* Posts by Martin Summers

1503 publicly visible posts • joined 13 Apr 2011

China censors drop the soap operas, sitcoms

Martin Summers Silver badge

Ok, so people being free and able to express themselves are not your thing, wow. It's amazing whenever there's any of the slightest criticism of China's regime in the Reg comments it attracts many down votes.

Martin Summers Silver badge

There's no fair or honest about it. It's disgusting that regimes like this still exist in this modern world. Unfortunately the more we do business with them and the more they buy up our industry and we in the west become more dependent upon the Chinese for jobs, their tentacles are going to spread further. Take a look at the BBC article on the new Silk Road and tell me when you read it in this context it doesn't send a chill down your spine.

Juicy fine for Bradford firm after it blurts one million spam texts

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: True Consent

"I can do you dozen budgies going cheep."

No thanks take a squawk!

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: Oooh! Satsuma Loans...

Personally I'd have sent in the Peelers.

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: True Consent

"If you believe that - then can I interest you in a bridge going cheap?"

That's quite a novelty, if it flies too I'll take it!

Ew! HTC jams pop-up adverts into people's smartphone keyboards

Martin Summers Silver badge

I use SwiftKey. I can't get used to the stock keyboards now. What I don't get is 'flowing' and I've yet to come across anyone who uses it.

Russia launches non-terrifying satellite that focuses Sun's solar rays onto Earth

Martin Summers Silver badge

My first thought was that the Russians are planning to use this to burn us all like ants under a magnifying glass...

Nearly three-quarters of convicted TV Licence non-payers are women

Martin Summers Silver badge

"1) Name something that the BBC still does well."

I don't need to as you answered your own question at the end of the comment. Plus what people think is done well is subjective.

"2) No, they are not 'making in-roads to slimming down', that is unless 'slimming down' means increasing their management spending while not addressing waste and unused resources."

Citation needed. Although I don't have one to hand for my assertion that they are slimming down I can say at least visibly they've moved in to modern easier to maintain buildings in Manchester that would have otherwise stayed in an expensive London property to produce a large part of their output.

"3) In this age of record and watch later, adverts are something that can be bypassed or easily skipped."

Yes but that's not going to last as the ads pay for the content whether we like that or not. On demand players already stop you skipping ads so what is to stop them implementing that technology on a PVR to used to record a broadcast?

Martin Summers Silver badge

"No it won't the technology is already there in freeview receivers, virgin media boxes and satellite boxes. What scares the BBC is that very few would actively subscribe."

I don't recall seeing a conditional access module in every receiver or TV I've come across and there isn't one in my Freesat box either. If the technology was there in the boxes to go cardless then why do Sky bother sending them out?

Martin Summers Silver badge

No because the BBC still do things well and are making in-roads to slimming down, no commercials is also not to be sniffed at. Once the licence fee is gone and the BBC carry adverts it is more than likely gone for good and the BBC will be no better than any broadcaster which could then cause its complete demise. Not a light or easy decision to make.

There is an argument for the BBC to encrypt and only licence fee payers can access the TV content. This would take years for the filter through of the new capable hardware to reach people unless they went all out and forced people to change their hardware. Can you imagine that?!.

Hey, remember that monkey selfie copyright drama a few years ago? Get this – It's just hit the US appeals courts

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: Just sayin'

I'm always the set up never the punchline! ;-) enjoy the 100+ up votes.

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: Just sayin'

Companies are a legal entity constructed by people. I've yet to see a monkey create a startup.

Hackers able to turbo-charge DJI drones way beyond what's legal

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: "underground groups of drone users"

Caverns

Crashed RadioShack flogs off its IPv4 stash

Martin Summers Silver badge

"But with the addresses worth increasing amounts of money as companies try to expand, but resist efforts to shift over to IPv6, that approach has become untenable and the RIRs effectively turn a blind eye to the auctions."

Well they really shouldn't, they should enforce the rules, otherwise what is the point of them existing as a body. It's only untenable to profit mongers who want to make money out of a community asset.

May the excessive force be with you: Chap cuffed after Star Trek v Star Wars row turns bloody

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: Ewoks.f@$!$ Ewoks

Cos I'm a Star Trek fan and didn't know what to vote for out of the Star Wars choices. There should have been The Original Series as well as next generation in the last question of the poll too! :-)

Dead serious: How to haunt people after you've gone... using your smartphone

Martin Summers Silver badge

Better still "Help! It's all dark let me out!"

Not Apr 1: Google stops scanning your Gmail to sling targeted ads at you

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: I see what you did there.

Nope there was quite a bit of noise made about it when they launched.

PC rebooted every time user flushed the toilet

Martin Summers Silver badge

Brings new meaning to "Logging off".

Cheeky IT rival parks 'we're hiring' van outside 'vote Tory' firm Storm Technologies

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: How would Storm know?

