* Posts by Mad Hacker

380 publicly visible posts • joined 19 Feb 2008

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Chap charged with fraud after mail for UPS global HQ floods Chicago flat

Mad Hacker

How was he able to cash checks made out to UPS?

I understand how the redirect happened but what bank let him deposit checks to his account made out to UPS?

Microsoft has designed an Arm Linux IoT cloud chip. Repeat, an Arm Linux IoT cloud chip

Mad Hacker

Why go with Lenix? Why not create an RTOS if you’re gonna create a new OS

This sounds like it’s going to be as powerful as raspberry pie. Which I don’t consider an IOT devices And if you go much smaller and capability from a raspberry pie you’re probably better off in the real world with a real time operating system.

A computer file system shouldn't lose data, right? Tell that to Apple

Mad Hacker
Mushroom

Re: Rotten apple

More like superior OS and support hardware at a superior price.

It's 2018 and your Macs, iPhones can be pwned by playing evil music

Mad Hacker

Re: Dream On Apple

You say:

Siri is pretty widely recognized to be the weakest of the voice assistants - and by a very wide margin, being less capable of recognizing questions than any of the other main contenders and even less able to answer them.

While I agree that's what everyone says I have an Alexa speaker in my kitchen and she seems worse than Siri at following commands. Maybe I ask harder things of a speaker than a phone.

You say:

And Apple are entering the market from way behind here, into a space where the opposition have much larger, well-developed app ecosystems - which is not one of their strengths. Apple are good at entering a market early and leveraging their marketing muscle and design chops to dominate early.

I'm not sure I agree with you. The iPhone wasn't the first smartphone and everyone expected Apple to fail. The iPod wasn't the first MP3 player, etc. etc. In general I'd say Apple waits to get a product right and enters markets where they feel the existing products can be outdone. I'm not a huge fan of my Alexa speaker so that might be the case although aside from general improvements in accuracy and capability/skills I cannot envision how much they can surpass the competition.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not sold on a $350 speaker and this could be Apple's next iPod Hi-Fi

Nest's slick IoT burglar alarm catches crooks... while it eyes your wallet

Mad Hacker

Hard wired sensors and cellular transmitter all with back up batteries

Ok, I'm out of contract by now but I'll admit I have an ADT system. My two story house was built 11 years ago and (not a custom house but they give you a few options) I picked the option for an alarm prewire. Every door and window (even on 2nd floor) have hardwired magnetic sensors in the frames. All those wires go to a box in an upstairs closet. The prewired for 3 control pads... One by the front door, one by the door out to the garage and one in the upstairs master bedroom. The painfully loud siren is hidden in an air duct. The monitor system works over cellular (a more recent free upgrade without a new contract) so cutting (or not having) a landline isn't an issue. Separate batteries back up the alarm and cellular modem.

I don't think I'd consider a system that didn't integrate with my hard wired, no power source required, and non visible door and window sensors.

Arm Inside: Is Apple ready for the next big switch?

Mad Hacker

Re: bootcamp?

It's called Virtual Box. Been there done that.

GarageBanned: Apple's music app silenced in iOS 11 iCloud blunder

Mad Hacker
Mushroom

Yes This!

iTunes update preventing iOS app and ringtone management and the end of application backup on a computer.

Equifax's malvertising scare, Chromebook TPM RSA key panic, Cuban embassy sonic weapon heard at last – and more

Mad Hacker

Re: This sound may break your brain

The symptoms are measurable including brain swelling and hearing loss. While I don't think a sonic weapon can cause brain swelling it seems to be more than mass hysteria.

Itching to stuff iOS 11 on your iPhone? You may want to hold off for a bit

Mad Hacker

Re: Updated with no drama.

It supports FLAC.

Tech firms take down WireX Android botnet

Mad Hacker

Google chooses not to, they could.

"That Google, with all its resources, can't do the same isn't very impressive and will only help the popularity of iOS"

It's much more tedious and time consuming (3 days seems normal but it has been two weeks in the past) to release an app to the Apple Store than Google Play. Google *could* keep things as secure as Apple but they've chosen to make it easier for developers to upload apps and gives a turnaround time sometimes less than an hour.

So it's not that it can't, it's that they've chosen not to.

