* Posts by Mark 85

12880 publicly visible posts • joined 22 Nov 2012

MI5 man to steer GCHQ as Trump wiretapping saga continues

Mark 85

The US president on Friday maintained that Spicer had simply "quote[d] a certain very talented legal mind who was the one responsible for saying that on television".

So.. it wasn't "fake news" then? Or "alternative facts"? The bullshit rhetoric level is increasing....from all sides.

Norfolk County Council sent filing cabinet filled with kids' info to a second-hand shop

Mark 85

Ah.... the buzzwords

Gotta' love it... usage repeatedly of "robust" "taking data protection seriously", etc... Someone is obviously a PR or marketing type.

Cisco reports bug disclosed in WikiLeaks' Vault 7 CIA dump

Mark 85
Devil

Re: The title is no longer required.

Sure there is... from the management handbook.... "We've never done it that way before." Usually followed by the PHB saying something along the line of: "And I do need to Telnet in and keep an eye on things.".

US military's latest toy set: Record-breaking laser death star, er, truck

Mark 85

Re: OMFG this is an astonishing story.

I wouldn't put paint on a reflective surface and then hit it with a laser. Any ash or burn residue will create a problem for your missile. I fried (literally) a mirror in a laser cutter when after aligning things, I got distracted and failed to properly clean the mirror I was adjusting. Hit it with full power and "poof!".. fragments.

Mark 85

Re: Slow moving targets only

I was not aware of one being deployed in the Falklands.. Thanks for that.

I'll also add that the laser shouldn't be the last line of defense. Smoke, rain, fog, mist, etc. will make it pretty useless.

As for the landmine ban... how's that working again? I would hope the US wouldn't use it on human targets. Hope.. hope... hope....

Mark 85

Re: Slow moving targets only

In practice a weapon which produces guaranteed blindness (usually permanent) in all enemy soldiers up to 5-10 miles (far outside its normal kill range) is something our military would love to get (and will misuse it this way even if they are not supposed to).

I'll fix that a bit.. it's not just "our" military but all militaries. I can't think of any that wouldn't mind having and using it as you describe.

The general is right about the "target value" also. Just seems stupid to fire an expensive missile at a slow moving drone. So this laser weapon would work there. For high-maneuvering, high-speed targets, one needs a different solution.

Bloke cuffed after 'You deserve a seizure' GIF tweet gave epileptic a fit

Mark 85

Re: settings-autoplay=off

Gif's everywhere are annoying. I shudder think how many I'd see in a day without Adblocker running. I have friends with epilepsy and they say the ads are the worst and ad companies blow off their complaints.

Lyft drops $27m on the table to make annoying driver lawsuit go away

Mark 85

Cake today....The American version of capitalism lawsuits at it's finest.

FTFY. I'm guessing the lawyers wanted a sure pay-off.

60 slow-mo A-bomb test videos explode onto YouTube

Mark 85

Re: Mesmerising --- the Duck and Cover drills.

Not exactly fun times as a youngster was it? I was in Dayton, Ohio, not far from Wright-Patt AFB and that was considered a major target. As kids, we'd ask innocent questions like "Will hiding in the hallway actually save us? Why can't we watch the nukes blow up? " Never got a good answer. Just some mumbo about "this is required and will help". As I got older, around 13 or 14 or so, I realized it was a placebo.

Mark 85

Re: Mesmerising

but did you know that both the Germans and the Japanese were working on atomic bombs during WW2?

Yes, as an El Reg old fart.... I'll offer this starting point: For the Germans, Google on "Heavy Water Project" Germany. Fascinating reading both the tech and the efforts to stop them from developing it. The Japanese might be a bit more obscure to find.

BOFH: Don't back up in anger

Mark 85

Re: Never

But you can't snow a snowman.

GCHQ dismisses Trump wiretap rumours as tosh

Mark 85

He can cancel it... but will it actually be canceled or will the powers-that-be continue their agreement? No tin foil hat for me, thank you. I know they're out to get us.,,, eventually.

Mark 85

Re: Obama did not order it

After that... where's the mind bleach?

Mark 85

Re: That was then...

I got Tahiti. Hmm.... maybe time to move.

