* Posts by Mark 85

12880 publicly visible posts • joined 22 Nov 2012

Banks defend integrity of passcode-less TouchID login

Mark 85

If someone takes you to a hotel and renders you unconscious I think you've got more important "assets" they're going to be after.

Ah.. the variation of "Hit me, kick me, beat me. Make me write bad checks" perhaps?

Amazon issued with licence for delivery drone madness

Mark 85

In some ways, it's a pity that military drones can't come under this ruling... Maybe Amazon needs to qualify their drones for military usage?

FCC to Verizon: Blocking 911 calls? That's a $3.4m paddlin'

Mark 85

Re: Precisely the point

All a higher fine would have done is cause Verizon to raise it's rates so no profit would have been lost...

You – yes, YOU – can now 3D print your very own Paul McCartney

Mark 85

Re: What's with the dislike?

Video please. That would probably go viral and net you a chunk of change on Youtube.

UK.gov crackpots: Let's build vapourware-based sharing economy CITIES

Mark 85

Where have I heard this before....

ah yes...."from each according to his abilities, to each according to is needs". And then there was the commune culture of the '60's and early '70's....

Hello? Police? Yes, I'm a car and my idiot driver's crashed me

Mark 85

Re: Exactly what problem does this solve?

Obviously you're on the east side of the pond. Come over on the west side of it and you'll sort it out rather quickly. We have roads that are nothing but miles and miles of nothing... but there do seem to be cell towers for some reason.... weird.

Mark 85

What? No energy for a selfie?

Mark 85

Re: You're screwed.com

In the States, it's already here. The newer of the two cars we owns uses OneStar to report to the insurance company once a week so that we get a "good driver" discount and a "low mileage" discount. It also works inversely for "high mileage" and "bad driver". Since it's an "opt-in" plan, the bad drivers usually don't apply. However, at some point, I'm sure it will be mandatory.

The black box is still there even if you don't opt in. Have an accident and watch how fast the insurance company (or police) grab it.

On 50th anniversary of first spacewalk, Aurorae light up two planets

Mark 85
Pint

Alexy, this one's for you.

Target tosses US$10 million at victims of breach

Mark 85
WTF?

Impressive...

Not. That means that only the first 1000 individuals (assuming they get awarded the "up to" amount will get paid for their troubles? Or if all 40 million were file a claim, they would each get a nice shiny 25-cent piece? Crikey.

The sad/stupid thing is that if you shop at Target, they're pitching the Red Card at you... every frikkin' time.

Apple Watch is like an invasive weed says Gartner

Mark 85
Coffee/keyboard

I don't know if Hetu is being insulting or complimentary but the analogy gave me a laugh. The way and the method that they're growing is a wonderful comparison but the choice of Kudzu.....

Premera Blue Cross is sick after hackers plunder their servers

Mark 85

Two Blues now...

I'm wondering if there's a common entrance point. The Blues are an association and do trade information relating to claims etc. by people not in their home state due to vacations and business. Both cases had long times between the bad guys entering and then IT finding out they were there.

I also wonder if some of this isn't an inside job as the Blues seem to be very heavy into contractors doing IT work.

Shock development: Darkweb drug n' gun dealers are untrustworthy

Mark 85
Pirate

Stealing from crooks is never a good idea.....

I imagine that there's already a few "contracts" out there on these two. And if an LEA gets their hands on them I don't think the pokey is a place those two want to end up. History tells us the bad guys have a long reach....

Zombie SCO shuffles back into court seeking IBM Linux cash

Mark 85
Trollface

SCO -------------> See Icon

Sheesh.... oh well... popcorn and beer anyone?

'All browsing activity should be considered private and sensitive' says US CIO

Mark 85
Unhappy

Rats... you caught me while I was thinking that he said this because NSA has figured out how to backdoor HTTPS.

My self-driving cars may lead to human driver ban, says Tesla's Musk

Mark 85

Cars and non-drivers.

There's a bit of a problem coming up though with autonomous cars... The current thinking by commenters and possibly even the engineers is that one gets in, sits behind the wheel, gets comfortable and assumes a driving position while the car does all the work. Just in case the driver needs to take over... right? Complacency will soon wipe that idea out as more and more drivers decide to text, read a book, play with the kids or spouse, eat, or whatever. Having a steering wheel could become the hazard.