Salesforce sacks two top security engineers for their DEF CON talk

Mad Hacker

Re: Hold on a second....

They are still negotiating to get the code open sourced. I'm sure playing nice helps negotiations.

Mad Hacker

Apparently it had been signed off on being released as open source

So you think if you develop open source code you can't talk about it?

No, Apple. A 4G Watch is a really bad idea

Mad Hacker

Thought this was going to be another Apple bashing article but...

They you said this in the first sentence: I love it, but I don’t go around recommending it.

Which is exactly how I feel. I love it. But recommending it means I think it's worth the money and I'm still not sure it is.

Concorde without the cacophony: NASA thinks it's cracked quiet supersonic flight

Mad Hacker

Re: Next, apply the technology to ...

Not true. My standard 9mm ammo goes supersonic. If you want to use a suppressor and have it do any good you need to buy subsonic ammo.

Apple, LG, Huawei, ZTE, HTC accused of pilfering 'find my phone' tech

Mad Hacker
Mushroom

Nice try

Apple implemented this in 2009. You're a bit late to the parade.

Management's agile, digital (insert buzzword here) strategy ossifying? Blame the Red Queen

Mad Hacker

As yoganmahew said, good article for those of us in large IT shops

I think the people missing the point of the article are probably working in smaller shops with newer shinier toys. I know some people today desperately patching Windows Server 2003 and XP machines. I found this to be a good article. Not for myself necessarily but I'll be sharing it with some people above me who *do* get to determine my budget.

DeX Station: Samsung's Windows-killer is ready for prime time

Mad Hacker

Re: ORLY?

Everyone knows your phone will replace a desktop PC in the future. I believe what he was referring to was that Samsung would get there with a solid solution before HP, Microsoft, et al.

Comey was loathed by the left, reviled by the right – must have been doing something right

Mad Hacker

Re: Comey was a coward for not throwing Hilldog under the bus

I really thought the type of people that read and understand articles on The Register wouldn't use nicknames like Hilldog.

I don't expect everyone here to agree on politics but making up derogatory names for someone is juvenile and erodes your credibility. I question whether you were even able to read and understand this article.

Back to the future: Honda's new electric car can go an incredible 80 miles!

Mad Hacker

I own a 2014 Honda Civic CNG...

I bought a 2014 Civic CNG new when I heard Honda was abandoning CNG as a fuel. The 2014 was the last CNG Civic they made. I got the last one available in Arizona, possibly the country. I had been driving a 2000 Civic GX (CNG) up to that point. That was also the point that I gave up on Honda having a meaningful vision. They moved away from CNG (a proven technology) to hydrogen and now an 80 mile electric. I am looking carefully at the Bolt and the Model 3. Things are only going to get cheaper and longer range and we are right on the tipping point. It's actually pretty exciting if you care about cars (or possibly oil or the environment.) My commute is 66 miles round trip. That's pretty close to 80 assuming I have to make a stop anywhere outside my normal route say to the cleaners or a grocery store. Then there are the summers here with regular highs of 115° F (47° C) and above. I have a feeling an electric car with an A/C set to fight off 115° F heat probably won't get it's maximum range.

We're 90 per cent sure the FCC's robocall kill plan won't have the slightest impact

Mad Hacker
Joke

chocolate teapot

Brilliant!

With Skype, Microsoft's messaging strategy looks coherent at last (almost)

Mad Hacker

As I suffer with Cisco's Jabber...

I currently have Cisco's Jabber on my computer and it works with the Cisco IP phone on my desk in what Cisco calls Unified Communications.

The Jabber client on Windows (they have yet to get it working on my MacBook Pro) feels like an afterthought. It has a bulky UI that doesn't use space well and a fairly intrusive multi window interface including the toolbar for my phone that hovers around the screen. Except for the occasional enjoyment of knocking my handset on the floor I'm unsure why I have a desk phone at all when a soft phone on my computer would serve just as well.

It seems to me no one has put much effort into Unified Communications and that would be a great place for Microsoft to position Skype for Business. However, I'm not seeing them put a lot of effort to unseat Cisco's IP phone dominance.

