case 1. Person is arrested and tortured (pulled finger nails, waterboarding etc.) to reveal information. Basically, give me the information or we'll do something unpleasant. That's called torture and is banned and every government is against it....they claim.

Case 2. Person is arrested and asked for his password (information). He refuses. So, they invoke RIPA and say they'll do something unpleasant (jail). This is called justice and the government is for it.

What's the difference? Both are demanding information in exchange for not doing something unpleasant.

Second point.

People keep talking about documents in safes being the equivalent in the paper world......wrong. If the police seize a written document you have encrypted using some method of another, are they entitled to force you to decrypt it? No. They have every right to seize it and go through any lock to do so, but they can't enforce you to decrypt it. So, an encrypted file is basically the same thing, yet they can force decryption.

HP says P9500 is bullet-proof

Mad Mike

Bulletproof

@RJ. Is that video not still on YouTube? HP shot an XP array with a rifle through the boards and it kept running. The shot was obviously carefully placed and I assume an armour piercing round was used, otherwise the impact with the first board would have deformed the bullet and it would have shattered later boards rather than simply leaving a small round hole.

Flaming work laptop toasts cottage

Mad Mike
Thumb Up

Suing Merry Go Round

it's all about liability and contracts. She can't sue the manufacturer as she doesn't have a contract with them. So, she sues Ofsted (normally for the whole lot as the insurer would like to reclaim if someone elses fault), who sue the supplier, who sue the manufacturer, who sues the battery manufacturer etc.etc. All follows the chain of contracts.......simples. Makes lots of money for lawyers as well.

Yorks cops charge Segway rider under 1835 road law

Mad Mike
FAIL

Reality

What really happened here is that the user of the segway probably gave the constable some grief at being stopped, so the copper, being a public servant and all, decided to get all high and mighty and do him for something, somehow. If you look hard enough through all the old laws, there's something banning just about everything, it's just that intelligent people are not vindictive and realise ancient laws meant for one purpose should not be bent to apply to something recent.

Provided people are using the pavement in a reasonable way, anybody should be able to use it for anything. If people do stupid things or are inconsiderate, they should be prosecuted regardless. Even someone walking on pavement, but pushing through and knocking people over should be done regardless of their 'right' to walk on the pavement.

Epic fail by the police.

Paraguayan model to strip if team wins World Cup

Mad Mike
Happy

Bridging the aerials

I imagine her assets are amply sized to bridge the aerials on an IPhone v4. Perhaps she needs a rubber shield on it?

MPs bash broadband tax

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

Taxes

The problem with all taxes is that nobody can ever agree on them and they are always unfair to someone and there's always a logical argument (or two) for every angle people come up with. Progressive taxes that tax according to your wealth (or perceived wealth) are considered good by people who have little (and therefore won't pay much). They argue the more you have, the more you should pay. Some sense there. Regressive taxes at a fixed level regardless of wealth are always preferred by the wealthy as they will pay less. They argue why should they pay more for their services than anyone else when they use them the same. i.e. Why should an ambulance ride cost more (effectively) to a rich person than a poor person etc. Again, some sense there.

So, the issue here is that Labour (and most other parties and politicians) always think the answer to everything is taxation. It isn't and it's devisive. People nearly always vote on these matters according to the cost to them. Whether it's fair or not is irrelevant. Why should a rich person pay more in tax? What's the logic there? If they use the same services to the same levels as a poor person, why should the cost be different? Social conscience? Maybe, but why should that be enforced in law?If they have a social conscience, maybe they should simply give to charity.

The point here is that taxation is normally the wrong answer to everything. Let's challenge the politicians to come up with something really radical....................a solution that doesn't involve tax!!

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

Not true.

@The First Dave.

'No-one seems to be raising the issue of obligation: the post office are obliged to provide the same service to everyone, regardless of location, and I believe that BT are obliged to provide a landline phone service in much the same way, so why not internet access over much the same infrastructure?'

If you really believe everyone gets the same postal service and landline phone service wherever they live, you're mistaken. Postal services in the more rural areas are far worse than in the towns/cities. Ask anyone on the islands of Scotland!!

