* Posts by diodesign

3261 publicly visible posts • joined 21 Sep 2011

El Reg needs you – to help build an automated beer-transporting robot

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: "shared collaboration space"

We're not in Shoreditch. We're using WeWork in Sydney, San Francisco and London (Gray's Inn Road, Camden).

In each location, we have our own private walled-off offices with our own desks, phones, Ethernet, etc, adjoining a shared space that has stuff like coffee, tea, biscuits/cookies, beer, cider, wine, kitchen, sofas, etc.

Well, except in California. They took away our alcohol :(

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German sauna drags punters to court over naked truth

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Big John

"Wait, so you guys actually earn less on non-IT stories?"

The Bootnotes are a bit of fun. They're not the focus of our ad team. They're not even a traffic driver - stuff like cloud services going wrong, scandals, security cockups, operating system bugs, and so on, bring in the millions of netizens.

"And if you get just a bit too raunchy, those big advertisers will shy away"

That's not how it works. We sell ad space next to IT stories to IT vendors and providers. These companies want to reach technology workers, and show off their wares and solutions to folks in the industry, so that's why they direct their advertising there. Sometimes, advertisers will run their ads across the whole site. It's really up to them.

The Bootnotes are a side channel of amusement. Advertisers know these off-topic stories are part of the site's charm and heritage. If you're flogging an SDN switch, you probably want that to appear next to networking articles for maximum relevant eyeballs. OTOH you might want to run your ad sitewide. Whatever the advertiser and our ad team strike a deal on; us journalists aren't thinking about it.

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Big John

"Allegedly titillating articles like this one draw in a much larger crowd of eyeballs, enhancing ad revenues greatly"

This is a common misconception. Our main advertising is aimed at people coming to read the enterprise IT tech stuff. Ads that run alongside Bootnotes are mainstream and thus low CPM. We do Bootnotes stories to offer some light amusement, and keep to our tabloid roots.

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Stamp it out.

"Just what has this News got to do with Technology or Science?"

Nothing, which is why it's in Bootnotes. Bootnotes are off-topic fun for writers who need a break from writing about computers, software, bugs, companies, and other tech stuff. There is more to life than IT, and we're happy to provide some light relief for readers who don't want to stare at specifications.

Amusingly, I think you're the same Stuart who ran the Acorn Cybervillage way back in the day, when I ran Acorn news site Drobe, and we clashed even back then.

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My Tibetan digital detox lasted one morning, how about yours?

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Where can I get the Cool "The Reg Mug"?

Right now they are a very limited edition item. Maybe one day we'll bring back Cash'n'Carrion, our Reg merch store.

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How machine-learning code turns a mirror on its sexist, racist masters

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Mathematical modelling of sterotypes?

"Isn't this mostly what you'd expect?"

Yes, but the point is: don't let old stereotypes interfere with your future code's decisions.

Also, it's an interesting way to study how stereotypes have changed over time.

"I'd be more interested in if anything has actually changed over the years."

Oh Jesus. That's like, half the story explaining it has. Does anyone read the articles?

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Furious gunwoman opens fire at YouTube HQ, three people shot

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: dmacleo

"huh odd how you didn't mention female wearing headscarf. almost as if you were afraid of providing description."

We've been providing updates throughout the afternoon as soon as we were able to confirm them, rather than spread rumor and gossip. We've included details of the suspected shooter.

"also. no fatalities as of this time. odd how that wasn't in article either."

One fatality: the gunwoman. And other injuries were reported accurately.

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Elon Musk's mighty erection fires sperm at orbiting space station

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: LOHAN

LOHAN was overseen by long-term El Reg staffer Lester Haines.

As far as I understand/can recall: the device used a rocket motor that couldn't be legally launched in Europe, so it had to go to the United States for firing. It required a permit from the US aviation watchdog, the FAA, however officials couldn't decide how to classify it - whether it was a drone or a rocket.

They were busy rewriting the rules for drones at the time, and seemed hesitant to make a decision before the new regulations were approved, which had all sorts of politics attached to it. So LOHAN was somewhat lost in federal government's bureaucracy.

In 2016, Lester died, dealing us all a blow in more ways than one. The project has been in stasis since, although not forgotten. We've got our hands on the kit again. There may be movement soon.

See here and here and here.

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Why you shouldn't trust a stranger's VPN: Plenty leak your IP addresses

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: So ElReg what are you reporting this crap for.

Wtf are you on about?

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: VPN providers

Hi. I think the piece is pretty clear we're talking about the VPN providers not the underlying encryption tech- especially since we recommend experienced users try openvpn or ipsec.

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: disabling WebRTC

Hi. It's pretty clear in the piece that you should disable WebRTC. It's not the first time we've highlighted the dangers of WeRTC either.

Also, in addition to this: don't trust your VPN provider.

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Tautological tautology

Sometimes, we occasionally break the language from time to time for laughs and to sporadically irritate pedants, but only once in a while.

However, we've thought of a better headline, so now it's your comment that is the redundant text.