The Psion returns! Meet Gemini, the 21st century pocket computer

Mad Hacker

Re: Pricing is the key

$499 WiFi only

$599 with 4G

A little higher than I would've liked although they have discounted ones if you support them on Indiegogo.

Mad Hacker

Re: Linux!

I did. That's why I was excited!

Mad Hacker

Linux!

I assumed Android would be the only option and I'm not a fan of that OS. But Linux could make this thing great!

Your next PC is… your 'Droid? Remix unveils Continuum-killer

Mad Hacker

Re: I remember when I pointed this out last year

Maybe it was because you were channeling "Captain Obvious"?

I think everyone knows eventually our phones will replace our laptops/desktops. What's more interesting will be when we walk into a cubicle farm and on every desk there will be a VR headset instead of a monitor. Hopefully sanitary wipes will be available between uses.

Drop the F-bomb, get your coding typos auto-corrected

Mad Hacker

Re: Do What I Mean

My first thought as well. Hate for it to throw rm in there when I didn't intend it.

Is your child a hacker? Liverpudlian parents get warning signs checklist

Mad Hacker

If my children referred to themselves as script kiddies...

If my children referred to themselves as "script kiddies" I'd be more concerned of them being lame than being a hacker.

Magic Leap sued for sex discrimination … by woman it hired to stamp out sex discrimination

Mad Hacker
Thumb Up

You're going to get the Apple treatment from Magic Leap...

Remember when you made fun of Steve Jobs? Now you will probably never hear from Rony Abovitz again.

Although doesn't sound like you'll lose much sleep over that.

Munich may dump Linux for Windows

Mad Hacker
Thumb Down

Don't understand the cost argument

I'd like to see a breakdown of how they came at a "cost" for something that in general doesn't require licensing.

Sure support and integration and maybe a small amount of training can be more than the license for an OS *but* I'd like to know how the costs breakdown and what areas they identified as potential savings. Of course, they probably won't release those details.

Now maybe they are interested in using technologies that are not available for Linux (Skype is not very good on Linux and I'm not aware of other common video conferencing apps for Linux) and they are calling that a "cost" Or maybe they think Active Directory is easier to maintain than LDAP on Linux.

Still I'd like to see what areas they think they are going to save money in and what their pain points were.

Basically sad to see this grand experiment didn't work out.

In China, Apple's gegenpress doesn't scare the locals

Mad Hacker

Re: was supply constrained on the Pro

Supply was clearly constrained. It took over a month to get our first ones after they were released.

As far as I can tell Apple and Google (with its Chromebook) are the only vendors selling computers that are increasing marketshare.

Living with the Pixel XL – Google's attempt at a high-end phone

Mad Hacker

Re: Yeah, that price

4 years?? I'll have replaced my phone twice by then!

'Hey, Elon? You broke it, you bought it' says owner of SpaceX's satellite cinder

Mad Hacker

Re: Going nowhere

"Life insurance doesn't pay out for suicides."

Says who? Most life insurance I've seen covers suicides after a couple of years of vesting.

World goes SIM-free, leaving Sony and HTC trailing behind

Mad Hacker

Couldn't buy an iPhone SE the other day

So I decided to switch from AT&T to Verizon and to get an iPhone SE when doing so. The Verizon website informed me it would be over a month before they could ship me an iPhone SE so no, I didn't submit that web order.

I'd say they are in demand. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks phablets are not phantastic.

As for software updates I know two people who have had their Oppos replaced due to what may have been hardware or software issues.

Only the iPhone and the Google Nexus line (as far as I'm aware) offer decent software updates and avoid the crapware add ons like TouchWiz.

Whatever happened to ... Nest?

Mad Hacker

Re: I use me as the themostat

It's the opposite in Phoenix Arizona.

Too hot, turn on the A/C.

Too cold, turn off the A/C.

WTF is a boiler?

Mad Hacker

Re: Software will eat everything... sometimes

Well you're right about things being different in different regions. Here in Phoenix Arizona all we care about is cooling (air conditioning) and not heating. For heating most homes use a heat pump (a/c run in reverse) or for those who have gas in their neighborhood, then a gas furnace. And that gets turned on maybe 3 months out of the year.

Did you almost prang a 737 jet with a drone over Dallas? The FAA would like a word

Mad Hacker

Re: Could a drone hurt a 737?