Mad Mike
FAIL

Rubbish concept

The concept of having equal broadband provision everywhere in the country is illogical and stupid. If you live in the country, you accept certain downsides (having to drive everywhere, no busses, no local shops etc.) for the upsides (less noise, good views etc.). Why shouldn't lower broadband speeds or none at all be part of that same equation. If it makes sense to keep broadband the same everywhere, shouldn't everyone get a good view wherever they live as well? Shouldn't everyone have peace and quiet like the countryside as well? By the same logic, we should tax everyone who breathes an amount per month to fund fresh air in the cities? Surely, everyone should have the same fresh air.

MPs, Lords ask if Mandybill is human rights friendly

Mad Mike

Badly Thought Out

If a single user on a line breaches copyright all the time, why should everyone else get cut off? The owner of the line may not be the person doing the copyright breaches!! What are the major areas of copyright theft? Software, music and films. Which areas of the economy are responsible for the worst excesses of ripping off their customers? Software, music and films!! It's chicken and egg. Althought there are a few people who will refuse to pay for anything, most are more than happy to pay a reasonable amount for a product. However, in the past, software has been horifically overpriced, especially from major software houses, as has music and films. Now the gloves on the other hand and these businesses and governments can do anything they want to try and reduce copyright theft in these areas, but they will fail as there are simply too many options.

Lesson to big business.............stop ripping your customers off and they'll stop ripping you off.

IBM countersues Neon over zPrime accelerator

Mad Mike
Happy

Analogy Poor

The analogy is actually pretty poor assuming the software works as claimed. zPrime is supposed to simply change the way a request is made. It say intercepts a DB2 request and changes it (basically to SRB mode) into a zAAP/zIIP allowable workload. Then, the IBM dispatcher duly dispatches on said 'speciality' engine. So, all that's happening is the request being changed before/during execution. There are plenty of software products, including IBMs own that do this sort of thing. According to IBM and their agreements, providing the requests are using the mode(s) etc., they can run on the cheaper engines. How that comes about is irrelevant. Obviously, IBM want only workloads that originally start in the right mode, but nowhere does it specify you can't change it!! zPrime is taking advantage of an obvious hole in IBMs T&Cs. Nothing illegal about that, it's been done for years. If IBM want to outlaw this, they need to change their T&Cs, but no matter what they do, someone will probably always find a way round it. That's the problem with running this sort of multi-cost platform.

Please shut up about the Mull of Kintyre Chinook crash

Mad Mike
Grenade

Butt covering

The whole point here is not whether FADEC is a good idea or not. The whole point here is that the pilots were blamed contrary to RAF procedures at the time and were found guilty of serious mistakes whilst other known issues were swept under the carpet. It would hardly be surprising if errors in early FADEC control systems were found. That often happens with new technology. They've know been fixed (hopefully) and everything is OK. However, that is no reason to tarnish good peoples names for no other reason than to hide the real reason which is what seems to have happened here. It was embarrassing, simple as that. And the easy route out was to blame people who couldn't respond rather than be truthful. Additionally, if the pilots were ordered to take the helicopter after warning it was unserviceable, some officers and the MOD would be in serious trouble.

This is butt covering of the highest order and is a disgrace. Some senior members of the MOD etc. should be hanging their heads in shame and don't deserve the loyalty of people under them as they clearly have shown no loyalty the other way.

Durham police demonstrate DNA will stuff you

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

Easy Policing

This is all about easy policing. Having to prove people innocent etc. is such a pain. The police know every single person (except them obviously :-) ) is guilty as sin and it's just a matter of time. So, bearing in mind proving cases against everyone will take a lot of time and effort, it is simpler to employ half-wits (being nice here) and simply get them to arrest everyone. Then, rather than prove a case, let's just make the arrest an obvious example of guilt and job done.

At this rate, walking down the street with a bottle of soft drink will land you in the same position. 'I'm arresting you on suspicion of possession of an explosive device'. After a few days, they work out it's lemonade, but the arrest has happened, the DNA has been taken and the 'damage' (according to plod) has been done!!

Villagers revolt over BT chairman's broadband

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

You pays your money................

This is silly. If you live in the country miles away from the nearest exchange, tough. You chose to live there and therefore have to accept the bad as well as the good. It's a bit like someone living in a city and complaining about the lack of quiet (as there is in the country) or the sheep in fields etc. If you live in a city, don't complain if it's noisy etc.

People in the country don't have a god given right to broadband just like people in cities don't have a right to quiet. If that's where you choose to live, you accept the benefits and limitations.

Virgin Media to trial filesharing monitoring system

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

What's licensing got to do with it?

'it will then peer inside those packets and try to determine what is licensed and what is unlicensed, based on data provided by the record industry.'