This is the difference between cars and airplanes. Pilots still have be in the cockpit and monitoring. They're not supposed to be wandering about and doing other things.. yeah.. there's been reports such as the one where the plane flew right past the destination airport.

My guess is that after an initial break-in, the controls will have to be removed from the car and allow it to be fully autonomous. Driver skills will deteriorate after a period of non-use and I'm wondering about having someone suddenly grabbing control of the car when their ability has deteriorated. Seems to be it has to be an all or nothing on autonomy.

Mark 85

There is also "no-fault" where each driver's/car's insurance takes care of it's own claims rather than having lawyers sue the other guy and his insurance company. Lawyers don't like this so maybe we can use them for crash test dummies?

The West's cloud giants toss escape rope over Great Firewall – and China's not happy

Mark 85

By default, China will win this one. For now. They put up the fence and have been re-enforcing it. If it's profit you seek (as a provider) you play by their rules or not at all. I believe it comes down to some basic ethics on the part of the corporates. Proift? or "doing the right thing"?

OTOH, name one country that doesn't want to practice some control over their sovereignty? There seems to be a Catch-22 everywhere these days with regard to freedoms.

$30 Landfill Android mobes are proof that capitalism ROCKS

Mark 85

India - a tough market

I wish Datawind well, but India is a tough market as many companies have found out. Whether it's cultural, economic, or even just basic services (water, electricity)... it's a tough sell by any stretch.

For example:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/8da786b8-37e7-11e3-8668-00144feab7de.html#axzz3UlTkZ28H

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/10/03/cheap-razor-made-after-watches-indians-shave/NSQpOGAotpEfarkNmxIfcK/story.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2443191/Gillette-spent-fortune-Indian-razor-forgetting-countrys-running-water.html

There's been others that have tried and got hit hard.

Facebook unveils P2P moola-to-mates payment feature

Mark 85
Pirate

Coming from the Zuck...meh...

These payment systems are kept in a secured environment that is separate from other parts of the Facebook network and that receive additional monitoring and control. A team of anti-fraud specialists monitor for suspicious purchase activity to help keep accounts safe.

Yes... I believe him. After all the data selling, scams going on in FB, and his personal belief in the users... Yeah.....

Since there's no BS icon... a pirate flag will have to do.

Watchdog slaps American Apparel's youthful naked arse

Mark 85
Meh

Much ado over very little

I guess being in the States I don't get it. You have an agency or association that someone (ultimately the taxpayer or consumers) paying for this "watchdog". They get one complaint... one.... and rise up show the world they did something. I've seen worse outfits at Wal-Mart for crying out loud. I'm offended but I also know enough to look the other way and ignore it.

I'll wander off scratching my head and wondering what all turmoil is about.

Boffins FOAMING over a Nickel's worth of hydrogen

Mark 85

Re: Why Hydrogen is a Bad idea

While I agree with your points, there's this: http://www.bairdmaritime.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14499:kawasaki-plans-worlds-first-liquid-hydrogen-tanker&catid=65:tankers&Itemid=56

Old news but apparently someone's betting on the fuel cell auto.

FCC chair heads into two-week political hazing period

Mark 85

Re: WOW! Why dont you just stroke him off while you're at it here!

It isn't the job of a government agency to make law's, they are only to enforce law's created by congress and yet your blatant ignorance in this puff piece attempting to make congress look like the problem means you are not only stupid but your stupidity is the main reason these tyrants have the balls to do as they wish.

Correct. The agency can't make laws, only Congress can.

However, given the way the laws have been passed over the last 200 years, agencies are given the power to "regulate". A good example is the FTC. They don't pass laws, they regulate so that Congress doesn't have to pass a law for everything. The FCC regulates also. By your definition, Congress would have the final say on spectrum usage. They don't. They granted that power to the agency. Same for communications.

The current band of tyrants right now is in Congress. Both parties, scheming and back-stabbing for power.

Mark 85

Overreach.... that's coming from the Republicans and guess why? The lobbyist money is talking here.