"Neither the Tories or labour (or any other party for that matter) have a monopoly on dickheads in their ranks and the sooner the wider electorate grasp this simple fact, the sooner we'll be able to start doing something about it."

The voice of reason, thank you.

FOIA documents show the Kafkaesque state of US mass surveillance

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: To Constitute or not to Constitute...

"I suggest you look at the election result for this borough at last election carefully. Take a very long careful look. Think. Careful look again. Think. Add/subtract some numbers. Think. Ask no more questions."

I knew someone had to come out with that sick theory. Took its time.

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: To Constitute or not to Constitute...

"At least communism you knew where you stood!"

Yes, normally in a field.

When we said don't link to the article, Google, we meant DON'T LINK TO THE ARTICLE!

Martin Summers Silver badge

What if it's about you but you didn't write it or publish it? I think you've missed the point.

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: This will be tough...

"On the one hand, Reg commentards hate Google."

Don't speak for me thanks, I don't hate Google.

I don't think this is censorship either, this is just making sure a powerful company in a powerful position to help make or break the reputation of people (or indeed companies) has links to facts that are correct. If information is blatantly factually wrong then it's wrong and needs to be removed, that's not censorship it's called being responsible.

DXC Technology puts reluctant office movers on naughty step

Martin Summers Silver badge

Was this line not there when you commented?:

"But it certainly had nothing to do with the handy location of his home in relation to a certain rail line."

If it was then that's enough of a hint.

Has riddle of the 1977 'Wow!' signal finally been cracked? Maybe...

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: WOW!

Let's hope they don't for your sake, or that's possibly a large and expensive round!

Windows 10 Creators Update preview: Lovin' for Edge and pen users, nowt much else

Martin Summers Silver badge

Out of all the updates they've pushed out, the one that pisses me off the most is no longer being able to right click the start button to get to control panel. WTH? Stop messing with control panel, it belongs where it was, not in an app.

Boeing preps pilotless passenger flights – once it has solved the Sully problem, of course

Martin Summers Silver badge

Oh I don't know, it's just one place to put the cream rather than having to spread it around.

Amazon pulls snouts from all-you-can-eat cloud storage buffet

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: Archival grade media

Thank you for this, I have been seriously wondering recently how my photos of my family will ever survive me as they're mostly on hard drives and cloud storage. It's a serious thought as to how my partner would ever get easy access to my data if something happened to me and the bill wasn't paid for Onedrive.

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: Stenography?

"Or did you mean steganography?"

There's always someone here that knows the big words! ;-)

Cloud VMs without sane firewalls is nutty, right? Digital Ocean agrees

Martin Summers Silver badge

No, you're not right,they don't do Windows. And if people don't enable a firewall on a VPS that's not the providers fault, it's hardly a consumer product is it.

Dish Network hit with $280 MEEELLION fine for relentless robocalling

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: There are times...

I was thinking this only yesterday, showing your appreciation (or not) for an article would be cool. I think however that certain Reg hacks who get a tough time of it already would have it even tougher. Can't really moderate dislikes!

I also think it's a bit too Facebook and simplistic for a place like this and us commentards are a bit more highbrow than that.

Ex-MI5 boss: People ask, why didn't you follow all these people ... on your radar?

Martin Summers Silver badge

"Where might these trees be?"

Hampstead Heath?

I think you'll have to visit them all but it's a start.

Hotel guest goes broke after booking software gremlin makes her pay for strangers' rooms

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: never use a debit card for credit ?

Some people don't want to inadvertently get into debt...

Russian data scientist unable to claim £12,000 prize in Brit competition

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: Not for long....

And that link has what to do with May exactly?

"But the events of the next 48 hours ensured that the SFO would not be allowed to collect those files. Instead came a sudden harsh lesson in the realities of power and politics in Blairite Britain."

Plus it's the Guardian, which granted is usually a Labour rag but still...

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: Not for long....

Go live in those countries and decide whether that's really the case.

BA IT systems failure: Uninterruptible Power Supply was interrupted

Martin Summers Silver badge

Yeah but at least that normally actually works!

Microsoft's cunning plan to make Bing the leading search engine: Bribery

Martin Summers Silver badge

Who remembers a toolbar that launched in the 90's called AllAdvantage? I remember it taking up quite a hefty portion of the top of my screen to show me ads whilst online and they sent you a cheque when you'd reached a certain amount. It was reasonably generous too and even better when coupled with the 0800 dial in numbers that sprang up back then. Didn't last unfortunately. So what Microsoft is doing is nothing new. I'm surprised no-one to my knowledge has tried to make AllAdvantage work again to get guaranteed eyeballs on ads and be upfront with the kind of people who'd be happy to do it and just pay them a decent amount to get on with it. People want more for their loyalty these days and I can't be bothered with what they are offering.