Whether the thing being transfered is licensed or not is irrelevant. The question is whether the copyright owner gave permission. A trial version of software could well be identified as licensed, but sharing that is perfectly legal, infact helping the owning company!! So, my guess is the above statement should actually say

'it will then peer inside those packets and determine what is licensed, which will be all music, video etc.etc. (even though it may not be). It will then determine that as it's peer-to-peer, the copyright holder cannot possibly have given permission and therefore it must be illegal.'

Southwark council sues IBM

Mad Mike
Thumb Up

Microsoft

Does that mean everyone who owns a copy of Vista can get a refund?

Two convicted for refusal to decrypt data

Mad Mike
Unhappy

What's encrypted data

I think people here are missing the point. The issue isn't around passwords and hidden partitions etc.etc. The issue here is how you identify encrypted data. The police can hardly charge you with failure to supply a password (or whatever) unless they can prove the file/partition whatever is encrypted. So, the question to then ask is; what's a foolproof way of proving a file etc. is encrypted?

Of course, there is no answer to this. A broken file system could be unreadable, but that doesn't mean it's encrypted. Data in a file doesn't have to be readable and doesn't have to be random to be perfectly reasonable unencrypted data. For instance, some data for statistical analysis might well look reasonably random and might not contain readable text, but that doesn't mean it's encrypted.

So, how do the police prove something is encrypted in court? File extensions prove nothing etc.etc. There is no way of proving 'beyond a reasonable doubt' that something is encrypted and that is the level of proof required in a criminal case, so basically, the only way they can charge you is if you drop yourself in it!! Otherwise, any computer expert should be able to take them apart in court. Simply saying the balance of probabilities suggests its encrypted data is not good enough as this is a criminal case.......

AMD demos live Magny-Cours migration

Mad Mike
Happy

@TeeCee

I agree there is a certain hypocracy here. However, the big difference is that AMD are being very open and upfront about it. Whereas, Intel were insisting it was a dual core processor from day one and refused to discuss or admit the reality made any difference. So, the issue isn't around what it is, but the honesty that came with it. AMD are well out in front on that angle.

Tasered Oz man bursts into flames

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

Thick policemen

I see the plod in Australia are no more endowed in the brain area than those in the UK!!

Tasering a person covered in petrol.......mmmmmmm wonder what might happen there........

I'm sure the chap was being aggressive, but a tin of petrol and a lighter only threatens himself, not anyone else. Assuming the plod wasn't stupid enough to get in range........

Dickhead

Kent Police clamp down on tall photographers

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

3rd World Dictatorship

And Labour politicians have the nerve to object to Mugabe??

What's the difference. They've destroyed our economy, as he did to Zimbabwe. They have changed the police into their own bunch of brown shirts, same as here...........

I hope the US invade us soon to remove this tyrany. Even Saddam never arrested photographers for being too tall......

MPs slam 'disgraceful' Type 45 destroyers

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

Very true

Looking at the equipment list, whilst many of the systems are European, almost nothing (apart from the hull) is British and there's a fair amount of American hardware and technology in there. So, why not just buy the whole thing from America. It can take Harpoons, no plans to fit. It can take Phalanx, may fit when some are found. It could fire Tomahawk, but might need Type 41 launchers for this. So, what's the point?

Over £6b is a lot of money to keep a few Scots in employment!!

The Times kills off blogger anonymity

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

Public Interest

Isn't this in the public interest and maybe whistleblowing?

Shouldn't people know why police are so useless these days. All the paperwork, red tape etc.etc. that means they spend almost no time doing any useful detective work. His police force giving him a written warning just implies they want to hide things and therefore, by inference, have something to hide...........

So much for an open and accountable police force.

Texas cop tasers gobby granny

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

Walk Away

This is really interesting as it shows the amazing hypocracy of the situation and law these days. Loads of people would say she should have simply signed and gone on her way to have her day in court later. No problem. Maybe so. Maybe she made life unnecessarily difficult. However, so did the cop. When she refused to sign, he could simply have written 'refused to sign' and then walked away. No more problem. But no, he had to take it further. Whether he intended to arrest her or whatever doesn't matter. He had the choice to do his duty fully and then walk away. He chose not to take it. Instead, he chose a route that was bound to lead to confrontation and trouble. Why? Because he's a cop and he has a god given right, that's why. In other words, he likes lording it around the place. Path of least resistance isn't of interest to him. Forcing others to do what he says or take the 'consequences' is.