If the government should become about allowing and then protecting concentrations of power, this benefits the few. At which point, the question really becomes why the many should allow it to continue.

Simple really... for the many to take control will involve gunfire, bombs, and many refugees headed north and south. Many will complain but given the way this country is being run and where we're headed with "surveillance", few will try. The government has too much power and those yahoos in Congress seem to be re-writing the rules as they go. Take a good look at the "letter" the Repubs sent to Iran. That has all the smell of a palace coup. If the people rise up, I do believe it'll a massive civil war. There's just too much power at stake for those with it to give up quietly or to say "Ah yes, the voters have spoken. I'll go quietly."

Mark 85

I wonder if he'll wear a flak jacket?

It looks like he'll need it... I'm not sure why the House Judiciary Committee is involved, but all thing are about politics and lobbyist interest/money in DC.

China's make-your-own DRAM ambitions growing all the time

Mark 85

Follow the money on what the pols will scream about.

If China, with its enormous and growing domestic market, establishes itself as a DRAM, NAND and disk drive exporter, damaging US businesses, then US ideas about the sacrosanct nature of free trade might get revisited.

Right-wing politicians in the future might start to sound the alarm about DRAM dumping by Beijing. They might even complain about the US selling off its family silicon.

They probably won't say diddly squat as long as their backers can be investors in China's tech. If the Chinese toss out the investors, they yes.. the pols will start screaming. If there weren't US investors making profit, this sort of thing would have been declared illegal and Lenovo, for example, wouldn't have been allowed to buy the IBM PC division.

Big Data shocker: Over 6 million Americans have reached the age of 112

Mark 85

Yes, the ultimate in hubris. They issued the number so therefore it must be valid as it's against the law to use a number other than your own. And as everyone knows... all citizens and non-citizens follow the laws.

Mark 85

Re: Nope... guess again... Let me guess

And there's the unspoken about issue that's been raised in the past. Illegal immigrants use fake SS numbers (usually good numbers that have compromised). Since the illegals won't file their taxes, the government rakes in millions each year that would, if the ID's were real, be paid back in refunds.

The reason for not automatically deleting is sound although I've come across one person who SS said was dead...with a straight face... as they sat across the desk from the SS person.

Microsoft scrambles to kill Live.fi man-in-the-middle diddle

Mark 85

IF the warnings were ignored, what else is there to do? Seems that too often, the corporate mind feels that these things are BS. For him to do this was a warning shot. If it had been the bad guys, how long do you think it would have been before MS took action and how much damage would have been done?

Aged 18-24? Don't care about voting? Got a phone? Oh dear...

Mark 85

Consider this one then...

Here in Oregon in the States, it's been decreed that if you have a valid driver's license, you are a voter. Registration is now automatic. Voting is via a mail-in ballot. Is it a good idea? Hell if I know, but that's what they did this week... automatic voter registration.

Are you clever enough, and brave enough, to give a Register lecture

Mark 85

Re: Hmm

The last speaker will be the one who fits this list but only have the others have had their say and large amounts of beer have been consumed. The first speaker is doomed. Beer goggles apply to lectures also.

Flying cars will take to the skies in 2017, if government allows

Mark 85

I can see the mayhem now...

The potential for idiots in the air.. taking selfies and texting... But.. maybe the price will keep most of them on the ground.

What are your links worth to Pinterest? $11 BEEELLION!

Mark 85

Dot Com Bust II Coming?

It sure does seem that way. Of course the "investors" value it for that much or more. They want profit. The number of these multi-billion dollar social networks are getting scary.....

One BEEEEEELLION sensitive records went AWOL in 2014

Mark 85
Meh

Apathetic Developers?

Hmm... this from the company that shafts their developers regularly? I'm wondering if this particular bit of PR is reality? or the result of some apathetic developer who gamed their system? I guess corporate management gets no blame for cutbacks or not wanting to spend the dosh to update things regularly?

Meh.....

Bounty! hunter! discovers! holes! in! Yahoo! Stores! security!

Mark 85

Re: trolling the pic

I would think "Space Cowboys"... oh wait... Eastwood was in that one...