User jams up PC. Literally. No, we don't know which flavour

Mark 85

Re: He'll Go Far

My first support job in IT required that keyboards be taken apart and cleaned rather than tossed in the bin and issue a new one due to cost. It was cheaper to spend two hours opening it up and cleaning it than to replace it. I had total disbelief as to the stuff I found in them... chicken bones (yes bones... small ones however), new and interesting civilizations growing them, the usual donut cookie/biscuit crumbs, etc. Then there was the post-it note with a phone number that a marketing droid had folded up and shoved it under the Enter/Return key when his wife showed up at that office one day.

NASA swerves serious cash cuts – but Earth climate probes, asteroid snatcher face axe

Mark 85

I think you're skimming the loud, shouty ones. Many us are not deniers, nor believers (in the cause). That the climate is changing is a given. It has throughout history if we look at the archeological record.

The problem is the cause. I see nothing wrong with reducing pollution such as CO2, particulates, water cleanup, etc. That's a good thing. But is it the cause of the climate change or is this a natural occurrence? Much of the data I've read about takes that big yellow ball we orbit out of the maths. Is it a factor or not? What drove previous climate changes? These are things we need answers to as far as climate change.

Just because we're skeptical of the cause doesn't mean we don't believe there is a change.

Mark 85

Looks to me like the $200 Million is a drop in the bucket compared to what's being paid for the SLS and Orion. I do wonder that if SpaceX get their man-rated Dragon flying if NASA will continue funding this?

Cut the development budget and presto... everything else could be back in and still have money saved. I love bacon and ham but not pork barrel projects. Just sayin'.

Google Maps' Street View can now lead you into a bubbling lava lake

Mark 85
Mushroom

Re: Not Etna?

Interesting story on BBC but I'll be damned if I'm installing Flash to watch the videos.

Mark 85
Pint

I think a brew is in order for those two who rappelled into the caldera. I would hope that someone tested the air down there first. Pretty amazing pictures.

Judge issues search warrant for anyone who Googled a victim's name

Mark 85

Re: A bit of an overreach here but.....

In light of the updated info in the article on this.... so it's not world-wide but only for that particular city is interesting to say the least. Sounds like the cops have an idea who did it and it's not someone out of country or even out of state which in itself seems unusual after most other reported incidents of this point to someone in eastern Europe or in Asia.

I think popcorn is in order and comfy chair to see how this plays out.

Mark 85

A bit of an overreach here but.....

While this is way beyond overreach for information, I am pleased the local cops are trying. Most places they just take the report of fraud, etc. and say "Oh.. the Internet.. tough." and go back to their coffee and donuts as they know it's pretty impossible... well maybe not for the NSA, FBI, CIA, et al.

Which it just hit me... why didn't they hit the NSA for this? I'm sure they have the info.

Spammy Google Home spouts audio ads without warning – now throw yours in the trash

Mark 85

The Update is definitely a piece of wonderment....

Not an ad, they say.... but an invitation to be a guest and share. Almost Facebookish... I do believe the marketeers have started to believe their own BS. Or maybe it's just an alternate reality/truth?

Fire brigade called to free man's bits from titanium ring's grip

Mark 85

Re: So what was the IT angle?

Upvote for the "token ring" reference. Well played sir.

This week's top token gesture: Google Chrome chokes energy-hungry background tabs

Mark 85

Re: "a few lines of JavaScript code to disable visual updates when the webpage isn't visible"

During dial up days people would disable image loading to speed up page loading. This seems like something that should be allowed on a tab by tab basis. Some tabs you'll want all the pretty pictures. Others they are are unnecessary.

Nice idea and it would kill of some of the ads. So..... not gonna' happen.

Why are creepy SS7 cellphone spying flaws still unfixed after years, ask Congresscritters

Mark 85

Re: replacing dangerous things

Good question. Maybe because the less capable are very good at getting re-elected. People want pop-answers to tough questions. For the most part, capable politicos are discouraged. Wyden and Lieu are rarities to say the least. The rest may mouth some platitudes about tech, security, and privacy, but these two get it.

Zombie webcams? Pah! It's the really BIG 'Things' that scare me

Mark 85

It's strange thing this IoS stuff. We in IT see the need for security and keeping things locked down. The number of hacks/attacks alone point to that. The manufacturers don't care as they're hitting their profit margins and happy. So we look to the regulators and what to we find... "Meh. No regulation needed until someone is hurt".