So, I'm not defending the granny. She made life unnecessarily hard. However, the cop was equally guilty of the same. Difference is, he's got a badge and an ego...... And a taser and a gun. I bet he ends up shooting and killing someone unnecessarily in the future because he refused to take the path of least resistance.

Stupid and very poor cop.

Met 'studies Chinese bugging tactics' for 2012 games

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

They don't already

With the way the UK is going and the police resembling the Stasi more and more by the day, I'm really surprised they don't already have this...........

Judge backs Halifax in Chip and PIN clone case

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

Chip and Pin is rubbish

Good lunk to him I say. Anyone with any nouse will know that chip and pin can be copied just like the old cards. Yes, it's harder, but nothing for organised criminal gangs. The cards are available on the black market and so is the hardware required. No problem. The technology isn't a secret either and secrecy is never a good way to protect it anyway, as it always leaks.

Chip and pin was simply a way of shifting the responsibility onto the cardholder and away from the trader and card company. After all, it's 'perfect', can't be cloned etc.etc. (all this was said about the original mag stripe cashpoint cards) and therefore it must be the cardholders fault. They just must have given away their PIN etc. Utter rubbish......

He may or may not be telling the truth, but there are certainly loads of people out there footing the bill for a poorly thought out rubbish system.

Gordon 'to sacky' Wacky Jacqui

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

I'm speechless

Shame...........gutted............

Couldn't have happened to a more ignorant, totalitarian woman. Good to see her go. Problem is, who will replace her .......

Boffins: Ordinary lightbulbs can be made efficient, cheaply

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

CFLs are Rubbish

Before banning anything (whatever the reason), the authorities first need to ensure a reasonable alternative exists. CFL dimmers are useless. Utterly, utterly useless. Either they don't work with a normal dimmer switch and require the stupid switching of standard switch, or they work with some (emphasis) dimmers, but then not really properly. I know. I've got loads of dimmers and have been trying various of these CFLs with them. All rubbish. That's just the practical side before talking about the mercury.

LEDs also have numerous problems. No dimmers, hideously expensive (although should come down), nowhere near as efficient as people claim as the light output is very poor, even with the new high powered ones etc.etc.

In other words, no practical alternative exists........... Loads of waste and environmental impact for me as I replace loads of dimmers and bulbs and wiring etc.etc. to make my house work with the new technology. It's effectively another tax. It will do b****r all to help the environment, but costs me more tax through higher VAT per bulb payments etc. As to the lifetime. I don't care. Changing a bulb now and then isn't much of a hastle. Having rubbish light is..........

If they can break the law, why can't we?

Mad Mike

@Andrew Culpeck

Just being a bit inquisitive here. Why should a motor bike not pay for parking, but cars should? Obviously, they should potentially pay less due to the area they require being less, but why nothing? Mind you, the same goes for pedal cycles as well.

This all rather depends on what parking fees are for. Is it for the space and infrasructure required to allow said parking, or is it to milk someone for money? If you choose to charge car drivers for parking, it only makes logical sense to charge everyone for parking any sort of transporation device......

Beeb tech boss seeks to expand TV licence online

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

Stupid Comment

What a stupid comment from someone who obviously doesn't understand the technology.

What's the difference between watching programs on iPlayer and a TV set? None. So, logically the same licence fee should apply. However, trying to collect it from everyone using iPlayer is just impossible. The complexity is amazing. His logic actually calls for the licence fee to be dropped not expanded.

About time the licence fee was given up and a funding mechanism for the 21st century introduced.

Pirate-pursuing lawyers get DDo$ money transfer slap

Mad Mike

Law and Stupidity

I find it interesting that people are suggesting this sort of prank etc. should/could affect the outcome of their appeal. I thought the law was based on a set of rules. If you transgress these rules, you get a punishment as specified in the rules. Unless Sweden has a rule about being a pratt etc., doing this does not transgress any laws and therefore is irrelevent to the outcome. You're supposed to be tried according to the evidence you have transgressed the rules. Can anybody identify a court case where someone was found guilty for being a pratt or plank or whatever?

Unfortunately, the whole case shows that laws no longer matter. Pirate Bay (whether you like them or not) did not transgress any laws and the prosecution lawyers played on the judges lack of technical knowledge to get a conviction. Morally, Pirate Bay may be guilty, but that doesn't mean they are technically guilty of breaking the law. They are two different things and kept seperate for a very good reason. Morals are variable, laws can't be.

