* Posts by User McUser

701 publicly visible posts • joined 6 May 2011

FUMBLE! NFL app drops privacy ball just before Super Bowl Sunday

User McUser
FAIL

Usual Public Relations Nonsense

A spokesman for the NFL told El Reg: "We’ve looked into this vulnerability and it’s been addressed. We continuously monitor and evaluate our systems for any security issues and remediate them as quickly as possible."

So did the definition of "continually" change from "without cessation" to "only when we're caught" and I missed it? Because if they were *continually* monitoring their systems for security issues then they should have stopped these first-year coding mistakes before the app went live. Or else they knew about the issues and didn't care. In either case, they look like idiots.

Beam me up, Scotty, And VAPORIZE me in the process

User McUser

Re: Really?

One could presume that they use some sort of replay attack prevention mechanism. They do claim to transmit it "securely" which surely would include such protections.

Dongle bingle makes two MEELLION cars open to exploit

User McUser

Re: Not a chance

To be clear, the monitoring program is optional.

In exchange for allowing your insurance company to openly spy on you, you get a discount on said insurance. That is, as long as you obey the rules in the monitoring agreement. I'm sure if you speed a lot or do something else they don't like they'll jack your rates right back up.

Double-digit tablet growth spurt is OVER, say pundits

User McUser
Headmaster

Short Pedantic Rant

The phrase "double-digit" when referring to percentages is so broad a range (10-99%) as to be utterly useless as a measure of anything. It's like using the phrase "somewhere in the atmosphere" as a measure of altitude.

Snooker WPA secrets with this Wi-Fi tool

User McUser
Alien

Re: "Bad guys and security testers "

If he had simply sold it to the feds \ NASA \ other corrupt power hungry organisations then he would be doing the community a disservice.

Unless we're trying to hack the aliens' WiFi, it seems highly unlikely that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration would ever need something like this.

And I'm sure the National Security Agency *already* knows your WPA PSK.

GCHQ: We can't track crims any more thanks to Snowden

User McUser
Joke

Clef'd in twain

[...] the time need to crack communications had effectively trebled over recent months.

I think that's a bass-less statement.

Net Neut: Verizon flips the bird to FCC on peering deal crackdown

User McUser

What if ISPs responded to a Title II declaration by raising prices across the board and blame it on increased administrative costs?

What makes you think they won't raise their prices regardless? The price I pay for my cable modem connection has more than doubled in the last 10 years (~$20/mo -> ~$45) but the bandwidth I get only went up by ~60% (15Mbps -> 24Mbps.)

Don't panic, US Navy has only deployed a ROBOT SHARK (but where are the lasers?)

User McUser

For the outer design, the Navy plumped for a shark-like shape, for reasons known only to itself.

I'd imagine that sharks probably go fairly unmolested in the seas, what with the teeth and all. So I'll wager that they're trying to deter people and animals from messing with the thing during missions.

Disk areal density: Not a constant, consistent platter

User McUser
Boffin

Re: Duh...

The RPM has to be constant (obvious).

Well no, it doesn't *have* to be. Disks can either be CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) or CAV (Constant Angular Velocity.) In the former, the disk's rotation rate slows as the read/write head moves towards the outside of the platter. I doubt this would work very well in drives with more than one platter, which is probably why nobody does it anymore (AFAIK.) CAV is likely to be a lot cheaper too.

Cool technology: Submerged blade servers escape the heat

User McUser

Clogged Filters

Seems like there should be some way to have a centrifugal blower to separate out the heavier metal dust from the incoming air stream. Then you wouldn't have to worry about anything becoming clogged as you could simply redirect the unwanted particles outside the box.

El Reg Redesign - leave your comment here.

User McUser
Meh

OPINIONS: I have some

1. Putting a banner ad *above* the masthead pushes everything down which combined with the large "featured story" graphic crowds the top of the page making it look like there is less content.

2. Having the three-column article list with the same background color as the main page body makes it look squeezed for some reason, like its narrower than it was before. Probably an optical illusion (or a lack of one.)

3. I liked Blue and Red for "alink" and "vlink" way better than Black and Grey.

Edit: 4. I agree with Michael Shelby's earlier comment about the nav bar on each article - you're blocking several lines of the article I'm trying to read with that thing!

Other than that, seems OK.

Brit boffins debunk 'magnetic field and cancer' link

User McUser

@DougS

The argument is not that we haven't landed things on the Moon, but that we haven't landed people on the Moon.