It's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. The longer everyone puts off security on crap, the worse the shitstorm will be when it finally hits. Pretty damn sad that the only ones who are those of us in IT who will have to clean up the messes because no one else can be arsed to demand that this stuff be fixed and fixed quickly.

IBM could have made almost all the voluntary redundancies it needed

Mark 85

Re: @Mpeler The good people

Want to discuss something? Its either a 5-7am call or its a 9-11pm call so there's a delay unless the staff enjoys working nights.

Once upon a time, it was the off-shore contractors who put in the night hours. I guess they now have the power to tell the customer (big corp) when they'll work, etc.

Petya ransomware returns, wrapped in extra VX nastiness

Mark 85

Re: Priorities

Follow the money. Big corporations have the money and lawyers. We "little folk", as always, are the cannon fodder no one cares about*,

*Except at election time and when there's money to be made from us.

Headphone batteries flame out mid-flight, ignite new Li-Ion fears

Mark 85

I believe it has been lately as that seems to be the method used for battery fires.

Dungeons & Dragons finally going digital

Mark 85

Finally? I'm surprised as I wrote a Basic program back in the '80s to generate characters. I would have thought the whole D&D thing would have been online by now.

From memory... "You're standing a round room. The treasure is in the corner." Proper answer was always: "We got the treasure and are leaving."

Hyper-V guest escape, drive-by PDF pwnage, Office holes, SMB flaws – and more now patched

Mark 85

make sure you install them ASAP before miscreants start exploiting them in the wild:

Nope.. I'll wait a week in case there's any booby traps in that mess. Meantime, I'll just keep my eyes and ears open to what others find. Hopefully it all works and there's no surprises. Meantime, I'll use the Linux box....

Oracle gives FCC a great big sloppy kiss: You're doing a great job axing net neutrality, privacy

Mark 85

Re: Yes Kieren

Admittedly you're right about health care and gun rights as those can affect any company. But it is curious why this letter was written given Oracle's business and matter it's discussing. Is Oracle going into the ISP business? Some things just feel weird and this is one of them.

Manchester's Munee Hut, Eyebrow Cottage and fresh hot spam from Belize

Mark 85

Because even if only one percent respond, that's the number of idiots out there. They just haven't sent out enough spam to rope in all the idiots.

Scott McNealy: Your data is safer with marketers than governments

Mark 85

Dear Scott McNealy,

Blow it out your ass. I don't want your marketing team to bug me nor do I want my government to watch me. My business isn't yours and as long I don't do something illegal, it isn't the business of government. I will also add that malvertising is rampant. Can you guarantee me that my data that you hold won't get into the hands of malvertisers or miscreants? Can you? Our government can't so why the hell should I trust you.

Besides, if the crap that hits my spam bucket is any indication, you marketing mouseketeers haven't a clue about what I buy even with the data you hold.

Sincerely and with all due lack of respect, I remain looking for my future ex-pat life,(and yes, they are out there).

Mark85

Tech titan pals back up Google after 'foreign server data' FBI warrant ruling

Mark 85

I wonder what the response would be if a UK judge decided to issue a warrant to a US company to turn over the data in the US to a the London Met?

Maybe another country (not necessarily yours) needs to do this? Force this issue.

I do have to wonder why the MS case didn't set a precedent for this? Even if it's under appeal, the ruling would stand until the appeals process is completed. Just a tad bit of over-reach by the TLA in this and the local judge who is allowing it.

For that matter, if the FBI wants the info, why haven't they approached the court in the country in question about it? Or Interpol?

US regulator looks at Internet of Things regulation, looks away

Mark 85

The US Federal Trade Commission is holding off regulating the Internet of Things industry until there is an event which “harms consumers right now”, according to its acting head.

Replace FTC with "Executive Branch" or "Intelligence agencies" and "an event" with "terroroism". So one side is worried about something happening "tomorrow" and a regulatory agency is blowing it off until something does happen. Nothing like consistency in government over "threats". This isn't even triage as there isn't any co-ordination.

Yeah.. I know.. it's industry and profit and motivating the agency via lobbyists but I'm just feeling pissy at much of the BS that continues to come out of DC, even with the new administration.

Is that a phone in your hand – or a gun? This neural network reckons it has it all figured out

Mark 85

Re: Doesn't need to be very accurate for the suggested use

because idiots who think it is the old west will walk around with a holster on their hip, just because.