The current debacle about politicans expenses (I would love to see judges expenses!!) shows the same stupid debate in that politicians are showing they can't understand the difference between technically wrong (outside the rulebook) and morally wrong. They are guilty as charged of being morally in the wrong (which is why the public are complaining so bitterly), but are technically in the right.

Kebabs pose 'no danger whatsoever', Russians claim

Mad Mike
Joke

Weight Gain

I can pretty much guarantee that should I knock her up a bit of 'hot meat action' as per your story, she'll put on a fair bit of weight. Fortunately, it's only temporary and will be gone in 9 months time..........................

ISPs eye role in Jacqui's mass surveillance system

Mad Mike

Paying the ISPs!!!!!

I imagine the ISPs are doing cartwheels right now. Just pass the costs onto HMG. Brilliant. This could exceed even the worst government IT project in history. Every ISP is going to need to bolster their networks to carry the extra load ;-). Honest guv. That'll be billions please. Oh, and a couple of billion more for storage. And a few billion for the deep packet inspection hardware. And a few billion for staff costs..............................................

At this rate, the banking crisis could be small fry.

UK.gov to spend £2bn on ISP tracking

Mad Mike

Mr Smith.

I think this is simply a ruse so that Jacqui knows what her husbands whacking off to...............

Sockets, cores and threads, oh my

Mad Mike

@David Halko

Interesting article. However, a few amendments. Power 6+ is already out, at least according to IBM. Power 7 is on target and will be released on time. It's also not a 16 core design. From an enterprise point of view, Itanium is pretty much dead. Where's the differentiator between top end Xeons and Itanium to justify the increased cost? Also, according to Intel, going to the same socket and chipset making this even worse.

Sparc?? God knows. Over to Oracle. Wouldn't bet on anything sunstantive for a few years yet. Sun don't have a roadmap to mention. It's all very vague and misses all the time, both hardware and software.

So, in the RISC space, IBM is really where it's at!! Look out for Power 7, it's a beast!!

Playboy TV offers 'Jacq off' special package

Mad Mike
Joke

'Jacq off' special

What is playboy implying?

Is it suggesting, with some sort of inside knowledge, that Jacqui also uses the same services as her husband?

Or, is this a special channel featuring only Jacqui for others to 'jacq off' to?

Off to sit down now.................................I suddenly feel rather faint, dirty and in need of someone to talk to.

Wacky Jacqui spanked by husband

Mad Mike

Priests and Nuns (@al)

' I think the main course here is the double standards. Like a pri*st doing it with a n*n after a sermon.'

Bearing in mind her legislation, I suspect Jacqui considers herself a nun. Her views with regard to s*x certainly seem Victorian and worse, so would match. However, it would appear her husband is a little more 'broad minded'.

Personally, I would allow the expenses claim anyway. Having s*x with Jacqui would count as cruel and degrading treatment and probably violates the Geneva Convention on torture. So, it really counts as medical treatment on the NHS for having normal s*xual needs.

Mad Mike

I've just split my sides.

The irony is almost too much to bear........, but I'll try.

Without doubt, the funniest thing to happen this year. The woman who hates anything even vaguely sexy, is hoist on her own petard. Clearly, her husband does not share her victorian attitudes.

Personally, I can't blame him. If given a choice between Victorian Jacqui and a porn movie and kleenex, I think I'd choose the latter as well....................

Jacqui Smith pulls in another TV psych in violence probe

Mad Mike

Sexist Idiots

And violence against men and boys is OK then? Jacqui Smith is the most overtly sexist and biased woman I've ever seen. Obviously just the job for Home Secretary. No need for balance or sense there...............

Wallet-stretching li-ion G-Wiz e-car goes on sale

Mad Mike
Paris Hilton

Moving Coffin

Given the crashworthiness of a G-Wiz, it's little more than a self-propelled coffin..............

Electric cars are simply non-starters in their current form. They would have to advance battery technologies by factors to get anywhere near a usable vehicle. Battery life is too short, but that wouldn't matter too much if they took less than all night to recharge. If you could pull into a charge station and get all fully recharged in a couple of minutes, then............

In the meantime, diesel it is. Hydrogren might catch on, but only if the infrastructure investment is put in.

Paris? Because I bet she knows a thing or two about battery life................

WAG sues CPW for phone pic nick

Mad Mike
Paris Hilton

And blondes aren't dumb!!