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Microsoft patches patch for Meltdown bug patch: Windows 7, Server 2008 rushed an emergency fix

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: aregross

I don't believe there are any 32-bit Meltdown/Spectre patches from Microsoft. 32-bit is SoL.

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Running Drupal? You need to patch, patch, patch right now!

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: erm patch for D6 I don't think is right

I absolutely hate this. Absolutely hate it. People are freaking out about Drupal 6, when the security team officially supports 7 and 8. I'm seeing all sorts of links to weird pages claiming they have patches for D6. I absolutely hate the idea of sending people to unofficial security fixes. The damage possible is obvious.

I think I've got the patch link right now. Should be this one https://www.drupal.org/node/2955130

Use entirely at your own risk.

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New Forum Wishlist - but read roadmap first

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

"Does that mean posting at different times gets me judged under different laws?"

No. We're judged by the jurisdiction where any action is brought against us.

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Re: Feature request: Mod rejection reason

Generally not a great idea to state without caveats that a company has stolen IP from another company when they settled out of court.

99.99% they are not going to sue over an article comment, but it's always the ones you least suspect that end up triggering a legal headache.

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Software gremlin robs Formula 1 world champ of season's first win

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: So many mistakes in the article

The point we were trying to make is that although Vettel was technically in the lead, he had yet to pit so wasn't really 1st. Due to the timing cockup for Hamilton, Vettel was able to unexpectedly secure that lead.

I've tweaked the piece to make it clearer.

Don't forget to email corrections@theregister.com if you spot anything wrong - those go to the top of our todo list, whereas we don't have time to check every comment.

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Patrick R

The point we were trying to make is that although Vettel was ahead of Hamilton, the Ferrari driver had yet to pit so wasn't really 1st. However, due to the timing cockup, Vettel was able to maintain pole position anyway.

I've tweaked the article to make it clearer.

Don't forget to email corrections@theregister.com if you spot anything you think is wrong. We see those instantly, whereas we don't have time to read through every comment - there are thousands a month.

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NASA stalls $8bn James Webb Space Telescope again – this time to 2020

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: WillC

"Didn't they remember Mister Scott's secret?"

Spock, it's a joke.

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FCC boss to block 'national security risk' companies (cough, Huawei, ZTE) from US's $8.5bn broadband pot

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Used to, as in...

"I used to do drugs.

"I still do, but I used to, too."

–– Mitch Hedberg

The Register Lecture: The Secret Spitfires

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Adolph Hitler????

It's fixed - please email corrections@theregister.com if you spot any issues. Sometimes typos and whatnot slip through.

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Prof Stephen Hawking's ashes will be interred alongside Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: 'Physics ace'

Black-hole brainiac? Cosmic connoisseur? Battery-backed boffin?

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The Register Lecture: How to build your own tractor beam

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

It's been fixed! Sorry about that.

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Uber breaks self-driving car record: First robo-ride to kill a pedestrian

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: bike or not

"Why is there a broken bike at the scene?"

Not sure at the moment - it could have nothing to do with it, and the reporter on the scene assumed it was.

Edit: She was walking her bike across the road.

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: bike or not

An initial report said it was a cyclist, but then the story was updated to say pedestrian.

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It's begun: 'First' IPv6 denial-of-service attack puts IT bods on notice

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

"an IPv6 project team is brought in or created specifically to do an IPv6 project"

Yup. IPv6 is hacked on as an afterthought. Not at all orgs, but quite a few, it seems.

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Equifax peeks under couch, finds 2.4 million more folk hit by breach

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: elvisimprsntr

From the linked-to statement:

"Equifax was able to identify approximately 2.4 million U.S. consumers whose names and partial driver's license information were stolen, but who were not in the previously identified affected population discussed in the company's prior disclosures about the incident."

HTH

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Martian microbes may just be resting – boffins

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: TDahl

Cool, but the story's not wrong FYI.

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Virgin Media's Brit biz broadband goes TITSUP: Total Inability To Support Upset People

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Leased lines

Given it allegedly involves a corrupted database, used to authenticate subscribers, I'm not surprised it affects non-leased lines.

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Stunning infosec tips from Uncle Sam, furries exposed, Chase bank web leak, and more

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: furries

I think you're nitpicking a little - or reading too much into a simplified description, simplified for brevity.

I've tweaked that part to try to keep everyone happy.

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: El Reg published, "...shit down."

We really need to lay off the Friday martinis :(

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Amos1

Argh, ok. Apologies. It was a case of a missing word "not" from the article's sentence, rather than deliberate misinformation or someone not reading the doc.

It's fixed. Thanks.

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Re: Perhaps someone needs to read the 2018 SEC guidance a bit closer...

"I feel like this article is not quite up to the Reg's usual bar of quality, what with the copious spelling and grammatical errors and misinformation."

Argh, ok, we'll go back over it. It was a Friday afternoon piece - but that's no excuse.