Samsung's Bixby assistant fails English, gets held back a month

Martin Summers Silver badge

Who cares, I'd be utterly gobsmacked if anyone bought the S8 on the strength of Bixby anyway. I didn't. I just know when they do finally release it there's going to be some nagging to turn it on before I hopefully am able to silence it. If I can't silence it then I'm going to think again before I buy another Samsung.

Sysadmin finds insecure printer, remotely prints 'Fix Me!' notice

Martin Summers Silver badge

Ah yes this was quickly discovered by individuals in my Computer Science group back in the early 00's. To be honest what were they expecting, computer geeks and poor students equals 'work arounds'.

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: Never do this

"To give you an analogy: if you notice someone's bag is open with a visible wallet inside, it's OK to tell them that they left the bag open and that you advise them to close it. But it's not OK to take the wallet yourself just to prove the point."

Ooh that explains what I've been doing wrong...

Life is... pushing all the right buttons on the wrong remote control

Martin Summers Silver badge

I think you have bigger problems if she's moved on to "fucking Lovejoy" Mr Dabbs.

Unfortunately I'm experiencing the same problem with remotes at home and the other half is not very tolerant. Worse still trying to get a new Samsung TV to talk to a a Sony amp and Blu Ray player a Humax box and Xbox One is not a joyful experience. Quite often the devices randomly turn themselves on for no apparent reason and take over the screen from what you are actually trying to watch (the Blu Ray being the worst culprit). Unfortunately turning off the HDMI control between them just exasperates things so that you end up hunting for all of the separate remotes to turn each device on separately. It's the opposite of convenience and entertainment. Maybe it is my fault for not having the same brand of device for everything.

Maybe I'm just getting old and less geeky about this stuff but I just want the damn stuff to work without having to do my day job of tech support when I get home! Life used to be so much easier, time for my pills now anyway.

(oh and PS: Quite often I use the cat curled up on me as an excuse to get out of many different reasons and countless times the Mrs insists I get out of my seat, I recommend a cat to anyone)

Nokia's retro revival 3310 goes on sale and disappears immediately

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: How much

"These companies need to think again."

No, people just need to not buy it.

NASA duo plan Tuesday ISS spacewalk to replace the mux that sux

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: Uh-oh

"It was everyone's first thought."

It wasn't mine. I had to Google it. And now I feel ashamed...

No nudity please, we're killing ourselves: Advice to Facebook mods leaks

Martin Summers Silver badge

Re: The problem...

I do see your point but it stops the censorship issue falling on Facebook then and the users are responsible for the content they wish to see. They're already asking for people to report content so what is to stop the content disappearing temporarily after a certain trigger of reports whilst someone reviews it?

Martin Summers Silver badge

Is it possible they could have some proper crowd sourced moderation and users vote out content that people do not think is ok to be online? Bias would have to be handled carefully as getting a whole group of people to take things down would perhaps be too easy, but then you could have reputation scores for moderators. A lot of communities turn to their users for help with this kind of thing and I don't understand why Facebook should be any different and expect all abuse to be reported to them.

Ur dumped lol: Folk may be able to leave mobile contracts via text

Martin Summers Silver badge

Something they may not have thought of. I've often switched to new customer deals from the same network via a different party, try getting your number changed to your new plan then! (And no they've never matched the deals I gave up trying) I've had to port from EE to GiffGaff then port from GiffGaff back to EE. Utterly farcial. Luckily GiffGaff allow you to request a PAC via their site and it appears instantly. Unfortunately for them I think they probably get used that way quite a lot but it's a means to an end in a ridiculous system.

‪There's a ransom-free fix for WannaCry‬pt. Oh snap, you've rebooted your XP box

Martin Summers Silver badge

Hey at least the guy bothered. He's not asking for money for it either. If there's another similar outbreak then this tool might come in very useful for people if it can be adapted.

Kill Google AMP before it kills the web

Martin Summers Silver badge

AMP is ridiculous and nowhere near the convenience they must think it is. Trying to escape the page to get to the actual article itself to say perhaps get to the comments or their related content is a pain in the ass. I've ended up having to go back to find the link to the article on the actual mobile site of the news provider. They need to kill it with fire now.

Faking incontinence and other ways to scare off tech support scammers

Martin Summers Silver badge

I tried the emotional tactic once asking the guy on the other end whether his God would be happy with him for his actions. He ended up screaming noise, yes noise not words, down the line at me while I continued on my religious emotional rant in return. It went on for some time til he hung up. Perhaps telling him he would burn in hell for his actions was a bit too far...

Phishing scum going legit to beat browser warnings

Martin Summers Silver badge

An arms race they will not win. Now rather than have the casual scammer diluting the 'market' we are left with a concentration of those who have the ability to defraud you in a much more sophisticated way. They've just handed those scumbags a larger pay day.