I appreciate she isn't a natural blonde, but she clearly meets all other criteria. It's a bit like leaving dodgy photos on your PC when going in for a repair. How stupid can you get. Yes, it shouldn't be touched, but everybody knows there is a risk, especially if you're a known celebrity (of whatever 'list').

Paris, cos she has managed to avoid this one.......so far.

Still more Tasers for plods - but still not in London

Mad Mike

Usage

Nobody is denying that tasers have their place. In certain circumstances, they will help prevent injuries to both the policemen and potentially the criminal. However, in various countries around the world, we can see them being used in completely stupid situations. Someone refused to cooperate with verbal instructions, next stop 50,000 volts. A gross inflamation of the situation for no good reason. Where the criminal is being violent, that's a different situation.

What about a series of Ashes to Ashes with Gene Hunt armed with this technology........... I can just see it now.

'Do you confess to the crime?' ...........zzzzzzzzz...zzzzzzzzzz....zzzzzzzz....zzzzzzzzz

'You got me fair and square copper, I'll cough.Now, can I have some cream for these electricity burns.'

Brussels: Old-school lightbulbs to be gone by 2012

Mad Mike

Stupidity

The greens gone bonkers again. CFLs are nowhere near good enough yet. Also, both these and halogen incandescents are stupidly expensive. I have lots of dimmers and fac paying £10 a time to replace the builbs with CFLs. I've tried one recently (of the fully dimming type) and it doesn't work properly. I might have to change the dimmer as well.......... How stupid is that. Ignorant MEPs and MPs pass these stupid laws which make almost no difference to energy consumption and yet get the changes they require paid for by the public due to 'second home' etc. rules.

Perhaps they should attempt to do something about areas that actually matter and won't result in large amounts of grief to people.

P.S.

Only major retailers have agreed to stop selling 100w bulbs in January this year. Go to a trade counter etc. and you can still buy them. Result.

Texting peer released from prison

Mad Mike

Something is wrong here

This is all wrong. All the points above make sense, but the sentence doesn't make sense within the facts.

You don't get a dangerous driving charge for being on a mobile phone with no connection to an accident. There's a specific law for mobile phones and that would result in points and a fine. Simple, if the accident and phone use were not related.

To get a dangerous driving charge, you have to be doing something much worse. So, why was the dangerous driving charge brought? If it was for using the mobile phone alone, he was very hard done by and got a substantially worse sentence than the masses. However, I don't think this was the case. I believe the dangerous driving charge was actually related to the accident.

If you hit a stationary obstacle on a road whatever the conditions, it's your fault. End of story. You should only drive as fast as you can reasonably see and stop in. That's the law. If you hit a stationary object, whatever the lighting etc.etc., it is your fault. Effectively, you have assumed the road is clear without being able to see it. That's the law. Insurance companies would also hold him and not the Slovak to blame for the crash. So, bearing in mind someone was killed, this is much more likely to be the reason for the charge of dangerous driving. It would also be about right. Death by dangerous driving would be a little harsh under the circumstances, as that normally requires you to be actively doing something dangerous like speeding, weaving around, just generally acting like a dick. He was not.

So, someone, somewhere has got this all very muddled up. The "facts" don't match the charge or, indeed, the sentence.

Jacqui Smith ecstatically ignores more scientific advice

Mad Mike
Thumb Down

On drugs

This sort of decision really does beg the answer, who's on drugs?

I'm beginning to think young Jacqui is taking substances far worse than ecstacy. Perhaps she drinks and maybe even smokes. How can alcohol and tobacco be legal when they kill thousands in this country and yet ecstacy that kills a few is made illegal??

Absolutely brainless, but exactly what we have come to expect.

Virgin Media trials longer bandwidth throttling

Mad Mike
Paris Hilton

It's a con

When is a 2Mb/sec service not a 2Mb/sec service?

When is an unlimited service really limited?

Answer to all the above..........when we're talking ISPs.

It's a total con. If I have a 2Mb/sec service, I should be capable of running it at that speed all the time. None of this rubbish. If I can't, it's not a 2Mb/sec service.

If it's an unlimited service, I should be able to download or upload what I like within my lines speed limitations. When some sort of 'reasonable use' policy is in force, it's not unlimited.

To my mind, this is all a total con and many of the ISPs are guilty of fraudulent claims.

Paris? Cos she knows a good size pipe when she see's it............