Can't speak of the other items due to lack of experience but I can assure you my DJI Phantom couldn't at any velocity break a cockpit window or puncture a tyre.

Apple to tailor Swift into fully open-source language – for Linux, too

Mad Hacker

Just like FaceTime...

Remember when Steve Jobs said FaceTime was going to be released as open source? Yes I'm still bitter.

The next Nest? We talk to Ring, the doorbell-come-security system

Mad Hacker

Bed, Bath, and Beyond eh?

So I'm pretty sure I have a 20% off coupon there, however, I bet this product will be excluded.

Systemax CEO closes 31 retail stores in US as losses widen

Mad Hacker

never heard of 'em

Considering I live in the US and I've never heard of this store I'm not surprised.

Bite my shiny metal Ask: Java for OS X crapware storm brewing

Mad Hacker

Java still needed here...

When I was younger I sure bought into the write once run everywhere mantra. Since the realities of Java's security issues have become obvious I've whittled down my Java dependencies down to one app. For the rare occasion (once a year?) I purchase something on eBay I use JBidwatcher. Runs brilliantly in Java on my Mac.

Are you ready to ditch the switchboard and move to IP telephony?

Mad Hacker

All I call about is HD Audio...

I just need everyone to move to HD Voice like the G.722 codec. We have IP phones which compress everything using non-HD codecs, then our conference bridge is external which again compresses everyone using a non-HD codec. By the time I am hearing people from around the world with different accents and sometimes on mobiles with worse call quality/compression I cannot understand half of what is said. I can't believe we still have the same low (or lower) quality phone connections we've had for decades.

EFF: VPNs will crumble Verizon's creepy supercookie stalkers

Mad Hacker
FAIL

Re: Even simpler

You say: Don't use Verizon or AT&T. They've got the crappiest service

What?! In the U.S. they are the only ones with good coverage. They have the best service. (You didn't mean customer service right?)

Caterham Seven 160 review: The Raspberry Pi of motoring

Mad Hacker

Shut up and take my money!

How do I get one in the states?!

Weekend reads: Russell Brand's Revolution and Joy Division's Ian Curtis gets lyrical

Mad Hacker
Childcatcher

Published words/censored standards?

So we all know what "c**t" is referring to. Was this censored in the book, or by El Reg? And if so, is there a list of words that El Reg won't post? Because clearly "fuck" isn't among them.

Revealed: The amazing magical innovation in the iPad Mini 3 – a lick of paint

Mad Hacker
Holmes

Curious if you'll have a similar article about the Amazon Fire HDX 8.9

The new Amazon Fire HDX 8.9 suffers from the same problems as being pretty much identical to the 2013 version. I'll be curious if you have a similar article about that, or if only Apple gets the love.

Mad Hacker
Facepalm

Re: Thinness.

Andy Prough says:

Who are you talking to? Why would I care? Your comments aren't even responsive to anything I said in any perceptible way.

Whoa! Slow down there Nelly! Your original post said:

Seems like the only reason to do that is to make darn sure no one ever repairs one. Keep that upgrade purchase cycle alive and well.

The AC's post was addressing what you said. He explained if you needed something repaired you could get it done under warranty. That also explained how you wouldn't be contributing to the upgrade cycle. Not sure why you couldn't see how that directly addressed some of your concerns. Your response sounded downright spiteful.

Microsoft to enter the STRUGGLE of the HUMAN WRIST

Mad Hacker
Mushroom

Re: One of the wrist

Your misspelling of Apple like a whiney child really improves your street cred here. Hate all you want but grow up.

iPhone 6 shunned by fanbois in Apple's GREAT FAIL of CHINA

Mad Hacker

No! No! If there isn't a riot there isn't a story! Ah the Daily Mirror mode of journalism I see...

Mad Hacker
Facepalm

Re: I am going to puke.....

Clearly (unlike me) you don't know any Google fanbois.

Apple tries to kill iWorm: Zombie botnet feasting on Mac brains

Mad Hacker
Holmes

Doesn't a Worm have to infect without user intervention?

I thought to be called a Worm the software has to distribute itself?

This is a Trojan Horse that installs a botnet client. Not a Worm, not a Virus.

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