Ah, but if one accepts the idea that humans could get *something* up to the moon, then there's no reason that that something *can't* be a person and their laser reflector. (Note that we can assert this without having to allow for the person to return to earth since the conspiracy claim is only that people have not walked on the moon, saying nothing of their survival afterward.)

User McUser
Alien

Re: You can't use science to disprove theories not based on science

prove humans walked on the Moon in 1969

That one's easy - we can shoot high powered lasers at the reflectors they left there and detect the return beam.

Unless, of course, the lasers are in on the conspiracy!

Net neutrality: Cisco, Intel, IBM warn FCC NOT to crack down on ISPs

User McUser

"This is not idle speculation or fear mongering..."

No, it's ACTIVE speculation and fear mongering.

" [...] if you don’t know that you can recover on your investment, you won’t make it."

I'm pretty sure that taking a risk with your money is the definition of investing.

Portland lobs fair-trade gluten-free artisan SUEBALL at Uber

User McUser

I think Uber fails to "get" the laws in the locations where they operate so now they "get" to be sued.

I'll be back (and forward): Hollywood's time travel tribulations

User McUser

Re: Groundhog Day

If you realize that Bill Murray's character is the Buddha, it all makes perfect sense.

Disturbance in the force lets phones detect gestures with Wi-Fi

User McUser

as the human moves her arm, the wireless reflection[s] [...] interfere with the direct signal from the Wi-Fi transmitter. This results in peaks and troughs in the amplitude of the received signals

So basically they've reinvented the theremin?

Fujitsu CTO: We'll be 3D-printing tech execs in 15 years

User McUser

Re: Net Neutrality

Surely it should be upto the consumer how they prioritise their bandwidth?

Piffle! I'm pretty sure giant faceless multinational corporations know better than *you* what you want.

In all seriousness though, I have been making this argument for a while myself. It's no good to let Comcast and/or Google decide how fast I can stream from Netflix - it should be *my* decision. Give me XXMbps and let me carve it up however I please, with the default being equal priority for all sources.

The reason they don't do this already is that there's no way to make money from it. If you give control to the ISPs, they can charge both you (the end-user) and also stick it to Netflix (et al.) who currently get a "free ride" (from the ISP's point of view.) Though it's not like this was a surprise or something invented by OTT services; the Internet has always (RFC 791 not withstanding) treated traffic equally. You knew what you were getting into when you signed up all those thousands of customers with promises of fast connections and streaming video. It's a bit like joining a conservative political party and then complaining they're not liberal enough.

The electric company doesnt prioritise my TV over my kettle for me.

It does, however, meter your usage where-as ISPs generally do not. So you self prioritize or end up with a large electric bill. I suspect if we end up keeping Net Neutrality then we'll start to see metered Internet as a result.

Post-pub nosh neckfiller: The MIGHTY Scotch egg

User McUser

Re: a Texas favorite: Armadillo Eggs

Bisquick is brand name for a homogenized baking mix containing primarily flour, leavening, and fat. I don't know if there's a British equivalent so here's a recipe to make your own.

http://kitchensimplicity.com/homemade-bisquick-mix/

Players gonna play (play, play): Google confirms YouTube Music 'access all areas' key

User McUser

IANAL, but...

[Indie musicians] must also vow never to sue a UGC uploader of their own material. In other words, Google was saying: we'll have your music whether you sign this or not.

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure you can't be held to the terms of a contract you don't sign. Perhaps you meant "[...] we'll have your music whether you upload it or someone else does?"

Wind farms make you sick claims blown away again

User McUser

@JeffyPoooh

This windmill study is looking for something, didn't find it, and then made conclusions; which is trying to prove something via a negative result. Their conclusion is therefore an inference, and might be wrong for any number of unknown reasons.

If I told you there was a massive hoard of ravenous 30-foot tall flesh-eating purple monsters outside your house and you looked out a window and saw that there were no such monsters, would you then be unable to prove I was lying via a negative result?

Apple, Google take on Main Street in BONKING-FOR-CASH struggle

User McUser

Re: QR codes...established technology...most people know how to handle.

I suspect that in the USA, new payment methods are being tried because judging by previous comments above, they are stuck in the past.

For most it's a case of "if it isn't broken, don't fix it." It takes almost no effort to get out my credit card and swipe it through a mag-stripe reader. NFC or QR codes add another layer of complexity, provide no apparent additional benefit, and reduce legal protections.

So not so much stuck in the past as unimpressed with the available upgrade options.

