Posts by Caesarius

BTW, what does CCTV stand for?

It used to be Closed Circuit TeleVision, but I expect most of these cameras are linked using WiFi. We could have a competition, and I might suggest Continuous Coverage TeleVision, but most people will not even stop to think what it stands for.

We need a route to using better tools. When a friend wants a pc setup, we could install Ubuntu and see if they notice the difference. When a project starts at work, specify the tools for the project. Nudge towards better things.

But this may be hopelessly slow. Any other ideas?

Revenge

In stopping WannaCry, he will have cost someone a lot of revenue. I wonder if they had a hand in his arrest?

Where in the chain of communication

Copyright is more to do with making content available, like if I put all the Harry Potter books online for people to download (1). Otherwise, why not go after the people who laid the cables.

As I always say, the internet is the very best and the very worst of anarchy.

(1) I'm still annoyed that "view with browser" and "download" are distinguished: how else can anyone view something with their browser?

Do not blaspheme against the mighty XOR

Don't blame the XOR. If I were to use a one-time pad to apply a sequence of bytes to my data using XOR, my code would be unbreakable. Therefore XOR is not a weak link. You'd have trouble managing such keys to cover unlimited data, but that isn't the XOR's fault.

You might as well say that the processor can't be expected to do much, because it's only manipulating a bag of bits using very simple operations.

Judging the value of content

The internet has a very large quantity of worthless drivel, but enough interesting material to make it worth the effort of getting involved.

Some parts have a high concentration of goodness, like The Register (1).

Others have a low concentration of goodness, like Facebonk (just my prejudice?!).

My impression is that Twitter is not significantly worse than the internet generally, but that isn't a very good reason to invest in it.

(1) If El Reg doesn't pay me for this, then I'm deleting it. Mutter mutter mutter.

"up to three years old"

"Our analysis reveals that there is substantial evidence that this data is up to three years old and primarily [linked to the] geographical catchment area [of] the United States and England, but [we've] also confirmed [a] dozen Danish Gmail accounts"

If the data is 3 years old then they haven't got my recent password. If the data is 0 years old then they might have it. If the data is up to 3 years old then they might have it. So to my mind that makes the "3 years" entirely irrelevant.

"the data is probably three years old" FYTY?

(Like the retail outlet headline "up to 50% off", which actually includes the case where there is no reduction at all, and so the claim is annoyingly content-free.)

Poetic style to reduce innuendo?

Perhaps we could avoid embarrassment if we used quite a different style of error message. My favourite is haiku, see Salon Magazine competition (which I could only find using the archive site).

On the other hand ... oh sod it. I mean, bugger. Perhaps I need to wash my mouth out...

That's why this icon is used so many times. Mine's the unwashed waterproof ...

(I need help. Shit. I mean...)

Nice for a change...

...to hear of a site managed well enough not to crash, not to leak details, etc., even though it was bound to suffer with that scale of attack. I suppose it's not normally news unless a site goes horribly wrong.

And so back to lures of the flesh ;-)

Is it just me...

...or does anyone else remember feeling just a tiny bit of foreboding when they committed any personal data to the big uncontrollable out-there?

Timescales

"Last March, the US announced that it would work towards a multi-stakeholder model of governance by autumn next year."

"The Commission will also want to talk about future funding for the IGF secretariat, whose mandate runs out in 2015 and which relies on voluntary funding."

Let's review this in, say, ten months. No? You won't exist then? Pity.

Scary invisible rays

This reminds me of the joke played on freshmen in my college. A note was placed in each of our pigeon-holes advertising a new technique for marking serial numbers on bicycles, using nuclear radiation. This was to be provided free, as were the lead-lined underpants that should be used when riding the bicycles during the initial stage, when the radiation had not died down to a safe level. We were to apply to the Porter's Lodge: the Porters showed a range of emotions, ending with hilarity and derision.

At least those precautions would have been effective but unnecessary, rather than ineffective and unnecessary.

Hang on a minute

If the no poaching pact was done for profit, and if it succeeded, then the shareholders got more value not less. Why would they cut off their own noses?

Or perhaps the pact had run its course, and was generating less money (but how can anyone know that?). Then it might be good to be first in the queue suing for compensation.

Sorry, that's a bit cynical.