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BBC Telly Tax heavies got pat on the head from snoopers' overseers

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Sam Therapy

It's fixed - by "uses a television," we meant watching live telly.

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Huawei guns for Apple with Mac-alike Matebook X

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Phil W

Just like software written by professionals has bugs, articles written and edited by professionals have errors from time to time. It's fixed.

As for the Intel U/M thing. It's a Kaby Lake R Intel Core M part, but has a U in the part name. Because Intel.

From the official spec sheet, the 8550U is a Kaby Lake R part as opposed to a Kaby Lake U or a Skylake U.

Chipzilla's naming of stuff drives me bonkers.

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: How do they do it ?

It's been fixed - drop corrections@theregister.com an email if you spot anything wrong.

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The YouTube crackdown on fake news: Promoting bonkers Florida school shooting conspiracies

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Re: Robert Mueller is a neo-Mccarthyist

"For which he quickly apologised."

Well, it was a load of corporate spin.

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Robert Mueller is a neo-Mccarthyist

"The majority of the Russian ad spend happened AFTER the election"

Yeah, something like 56% after, 44% before.

Fact-Checking a Facebook Executive’s Comments on Russian Interference

A Reg reader falling for a SV exec's spin? Oh my days.

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Hot NAND: Samsung wheels out 30TB SSD monster

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: nate1981

Yes - it's a 3.5" drive.

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James Damore's labor complaint went over about as well as his trash diversity manifesto

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: controversial bro-grammer ?

"Is there a way to filter out all SJW insanity that comes from San Francisco based The Register team ?"

Yeah, stop reading us.

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: DainB

Nah mate. As we'd say in the engineering/math world...

Damore's essay was idiotic [triv]

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Hyperoptic's overkill 10Gbps fibre trial 'more than a clever PR stunt'

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: GreenReaper

All right, GrumpyReaper. I think you're being overly pedantic. Half the article stresses that home hardware can't handle the high-speeds, and that 1Gbps is more than enough let alone 10Gbps.

We assume all Reg readers are smart enough to understand that YMMV when discussing theoretical maximum data transfer speeds. Since you're being so pedantic, consider this: we didn't say anything about _writing_ the data to disk, merely fetching it. So yes, you can download a 25GB game in a few seconds over a 10Gbps line - writing it to storage is another thing entirely, which Reg readers know all too well.

I've tweaked the piece to make it crystal clear.

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Who wants dynamic dancing animations and code in their emails? Everyone! says Google

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Who cares

Thanks for that insightful observation, anon.

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Apple's top-secret iBoot firmware source code spills onto GitHub for some insane reason

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Cupertino's highly secretive idiot-tax operations

I dunno man, I spent 80 bucks on an Apple wireless mouse for my work MacBook Pro, and I sure feel like I've been taxed like an idiot. Same goes for the RAM and other accessories I've bought for my home Mac gear over the many many many many

many many many many many

many

many many many many many many many many years.

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(Yes, El Reg hacks use Macs. That's part of the joke. We also have a new rule that you have to split your time between macOS / Linux and Windows, so we get the same daily experience of crap technology our readers face.)

What did we say about Tesla's self-driving tech? SpaceX Roadster skips Mars, steers to asteroids

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: It was never going anywhere NEAR Mars

"So the fact that it now happens to go a bit further is no problem, and not an error"

Who said it was a problem? We're just pointing out that it's overshot. Musk tweeted the final burn was going to send the thing "to Mars". It was heading to Mars. It's going to miss Mars by a much greater distance than expected.

Christ, it's a flying PR st- car. A flying car in space. It's funny as fuck.

Jeez, tough crowd! ;-)

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MY GOD, IT'S FULL OF CARS: SpaceX parks a Tesla in orbit (just don't mention the barge)

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Don't know if posted already?

At the time of writing, it was suspected the engines ran out of "fuel." We weren't invited to the press conference. Can't think why. Anyway, SpaceX later clarified it ran out of ignitor fuel.

We've tweaked the article, and another piece is coming.

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Ran out of igniter fuel

At the time of writing, it was suspected the engines ran out of "fuel." We weren't invited to the press conference. Anyway, SpaceX later clarified it ran out of ignitor fuel.

We've tweaked the article, and another piece is coming.

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diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Core stage failed to land when it ran out of TEA/TEB ignitor, NOT fuel.

At the time of writing, it was suspected the engines ran out of fuel. We weren't invited to the press conference. Can't think why. Anyway, it ran out of ignitor, so... close enough, ish. We've tweaked the article and another piece is coming.

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Monday: Intel defector touts Arm server chip. Wednesday: Intel shows off new server chips

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: Meltdown and Spectre

All modern Intel x86-64 chips are affected until further notice - this is a Skylake part so it's vulnerable. I've made that clear in the piece.

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LISA Pathfinder sniffed out gravitational signals down to micro-Hertz

diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

Re: too many hertz

Ah yeah, pico, not peta. It's fixed. Don't forget to email corrections@theregister.com if you spot anything wrong.

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