Reg hacks see the woods or the trees In the Forest of the Night

User McUser

@heyrick

Nope, photo/video manipulation and drunken tweeting might be an explanation if only one person or a small to largish group had done it but the multiple petabytes of photos, video, and text that would be recorded should an event of that magnitude occur would be impossible to ignore or explain away.

Apparently the equivalent of Arbor day in England is called "National Tree Week" if Wikipedia is to be believed.

User McUser
Unhappy

I think the American broadcast was edited...

For example, there was this exchange very near then end that seems cut short:

Clara: "How will they explain this tomorrow?"

Doctor: "You'll all forget it ever happened."

Clara: "We're not going to forget an overnight forest!"

Doctor: "You forgot the last time. You remembered the fear and you put it into fairy stories. The Human superpower -- Forgetting. If you remembered how things felt you'd have stopped having wars and stopped having babies."

At this point in the "BBC America" broadcast it cuts away to a shot of the Earth, right before Clara presumably says "That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. You do know that humans have cameras, like fucking everywhere, yeah? Like in this very episode you literally saw children taking pictures with the cameras in their phones. Are you saying tomorrow we'll all wake up and say 'Why do I have so many damn pictures of trees on my phone? I sure made a lot of crazy Twitter posts with #overnight-forest-WTF?!' and we'll all just push delete and go about our business? Or ignore the fact that some kid didn't mass-call every phone on the planet? 'Say, did you get a weird phone call from some British kid about not hurting trees? Meh, must have been a wrong number!' Or will people just think it was some crazy Arbor day stunt? And furthermore, wouldn't extra oxygen just make *everything* burn worse? Shouldn't it have been the reverse, pumping as much CO2 into the sky as we can? And where are these glowy life-force tree-growing things when it comes to climate change, huh? Why don't they make the trees fix that shit for us? And why save humans at all? We're *terrible* for the environment, just the worst! You'd think that they'd try and kill us instead. Actually if that were the case your stupid speech about fearing the forest would actually make sense because teaching your children to fear something that is actively trying to kill them is entirely appropriate."

Can anyone confirm?

Meet Mr Gamification: He's got a NUDGE or two for you

User McUser

Re: The event sounds awful...

The moment you add goals or scoring metrics to a simulator, that is gamification.

If I'm in an aircraft simulator learning to operate all the controls, there's the obvious goal of "not crashing the plane" among others and there are scoring metrics dealing with whether or not I make the right choices when adjusting or setting controls.

How is that a game?

Happy 2nd birthday, Windows 8 and Surface: Anatomy of a disaster

User McUser
Windows

"the UI is too deeply embedded in the OS"

While "explorer.exe" is the default GUI, you can use something else by changing the value for "Shell" in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon to some other executable.

That said, I'm not aware of any serious replacement GUIs for Windows, though I've setup Kiosk style systems using a custom MMC console before.

Microsoft promises Windows 10 will mean two-factor auth for all

User McUser

Re: Hopefully the peripherals make it in time for the release?

Just stick a $15 USB to Bluetooth adapter in there and you're done.

HBO shocks US pay TV world: We're down with OTT. Netflix says, 'Gee'

User McUser

Re: Unbundling required in the US

I believe this is a misunderstanding of the fine print on the OP's part. Without having read the exact terms he(?) referenced, they are almost certainly referring to the advertised price being valid only with the bundle.

Looking at Comcast's website now (http://www.comcast.com/internet-service.html) they definitely offer stand-alone Internet, at least in my area.

AMD pays new CEO $150K LESS than her male predecessor

User McUser
Meh

Re: Base salaries

Yes, she makes a little less than her predecessor, at least at first, which is pretty common in any job.

I think you pretty much nailed the point here... It *is* pretty common for women to make less than men in any job though I can't imagine that this is simply a coincidence across the board. (And yes, I intentionally misconstrued your argument.)

But a lot of execs at this level have all manner of perks that make being shorted a hundred grand or so seem like someone forgetting to kick in a buck for their share of a tip.

So male CEOs don't get any of these perks?

Gotham gets the Smallville treatment with Jim Gordon in lead role

User McUser

The worst part of the show for me is the Bruce Wayne plot line. It's a forgone conclusion that he's going to be Batman so I really could not care less about what he's getting up to at home - is he all moody and brooding and upset that his parents died? Well great, thanks for the foreshadowing I guess.