There are an abundance of idiots here but I seldom see anyone open carrying. Maybe the preferred is concealed carry?

Marissa! Mayer! out! as! CEO! of! Yahoo! corpse! post-Verizon! gobble!

Mark 85

Re: Does! This! Mean! That!

No! Not! until! Yahoo! ceases! to! exist!

Mark 85

Not gender... a CEO thing. She'll be back somewhere, it's almost guaranteed as once a CEO, always a CEO. The money is in the bank and they want more. More money and more power. Maybe being a CEO should be declared a plague and dealt with appropriately?

Telepresence robot 'hackable' – security researchers

Mark 85

So then, one could hack/fiddle their way into it and then have it run amok? I'm betting there's someone who will do this and then some TLA will call it a "terrorist" action.

Facebook, Instagram: No, you can't auto-slurp our profiles (cough, cough, border officials)

Mark 85

In theory at least, given the T&C's of most websites, handing over your login data to anyone (and I'm assuming any TLA that asks for it, is a violation and cause for account termination. I doubt that this will ever be enforced as they wouldn't want to lose their product for the advertisers.

Smart sex toys firm coughs up $3.75m in privacy lawsuit

Mark 85

Re: Excellent

Rumor has it that he's hard on the case....

This is where UK's Navy will park its 65,000-tonne aircraft carriers

Mark 85

b) this makes the most sense out of any argument so far, but since the carrier is supposed to be a warship, doesn't hold up to arguments...

Depends on the "arguments". Politics, etc. seem to drive an awful lot of these idiotic ideas and I do believe not making your carriers nuke powered is one of them. Then again.. we have our fair share of political idiocy here in the States.

Signature Trump policy - H-1B visa reform - looks to be on the back burner

Mark 85

I believe the Repubs and their supporters (lobbyists) are somehow behind this. Follow the money. It's to their advantage that the reforms don't happen. I'm just not seeing much that doesn't benefit the corporates at this point.

If you're going to DV me, at least tell me what's been done so far NOT in a corporate interest because I'm not seeing it in any news from any source.

Family of technician slain by factory robot sues everyone involved

Mark 85

Re: WTF?

Generally speaking and looking at history, companies really don't want to give any interest to employee safety. It takes unions and laws to force them to as safety and the like affect the bottom line. Read Sinclair Lewis's "The Jungle" sometime. At the time he wrote this, the meat packing industry didn't give a crap about worker safety or the safety of what they packed. The bottom line ruled.

Force employees to take DNA tests for bosses? We've got a new law to make that happen, beam House Republicans

Mark 85

NO it isn't but the amendments would pretty much gut the bill. My government is running amok and just saying "no" isn't stopping the stupidity and intrusiveness. I shudder to think where we'll be after a couple of years of this shit since they're just getting started.

Then again, in two years, it's possible that the two big parties' Congressional candidates will be facing independent or 3rd party candidates who might be able to beat them on election day. But, hope of that happening is fleeting.

Mark 85

Those three points are most reasonable. Not sell, not discriminate, and leave family out of it. WTF are the Repubs thinking? Or maybe it's "who's paying them off so that our DNA info can be sold off"? Is there some LEA that will want this for a national database?

Thank <$DEITY> that I'm retired. But I do expect that at some point this might be applied to Medicare... "Oh.. you're high risk. You need to pay X times more."

A pox on them.

Official: America auto-scanned visitors' social media profiles. Also: It didn't work properly

Mark 85
Facepalm

See icon... it was either that or "No shit, Sherlock". A pity that common sense can't be injected or beat into someone... I've got a list that could use some.

User lubed PC with butter, because pressing a button didn't work

Mark 85
Devil

Take a few days and using C++ and/or any other language of choice and write a special database. Extra points for some assembly language tossed into the mix. You're here at El Reg so it shouldn't be hard.

Oh.. and store it in the cloud so the CIA can give you a restore if your hard drive crashes.

WikiLeaks promises to supply CIA's hacking tool code to vendors

Mark 85
Devil

Re: @palpy: corraboration from a legit news source --

But according to Dear Leader, those news sources are all fake news.... Now where's the "I'm being snide and cynical icon"?

I trust both parties about as far as I can toss them which is not very far. Same for the MSM. If there's a consensus on from both parties or most media, then I'll know the truth is somewhere in there... it may be well hidden, but it's there.