Mark 85

Re: Only $24k

Some people have a conscience and can sleep knowing that they have either made the world a better place, or have helped someone. So yes, the good guys deserve more but I suspect to them this isn't about money.

I won't go into miscreants since they are lower on the food chain than pond scum.

Redundo-happy IBMers will benefit from High Court pension ruling

Mark 85

Indeed they are. We "outsourced" all our mainframe developers and admins to, you guessed it...IBM. There was much said in the way of promises and they kept them for about 6 months. Then suddenly, that area of the building started getting empty... a year later there was only 2 guys left... an admin and a developer because somehow, they got the keys to the kingdom and were kept to "coach" the outsourced tech. They didn't even outsource from the US pool.. certain subcontinent types were brought in and rotated out on a monthly basis. No continuity of development or anything else. It's still pretty pathetic over in that area as by contract, we're not allowed to bring in more than "a few" permenant staff. I suspect that once this contract is over, IBM will be out the door.

Mark 85

Re: It ain't over...

Only 5 years? Ok.. but add the words "and bonues" to the fine. Many execs make more in bonuses than salary anyway.

Microsoft announces Windows 10 and Azure for humanity's implacable IoT foes

Mark 85

Re: Why mega/gigabytes of code for kilobytes of functionality?

Sadly, this is very true. Marketing hype, etc. these days seems to trump sound engineering and minimal footprint. Bigger, more bells and whistles, etc. isn't better usually. But the marketing and sales droids love it. In the defense industry world, this is called "gold plating". Take something that works well and add stuff to raise the price (profit). Car companies (charge extra for radio, heater, windshield wipers, etc.) got in early on this and the philosophy has spread.

Snowden tells tech bigwigs: It's up to you to thwart mass surveillance

Mark 85

Re: Only for a limited definition of "secure"

Given the current state of things, this is better than nothing.

Zuck: Get your FULLY EXPOSED BUTTOCKS off my Facebook

Mark 85

His "stupid fucks" statement about people handing over private information should tell you all you need to know about him and his ilk.

Health & Safety is the responsibility of Connor's long-suffering girlfriend

Mark 85

Re: H&S.

What they've done or tried to do, is remove the Darwin Factor. Then the next generation requires even more training.

Dread Pirate Roberts' first mate Peter Nash faces life behind bars

Mark 85

My jaw dropped...

He was previously a behavioural scientist in prisons.

I just find this surprising. I guess he'll be studying behaviors in an American prison then? But not as an employee.. <SMH>

Ow.ly plus AWS plus Box roped into worm-spreading spree

Mark 85

Re: Is Twitter affected, too?

You make two assumptions.... 1) that the website or host is NOT taking a kickback from the scammers. 2) That they'll care enough to spend some time doing a redirection of their own.

The other way is to not allow shortened links in posts but I'm not sure how that can be done when everyone and his brother can post.

Leaked Windows 10 build hints at peer-to-peer patching

Mark 85

Re: Could be useful... if under control

Therein is the problem... "proper control". I have 3 PC's and the scariest update method is the one: "PCs on the Internet”. I have to wonder what MS thinks the intelligence is of the average user as not all PC's are under corporate control for updates, where they come from, etc. And is there anything to prevent a hack/hijack from changing that setting to "PCs on the Internet”? Given MS history of having a totally secure OS, I'm doubtful.

'Just a kid' Zuck's word is his bond ... but NOT in his backyard, lawsuit claims

Mark 85

Re: Fuck people who want introductions

That works. Just like everyone going to Facebook... quality shows.

Musk: 'Tesla's electric Model S cars will be less crap soon. I PROMISE'

Mark 85
Trollface

Re: I think this update is for me.

The update... for your car or your wife???????

LOHAN chap compiles 'tenner a week' cookbook

Mark 85

Re: Dumpster diving, yes or no?

Per Wikipedia, yep.. it's illegal in Blighty. But legal in the US. YMMV so check the local laws....

Yahoo! spaffs! out! plugin! to! bring! crypto! to! everyone's! email!

Mark 85
Black Helicopters

True. And those who might take more than a passing interest will know who you are and where you are located for <cough>"further investigation"<cough>. They will also know who looked at the webpage probably. It's just bit more difficult to find these things out.