El Reg's new ads prevent content from loading

User McUser
Thumb Up

Re: El Reg's new ads prevent content from loading

I haven't seen this again since the fix, so looks like you nailed it.

User McUser

Re: El Reg's new ads prevent content from loading

FWIW, I am also seeing this issue which also creates a weird entry along the lines of "wyciwyg://444/http://normal-url-for-article/" in my browser's back/forward button history (but not in the "History" sidebar oddly.)

Firefox ESR 24.7.0 on OSX 10.9.2

Yahoo close to investing $20m in disappearing chat app Snapchat

User McUser
Unhappy

George Orwell was WRONG

It isn't going to be perpetual war that eats up all the resources that could be put to use bettering society, it's going to be perpetual absurdly over-valued Internet start-ups.

FLASH drive ... Ah-aaaaaah! BadUSB no saviour to plug and play Universe

User McUser

Re: "Are you sure that you want to use this USB Storage device"

However, if something mimics, say, a keyboard, mouse, or other common peripheral these options will be of limited use [...]

A keyboard could be a threat vector, especially coupled with a USB storage device. Just quickly launch a CMD window ([Windows Key] + R -> cmd.exe -> [Enter]) and from there launch a silent payload from the USB disk and exit the shell. OSX could be vulnerable too ([Command Key] + [Space Bar] -> Terminal.app -> [Return].) Obviously some people might notice the CMD/terminal window flash up and disappear, but by then it would be too late.

Apple tool: Buying an iPhone in a carpark? Find out if it's STOLEN

User McUser

Re: Remote IMEI check

Ask them to dial *#06# and email you a picture of the resultant screen.

Spies, avert eyes! Tim Berners-Lee demands a UK digital bill of rights

User McUser
Headmaster

Re: Well we'd need a more refined bill of rights

I agree that the laws are broken, but that is a side issue in the case of DRM, which is simply a technical means to help verify and enforce compliance with a contract. You can only buy a movie copy with DRM because the creator says so; and if you remove the DRM you violate a contract. If you obtain a copy of someone else's legally obtained copy you have acquired something to which you have no legal entitlement, and the person who provided the copy almost surely has violated a contractual obligation.

While there are laws that detail which activities I should not engage in with copyrighted works, this has sweet FA to do with a contract between myself and the copyright holder because no such contract exists. I have bought a number of DVDs and BluRay discs over the years and not once have I ever had to sign a contract with the copyright holder in order to do so.

justWatch sex app promises blind date hookups

User McUser
Joke

Around the World

"Triple tap the display to activate Emergency mode," the developers said. "This will let the Police know where you are and will also share the location of your date."

Roxanne is Walking on the Moon on a Secret Journey under the Invisible Sun when her 3ndr date turns and says "Can't Stand Losing You" pulling her towards him.

"Don't Stand so Close to Me!" she cries.

"Every Breath You Take..." he starts to say, but she taps her justWatch three times and in short order she's So Lonely. Meanwhile her date feels like the King of Pain when all he wanted to say to her was "De Do Do Do De Da Da Da" only now he's Driven to Tears. "Everything She Does is Magic!" he sobs.

Mexicans! accuse! Yahoo! of! using! corrupt! judge! to! dodge! $2.7bn! payout!

User McUser
Alert

Re: Italic !'s - Why?

Apparently! So! As! The! Register! Kinda! Made! A! Big! Deal! About! It! When! It! First! Happened! Slightly! More! Than! One! Year! Ago!

See! Also! This! Article!: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/06/new_yahoo_logo_shows_marissa_meyers_personal_touch/

Apple's Watch is basically electric perfume

User McUser
Unhappy

I disagree

The biggest [problem] is that you repeatedly smash your fragile £500 watch or smartphone against a PoS terminal, and hope it works. Sometimes it does. If you're lucky, you won't have broken your smartphone.

The plastic Point of Sale terminal is far more likely to be damaged by the metal and glass smartphone or watch than the other way around.

The BNP can rip off your works for ‘parodies’ – but only if it's not racist

User McUser

Re: An interesting interpretation

Claiming the parody exception for Intellectual Property A when it is used to parody Intellectual Property B is a separate issue.

What this ruling is saying, assuming I understood the article correctly, is that you can't parody Intellectual Property A *if* the resulting work is racist or sexist. Eg: If you parodied "Smells like Teen Spirit" as "Smells like [Your Favorite Racist Term Here] Spirit" the racism/sexism voids the exception and you can be sued.

Snooptastic US CELL TOWERS pose man-in-the-middle THREAT

User McUser

Huh?

One (American) expert who works in the field told El Reg: [...] "It is most probable that these sites are to allow coverage to groups of people that are not in a conventional coverage area (such as paying customers in a casino, or military groups).

First one would think that "military groups" (whatever those are) would probably *want* encryption. Further, what cell phone company puts up towers for NON-paying customers regardless of their location? And why would the location of the tower have anything to do with the presence or absence of encryption?

It has been my experience that any time this sort of thing happens, it's probably because they figured it'd save/make them a couple bucks. Is the range and/or capacity of the tower increased when encryption is turned off?

Siri: Helpful personal assistant or SERIAL APP KILLER?

User McUser
Holmes

Re: "OK. Book the 9pm one and hire a Hertz car at Charles De Gaulle airport for my arrival"

It would essentially require some kind of unified global payments API or protocol which currently does not exist. Right now, 'Siri' or whatever, would need to essentially 'spider' the mentioned website and intelligently work out how to enter your personal/card details, navigate the booking pages, deal with problems (no car available) etc. That or have a custom-written plugin handling every possible such request.

No, no it wouldn't. Computer programs don't have to go to the website, they can just make direct database connections and exchange the requisite data.

An SPA (to use the vernacular of the article) would only search the airlines that used the Apple/Google/Microsoft API for payment and booking. Or, they would partner with (or buy) an existing travel website or two and use those systems.

Obama's healthcare.gov savior says: 'No suits please, we're techies'

User McUser

Re: It matters not

What you wear to work doesn't make you a better coder.

You're right it doesn't, but wearing uncomfortable clothing could make you a worse coder. Or it might encourage you to go write code for a company that lets you wear whatever you fancy.

Intel forced to shoot down viral 'Israeli boycott' whopper

User McUser

Eh, probably not...

Veritas could be in hot water very soon when the gaze of Chipzilla's lawyers fall on the bogus site.

I don't see how. Even if he used Intel's copyrighted or trademarked intellectual property, it's clearly either parody or commentary/criticism and so fair-use doctrine applies.

They might try suing for libel, but I doubt highly that would get them anywhere in a US court*. And even if it did, they're unlikely to get any real money out of Veritas so why bother? Best just to let it die naturally and move on.

*I suppose they might be able to sue in a jurisdiction that would be more accommodating but that's still likely to be a Pyrrhic victory.

BAD VIBES: High-speed video camera records your voice from trash

User McUser

Re: Insufficient data

Given that the audio sample they were trying to see was "Mary Had a Little Lamb", it would seem to be more the latter length. So not particularly swift.

Still, it's just a matter of a few more iterations of Moore's law and/or better optimization before it becomes reasonably quick.

CIA super-spy so sorry spies spied on Senate's torture scrutiny PCs

User McUser
Headmaster

G-Men

Just FYI, the term "G-Men" (presumed to be derived from "Government Man") refers specifically to FBI agents only.

The slang for a CIA agent would be "spook."

Secure microkernel that uses maths to be 'bug free' goes open source

User McUser

Re: Technically speaking...

Think display driver in kernel.

BTW, this is no longer the case as of Windows Vista (IIRC; might be Win7).

I can personally verify this as I've had my video driver crash hard under Windows 7 a number of times (faulty card.) The screens go all blank then come back up and Windows displays a little pop-up telling you that the video driver crashed but was reloaded.

Want to legally unlock your phone from its network? The US Senate says that's A-OK

User McUser
Holmes

Re: [Obama] promptly passed the buck and said it was up to Congress to get it done.

Yes but considering Obama's predilection for executive actions [...]

Yes, he loves them so much that he's actually only 21st out of 44 for number of executive orders issued (182 as of June 20.) See also: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/orders.php

I've got 99 problems, but a Facebook boycott ain't one

User McUser
Trollface

It's been difficult...

But today makes 3,444 days without using Facebook.

Dish Network to FCC: Block that Comcast/Time Warner merger

User McUser

Holy Crap, I'm about to defend Comcast...

FWIW, I've had good experience with Comcast's support folk; so far each time I've called they took me seriously and nobody forced me to walk through the "unplug everything then connect them in order" script. They listened to my complaints, asked a few technical questions, and then (and this is what surprised me) SOLVED MY ISSUES right then and there. The CSR had direct access to the device logs for my connection and actually understood the issue at hand and had a solution. So far I'm 3 for 3 with support calls being quickly and correctly resolved over the last ~4 years.

YMMV, natch.